Yet the lode was waiting to be found somewhere in the North, and the duty she had accepted long since must come first.
"Then I'm sorry I cannot go," she said with an effort.
The man looked surprised.

"The voyage is short and comfortable if one travels by a big, fast boat.

I expect to work hard, but you would have some leisure and opportunities for seeing famous pictures, statues, and laboratories.

Then you would meet eminent chemists and learn something from their talk.

In fact, the visit ought to be of help in many ways, and, if you afterwards left my employment, make it easy for you to get another post." Agatha struggled for calm.