'llfindpaperthere.I'dliketocensoritbeforeitgoes."
Ittooksomedoing,butIflattermyselfthatitwasn'tsuchabadjobwhenitwasfinished.Ireaditaloudtothecriticalbacteriologistwithsomeprideinmyhandiwork.
"DEARPROFESSORCHALLENGER,"itsaid,"AsahumblestudentofNature,IhavealwaystakenthemostprofoundinterestinyourspeculationsastothedifferencesbetweenDarwinandWeissmann.Ihaverecentlyhadoccasiontorefreshmymemorybyre-reading——"
"Youinfernalliar!"murmuredTarpHenry.
—"byre-readingyourmasterlyaddressatVienna.Thatlucidandadmirablestatementseemstobethelastwordinthematter.Thereisonesentenceinit,however—namely:'Iproteststronglyagainsttheinsufferableandentirelydogmaticassertionthateachseparateidisamicrocosmpossessedofanhistoricalarchitectureelaboratedslowlythroughtheseriesofgenerations.'Haveyounodesire,inviewoflaterresearch,tomodifythisstatement?Doyounotthinkthatitisover-accentuated?Withyourpermission,Iwouldaskthefavorofaninterview,asIfeelstronglyuponthesubject,andhavecertainsuggestionswhichIcouldonlyelaborateinapersonalconversation.Withyourconsent,Itrusttohavethehonorofcallingateleveno'clockthedayafterto-morrow(Wednesday)morning.
"Iremain,Sir,withassurancesofprofoundrespect,yoursverytruly,
EDWARDD.MALONE."
"How'sthat?"Iasked,triumphantly.
"Wellifyourconsciencecanstandit——"
"Ithasneverfailedmeyet."
"Butwhatdoyoumeantodo?"
"Togetthere.OnceIaminhisroomImayseesomeopening.Imayevengothelengthofopenconfession.Ifheisasportsmanhewillbetickled."
"Tickled,indeed!He'smuchmorelikelytodothetickling.Chainmail,oranAmericanfootballsuit—that'swhatyou'llwant.Well,good-bye.I'llhavetheanswerforyouhereonWednesdaymorning—ifheeverdeignstoansweryou.Heisaviolent,dangerous,cantankerouscharacter,hatedbyeveryonewhocomesacrosshim,andthebuttofthestudents,sofarastheydaretakealibertywithhim.Perhapsitwouldbebestforyouifyouneverheardfromthefellowatall."