“Why did you not use the speaking-tube?” I asked idly.
He answered without looking at me.
“It is rather an out-of-the-way place,” he said slowly, “and I did not wish the man to make a mistake.”
CHAPTER XLIV.
A MIDNIGHT EXCURSION TO THE SUBURBS.
During the earlier part of the evening, since we had left the hotel, my companion had shown no disposition to talk. On the contrary, his silence amounted almost to moroseness, and he had not always answered my questions. But immediately we had started on this new expedition his manner underwent a complete change. He seemed to lay himself out with feverish eagerness to entertain me and to absorb my attention.
“I hope you’re not tired,” he said suddenly, at the end of one of his anecdotes. “We have rather a long drive before us.”
“Not in the least,” I assured him. “What is the place we are going to?”
“A sort of private club. In confidence, I’ll tell you why it is so far out of the way. Some of the members are fond of playing a little high, and have started a roulette board. That sort of thing is best kept quiet, you know.”
“The place is a gambling-club, then?”
“Something of that sort,” he acknowledged. “I shouldn’t dream of taking you there if it wasn’t for the sake of meeting Marx. You understand?”