Whew! and to think that here is a community that has been
bowing down to these things as symbols from another world!"
"Marsh gas, Mr.--"
"Headland, please. It is wiser, and will help better to remember when the
necessity arises," returned Cleek, with a smile. "Yes, that is all they
are--the outcome of marsh gas."
"But what _is_ marsh gas, Mr.--Headland?" Merriton's voice was still
strained.
Cleek motioned to a chair.
"Better sit down to it, my young friend," he said, gently. "Because, to
one who isn't interested, it is an extremely dull subject. However, it is
better that you should know--as you don't seem to have learnt it at
school. Here goes: marsh gas, or methane as it is sometimes called, is
the first of the group of hydrocarbons known as paraffins. Whether that
conveys anything to you I don't know. But you've asked for knowledge and
I mean you to have it." He smiled again, and Merriton gravely shook his
head, while Mr. Narkom, dropping for the time being his air of pompous
boredom, became the interested listener in every line of his ample
proportions.
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