I don't think that you could
frighten me off just yet."
"Nevertheless," Wingrave admitted, "there are times when I fear that
we shall not get on together. I begin to suspect that you have a
conscience."
"You are the first," Aynesworth assured him, "who has ever flattered
me to that extent."
"It may be elastic, of course," Wingrave continued, "but I suspect its
existence. I warn you that association with me will try it hard."
"I accept the challenge," Aynesworth answered lightly.
"You are rasher than you imagine," Wingrave declared. "For instance, I
have admitted to you, have I not, that I am interested in my fellow
creatures, that I want to mix with them and watch them at their daily
lives. Let me assure you that that interest is not a benevolent one."
"I never fancied that you were a budding philanthropist," Aynesworth
remarked, lighting a fresh cigarette.
"I find myself," Wingrave continued thoughtfully, "in a somewhat
unique position. I am one of the ordinary human beings with whom the
world is peopled, but I am not conscious of any of the usual
weaknesses of sentiment or morality. For instance, if that gentleman
with the red face, who has obviously eaten and drunk too much, were to
have an apoplectic fit at the moment, and die in his chair, it would
not shock or distress me in the least. On the contrary, I should be
disposed to welcome his removal from a world which he obviously does
nothing to adorn.
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