CHAPTER FOUR
Colin finished his coffee and looked inquiringly across the table.
"Have you any special plans for this afternoon?" he asked. "If not, I thought I'd get on with that new parcel of stuff from Paris. The sooner it's sorted out and classified the better."
The Professor, who was engaged in selecting a cigar, stopped in the middle of the operation.
"Let me see, Gray," he observed, "how long have you been with me?"
Colin reflected for a moment. "I came on a Wednesday," he said. "That will be three weeks to-morrow."
"And I believe," continued the Professor, "that except for a few occasional pauses for sleep and refreshment, you have spent the whole of that period shut up in the laboratory."
Colin gave a protesting laugh. "Well, I wanted to get the hang of things as soon as possible," he replied. "I can stand a lot of work provided it's interesting."
"That appears to be the truth," admitted his employer. "All the same, every piece of machinery has its breaking-point, and, as I am beginning to find you extremely useful, I have no wish that you should suddenly collapse. You will therefore oblige me by going out into the open air and not showing your face inside this house again until bedtime."