"Certainly," said Mr. G.M., "what you tell me is rather astonishing. But
the explanation is simple as far as poor Barber is concerned. You say he
has been often ill lately? Naturally, this has affected his brain and
spirits. What is a little more difficult to explain is the impression
left by his acts on you and other spectators. But the anger you always
experienced may have clouded your faculties for the time being. Have you
inquired of anybody else who was present on these occasions?"
I replied that I had not. I had shrunk from being identified in any way
with Barber. I had to think of my wife and children. I could not afford
to lose my post.
"No," rejoined Mr. G.M., "I can quite understand that. I should probably
have acted myself as you did. Still, the effect his performances have
had on you, and apparently on others, is the strangest element in
Barber's case. Otherwise, I don't see that it offers anything
inexplicable. You say that Barber acts against his will--against his
better judgment. We all do that. All men and women who look back over
their lives must perceive the number of things they have done which they
had no intention of doing. We obey some secret command; we sail under
sealed orders. We pass by without noticing it some tiny fact which,
years later, perhaps, influences the rest of our lives.
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