"I say, these pipes are turning out jolly well! Lovely bit of straight grain this one! You do know how to choose a pipe, sir! Are they French or Italian briar?"
"French."
"Jolly nice bit of root!"
"I'm very glad."
"Cool as a nut. Joan's quite right about my smoking too many cigarettes. They're all right for the street—I hate to see a fellow smoking a pipe in the street—and gaspers smell a bit sickly to other people sometimes, don't you think?"
I agreed with this too.
"I suppose the Specter hasn't turned up yet?" was his next effort, as he sat down to rest for a minute.
"Not yet."
"I do hope it isn't out of print. How soon does a book go out of print, sir—on an average?"