In the evening Mr. Harding had
listened to Chichester--how? What had been the emotions only shadowed
faintly forth in that ghastly face?

When Malling got home, he asked himself why Chichester had made such
an impression upon his mind. His story of the double, strange enough,
no doubt, in a sermon, could not surely have come upon Malling with any
of the force and the interest of the new. For years he had been familiar
with tales of ghosts, of voices, of appearances at the hour of death, of
doubles. Of course in the sermon there had been a special application of
the story. It had been very short. Chichester had suggested that if, as
by a miracle, the average self-contented man could look at himself with
the eyes of his soul full of subliminal self-knowledge and with the
bodily eyes, he would be stricken down by a great horror.

And he had spoken as a man who knew. Indeed, it seemed to Malling that he
had spoken as might have delivered himself the man who had followed his
double through the snow, who had looked in upon him by night from the
garden, if he had faced, instead of flying from, the truth; if he had
stayed, if he had persistently watched his double leading the life he had
led, if he had learned a great lesson that perhaps only his double could
teach him.

But if the man had stayed, what would have been the effect on the double?
Malling sat till deep in the night pondering these things.

VII

Lady Sophia had said to Malling that if he went to the two services at
St. Joseph's on the Sunday she would invite him to see her again. She
was as good as her word. In the middle of the week he received a note
from her, saying she would be at home at four on Thursday, if he was
able to come. He went, and found her alone. But as soon as he entered
the drawing-room and had taken her hand, she said:

"I am expecting Mr. Chichester almost immediately. He's coming to tea."

"I shall be glad to meet him," said Malling, concealing his surprise,
which was great.

Yet he did not know why it should be. For what more natural than that
Chichester should be coming?

"I heard of you at St. Joseph's," Lady Sophia continued. "A friend of
mine, Lily Armitage, saw you there. I didn't. I was sitting at the back.
I have taken to sitting quite at the back of the church. What did you
think of it?"

"Do you wish me to be frank, and do you mean the two sermons?"

She hesitated for an instant. Then she said:

"I do mean the