"We saw one!" cried Theodolinda. "He was more than hanging over—he had fallen right off!"
"There's a butterfly here," said Bleak—"Rather a friend of mine, who can give a bumble bee the knock-out after he gets his drop of rum. I've seen him chase a wasp all over the lot."
From the temple came the sound of chimes striking twelve, and down in the valley they heard the whistle of a train.
"There's the excursion train leaving Souse Junction," said Bleak. "I must get back to the bar!"
They returned to the shrine, and Bleak entered his little enclosure.
"Jerry," he said, "the crowd will soon be here. I must get busy. What do you recommend?"
"Better stick to the Scotch," said Jerry, and put the decanter on the mahogany. Bleak drank two slugs hastily, and turned to his friends with an almost wistful air.
"Come again and stay longer," he said. "I see so many strangers, I get homesick for a friendly face." He called Quimbleton aside. "Does Mrs. Quimbleton keep up her trances?" he whispered.
"Not recently," said Virgil. "You see, in South America there was no necessity—but when we get settled—"
"You are a lucky fellow," whispered Bleak. "All the enjoyment without any of the formalities!" And he added aloud, grasping their hands, "Next time, come in the evening. A man in my line of work is hardly at his best before nightfall."