terrible vividness.

Something must be done, and that immediately. Somehow or another I must
find B. I roused myself, and summoned to my aid every word of
Scandinavian that I knew.

It was no good these people pretending that they did not understand their
own language, and putting me off that way. They had got to understand it
this time. This was no mere question of coffee and rolls; this was a
serious business. I would make that waiter understand my Scandinavian,
if I had to hammer it into his head with his own coffee-pot!

I seized him by the arm, and, in Scandinavian that must have been quite
pathetic in its tragic fervour, I asked him if he had seen my friend--my
friend B.

The man only stared.

I grew desperate. I shook him. I said:

"My friend--big, great, tall, large--is he where? Have you him to see
where? Here?"

(I had to put it that way because Scandinavian grammar is not a strong
point with me, and my knowledge of the verbs is as yet limited to the
present tense of the infinitive mood. Besides, this was no time to worry
about grace of style.)

A crowd gathered round us, attracted by the man's terrified expression.
I appealed to them generally. I said:

"My friend B.--head, red--boots, yellow, brown, gold--coat, little
squares--nose, much, large! Is he where? Him to see--anybody--where?"

Not a soul moved a hand to help me. There they stood and gaped!

I repeated it all over again louder, in case anybody on the outskirts of
the mob had not heard it; and I repeated it in an entirely new accent. I
gave them every chance I could.

They chatted excitedly among themselves, and, then a bright idea seemed
to strike one of them, a little more intelligent-looking than the rest,
and he rushed outside and began running up and down, calling out
something very loudly, in which the word "Norwegian" kept on occurring.

He returned in a few seconds, evidently exceedingly pleased with himself,
accompanied by a kindly-looking old gentleman in a white hat.

Way was made in the crowd, and the old gentleman pressed forward. When
he got near, he smiled at me, and then proceeded to address to me a
lengthy, but no doubt kindly meant, speech in Scandinavian.

Of course, it was all utterly unintelligible to me from beginning to end,
and my face clearly showed this. I can grasp a word or two of
Scandinavian here and there, if pronounced slowly and distinctly; but
that is all.

The old gentleman rega