That dog pays tribute to our success, he
said.
They had the air of dull, but obedientpupils, with
their eyes chained to their master.
That is the only wordby which to describe his face.
Anyhow, after a hecticafternoon of argument, Dilling consented. I had lost the
hopelessnesswhich had accompanied my contemplations of the previous day. Being well
read, he no doubttalked intelligently on the Minoan civilisation.
The Anatilla has Glaubsteins behind it, and
canafford to wait. I want to get my teethinto decent beef again
There you will seewords written, but only for one
second.
About that there were some puzzles which I could
not solve.
And then I heard a movement in my sitting-room,
andturned away from the window. We sat in a semicircle round the Professor. He
wouldlike, however, to realise some of his South African holdings.
He had been shooting inNorfolk, and had been
dragged up to an urgent conference.
In theUrals, of course, the home of all minerals,
but there the depositswere little worked. I heard the word Now, croaked with what
must have been his lastbreath. Our minds seemed to have jolted outof
focus.
When they reachedBulawayo and he crawled out of his
seat he could scarcely stand.
In the retrospect I cannotremember his argument,
but he convinced me absolutely . He could not afford to waste time in
bed.
As I walked back to my rooms Ihad two clear
impressions in my mind.
I kept trying as a desperate duty tomake my mind
function a little on its own account.
But we have assets the othersdont
possess.
From that hour I date my complete conversion. Not
for a moment did any of us think him mad. Moe had cast a stronger spell over the
othersthan over myself.
Then, in the beginning of theMichaelmas term,
fortune brought us together.
There you will seewords written, but only for one
second.
I dare say I could haveunderstood one of The Times
leaders. I kept trying as a desperate duty tomake my mind function a little on its
own account. They had obviously started on the road which was tolead to a great
combine. I feltthe spell, and consciously struggled against it. I agreed willingly,
for I had taken a strong likingto Tavanger. The fly fell onthe water as lightly as
thistledown, but it was many inches awayfrom the fishs nose.
He was flying a newtype of light machine, and he
wanted as his companion a skilledmechanic.
A sudden longing woke inme, as if these things were
slipping away. Tonightat dinner I could have boxed Charles Otterys ears.