Interruptions

MacIan and Turnbull have had their lengthy discussions and find themselves in a secluded spot in chapter IX of 'The ball and the cross'. They decide to finally finish their duel. MacIan, though, notes that they have frequently been interrupted and that this might be a sign of God.
They start their duel, only to be interrupted again by a 'damsel in distress'. They come to the rescue of the lady, who takes them with her in her car. Then, we discover that the police is still looking for our heroes: they are to be transferred to the 'Westgate Adult Reformatory' to be cured, because they are 'incurable disturbers of the peace'. With help of the lady, MacIan and Turnbull escape again.
Finding a secluded spot on a beach surrounded by bluffs, they rejoin the swords. This time the interruption comes from the incoming tide; MacIan saves Turnbulls life by getting him in an abandoned boat. When they finally arrive ashore, they hope they can manage to disguise themselves and fight a duel about a socially accepted topic. So they pick a fight over a lady. Turnbull, however, is so impressed by this lady's simple, naive, Christianity that he gives up his disguise.  Subsequently, our heroes have to flee again.
Borrowing a yacht, they travel over the ocean to find an empty island. They decide to fight there, only to discover that it is not an island at all but a part of England. Again interrupted and chased by the police, they jump over a wall into a garden.
In this garden of 'lost souls', the garden of a lunatic asylum, they encounter someone who believes that he is God. Turnbull turns on him and asks: "Why does teething hurt? Why do growing pains hurt? Why are measles catching? Why does a rose have thorns?" etcetera. MacIan, in the meanwhile, finds someone who is clearly overly impressed by science: someone who cannot 'trust a God that you can't improve on'. This person believes that 'a man's doctor ought to decide what woman he marries', and that 'children ought not be be brought up by their parents'. This person, of course, turns out to be the doctor.