“My dear chap, the thing's obvious,” answered Basil, holding a return ticket between his teeth while he fumbled in his waistcoat pocket. “Those two fellows never committed a crime in their lives. They're not the kind. Have either of you chaps got a halfpenny? I want to get a paper before the omnibus comes.” “Oh, curse the paper!” cried Rupert, in a fury. “Do you mean to tell me, Basil Grant, that you are going to leave a fellow creature in pitch darkness in a private dungeon, because you've had ten minutes' talk with the keepers of it and thought them rather good men?” “Good men do commit crimes sometimes,” said Basil, taking the ticket out of his mouth. “But this kind of good man doesn't commit that kind of crime. Well, shall we get on this omnibus?” The great green vehicle was indeed plunging and lumbering along the dim wide street towards us. Basil had stepped from the curb, and for an instant it was touch and go whether we should all have leaped on to it and been borne away to the restaurant and the theatre. “Basil,” I said, taking him firmly by the shoulder, “I simply won't leave this street and this house.” “Nor will I,” said Rupert, glaring at it and biting his fingers. “There's some black work going on there. If I left it I should never sleep again.” Basil Grant looked at us both seriously. “Of course if you feel like that,” he said, “we'll investigate further. You'll find it's all right, though. They're only two young Oxford fellows. Extremely nice, too, though rather infected with this pseudo-Darwinian business. Ethics of evolution and all that.” “I think,” said Rupert darkly, ringing the bell, “that we shall enlighten you further about their ethics.” “And may I ask,” said Basil gloomily, “what it is that you propose to do?” “I propose, first of all,” said Rupert, “to get into this house; secondly, to have a look at these nice young Oxford men; thirdly, to knock them down, bind them, gag them, and search the house.” Basil stared indignantly for a few minutes. Then he was shaken for an instant with one of his sudden laughs. “Poor little boys,” he said. “But it almost serves them right for holding such silly views, after all,” and he quaked again with amusement “there's something confoundedly Darwinian about it.” “I suppose you mean to help us?” said Rupert. “Oh, yes, I'll be in it,” answered Basil, “if it's only to prevent your doing the poor chaps any harm.” He was standing in the rear of our little procession, looking indifferent and sometimes even sulky, but somehow the instant the door opened he stepped first into the hall, glowing with urbanity. “So sorry to haunt you like this,” he said. “I met two friends outside who very much want to know you. May I bring them in?”