“There is my specialty!”
Both surgeons then were occupied with their bags. De Fresnoy, overhearing the remark, could not but smile. To conceal it he turned to the gate where he was joined by Silverstairs and where at once, Palencia and Tyszkiewicz followed, leaving in the center of the garden Leilah and her two husbands, one of whom with a shrug which for an American was perhaps rather French, went to the bench where his coat lay.
In this instance again the actions of all so closely coincided that barely an instant intervened before Leilah was throwing after Verplank the two syllables he had thrown at her.
“At five!”
Later she was unconscious of having done so. But Barouffski heard and presently, when the others had gone and in this garden those two were alone, with angry suspicion he confronted her.
“Five! What is that? What does it mean?”
Leilah had turned to go. A bit unsteadily she moved on, reached the entrance, leaned there for support.
But Barouffski was at her heels.
“Five,” he repeated. “He said it, you said it, what does it mean?”