About the end of the month Cheriton himself appeared, duly armed with expert opinion, to see for himself. He was accompanied by Miss Burden and his fiancée, who was looking thin and unhappy. It was a beautiful day for the time of year; and in regard to his appearance, the happy wooer was as fastidious as usual. Never had he seemed more faultless in his attire or more scrupulously paternal in his demeanor. He looked long at the masterpiece, and he looked particularly.
“Lascelles, my good fellow,” said he, “I am forced to arrive at one conclusion. If you were to paint a thousand pictures, this is something you will never surpass.”
“Why do you think so?” said Jim.
“Because, my dear fellow, there is growth in it. You began it a callow stripling; you have finished it, shall I say, a strong man in the plenitude of his power. I have watched you and the picture grow together from month to month. It is given to no man to do that sort of thing twice.”
Jim Lascelles, however, was a robust young fellow—at least, it was his ideal to be so. He was apt to be on his guard against high-flown sentiment, yet he knew that Cheriton had spoken the truth.
“You are right,” he said simply. “That canvas has got all I have or all I ever shall have. I am older now than when I began it, and I hope I’m wiser.”
“Not wiser really, my dear fellow; we never get wiser. But you have found yourself. A great career lies before you.”
“You may be right,” said Jim, “or you may not be right, but either way it doesn’t matter.”
Cheriton inspected the young fellow with the greatest coolness and impartiality. There was no mistaking that the words were tragic. Cheriton’s penetration declared them to be so. He took some little time for reflection, and then he slowly drew a check out of his pocket-book with an air that was really unfathomable.
“There must be no misunderstanding, Lascelles,” said he, with an air that was brisk and businesslike. “There is every reason to believe that the picture of Miss Perry will prove a valuable property. But at the same time, I hold your promise that I may purchase it on my own terms. Is not that the case?”