Alone with the De l'Isles in Royal Street Chester asked, "And the business--Chapdelaine & Son?"
"Ah, sinz' long time liquidate'! All tha'z rim-aining is Mme. Alexandre. Mr. Chezter, y' ought to put that! That ought to go in the book," said monsieur.
"If we could only avoid a disjointed effect."
"Dizjoin'--my dear sir! They are going to read thad book biccause the dizjointed--by curio-zity. You'll see! That Am-erican pewblic they have a passion, an insanitie, for the dizjointed!"
XXVI
The week so blissfully begun in the Chapdelaines' garden and at Spanish Fort was near its end.
The Courier des Etats-Unis had told the Royal Street coterie of mighty doings far away in Italy, of misdoings in Galicia, and of horrors on the Atlantic fouler than all its deeps can ever cleanse; but nothing was yet reported to have "tranzpired" in the vieux carré. The fortunes of "the book" seemed becalmed.
It was Saturday evening. The streets had just been lighted. Mlles. Corinne and Yvonne, dingy even by starlight, were in one of them--Conti. Now they turned into Royal, and after them turned Chester and Aline. Presently the four entered the parlor of the Castanados. Their coming made its group eleven, and all being seated Castanado rose.
After the proper compliments--"They were called," he said, "to receive----"