He motioned me to a chair and took another himself. For a few moments he remained silent; and when he spoke I was struck by the change in his tone. At the meeting, he had spoken decisively, almost bitterly at times; but now a ring of sadness entered into that great musical voice. “I wonder, Flint,” he said, “I wonder if you understand what we have taken in hand to-day? I doubt if any of us see where all this is leading us. I see the vague outlines of it before us; but beyond a certain point one cannot go.” He paused, deep in thought for a few seconds; then, as though waking suddenly to life again, offered me a cigar and took one himself. When he spoke again, it was in a different tone. “Perhaps you wonder why I picked you out--of course it was I who got you invited to that meeting; I wanted to look you over there before making up my mind about you. Well, I have means of knowing about people; and you struck me as the man I needed in this work. I’ve been watching you for some years, Flint; ever since you made your mark, in fact. You aren’t one of my young men--the ones they call ‘Nordenholt’s gang,’ I believe--but you are of my kind; and I knew that I could get you if I wanted you for something big.” In any other man this would have struck me as insolence; but Nordenholt had already established such an influence over me that I felt flattered rather than ruffled by this calm assumption on his part. “But in some ways it’s a disadvantage now that we didn’t come together earlier,” he continued. “You remember Nelson and his captains--the band of brothers? Nothing can be accomplished on a grand scale without that feeling; and possibly I have left it until too late to get into touch with you. It depends on yourself, Flint. I know you, possibly as well as you know yourself; but you know nothing of me. With my young men,” and a tinge of pride came into his voice, “with my young men, that difficulty doesn’t arise. They know me as well as anyone can--well enough, at any rate, for us to work together for a common object, no matter how big the stake may be. But you, Flint, represent a foreign mind in the machine. I want you to understand some things; in fact, it’s essential that you should see the lines on which I work; for otherwise we shall be at cross-purposes. I wonder how it can be done?” He leaned back in his chair and smoked silently for a few minutes. I said nothing; for I was quite content to await whatever he had to put into words. I only wondered what form it would take. When he broke the silence, it was on quite unexpected lines. He looked at his watch. “Three hours yet before we can do anything further. I might as well spend part of it on this; and possibly I can give you an idea of my outlook on things which will help you when we are working together up North.