204
THE TWILIGHT OF THE SOULS
There was something in Paul's chaff that grated on Gerrit very unpleasantly; but he laughed, as though he thought it the best joke he had ever heard, that Paul should be wishing him a better appetite and sounder sleep. Was Paul getting at him? Did Paul see through his sham strength? And would Addie do so, later? . . . No, nobody saw through it: the centipede rooted in him unseen by them all. . . .
And he got up, to mix himself another grog; but he mixed it so that it was hardly more than hot water and lemon.