"You know? You? But they were all sure of it." He dashed his cap into a corner. "Maraton is our man," he continued passionately. "No one shall rob us of him. He should have come to us. Downing Street--blast Downing Street!" "There is no one in this world," she told him gently, "who will move Maraton from his will. I know. I have seen him." He stared at her, hollow-eyed, amazed. "You? You have seen him?" She nodded. "I heard by accident of the house he had taken the house where he means to live. I went there and I waited. Later, Richard Graveling came there, too." The youth struck the table before him. His eyes were filled with tears. "All night I waited!" he cried. "I could not sit still. I could scarcely breathe. Tell me what he is like, Julia? Tell me what he looks like? Is he strong? Does he look strong enough for the work?" She smiled at him reassuringly. "Yes, he looks strong and he looks kind. For the rest--" "There is something! Tell me what it is--at once?" "Foolish! Well, he is unlike Richard Graveling and the others, unlike us. Why not? He is cultivated, educated, well-dressed." The youth, for a moment, was aghast. "You don't mean--that he is a gentleman?" "Not in the sense you fear," she assured him. "Remember that his work is more far-reaching than ours. It takes him everywhere; he must be fit for everything. Sit down now, dear Aaron. You are tired. See, my morning tea is ready, and there is bread and butter. You must eat and drink. Maraton you will surely see later in the day. I do not think that he will disappoint you." Aaron sat down at the table. He ate and drank ravenously. He was, in fact, half starved but barely conscious of it. "He spoke of the great things?" Julia shook her head. She was busy cutting bread and butter. "Scarcely at all. What chance was there? And then Richard Graveling came." "They were friends? They took to one another?" the young man asked eagerly. She hesitated. "I am not sure about that. Graveling was in one of his tempers. He was rude, and he said things to me which I felt obliged to contradict." "They did not quarrel?" She laughed softly. "Imagine Maraton quarrelling! I think that he is above such pettiness, Aaron." "Graveling is a good fellow and a hard worker," Aaron declared. "The one thing which he lacks is enthusiasm. He doesn't really feel. He does his work well because it is his work, not because of what it leads to." "You are right," Julia admitted. "He has no enthusiasm. That is why he never moves people when he speaks. I must go soon, Aaron. Will you lie down and rest for a time here?" "Rest!" He looked at her scornfully. "How can one rest! Tell me where this house of his is? I shall go and wait outside. I must see him." She glanced at the clock, and paused for a moment to think.