tside!" he snarled, and shoved him out again backward.
Then he came over to us and stood leering at the framed sign, "First
Class Only," avoiding our eyes, but plainly at war with us.

"Gassharamminy!" he growled. "You think you're popes or something!
You three would want a special private piece of earth to spit on!" He
raised his voice to a sort of scream. "I proclaim one class only!"

At that he lifted his foot about level with his chest and kicked the
screen over. The crash brought everybody to his feet except the two
officials and the railway man. They continued eating, and the railway
man continued counting copper coins as if life depended on that alone.

"Sit down all!" yelled Coutlass. "You will eat with better appetite
now that you can behold the blushes of these virgins!" Then he
swaggered over to the long table, thrust the other Greek and the
Goanese into chairs on either side of him, and yelled for food. It was
the first time we had been referred to publicly as virgins, and I think
we all three felt the strain.

The Goanese manager--a wizened old black man with perfectly white
hair--came running from the kitchen in a state of near-collapse, the
sweat streaming off him and his hands trembling.

"What shall I do?" he asked, almost upsetting the railway man's tray of
money. "That man is crazy! He came in once before and broke the
dishes! Twice he has come in here and eaten and refused to pay! What
shall I do?"

"Nothing," said the railway man. "Go on serving dinner. Serve him
too."

The manager hurried out again and the running to and fro resumed. Then
in came the guard.

"First-class for two on trays!" he shouted.

The railway man beckoned to him and he winked as he passed by us.

"When you've seen to that, and had your own meal, I want you," said the
railway man.

"Thought you said the lady's maid would have to come and fetch the
food?" I said maliciously as the guard passed my chair a second time.

"So I did. But if you know how to refuse her, just teach me! I told
her flat to have the maid fetch it. She let on they're both too
frightened to cross the platform in the dark! Never saw anything like
'em! Tears! An' dignified! When I climbed down they was too afraid
next to be left alone. Swore train-thieves 'ud murder 'em! I had to
leave 'em my key to lock 'emselves in with until I come back with the
grub! What d'you think of that?"

But our soup came, and one could not