Let us grant that I have said nothing.
An irrepressible laughter shook the audience for several seconds.
—Gentlemen, I am happy that my story has amused you, said Prometheus, laughing also. Since the death of Damocles I have found the secret of laughter. For the present I have finished, gentlemen. Let the dead bury the dead and let us go quickly to lunch.
He took the waiter by one arm and Cocles by the other; they all left the cemetery; after passing the gates, the rest of the assembly dispersed.
—Pardon me, said Cocles. Your story was charming, and you made us laugh.... But I do not quite understand the connexion....
—If there had been more you would not have laughed so much, said Prometheus. Do not look for too much meaning in all this. I wanted above all to distract you, and I am happy to have done so; surely I owed you that? I wearied you so the other day.
They found themselves on the boulevards.
—Where are we going? said the waiter.
—To your restaurant, if you do not mind, in memory of our first meeting.