to prevent Chad from living; but he was quite aware that even if
he had he would himself have thoroughly gone to pieces. It was in truth
essentially by bringing down his personal life to a function all subsidiary to
the young man's own that he held together. And the great point, above all, the
sign of how completely Chad possessed the knowledge in question, was that one
thus became, not only with a proper cheerfulness, but with wild native impulses,
the feeder of his stream. Their talk had accordingly not lasted three minutes
without Strether's feeling basis enough for the excitement in which he had
waited. This overflow fairly deepened, wastefully abounded, as he observed the
smallness of anything corresponding to it on the part of his friend. That was
exactly this friend's happy case; he put out his excitement, or whatever other
emotion the matter involved, as he put out his washing; than which no
arrangement could make more for domestic order. It was quite for Strether
himself in short to feel a personal analogy with the laundress bringing home the
triumphs of the mangle.
    When he had reported on Sarah's visit, which he did very fully, Chad
answered his question with perfect candour. »I positively referred her to you -
told her she must absolutely see you. This was last night, and it all took place
in ten minutes. It was our first free talk - really the first time she had
tackled me. She knew I also knew what her line had been with yourself; knew
moreover how little you had been doing to make anything difficult for her. So I
spoke for you frankly - assured her you were all at her service. I assured her I
was too,« the young man continued; »and I pointed out how she could perfectly,
at any time, have got at me. Her difficulty has been simply her not finding the
moment she fancied.«
    »Her difficulty,« Strether returned, »has been simply that she finds she's
afraid of you. She's not afraid of me, Sarah, one little scrap; and it was just
because she has seen how I can fidget when I give my mind to it that she has
felt her best chance, rightly enough, to be in making me as uneasy as possible.
I think she's at bottom as pleased to have you put it on me as you yourself can
possibly be to put it.«
    »But what in the world, my dear man,« Chad enquired in objection to this
luminosity, »have I done