The Ball and The Cross

swing of the pendulum. Across the great plains and uplands to the right and left of the lane, a long tide of sunset light rolled like a sea of ruby, lighting up the long terrac

monly experienced between those wild green English wa

was, indeed, something a little mad in the contrast between the evening's stillness over the empty country-si

d Turnbull, with civilit

you," replied MacIa

on in a family of warr

essential," answered MacIan, w

augh, and silence fell between th

ny of those policemen. They are too fat

r myself that I am now doing something towards making them thin. You'll see they will be as

ch us," said MacIan

ry art of running away," returned the

said, for Turnbull had gone silent suddenly, and seemed to be list

" repeated th

his head to the trail they had left behind them. Across two or three billows of th

s," said Turnbull, shortly. "Good Lord

y. "What shall we do? Shall we

an." And he stared and peered about him between the bushes. "If we could hide somewhere the beasts might go by us," he said.

l, and on the top of it the black hedge stood out over them as an angle, almost like a thatched roof of the l

d almost scarlet, and his pale face as bright as a boy's. Something violent, something that was at once love and hatred, surged in the strange heart of the Gael below him. He had an unutterable sense of epic

ver, or Balin and Balan, reminding him of emotional entanglements. Men who had loved each other and then fought each other; men who had fought each other and then loved each other, tog

nd. But even upon him there came for the moment something out of the earth and the passionate end

ng thing over there?" he asked shor

shed or lodge a yard or two beyond it. It was a weather-stained hut of grey wood, which with all its desolation retained a tag or t

," said Turnbull, as he entered it, "a

moments. "Sir," he said, "I ought to

suddenly lifting his

louder with inconceivable rapidity, and the cavalcade of police rushed by

aring stolidly at the other, "that you are a grea

of the foolish lattice of the little windows, t

f a man at a picnic. He had just laid out the last items, put a bottle of wine on the floor, and a tin of salmon on the window-ledge, wh

a tin and stared silently at his companio

can that be?"

id the other. "

eration did not resemble the ordinary effects of knocking on a door for admittance. It was rather as if t

with a kind of stagger, put his hand out and caught one of the swor

putting him on one side. "It's only someon

up a sword as he

ordinary bamboo cane came at his eyes, so that he had actually to parry it with the naked weapon in his hands. As t

ll man with two wisps of long hair that curled up on each side, and seen in silhouette, looked like horns. He had a bow tie so big that the two ends showed on each side of his neck like unnat

MacIan," said Turnbull, placidly, "I

stranger in a high shrill voice,

ooking round to MacIan with th

med the little ma

, and went outside with th

sputable touch of affectation. Against the great sunset his figure had looked merely small: seen in a more equal light it looked tolerably compact and shapely. His reddish-brown hair, combed int

here?" he said, in

his grave childish way,

indignantly, "I'm

cIan, simply,

and the stranger stared from one to the other,

last, "what the devil you a

MacIan. "We were j

!" repeat

r he said firmly, "I am sorry, sir, but we have something to do that must be done. And I may as well t

e some slight refreshment

understanding and stooped and picked up the

ll con

ng articles about them all my life. I know all about the sacredness of human life; I have bored all my friends with it. Try and understand our position. This man and I are alone in the modern world in that we think that God is essentially important. I think He does not exist; that is where the importance comes in for me. But this man thinks that He does exist, and thinking that very properly thinks Him more important than anything else.

al misery. Are you really the two tomfools I have read of in all the papers? Are you

an, "it began in

e bottle of wine twenty

than that. I've got the best Beaune within fifty miles

bility, was a little taken aback by this

ir..." h

a green smooth lawn and your choice of swords and pistols. Why, you fools, I adore fighting! It's the only good thing in Go

trunk of a neighbouring tree so that the ferru

ly with the wide-eyed curiosity

ll fighter, brandish

Ian, "but was that what y

ant and then said: "Yes," and

is heels. "Come on! Confound me, I'll see both of you eat and then I'll see one of you die. Lor

e steps to the door of a tiny but very clean cottage. There was nothing about the outside to distinguish it from other cottages, except indeed its ominous cleanliness and one thing that was out of all the custom and tradition of all cottages under th

reature again. "Come i

shimmered on every side of them were subtly mixed from many periods and lands, but were all oriental. Cruel Assyrian bas-reliefs ran along the sides of the passage; cruel Turkish swords and daggers glinted above and below them; the two were separated by ages and fallen civilizations. Yet they seemed to sympathize since they were both harmonious and both merciless. The house seemed

ht. Send up the very best wine and dinner at once. And Selim, one of t

bowed an

y. He carried one of the swords. Turnbull was in the little house behind him, demolishing the end of an early breakfast and humming a tune to himself, which could be heard th

erns in the interior of the house, and they waited for his emergence, stamping the garden in silence-the garden of tall, fresh country flowers

tled because of the still posture in which they found him. He was on his knees in front of the stone idol, rigid and m

with a kind of bewilderment. "So sorry...family prayers...ol

he statue to an open space of

e heavy stone figure on the pedestal which had now its blank and shapeless bac

eemed still misty with sleep (or sleeplessness

e back view of the god. His eyes were at once liquid and

is blank thing is his real face, watching, though it cannot be watched. He! he! Yes,

the thing?" asked

there is," answered th

d Turnbul

the caprice of some old god, some happy, pitiless god. Perhaps it was his will, for he loves blood; and on that stone in front of him men have been butchered by hun

sudden movement, unmeaning appa

ur is come. Today his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Men, men, me

eavily as statues, and the silence seemed to cool the

commerce or the more contemptible ground of social good. But do not fancy that you will find one other person who will comprehend a strong man taking the sword in his hand and wiping out his enemy. My name is Wimpey, Morrice Wimpey. I had a Fellowship at Magdalen. But I assure you I had to drop it, owing to my having said something in a public lecture infringing the popular prejudice against those great gentlemen, the assassins of the Italian Renaissance. They let me say it at dinner and so on, and seemed to like it. But in a public lecture...so inconsistent. Well, as I say, here is your only refuge an

n MacIan said steadily: "Mr. Turnb

MacIan took the second sword in his left hand and, with a

n a loud, harsh vo

ward, and bewildered wo

ht me," repeated MacIan, wi

nbull with a gesture, demand

began, "this gen

f fighting! Fight, if you're so fond of all that filthy philosophy! If winning is everything, go in and

Wimpey, with

im like an express train, doubling his size every second, with eyes as big as windows and a sword as bright as the sun. So

the sword and joined in the scamper. "Chase him over

im like a cat. But MacIan, as he ran past the South Sea idol, paused an instant to spring upon its pedestal. For five seconds he strained against the in

adows, down four slanting meadows on the other side, across another road, across a heath of snapping bracken, through a wood, across another road, and to the brink of a big pool, they pursued the flying philosopher. But when he came to the pool his pace was so precipitate that he could not stop it, and with a kind of lurching stagger, he fell splash into the greasy water. Getting dripping to his feet, with