Nicholas sat gazing at the fire.
His brain was extraordinarily alert. There was a dawning humour waking in his eyes, a hint of the bygone years’ devil-may-careness. The old Nick was stirring within him, roused by the little blows of that sentence.
Suddenly a flash of laughter illuminated his whole face. He brought his hand down on the arm of his chair.
“By gad, I’ve got it, and Hilary’s the man to help me.”
It was characteristic of Nicholas to forget his own share in that little ten-day-old scene. Also it may be safely averred that Doctor Hilary would be equally forgetful.
Nicholas still sat gazing into the fire, chuckling every now and then to himself. It was midnight before he rang for Jessop. The ringing had been preceded by one short sentence.
“By gad, Nick the dare-devil, the scheme’s worthy of the old days.”