“Alas! perhaps you don’t believe all this! How can I give you a sign?
“There are many ways; but a law, of necessity inexorable, forbids it. Such little entity as I possess would cease to be; it was all but lost when I saved your life—and again when I told you that you were the beloved of Julia Royce. It would not do for us Martians to meddle with earthly things; the fat would soon be in the fire, I can tell you!
“Try and trust me, Barty, and give me the benefit of any doubt.
“You have work planned out for many years to come, and are now yourself so trained that you can do without me. You know what you have still to say to mankind; never write a line about which you are not sure.
“For another night or two you will be my host, and this splendid frame of yours my hostelry; on y est très b
