Philip Van Doren Stern (ed) (240 page)

"Oh,
God,"
he
sighed.

And
the
sweat
trickled
down
his
face.

And
then,
inevitably,
sounding
close
in
his
ear,
the
sneering,
hateful voice
of
Captain
Thunder.

"Home
so
soon,
my
young
friend?
No,
you
would
not
believe, would
you?
You
knew
too
much
.
.
."

Patterson
made
no
sign
of
life.
Back
once
more
on
the
island.
For all
eternity
.
.
.
the
island
.
.
.
and
then
the
murmuring
song swelled
louder,
louder,
mocking
him,
laughing
a
little,
as
Ines
had laughed
when
he
had
told
her
he
was
going
to
escape.
The
song
of
the island!
And
he
must
hear
it
for
ever!
He
opened
his
eyes
to
find
the Captain
looking
at
him
cynically.

"Now
that
you
understand
there
is
no
escape,"
said
the
Captain, "perhaps
you
will
not
take
it
amiss
if
I
venture
to
criticize
your
manner
towards
Madam
Ines.
.
.
."

But
Patterson
was
not
listening.

From
The Four Corners of 'he
World,
reprinted
by permission of A. P. Watt & Son.

_{The Clock}

By A. E. W. MASON

MR.
TWISS
WAS A GREAT WALKER, AND IT WAS HIS HABIT, AFTER HIS

day's
work
was
done,
to
walk
from
his
pleasant
office
in
the
Adelphi
to his
home
at
Hampstead.
On
an
afternoon
he
was
detained
to
a
later hour
than
usual
by
one
of
his
clients,
a
Captain
Brayton,
over
some matter
of
a
mortgage.
Mr.
Twiss
looked
at
his
office
clock.

"You
are
going
west,
I
suppose?"
he
said.
"I
wonder
if
you
would walk
with
me
as
far
as
Piccadilly.
It
will
not
be
very
much
out
of
your way,
and
I
have
a
reason
for
wishing
your
company."

"By
all
means,"
replied
Captain
Brayton,
and
the
two
men
set
forth.

Mr.
Twiss,
however,
seemed
in
a
difficulty
as
to
how
he
should broach
his
subject,
and
for
a
while
the
pair
walked
in
silence.
They, indeed,
reached
Pall
Mall,
and
were
walking
down
that
broad
thoroughfare,
before
a
word
of
any
importance
was
uttered.
And
even
then it
was
chance
which
furnished
the
occasion.
A
young
man
of
Captain Brayton's
age
came
down
from
the
steps
of
a
club
and
walked
towards them.
As
he
passed
beneath
a
street
lamp,
Mr.
Twiss
noticed
his
face, and
ever
so
slightly
started
with
surprise.
At
almost
the
same
moment, the
young
man
swerved
across
the
road
at
a
run,
as
though
suddenly he
remembered
a
very
pressing
appointment.
The
two
men
walked
on again
for
a
few
paces,
and
then
Captain
Brayton
observed:
"There
is a
screw
loose
there,
I
am
afraid."

Mr.
Twiss
shook
his
head.

"I
am
sorry
to
hear
you
say
so,"
he
replied.
"It
was,
indeed,
about Archie
Cranfield
that
I
was
anxious
to
speak
to
you.
I
promised
his father
that
I
would
be
something
more
than
Archie's
mere
man
of affairs,
if
I
were
allowed,
and
I
confess
that
I
am
troubled
by
him. You
know
him
well?"