XV
TRUTH'S CHAMPION
Northcote had only a hazy notion of his where-*abouts.
He had never been in these high latitudes
before. He had a dim idea that London lay "over
there;" but upon ascending the steep hill that lay
before him, he found that "over there" was
merged in the dark and enormous bulk of the
Crystal Palace.
"Whitcomb was right in his topography," he laughed. "This is the route he predicted I should take; therefore it is a perfectly fair inference to regard it as the wrong one."
He hailed yet another minion of the law, who no less than his brethren was communicative.
"You are going away from London as fast as your legs will take you," said Z201, and proceeded to set a course which in itself was so intricate that the young man by no means pledged himself to follow it.
The terrific central energy still driving him, the wayfarer strode forth through the rain with an undiminished vigor. By now his clothes were saturated and lay upon him heavily. But nothing could abate the force of these concentrated fires which bore him so lightly mile after mile. Not only did they burn with splendor, but also with a vital clarity. His lips moved with the phrases that sprang upon them; the sense of dull power, of
