At half-past seven that same evening Malling was with Professor Stepton, and made what the professor called his "report."
"Ah!" said the professor when he had finished.
"Did you expect Chichester to behave like that, to be like that?" asked
Mailing.
"I hoped he would."
"Hoped! Why?"
"Because it enables me to accept as facts certain things about which I must otherwise have remained in doubt. Of course I must see Chichester for myself. But he'll be just the same, just the same."
The professor's eyes shone, and he poked his chin forward.
"The reverend gentlemen of St. Joseph's have provided me with a basis," he exclaimed emphatically.
"A basis! For what?" asked Mailing.
"For future experiments and investigations of a highly interesting nature. Ruskin was very often wrong, but he was right when he said, in a lucid moment, that every creature is precious. Well, good-night, Malling. I must get to work. I'll explain everything to you later."