"You have my word! Are you going so soon?"
"I must."
"Impossible to say. Adieu, monsieur!"
"Au revoir, rather!"
Auguste took his hat, shook hands with Cherami, pointed again to the two letters on the table, and rushed from the room.
Cherami balanced himself on the hind legs of his chair, drank another glass of wine, and ordered cigars, saying:
"As I have to stay here another half-hour, I may as well employ my time to advantage.—Waiter! coffee, brandy, and kirsch. By the way, see what time it is now by your sundials, and tell me exactly."
The waiter brought what had been ordered, and said:
"The clock in the hall has just struck two, monsieur."