ll, I'll try to show you one of the causes,' he said nervously at
last.

He picked up a piece of charred wood that had fallen from the fire and
knelt down and began to draw upon the floor. Most of the others
regarded him, with looks in which an indulgent, contemptuous kind of
interest mingled with an air of superiority and patronage. There was
no doubt, they thought, that Owen was a clever sort of chap: his work
proved that: but he was certainly a little bit mad.

By this time Owen had drawn a circle about two feet in diameter. Inside
he had drawn two squares, one much larger than the other. These two
squares he filled in solid black with the charcoal.

'Wot's it all about?' asked Crass with a sneer.

'Why, can't you see?' said Philpot with a wink. ''E's goin' to do some
conjurin'! In a minit 'e'll make something pass out o' one o' them
squares into the other and no one won't see 'ow it's done.'

When he had finished drawing, Owen remained for a few minutes awkwardly
silent, oppressed by the anticipation of ridicule and a sense of his
inability to put his thoughts into plain language. He began to wish
that he had not undertaken this task. At last, with an effort, he
began to speak in a halting, nervous way:

.......
... ...
.. ..
. ### .
. ### .
. .
. ### .
. ### .
. ### .
. ### .
. ### .
. ### .
. .
.. ..
... ...
.........

'This circle--or rather the space inside the circle--is supposed to
represent England.'

'Well, I never knowed it was round before,' jeered Crass. 'I've heard
as the WORLD is round--'

'I never said it was the shape--I said it was supposed to REPRESENT
England.'

'Oh, I see. I thought we'd very soon begin supposin'.'

'The two black squares,' continued Owen, 'represent the people who live
in the country. The small square represents a few thousand people.
The large square stands for the remainder--about forty