strange! How wonderful!"

"He spoke of trials and temptations and, strangest of all, of much
gold. He saw the treasure very clearly and repeatedly--much fine gold,
he was certain of that."

"How are you to discover it?" Meg spoke dubiously. Her practical mind
was fighting against the absurdity of the thing.

"He could not tell me. In the desert I was to be led by a little
child--you know what that means?"

"Yes, a simple, a child of God."

They paused.

"Now the odd thing is," Michael said thoughtfully, "that when I went to
see Michael Ireton, he strongly advised me to go and find myself, as he
expressed it, in the desert. He said, 'Cut yourself off from your
friends, from opposing influences, and think things out. Go where you
are called.'"

"He meant Freddy's opposing influence?"

"I suppose so. Freddy's character is stronger than mine, and we have
opposite views."

"Are you going?" Meg's voice betrayed a new anxiety and sadness.

"I meant to." His eyes spoke of his new reluctance. "That was why I
had no right to speak--I really wanted to go."

"This must make no difference--it must help you."

"But I shall want to be with you--it's hard to go."

"If you stayed, you would be restless, dissatisfied."

"I know." He laughed. "I want both to 'walk on my head,' Meg, and
stand firmly on my two legs--my legs are for a home for you."

"And your head?"

"Oh," he said, "for anything that is upside down to what it is now, for
the total destruction of obsolete and effete monuments, for exchanging
new principles for those that are worn out with age, for showing that
fundamental truths are not made by empire-builders, that the world is
God's Kingdom, not man's, that God is the only monarch whose throne is
not tottering."

"Yes," Meg said. "I suppose destruction must come before the building
up, your task of pulling down, of clearing out the corner-stones, of
cleansing the temple."

"I know," Michael said. "It's the way with 'cranks.' We all of us jaw
about destroying and offer no new plans for reconstruction." He
paused. "But it's rather like the problem of cleaning out a too-full
house--you can't really get rid of the dust unless you first of all
clear the whole thing out, empty it."

"You want to abolish so much, Mike."

"All the rubbish," he said. "All the hindrances. I want to let in
light."

"Beginning with kings," Meg said, tantalizingly. The voice was
Freddy's.

"I've no ro