"I am hungry," said the Inquisitive One.
Scholar and he headed for a cheap restaurant, but Mike refused to accompany them and jeered at those who showed signs of intending to follow, so that they subsided. The man behind the counter nodded pleasantly to them and wished them good morning, and the early waitress rustled after them to a marble-topped table. The Inquisitive One felt nervous, but Scholar's suggestion of ham and eggs made his eyes bulge. Large cups of coffee were brought, rolls of butter, and the ham and eggs.
"I can do with this," murmured Charles.
The girl waited. Scholar wondered why; then, even as it struck him that perhaps he was expected to pay before eating, she turned away.
"Ain't yer goin' to give her the money?" asked Charlie in a worried voice.
"Oh!" said Scholar. "Oh, of course, that's what she was waiting for."
Charlie looked at him a trifle suspiciously. Was it possible that this man was one of those swell crooks in embarrassed circumstances? Was he beginning his daring fancy tricks and games of bluff the moment he got ashore? Here was out of such company for him! The girl was walking over to the man behind the counter, he looking up expectant, for she had evidently something to say.
"I'd better pay you," called Scholar, and she came back smiling.
"It's the rule," she said. "I was just going to ask the boss, seeing you—thank you," for he put the coin in her hand.
They took up knife and fork, and as they did so the girl returned to say, quite sweetly: "Didn't notice. The manager says this is an American coin."