"I will teach you all you need to know. Stay away from the library. Do not go there again, or ..."

"You will punish us," said Cain. "Lock us away once more in the dark place."

"I like the dark place," said Abel.

"Do not defy me." Dr Steven rocked upon his heels. "You are too precious to my purpose."

"And what is your purpose?"

"My purpose, Cain, is my own affair. But by the end of this year all will be made known."

"Given our unnaturally accelerated growth-rate," said Abel, "by the end of this year we will be the equivalent of thirty-three normal years of age."

"Precisely correct. And then I will do what has to be done. And then I shall know all."

"No man can know all," said Cain. "Only God knows all."

"Go to your room." Dr Steven turned in profile, something he hadn't done for a while, and pointed off the page. "No, wait. You, Abel, go to your room and switch on all the lights. You, Cain, go once more to the dark place." Bastard!

24.

"Two gentlemen to see you sir," said Young Master Robert's secretary. "A Mr Pooley and a Mr Omally."

Young Master Robert fell back in his highly cushioned chair. "Not those bastards. Don't let them in here."

"Morning, Bobby boy," said John Omally, breezing in.

"Wotcha, mate," said Jim. "Nice office."

John Omally gazed about the place. "A regular fine art gallery," he observed.

"Or a shrine," said Jim. "It all being dedicated to a single young woman."

"Get out of my office or I'll call for security."

"This one's signed," said Jim, pointing to a poster. "To my greatest fan, love Pammy."

"And look at this bookcase," said John. "He's got the complete collection of Bay Watch on video."

"What are all these boxes of Kleenex for?" Jim asked.

"Get out!"

"Relax." John made the gesture that means relax. It's not quite the same as the calming gesture, but there's not much in it. "Relax and take it easy. We've come here to make you rich."

"I'm already rich."

"Richer, then."

"What's that sticking out from under your desk?" asked Jim. "It looks like a plastic foot."

John took a peep over. "It's an inflatable Pammy," he said.

"Call security!" cried Young Master Robert. "Call that new bloke Joe-Bob, tell him to bring the electric truncheon."

"Calm down," said John, and he made the calming gesture this time. "We really have come to make you richer."

"As if you have."

"We just want you to sample something."

"Sample?"

"Jim, the bottle and the glass."

"Coming right up." Jim produced a bottle and a glass from his pockets, placed the glass upon the Young Master's desk, uncorked the bottle and poured.

"Sample," said John.

"Yes I bet it is. Your wee-wee, probably."

"It is ale. Just take a taste. Spit it out if you want. Over me if you want."

"Over you?"

"That's how confident I am."

"No, it's all a trick. Ms Anderson, call security."

"Ms Anderson?"

"He made me change my name," said the secretary. "And I have to wear this padded bra."

"Suits you," said Jim. "But I don't know about the wig."

"Just taste the ale," said John. "Here, I'll have a little taste first, to prove it's not poison." John took a taste. And then he took another taste and then another taste. "Magic," said John.

"You've drunk it all," said Young Master Robert.

"Jim, the other bottle."

Jim took out the other bottle, uncorked it and refilled the glass.

"Trick," said Young Master Robert. "The second bottle's poisoned."

"Oh dear me." John took up the glass once more.

"No, all right, I believe you." Young Master Robert took the glass, sniffed at it suspiciously, then took a taste. And then he took another taste, and then another taste.

"Yes?" said John.

"Well, it's all right. It's OK, I mean."

John Omally shook his head. "It's magic," he said. "That's what you mean. It's the finest ale you've ever tasted in your life."

"It's fair to middling."

John Omally shrugged. "Well, Jim," he said. "I suppose I lose the bet."

"What bet?" said Young Master Robert.

"Jim bet me that the master brewer in Chiswick was a better judge of beer than you were. Naturally I defended your honour. It looks like it's cost me a fiver."

"You took this beer to the rival brewery?"

"Chap called Doveston. He's won several awards. Certainly knows his beverages."

"The man's a buffoon. Fizzy drinks merchant." Young Master Robert tasted the last of the ale. "It's pretty good," he said.

"Pretty good?" John laughed. "Mr Doveston was quite ecstatic in his praise of it. Heaping eulogies upon every savoured gobful. What was that song he sang for us, Jim?"

"Wasn't it 'Money Makes the World Go Around'?"

"Yes, that was it."

"It's very good," said Young Master Robert. "Do you have any more?"

"Crates," said John.

"And you brewed it?"

"A colleague and I."

"This bloke?"

"Another colleague," said John.

"Well, I'll have to get this analysed. Make sure there are no impure chemicals."

John snatched back the glass and bottle. "Oh no you don't. The only way you will get it analysed is by pumping it out of your stomach."

"I wouldn't mind doing that," said Ms Anderson. "In an anal-ized fashion."

"Do you have a sister called Celia?" Jim asked.

"Well, we must be off," said John. "I'm sorry we couldn't do business with you."

"Not so fast," said Young Master Robert.

"You certainly think fast, John," said Jim, as they sat once more upon the concrete bench before the library. "A ten-thousand-pound advance. Incredible."

"Not bad, is it?" John waved the cheque in the air. "I'll have to open a bank account."

"And on condition that he restore the Swan to its former glory by the end of the week. Genius."

"We function best under pressure, Jim. I've always found that."

"Making him cough up the fiver you supposedly lost to me in the bet was rubbing it in a bit."

"Yeah, but he didn't complain."

"So hand it over, then."

"What?"

"The fiver. I won it fair and square."

"You never did. We never went to the rival brewer."

"But he doesn't know that."

John handed over the fiver. "Petty," said he.

Jim pocketed the fiver. "I hope Norman will be happy with the advance. Did you agree the figure with him?"

"Ah," said John.

"I like not 'Ah'," said Jim. "What does 'Ah' mean?"

"It means I haven't actually got round to talking to Norman about this yet."

"What?"

"There wasn't time. The idea came to me over breakfast. So I just went for it."

"Same old story." Jim shook his head. "Omally rushes in where angels fear to tread."

"Just leave Norman to me," said John. "Norman will be fine."

Norman didn't look fine. He had a worried expression on his face. As Omally breezed into his shop, he offered him a grunt.

"Thanks," said Omally. "I'll smoke it later."