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Chrystal, somewhat damped. ‘You’re underrating him, Eliot.’
    ‘I’m not letting myself expect too much,’ said Brown. ‘But if Sir Horace decided to raise £50,000 for us, I dare say he could.’
    ‘I dare say he could,’ I said.
    They had asked me to join them that morning in order to plan the next move. They had heard nothing from Sir Horace since his visit. What could we do? Could we reach him again? Were any of my London acquaintances any use?
    I thought them over, and shook my head.
    ‘Is it a good idea anyway to approach him from the outside?’ I asked. ‘I should have thought that it was very risky.’
    ‘I’ve felt that all along,’ said Brown.
    ‘You may be right,’ said Chrystal sharply, irritated but ready to think again. ‘What do we do? Do we just wait?’
    ‘We’ve got to rely on ourselves,’ said Brown.
    ‘What does that mean?’ said Chrystal.
    ‘We’ve got to get him down again,’ said Brown. ‘And let him see us as we really are. Put it another way – we must make him feel that he’s inside the picture. I don’t say we wouldn’t make things decent for the occasion. But we ought to let him realize the difficulty about Winslow. The more we take him into our confidence, within reason, the more likely he is to turn up trumps.’
    I helped him persuade Chrystal. Chrystal was brusque, he liked his own ideas to prevail, he liked to have thought of a plan first; but I noticed the underlying sense which brought him round. He could have been a moody man; his temper was never equable; but he wanted results so much that he had been forced to control his moods.
    They agreed to try to attract Sir Horace to the feast in February. Brown was as realistic as usual. ‘I don’t suppose for a moment that anything we can do will make a pennyworth of difference, once he’s made up his mind. But it can’t do any harm. If he’s forgetting us, it might turn out useful to remind him that we’re glad to see him here.’
    He filled our glasses again. Chrystal gave a satisfied sigh. He said: ‘Well, we can’t do any more this morning. We’ve not wasted our time. I told you, Eliot, I regard this as more important than the Mastership. Masters come and Masters go, and whoever we elect, everyone will have forgotten about it in fifty years. Whereas a benefaction like this will affect the college for ever. Do you realize that the sum I’ve got in my mind is over ten per cent of our capital endowment?’
    ‘It would be a pity to miss it,’ said Brown.
    ‘I wish we hadn’t got this Mastership hanging over us,’ said Chrystal. ‘One thing is quite clear. There’s no reason to go outside. That’s just a piece of Winslow’s spite. We can find a Master inside the college easily enough. Jago would do. I was impressed with the way he spoke last night. He’s got some of the qualities I want in a Master.’
    ‘I agree,’ said Brown.
    ‘Other names will have to be considered, of course. I expect some people will want Crawford. I don’t know about him.’
    ‘I agree,’ said Brown. ‘I’m not keen on him. I don’t know whether Eliot is–’
    ‘No,’ I said.
    ‘He’ll certainly be run. I don’t know whether anyone will mention Winslow. You haven’t seen a Master elected, have you, Eliot? You’ll find some people are mad enough for anything. I’m depressed,’ said Chrystal, ‘at the whole prospect.’
    Soon afterwards he left us. Brown gave a sympathetic smile. ‘He’s upset about poor Royce,’ he said.
    ‘Yes, I thought that.’
    ‘You’re very observant, aren’t you?’
    Brown added: ‘I think Chrystal will get more interested when things are warming up a bit. I think he will.’ He smiled again. ‘You know, I don’t see how this can possibly be an easy election. Chrystal says that there may be support for Crawford, and I suppose there’s bound to be. But I should regard him as a disaster. He wouldn’t lift a finger for any of us. I don’t know what you feel, but I shall