No one,
indeed, was speaking at all, and no one so much as shuffled a foot.
Wogan raised his head and proceeded to light his pipe; and he saw that
all the five men were silently watching him, and it seemed to him that
those five pairs of eyes were unnaturally bright.
However, he appeared to be entirely concerned with his pipe, which,
however hard he puffed at it, would not draw. No doubt the tobacco was
packed too tight in the bowl. He loosened it, and when he had loosened
it the pipe had gone out. He fumbled in his pocket and discovered in the
breast of his coat a letter. This letter he glanced through to make sure
that it was of no importance, and having informed himself upon the point
he folded it into a long spill and walked over to the hearth.
The five pairs of eyes followed his movements. He, however, had no
attention to spare. He bent down, lit his spill in the flame, and
deliberately lighted his pipe. The tobacco rose above the rim of the
bowl like a head of ale in a tankard. Wogan, still holding the burning
spill in his right hand, pressed down the tobacco with the little finger
of his left, and lighted the pipe again.
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