“At what time will you come and get on the whale to-morrow?” this extraordinary personage asked. I gazed at him in bewilderment. He spoke French perfectly and repeated his question.
“He’s mad,” I said in a low voice to Jarrett.
“No, madame, I am not mad, but I should like to know at what time you will come and get on the whale. It would be better perhaps to come this evening, for we are afraid it may die in the night, and it would be a pity for you not to come and pay it a visit while it still has breath.”
He went on talking, and as he talked, he half seated himself beside Jarrett who was still holding him by the collar, lest he should fall out of the carriage.
“But, monsieur,” I exclaimed. “What do you mean? What is all this about a whale?”
“Ah! madame,” he replied, “it is admirable, enormous. It is in the harbor basin and there are men employed day and night to break the ice all round it.”
He broke off suddenly and standing on the carriage step he clutched the driver.
“Stop! Stop!” he called out. “Hi-Hi, Henry—come here—here’s madame, here she is!”
The carriage drew up, and without any further ceremony he jumped down and pushed into my carriage a little man, square all over, who was wearing a fur cap pulled down over his eyes, and an enormous diamond in his cravat. He was the strangest type of the old-fashioned Yankee. He did not speak a word of French, but he took his seat calmly by Jarrett, while the reporter remained half sitting and half hanging on to the vehicle. There had been three of us when we started from the station, and we were five when we reached the Hotel Vendome. There were a great many people awaiting my arrival, and I was quite ashamed of my new companion. He talked in a loud voice, laughed, coughed, spat, addressed everyone, and gave everyone invitations. All the people seemed to be delighted. A little girl threw her arms round her father’s neck, exclaiming: “Oh, yes, papa, do please let us go!”
“Well, but we must ask madame,” he replied and he came up to me in the most polite and courteous manner. “Will you kindly allow us to join your party when you go to see the whale to-morrow?” he asked.