Chilcote, watching him furtively, obeyed the gesture and sat
down.
"It is extraordinary!" he said, as if unable to dismiss the
subject. "It--it is quite extraordinary!"
The other glanced round. "Let's drop it," he said. "It's so
confoundedly obvious." Then his tone changed. "Won't you
smoke?" he asked.
"Thanks." Chilcote began to fumble for his cigarettes.
But his host forestalled him. Taking a box from the
mantel-piece, he held it out.
"My one extravagance!" he said, ironically. "My resources
bind me to one; and I think I have made a wise selection. It
is about the only vice we haven't to pay for six times over."
He glanced sharply at the face so absurdly like his own, then,
lighting a fresh spill, offered his guest a light.
Chilcote moistened his cigarette and leaned forward. In the
flare of the paper his face looked set and anxious, but Loder
saw that the lips did not twitch as they had done on the
previous occasion that he had given him a light, and a look of
comprehension crossed his eyes.
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