I wrinkled my brow and tugged the ends of my moustache in the effort to find a solution. The proprietor tugged the ends of his own moustache in sympathetic silence.
"Does he always slink out if anybody sits down opposite to him?" I inquired again.
"On the contrary. He talks and chats quite freely with his neighbors when there are any. I have seen his countenance light up when a man has come to seat himself next to him."
"Then to-day is the first time he has behaved so strangely?"
"Absolutely."
Again I was silent. I looked at myself curiously in the cracked mirror.
"Do you see anything strange in my appearance?" I asked the proprietor.
"Nothing in the world," said the proprietor, shaking his head vigorously.
"Nothing in the world," echoed the waiter, emphatically.
"Then why does he object to me, when he doesn't object to anybody else?"