Chapter 2
THE SECRET OF GABRIEL SYMETHE cab pulled up before a particularly dreary and greasy
beershop, into which Gregory rapidly conducted his companion. They
seated themselves in a close and dim sort of bar-parlour, at a
stained wooden table with one wooden leg. The room was so small and
dark, that very little could be seen of the attendant who was
summoned, beyond a vague and dark impression of something bulky and
bearded.
"Will you take a little supper?" asked Gregory politely. "The
pate de foie gras is not good here, but I can recommend the
game."
Syme received the remark with stolidity, imagining it to be a
joke. Accepting the vein of humour, he said, with a well-bred
indifference—
"Oh, bring me some lobster mayonnaise."
To his indescribable astonishment, the man only
