'Good; let him come immediately, then. Tell him just the facts.
If I am not mistaken, he will pooh-pooh the whole thing; tell
you to keep quiet, not to worry, and so on. My dear fellow, if
we realised, say, typhoid, who'd dare to face it? That will give
us time; to wait a while, to recover our breath, to see what
happens next. And if--as I don't believe for a moment-- Why, in
that case I heard the other day of a most excellent man--
Grosser, of Wimpole Street; nerves. He would be absorbed. He'll
bottle you in spirit, Lawford. We'll have him down quietly. You
see? But there won't be any necessity. Oh no. By then light will
have come. We shall remember. What I mean is this.' He crossed
his legs and pushed out his lips. 'We are on quaky ground; and
it's absolutely essential that you keep cool, and trust. I am
yours, heart and soul--you know that. I own frankly, at first I
was shaken. And I have, I confess, been very cunning. But first,
faith, then evidence to bolster it up. The faith was absolute'--
he placed one firm hand on Lawford's knee--'why, I cannot
explain; but it was. The evidence is convincing. But there are
others to think of. The shock, the incredibleness, the
consequences; we must not scan too closely. Think WITH; never
against: and bang go all the arguments. Your wife, poor dear,
believes; but of course, of course, she is horribly--' he
broke off; 'of course she is SHAKEN, you old simpleton! Time
will heal all that. Time will wear out the mask. Time will tire
out this detestable physical witchcraft. The mind, the self's the
thing. Old fogey though I may seem for saying it--that must be
kept unsmirched. We won't go wearily over the painful subject
again. You told me last night, dear old friend, that you were
absolutely alone at Widderstone. That is enough. But here we have
visible facts, tangible effects, and there must have been a