"Hold on there, Greg!" he called. "You can't eat your soup with your fork! Why don't you use a spoon?"
It was Carker's turn to be confused, but he forced a laugh.
"I have a lamentable habit of becoming abstracted in pleasant company," he said.
"Evidently you find your company extremely pleasant, Mr. Carker," observed Mrs. Morton, with a little toss of her head.
"Extremely is not quite the word, madam," he replied, with a bow. "Absorbingly pleasant is far better."
CHAPTER XXII.
ANOTHER PILGRIM.
At intervals during the meal the sound of plaintive, doleful music floated in through the open windows.