But you won't. It bores you. 'Oh, go away--can't
you see I'm busy? I've got a malignant growth here, potted in a
glass bottle with a diet of sterilised fat and an occasional whisky
and soda, and we're sitting around until the joker develops D.T.
He's an empyema, from South America, fully-grown male--'"
"Heavens alive!"
"I dare say I haven't the exact name," confessed Jimmy. "Fact is, I
happened on it in the dictionary when I was turning up 'Empiricist'
in a bit of a hurry. Some Moderate fellow down at Bethnal Green had
called Otty in one of his speeches 'an ignorant empiricist'; so
naturally I had to look up the word. I'd a hope it meant something
connected with Empire-building, and then Otty could have scored off
him. But apparently it doesn't."
"Are you sure?" asks Foe.
"Well, I used the dictionary they keep at Boodle's, not having one of
my own. If you tell me it's not up to date, I'll write something
sarcastic in the Complaint-Book."
Foe dropped the end of his cigar into the ash-tray and pushed back
his chair. "Well", said he, "it's about time we got into our coats,
eh?"
"My dear fellow--" I began.
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