"Dear me!"
"Take care. I am going to open it."
The cover snapped back. Something that resembled a cigar-holder, and the greater part of which was wrapped in red wool, came to light.
"Here he is," said the pastor.
"Exactly as I have always supposed him to be," scoffed Leo.
"Shouldn't have credited you with so much acumen," replied the old man with imperturbable calmness, as he untied the strings which fastened the covering, "for of the many thousand shapes he likes to appear in, this is his favourite."
The woollen wrapper fell off, and what actually revealed itself was a cleanly carved meerschaum point in the form of a woman's leg. Above the amber shoe, which served as the mouthpiece, the part which extended to the knee had been smoked as black as ebony, but the rest, through the protection of the wrapper, had preserved its natural yellowish, white tint.
Leo laughed heartily, but the old man maintained his gravity.
"This is the method that I have discovered of hanging the devil up in the chimney," he said; "and I assure you it affords me holy joy when I do it."
He stuck the half-smoked cigar in the holder, and smoked with all the strength of his lungs.