"Is it as bad as all that?" said the younger man, after a pause.
They looked at each other. The knowledge that all true men have of their kind leaped from eye to eye.
"Quite that bad," answered Brand.
Pyne moistened his lips. He produced a case containing two cigars. He held it out.
"Let us go shares in consolation," he said.
Brand accepted the gift, and affected a livelier mood.
"By lucky chance I have an ample supply of tobacco. It will keep the men quiet," he said. "By the way," and he lifted a quick glance at Pyne, "do you know anything about chemistry?"
"Well—er—I went through a course at Yale."
"Can colza oil be converted into a food."
"It contains certain fats," admitted Pyne, taking dubious stock of the question.