‘Have you looked through it?’ Martin exclaimed, as he saw the foreign periodical in his visitor’s hand.

’I have written a rough translation’——­

’Oh, how could you think of taking such trouble!  These things are sent to me by the dozen—­I might say, by the cartload.  My curiosity would have been amply satisfied if you had just told me the drift of the thing.’

‘It seemed to me,’ said Peak, modestly, ’that the paper was worth a little careful thought.  I read it rapidly at first, but found myself drawn to it again.  It states the point of view of the average scientific mind with such remarkable clearness, that I wished to think it over, and the best way was to do so pen in hand.’

’Well, if you really did it on your own account’——­

Mr. Warricombe took the offered sheets and glanced at the first of them.

‘My only purpose,’ said Godwin ’in calling again so soon was to leave this with you.’

He made as though he would take his departure.

’You want to get home again?  Wait at least till this shower is over.  I enjoy that pelting of spring rain against the window.  In a minute or two we shall have the laurels flashing in the sunshine, as if they were hung with diamonds.’

They stood together looking out on to the garden.  Presently their talk returned to the German disquisition, which was directed against the class of quasi-scientific authors attacked by Peak himself in his Critical article.  In the end Godwin sat down and began to read the translation he had made, Mr. Warricombe listening with a thoughtful smile.  From time to time the reader paused and offered a comment, endeavouring to show that the arguments were merely plausible; his air was that of placid security, and he seemed to enjoy the irony which often fell from his lips.  Martin frequently scrutinised him, and always with a look of interest which betokened grave reflection.

‘Here,’ said Godwin at one point, ’he has a note citing a passage from Reusch’s book on The Bible and Nature.  If I am not mistaken, he misrepresents his author, though perhaps not intentionally.’

‘You know the book?’

’I have studied it carefully, but I don’t possess it.  I thought I remembered this particular passage very well.’

‘Is it a work of authority?’

’Yes; it is very important.  Unfortunately, it hasn’t yet been translated.  Rather bulky, but I shouldn’t mind doing it myself if I were sure of finding a publisher.’

‘The Bible and Nature,’ said Martin, musingly.  ’What is his scheme?  How does he go to work?’

Godwin gave a brief but lucid description of the book, and Mr Warricombe listened gravely.  When there had been silence for some moments, the latter spoke in a tone he had never yet used when conversing with Peak.  He allowed himself, for the first time, to betray a troubled doubt on the subject under discussion.