"There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her ........
And when she was good she
was very, very good.
But when she was bad she was ......"
Even the familiar rhyme failed in its lulling purpose. He could no longer hide behind its chant-like curtain. Bowdler's voice went on, striking ever more harshly at the roots of Comstock's being.
"What a mockery all of our lives would be if what Grundy and I think is true. Suppose everything we have been taught is a lie. What then little man? What then?"
From some unknown and previously untapped reservoir of strength Comstock managed to dredge up the ability to say, "That's ridiculous. There would be no reason under the two suns for that to be true. The truth is mighty and will prevail."
"Just a little less of the copy-book maxims if you don't mind, old man," Bowdler said. "Hear us out."