And still Nordenholt held his hand. I could not understand it; for by this time I had seen where the teaching of the Reverend John was leading us. Work was slowing down in the factories; crowds of all classes were spending their whole time following their Prophet; and the mere numbers of them were becoming a serious menace to the safety of the Area. At last I became so anxious on the subject that I went to consult Nordenholt on the matter. I had begun to doubt if he appreciated the gravity of the situation.
I found him sitting before the fire in his office, smoking and gazing before him as though wrapped in his reflections.
“Look here, Nordenholt,” I said. “I suppose you grasp the seriousness of affairs nowadays? Isn’t it about time something was done? It seems to me that you’ll need to grasp this nettle before long anyway. Why let it grow any bigger?”
“Afraid I’m losing my grip, eh? Not yet, Jack, not yet awhile. But I will grasp it before long. I’m only waiting the proper moment. I’ve waited for weeks; and now I think it’s nearly due at last.”
“But the man’s insane, Nordenholt. You see that, don’t you? Why wait any longer. Grab him now and be done with it—at least that’s what I should do if I were in charge.”
“No, I’m going to give him three days more. If I interfered now, it would spoil everything. Wait till he has seen his prophecy fail, and then we can tackle him.”
“I don’t see any use waiting; but I suppose you know best.”
“I do know best, Jack, believe me. Come back here in three days, at half-past eleven, and you’ll see my methods. I’m going to teach these people a lesson this time.”
He leaned back in his chair and fixed his eyes on the old stone image of the Pope’s head which, under its glass bell, forms part of the mantelpiece.
“What differences there are in the way religion works on a man, Jack. There was an old chap in the dark ages, that Pope; and he believed in spreading the light by education. He founded the University here. And then you have this fanatic to-day whose one idea seems to be to reduce everything to chaos again. What a difference! And yet each of them thinks that he is inspired to do the right thing in his day.”