"
"How long has Olinto been with you?" I inquired.
"About a year--perhaps a little more. I trust him implicitly, and I
leave him in charge when I go away for holidays. He does not get along
very well with the cook--who is Milanese. These Italians from different
provinces always quarrel," he added, laughing. "If you live in Italy you
know that, no doubt."
I laughed in chorus, and then glancing at my watch, said: "I'll wait for
him, if he will be here at ten. I'd much like to see him again."
The Russian was by no means nonplused, but merely remarked--
"He is late sometimes, but not often. He lives on the other side of
London--over at Camberwell." His confidence that the waiter would return
struck me as extremely curious; nevertheless I possessed myself in
patience, strolled up and down the restaurant, and then stood watching
the traffic in the Grove outside.
The man Odinzoff seemed a quick, hard-working fellow with a keen eye to
business, for he fell to polishing the top of the marble tables with a
pail and brush, at the same time directing the work of the
pallid-looking youth.
Pages:
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181