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The call Biolgen in Blackwood. The
incident story it never was, perhaps,

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began tamely, almost meanly. It
ended upon a note of strange, unearthly

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wonder that has haunted him ever since. In Hedley's memory, at any rate,

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it stands out as the loveliest,
the most amazing thing he ever witnessed.

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Other emotions, too, contributed to
the vividness of the picture. That

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he had felt jealousy towards old pal
Arthur Deane shocked him in the first place.

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It seemed impossible until it actually happened, But that the jealousy was proved

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afterwards to have been without a cause
shocked him still more. He felt ashamed

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and miserable for him. The actual
incident began when he received a note from

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Missus Blondin asking him to the priory
for a weekend or for longer if he

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could manage it. Captain Arthur Deane, she mentioned, was staying with her

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at the moment, and a warm
welcome awaited him Iris. She did not

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mention Iris Manning, the interesting and
beautiful girl for whom it was well known

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he had a considerable weakness. He
found a good sized house party. There

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was fishing in the Little Sussex River
tennis golf not far away. Well to

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motor cars brought the remoter country across
the downs into easy reach. Also,

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there was a bit of duck shooting
for those who cared to wake at three

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a m. And paddle up stream
to the marshes where the birds were feeding.

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Have you brought your gun? Was
the first thing Arthur said to him

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when he arrived. Like a fool, I left mine in town. I

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hope you haven't put in, miss
Manning, because if you have, I

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must get up one fine morning at
three o'clock. She laughed merrily, and

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there was an undernote of excitement in
the laugh. Captain Headley showed his surprise

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that you were a Diana had escaped
my notice. I'm ashamed to say,

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he replied lightly. Yet I've known
you some years, haven't I. He

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looked straight at her, and the
soft yet searching eye turning from his friend

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met his own securely. She was
appraising him for the hundredth time that he,

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for the hundredth time, was thinking
how pretty she was and wondering how

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long the prettiness would last after marriage. I'm not, he heard her answer,

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that's just it. But I've promised, rather, said Arthur gallantly,

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and I shall hold you to it, he added still more gallantly. Too

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gallantly, Headley thought, I couldn't
possibly get up at cock Crow without a

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very special inducement, could I?
Now you know me, Dick. Well,

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anyhow, I've brought my gun,
Heedley replied evasively. So you've no

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excuse, either of you. You'll
have to go. And while they were

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laughing and chattering about it, Missus
Blondin clinched the matter for them. Provisions

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were hard to come by. The
larder really needed a brace or two of

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birds. It was the least they
could do in return for what she called

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amusingly her armistice hospitality. So I
expect you to get up at three,

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she chaffed them, and return with
your victory birds. It was from this

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preliminary skirmish over the tea table on
the law five minutes after his arrival,

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that Dick Headley realized easily enough the
little game in progress. As a man

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of experience, just on the wrong
side of forty, it was not difficult

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to see the cards each held,
he sighed. Had he guessed an intrigue

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was on foot, he would not
have come yet. He might have known

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that wherever his hostess was, there
were the vultures gathered together. Matchmaker by

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choice and instinct, Missus Blondin could
not help herself. True to her name,

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she was always balancing on matrimonial tight
ropes for others. Her cards,

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at any rate, were obvious enough. She had laid him on the table

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for him, he easily read her
hand. The next twenty four hours confirmed

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his reading. Having made up her
mind that Iris and Arthur were destined for

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each other, she had grown impatient. They had been ten days together,

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yet Iris was still free. They
were good friends, only with calculation.

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She therefore took a step that must
bring things further. She invited Dick Headley,

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whose weakness for the girl was common
knowledge. The card was indicated,

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she played it. Arthur must come
to the point or see another man carry

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her off. This, at least
she planned, little, dreaming that the

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dark king of Spades would interfere.
Miss Manning's hand also was fairly obvious,

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for both men were extremely eligible parties. She was getting on one or other

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was to become her husband before the
party broke up. This, in crude

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language, was certainly in her cards. Though being a nice and charming girl.

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She might camouflage Madge cleverly to herself
and others. Her eyes on each

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man in turn, when the shooting
expedition was being discussed, revealed her part

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in the little intrigue. Clearly enough. It was all thus far as commonplace

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as could be. But there were
two more hands. Hedley had to read

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his own and his friends, and
these, he admitted honestly, were not

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so easy to take his own first. It was true he was fond of

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the girl, and had often tried
to make up his mind to ask her

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without being conceited. He had good
reason to believe his affection was returned and

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that she would accept him. There
was no ecstatic love on either side,

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for he was no longer a boy
of twenty, nor was she unscathed by

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tepestuous love affairs that had scorched the
first bloom from her face and heart.

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But they understood one another. They
were an honest couple. She was tired

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of flirting. Both wanted to marry
and settle down. Unless a better man

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turned up, she probably would say
yes without humbug or delay. It was

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this last reflection that brought him to
the final hand. He had to read

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here, he was puzzled. Arthur
Deane's role in the teacup strategy for the

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first time since they had known one
another, seemed strange. Uncertain why because

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though paying no attention to the girl
openly, he met her clandestinely, unknown

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to the rest of the house party, and above all, without telling his

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intimate pal. At three o'clock in
the morning, the house party was in

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full swing, with a touch of
that wild, reckless gaiety which followed the

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end of the war. Let us
be happy before a worse thing comes upon

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us was in many hearts. After
a crowded day, they danced till early

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in the morning, while doubtful weather
prevented the early shooting expedition. After duck

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the third night, Headley contrived to
disappear early to bed. He lay there

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thinking he was puzzled over his friend's
roll over the clandestine meeting. In particular,

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it was the morning before, waking
very early, he had been drawn

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to the window by an unusual sound, the cry of a bird. Was

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it a bird? In all his
experience, he had never heard such a

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curious, half singing call before.
He listened a moment, thinking it must

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have been a dream. Yet with
the odd cry, still ringing in his

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ears. It was repeated close beneath
his open window, a long, low

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pitched cry with three distinct following notes
in it. He sat up in bed

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and listened hard. No bird that
he knew could make such sounds. But

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it was not repeated a third time, and out of sheer curiosity, he

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went to the window and looked out. Dawn was creeping over the distant downs.

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He saw the outline in the gray
pearly light. He saw the lawn

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below, stretching down to the little
river at the bottom, where a curtain

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of faint mist hung in the air. And on this lawn he also saw

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Arthur Deane with iris manning. Of
course, he reflected, they were going

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after the duck. He turned to
look at his watch. It was three

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o'clock. The same glance, however, showed him his gun standing in the

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corner, so they were going without
a gun. A sharp pang of unexpected

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jealousy shot through him. He was
just going to shout out something, or

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rather wishing them good luck, or
asking if they had found another gun,

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perhaps, when a cold touch crept
down his spine. The same instant his

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heart contracted. Dean had followed the
girl into the summerhouse, which stood on

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the right. It was not the
shooting expedition at all. Arthur was a

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meeting for another purpose. The blood
flowed back, filling his head. He

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felt an eavesdropper, a sneak,
a detective. But for all that,

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he felt also jealous, and his
jealousy seemed chiefly because Arthur had not told

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him of this. Then he lay
thinking in bed on the third night.

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The following day he had said nothing, but he crossed the corridor and put

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the gun in his friend's room.
Arthur, for his part, had said

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nothing either. For the first time
in their long, long friendship, there

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lay a secret between them. To
Hedley, the unexpected revelation came with pain.

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For something like a quarter of a
century, these two had been bosom

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friends. They had camped together,
been in the army together, taken their

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pleasure together, each the full confidant
of the other in all the things that

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go to make up men's lives.
Above all, Hedley had been the one

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and only recipient of Arthur's unhappy love
story. He knew the girl, knew

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his friend's deep passion, and also
knew his terrible pain. When she was

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lost at sea. Arthur was burned
out, finished out of the running.

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So far as marriage was concerned.
He was not a man to love a

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second time. It was a great
and poignant tragedy. Hedley is confidante knew

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all, but more than that,
Arthur, on his side, knew his

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friend's weakness for Iris Manning knew that
a marriage was still possible and likely between

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them. They were true as steel
to one another, and each man,

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oddly enough, had once saved the
other's life, thus adding to the strength

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of a great natural tie. Yet
now one of them, feigning innocence by

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day even indifference, secretly met his
friend's girl by night and kept the matter

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to himself. It seemed incredible with
his own eyes. Hettly had seen him

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on the lawn, passing in the
faint gray light through the mist into the

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summerhouse where the girl had just preceded
him. He had not seen her face,

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but he had seen the skirt sweep
round the corner of the wooden pillar.

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He had not waited to see them
come out again. So he now

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lay wondering what role his old friend
was playing in this little intrigue. That

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their hostess, missus blondin helped to
stage, and oddly enough, one minor

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details headed in his mind with a
curious vividness as naturalist hunter nature lover.

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The cry of that strange bird,
with its three mournful notes, perplexed him

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exceedingly. A knock came at his
door, and the door pushed open.

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Before he had time to answer,
Dean himself came in. Wise man,

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he exclaimed in an easy tone,
got off to bed. Iris was asking

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where you were. He sat down
on the edge of the mattress where Hedley

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was lying with a cigarette and an
open book he had not read. The

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old sense of intimacy and comradeship rose
in the latter's heart. Doubt and suspicion

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faded. He prized his great friendship. He met the familiar eyes. Impossible,

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he said to himself, Absolutely impossible. He's not playing a game.

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He's not a rotter. He pushed
over his cigarette case and Arthur lighted one.

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Done in, he remarked shortly with
the first puff. Can't stand it

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anymore. I'm off to town tomorrow. Headley stared in amazement. Set up

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already, he asked, why,
I rather like it. It's quite amusing.

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What's wrong, old man? This
match making, said Dean, bluntly,

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always throwing that girl at my head. If it's not the duck shooting

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stunt at three am, it's something
else. She doesn't care for me,

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and I don't care for her.
Besides, he stopped, and the expression

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of his face changed. Suddenly.
A sad, quiet look of tender yearning

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came into his clear brown eyes.
You know, Dick, he went on

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in a low, half reverent tone. I don't want to marry I never

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can. Dick's heart stirred within him, Mary, he said understandingly. The

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other nodded, as though the memories
were still too much for him. I'm

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still miserably lonely for her, he
said, can't help it. Simply,

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I feel utterly lost without her.
Her memory to me is everything. He

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looked deep into his pal's eyes.
I'm married to that, he added,

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very firmly. They pulled their cigarettes
a moment in silence. They belonged to

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the male type that conceals a motion
behind schoolboy language. It's hard luck,

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said Headley gently. Rotten luck,
old man, I understand. Arthur's head

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nodded several times in succession as he
smoked. He made no remark for some

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minutes. Then presently, he said, as though it had no particular importance,

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for thus old friends show frankness to
each other. Besides, anyhow,

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it's you the girl's dying for,
not me. She's blind, it's a

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bad old blond, and even when
I'm with her, thrust with her by

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that old matchmaker, for my sins, it's you. She talks about.

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All the talk leads up to you
and yours. She's devilish fond of you.

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He paused a moment and looked searchingly
into his friend's face. A sailed

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man, are you I mean,
do you mean business there? Because excuse

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me interfering, But you'd better be
careful. She's a good sort, you

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know, after all. Yes,
Arthur, I do like her a bit,

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Dick told him frankly. But I
can't make up my mind quite.

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You see, it's like this,
And they talked the matter over his old

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friend's will, until finally Arthur chucked
his cigarette into the grate and got up

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to go dead to the world,
he said with a yawn. I'm off

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to bed. Give you a chance
too, he added with a laugh.

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It was after midnight. The other
turned as though something had suddenly occurred.

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To him by the bye, Arthur, he said, abruptly, what bird

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makes this sound? He heard it
the other morning? Most extraordinary cry?

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You know everything that flies? What
is it? And to the best of

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his ability he imitated the strange three
note cry he had heard in the dawn

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two mornings before. To his amazement
and keen distress, his friend, with

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a sound like a stifled groan,
sat down upon the bed without a word.

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He seemed startled. His face was
white. He stared. He passed

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a hand as in pain, across
his forehead. Do it again, he

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whispered, in a hushed, nervous
voice, once again for me, and

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Hedley, looking at him, repeated
the queer notes, a sudden revulsion of

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feeling rising through him. He's fooling
me, after all, ran in his

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heart, my old old pal.
There was silence for a whole minute.

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Then Arthur, stammering a bit,
said lamely, a certain hush in his

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voice. Still, where in the
world did you hear that? And when

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Dick Headley sat up in bed,
he was not going to lose this friendship,

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which to him was more than the
love of woman. He must help

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his pal was in distress and difficulty
there were circumstances he realized that might be

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too strong for the best man in
the world. Sometimes, no, by

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God, he would play the game
and help him out. Arthur Old Chap

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he said, affectionately, almost tenderly. I heard it two mornings ago on

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the lawn below my window. Here. It woke me up. I I

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00:16:23,279 --> 00:16:30,000
went to look three in the morning
about Arthur amazed him. Then he first

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00:16:30,039 --> 00:16:33,360
took another cigarette and lit it steadily. He looked round the room, vaguely,

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00:16:33,399 --> 00:16:38,120
avoiding, it seemed, the other's
eyes. Then he turned pain in

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00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:45,080
his face and gazed straight at him. You saw nothing, he asked,

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in a louder voice, but a
voice that had something very real and true

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00:16:48,519 --> 00:16:52,679
in it. It reminded headly of
the voice he heard when he was fainting

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from exhaustion, and Arthur had said, take it, I tell you I'm

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00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:02,279
all right, and it passed over
the floor as though his own throat and

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00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,559
sight and heart were black with thirst. It was a voice that had command

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in it, a voice that did
not lie because it could not yet did

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00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:18,559
lie, and could lie when occasion
warranted. Hedley knew a second's awful struggle.

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Nothing, he answered quietly, after
his little pause. Why for perhaps

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00:17:25,799 --> 00:17:30,640
two minutes his friend hit his face. Then he looked up. Only he

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00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:36,960
whispered, because that was our secret
lover's cry. It seems so strange you

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00:17:37,039 --> 00:17:41,440
heard it and not I. I
felt her so close of late Mary.

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The white face held very steady,
the firm lips did not tremble. But

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it was evident that the heart in
you anguish. That was deep and poignant.

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00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,279
We used it to call each other
in the old days. It was

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our private call. No one else
in the world knew it but Mary and

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myself. Hedley was flabbergasted. He
had no time to think. However,

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00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:07,799
it's odd you should hear it and
not I, his friend repeated. He

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00:18:07,839 --> 00:18:15,519
looked hurt, bewildered, wounded.
Then suddenly his face brightened. I know,

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he cried. Suddenly, you and
I are pretty good pals. There's

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a tie between us and all that
why it's tell telepathy or whatever they call

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00:18:25,559 --> 00:18:30,799
it. That's what it is.
He got up abruptly. Dick could think

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of nothing to say but to repeat
the other's words. Of course, of

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course, that's it, he said, telepathy. He stared anywhere but at

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his pal. Night night he heard
from the door and before he could do

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00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,960
more than reply in similar vein,
Arthur was gone. He lay you for

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00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,400
a long time, thinking, thinking. He found it all very strange.

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Arthur in this emotional state was new
to him. He turned it over and

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over. Well, he had known
good men behave queerly when wrought up.

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00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,720
That recognition of the bird's cry was
strange, of course, but he knew

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00:19:08,759 --> 00:19:11,839
the cry of a bird when he
heard it, though he might not know

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00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:18,119
the actual bird. That was no
human whistle Arthur was inventing. No,

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00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:25,119
that was not possible. He was
worked up then over something a bit hysterical

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00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,920
perhaps, And it happened before,
though in a milder way. When his

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00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:32,759
heart attacks came on. They affected
his nerves and head a little. It

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00:19:32,839 --> 00:19:37,000
seemed he was a deep sort.
Dick remembered, thought turned and twisted in

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00:19:37,079 --> 00:19:42,359
him, offering various solutions, some
absurd, some likely. He was a

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00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:48,319
nervous, high strung fellow underneath Arthur
was. He remembered that. Also.

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He remembered anxiously again that his heart
was not quite sound. Though what that

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00:19:52,759 --> 00:19:56,599
had to do with the present tangle
he did not see. Yet. It

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00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:02,319
was hardly likely that he would bring
in Mary as an invention, an excuse

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Mary the most sacred memory in his
life, the deepest, truest best.

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He had sworn anyhow, that Iris
Manning meant nothing to him. Through all

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00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:19,079
his speculations, behind every thought ran
this horrid, working jealousy. It poisoned

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00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:23,720
him. It twisted truth. It
moved like a wicked snake through mind and

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00:20:23,799 --> 00:20:30,000
heart. Arthur, gripped by his
new absorbing love for Iris Manning, lied,

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00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,640
He couldn't believe it. He didn't
believe it. He wouldn't believe it.

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Yet jealousy persisted in keeping the idea
alive in him. It was a

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dreadful thought. He fell asleep on
it, but his sleep was uneasy,

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00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,799
with feverish, unpleasant dreams that rambled
on in fragments without coming to conclusion.

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Then suddenly, the cry of the
strange bird came into his dream. He

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00:20:55,799 --> 00:21:00,440
started, turned over, woke up. The cry still continued. It was

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not a dream. He jumped out
of bed. The room was gray with

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00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:11,799
early morning, the air fresh in
a little chill. The cry came floating

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00:21:11,839 --> 00:21:15,359
over the lawn as before. He
looked out, pain clutching at his heart.

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Two figures stood below, a man
and a girl, and the man

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00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:25,880
was Arthur Dean. Yet the light
was so dim, the morning being overcast,

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that had he not expected to see
his friend, he would scarcely have

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recognized the familiar form in that shadowy
outline that stood close beside the girl.

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Nor could he perhaps ever recognized iris
manning. Their backs were to him.

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They moved away, disappearing again into
the little summerhouse, and this time he

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saw it beyond question the two were
hand in hand. Vague and uncertain as

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00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,440
the figures were in the early twilight, he was sure of that the first

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00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:03,000
disagreeable sensation of surprise discussed anger that
sickened him, turned quickly, however,

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00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:08,839
into one of another kind Altogether,
A curious feeling of superstitious dread crept over

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him, and a shiver ran again
along his nerves. Hello, Arthur,

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00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:19,279
he called from the window. There
was no answer. His voice was certainly

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audible in the summerhouse, but no
one came. He repeated the call a

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00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:30,559
little louder. Waited in vain for
thirty seconds. Then came the same moment

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00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,559
to a decision that even surprised himself, for the truth was he could no

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longer bear the suspense of waiting.
He must see his friend at once and

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have it out with him. He
turned and went deliberately down the corridor to

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00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:48,519
Dean's bedroom. He would wait there
for his return and know the truth from

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his own lips. But also another
thought had come. The gun. He

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00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,000
had quite forgotten it. The safety
catch was out of order. He had

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00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:03,240
not warned him. He found the
door closed but not locked. Opening it

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00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:07,359
cautiously, he went in, but
the unexpectedness of what he saw gave him

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00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:12,519
a genuine shock. He could hardly
suppress a cry. Everything in the room

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00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:18,319
was neat and orderly, no sign
of disturbance anywhere, and was not empty.

289
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,640
There in bed, before his very
eyes was Arthur. The clothes were

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00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,279
turned back a little. He saw
the pajamas opened at the throat. He

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00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:33,880
lay sound asleep, deeply, peacefully
asleep. So surprised, indeed was heavily

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00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:40,000
that after staring a moment, almost
unable to believe his sight, he then

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00:23:40,079 --> 00:23:44,599
put out a hand and touched him
gently, cautiously on the forehead. But

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00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,440
Arthur did not stir or wing.
His breathing remained deep and regular. He

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00:23:48,519 --> 00:23:53,839
lay sleeping like a baby. Edley
glanced round the room, noticed the gun

296
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,680
in the corner, where he himself
had put it the day before, and

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00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:03,279
then went out, closing the door
behind him softly. Arthur Dean, however,

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00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:07,160
did not leave for London as he
had intended, because he felt unwell

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00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,759
and kept to his room upstairs.
It was only a slight attack, apparently,

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00:24:11,839 --> 00:24:15,400
but he must lie quiet. There
was no need to send for a

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00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,960
doctor. He knew just what to
do. These passing attacks were common enough.

302
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:23,559
He would be up and about again
very shortly. Hedley kept him company,

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00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,880
saying no single word of what had
happened. He read aloud to him,

304
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,680
chatted and cheered him up. He
had no other visitors. Within twenty

305
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,200
four hours he was himself once more. He and his friend had planned to

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00:24:37,279 --> 00:24:42,000
leave the following day, but Headley
that last night in the house felt an

307
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,240
odd uneasiness and could not sleep.
All night long, he sat up reading,

308
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,519
looking out of the window, smoking
in a chair where he could see

309
00:24:51,519 --> 00:24:55,559
the stars and hear the wind,
and watched the huge shadow of the downs.

310
00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,279
The house lay very still as the
hours passed. He dozed once or

311
00:25:00,319 --> 00:25:04,400
twice. Why did he sit up
in this unnecessary way? Why do you

312
00:25:04,599 --> 00:25:08,680
leave his door, Ajar, so
that the slightest sound of another door opening,

313
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:14,440
or of steps passing along the corridor
must reach him. Was he anxious

314
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,880
for his friend? Was he suspicious? What was his motive? What his

315
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,920
secret purpose? Headley did not know, and could not even explain it to

316
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,880
himself. He felt uneasy. That
was all he knew. Not for worlds

317
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,000
would he have let himself go to
sleep or lose full consciousness that night?

318
00:25:33,599 --> 00:25:38,160
It was very odd. He could
not understand himself. He merely obeyed a

319
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,920
strange, deep instinct that bade him
wait and watch. His nerves were jumpy,

320
00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:52,480
and his heart lay some inexplicable anxiety
that was pain. The dawn came

321
00:25:52,559 --> 00:25:56,759
slowly, The stars faded one by
one. The line of the downs showed

322
00:25:56,759 --> 00:26:02,480
their grand, bare curves against the
sky, cool and cloudless. The September

323
00:26:02,519 --> 00:26:07,079
morning broke above the little Sussex Pleasure
House. He sat and watched the east

324
00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:11,920
grow bright. The early wind brought
a scent of marshes and the sea into

325
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:18,359
his room. Then suddenly it brought
a sound as well, the haunting cry

326
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,240
of the bird, with its three
following notes. And this time there came

327
00:26:22,279 --> 00:26:26,759
an answer. Hedley knew then why
he had sat up. A wave of

328
00:26:26,799 --> 00:26:32,319
emotion swept him as he heard an
emotion he could not attempt to explain.

329
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,519
Dread, wonder, longing seized him. For some seconds. He could not

330
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,119
leave his chair because he did not
dare to. The low pitched cries of

331
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:48,000
call and answer rang in his ears
like some unearthly music. With an effort,

332
00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:52,240
he started up, went to the
window and looked out. This time,

333
00:26:52,279 --> 00:26:55,599
the light was sharp and clear,
no mist hung in the air.

334
00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:02,599
He saw the crimsoning sky reflected a
band of shining metal in the reach of

335
00:27:02,799 --> 00:27:07,960
river. Beyond the lawn, he
saw dew on the grass a sheet of

336
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:12,640
pallid silver. He saw the summer
house empty of any passing figures. For

337
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:17,720
this time. The two figures stood
plainly in view before his eyes upon the

338
00:27:17,839 --> 00:27:23,319
lawn. They stood there, hand
in hand, sharply defined, unmistakable in

339
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:27,920
form and outline. Their faces,
moreover turned upwards to the window where he

340
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,000
stood, staring down in pain and
amazement at them, At Arthur, Dean

341
00:27:34,039 --> 00:27:40,119
and Mary. They looked into his
eyes. He tried to call, but

342
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,640
no sound left his throat. They
began to move across the dew soaked lawn.

343
00:27:45,759 --> 00:27:48,839
They went, he saw, with
a floating, undulating motion towards the

344
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:53,200
river, shining in the dawn.
Their feet left no marks upon the grass.

345
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,680
They reached the bank, but did
not pause in their going. They

346
00:27:57,799 --> 00:28:03,839
rose a little, loading like silent
birds, across the river. Turning in

347
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:08,279
midstream, they smiled towards him,
waved their hands with a gesture of farewell.

348
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:15,240
Then rising still higher into the open
dawn, their figures passed into the

349
00:28:15,279 --> 00:28:21,160
distance, slowly melting away against the
sunlit marshes and the shadowing downs beyond,

350
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:27,640
they disappeared. Headley never quite remembers
actually leaving the window, crossing the room,

351
00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:33,400
or going down the passage. Perhaps
he went at once. Perhaps he

352
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,960
stood gazing into the air above the
downs for a considerable time, unable to

353
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:42,079
tear himself away. He was in
some marvelous dream, it seemed. The

354
00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:45,880
next thing he remembers, at any
rate, was that he was standing beside

355
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:51,720
his friend's bed, trying, in
his distraught anguish of heart, to call

356
00:28:51,839 --> 00:28:59,839
him from that sleep which on earth
knows no awakening, and of the call