The professor talked of
Assyria, and there was no man who had had stranger experiences. He
talked with the eloquence and fervor of a man who speaks of things which
have become a passion with him; so vividly, indeed, that more than once
he seemed to carry his listeners with him, back through the ages, back
into actual touch with the life of thousands of years ago, which he
described with such full and picturesque detail. Not at any time during
the dinner was the slightest allusion made to that last heated interview
which had taken place between the three men. Even when they sat out in
the palm court afterwards, and smoked and listened to the band and
watched the people, Mr. Bomford only distantly alluded to it.
"I want to ask you, Mr. Burton," he said, "what you think of your
surroundings--of the restaurant and your neighbors on every side?"
"The restaurant is very beautiful," Burton admitted. "The whole place
seems delightful. One can only judge of the people by their appearance.
That, at any rate, is in their favor."
Mr. Bomford nodded approvingly.
"I will admit, Mr. Burton," he continued, leaning a little towards him,
"that one of my objects in asking you to dine this evening, apart from
the pleasure of your company, was to prove to you the truth of one of my
remarks the other evening--that the expenditure of money need not
necessarily be associated with vulgarity.
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