Cope set down his demi-tasse with a slight sigh. "Well," he said, "I
suppose that, before long, I shall have to buy a few sticks of furniture
myself and a trifle of 'crockery.' And a percolator." Randolph looked
across at him in surprise.
"You are moving, then,--you too?" Not to greatly better quarters, he almost
hoped.
"Yes; and we shall need a few small things by way of outfit." "We."
Randolph looked more intently. Housekeeping _a deux_? A roommate?
Matrimony? Here was the intrusion of another piece on the board--a piece
new and unexpected. Would it turn out to be an added interest for himself,
or a plain source of disconcertment? Cope, having unconsciously set the
ball rolling, gave it further impetus. He sketched his absent friend and
told of their plans for the winter and spring terms. "I shall try for a
large easy chair," he concluded, "unless Arthur can be induced to bring one
with him."
Randolph, by this time, had led Cope into the den, established him between
padded arms, and given him a cigar. He drew Cope's attention to the jades
and swordguards, to the odd assortment of primitive musical instruments
(which would doubtless, in time, find a place at the Art Museum in the
city), and to his latest acquisition--a volume of Bembo's "Le Prose.
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