Smail closed one eye and said nothing.
"Mrs. Trenchard doesn't like it, you know," Eves went on. "Don't you think you'd better go?"
The man was still silent. Eves mutely consulted Templeton. Smail was a big, thick-set fellow; a physical struggle with him might end in disaster.
"Look here, how much do you want to go?" asked Eves. ("I've got some change," he whispered to Templeton.)
Then the man spoke. Winking and waving his pipe, he declared, hoarsely:
"Here I be, and here I bide."
"We'll give you ten shillings," said Eves.
"Here I be, and here I bide."
"Oh, all right, bide away," said Eves, taking Templeton by the arm. "Rotten tobacco, ain't it, Bob?"
They returned to the other room and sat down.