"Better that than do nothing and get nothing for it," he replied with light philosophy, taking a chair at the opposite side of the table.
Victor entered with bottle of absinthe and the cigarettes and deposited them carefully between them. Laroque rubbed his hands together and gazed at the bottle with glistening eyes.
"Good!" he exclaimed, enthusiastically. "Now, mix up the drinks, old girl, and put some power in 'em! You want yours about as badly as I want mine!"
The woman uncorked the bottle and began preparing the absinthe while he lighted a cigarette and turned to Victor, who stood stolidly by the table.
"What's going on in Bordeaux?" he asked pleasantly. "Is there any fun?"
Victor studied the question gravely and then drawled:
"Well, it's amusing sometimes, then sometimes it isn't."
Laroque's clear laugh rang out.
"Now, we know all about it, don't we?"
Victor stared at him with the mild gaze of a surprised cow. He did not see the joke and didn't feel up to the mental effort of looking for it.