“What made you say that about Zora Middlemist?” he asked when he had finished.

“I don’t know,” replied Septimus.  “It seemed to be right to say it.  I know when I get things into my head there appears to be room for nothing else in the world.  One takes things for granted.  When I was a child my father took it for granted that I believed in predestination.  I couldn’t; but I did not dare tell him so.  So I went about with a load of somebody else’s faith on my shoulders.  It became intolerable; and when my father found out he beat me.  He had a bit of rope tied up with twine at the end for the purpose.  I shouldn’t like this to happen to Zora.”

This ended the discussion.  The landlord at his door-post drew them into talk about the heat, the emptiness of Paris and the happy lot of those who could go into villeggiatura in the country.  The arrival of a perspiring cabman in a red waistcoat and glazed hat caused him to retire within and administer to the newcomer’s needs.

“One of my reasons for looking you up,” said Sypher, “was to make my apologies.”

“Apologies?”

“Yes.  Haven’t you thought about the book on guns and wondered at not hearing from me?”

“No,” said Septimus.  “When I’ve invented a thing the interest has gone.  I’ve just invented a new sighting apparatus.  I’ll show you the model if you’ll come to the hotel.”

Sypher looked at his watch and excused himself on the ground of business engagements.  Then he had to dine and start by the nine o’clock train.

“Anyhow,” said he, “I’m ashamed at not having done anything with the guns.  I did show the proofs to a naval expert, but he made all sorts of criticisms which didn’t help.  Experts know everything that is known and don’t want to know anything that isn’t.  So I laid it aside.”

“It doesn’t matter in the least,” said Septimus eagerly, “and if you want to break the contract you sent me, I can pay you back the two hundred pounds.”  But Sypher assured him that he had never broken a contract in his life, and they shook hands and went their respective ways, Septimus to the appartement in the Boulevard Raspail, and Sypher thoughtfully in the direction of the Luxembourg.

He was sorry, very sorry for Septimus Dix.  His kindness of heart had not allowed him to tell the brutal truth about the guns.  The naval expert had scoffed in the free manner of those who follow the sea and declared the great guns a mad inventor’s dream.  The Admiralty was overwhelmed with such things.  The proofs were so much waste paper.  Sypher had come prepared to break the news as gently as he could; but after all their talk it was not in his heart to do so.  And the two hundred pounds—­he regarded it as money given to a child to play with.  He would never claim it.  He was sorry, very sorry for Septimus.  He looked back along the past year and saw the man’s dog-like devotion to Zora Middlemist.  But why did he marry Emmy, loving