“Rather, if he’d made ‘em.”
“Suppose he had!”
“Go ahead, Hen, I’m supposing,” said Mr. Green, beginning to pucker his brows and stare very hard indeed in the endeavour to keep the supposition fixed firmly in his head.
“And, further, suppose that these two promises were diametrically opposed to one another.”
Mr. Green stuck out one leg, looked obliquely at the carpet, pressed his lips together and nodded.
“So that if he fulfilled them both he’d have to break them both—”
“Stop a sec! Gad, I’ve lost it! Start again, Hen!”
“No, I mean so that if he didn’t break one he would be forced to break the other. Have you got that?”
“Stop a bit! Don’t believe I have. Let’s see!”
He moved his lips silently, repeating the Prophet’s words.