shown into a room where a number of gentlemen occupied a table. One or
two were smoking and the others talked in low voices, but when Lister
came in and the secretary indicated a chair they turned as if to study
him. Duveen sat next a man at the end of the table and gave Lister a
nod. Somehow Lister thought he was amused.

Lister's heart beat. He felt this was ridiculous, because he had
persuaded himself it did not matter whether he got the post or not. Now,
however, when the moment to try his luck had come, he shrank from the
plunge he had resolved to make if he were not engaged. After all, he
knew and liked his occupation; to let it go and try fresh fields would
be something of a wrench.

The gentlemen did not embarrass him. On the whole, they were urbane, and
when the secretary gave the chairman his application one asked a few
questions about the work he had done. Lister was able to answer
satisfactorily, and another talked to him about the obstacles
encountered when one excavated treacherous gravel and built a bank to
stand angry floods. For all that, Lister was anxious. The others looked
bored, as if they were politely playing a game. He thought they knew
beforehand how the game would end, but he did not know. The inquiries
that bored the urbane gentlemen had important consequences for him and
the suspense was keen.

At length they let him go, and Duveen gave him a smile that Lister
thought implied much. When he returned to the hotel Kemp remarked that
he looked as if he needed a drink, and suggested that Lister go with him
and get one.

"I need three or four drinks, but mean to go without," said Lister