"Oh, my friend—Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on earth!"
De Grost nodded approvingly.
"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon arrive at that decision?"
"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."
"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself, no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable time."
Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a safe conduct."
De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.
"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."
"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.