“Zay it zen.”
“Of course I understand that you make no hostile demonstration till I am finished? A hunted man must take precautions, you know.”
“I vill let you go.”
“Thanks, Baron.”
Mr Bunker folded his arms, leaned his back against [pg 171] the foot of the bed, and began in his half-bantering way, “I have amused you, Baron, now and then, you must admit?”
The Baron made no reply.
“That I place to my credit, and I think few debts are better worth repaying. On the other hand, I confess I have subsisted for some time entirely on your kindness. I’m afraid that alone counterbalances the debt, and when it comes to my being the means of your taking a bath in mixed company and spending an evening in a locked room, there’s no doubt the balance is greatly on your side.”
“I zink so,” observed the Baron.
“So I’ll tell you a true story, a favour with which I haven’t indulged any one for some considerable time.”
The Baron coughed, but said nothing.