"Yes, yes, of course; I am ready to begin again now, if you care to go on with me," said Challis. He talked for a few minutes of the book without any great show of interest. Presently they came to a pause, and Lewes suggested that he should give some account of how his time had been spent. "To-morrow," replied Challis, "to-morrow will be time enough. I shall settle down again in a few days." He hesitated a moment, and then said: "Any news from Chilborough?" "N-no, I don't think so," returned Lewes. He was occupied with his own interests; he doubted Challis's intention to continue his work on the book--the announcement had been so half-hearted. "What about that child?" asked Challis. "That child?" Lewes appeared to have forgotten the existence of Victor Stott. "That abnormal child of Stott's?" prompted Challis. "Oh! Of course, yes. I believe he still goes nearly every day to the library. I have been down there two or three times, and found him reading. He has learned the use of the index-catalogue. He can get any book he wants. He uses the steps." "Do you know what he reads?" "No; I can't say I do." "What do you think will become of him?" "Oh! these infant prodigies, you know," said Lewes with a large air of authority, "they all go the same way. Most of them die young, of course, the others develop into ordinary commonplace men rather under than over the normal ability. After all, it is what one would expect. Nature always maintains her average by some means or another. If a child like this with his abnormal memory were to go on developing, there would be no place for him in the world's economy. The idea is inconceivable." "Quite, quite," murmured Challis, and after a short silence he added: "You think he will deteriorate, that his faculties will decay prematurely?" "I should say there could be no doubt of it," replied Lewes. "Ah! well. I'll go down and have a look at him, one day next week," said Challis; but he did not go till the middle of October. The direct cause of his going was a letter from Crashaw, who offered to come up to town, as the matter was one of "really peculiar urgency." "I wonder if young Stott has been blaspheming again," Challis remarked to Lewes. "Wire the man that I'll go down and see him this afternoon. I shall motor. Say I'll be at Stoke about half-past three." II Challis was ushered into Crashaw's study on his arrival, and found the rector in company with another man--introduced as Mr. Forman--a jolly-looking, high-complexioned man of sixty or so, with a great quantity of white hair on his head and face; he was wearing an old-fashioned morning-coat and grey trousers that were noticeably too short for him. Crashaw lost no time in introducing the subject of "really peculiar urgency," but he rambled in his introduction.