el Woodburn shook hands elaborately all round, when he had smoked
his cigar; the others followed him. It seemed to March that his own
good-night from Dryfoos was dry and cold.

VII.

March met Fulkerson on the steps of the office next morning, when he
arrived rather later than his wont. Fulkerson did not show any of
the signs of suffering from the last night's pleasure which painted
themselves in March's face. He flirted his hand gayly in the air, and
said, "How's your poor head?" and broke into a knowing laugh. "You don't
seem to have got up with the lark this morning. The old gentleman is in
there with Conrad, as bright as a biscuit; he's beat you down. Well, we
did have a good time, didn't we? And old Lindau and the colonel, didn't
they have a good time? I don't suppose they ever had a chance before to
give their theories quite so much air. Oh, my! how they did ride over
us! I'm just going down to see Beaton about the cover of the Christmas
number. I think we ought to try it in three or four colors, if we are
going to observe the day at all." He was off before March could pull
himself together to ask what Dryfoos wanted at the office at that hour
of the morning; he always came in the afternoon on his way up-town.

The fact of his presence renewed the sinister misgivings with which
March had parted from him the night before, but Fulkerson's cheerfulness
seemed to gainsay them; afterward March did not know whether to
attribute this mood to the slipperiness that he was aware of at times in
Fulkerson, or to a cynical amusement he might have felt at leaving him
alone to the old man, who mounted to his room shortly after March had
reached it.

A sort of dumb anger showed itself in his face; his jaw was set so
firmly that he did not seem able at once to open it. He asked, without
the ceremonies of greeting, "What does that one-armed Dutchman do on
this book?"

"What does he do?" March echoed, as people are apt to do with a question
that is mandatory and offensive.

"Yes, sir, what does he do? Does he write for it?"

"I suppose you mean Lindau," said March. He saw no reason for refusing
to answer Dryfoos's demand, and he decided to ignore its terms. "No, he
doesn't write for it in the usual way. He translates for it; he examines
the foreign magazines, and draws my attention to anything he thinks of
interest. But I told you about this before--"

"I know what you told me, well enough. And I know what he is. He i