"Hope!" "Córdoba."
Don Jaime tore the note up into imperceptible pieces.
"What day is this?" he suddenly asked Loïck.
"Today?" he repeated, startled by this question, which he did not at all anticipate.
"Ass! I suppose I did not mean yesterday or tomorrow."
"That is true, Excellency—this is Tuesday."
"Why could you not say so at once?"
Don Jaime again walked up and down the room in deep thought.
"Can I go?" Loïck ventured.
"You ought to have gone ten minutes ago," he answered sharply.