They Return
The party returns from the hillside in disorder, each member having “lost” someone or something. Mr. Beebe has lost everyone and eaten the tea alone; Mr. Emerson cannot find George; Miss Bartlett has lost her mackintosh square; and Phaethon has lost the game. The narrator reflects that Phaethon alone divined the truth of what passed between Lucy and George. Miss Bartlett reassures herself that the real danger lies not with cabmen but with drawing-room people like Mr. Eager, who eyes Lucy with vague suspicion during the descent.
Phaethon Demands Immediate Departure
Still smarting from defeat, Phaethon climbs onto the box shivering and demands their immediate departure, announcing that “the signorino will walk” behind. Mr. Beebe protests that the boy will be hours. Phaethon refuses to look at anyone, mortified that he alone had used his instinct and read the message of the dying man—knowledge the uncomprehending English gained too late.
Stormy Ride and Tram Accident
Rain and darkness overtake the carriages. Mr. Eager lectures Lucy on the blasphemy of fearing the elements, while beneath the rug Miss Bartlett presses Lucy’s hand in a sympathetic gesture that costs her little but means much. When they stop, Miss Bartlett sends Mr. Eager away and offers Phaethon a franc, which he accepts with a “Va bene.” An explosion up the road reveals a tram support has fallen; the group treats the near-miss as miraculous and embraces in a flood of feeling. Mr. Eager calls it “typical behaviour” for the Emersons to break down in reality, but Lucy knows Phaethon saw everything.
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