“exactly
where
you
are
going
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
replied
Syme
shortly
,
“
I
am
going
to
prevent
this
bomb
being
thrown
in
Paris
.
”
“
Have
you
any
conception
how
?
”
inquired
the
other
.
“
No
,
”
said
Syme
with
equal
decision
.
“
You
remember
,
of
course
,
”
resumed
the
soi‑disant
de
Worms
,
pulling
his
beard
and
looking
out
of
the
window
,
“
that
when
we
broke
up
rather
hurriedly
the
whole
arrangements
for
the
atrocity
were
left
in
the
private
hands
of
the
Marquis
and
Dr.
Bull
.
The
Marquis
is
by
this
time
probably
crossing
the
Channel
.
But
where
he
will
go
and
what
he
will
do
it
is
doubtful
whether
even
the
President
knows
;
certainly
we
don’t
know
.
The
only
man
who
does
know
is
Dr.
Bull
.
“
Confound
it
!
”
cried
Syme
.
“
And
we
don’t
know
where
he
is
.
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
the
other
in
his
curious
,
absent‑minded
way
,
“
I
know
where
he
is
myself
.
”
“
Will
you
tell
me
?
”
asked
Syme
with
eager
eyes
.
“
I
will
take
you
there
,
”
said
the
Professor
,
and
took
down
his
own
hat
from
a
peg
.
Syme
stood
looking
at
him
with
a
sort
of
rigid
excitement
.
“
What
do
you
mean
?
”
he
asked
sharply
.
“
Will
you
join
me
?
Will
you
take
the
risk
?
”
“
Young
man
,
”
said
the
Professor
pleasantly
,
“
I
am
amused
to
observe
that
you
think
I
am
a
coward
.
As
to
that
I
will
say
only
one
word
,
and
that
shall
be
entirely
in
the
manner
of
your
own
philosophical
rhetoric
.
You
think
that
it
is
possible
to
pull
down
the
President
.
I
know
that
it
is
impossible
,
and
I
am
going
to
try
it
,
”
and
opening
the
tavern
door
,
which
let
in
a
blast
of
bitter
air
,
they
went
out
together
into
the
dark
streets
by
the
docks
.
Most
of
the
snow
was
melted
or
trampled
to
mud
,
but
here
and
there
a
clot
of
it
still
showed
grey
rather
than
white
in
the
gloom
.
The
small
streets
were
sloppy
and
full
of
pools
,
which
reflected
the
flaming
lamps
irregularly
,
and
by
accident
,
like
fragments
of
some
other
and
fallen
world
.
Syme
felt
almost
dazed
as
he
stepped
through
this
growing
confusion
of
lights
and
shadows
;
but
his
companion
walked
on
with
a
certain
briskness
,
towards
where
,
at
the
end
of
the
street
,
an
inch
or
two
of
the
lamplit
river
looked
like
a
bar
of
flame
.
“
Where
are
you
going
?
”
Syme
inquired
.
“
Just
now
,
”
answered
the
Professor
,
“
I
am
going
just
round
the
corner
to
see
whether
Dr.
Bull
has
gone
to
bed
.
He
is
hygienic
,
and
retires
early
.
”
“
Dr.
Bull
!
”
exclaimed
Syme
.
“
Does
he
live
round
the
corner
?
”
“
No
,
”
answered
his
friend
.
“
As
a
matter
of
fact
he
lives
some
way
off
,
on
the
other
side
of
the
river
,
but
we
can
tell
from
here
whether
he
has
gone
to
bed
.
”
Turning
the
corner
as
he
spoke
,
and
facing
the
dim
river
,
flecked
with
flame
,
he
pointed
with
his
stick
to
the
other
bank
.
On
the
Surrey
side
at
this
point
there
ran
out
into
the
Thames
,
seeming
almost
to
overhang
it
,
a
bulk
and
cluster
of
those
tall
tenements
,
dotted
with
lighted
windows
,
and
rising
like
factory
chimneys
to
an
almost
insane
height
.
Their
special
poise
and
position
made
one
block
of
buildings
especially
look
like
a
Tower
of
Babel
with
a
hundred
eyes
.
Syme
had
never
seen
any
of
the
sky‑scraping
buildings
in
America
,
so
he
could
only
think
of
the
buildings
in
a
dream
.
Even
as
he
stared
,
the
highest
light
in
this
innumerably
lighted
turret
abruptly
went
out
,
as
if
this
black
Argus
had
winked
at
him
with
one
of
his
innumerable
eyes
.
Professor
de
Worms
swung
round
on
his
heel
,
and
struck
his
stick
against
his
boot
.
“
We
are
too
late
,
”
he
said
,
“
the
hygienic
Doctor
has
gone
to
bed
.
”
“
What
do
you
mean
?
”
asked
Syme
.
“
Does
he
live
over
there
,
then
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
de
Worms
,
“
behind
that
particular
window
which
you
can’t
see
.
Come
along
and
get
some
dinner
.
We
must
call
on
him
to‑morrow
morning
.
”
Without
further
parley
,
he
led
the
way
through
several
by‑ways
until
they
came
out
into
the
flare
and
clamour
of
the
East
India
Dock
Road
.
The
Professor
,
who
seemed
to
know
his
way
about
the
neighbourhood
,
proceeded
to
a
place
where
the
line
of
lighted
shops
fell
back
into
a
sort
of
abrupt
twilight
and
quiet
,
in
which
an
old
white
inn
,
all
out
of
repair
,
stood
back
some
twenty
feet
from
the
road
.
“
You
can
find
good
English
inns
left
by
accident
everywhere
,
like
fossils
,
”
explained
the
Professor
.
“
I
once
found
a
decent
place
in
the
West
End
.
”
“
I
suppose
,
”
said
Syme
,
smiling
,
“
that
this
is
the
corresponding
decent
place
in
the
East
End
?
”
“
It
is
,
”
said
the
Professor
reverently
,
and
went
in
.
In
that
place
they
dined
and
slept
,
both
very
thoroughly
.
The
beans
and
bacon
,
which
these
unaccountable
people
cooked
well
,
the
astonishing
emergence
of
Burgundy
from
their
cellars
,
crowned
Syme’s
sense
of
a
new
comradeship
and
comfort
.
Through
all
this
ordeal
his
root
horror
had
been
isolation
,
and
there
are
no
words
to
express
the
abyss
between
isolation
and
having
one
ally
.
It
may
be
conceded
to
the
mathematicians
that
four
is
twice
two
.
But
two
is
not
twice
one
;
two
is
two
thousand
times
one
.
That
is
why
,
in
spite
of
a
hundred
disadvantages
,
the
world
will
always
return
to
monogamy
.
Syme
was
able
to
pour
out
for
the
first
time
the
whole
of
his
outrageous
tale
,
from
the
time
when
Gregory
had
taken
him
to
the
little
tavern
by
the
river
.
He
did
it
idly
and
amply
,
in
a
luxuriant
monologue
,
as
a
man
speaks
with
very
old
friends
.
On
his
side
,
also
,
the
man
who
had
impersonated
Professor
de
Worms
was
not
less
communicative
.
His
own
story
was
almost
as
silly
as
Syme’s
.
“
That’s
a
good
get‑up
of
yours
,
”
said
Syme
,
draining
a
glass
of
Mâcon
;
“
a
lot
better
than
old
Gogol’s
.
Even
at
the
start
I
thought
he
was
a
bit
too
hairy
.
”
“
A
difference
of
artistic
theory
,
”
replied
the
Professor
pensively
.
“
Gogol
was
an
idealist
.
He
made
up
as
the
abstract
or
platonic
ideal
of
an
anarchist
.
But
I
am
a
realist
.
I
am
a
portrait
painter
.
But
,
indeed
,
to
say
that
I
am
a
portrait
painter
is
an
inadequate
expression
.
I
am
a
portrait
.
”
“
I
don’t
understand
you
,
”
said
Syme
.
“
I
am
a
portrait
,
”
repeated
the
Professor
.
“
I
am
a
portrait
of
the
celebrated
Professor
de
Worms
,
who
is
,
I
believe
,
in
Naples
.
”
“
You
mean
you
are
made
up
like
him
,
”
said
Syme
.
“
But
doesn’t
he
know
that
you
are
taking
his
nose
in
vain
?
”
“
He
knows
it
right
enough
,
”
replied
his
friend
cheerfully
.
“
Then
why
doesn’t
he
denounce
you
?
”
“
I
have
denounced
him
,
”
answered
the
Professor
.
“
Do
explain
yourself
,
”
said
Syme
.
“
With
pleasure
,
if
you
don’t
mind
hearing
my
story
,
”
replied
the
eminent
foreign
philosopher
.
“
I
am
by
profession
an
actor
,
and
my
name
is
Wilks
.
When
I
was
on
the
stage
I
mixed
with
all
sorts
of
Bohemian
and
blackguard
company
.
Sometimes
I
touched
the
edge
of
the
turf
,
sometimes
the
riff‑raff
of
the
arts
,
and
occasionally
the
political
refugee
.
In
some
den
of
exiled
dreamers
I
was
introduced
to
the
great
German
Nihilist
philosopher
,
Professor
de
Worms
.
I
did
not
gather
much
about
him
beyond
his
appearance
,
which
was
very
disgusting
,
and
which
I
studied
carefully
.
I
understood
that
he
had
proved
that
the
destructive
principle
in
the
universe
was
God
;
hence
he
insisted
on
the
need
for
a
furious
and
incessant
energy
,
rending
all
things
in
pieces
.
Energy
,
he
said
,
was
the
All
.
He
was
lame
,
shortsighted
,
and
partially
paralytic
.
When
I
met
him
I
was
in
a
frivolous
mood
,
and
I
disliked
him
so
much
that
I
resolved
to
imitate
him
.
If
I
had
been
a
draughtsman
I
would
have
drawn
a
caricature
.
I
was
only
an
actor
,
I
could
only
act
a
caricature
.
I
made
myself
up
into
what
was
meant
for
a
wild
exaggeration
of
the
old
Professor’s
dirty
old
self
.
When
I
went
into
the
room
full
of
his
supporters
I
expected
to
be
received
with
a
roar
of
laughter
,
or
(
if
they
were
too
far
gone
)
with
a
roar
of
indignation
at
the
insult
.
I
cannot
describe
the
surprise
I
felt
when
my
entrance
was
received
with
a
respectful
silence
,
followed
(
when
I
had
first
opened
my
lips
)
with
a
murmur
of
admiration
.
The
curse
of
the
perfect
artist
had
fallen
upon
me
.
I
had
been
too
subtle
,
I
had
been
too
true
.
They
thought
I
really
was
the
great
Nihilist
Professor
.
I
was
a
healthy-minded
young
man
at
the
time
,
and
I
confess
that
it
was
a
blow
.
Before
I
could
fully
recover
,
however
,
two
or
three
of
these
admirers
ran
up
to
me
radiating
indignation
,
and
told
me
that
a
public
insult
had
been
put
upon
me
in
the
next
room
.
I
inquired
its
nature
.
It
seemed
that
an
impertinent
fellow
had
dressed
himself
up
as
a
preposterous
parody
of
myself
.
I
had
drunk
more
champagne
than
was
good
for
me
,
and
in
a
flash
of
folly
I
decided
to
see
the
situation
through
.
Consequently
it
was
to
meet
the
glare
of
the
company
and
my
own
lifted
eyebrows
and
freezing
eyes
that
the
real
Professor
came
into
the
room
.
“
I
need
hardly
say
there
was
a
collision
.
The
pessimists
all
round
me
looked
anxiously
from
one
Professor
to
the
other
Professor
to
see
which
was
really
the
more
feeble
.
But
I
won
.
An
old
man
in
poor
health
,
like
my
rival
,
could
not
be
expected
to
be
so
impressively
feeble
as
a
young
actor
in
the
prime
of
life
.
You
see
,
he
really
had
paralysis
,
and
working
within
this
definite
limitation
,
he
couldn’t
be
so
jolly
paralytic
as
I
was
.
Then
he
tried
to
blast
my
claims
intellectually
.
I
countered
that
by
a
very
simple
dodge
.
Whenever
he
said
something
that
nobody
but
he
could
understand
,
I
replied
with
something
which
I
could
not
even
understand
myself
.
‘I
don’t
fancy
,
’
he
said
,
‘that
you
could
have
worked
out
the
principle
that
evolution
is
only
negation
,
since
there
inheres
in
it
the
introduction
of
lacuna
,
which
are
an
essential
of
differentiation.’
I
replied
quite
scornfully
,
‘You
read
all
that
up
in
Pinckwerts
;
the
notion
that
involution
functioned
eugenically
was
exposed
long
ago
by
Glumpe.’
It
is
unnecessary
for
me
to
say
that
there
never
were
such
people
as
Pinckwerts
and
Glumpe
.
But
the
people
all
round
(
rather
to
my
surprise
)
seemed
to
remember
them
quite
well
,
and
the
Professor
,
finding
that
the
learned
and
mysterious
method
left
him
rather
at
the
mercy
of
an
enemy
slightly
deficient
in
scruples
,
fell
back
upon
a
more
popular
form
of
wit
.
‘I
see
,
’
he
sneered
,
‘you
prevail
like
the
false
pig
in
Æsop.’
‘And
you
fail
,
’
I
answered
,
smiling
,
‘like
the
hedgehog
in
Montaigne.’
Need
I
say
that
there
is
no
hedgehog
in
Montaigne
?
‘Your
clap­trap
comes
off
,
’
he
said
;
‘so
would
your
beard.’
I
had
no
intelligent
answer
to
this
,
which
was
quite
true
and
rather
witty
.
But
I
laughed
heartily
,
answered
,
‘Like
the
Pantheist’s
boots
,
’
at
random
,
and
turned
on
my
heel
with
all
the
honours
of
victory
.
The
real
Professor
was
thrown
out
,
but
not
with
violence
,
though
one
man
tried
very
patiently
to
pull
off
his
nose
.
He
is
now
,
I
believe
,
received
everywhere
in
Europe
as
a
delightful
impostor
.
His
apparent
earnestness
and
anger
,
you
see
,
make
him
all
the
more
entertaining
.
”
“
Well
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
I
can
understand
your
putting
on
his
dirty
old
beard
for
a
night’s
practical
joke
,
but
I
don’t
understand
your
never
taking
it
off
again
.
”
“
That
is
the
rest
of
the
story
,
”
said
the
impersonator
.
“
When
I
myself
left
the
company
,
followed
by
reverent
applause
,
I
went
limping
down
the
dark
street
,
hoping
that
I
should
soon
be
far
enough
away
to
be
able
to
walk
like
a
human
being
.
To
my
astonishment
,
as
I
was
turning
the
corner
,
I
felt
a
touch
on
the
shoulder
,
and
turning
,
found
myself
under
the
shadow
of
an
enormous
policeman
.
He
told
me
I
was
wanted
.
I
struck
a
sort
of
paralytic
attitude
,
and
cried
in
a
high
German
accent
,
‘Yes
,
I
am
wanted
—
by
the
oppressed
of
the
world
.
You
are
arresting
me
on
the
charge
of
being
the
great
anarchist
,
Professor
de
Worms.’
The
policeman
impassively
consulted
a
paper
in
his
hand
,
‘No
,
sir
,
’
he
said
civilly
,
‘at
least
,
not
exactly
,
sir
.
I
am
arresting
you
on
the
charge
of
not
being
the
celebrated
anarchist
,
Professor
de
Worms.’
This
charge
,
if
it
was
criminal
at
all
,
was
certainly
the
lighter
of
the
two
,
and
I
went
along
with
the
man
,
doubtful
,
but
not
greatly
dismayed
.
I
was
shown
into
a
number
of
rooms
,
and
eventually
into
the
presence
of
a
police
officer
,
who
explained
that
a
serious
campaign
had
been
opened
against
the
centres
of
anarchy
,
and
that
this
,
my
successful
masquerade
,
might
be
of
considerable
value
to
the
public
safety
.
He
offered
me
a
good
salary
and
this
little
blue
card
.
Though
our
conversation
was
short
,
he
struck
me
as
a
man
of
very
massive
common
sense
and
humour
;
but
I
cannot
tell
you
much
about
him
personally
,
because
—
”
Syme
laid
down
his
knife
and
fork
.
“
I
know
,
”
he
said
,
“
because
you
talked
to
him
in
a
dark
room
.
”
Professor
de
Worms
nodded
and
drained
his
glass
.
CHAPTER
IX
THE
MAN
IN
SPECTACLES
“
BURGUNDY
is
a
jolly
thing
,
”
said
the
Professor
sadly
,
as
he
set
his
glass
down
.
“
You
don’t
look
as
if
it
were
,
”
said
Syme
;
“
you
drink
it
as
if
it
were
medicine
.
”
“
You
must
excuse
my
manner
,
”
said
the
Professor
dismally
,
“
my
position
is
rather
a
curious
one
.
Inside
I
am
really
bursting
with
boyish
merriment
;
but
I
acted
the
paralytic
Professor
so
well
,
that
now
I
can’t
leave
off
.
So
that
when
I
am
among
friends
,
and
have
no
need
at
all
to
disguise
myself
,
I
still
can’t
help
speaking
slow
and
wrinkling
my
forehead
—
just
as
if
it
were
my
forehead
.
I
can
be
quite
happy
,
you
understand
,
but
only
in
a
paralytic
sort
of
way
.
The
most
buoyant
exclamations
leap
up
in
my
heart
,
but
they
come
out
of
my
mouth
quite
different
.
You
should
hear
me
say
,
‘Buck
up
,
old
cock
!
’
It
would
bring
tears
to
your
eyes
.
”
“
It
does
,
”
said
Syme
;
“
but
I
cannot
help
thinking
that
apart
from
all
that
you
are
really
a
bit
worried
.
”
The
Professor
started
a
little
and
looked
at
him
steadily
.
“
You
are
a
very
clever
fellow
,
”
he
said
,
“
it
is
a
pleasure
to
work
with
you
.
Yes
,
I
have
rather
a
heavy
cloud
in
my
head
.
There
is
a
great
problem
to
face
,
”
and
he
sank
his
bald
brow
in
his
two
hands
.
Then
he
said
in
a
low
voice
—
“
Can
you
play
the
piano
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Syme
in
simple
wonder
,
“
I’m
supposed
to
have
a
good
touch
.
”
Then
,
as
the
other
did
not
speak
,
he
added
—
“
I
trust
the
great
cloud
is
lifted
.
”
After
a
long
silence
,
the
Professor
said
out
of
the
cavernous
shadow
of
his
hands
—
“
It
would
have
done
just
as
well
if
you
could
work
a
typewriter
.
”
“
Thank
you
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
you
flatter
me
.
”
“
Listen
to
me
,
”
said
the
other
,
“
and
remember
whom
we
have
to
see
to­morrow
.
You
and
I
are
going
to‑morrow
to
attempt
something
which
is
very
much
more
dangerous
than
trying
to
steal
the
Crown
Jewels
out
of
the
Tower
.
We
are
trying
to
steal
a
secret
from
a
very
sharp
,
very
strong
,
and
very
wicked
man
.
I
believe
there
is
no
man
,
except
the
President
,
of
course
,
who
is
so
seriously
startling
and
formidable
as
that
little
grinning
fellow
in
goggles
.
He
has
not
perhaps
the
white‑hot
enthusiasm
unto
death
,
the
mad
martyrdom
for
anarchy
,
which
marks
the
Secretary
.
But
then
that
very
fanaticism
in
the
Secretary
has
a
human
pathos
,
and
is
almost
a
redeeming
trait
.
But
the
little
Doctor
has
a
brutal
sanity
that
is
more
shocking
than
the
Secretary’s
disease
.
Don’t
you
notice
his
detestable
virility
and
vitality
.
He
bounces
like
an
india‑rubber
ball
.
Depend
on
it
,
Sunday
was
not
asleep
(
I
wonder
if
he
ever
sleeps
?
)
when
he
locked
up
all
the
plans
of
this
outrage
in
the
round
,
black
head
of
Dr.
Bull
.
”
“
And
you
think
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
that
this
unique
monster
will
be
soothed
if
I
play
the
piano
to
him
?
”
“
Don’t
be
an
ass
,
”
said
his
mentor
.
“
I
mentioned
the
piano
because
it
gives
one
quick
and
independent
fingers
.
Syme
,
if
we
are
to
go
through
this
interview
and
come
out
sane
or
alive
,
we
must
have
some
code
of
signals
between
us
that
this
brute
will
not
see
.
I
have
made
a
rough
alphabetical
cypher
corresponding
to
the
five
fingers
—
like
this
,
see
,
”
and
he
rippled
with
his
fingers
on
the
wooden
table
—
“
B
A
D
,
bad
,
a
word
we
may
frequently
require
.
”
Syme
poured
himself
out
another
glass
of
wine
,
and
began
to
study
the
scheme
.
He
was
abnormally
quick
with
his
brains
at
puzzles
,
and
with
his
hands
at
conjuring
,
and
it
did
not
take
him
long
to
learn
how
he
might
convey
simple
messages
by
what
would
seem
to
be
idle
taps
upon
a
table
or
knee
.
But
wine
and
companionship
had
always
the
effect
of
inspiring
him
to
a
farcical
ingenuity
,
and
the
Professor
soon
found
himself
struggling
with
the
too
vast
energy
of
the
new
language
,
as
it
passed
through
the
heated
brain
of
Syme
.
“
We
must
have
several
word‑signs
,
”
said
Syme
seriously
—
“
words
that
we
are
likely
to
want
,
fine
shades
of
meaning
.
My
favourite
word
is
’
coeval.’
What’s
yours
?
”
“
Do
stop
playing
the
goat
,
”
said
the
Professor
plaintively
.
“
You
don’t
know
how
serious
this
is
.
”
“
’
Lush
,
’
too
,
”
said
Syme
,
shaking
his
head
sagaciously
,
“
we
must
have
’
lush’
—
word
applied
to
grass
,
don’t
you
know
?
”
“
Do
you
imagine
,
”
asked
the
Professor
furiously
,
“
that
we
are
going
to
talk
to
Dr.
Bull
about
grass
?
”
“
There
are
several
ways
in
which
the
subject
could
be
approached
,
”
said
Syme
reflectively
,
“
and
the
word
introduced
without
appearing
forced
.
We
might
say
,
’
Dr.
Bull
,
as
a
revolutionist
,
you
remember
that
a
tyrant
once
advised
us
to
eat
grass
;
and
indeed
many
of
us
,
looking
on
the
fresh
lush
grass
of
summer
”
’
“
Do
you
understand
,
”
said
the
other
,
“
that
this
is
a
tragedy
?
”
“
Perfectly
,
”
replied
Syme
;
“
always
be
comic
in
a
tragedy
.
What
the
deuce
else
can
you
do
?
I
wish
this
language
of
yours
had
a
wider
scope
.
I
suppose
we
could
not
extend
it
from
the
fingers
to
the
toes
?
That
would
involve
pulling
off
our
boots
and
socks
during
the
conversation
,
which
however
unobtrusively
performed
—
”
“
Syme
,
”
said
his
friend
with
a
stern
simplicity
,
“
go
to
bed
!
”
Syme
,
however
,
sat
up
in
bed
for
a
considerable
time
mastering
the
new
code
.
He
was
awakened
next
morning
while
the
east
was
still
sealed
with
darkness
,
and
found
his
grey‑bearded
ally
standing
like
a
ghost
beside
his
bed
.
Syme
sat
up
in
bed
blinking
;
then
slowly
collected
his
thoughts
,
threw
off
the
bed‑clothes
,
and
stood
up
.
It
seemed
to
him
in
some
curious
way
that
all
the
safety
and
sociability
of
the
night
before
fell
with
the
bedclothes
off
him
,
and
he
stood
up
in
an
air
of
cold
danger
.
He
still
felt
an
entire
trust
and
loyalty
towards
his
companion
;
but
it
was
the
trust
between
two
men
going
to
the
scaffold
.
“
Well
,
”
said
Syme
with
a
forced
cheerfulness
as
he
pulled
on
his
trousers
,
“
I
dreamt
of
that
alphabet
of
yours
.
Did
it
take
you
long
to
make
it
up
?
”
The
Professor
made
no
answer
,
but
gazed
in
front
of
him
with
eyes
the
colour
of
a
wintry
sea
;
so
Syme
repeated
his
question
.
“
I
say
,
did
it
take
you
long
to
invent
all
this
?
I’m
considered
good
at
these
things
,
and
it
was
a
good
hour’s
grind
.
Did
you
learn
it
all
on
the
spot
?
”
The
Professor
was
silent
;
his
eyes
were
wide
open
,
and
he
wore
a
fixed
but
very
small
smile
.
“
How
long
did
it
take
you
?
”
The
Professor
did
not
move
.
“
Confound
you
,
can’t
you
answer
?
”
called
out
Syme
,
in
a
sudden
anger
that
had
something
like
fear
underneath
.
Whether
or
no
the
Professor
could
answer
,
he
did
not
.
Syme
stood
staring
back
at
the
stiff
face
like
parchment
and
the
blank
,
blue
eyes
.
His
first
thought
was
that
the
Professor
had
gone
mad
,
but
his
second
thought
was
more
frightful
.
After
all
,
what
did
he
know
about
this
queer
creature
whom
he
had
heedlessly
accepted
as
a
friend
?
What
did
he
know
,
except
that
the
man
had
been
at
the
anarchist
breakfast
and
had
told
him
a
ridiculous
tale
?
How
improbable
it
was
that
there
should
be
another
friend
there
beside
Gogol
!
Was
this
man’s
silence
a
sensational
way
of
declaring
war
?
Was
this
adamantine
stare
after
all
only
the
awful
sneer
of
some
threefold
traitor
,
who
had
turned
for
the
last
time
?
He
stood
and
strained
his
ears
in
this
heartless
silence
.
He
almost
fancied
he
could
hear
dynamiters
come
to
capture
him
shifting
softly
in
the
corridor
outside
.
Then
his
eye
strayed
downwards
,
and
he
burst
out
laughing
.
Though
the
Professor
himself
stood
there
as
voiceless
as
a
statue
,
his
five
dumb
fingers
were
dancing
alive
upon
the
dead
table
.
Syme
watched
the
twinkling
movements
of
the
talking
hand
,
and
read
clearly
the
message
—
“
I
will
only
talk
like
this
.
We
must
get
used
to
it
.
”
He
rapped
out
the
answer
with
the
impatience
of
relief
—
“
All
right
.
Let’s
get
out
to
breakfast
.
”
They
took
their
hats
and
sticks
in
silence
;
but
as
Syme
took
his
sword‑stick
,
he
held
it
hard
.
They
paused
for
a
few
minutes
only
to
stuff
down
coffee
and
coarse
thick
sandwiches
at
a
coffee
stall
,
and
then
made
their
way
across
the
river
,
which
under
the
grey
and
growing
light
looked
as
desolate
as
Acheron
.
They
reached
the
bottom
of
the
huge
block
of
buildings
which
they
had
seen
from
across
the
river
,
and
began
in
silence
to
mount
the
naked
and
numberless
stone
steps
,
only
pausing
now
and
then
to
make
short
remarks
on
the
rail
of
the
banisters
.
At
about
every
other
flight
they
passed
a
window
;
each
window
showed
them
a
pale
and
tragic
dawn
lifting
itself
laboriously
over
London
.
From
each
the
innumerable
roofs
of
slate
looked
like
the
leaden
surges
of
a
grey
,
troubled
sea
after
rain
.
Syme
was
increasingly
conscious
that
his
new
adventure
had
somehow
a
quality
of
cold
sanity
worse
than
the
wild
adventures
of
the
past
.
Last
night
,
for
instance
,
the
tall
tenements
had
seemed
to
him
like
a
tower
in
a
dream
.
As
he
now
went
up
the
weary
and
perpetual
steps
,
he
was
daunted
and
bewildered
by
their
almost
infinite
series
.
But
it
was
not
the
hot
horror
of
a
dream
or
of
anything
that
might
be
exaggeration
or
delusion
.
Their
infinity
was
more
like
the
empty
infinity
of
arithmetic
,
something
unthinkable
,
yet
necessary
to
thought
.
Or
it
was
like
the
stunning
statements
of
astronomy
about
the
distance
of
the
fixed
stars
.
He
was
ascending
the
house
of
reason
,
a
thing
more
hideous
than
unreason
itself
.
By
the
time
they
reached
Dr.
Bull’s
landing
,
a
last
window
showed
them
a
harsh
,
white
dawn
edged
with
banks
of
a
kind
of
coarse
red
,
more
like
red
clay
than
red
cloud
.
And
when
they
entered
Dr.
Bull’s
bare
garret
it
was
full
of
light
.
Syme
had
been
haunted
by
a
half
historic
memory
in
connection
with
these
empty
rooms
and
that
austere
daybreak
.
The
moment
he
saw
the
garret
and
Dr.
Bull
sitting
writing
at
a
table
,
he
remembered
what
the
memory
was
—
the
French
Revolution
.
There
should
have
been
the
black
outline
of
a
guillotine
against
that
heavy
red
and
white
of
the
morning
.
Dr.
Bull
was
in
his
white
shirt
and
black
breeches
only
;
his
cropped
,
dark
head
might
well
have
just
come
out
of
its
wig
;
he
might
have
been
Marat
or
a
more
slipshod
Robespierre
.
Yet
when
he
was
seen
properly
,
the
French
fancy
fell
away
.
The
Jacobins
were
idealists
;
there
was
about
this
man
a
murderous
materialism
.
His
Dosition
gave
him
a
somewhat
new
appearance
.
The
strong
,
white
light
of
morning
coming
from
one
side
creating
sharp
shadows
,
made
him
seem
both
more
pale
and
more
angular
than
he
had
looked
at
the
breakfast
on
the
balcony
.
Thus
the
two
black
glasses
that
encased
his
eyes
might
really
have
been
black
cavities
in
his
skull
,
making
him
look
like
a
death’s‑head
.
And
,
indeed
,
if
ever
Death
himself
sat
writing
at
a
wooden
table
,
it
might
have
been
he
.
He
looked
up
and
smiled
brightly
enough
as
the
men
came
in
,
and
rose
with
the
resilient
rapidity
of
which
the
Professor
had
spoken
.
He
set
chairs
for
both
of
them
,
and
going
to
a
peg
behind
the
door
,
proceeded
to
put
on
a
coat
and
waistcoat
of
rough
,
dark
tweed
;
he
buttoned
it
up
neatly
,
and
came
back
to
sit
down
at
his
table
.
The
quiet
good
humour
of
his
manner
left
his
two
opponents
helpless
.
It
was
with
some
momentary
difficulty
that
the
Professor
broke
silence
and
began
,
“
I’m
sorry
to
disturb
you
so
early
,
comrade
,
”
said
he
,
with
a
careful
resumption
of
the
slow
de
Worms
manner
.
“
You
have
no
doubt
made
all
the
arrangements
for
the
Paris
affair
?
”
Then
he
added
with
infinite
slowness
,
“
We
have
information
which
renders
intolerable
anything
in
the
nature
of
a
moment’s
delay
.
”
Dr.
Bull
smiled
again
,
but
continued
to
gaze
on
them
without
speaking
.
The
Professor
resumed
,
a
pause
before
each
weary
word
—
“
Please
do
not
think
me
excessively
abrupt
;
but
I
advise
you
to
alter
those
plans
,
or
if
it
is
too
late
for
that
,
to
follow
your
agent
with
all
the
support
you
can
get
for
him
.
Comrade
Syme
and
I
have
had
an
experience
which
it
would
take
more
time
to
recount
than
we
can
afford
,
if
we
are
to
act
on
it
.
I
will
,
however
,
relate
the
occurrence
in
detail
,
even
at
the
risk
of
losing
time
,
if
you
really
feel
that
it
is
essential
to
the
understanding
of
the
problem
we
have
to
discuss
.
”
He
was
spinning
out
his
sentences
,
making
them
intolerably
long
and
lingering
,
in
the
hope
of
maddening
the
practical
little
Doctor
into
an
explosion
of
impatience
which
might
show
his
hand
.
But
the
little
Doctor
continued
only
to
stare
and
smile
,
and
the
monologue
was
uphill
work
.
Syme
began
to
feel
a
new
sickness
and
despair
.
The
Doctor’s
smile
and
silence
were
not
at
all
like
the
cataleptic
stare
and
horrible
silence
which
he
had
confronted
in
the
Professor
half
an
hour
before
.
About
the
Professor’s
make­up
and
all
his
antics
there
was
always
something
merely
grotesque
,
like
a
gollywog
.
Syme
remembered
those
wild
woes
of
yesterday
as
one
remembers
being
afraid
of
Bogy
in
childhood
.
But
here
was
daylight
;
here
was
a
healthy
,
square‑shouldered
man
in
tweeds
,
not
odd
save
for
the
accident
of
his
ugly
spectacles
,
not
glaring
or
grinning
at
all
,
but
smiling
steadily
and
not
saying
a
word
.
The
whole
had
a
sense
of
unbearable
reality
.
Under
the
increasing
sunlight
the
colours
of
the
Doctor’s
complexion
,
the
pattern
of
his
tweeds
,
grew
and
expanded
outrageously
,
as
such
things
grow
too
important
in
a
realistic
novel
.
But
his
smile
was
quite
slight
,
the
pose
of
his
head
polite
;
the
only
uncanny
thing
was
his
silence
.
“
As
I
say
,
”
resumed
the
Professor
,
like
a
man
toiling
through
heavy
sand
,
“
the
incident
that
has
occurred
to
us
and
has
led
us
to
ask
for
information
about
the
Marquis
,
is
one
which
you
may
think
it
better
to
have
narrated
;
but
as
it
came
in
the
way
of
Comrade
Syme
rather
than
me
—
”
His
words
he
seemed
to
be
dragging
out
like
words
in
an
anthem
;
but
Syme
,
who
was
watching
,
saw
his
long
fingers
rattle
quickly
on
the
edge
of
the
crazy
table
.
He
read
the
message
,
“
You
must
go
on
.
This
devil
has
sucked
me
dry
!
”
Syme
plunged
into
the
breach
with
that
bravado
of
improvisation
which
always
came
to
him
when
he
was
alarmed
.
“
Yes
,
the
thing
really
happened
to
me
,
”
he
said
hastily
.
“
I
had
the
good
fortune
to
fall
into
conversation
with
a
detective
who
took
me
,
thanks
to
my
hat
,
for
a
respectable
person
.
Wishing
to
clinch
my
reputation
for
respectability
,
I
took
him
and
made
him
very
drunk
at
the
Savoy
.
Under
this
influence
he
became
friendly
,
and
told
me
in
so
many
words
that
within
a
day
or
two
they
hope
to
arrest
the
Marquis
in
France
.
So
unless
you
or
I
can
get
on
his
track
—
”
The
Doctor
was
still
smiling
in
the
most
friendly
way
,
and
his
protected
eyes
were
still
impenetrable
.
The
Professor
signalled
to
Syme
that
he
would
resume
his
explanation
,
and
he
began
again
with
the
same
elaborate
calm
.
“
Syme
immediately
brought
this
information
to
me
,
and
we
came
here
together
to
see
what
use
you
would
be
inclined
to
make
of
it
.
It
seems
to
me
unquestionably
urgent
that
—
”
All
this
time
Syme
had
been
staring
at
the
Doctor
almost
as
steadily
as
the
Doctor
stared
at
the
Professor
,
but
quite
without
the
smile
.
The
nerves
of
both
comrades‑in‑arms
were
near
snapping
under
that
strain
of
motionless
amiability
,
when
Syme
suddenly
leant
forward
and
idly
tapped
the
edge
of
the
table
.
His
message
to
his
ally
ran
,
“
I
have
an
intuition
.
”
The
Professor
,
with
scarcely
a
pause
in
his
monologue
,
signalled
back
,
“
Then
sit
on
it
.
”
Syme
telegraphed
,
“
It
is
quite
extraordinary
.
”
The
other
answered
,
“
Extraordinary
rot
!
”
Syme
said
,
“
I
am
a
poet
.
”
The
other
retorted
,
“
You
are
a
dead
man
.
”
Syme
had
gone
quite
red
up
to
his
yellow
hair
,
and
his
eyes
were
burning
feverishly
.
As
he
said
he
had
an
intuition
,
and
it
had
risen
to
a
sort
of
light­headed
certainty
.
Resuming
his
symbolic
taps
,
he
signalled
to
his
friend
,
“
You
scarcely
realise
how
poetic
my
intuition
is
.
It
has
that
sudden
quality
we
sometimes
feel
in
the
coming
of
spring
.
”
He
then
studied
the
answer
on
his
friend’s
fingers
.
The
answer
was
,
“
Go
to
hell
!
”
The
Professor
then
resumed
his
merely
verbal
monologue
addressed
to
the
Doctor
.
“
Perhaps
I
should
rather
say
,
”
said
Syme
on
his
fingers
,
“
that
it
resembles
that
sudden
smell
of
the
sea
which
may
be
found
in
the
heart
of
lush
woods
.
”
His
companion
disdained
to
reply
.
“
Or
yet
again
,
”
tapped
Syme
,
“
it
is
positive
,
as
is
the
passionate
red
hair
of
a
beautiful
woman
.
”
The
Professor
was
continuing
his
speech
,
but
in
the
middle
of
it
Syme
decided
to
act
.
He
leant
across
the
table
,
and
said
in
a
voice
that
could
not
be
neglected
—
“
Dr.
Bull
!
”
The
Doctor’s
sleek
and
smiling
head
did
not
move
,
but
they
could
have
sworn
that
under
his
dark
glasses
his
eyes
darted
towards
Syme
.
“
Dr.
Bull
,
”
said
Syme
,
in
a
voice
peculiarly
precise
and
courteous
,
“
would
you
do
me
a
small
favour
?
Would
you
be
so
kind
as
to
take
off
your
spectacles
?
”
The
Professor
swung
round
on
his
seat
,
and
stared
at
Syme
with
a
sort
of
frozen
fury
of
astonishment
.
Syme
,
like
a
man
who
has
thrown
his
life
and
fortune
on
the
table
,
leaned
forward
with
a
fiery
face
.
The
Doctor
did
not
move
.
For
a
few
seconds
there
was
a
silence
in
which
one
could
hear
a
pin
drop
,
split
once
by
the
single
hoot
of
a
distant
steamer
on
the
Thames
.
Then
Dr.
Bull
rose
slowly
,
still
smiling
,
and
took
off
his
spectacles
.
Syme
sprang
to
his
feet
,
stepping
backwards
a
little
,
like
a
chemical
lecturer
from
a
successful
explosion
.
His
eyes
were
like
stars
,
and
for
an
instant
he
could
only
point
without
speaking
.
The
Professor
had
also
started
to
his
feet
,
forgetful
of
his
supposed
paralysis
.
He
leant
on
the
back
of
the
chair
and
stared
doubtfully
at
Dr.
Bull
,
as
if
the
Doctor
had
been
turned
into
a
toad
before
his
eyes
.
And
indeed
it
was
almost
as
great
a
transformation
scene
.
The
two
detectives
saw
sitting
in
the
chair
before
them
a
very
boyish‑looking
young
man
,
with
very
frank
and
happy
hazel
eyes
,
an
open
expression
,
cockney
clothes
like
those
of
a
city
clerk
,
and
an
unquestionable
breath
about
him
of
being
very
good
and
rather
commonplace
.
The
smile
was
still
there
,
but
it
might
have
been
the
first
smile
of
a
baby
.
“
I
knew
I
was
a
poet
,
”
cried
Syme
in
a
sort
of
ecstasy
.
“
I
knew
my
intuition
was
as
infallible
as
the
Pope
.
It
was
the
spectacles
that
did
it
!
It
was
all
the
spectacles
.
Given
those
beastly
black
eyes
,
and
all
the
rest
of
him
his
health
and
his
jolly
looks
,
made
him
a
live
devil
among
dead
ones
.
”
“
It
certainly
does
make
a
queer
difference
,
”
said
the
Professor
shakily
.
“
But
as
regards
the
project
of
Dr.
Bull
—
”
“
Project
be
damned
!
”
roared
Syme
,
beside
himself
.
“
Look
at
him
!
Look
at
his
face
,
look
at
his
collar
,
look
at
his
blessed
boots
!
You
don’t
suppose
,
do
you
,
that
that
thing’s
an
anarchist
?
”
“
Syme
!
”
cried
the
other
in
an
apprehensive
agony
.
“
Why
,
by
God
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
I’ll
take
the
risk
of
that
myself
!
Dr.
Bull
,
I
am
a
police
officer
.
There’s
my
card
,
”
and
he
flung
down
the
blue
card
upon
the
table
.
The
Professor
still
feared
that
all
was
lost
;
but
he
was
loyal
.
He
pulled
out
his
own
official
card
and
put
it
beside
his
friend’s
.
Then
the
third
man
burst
out
laughing
,
and
for
the
first
time
that
morning
they
heard
his
voice
.
“
I’m
awfully
glad
you
chaps
have
come
so
early
,
”
he
said
,
with
a
sort
of
schoolboy
flippancy
,
“
for
we
can
all
start
for
France
together
.
Yes
,
I’m
in
the
force
right
enough
,
”
and
he
flicked
a
blue
card
towards
them
lightly
as
a
matter
of
form
.
Clapping
a
brisk
bowler
on
his
head
and
resuming
his
goblin
glasses
,
the
Doctor
moved
so
quickly
towards
the
door
,
that
the
others
instinctively
followed
him
.
Syme
seemed
a
little
distrait
,
and
as
he
passed
under
the
doorway
he
suddenly
struck
his
stick
on
the
stone
passage
so
that
it
rang
.
“
But
Lord
God
Almighty
,
”
he
cried
out
,
“
if
this
is
all
right
,
there
were
more
damned
detectives
than
there
were
damned
dynamiters
at
the
damned
Council
!
”
“
We
might
have
fought
easily
,
”
said
Bull
;
“
we
were
four
against
three
.
”
The
Professor
was
descending
the
stairs
,
but
his
voice
came
up
from
below
.
“
No
,
”
said
the
voice
,
“
we
were
not
four
against
three
—
we
were
not
so
lucky
.
We
were
four
against
One
.
”
The
others
went
down
the
stairs
in
silence
.
The
young
man
called
Bull
,
with
an
innocent
courtesy
characteristic
of
him
,
insisted
on
going
last
until
they
reached
the
street
;
but
there
his
own
robust
rapidity
asserted
itself
unconsciously
,
and
he
walked
quickly
on
ahead
towards
a
railway
inquiry
office
,
talking
to
the
others
over
his
shoulder
.
“
It
is
jolly
to
get
some
pals
,
”
he
said
.
“
I’ve
been
half
dead
with
the
jumps
,
being
quite
alone
.
I
nearly
flung
my
arms
round
Gogol
and
embraced
him
,
which
would
have
been
imprudent
.
I
hope
you
won’t
despise
me
for
having
been
in
a
blue
funk
.
”
“
All
the
blue
devils
in
blue
hell
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
contributed
to
my
blue
funk
!
But
the
worst
devil
was
you
and
your
infernal
goggles
.
”
The
young
man
laughed
delightedly
.
“
Wasn’t
it
a
rag
?
”
he
said
.
“
Such
a
simple
idea
—
not
my
own
.
I
haven’t
got
the
brains
.
You
see
,
I
wanted
to
go
into
the
detective
service
,
especially
the
anti‑dynamite
business
.
But
for
that
purpose
they
wanted
someone
to
dress
up
as
a
dynamiter
;
and
they
all
swore
by
blazes
that
I
could
never
look
like
a
dynamiter
.
They
said
my
very
walk
was
respectable
,
and
that
seen
from
behind
I
looked
like
the
British
Constitution
.
They
said
I
looked
too
healthy
and
too
optimistic
,
and
too
reliable
and
benevolent
;
they
called
me
all
sorts
of
names
at
Scotland
Yard
.
They
said
that
if
I
had
been
a
criminal
,
I
might
have
made
my
fortune
by
looking
so
like
an
honest
man
;
but
as
I
had
the
misfortune
to
be
an
honest
man
,
there
was
not
even
the
remotest
chance
of
my
assisting
them
by
ever
looking
like
a
criminal
.
But
as
last
I
was
brought
before
some
old
josser
who
was
high
up
in
the
force
,
and
who
seemed
to
have
no
end
of
a
head
on
his
shoulders
.
And
there
the
others
all
talked
hopelessly
.
One
asked
whether
a
bushy
beard
would
hide
my
nice
smile
;
another
said
that
if
they
blacked
my
face
I
might
look
like
a
negro
anarchist
;
but
this
old
chap
chipped
in
with
a
most
extraordinary
remark
.
‘A
pair
of
smoked
spectacles
will
do
it
,
’
he
said
positively
.
‘Look
at
him
now
;
he
looks
like
an
angelic
office
boy
.
Put
him
on
a
pair
of
smoked
spectacles
,
and
children
will
scream
at
the
sight
of
him.’
And
so
it
was
,
by
George
!
When
once
my
eyes
were
covered
,
all
the
rest
,
smile
and
big
shoulders
and
short
hair
,
made
me
look
a
perfect
little
devil
.
As
I
say
,
it
was
simple
enough
when
it
was
done
,
like
miracles
;
but
that
wasn’t
the
really
miraculous
part
of
it
.
There
was
one
really
staggering
thing
about
the
business
,
and
my
head
still
turns
at
it
.
”
“
What
was
that
?
”
asked
Syme
.
“
I’ll
tell
you
,
”
answered
the
man
in
spectacles
.
“
This
big
pot
in
the
police
who
sized
me
up
so
that
he
knew
how
the
goggles
would
go
with
my
hair
and
socks
—
by
God
,
he
never
saw
me
at
all
!
”
Syme’s
eyes
suddenly
flashed
on
him
.
“
How
was
that
?
”
he
asked
.
“
I
thought
you
talked
to
him
.
”
“
So
I
did
,
”
said
Bull
brightly
;
“
but
we
talked
in
a
pitch‑dark
room
like
a
coal­cellar
.
There
,
you
would
never
have
guessed
that
.
”
“
I
could
not
have
conceived
it
,
”
said
Syme
gravely
.
“
It
is
indeed
a
new
idea
,
”
said
the
Professor
.
Their
new
ally
was
in
practical
matters
a
whirlwind
.
At
the
inquiry
office
he
asked
with
businesslike
brevity
about
the
trains
for
Dover
.
Having
got
his
information
,
he
bundled
the
company
into
a
cab
,
and
put
them
and
himself
inside
a
railway
carriage
before
they
had
properly
realised
the
breathless
process
.
They
were
already
on
the
Calais
boat
before
conversation
flowed
freely
.
“
I
had
already
arranged
,
”
he
explained
,
“
to
go
to
France
for
my
lunch
;
but
I
am
delighted
to
have
someone
to
lunch
with
me
.
You
see
,
I
had
to
send
that
beast
,
the
Marquis
,
over
with
his
bomb
,
because
the
President
had
his
eye
on
me
,
though
God
knows
how
.
I’ll
tell
you
the
story
some
day
.
It
was
perfectly
choking
.
Whenever
I
tried
to
slip
out
of
it
I
saw
the
President
somewhere
,
smiling
out
of
the
bow‑window
of
a
club
,
or
taking
off
his
hat
to
me
from
the
top
of
an
omnibus
.
I
tell
you
,
you
can
say
what
you
like
,
that
fellow
sold
himself
to
the
devil
;
he
can
be
in
six
places
at
once
.
”
“
So
you
sent
the
Marquis
off
,
I
understand
,
”
asked
the
Professor
.
“
Was
it
long
ago
?
Shall
we
be
in
time
to
catch
him
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
answered
the
new
guide
,
“
I’ve
timed
it
all
.
He’ll
still
be
at
Calais
when
we
arrive
.
”
“
But
when
we
do
catch
him
at
Calais
,
”
said
the
Professor
,
“
what
are
we
going
to
do
?
”
At
this
question
the
countenance
of
Dr.
Bull
fell
for
the
first
time
.
He
reflected
a
little
,
and
then
said
—
“
Theoretically
,
I
suppose
,
we
ought
to
call
the
police
.
”
“
Not
I
,
”
said
Syme
.
“
Theoretically
I
ought
to
drown
myself
first
.
I
promised
a
poor
fellow
,
who
was
a
real
modern
pessimist
,
on
my
word
of
honour
not
to
tell
the
police
.
I’m
no
hand
at
casuistry
,
but
I
can’t
break
my
word
to
a
modern
pessimist
.
It’s
like
breaking
one’s
word
to
a
child
.
”
“
I’m
in
the
same
boat
,
”
said
the
Professor
.
“
I
tried
to
tell
the
police
and
I
couldn’t
,
because
of
some
silly
oath
I
took
.
You
see
,
when
I
was
an
actor
I
was
a
sort
of
all-round
beast
.
Perjury
or
treason
is
the
only
crime
I
haven’t
committed
.
If
I
did
that
I
shouldn’t
know
the
difference
between
right
and
wrong
.
”
“
I’ve
been
through
all
that
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
,
“
and
I’ve
made
up
my
mind
.
I
gave
my
promise
to
the
Secretary
—
you
know
him
,
man
who
smiles
upside
down
.
My
friends
,
that
man
is
the
most
utterly
unhappy
man
that
was
ever
human
.
It
may
be
his
digestion
,
or
his
conscience
,
or
his
nerves
,
or
his
philosophy
of
the
universe
,
but
he’s
damned
,
he’s
in
hell
!
Well
,
I
can’t
turn
on
a
man
like
that
,
and
hunt
him
down
.
It’s
like
whipping
a
leper
.
I
may
be
mad
,
but
that’s
how
I
feel
;
and
there’s
jolly
well
the
end
of
it
.
”
“
I
don’t
think
you’re
mad
,
”
said
Syme
.
“
I
knew
you
would
decide
like
that
when
first
you
—
”
“
Eh
?
”
said
Dr.
Bull
.
“
When
first
you
took
off
your
spectacles
.
”
Dr.
Bull
smiled
a
little
,
and
strolled
across
the
deck
to
look
at
the
sunlit
sea
.
Then
he
strolled
back
again
,
kicking
his
heels
carelessly
,
and
a
companionable
silence
fell
between
the
three
men
.
“
Well
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
it
seems
that
we
have
all
the
same
kind
of
morality
or
immorality
,
so
we
had
better
face
the
fact
that
comes
of
it
.
”
“
Yes
,
”
assented
the
Professor
,
“
you’re
quite
right
;
and
we
must
hurry
up
,
for
I
can
see
the
Grey
Nose
standing
out
from
France
.
”
“
The
fact
that
comes
of
it
,
”
said
Syme
seriously
,
“
is
this
,
that
we
three
are
alone
on
this
planet
.
Gogol
has
gone
,
God
knows
where
;
perhaps
the
President
has
smashed
him
like
a
fly
.
On
the
Council
we
are
three
men
against
three
,
like
the
Romans
who
held
the
bridge
.
But
we
are
worse
off
than
that
,
first
because
they
can
appeal
to
their
organization
and
we
cannot
appeal
to
ours
,
and
second
because
—
”
“
Because
one
of
those
other
three
men
,
”
said
the
Professor
,
“
is
not
a
man
.
”
Syme
nodded
and
was
silent
for
a
second
or
two
,
then
he
said
—
“
My
idea
is
this
.
We
must
do
something
to
keep
the
Marquis
in
Calais
till
to­morrow
midday
.
I
have
turned
over
twenty
schemes
in
my
head
.
We
cannot
denounce
him
as
a
dynamiter
;
that
is
agreed
.
We
cannot
get
him
detained
on
some
trivial
charge
,
for
we
should
have
to
appear
;
he
knows
us
,
and
he
would
smell
a
rat
.
We
cannot
pretend
to
keep
him
on
anarchist
business
;
he
might
swallow
much
in
that
way
,
but
not
the
notion
of
stopping
in
Calais
while
the
Czar
went
safely
through
Paris
.
We
might
try
to
kidnap
him
,
and
lock
him
up
ourselves
;
but
he
is
a
well‑known
man
here
.
He
has
a
whole
bodyguard
of
friends
;
he
is
very
strong
and
brave
,
and
the
event
is
doubtful
.
The
only
thing
I
can
see
to
do
is
actually
to
take
advantage
of
the
very
things
that
are
in
the
Marquis’s
favour
.
I
am
going
to
profit
by
the
fact
that
he
is
a
highly
respected
nobleman
.
I
am
going
to
profit
by
the
fact
that
he
has
many
friends
and
moves
in
the
best
society
.
”
“
What
the
devil
are
you
talking
about
?
”
asked
the
Professor
.
“
The
Symes
are
first
mentioned
in
the
fourteenth
century
,
”
said
Syme
;
“
but
there
is
a
tradition
that
one
of
them
rode
behind
Bruce
at
Bannockburn
.
Since
1350
the
tree
is
quite
clear
.
”
“
He’s
gone
off
his
head
,
”
said
the
little
Doctor
,
staring
.
“
Our
bearings
,
”
continued
Syme
calmly
,
“
are
‘argent
a
chevron
gules
charged
with
three
cross
crosslets
of
the
field.’
The
motto
varies
.
”
The
Professor
seized
Syme
roughly
by
the
waistcoat
.
“
We
are
just
inshore
,
”
he
said
.
“
Are
you
seasick
or
joking
in
the
wrong
place
?
”
“
My
remarks
are
almost
painfully
practical
,
”
answered
Syme
,
in
an
unhurried
manner
.
“
The
house
of
St.
Eustache
also
is
very
ancient
.
The
Marquis
cannot
deny
that
he
is
a
gentleman
.
He
cannot
deny
that
I
am
a
gentleman
.
And
in
order
to
put
the
matter
of
my
social
position
quite
beyond
a
doubt
,
I
propose
at
the
earliest
opportunity
to
knock
his
hat
off
.
But
here
we
are
in
the
harbour
.
”
They
went
on
shore
under
the
strong
sun
in
a
sort
of
daze
.
Syme
,
who
had
now
taken
the
lead
as
Bull
had
taken
it
in
London
,
led
them
along
a
kind
of
marine
parade
until
he
came
to
some
cafés
,
embowered
in
a
bulk
of
greenery
and
overlooking
the
sea
.
As
he
went
before
them
his
step
was
slightly
swaggering
,
and
he
swung
his
stick
like
a
sword
.
He
was
making
apparently
for
the
extreme
end
of
the
line
of
cafés
,
but
he
stopped
abruptly
.
With
a
sharp
gesture
he
motioned
them
to
silence
,
but
he
pointed
with
one
gloved
finger
to
a
café
table
under
a
bank
of
flowering
foliage
at
which
sat
the
Marquis
de
St.
Eustache
,
his
teeth
shining
in
his
thick
,
black
beard
,
and
his
bold
,
brown
face
shadowed
by
a
light
yellow
straw
hat
and
outlined
against
the
violet
sea
.
CHAPTER
X
THE
DUEL
SYME
sat
down
at
a
café
table
with
his
companions
,
his
blue
eyes
sparkling
like
the
bright
sea
below
,
and
ordered
a
bottle
of
Saumur
with
a
pleased
impatience
.
He
was
for
some
reason
in
a
condition
of
curious
hilarity
.
His
spirits
were
already
unnaturally
high
;
they
rose
as
the
Saumur
sank
,
and
in
half
an
hour
his
talk
was
a
torrent
of
nonsense
.
He
professed
to
be
making
out
a
plan
of
the
conversation
which
was
going
to
ensue
between
himself
and
the
deadly
Marquis
.
He
jotted
it
down
wildly
with
a
pencil
.
It
was
arranged
like
a
printed
catechism
,
with
questions
and
answers
,
and
was
delivered
with
an
extraordinary
rapidity
of
utterance
.
“
I
shall
approach
.
Before
taking
off
his
hat
,
I
shall
take
off
my
own
.
I
shall
say
,
‘The
Marquis
de
Saint
Eustache
,
I
believe.’
He
will
say
,
’
The
celebrated
Mr.
Syme
,
I
presume.’
He
will
say
in
the
most
exquisite
French
,
‘How
are
you
?
’
I
shall
reply
in
the
most
exquisite
Cockney
,
‘Oh
,
just
the
Syme
—
’
”
“
Oh
,
shut
it
,
”
said
the
man
in
spectacles
.
“
Pull
yourself
together
,
and
chuck
away
that
bit
of
paper
.
What
are
you
really
going
to
do
?
”
“
But
it
was
a
lovely
catechism
,
”
said
Syme
pathetically
.
“
Do
let
me
read
it
you
.
It
has
only
forty‑three
questions
and
answers
,
and
some
of
the
Marquis’s
answers
are
wonderfully
witty
.
I
like
to
be
just
to
my
enemy
.
”
“
But
what’s
the
good
of
it
all
?
”
asked
Dr.
Bull
in
exasperation
.
“
It
leads
up
to
my
challenge
,
don’t
you
see
,
”
said
Syme
,
beaming
.
“
When
the
Marquis
has
given
the
thirty‑ninth
reply
,
which
runs
—
”
“
Has
it
by
any
chance
occurred
to
you
,
”
asked
the
Professor
,
with
a
ponderous
simplicity
,
“
that
the
Marquis
may
not
say
all
the
forty‑three
things
you
have
put
down
for
him
?
In
that
case
,
I
understand
,
your
own
epigrams
may
appear
somewhat
more
forced
.
”
Syme
struck
the
table
with
a
radiant
face
.
“
Why
,
how
true
that
is
,
”
he
said
,
“
and
I
never
thought
of
it
.
Sir
,
you
have
an
intellect
beyond
the
common
.
You
will
make
a
name
.
”
“
Oh
,
you’re
as
drunk
as
an
owl
!
”
said
the
Doctor
.
“
It
only
remains
,
”
continued
Syme
quite
unperturbed
,
“
to
adopt
some
other
method
of
breaking
the
ice
(
if
I
may
so
express
it
)
between
myself
and
the
man
I
wish
to
kill
.
And
since
the
course
of
a
dialogue
cannot
be
predicted
by
one
of
its
parties
alone
(
as
you
have
pointed
out
with
such
recondite
acumen
)
,
the
only
thing
to
be
done
,
I
suppose
,
is
for
the
one
party
,
as
far
as
possible
,
to
do
all
the
dialogue
by
himself
.
And
so
I
will
,
by
George
!
”
And
he
stood
up
suddenly
,
his
yellow
hair
blowing
in
the
slight
sea
breeze
.
A
band
was
playing
in
a
café
chantant
hidden
somewhere
among
the
trees
,
and
a
woman
had
just
stopped
singing
.
On
Syme’s
heated
head
the
bray
of
the
brass
band
seemed
like
the
jar
and
jingle
of
that
barrel‑organ
in
Leicester
Square
,
to
the
tune
of
which
he
had
once
stood
up
to
die
.
He
looked
across
to
the
little
table
where
the
Marquis
sat
.
The
man
had
two
companions
now
,
solemn
Frenchmen
in
frock‑coats
and
silk
hats
,
one
of
them
with
the
red
rosette
of
the
Legion
of
Honour
,
evidently
people
of
a
solid
social
position
.
Besides
these
black
,
cylindrical
costumes
,
the
Marquis
,
in
his
loose
straw
hat
and
light
spring
clothes
,
looked
Bohemian
and
even
barbaric
;
but
he
looked
the
Marquis
.
Indeed
,
one
might
say
that
he
looked
the
king
,
with
his
animal
elegance
,
his
scornful
eyes
,
and
his
proud
head
lifted
against
the
purple
sea
.
But
he
was
no
Christian
king
,
at
any
rate
;
he
was
,
rather
,
some
swarthy
despot
,
half
Greek
,
half
Asiatic
,
who
in
the
days
when
slavery
seemed
natural
looked
down
on
the
Mediterranean
,
on
his
galley
and
his
groaning
slaves
.
Just
so
,
Syme
thought
,
would
the
brown‑gold
face
of
such
a
tyrant
have
shown
against
the
dark
green
olives
and
the
burning
blue
.
“
Are
you
going
to
address
the
meeting
?
”
asked
the
Professor
peevishly
,
seeing
that
Syme
still
stood
up
without
moving
.
Syme
drained
his
last
glass
of
sparkling
wine
.
“
I
am
,
”
he
said
,
pointing
across
to
the
Marquis
and
his
companions
,
“
that
meeting
.
That
meeting
displeases
me
.
I
am
going
to
pull
that
meeting’s
great
ugly
,
mahogany‑coloured
nose
.
”
He
stepped
across
swiftly
,
if
not
quite
steadily
.
The
Marquis
,
seeing
him
,
arched
his
black
Assyrian
eyebrows
in
surprise
,
but
smiled
politely
.
“
You
are
Mr.
Syme
,
I
think
,
”
he
said
.
Syme
bowed
.
“
And
you
are
the
Marquis
de
Saint
Eustache
,
”
he
said
gracefully
.
“
Permit
me
to
pull
your
nose
.
”
He
leant
over
to
do
so
,
but
the
Marquis
started
backwards
,
upsetting
his
chair
,
and
the
two
men
in
top
hats
held
Syme
back
by
the
shoulders
.
“
This
