He was disturbed in his meditations by a knock on the outer door, and a minute or two later he heard a familiar voice in the passage inquiring if he were at home.
He rose to his feet in a moment, and pushed Tennyson into a dark corner out of sight. Then the door of his sitting-room was flung open, and Felix Muller entered unannounced. Rufus greeted him with a look of inquiry in his eyes—an inquiry, however, which he did not attempt to shape into words.
Muller made his way to the fire at once, and spread his hands over the grate. "It's a glorious night," he said, "but cold. The roads are as hard as iron, and the moon makes it almost as light as day."
"Have you driven over?" Rufus inquired.
"Yes, I had to see Farmer Udy at Longridge, and so I thought as I was so near, I would drive a little farther and see you. How have you been getting on this long time?"
"Fairly well on the whole, I think. Of course, my accident upset all my calculations for a while, but at present things are moving steadily and in the right direction."
"That's right, I'm glad to hear it. And when do you think the thing will be properly launched?"
"Well, it is not easy to say positively, but I should give six months as an outside limit."
"You expected at first that the whole thing would be completed in six months."
"That is true, but I had not reckoned on the contingency of a broken leg."