"Don't try to deny it, Kotlicki! I tell you that the public is a pack of fools, but its leaders are even greater fools!"
"Let me speak," mumbled Glas in a voice that was already growing inaudible, while he leaned on the table and gazed at the candles with hazy eyes.
"Glas, go to sleep, for you're drunk," said Topolski sharply.
"I am drunk? . . . I am drunk? . . ." stuttered Glas, his face as ruddy as the dawn.
The wine and liquors circulated more freely, and the guests began shifting their seats.
Wladek seated himself between Majkowska and the landlady, embarking on a flirtation with the latter. Mimi, growing exhilarated, approached Kaczkowska, with whom she had already exchanged glances and friendly words across the table. They now sat close together, holding each other about the waist like the sincerest friends.
Janina, who had been answering Kotlicki only in brief sentences, preoccupied with what she saw and heard about her glanced at him with an amazed and questioning look.
"You are surprised?" he asked.
"Yes, for not so long ago they were so angry at one another."
"Bosh! that was only a little comedy, played fairly well in their momentary mood . . ."