He put down Redwood's paper on the patent reading-desk that swung inconveniently from his arm-chair, took off his gold-rimmed spectacles, breathed on them and wiped them very carefully.
"By Jove!" said Mr.Bensington.
Then replacing his spectacles again he turned to the patent reading-desk, which immediately, as his elbow came against its arm, gave a coquettish squeak and deposited the paper, with all its diagrams in a dispersed and crumpled state, on the floor.

"By Jove!" said Mr.
Bensington, straining his stomach over the arm-chair with a patient disregard of the habits of this convenience, and then, finding the pamphlet still out of reach, he went down on all fours in pursuit.

It was on the floor that the idea of calling it the Food of the Gods came to him....
For you see, if he was right and Redwood was right, then by injecting or administering this new substance of his in food, he would do away with the "resting phase," and instead of growth going on in this fashion, _____ / / _____/ / / _____/ / / / it would (if you follow me) go thus-- / / / / / / / / / / / IV.
The night after his conversation with Redwood Mr.Bensington could scarcely sleep a wink.

He did seem once to get into a sort of doze, but it was only for a moment, and then he dreamt he had dug a deep hole into the earth and poured in tons and tons of the Food of the Gods, and the earth was swelling and swelling, and all the boundaries of the countries were bursting, and the Royal Geographical Society was all at work like one great guild of tailors letting out the equator....
That of course was a ridiculous dream, but it shows the state of mental excitement into which Mr.Bensington got and the real value he attached to his idea, much better than any of the things he said or did when he was awake and on his guard.

Or I should not have mentioned it, because as a general rule I do not think it is at all interesting for people to tell each other about their dreams.
By a singular coincidence Redwood also had a dream that night, and his dream was this:-- | | | | | | | | | | It was a diagram done in fire upon a long scroll of the abyss.