"Precisely," said de Vere eagerly. "And for what reasons
[naming them] must we reject Spencer's theory of the
unknowable?"

"Entirely so," continued Mr. Overgold. "And why, if at
all, does Bergsonian illusionism differ from pure
nothingness?"

They both paused.

Mr. Overgold had risen. There was great weariness in his
manner.

"It saddens one, does it not?" he said.

He had picked up a bundle of Panama two per cent. gold
bonds and was looking at them in contempt.

"The emptiness of it all!" he muttered. He extended the
bonds to de Vere.

"Do you want them," he said, "or shall I throw them away?"

"Give them to me," said de Vere quietly; "they are not
worth the throwing."

"No, no," said Mr. Overgold, speaking half to himself,
as he replaced the bonds in his desk. "It is a burden
that I must carry alone. I have no right to ask any one