Page 375 - for-the-term-of-his-natural-life

the table.
‘Well, now, his text is the eighteenth verse of the thir-
ty-fifth Psalm, isn’t it? Count eighteen words on, then
underscore five consecutive ones. You’ve done that?’
‘A moment—sixteen—seventeen—eighteen, ‘authori-
ties’.’
‘Count and score in the same way until you come to the
word ‘Texts’ somewhere. Vickers, I’ll trouble you for the
claret.’
‘Yes,’ said Meekin, after a pause. ‘Here it is—’the texts of
Scripture quoted by our chaplain’. But surely Mr. Frere—‘
‘Hold on a bit now,’ cries Frere. ‘What’s the next quota-
tion?—John iii. That’s every third word. Score every third
word beginning with ‘I’ immediately following the text,
now, until you come to a quotation. Got it? How many
words in it?’
‘‘Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt’,’ said Meekin, a little scandal-
ized. ‘Fourteen words.’
‘Count fourteen words on, then, and score the fourteenth.
I’m up to this text-quoting business.’
‘The word ‘£1000’,’ said Meekin. ‘Yes.’
‘Then there’s another text. Thirty-eighth—isn’t it?—
Psalm and the fourteenth verse. Do that the same way as
the other— count fourteen words, and then score eight in
succession. Where does that bring you?’
‘The fifth Psalm.’
‘Every fifth word then. Go on, my dear sir—go on. ‘Meth-
od’ of ‘escape’, yes. The hundredth Psalm means a full stop.

For the Term of His Natural Life