Dreeme walked down the road to his house. The night was extraordinarily
clear, the heavens being covered with a huge wheel of glittering stars.
Lifting his head the young doctor could see the Great Dipper, the
Little Bear, the steadfast North Star. The Milky Way was a shoal of
misty light pricked to diamond points by infinities of sparkling gems.
Between the hosts of stars and the road were the crowded tops of the
ancient trees interposing their thick foliage. The huge branches idly
shaking their multitudes of leaves made moving patterns upon the road,
crazy designs and impossible arabesques. Dreeme stepped through these
checkered patterns unseeingly. Two shadows walked on either side of
him. One was a shadow of ruddy gloom, the secret lustre of a beryl;
the other, a shadow of dim light, the shy reflection of crystal. He
walked between them and the moon moved like a lantern in the hand of
some sky-traveler above him. The shadows crept closer to him and he
instinctively spread his arms to keep them from him. There was no sound
in the quiet evening and yet they were speaking to him. The ruddy
shadow said:
“I do not say ‘no’ to anything.”
Dreeme walked faster. The shadow of dim light said:
“I had a very good lawyer, Mr. Stopes.”
“I do not hear you,” said Dreeme. His pace increased until he was
trudging along at a furious rate.