“We’re asleep and dreaming,” she repeated.  But the possibility which now suggested itself that one of the shapes might be the shape of Terence roused her from her melancholy lethargy.  She became as restless as she had been before she sat down.  She was no longer able to see the world as a town laid out beneath her.  It was covered instead by a haze of feverish red mist.  She had returned to the state in which she had been all day.  Thinking was no escape.  Physical movement was the only refuge, in and out of rooms, in and out of people’s minds, seeking she knew not what.  Therefore she rose, pushed back the table, and went downstairs.  She went out of the hall door, and, turning the corner of the hotel, found herself among the people whom she had seen from the window.  But owing to the broad sunshine after shaded passages, and to the substance of living people after dreams, the group appeared with startling intensity, as though the dusty surface had been peeled off everything, leaving only the reality and the instant.  It had the look of a vision printed on the dark at night.  White and grey and purple figures were scattered on the green, round wicker tables, in the middle the flame of the tea-urn made the air waver like a faulty sheet of glass, a massive green tree stood over them as if it were a moving force held at rest.  As she approached, she could hear Evelyn’s voice repeating monotonously, “Here then—­here—­good doggie, come here”; for a moment nothing seemed to happen; it all stood still, and then she realised that one of the figures was Helen Ambrose; and the dust again began to settle.

The group indeed had come together in a miscellaneous way; one tea-table joining to another tea-table, and deck-chairs serving to connect two groups.  But even at a distance it could be seen that Mrs. Flushing, upright and imperious, dominated the party.  She was talking vehemently to Helen across the table.

“Ten days under canvas,” she was saying.  “No comforts.  If you want comforts, don’t come.  But I may tell you, if you don’t come you’ll regret it all your life.  You say yes?”

At this moment Mrs. Flushing caught sight of Rachel.

“Ah, there’s your niece.  She’s promised.  You’re coming, aren’t you?” Having adopted the plan, she pursued it with the energy of a child.

Rachel took her part with eagerness.

“Of course I’m coming.  So are you, Helen.  And Mr. Pepper too.”  As she sat she realised that she was surrounded by people she knew, but that Terence was not among them.  From various angles people began saying what they thought of the proposed expedition.  According to some it would be hot, but the nights would be cold; according to others, the difficulties would lie rather in getting a boat, and in speaking the language.  Mrs. Flushing disposed of all objections, whether due to man or due to nature, by announcing that her husband would settle all that.

Meanwhile Mr. Flushing quietly explained to Helen that the expedition was really a simple matter; it took five days at the outside; and the place—­a native village—­was certainly well worth seeing before she returned to England.  Helen murmured ambiguously, and did not commit herself to one answer rather than to another.