OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

THE LODGER 99
" Nothing. Give me the flour."
" Has he been talking to you again? "
" No. Don't ask questions, please. My nerves are all to bits."
" Will he have dinner with us tonight? "
" I don't see how we can prevent him."
Antoinette began unpacking the parcels. There were two pairs
of socks, a black silk tie dotted with small white flowers, a smaller
oblong packet containing a narrow cardboard box.
" He'll be awfully pleased with this fountain-pen," Antoinette remarked.
" I wouldn't mind having one like it for my birthday too."
It had cost sixty francs, and was a rather shoddy imitation of a
well-known American make. The gold nib was only fourteen carats.
" Hand me the butter."
Meanwhile Elie was reading again the article about himself. After
he had got it by heart he folded up the slip of paper and thrust it
into a pocket of his velvet smoking-jacket.
Domb came back and tramped up to his room. Moise went out and
jumped into a moving tram, but was back again half an hour later.
There were all sorts of noises in the kitchen, and the house was
full of unusual smells. For once in a way everybody kept to his
room. Elie, who had drawn his curtains, held them a few inches
apart and kept peeping out every time he heard footsteps in the
street.
He was the first to hear the tinkle of the bell of a delivery-boy's
tricycle as it halted outside, and he ran to the door, some small
change in his hand.
It was the bouquet. He retreated to his room without having
been seen from the kitchen and, after stripping the silverfoil off the
stems, placed the flowers in his water-jug to keep them fresh.
Valesco returned only a few minutes before seven. Elie, who had
been on the watch, opened his door at once and took the little
oblong package Valesco handed him.
" It's a first-rate make—the best I could find. A hundred and sixty
francs. If the nib doesn't suit, it can be changed."
In the kitchen Madame Baron kept wiping her eyes with her
apron. She wasn't actually shedding tears, but try as she might to
prevent it, her eyes kept filling.
" He'll be here any moment now," she said.
She picked up the flowers that were lying in the sink, shook off
the water, and arranged them in two vases. This evening the table
was laid with a red-and-white check table-cloth, which enhanced