The lemon-juice arriving at this point, the expert added it to the contents of the shaker and agitated the whole violently.
"It's a long, long way to that Argentine ranch," he remarked pensively. "See here, doctor, you're a farseeing man. On general principles, what would you advise?"
The doctor looked up from his contemplation of the mustard-pot, and it seemed to Esther that his dull eyes met and held the young man's shallow hazel ones for an appreciable space of time.
"Well," he said at length, "do you particularly want to go?"
"Like hell," was the brief reply.
"H'm! In that case I should certainly leave the decision till the last possible moment. There's always some slight chance of something's turning up."
"No! Do you think there is, though?" demanded Holliday eagerly, stopping with the shaker in his hands.
"On general principles."
The visitor's face brightened noticeably. Whistling a bar or two of
"Gigolette" he poured out two glasses of a pale straw-coloured liquid,
then with the shaker poised over a third glass looked inquiringly at
Esther.
"What about you?" he invited.