The wizard looked me in the face for the first time, as he said deliberately:
“I shall be very pleased to come.”
CHAPTER XX
THE DEVIL’S AUCTION
I said as little as possible during the drive homeward.
My companion was equally silent. No doubt he, like myself, was bracing himself for a duel of wits.
As soon as we were safe in my private room at the hotel, with a bottle of vodka and a box of cigars in front of us, I opened the discussion with my habitual directness.