Norman Nadoway , on the other hand , began to be interesting just about the .sx moment when Jack Nadoway began to be uninteresting .sx He was one that .sx flowered late ; if the figure of a flower can be used of one who .sx ( throughout his early years ) resembled a rather pallid turnip .sx He had a .sx large head and large ears and a colourless face and expression , and for a .sx time passed for something of a mooncalf .sx But when he was at school , he .sx worked hard at mathematics , and when he was at Cambridge at economics .sx From this it was but one wild leap to the study of politics and social .sx reform ; and from this came the grand bust-up in the House of Nubs and .sx Jacob's wrath , to Nadoway's the direful spring .sx Norman had begun by .sx shaking the brown brick chapel to its foundations by announcing his .sx intention of being a Curate in the Church of England-nay , in the High .sx Church party of the Church of England .sx But his father was less troubled .sx by this than by the reports that reached him of his son's highly .sx successful lectures on Political Economy .sx It was a very different sort of .sx Political Economy from that which his father had successfully preached .sx and practised .sx It was so different that his father , in a memorable .sx explosion at the breakfast-table , described it as Socialism .sx " Somebody must go down to Cambridge and stop him !sx " said the elder Mr. .sx Nadoway fidgeting in his chair and rapping restlessly on the table .sx " You .sx must go and talk to him , John ; or you must bring him here and I'll talk .sx to him .sx Otherwise the business will simply go smash .sx " Both parts of the alternative programme apparently had to be carried out .sx John , the junior partner of Nadoway and Son , did go down to Cambridge and .sx talked to him , but apparently did not stop him .sx John did eventually bring .sx him back to Jacob Nadoway , that Jacob might talk to him .sx Jacob was in no .sx way reluctant to do so , and yet the interview did not turn quite as he .sx had intended .sx Indeed , it was a rather puzzling interview .sx It took place in old Jacob's study , which looked out through round .sx bow-windows at 'The Lawns' , after which the house was still named .sx It was .sx a very Victorian house , of the sort that would have been described at the .sx time as built by Philistines for Philistines .sx There was a great deal of .sx curved glass about it , in its conservatories and its semi-circular .sx windows .sx There was a great deal of dome and cupola and canopy about it , .sx with all the porches covered as if by escalloped wooden umbrellas .sx There .sx was a good deal of rather ugly coloured glass and a good deal of not .sx altogether ugly , but very artificial , clipped hedges and Dutch gardening .sx In short , it was the sort of comfortable Victorian home that was regarded .sx as very vulgar by the aesthetes of that period .sx Mr. Matthew Arnold would .sx have passed the house with a gentle sigh .sx Mr. John Ruskin would have .sx recoiled in horror and called down curses from heaven on it , from a .sx neighbouring hill .sx Even Mr. William Morris would have grumbled as he .sx passed , about the sort of architecture that was only upholstery .sx But I am .sx not so sure about Mr. Sacheverall Sitwell .sx We have reached a time when .sx the curved windows and canopied porticoes of that house have begun to .sx take on something of a dreamy glamour of distance .sx And I am not sure that .sx Mr. Sitwell might not have been found wandering in its inner chambers and .sx composing a poem about its dusty charms , though it would certainly have .sx surprised Mr. Jacob Nadoway to find him so engaged .sx Whether , after the .sx interview , even Mr. Sitwell could write a poem about Mr. Nadoway , I will .sx not undertake to decide .sx Millicent Milton had come through the garden to the study , at about the .sx same moment as the junior partner arrived there .sx She was tall and fair .sx and her lifted and pointed chin gave her profile a distinction beyond .sx mere good looks .sx Her eyelids looked at the first glance a little sleepy .sx and at the second a little haughty , but she was not really either one or .sx the other , but only reasonably resigned .sx She sat down at her ordinary .sx desk to do her ordinary work , but she very soon rose from it again , as if .sx with a silent offer to withdraw , since the domestic discussion was .sx becoming very domestic .sx But old Nadoway motioned her back with irritable .sx reassurance and she remained the spectator of the whole scene .sx Old Nadoway had barked out rather abruptly , like one bothered for the .sx first time :sx " But I thought you two had had a talk .sx " " Yes , father , " said John Nadoway , looking at the carpet , " we have had a .sx talk .sx " " I hope you got Norman to see , " went on the old man in a milder tone , .sx " that he simply mustn't chalk out all these wild projects so long as .sx we're all really in the business .sx My business would be ruined in a month .sx if I tried to carry out those crazy ideal schemes about Bonuses and .sx Co-Partnership .sx And how can I have my son using my name , and shouting .sx everywhere that my methods are not fit for a dog ?sx Is it reasonable ?sx Didn't John explain to you that it's not reasonable ?sx " The large , pale face of the curate , rather to everybody's surprise , .sx wrinkled into a dry smile , and he said :sx " Yes , Jack explained a great deal .sx of that to me , but I also did a little explaining .sx I explained , for .sx instance , that I have a business , too .sx " " What about your father's business ?sx " asked Jacob .sx " I am about my Father's business , " said the priest in a hard voice .sx There was a glaring silence , broken rather nervously .sx " The fact is , father , it won't do , " said John Nadoway heavily , and still .sx studying the carpet .sx " I believe I said everything for you you could have .sx said yourself .sx But Norman knows the new conditions , and it won't do .sx " Old Mr. Nadoway made a motion as if swallowing something , and then said :sx " Do you mean to sit there and tell me you're against me , too ?sx Against me .sx and the whole concern ?sx " " I'm in favour of the whole concern , and that's the whole point , " said .sx John .sx " I suppose I shall be responsible for it-well , some time .sx But I'm .sx damned if I'll be responsible for all the old ways of doing things .sx " " You're glad enough of the money that was got by the old way of doing .sx things , " said his father savagely , " and now you come back to me with this .sx nonsensical namby-pamby Socialism .sx " " My dear Dad , " said John Nadoway , staring stolidly .sx " Do I look like a .sx Socialist ?sx " Millicent , as an onlooker , took in the whole of his heavy and handsome .sx figure , from its beautifully blacked boots to its beautifully oiled hair , .sx and could hardly repress a laugh .sx The voice of Norman Nadoway clove into it with a sudden vibrancy , not .sx without violence .sx " We must clear the Nadoway name .sx " " Do you dare to tell me , " cried the old man fiercely , " that my name needs .sx any clearing ?sx " " By the new standards , yes , " said John after a silence .sx The old merchant sat down suddenly and silently in his chair and turned .sx to his secretary , as if the interview were ended .sx " I find I shall not want you this evening , " he said .sx " You had better take .sx a little time off .sx " She rose rather waveringly and went towards the french windows that gave .sx upon the garden .sx The pale evening sky had been suddenly turned to night .sx by the contrast of a large luminous moon coming up behind dark trees and .sx striping the grey-green lawns with dark shadows .sx She had always been .sx puzzled by the fact that there seemed to be something romantic about the .sx garden and even the grotesque house , which was inhabited by such highly .sx prosaic people .sx She was already outside the glass doors and in the .sx garden , when she heard old Nadoway speak again .sx " The hand of the Lord is heavy upon me , " he said .sx " It seems hard that I .sx have had three sons and they all turned against me .sx " " There is no question of turning against you , father , " said John rapidly .sx and smoothly .sx " It is only a question of reconstructing the business so as .sx to suit new conditions and a rather different public opinion .sx I am sure .sx that neither of your sons intends to show ingratitude or impertinence .sx " " If either of your sons did that , " said Norman in his deep voice , " it .sx would be every bit as wicked as going on in the old way .sx " " Well , " said his father rather wearily , " we will leave it at that just .sx now .sx I shall not go on much longer .sx " But Millicent Milton was staring at the dark house in a new fit of .sx mystification .sx The two brothers had ignored and slurred over , with .sx something resembling skill , a certain phrase used by their father .sx But .sx she had quite unmistakably heard the old man say :sx " Three sons .sx " She had never heard of any other son .sx She remained staring at the rococo .sx outline of that rather ridiculous and yet romantic villa , with its domes .sx and ornamental verandas dark against the moon ; with its bulbous windows .sx and plants in bloated pots ; its clumsy statues and congested garden-beds .sx and all the swollen outline of the thing made almost monstrous by .sx moonshine and darkness , and she wondered for the first time if it held a .sx secret .sx II THE BURGLAR AND THE BROOCH .sx IT was the scare of the burglary that actually started the story towards .sx the discovery of rather strange things .sx As a burglary it was trivial .sx enough , in the sense that the thief did not apparently succeed in taking .sx anything , being surprised before he could do so .sx But it was certainly not .sx only the burglar who was surprised .sx Jacob Nadoway had provided his secretary with some excellent apartments .sx leading out of the central hall and not far from his own .sx He had fitted .sx up the suite with every elegant convenience , including an aunt .sx It was .sx indeed doubtful , at times , whether the aunt was to be classed as a .sx convenience or an inconvenience .sx She was supposed in a vague way to .sx regularize the Victorian household and add even to the secretary an extra .sx touch of gentility .sx But there was a difference , because the aunt , who was .sx a Mrs. Milton-Mowbray , was given to suddenly getting back on the .sx high-horse and then sliding off again , while her niece , with a more .sx negative dignity , trod the dusty path of duty as a proud pedestrian .sx On .sx this occasion Millicent Milton had been engaged all the evening in .sx soothing her aunt , and after that experience , felt she would like to .sx spend a little time in soothing herself .sx Instead of going to bed , she .sx took up a book and began reading by the dying fire .sx She read on till it .sx was very late , without realizing that everybody else had presumably .sx retired to rest , when she heard in the utter stillness a new and .sx unmistakable sound from the central hall without , which led into her .sx employer's study .sx It was a sort of whirring and grinding sound , such as .sx is produced by metal working its way into metal .sx And she remembered that .sx in the angle between the two rooms stood the safe .sx She had the best sort of quite unconscious courage , and she simply walked .sx out into the hall and looked .sx What she saw astounded her by being so .sx ordinary .sx She had seen it in so many films and read about it in so many .sx novels , that she could hardly believe that it really looked like that .sx The safe stood open and a shabby man was kneeling in front of it , with .sx his back to her , so that she could see nothing but his shabbiness , his .sx head being covered by a battered and shapeless broad-brimmed hat .sx On one .sx side of him on the floor glittered the steel of a centre-bit and some .sx other tools of his art ; on the other side glittered even more brilliantly .sx the silver and stones of some ornament , looking like a chain and clasp , .sx presumably a portion of his spoils .sx