Part 15 (1/2)
THE FIRST MAN
Well, let's go down into the town and hunt up some quiet barroom and have a civilised evening. This scenery gives me the creeps.
THE SECOND MAN
I'm with you. But where are we going to get any chips?
THE FIRST MAN
Don't worry. I carry a set with me. I made my wife put it in the bottom of my trunk, along with a bottle of real whiskey and a couple of porous plasters. A man can't be too careful when he's away from home----
_They start along the terrace toward the station of the funicular railway. The sun has now disappeared behind the great barrier of ice and the colours of the scene are fast softening. All the scarlets and vermilions are gone; a luminous pink bathes the whole picture in its fairy light. The night train for Venice, leaving the town, appears as a long string of blinking lights. A chill breeze comes from the Alpine vastness to westward. The deep silence of an Alpine night settles down.
The two Americans continue their talk until they are out of hearing. The breeze interrupts and obfuscates their words, but now and then half a sentence comes clearly._
THE SECOND MAN
Have you seen any American papers lately?
THE FIRST MAN
Nothing But the Paris _Herald_--if you call _that_ a paper.
THE SECOND MAN
How are the Giants making out?
THE FIRST MAN
... bad as usual ... rotten ... shake up ...
THE SECOND MAN
... John McGraw ...
THE FIRST MAN
... homesick ... give five dollars for ...
THE SECOND MAN
... whole continent without a single ...