He dropped into a chair against the wall and mopped his forehead
with a blue-bordered handkerchief.

"Well, what difference does it make, Condy?" said Travis quietly.
"I'll put another place for you."

"No, no!" he vociferated, jumping up. "I won't hear of it, I
won't permit it! You'll think I did it on purpose!"

Travis ignored his interference, and made a place for him opposite
the children, and had Maggie make some more chocolate.

Condy meanwhile covered himself with opprobrium.

"And all this trouble--I always make trouble everywhere I go.
Always a round man in a square hole, or a square man in a round
hole."

He got up and sat down again, crossed and recrossed his legs,
picked up little ornaments from the mantelpiece, and replaced them
without consciousness of what they were, and finally broke the
crystal of his watch as he was resetting it by the cuckoo clock.

"Hello!" he exclaimed suddenly, "where did you get that clock?
Where did you get that clock? That's new to me. Where did that
come from?"

"That cuckoo clock?" inquired Travis, with a stare. "Condy
Rivers, you've been here and in this room at least twice a week