"
He paused as under the pressure of the memory.
"St. Alban always maintained that from the moment he saw the long
map on the bandage everything blurred around him, and began to
clear only when he spoke on the deck. He used to curse this
blur. It made him a national figure and immortal, but it
prevented him, he said, from striking the Prussian in the face."
XVI. The House by the Loch
There was a snapping fire in the chimney. I was cold through and
I was glad to stand close beside it on the stone hearth. My
greatcoat had kept out the rain, but it had not kept out the
chill of the West Highland night. I shivered before the fire, my
hands held out to the flame.
It was a long, low room. There was an ancient guncase on one
side, but the racks were empty except for a service pistol
hanging by its trigger-guard from the hook. There were some
shelves of books on the other side. But the conspicuous thing in
the room was an image of Buddha in a glass box on the
mantelpiece.
It was about four inches high, cast in silver and, I thought, of
immense age.
I had to wait for my uncle to come in.
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