Well, what of it? What could be said by either of us? Severn had won the
first round and was fresh as ever after it, while his adversary was
driven to the ropes by the suddenness rather than the strength of the
blow. It was, indeed, an utterly impossible contest, for while Terry's
attitude was rock-still, Severn moved his arguments continually and
bewilderingly about in all directions and with all velocities. There was
nowhere to grip hold, and besides, Severn was the wicked animal that,
when attacked, defends itself. When, for instance, Terry asked if Helen
knew what was happening, Severn answered: "Why _should_ she know? She
doesn't tell me all _her_ private affairs." And when I ventured to point
out that there was really no parallel at all between _her_ private
affairs and this one of his, he turned on me with the lightning retort:
"Well, _you_ ought to know her private affairs, Hilton, if anybody does.
_You_ ought to know why she hasn't spoken to you for years, and won't
even have you in the house.... She won't tell _me_, anyway."
It was a good shot, and it made the second round his as well as the
first. Terry, I could see, was utterly bewildered by the revelation; and
I, naturally, was nonplussed. In the interval Severn went serenely on
with his little game of turning the argument upside down and inside out.
It was a fascinating display of dialectic, but I wasn't in the mood to
admire it; I wondered why he didn't say: "Look here, I've had enough of
this discussion. My own affairs are my own, and you can both clear out
and be damned to you." Perhaps he didn't say that because he was
enjoying himself so much better arguing.
The interview had begun at half-past eight, and soon after nine I
reminded him of his train to Warsaw. And then, with a bland smile, he
replied: "Oh, never mind _that_. I'm not going to Warsaw or anywhere
else just yet. It was only a blind to get me away from your valued, but
in the circumstances, rather undesirable company.... Have another drink,
will you?"
I declined one perhaps curtly, and he ordered one for himself. Then he
went on, lighting another cigar and making himself thoroughly
comfortable: "D'you know, you fellows seems so infernally interested in
my affairs that I've half a mind to tell you the whole damn truth about
them...."