[_LOTH arises from the sofa in the
dim foreground and approaches the two._] Hallo, Loth, there you are too!
DR. SCHIMMELPFENNIG
[_Surprised in the extreme._] Well, I'll be--!
LOTH
I heard that you were here. I would have looked you up to-morrow without
fail.
[_They shake hands cordially. HOFFMANN takes the opportunity to mash
down a glass of brandy at the side-board and then to creep back
upstairs on tiptoe._
DR. SCHIMMELPFENNIG
So you've evidently forgotten--ha, ha, ha--that ridiculous old affair?
[_He lays aside his hat and cane._
LOTH
Long ago, Schimmel!
DR. SCHIMMELPFENNIG
Well, so have I, as you can well imagine. [_They shake hands once more._]
I've had so few pleasant surprises in this hole, that this one seems
positively queer to me. And it is strange that we should meet just here.
It _is_.
LOTH
And you faded clear out of sight. Otherwise I'd have routed you out long
ago.
DR. SCHIMMELPFENNIG
Oh, I just dived below the surface like a seal. Made deep-sea
investigations. In about a year and a half I hope to emerge once more. A
man must be financially independent--do you know that?--In order to
achieve anything useful.
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