must on no account make this gesture—a very fine one if you are really in earnest about it—unless you can carry it through effectively. Such an action would require to be carefully thought out, and for the present I advise you to be extremely cautious in what you say and do.” His words caused me an uncomfortable feeling that perhaps I was only making a fool of myself; but this was soon mitigated by a glowing sense of martyrdom. I saw myself “attired with sudden brightness, like a man inspired,” and while Markington continued his counsels of prudence my resolve strengthened toward its ultimate obstinacy. After further reflection he said that the best man for me to consult was Thornton Tyrrell. “You know him by name, I suppose?” I was compelled to admit that I didn’t. Markington handed me Who’s Who and began to write a letter while I made myself acquainted with the details of Tyrrell’s biographical abridgment, which indicated that he was a pretty tough proposition. To put it plainly he was an eminent mathematician, philosopher, and physicist. As a mathematician I’d never advanced much beyond “six from four you can’t, six from fourteen leaves eight”; and I knew no more about the functions of a physicist than a cat in a kitchen. “What sort of a man is he to meet?” I asked dubiously. Markington licked and closed the envelope of his rapidly written letter. “Tyrrell is the most uncompromising character I know. An extraordinary brain, of course. But you needn’t be alarmed by that; you’ll find him perfectly easy to get on with. A talk with him ought to clarify your ideas. I’ve explained your position quite briefly. But, as I said before, I hope you won’t be too impetuous.”
I put the letter in my pocket, thanked him warmly, and went soberly down the stairs and along the quiet side-street into the Strand. While I was debating whether I ought to buy and try to read one of Tyrrell’s books before going to see him, I almost bumped into a beefy Major-General. It was lunch time and he was turning in at the Savoy Hotel entrance. Rather grudgingly, I saluted. As I went on my way, I wondered what the War Office would say if it knew what I was up to.