Love and Mr. Lewisham

  CHAPTER XII.

  LEWISHAM IS UNACCOUNTABLE.

  That night, as she went with him to Chelsea station, Miss Heydingerdiscovered an extraordinary moodiness in Lewisham. She had beenvividly impressed by the scene in which they had just participated,she had for a time believed in the manifestations; the swift exposurehad violently revolutionised her ideas. The details of the crisis werea little confused in her mind. She ranked Lewisham with Smithers inthe scientific triumph of the evening. On the whole she feltelated. She had no objection to being confuted by Lewisham. But shewas angry with the Medium, "It is dreadful," she said. "Living a lie!How can the world grow better, when sane, educated people use theirsanity and enlightenment to darken others? It is dreadful!

  "He was a horrible man--such an oily, dishonest voice. And the girl--Iwas sorry for her. She must have been oh!--bitterly ashamed, or whyshould she have burst out crying? That _did_ distress me. Fancy cryinglike that! It was--yes--_abandon_. But what can one do?"

  She paused. Lewisham was walking along, looking straight before him,lost in some grim argument with himself.

  "It makes me think of Sludge the Medium," she said.

  He made no answer.

  She glanced at him suddenly. "Have you read Sludge the Medium?"

  "Eigh?" he said, coming back out of infinity. "What? I beg your pardon.Sludge, the Medium? I thought his name was--it _was_--Chaffery."

  He looked at her, clearly very anxious upon this question of fact.

  "But I mean Browning's 'Sludge.' You know the poem."

  "No--I'm afraid I don't," said Lewisham.

  "I must lend it to you," she said. "It's splendid. It goes to thevery bottom of this business."

  "Does it?"

  "It never occurred to me before. But I see the point clearly now. Ifpeople, poor people, are offered money if phenomena happen, it's toomuch. They are _bound_ to cheat. It's bribery--immorality!"

  She talked in panting little sentences, because Lewisham was walkingin heedless big strides. "I wonder how much--such people--could earnhonestly."

  Lewisham slowly became aware of the question at his ear. He hurriedback from infinity. "How much they could earn honestly? I haven't theslightest idea."

  He paused. "The whole of this business puzzles me," he said. "I wantto think."

  "It's frightfully complex, isn't it?" she said--a little staggered.

  But the rest of the way to the station was silence. They parted witha hand-clasp they took a pride in--a little perfunctory so far asLewisham was concerned on this occasion. She scrutinised his face asthe train moved out of the station, and tried to account for hismood. He was staring before him at unknown things as if he had alreadyforgotten her.

  He wanted to think! But two heads, she thought, were better than onein a matter of opinion. It troubled her to be so ignorant of hismental states. "How we are wrapped and swathed about--soul from soul!"she thought, staring out of the window at the dim things flying byoutside.

  Suddenly a fit of depression came upon her. She felt alone--absolutelyalone--in a void world.

  Presently she returned to external things. She became aware of twopeople in the next compartment eyeing her critically. Her hand wentpatting at her hair.