"May I offer you anything to drink, gentlemen? Shall I get my steward to make you a cocktail? I can assure you, he is a master of the art. Or would you prefer a glass of champagne?"
We refused any refreshments, and the Englishman smiled resignedly.
"We shall not keep you long," began Monk, looking the Englishman in the face. "It will rest with yourself whether the proceedings are long or short."
"You have, perhaps, come to bring me a greeting from dear old Mr. Frick, his charming niece, or the gay Einar?"
"Yes, I have come with greetings from them all, but—"
"Have a cigar?" The Englishman rose, took a box from a shelf, and handed it to us. "Not even a cigar? Then you will, at any rate, allow me to light one. Tell me, you who are Norwegians, and who understand the weather here, do you think we shall have good weather for the next few days? I and my friends think of going to the Ryfylke fjord, and—"
"It will be all the worse for yourself if you waste time," said Monk, in a sharp and threatening voice. "You had better listen to what I have to say, and answer quickly."
"Ho, ho! Have you come on board to threaten me? You, Mr. Viller, who seem to be a gentleman, ought to tell your friend that he should not make himself unpleasant to an Englishman on board his own yacht."
I wisely left it to Monk to answer for himself, and only glanced contemptuously at him; the thought of what he had done filled me with disgust. I would rather have taken him by the neck and given him a good thrashing.
"You can't get away from us, Mr. Howell," continued Monk, undisturbed. "We are come to settle an account with you, and we don't intend to leave here before it is done."