The Wooden Horse

was waiting f

uffled beat of the mining-stamps from Porth-Vennic, a village that lay two miles inland. There yet lingered in the air the faint afterglow of the sunset,

ously; the dark blue of the walls and thick Persian carpets sounded a quieter note, but the general effect was of something distantly, coldly su

ely, something suggestive of roaring fires and cosy armchairs, instead of the stiff-backed, beautifully carved Louis XIV. furniture th

s though longing to enter, but the dazzling brilliance of the room

e of his tie; and it was characteristic of him that, although he had not seen his father for eig

lled by the Trojans themselves family pride; a high, well-shaped forehead with hair closely cut and of a dark brown. He was considered by most people handsome-but to some his eyes, of

m with regard to the world in general-"We are Trojans; we are very old and very expensive and v

structed out of monthly rather uninteresting letters concerned, for the most part, with the care and maintenance of New Zealand sheep, and such meagre details as his Aunt Clare and Uncle Garrett had bestowed on him from time to time. From the

ing when he was two years old, he had been sent home to be br

quarter to seven and no one had appeared. There was probably not time to search for another tie. His father would be certain to arrive at the very moment when one tie was on and the other not yet on, which meant that Robin would be late; and if there was one thing that a Trojan hated more than another it was being late. With

his tie to remain and wa

He wondered how much his father would notice. "As he's a Trojan," he thought, "he'll know the s

and, if this one were properly manoeuvred, he ought to be its very interest

open, and Sir Jeremy Trojan, Robin's

re never still; but, for the rest, he scarcely moved. His skin was dried and brown like a mummy's, and even when he spoke, his lips hardly stirred. He was in eveni

Robin always shouted at his grandfather although he knew perfectly well that he was not deaf, but could, on the other hand, hear w

y, "one would think that I was deaf. Be

ve done it before." Sir Jeremy said nothing-it was impossible to guess at

big open stone fireplace, and he lay there, m

ame in a m

in, still twisting uneasily at hi

Garrett had spoken this morning of the room b

the fluttering yellow light, the sparkling silver of the stars, t

once, but there was also an air of indifference, a look in the eyes that seemed to pique men's curiosity and stir their interest. It was not for lack of opportunity that she was still unmarried, but she had never discovered the man who had virtue and merit sufficient to cover the obvious disadvantages of his not having been born a Trojan. Middle age suited the

hose windows open till the last moment. Robin, you

Father will be here at any moment. It's late as it is. Yes, I told Marchant to shut th

d across to her father and

the rose at her breast and was obviously thinking mo

d hungry," sa

Anyhow you've got no right to be hungry at a quarter to seven

f Trojan would behave in the face of the world. It was so very important that the house should not be in any way let down, that the dignity with which it had invariably conducted its affairs for t

ighteen years she had educated him in all the Trojan laws and traditions, the things that a Trojan must speak and do and think, and he had faithfully responded to her instruction. He was in every way everything that a Trojan should be; b

o yield her place to another, but perhaps, after all, Robin would be

ence. "Unfortunately he can only stop for a few days. His paper on 'Pat

uite good form to be enthusiastic; it was apt to lead you into rather

e mantelpiece. "The train is shockingly late. On 'Pater' you said! I must try and get t

slight squint in the right eye. He walked slowly, and always gave the impression that he saw nothing of his su

dressing no one in particular. "

accepted as an answer. "Robin, your tie is atrocious," he continued,

e near Sir Jeremy; Garrett read to the end of the paragraph and folded the paper on his knee; Robin fingered his watc

ustified his existence. Harry had certainly done several things since then that justified his existence; he had, for one thing, made a fortune, and that was not so easily done nowadays.

had heard the carriage-wheels at all; he lay m

s as of one who is ready to die to serve you, and then another voice

heard on the stairs, and, in a moment, Beldam himself appeared-"Mr. Hen

de a ste

ld boy-a

g forward, crushed her in his arms, crushed her dress, crushed the beau

ter twent

l smiling, but she touched the rose for

ather. The old man made no movement and gave no sign, but he said, his

stammer answered, "I am gladder to

eared from behind the rugs, an

much changed, Harry," he said with a

shoulder. "It's splendid to see you again. I'd almost forgotten what y

ands with Sir Jeremy was, in some unexplained way, a little odd and out of place. He was big and strong; his hair curled a little and was dark brown, like Robin's, and his eyes were blue, but, in other respects, there was very little

your coat off and your shirt open at the neck; but here, in that drawing-room, it was a pity, Robin

ally had been quite moving to see him kiss Clare like

in?" sai

" said Garrett, laughing,

that, and what a pity it was that his tie was sticking out at one end so much farther than at the other. He felt his hand seized and crushed i

y. How he hated sentiment! He felt sure

his hands on his shoulders. "Pretty different from the nipper tha

"you'll go and dress, won't you? Father'

I won't be long. It's

ight in his eyes that told of dreams at length fulfilled, and hopes, long and wearily postponed, at last realised. He had filled that stiff, sole

My poor rose," she said, looking at some of the pet

said Garrett. It sou

o change his tie-he had sai

nothing, and that it was only yesterday that he had passed down that same way, his heart full of rage against his father, his one longing to get out and away to other countries where he should be his own master and win his own freedom. And now that he was back again, now that he had seen what that freedom meant, now that he had tasted that same will-o'-the-wisp liberty, how thankful he was to

ep of the Cornish coast far out to Land's End itself, and the gulls whirring with hoarse cries over his head as he leant out to view the little cove nestling at the foot of th

icious feeling of comfort: the log-fire burning in the open brown-tiled fireplace, the softness of the carpets, the electric

ng his dress-clo

almost a little shy; it was so long

remember me, sir, I expect. I was quite a youngster when you w

eady look in the eyes that meant so much; yes, there was no doubt about his son. He remembered Robin's mother with affectionate tenderness; she had been the daughter of a doctor in Auckland-he had fallen in love with her at once and married her, although his prospects had been so bad. They had been very happy, and then, when Robin was two years old, she had died; the boy had been sent home, and he had been alone again-for eighteen years he had been alone. There had been other women, of course; he did not pretend to have been a saint, and women had liked him and been rather sorry for him in those early years; but they had none of them been very much to him, only episodes-the central f

hen he had been away from home for some ten years, the longing to see his boy had grown too strong to be resisted, and he had written to his father asking for permission to return. He had received a cold answer from Garrett, saying that Sir Jeremy thought

ut one thought in his heart-love for all the world, one overwhelming desire to take his place amongst them decently, worthily, so that they might see that the wastrel of twenty years ago had developed into a man, able to tak

good and smart in Auckland, but in England it was rather different. He almost wished that he had stayed in London for two days and been properly fitted by a tailor. But

be quick. He finished his dressing hurriedly, t

a little tune, and smelling that same sweet scent of dried rose leaves that he had known so well when he was a small boy. He cou

lock that had stood there, in the same place of honour, for the last hundred years. He passed over to the windows and flung them open; the hum of the town came, with the cold night air, into

mining-stamps, that peculiar scent as of precious spices coming with the wind of the sea, as

own as though he were saluting it again, tenderly, j

were open-how annoying when Aunt Clare had especially asked that the

iced, so he coughed

he said. "Oh! I don't suppose you see it now, after having been here all this time; you want to go away for

all that enthusiasm that was almost a little vulgar. Of course, it was natural, after being away so lo

his chair, followed

e a littl

" she cried. "

laughing. "The town looked so splendi

aland, because you're always outside in the Bush or something. But here we're as shiv

nd down the hall. There was no dou

oors he gripped Harry's hand. "I'm damn

windows and turned out the lights. The room was in d