"I owe you," said Sixtine, "a very noble pleasure and I am grateful. We are at my door."
Hubert, recognizing the door, had a vision of lost time; he uttered a word which atoned somewhat for his awkward digressions:
"Already!"
"If it were not so late, I should have offered you a cup of tea, ten minutes by the fire-place which awaits me, but really...."
"Oh! I entreat you!"
"It is because ... no, it is not possible."
"In that case, you should not have made me think of it," said Hubert in a tone of chagrin.
"You had not thought of it? Then, go back to the very place where you did not think of it, and you will return in peace."
"Five minutes, only five minutes!"
"Be sensible, I will look for you to-morrow."