answer. He walked to the window and stood there, peering
out at the trees in the garden. A taxi-cab drove up to the door and
presently Ninian came bounding up the stairs to tell them of its
arrival.

"Tell him to wait," said Gilbert, and Ninian hurried back to do so. "If
you won't choose your suits yourself," he went on to Henry, "I shall
have to do it for you. Socks, socks, where the hell do you keep your
socks?..."

It seemed to Henry that he could see Cecily's face shining out of the
darkness. He could feel her arms about him and hear her beautiful voice
telling him that she loved him. "I won't go," he said to himself. "I
won't go!..."

"If you'd only help to pack, we'd save heaps of money," Gilbert
grumbled. "It's sickening to think of that taxi sitting out there
totting up tuppences. Come and sit on the lid of this trunk, will you?"

Henry did not move from the window. Gilbert straightened himself. For a
moment or two he could not see clearly because he was giddy with
stooping. Then he crossed the room and took hold of Henry's arm.

"Come on, Quinny," he said, pulling him towards the trunk.

"What's the good of fussing like this, Gilbert, when I've told you I
won't go...."

"Well, sit on the trunk anyhow. I may as well close the thing now I've
filled it...."

9

He called Ninian, and between them they carried the luggage downstairs
to the cab.

"Now then, Quinny!" said Gilbert.

"I'm not going, I tell you...."

"Get into the cab, damn you. Go on!"

He shoved him forward so that he almost fell against the step of the
taxi, and Ninian caught hold of him, and they lifted him and heaved him
into the taxi.

"Get in, Ninian," said Gilbert. He turned and shouted up the hall to
Roger. "Come on, Roger! You'd better come and see us off!"

None of them spoke during the short drive to Euston. Henry sulked in a
corner of the cab, telling himself that it was monstrous of Gilbert to
treat him in this fashion, and vowing that nothing would induce him to
get into the train ... and then, his mind veering again, telling himself
that perhaps it would be a good thing to go to Ireland for a while.
Cecily had chopped and changed with him. Why should he not chop and
change with her?... Neither Ninian nor Roger made any remark on the
peculiarity of the journey to Ireland. They had known in the morning
that Gilbert and Henry were going away that night, but it was clear that
something had happened since then, that Gilb