ace: as strange as the atmosphere about them, which hung
heavy, to his fancy, and oppressive, fraught with unintelligible
railleries, with subtle jests and sneers. The girl went to and fro, from
one to another, her face pale, her manner quiet. And had he not seen her
earlier with another look in her eyes, had he not detected a sinister
something underlying the big man's good humour, he would have learned
nothing from her; he would have fancied that all was as it should be in
the house and in the company.

As it was he understood nothing. But he felt that a something was wrong,
that a something overhung the party. Seated as he was he could not
without turning see the faces of the two at the other table, nor watch
the girl when she waited on them. But the suspicion of a smile which
hovered on the lips of the young man who sat opposite him--whom he could
see--kept him on his guard. Was a trick in preparation? Were they about
to make him pay his footing? No, for they had no notice of his coming.
They could not have laid the mine. Then why that smile? And why this
silence?

On a sudden he caught the sound of a movement behind him, the swirl of a
petticoat, and the clang of a pewter plate as it fell noisily to the
floor. His companion looked up swiftly, the smile on his face broadening
to a snigger. Claude turned too as quickly as he could and looked, his
face hot, his mind suspecting some prank to be played on him; to his
astonishment he discovered nothing to account for the laugh. The girl
appeared to be bending over the embers on the hearth, the men to be
engaged with their meal; and baffled and perplexed he turned again and,
his ears burning, bent over his plate. He was glad when the stout man
broke the silence for the second time.

"Agrippa," he said, "has this of amalgams. That whereas gold, silver,
tin are valuable in themselves, they attain when mixed with mercury to a
certain light and sparkling character, as who should say the bubbles on
wine, or the light resistance of beauty, which in the one case and the
other add to the charm. Such to our simple pleasures"--he continued with
a rumble of deep laughter--"our simple pleasures, which I must now also
call our pleasures of the past, was our Tissot! Who, running fluid
hither and thither, where resistance might be least of use, was as it
were the ultimate sting of enjoyment. Is it possible that we have in our
friend a new Tissot?"

The young man at the table giggled