The atmosphere began to get warm. But Comber despised West as an ally and did not think very much of M. Pons, so he turned round to White. White was sitting, as he always did, quietly in the background, without saying anything. He was so quiet that people often forgot that he was there at all. The effect of many years' bullying by Moy-Thompson was to make him agree eagerly with the opinion of the last speaker, and therefore Comber hadn't any doubt about the support that he would receive. But White had never forgotten that handclasp that Traill had given him, and now, to everyone's intense surprise, he said, “I think Birkland's perfectly right. A man oughtn't to lose his temper because another man's borrowed his umbrella. I think Traill's been very hardly used—at any rate, we all know what Perrin must be to live with.” Everyone was surprised, and Comber so astonished that for some time he could find no words at all. At last he broke out, “Well, all I can say is that you people don't know what you 're in for; if you go on encouraging people like Traill to go about stealing people's things—” “Look here, Comber,” Birkland broke in. “You've no right to say stealing. You may as well try and be fair. Traill never stole anything; you'd better be more careful of your words.” “Well, I call it stealing anyhow,” said Comber hotly. “You can call it what you like, Birkland. I daresay you've got pet words of your own for these things. But when a man takes something that is n't his and keeps it—” “He didn't keep it,” Birkland said angrily. “You 're grossly prejudiced, just as you always are.” “What about yourself?” West broke in. “People in glass houses—” At this point the temperature of the room became very warm indeed. Comber was pale with rage; he had never been so insulted before—not that it very much mattered what a wretched creature like Birkland said. He began to explain in a loud voice that some people weren't fit to be in gentlemen's society, and that though, of course, he wouldn't like to mention names, nevertheless, if certain persons thought about it long enough, they would probably find that the cap fitted, and that if only people could occasionally see themselves as others saw them—well, it might be better for everyone concerned, and then perhaps there would be a chance of their behaving decently in decent society, although of course, if one's education had been neglected.... Meanwhile, M. Pons was explaining to West that whether you went in for science or modern languages one's opinion of this sort of affair must be the same, there was no question about it. Birkland was sitting back, white and stiff in his chair and wishing that he might take all their heads and crash them together in one big debacle. Then suddenly, when another two minutes might have been dangerous for everyone concerned, the door was flung open, and Clinton entered. He was excited, he was stirred; it was obvious that he had news.