tic protection of him from the intrusions
of the curious. Plenty of people had heard of him, and there were not
wanting many who were anxious to put his soul under the scalpel, in the
interests of Science. Mrs. Abel was the channel through which they
usually attempted to act. But she knew very well that the thing was
futile, not to say dangerous. For some of the instincts of the wild
animal had survived in Snarley, of which perhaps the most marked was his
refusal to submit to the scrutiny of human eyes. To study him was almost
as difficult as to study the tiger in the jungle. At the faintest sound
of inquisitive footsteps he would retreat, hiding himself in some place,
or, more frequently, in some manner, whither it was almost impossible to
follow; and if, as sometimes happened, his pursuers pressed hard and
sought to drive him out of his fastness, he would break out upon them in
a way for which they were not prepared, and give them a shock which
effectually forbade all further attempts. Such a result was unprofitable
to Science and injurious to Snarley. For these reasons Mrs. Abel had
come to a definite conclusion that the cause of Science was not to be
advanced by introducing its votaries to Snarley Bob; and when they came
to the Rectory, as they sometimes did, she abstained from mentioning his
name, failed to answer when questioned, and took care, so far as she
could, that the old man should be left undisturbed.

But the reasons which led to this decision had no force in the case of
Chandrapal. She was certain that Chandrapal would not treat Snarley as a
mere abnormal specimen of human nature, a _corpus vile_ for scientific
investigation. She knew that the two men had something, nay, much, in
common; and she believed that the ground of intercourse would be
established the instant that Snarley heard the stranger's voice.

Nevertheless, the matter was difficult. It was well-nigh impossible to
determine the conditions under which Snarley would be at his best, and,
whatever arrangements were made, his animal shyness might spoil them
all. To take him by surprise was known to be dangerous; and we had
already found to our cost that the attempt to deceive him by the
pretence of an accidental meeting was pretty certain to end in disaster.
How Mrs. Abel succeeded in bringing the thing off I don't know. There
may have been bribery and corruption (for Snarley's character had not
been formed from the fashion-books of any known or