pack would
distress him and bore him; he would go as he was. He could buy what
he needed. The shops--his kind of shops--were closed, and would remain
closed until Tuesday. Nevertheless, he would go. He could buy the
indispensable at Faulkner's establishment on the platform at Knype
railway-station, conveniently opposite the Five Towns Hotel. He
had determined to go to the Five Towns Hotel that night. He had no
immediate resources beyond the twenty pounds, but he would telegraph
to Batchgrew, who ad not yet transferred to him the inheritance, to
pay money into his bank early on Tuesday; if he were compelled to
draw a cheque he would cross it, and then it could not possibly be
presented before Wednesday morning.

At all costs he would go. His face was still plastered; but he would
go, and he would go far, no matter where! The chief thing was to go.
The world was calling him. The magic of the dubious scheme held him
fast. And in all other respects he was free--free as impulse. He would
go. He was not yet quite recovered, not quite strong.... Yes, he was
all right; he was very strong! And he would go.

He put on his hat and his spring overcoat. Then he thought of the
propriety of leaving a letter behind him--not for Rachel's sake, but
to insist on his own dignity and to spoil hers. He wrote the letter,
read it through with satisfaction, and quitted the house, shutting the
door cheerfully, but with a trembling hand. Lest he might meet Rachel
on her way home he went up the lane instead of down, and, finding
himself near the station, took a train to Knype--travelling first
class. The glorious estate of a bachelor was his once more.

II

The Five Towns Hotel stood theoretically in the borough of Hanbridge,
but in fact it was in neither Hanbridge nor Knype, but "opposite Knype
station," on the quiet side of Knype station, far away from any urban
traffic; the gross roar of the electric trams running between Knype
and Hanbridge could not be heard from the great portico of the hotel.
It is true that the hotel primarily existed on its proximity to the
railway centre of the Five Towns. But it had outgrown its historic
origin, and would have moderately flourished even had the North
Staffordshire railway been annihilated. By its sober grandeur and its
excellent cooking it had taken its place as the first hotel in the
district. It had actually no rival. Heroic, sublime efforts had been
made in the centre of Hanbridge to overth