More together; and as the winged moments flew they
grew momentarily more intimate. Finally the newcomer said:
"This seems a pretty lachrymose shop. Suppose we go elsewhere and
look for some real doings."
"Your proposition interests me strangely," said the first man;
"but there are two reasons - both good ones - why I may not fare
forth with you. Look under the table and you'll see 'em."
The second man looked and comprehended, for he was a married man
himself; and he grasped the other's hand in warm and comforting
sympathy.
"Old Man," he said - for they had already reached the Old Man
stage - "don't let that worry you. Why, I've got more pants than
any man with only one set of legs has any right to have. I've got
pants that've never been worn. You stay right here and don't move
until I come back. My hotel is just round the corner from here."
No sooner said than done. He went and in a surprisingly short
time was back, bearing spare trousers with him. Beneath the
shielding protection of the table draperies the succored one slipped
them on, and they were a perfect fit. Now he was ready to go where
adventure might await them. They tarried, though, to finish the
last bottle.
Over the rim of his glass the second man ventured an opinion on a
topic of the day. Instantly the first man challenged him. It
seemed to him inconceivable that a person with intelligence enough
to have amassed so many pairs of trousers should harbor such a
delusion. He begged of his new-found friend to withdraw the
statement, or at least to abate it. The other man was sorry, but
he simply could not do it. He stood ready to concede almost
anything else, but on this particular point he was adamant; in
fact, adamant was in comparison with him as pliable as chewing
taffy. Much as he regretted it, he could not modify his assertion
by so much as one brief jot or one small tittle without violating
the consistent principles of a consistent life. He felt that way
about it. All his family felt that way about it.
"Then, sir," said the first man with a rare dignity, "I regret to
wound your feelings; but my sensibilities are such that I cannot
accept, even temporarily, the use of a pair of trousers from the
loan collection of a person who entertains such false and erroneous
conceptions. I have the pleasure, sir, of wishing you good night."
With these words he shucked off the borrowed habiliments and slammed
them into the abashed bosom of the obstinate stranger and went
back to his captivity - pantless, 'tis true, but with his honor
unimpaired.
Chapter XV
Symptoms of the Disease
The majority of these all-night places in Paris are singularly and
monotonously alike.
