smooth
Mahony's rising plumes. "It began with his mother in the first place.
Yes, poor Emma was weak with the boy--lamentably weak!"

Here, with a disconcerting abruptness, he drew to him a blue linen bag
that lay on the seat, and loosening its string took out a sheaf of
official papers, in which he was soon engrossed. He had had enough of
Mahony's conversation in the meantime, or so it seemed; had thought of
something better to do, and did it.

His brother-in-law eyed him as he read. "He's a bad colour. Been living
too high, no doubt."

A couple of new books were on the seat by Mahony; but he did not open
them. He had a tiring day behind him, and the briefest of nights.
Besides attending the masonic ceremony, which had lasted into the small
hours, he had undertaken to make various purchases, not the least
difficult of which was the buying of a present for Mary--all the little
fal-lals that went to finish a lady's ball-dress. Railway-travelling
was, too, something of a novelty to him nowadays; and he sat idly
watching the landscape unroll, and thinking of nothing in particular.
The train was running through mile after mile of flat, treeless
country, liberally sprinkled with trapstones and clumps of tussock
grass, which at a distance could be mistaken for couched sheep. Here
and there stood a solitary she-oak, most doleful of trees, its scraggy,
pine-needle foliage bleached to grey. From the several little stations
along the line: mere three-sided sheds, which bore a printed invitation
to intending passengers to wave a flag or light a lamp, did they wish
to board the train: from these shelters long, bare, red roads, straight
as ruled lines, ran back into the heart of the burnt-up, faded country.
Now and then a moving ruddy cloud on one of them told of some vehicle
crawling its laborious way.

When John, his memoranda digested, looked up ready to resume their
talk, he found that Mahony was fast asleep; and, since his first words,
loudly uttered, did not rouse him, he took out his case, chose a cigar,
beheaded it and puffed it alight.

While he smoked, he studied his insensible relative. Mahony was sitting
uncomfortably hunched up; his head had fallen forward and to the side,
his mouth was open, his gloved hands lay limp on his knee.

"H'm!" said John to himself as he gazed. And: "H'm," he repeated after
an interval.--Then pulling down his waistcoat and generally giving
himself a shake to rights, he reflected that,