of miracles and such things. Now within our own time there arose
an unfortunate fuss which threatened (as Mr. Turnbull would say)
to galvanize the corpse of Christianity into a fictitious
life--the alleged case of a Highland eccentric who wanted to
fight for the Virgin."

MacIan, quite white, made a step forward, but the speaker did not
alter his easy attitude or his flow of words. "Again we urged
that this duel was not to be admired, that it was a mere brawl,
but the people were ignorant and romantic. There were signs of
treating this alleged Highlander and his alleged opponent as
heroes. We tried all other means of arresting this reactionary
hero worship. Working men who betted on the duel were imprisoned
for gambling. Working men who drank the health of a duellist were
imprisoned for drunkenness. But the popular excitement about the
alleged duel continued, and we had to fall back on our old
historical method. We investigated, on scientific principles, the
story of MacIan's challenge, and we are happy to be able to
inform you that the whole story of the attempted duel is a fable.
There never was any challenge. There never was any man named
MacIan. It is a melodramatic myth, like Calvary."

Not a soul moved save Turnbull, who lifted his head; yet there
was the sense of a silent explosion.

"The whole story of the MacIan challenge," went on the Master,
beaming at them all with a sinister benignity, "has been found to
originate in the obsessions of a few pathological types, who are
now all fortunately in our care. There is, for instance, a person
here of the name of Gordon, formerly the keeper of a curiosity