All the time Mr.Grex had been speaking, he had been drumming upon the table with his forefinger.
"Precisely! Precisely!" he exclaimed.

"Above all things, that must be understood.

Ours is a chance meeting.

My visit in these parts is in no way connected with the correspondence I have had with one of our friends here.

Further," Monsieur Douaille continued impressively, "it must be distinctly understood that any word I may be disposed to utter, either in the way of statement or criticism, is wholly and entirely unofficial.
I do not even know what the subject of our discussion is to be.