ur thoroughly enjoyed this desolating trip. The specialist talked
vaguely, leaving her nothing but the faintest gleam of hope. There
were more things in heaven and earth, he said, than were dreamed of in
the philosophy of the most distinguished alienists. He talked
indefinitely of internal secretions. It was possible, he said--and
underlined the word--possible, just barely possible, that in a year or
two--to put it bluntly, at the time of puberty--the boy's disposition
might suddenly and unaccountably change. He implored her not to count
on it, and assured her that, for the present, medical science could do
no more. If, by any chance, his prophecy should be fulfilled, he
begged Mrs. Payne to let him know. The case, if she would pardon the
use of this objectionable word, was one of the greatest professional
interest.

She took Arthur back to Overton and waited desperately. Tutor
succeeded tutor. Each of them found Arthur charming and impossible.
For herself she saw no change in him that was not physical. By this
time she had abandoned any idea of finding him a profession. At the
same time, she was anxious to make him capable of managing the Overton
estate, and though she dared not send him to one of the ordinary
agricultural colleges for fear of a repetition, on a larger scale, of
the Cheltenham disaster, she thought that it might be possible to find
a capable land-agent who would give him some kind of training and put
up with his idiosyncrasy for the sake of a substantial fee.

While searching for a suitable instructor she happened to see
Considine's advertisement. The fact that he gave the name of a great
landowner, Lord Halberton, as a reference, convinced her that the
opportunity was genuine, and the prospectus promised instruction in all
the subjects that would be most useful to Arthur. The fact that only a
small number of pupils was to be taken, and that the place should be
regarded as a friendly country-house rather than as a school, attracted
her; but the part of the advertisement that finally persuaded her to a
faint glimmer of hope was Considine's artfully worded final paragraph:
"Special care is given to backward or difficult pupils."

Like all sufferers from incurable diseases she was only too ready to
place confidence in any person who laid claim to special knowledge.
She began to wonder if Considine was such a specialist. She wrote to
him, looking for a miracle to save her from her afflictio