While the others were saying good night to him and asking when they should see him again, Flossie leaned over to him, crying out, “Good night!” All at once, and before he knew what she was about, she kissed him full on the mouth.  He started sharply at this, but was not angry, simply pulling away from her, blushing, very embarrassed, and more and more anxious to get away.  Toby, the waiter, appeared at their door.

“That last was on me, you know,” said young Haight, intercepting Vandover and settling for the round of drinks.

“Hello!” exclaimed Toby, “what’s the matter with your lip?”

“I cut it a little while ago on a broken glass,” answered young Haight.  “Is it bleeding again?” he added, putting two fingers on his lips.

“It is sure enough,” said Geary.  “Here,” he went on, wetting the corner of a napkin from the water bottle, “hold that on it.”

The others began to laugh.  “Flossie did that,” Vandover explained to Toby.  Ellis was hastily looking through his pockets, fumbling about among his little books.

“I had something here,” he kept muttering, “if I can only find it, that told just what to do when you cut yourself with glass.  There may be glass in it, you know.”

“Oh, that’s all right, that’s all right,” exclaimed young Haight, now altogether disconcerted.  “It don’t amount to anything.”

“I tell you what,” observed Geary; “get some court-plaster at the snake doctor’s just above here.”

“No, no, that’s all right,” returned young Haight, moving off.  “Good night.  I’ll see you again pretty soon.”

He went away.  Ellis, who was still searching through his little books, suddenly uttered an exclamation.  He leaned out into the passage, crying:  “The half of a hot onion; tie it right on the cut.”  But Haight had already gone.  “You see,” explained Ellis, “that draws out any little particles of glass.  Look at this,” he added, reading an item just below the one he had found.  “You can use cigar ashes for eczema.”

Flossie nodded her head at him, smiling and saying:  “Well, the next time I have eczema I will remember that.”

Flossie left them a little after this, joining Nannie and May in the larger room that held the noisy party.  The three fellows had another round of drinks.

All the evening Ellis had been drinking whisky.  Now he astonished the others by suddenly calling for beer.  He persisted in drinking it out of the celery glass, which he emptied at a single pull.  Then Vandover had claret-punches all round, protesting that his mouth felt dry as a dust-bin.  Geary at length declared that he felt pretty far gone, adding that he was in the humour for having “a high old time.”

“Say, boys,” he exclaimed, bringing his hand down on the table, “what do you say that we all go to every joint in town, and wind up at the Turkish baths?  We’ll have a regular time.  Let’s see now how much money I have.”