“We had a little difference at first.”
“What a man it is! What did you do?”
“Well, he became more reasonable and we had a chat. But I got nothing out of him… nothing for publication.”
“You got a black eye out of him, and that’s for publication. Mr. Malone, we must bring the man to his bearings. Just give me the material. I’ll show him up for the fraud he is.”
“I wouldn’t do that, sir.”
“Why not?”
“Because he is not a fraud at all.”
“You don’t mean to say you really believe this stuff about mammoths and mastodons?”
“I do believe he has got something new.”
I told him the Professor’s narrative in a few sentences.
“Well, Mr. Malone,” he said at last, “about this scientific meeting tonight. You’ll be there in any case, so you’ll just give us a pretty full report.”
That day I met Tarp Henry. He listened to my story with a sceptical smile on his face, and roared with laughter on hearing that the Professor had convinced me.
“My dear friend, things don’t happen like that in real life. People don’t stumble upon enormous discoveries and then lose their evidence. Leave that to the novelists. The man is full of tricks.”
“Will you come to the meeting with me?” I asked suddenly.
Tarp Henry looked thoughtful.
“He is not a popular person,” said he. “I should say he is about the best-hated man in London. If the medical students turn out there will be no end of a mess.”
“You might at least do him justice to hear him state his own case.”
“Well, it’s fair. All right. I’m your man for the evening.”
When we arrived at the hall we found more people than I had expected. The audience would be popular as well as scientific. We had taken our seats. Looking behind me, I could see rows of faces of the familiar medical student type. Apparently the great hospitals had each sent down their contingent. The behaviour of the audience at present was good-humoured, but mischievous.
The greatest demonstration of all, however, was at the entrance of my new acquaintance, Professor Challenger, when he passed down to take his place. Such a yell of welcome broke forth that I began to suspect Tarp Henry was right that this audience was there not for the sake of the lecture, but because the famous Professor would take part in the proceedings.
Challenger smiled with weary and tolerant contempt, as a kindly man would meet the yapping of puppies. He sat slowly down, blew out his chest, passed his hand down his beard, and looked with drooping eyelids at the crowded hall before him.