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Mussolini or even putting Stalin on the spot, the progress of humanity would receive an equal jolt forward.
    Having arrived thus at the stage of considering himself a dedicated shotgun in the hand of humanity, Mr Todhunter determined to take further advice. It was essential that he should not be wasted; his aim must be directed truly and firmly at the most worthy objective. It was necessary therefore to take the very best opinion on the matter. And, considering the question in all its aspects, Mr Todhunter could imagine no better opinion than that of Mr A. W. Furze. He therefore rang up Mr Chitterwick, who claimed some slight acquaintance with Furze, and with much cunning arranged for an introduction to that gentleman.
    Three days later the introduction materialised into an invitation to take lunch with Mr Furze at his club. Mr Todhunter accepted with gratitude.

CHAPTER II
    Furze rubbed his massive head.
    â€œDo I understand, then,” he said carefully, “that you are offering to murder anyone whom I recommend?”
    â€œTee-hee,” cackled Mr Todhunter. “Well, if you put it so bluntly, yes.”
    â€œIt’s best, I think, to have these things quite plain.”
    â€œOh, undoubtedly, undoubtedly.”
    Furze ate a few more mouthfuls with a thoughtful air. Then he glanced round the club dining room. The walls were still there, the elderly waiters, the baron of beef on the cold table, everything seemed quite normal except his guest.
    â€œThen let me sum up what you’ve told me. You’re suffering from an incurable disease. You’ve only got a few more months to live. But you feel quite fit. You want to use the situation to do some good in the world, of a kind that a man not in your position could hardly do. And you’ve come to the conclusion that a judicious murder would best meet the case. Is that correct?”
    â€œWell, yes. But as I told you, the idea was not mine; I had a few men to dinner a few weeks ago and put the case to them, of course in a hypothetical way. Except for a clergyman, they all agreed on murder.”
    â€œYes. And now you want my advice whether to go out to Germany and assassinate Hitler?”
    â€œIf you’d be so good.”
    â€œVery well, then. Don’t.”
    â€œDon’t?”
    â€œDon’t. For one thing, you’d never get near him. For another, you’d only make bad worse. Hitler isn’t nearly so impossible as his successor might be. And the same applies to Mussolini, Stalin and even Sir Stafford Cripps. In other words, keep off dictators, actual or potential.”
    Mr Todhunter seemed inclined to argue. “Don’t you think that the man who shot Huey Long did more good for America than Roosevelt himself has?”
    â€œPerhaps I do. And Sinclair Lewis has pointed the moral. But that was an isolated case. The movement collapsed with Huey Long’s removal. Hitlerism wouldn’t collapse if Hitler were killed. In fact the Jews in Germany would probably find themselves worse off still.”
    â€œThat,” said Mr Todhunter reluctantly, “is more or less what these fellows said the other night.”
    â€œThey showed sense. By the way, Chitterwick doesn’t know all you’ve been telling me?”
    â€œOh no, not a thing. He believed, like the others, that we were discussing a supposititious case.”
    Furze permitted himself to smile. “Don’t you think that if they’d known it was a real case, they wouldn’t have advised murder quite so readily?”
    â€œOh, I’m sure of that,” Mr Todhunter grinned, not without a touch of malice. He took a very small sip of claret. “You see, it was just because I knew I shouldn’t get a genuine opinion otherwise that I pretended it was a supposititious case.”
    â€œYes, quite so. And Chitterwick suspected nothing when you asked him for the introduction to me?”
    â€œWhy should he suspect anything? I