Lord  Dorwin took  snuff. He  also had  long hair, curled  intricately and,quite obviously, artificially, to  which were added a pair of fluffy¹, blondsideburns,  which  he  fondled  affectionately.  Then,  too,  he  spoke  inoverprecise statements and left out all the r's.
At the moment,  Hardin had no time to think of more  of the reasons for theinstant detestation in which he had held the noble chancellor². Oh, yes, theelegant gestures of one  hand with which he accompanied his remarks and thestudied condescension³ with which  he accompanied even a simple affirmative.
But, at  any rate,  the problem now  was to locate him.  He had disappearedwith Pirenne  half an hour before  ?passed clean out  of sight, blast him.
Hardin  was  quite  sure  that  his  own  absence  during  the  preliminarydiscussions would quite suit Pirenne.
But Pirenne had  been seen in this wing And on this  floor. It was simply amatter of trying every  door. Halfway⁴ down, he said, "Ah!" and stepped intothe  darkened room.  The  profile of  Lord Dorwin's  intricate  hair-do wasunmistakable against the lighted screen.
Lord Dorwin  looked up  and said: "Ah,  Hahdin. You ah looking  foah us, nodoubt?"  He held  out his  snuffbox ? overadorned and poor  workmanship atthat, noted  Hardinand was politely refused whereat  he helped himself to apinch and smiled graciously.
Pirenne  scowled   and  Hardin  met  that   with  an  expression  of  blankindifference.
The only sound to break the short silence that followed was the clicking ofthe  lid of  Lord  Dorwin's snuffbox.  And then  he put  it away  and said:
"A gweat  achievement, this Encyclopedia⁵ of  yoahs, Hahdin. A feat⁶, indeed,to   rank   with  the   most   majestic  accomplishments   of  all   time.""Most of us think so, milord. It's an

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