During the fifteen minutes that elapsed before the arrival of Nikolls, Callaghan gave himself up to a consideration of women and drink. He was trying to find the answer to a question that, at first, seemed easy. The question concerned the exact difference between the mental attitude of a woman who was sober and that of one who was not. Callaghan considered that, from the point of view of a man, a woman who was cockeyed would, in all probability, be easier to deal with, to take advantage of, to delude and possibly to cross-examine.
But it was the point of view of a woman on the same subject that intrigued him. What would be the reactions of a not-so-sober woman to a man from the point of view of a woman?
He pondered the point but got nowhere. After a while he heard the lift ascending, the
