He drank absinthe, without water, and then I began to explain to him an idea for an invention which occurred to me to prevent people from being run over by cabs, and he was quite interested.

I'll show you--" "You won't," said Emmy, with a laugh.

She had her lighter moments.

"You'll do no such thing--not until you've told me about the flat." "Oh! the flat," said Septimus in a disappointed tone, as if it were a secondary matter altogether.

"I gave him another absinthe and we became so friendly that I told him that I wanted a flat and didn't in the least know how to set about finding one.