"And a dirty one, too, sir," added Thompson with disgust. "I've been at hotels with 'em."
"Seven meals a day is one of the articles of faith of the good German, Thompson," continued Malcolm Sage.
"And what's the result, sir?" remarked Thompson.
"I suppose," remarked Sage meditatively, "it's the same as with a bean-fed horse. They go out looking for trouble."
"And they're going to get it," was the grim rejoinder.
"Well, carry on, Thompson," said Sage by way of dismissal. "You'll learn a great deal about the green-grocery trade in the process."
"And waterworks—and gas and things, sir," grinned Thompson.
As Thompson opened the door of Malcolm Sage's room, he stepped aside to allow Colonel Walton to enter, and then quietly closed the door behind him.
"Bad time?" enquired Sage as Colonel Walton dropped into a chair and, taking off his cap, mopped his forehead.
"On this occasion I resigned for both of us."