ought, the least bit
conscious and constrained, and said that if I would come in with him he
would show me my room. In looking back upon these first moments of my
visit to him, I find it important to avoid the error of appearing to
have understood his situation from the first, and to have seen in him
the signs of things which I learnt only afterwards. This later knowledge
throws a backward light, and makes me forget that at least on the
occasion of which I am speaking now (I mean that first afternoon), Mark
Ambient struck me as a fortunate man. Allowing for this, I think he was
rather silent and irresponsive as we walked back to the house, though I
remember well the answer he made to a remark of mine in relation to his
child.

"That's an extraordinary little boy of yours," I said. "I have never
seen such a child."

"Why do you call him extraordinary?"

"He's so beautiful, so fascinating. He's like a little work of art."

He turned quickly, grasping my arm an instant. "Oh, don't call him that,
or you 'll--you 'll--!"

And in his hesitation he broke off suddenly, laughing at my surprise.
But immediately afterwards he added, "You will make his little future
very difficult."

I declared that I wouldn't for the world take any liberties with his
little future--it seemed to me to hang by threads of such delicacy. I
should only be highly interested in watching it.

"You Americans are very sharp," said Ambient "You notice more things
than we do."

"Ah, if you want visitors who are not struck with you, you should n't
ask me down here!"

He showed me my room, a little bower of chintz, with open windows where
the light was green, and before he left me he said irrelevantly, "As for
my little boy, you know, we shall probably kill him between us, before
wo have done with him!" And he made this assertion as if he
really believed it, without any appearance of jest, with his fine,
near-sighted, expressive eyes looking straight into mine.

"Do you mean by spoiling him?"

"No; by fighting for him!"

"You had better give him to me to keep for you," I said. "Let me remove
the apple of discord."

I laughed, of course, but he had the air of being perfectly serious.
"It would be quite the best thing we could do. I should be quite ready
to do it."

"I am greatly obliged to you for your confidence."

Mark Ambient lingered there, with his hands in his pockets. I felt,
within a few moments, as if I had, morally speaking, taken