The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1916-03-03
CHAPTER vll-continued.

To the driver of the first taxicab he
met he said; "PAbbaye;" then, shut
ting himself within the conveyance,
he surrendered to the most morose re-
fections.
Nothing Of his mood was, however.
apparent in his manner on alighting.
He bore a countenance of amiable in
souciance through the portals of this
festal institution, whose proudest
boast and, incidentally, sole claim to
uniqueness is that it never opens its
doors before midnight nor closes them
before dawn.
He had moved about with such celer-
ity since entering hIe fat on the Rue
Roget that it was even now only two
O'Clock. an hour at which revelry might
be expected to have reached its apo
gee In this, the soidisant smartest
place in Paris.
A less sophisticated adventurer
might have been fattered by the cor
diality Of his reception at the hands of
the maitre d'hotel
"Ah-h, NJ. Lanyar'! But it is long
since we have been so favored. How
ever. have kept your table for you"
"Have you, indeed?"
Gould it be otherwise, after receipt
OF your honored order?"
mo" said Lanyard coolly, 81 pre-
sumo not, if you value your peace of
mind"
Monsieur is ?"-this with an
accent Of disappointment
Temporarily, perhaps"
But this way, il you please"
In the wake of the functionary Ian
yard traversed that frowsy anteroom,
where doubtful wasters are herded on
suspicion in company with the corps
of automatic bacchanalians and igu-
rantes, to the main restaurant, the in
ner sanctum toward which the naive
soul of the travel-bitten Anglo Saxon
aspires so ardently.
1t was not large room; irregularly
pentagonal in shape, lined with wall
seats behind a close-set rank Of tables;
better lighted than most Partisan res
taurarts, that is to say, less glaring-
ly; ill-ventilated; the open space in
the middle Of the floor devoted to
handful OF haggard young professional
dancers, their stunted bodies more or
less costumed in brilliant colors, foot
ing it with all the vivacity to be eX-
pected of five francs per night per
head; the tables occupied by parties
AngloSaxon and French in the pro-
portion Of five to one, served by
company of bored and apathetic wait
ers; a string orchestra Raging inces-
sanity; a vicious buck-nigger on a dais
shining with self-complacency while
he vamped and shouted: "Waitin fob
tn Robuht E. Lee"
Lanyard permitted himself to be
penned in a corner behind a table, told
the waiter to bring him champagne
not because he wanted it, but because
It was tiquette-suppresse yawn,
lighted a cigarette, and reviewed the
assemblage with languid but shrewd
glance.
He slipped his wine sparingly, with
out relish, considering the single sub
sidiary fact which did impress him
with some wonderland he was being
left severely to himself; something
which doesn't often fall to the lot of
the unattached male at PAbbaye. Evi-
IDENTIFY an order had been issued with
respect to him. Ordinarily he would
have been grateful, tonight he was
merely irritated; it rendered him con-
spicuous.
The fixed round OF delirious diver
tissement unfolded-as per schedule.
A Spanish dancing girl was given a
clear floor for her speciality which
consisted in singing several verses un-
derstood by nobody-and emphasized
her vivacity by making frantic dashes
at and rumpling the hair of several
variously surprised, indignant and fiat
tered male guests-among these Lam
yard, who submitted with resignation. |
And then. just when he was on the |
point of consigning the Pack to the |
devil for inficting upon him such cruel !
and inhuman punishment, the Spanish |
girl picked her way through the mob