‘You will not do so,’ returned Rex very calmly and gravely. ‘You are bound not to attack me about my predictions, and so far as any other cause of disagreement is concerned, I think you will find it hard to discover one, for you came here to make a friendly visit, without a thought of quarrelling. I think you must see that.’
Greif walked up and down the room in silence for some minutes. He felt the superiority of Rex’s position, and would not stoop to force the situation by any brutal discourtesy. At the same time he was distracted by the idea that Rex had not yet told him half of what he knew.
‘You are right,’ he said at last. ‘I am a fool!’
‘No, you are an agglomeration of vortices,’ answered Rex with a smile. ‘Shall I tell you one fact more, one very curious fact?’
‘Tell me all!’ answered Greif with sudden energy.
‘In the nature of things, you should have news of that person to-day. You have not heard from him before coming here?’
‘No, and I think nothing could be more improbable than that I should have news of him at all, beyond what you tell me. Besides, I could prevent the possibility of such a thing.’
‘How?’ inquired Rex.
‘By trespassing upon your hospitality until midnight,’ answered Greif with a laugh, in which his natural good temper reappeared once more.
‘Will you do so?’ asked the student with the greatest readiness. ‘Here is a test of my veracity. Whether you stay here, or go home, or wander out alone by the river, you will hear of that individual before midnight.’