"Indeed I am not unacquainted with the works of Lagneau, Ploix, Arbois
de Jubainville," said Morhange frigidly.
"My God!" The little man was going through extraordinary contortions.
"Sir--Captain, how happy I am, how many excuses...."
Just then, the portiére was raised. Ferradji appeared again.
"Sir, they want me to tell you that unless you come, they will begin
without you."
"I am coming, I am coming. Say, Ferradji, that we will be there in a
moment. Why, sir, if I had foreseen ... It is extraordinary ... to
find an officer who knows Procles of Carthage and Arbois de
Jubainville. Again ... But I must introduce myself. I am Etienne Le
Mesge, Fellow of the University."
"Captain Morhange," said my companion.
I stepped forward in my turn.
"Lieutenant de Saint-Avit. It is a fact, sir, that I am very likely to
confuse Arbois of Carthage with Procles de Jubainville. Later, I shall
have to see about filling up those gaps. But just now, I should like
to know where we are, if we are free, and if not, what occult power
holds us. You have the appearance, sir, of being sufficiently at home
in this house to be able to enlighten us upon this point, which I must
confess, I weakly consider of the first importance."
M. Le Mesge looked at me. A rather malevolent smile twitched the
corners of his mouth. He opened his lips....
A gong sounded impatiently.
"In good time, gentlemen, I will tell you. I will explain
everything.... But now you see that we must hurry. It is time for
lunch and our fellow diners will get tired of waiting."
"Our fellow diners?"
"There are two of them," M. Le Mesge explained. "We three constitute
the European personnel of the house, that is, the fixed personnel," he
seemed to feel obliged to add, with his disquieting smile. "Two
strange fellows, gentlemen, with whom, doubtless, you will care to
have as little to do as possible. One is a churchman, narrow-minded,
though a Protestant. The other is a man of the world gone astray, an
old fool."
"Pardon," I said, "but it must have been he whom I heard last night.
He was gambling: with you and the minister, doubtless?"
M. Le Mesge made a gesture of offended dignity.
"The idea! With me, sir? It is with the Tuareg that he plays. He
teaches them every game imaginable. There, that is he who is striking
the gong to hurry us up. It is half past nine, and the Salle de
Trente et Quarante opens at ten o'clock. Let us hurry. I suppose that
anyway you will not be averse to a little refreshment."