not."

"When I think of that business of his," I said, "the immense complexity
of it, the confidence of thousands of men in each other, all resting at
last on a faith in the integrity of one man, or rather of a firm--the
existence of such a business, world-wide, international, entirely
independent of all ties of race, nationality, language, religion, in a
certain sense wider than any of these--it's a great, human affair,
not English nor German, not the white man's nor the yellow man's, not
Christian nor Buddhist nor Mohammedan, just human. Ascher owes some
kind of loyalty to a thing like that. It's a frightfully complicated
question; but on the whole I think he is right."

Gorman was not listening to me. He had ceased, for the time, to be
interested in Ascher's decision. I tried to regain his attention.

"Ascher says," I said, "that there is such a thing as the honour of a
banker, of a financier."

That ought to have roused Gorman to a contradiction; but it did not.

"Do you think," he said, "that we could get them to take on Tim in
any job connected with flying machines? This war will knock all his
inventions into a cocked hat. He will simply be left, and he has a real
turn for mechanics. If he got messing about with aeroplanes he might
do something big, something really valuable. But I don't know how to go
about getting that sort of job for him. I'm not in with military people.
Look here, you've a lot of influence with the War Office----"

"No," I said. "None."

"Nonsense. You must have. A word from you---- I'll tell you what we'll
do. I'll work Ascher's naturalisation papers for him, and you get Tim
taken on by the Army Flying Corps people."

"Perhaps," I said, "you'd like me to get you a Staff appointment while
I'm at it."

"Oh, no," said Gorman. "I'm not a soldier, I'm a Member of Parliament.
My job is----"

Gorman hesitated. For a moment I thought that he was in real doubt, was
actually wondering what place he ought to take, what work he ought to
do.

"Yes," I said. "You. Now, what is your idea for yourself?"

Gorman drew himself up to his full height, squared his shoulders and
puffed out his chest.

"My place," he said, "is in the great council of the Empire."

I gasped.

"Good Lord!" I said. "You don't really think--you _can't_ think, that
your silly old Parliament is going to matter now; that you politicians
will be allowed to go on talking, that there will be divisions in the
House, and el