The man looked up, and smiled.

"Yes, it is, rather! But I have only just got the evening paper."

"Any special news?"

"No--only this--" and he pointed to a bold headline--"The King
_versus_ The Jesuits."

"Ah!" said Thord, and he studied the looks and bearing of the stranger
with increasing curiosity. "What do you think of it?"

"What do I think? May I ask, without offence, what _you_ think?"

"I think," said Thord slowly, "that the King has for once in his life
done a wise thing."

"'For once in his life!'" repeated the stranger dubiously--"Then I
presume your King is, generally speaking, a fool?"

"If you are a subject of his--" began Thord slowly----

"Thank Heaven, I am not! I am a mere wanderer--a literary loafer--a
student of men and manners. I read books, and I write them too,--this
will perhaps explain the eccentricity of my behaviour in trying to read
under the lamplight in the rain!"

He smiled again, and the smile was irresistibly pleasant. Something
about him attracted Thord, and after a pause he asked: