"
Barclay paused.
"It was all at once that I saw it - like you'd snap your fingers.
It was an accident of Charlie's talk . . . one of those obiter
dicta, that I mentioned a while ago. But I stopped Charlie and
went over to the Metropolitan Library; there I got me an expert -
an astronomer chap, as it happened, reading calculus in French
for fun - I gave him a twenty and I looked him in the eye.
"Now, Professor,' I said, `this dope's got to be straight stuff,
I'm risking money on it; every word you write has got to be the
truth, and every line and figure that you put on your map has got
to be correct with a capital K.'"
"'Surely,' he said, `I shall follow Huxley for the text and I
shall check the chart calculations for error.'
"'And there's another thing, professor. You've got to go dumb on
this job, for which I double the twenty.' He looked puzzled, but
when he finally understood me, he said `Surely' again, and I went
back to my apartment.
"'Charlie,' I said, `how much money would it take for this
English country life business?'
"His eyes lighted up a little.
"'Well, Barclay, old man,' he replied, `I've estimated it pretty
carefully a number of times.
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