"Ah! look at ze collectshung on ze pier," continued the sneering speaker. "Someone say zey belong to ze great American college. Zey act like zey belong to ze—ze—what you call eet?—ze menageray. Zey yell, shout, jump—act like ze lunatic."
"It is possible, monsieur," said Frank, with a grim smile, "that they are copying their manners after Frenchmen at a Dreyfus demonstration."
The foreigner turned haughtily and stared at Frank. Then he shrugged his shoulders, turned away and observed to his companion:
"Jes' like all ze Americans—ah!—what eez ze word?—fresh."
The other man bowed and rubbed his hands together.
"Haw!" grunted Browning, lazily. "How do you like that, Frank?"
"Oh, I don't mind it," murmured Merry. "I consider the source from which it came, and regard it as of no consequence."
Diamond was glaring at the Frenchman, for it made his hot Southern blood boil to hear a foreigner criticize anything American. Like all youthful Americans, his great admiration and love for his own country made him intolerant of criticism.
Frank had a cooler head, and he was not so easily ruffled.
Rattleton was unable to express his feelings.