To prove
his vast superiority and his prowess, he poured more wine down his throat,
spilling some down into his tunic.
Agathemer winked at me and fingered the strap of his wallet. I groped for
mine and fumbled at it.
Clitellus, with a hiccough, slid to the floor beside Summanus.
I was for trying to rise.
"Let us be sure," said Agathemer in Greek, "perhaps they are pretending to
be drunk, just to catch us."
But, after a brief contemplation of the precious pair, we concluded that
no acting could be as perfect as this reality. They were drunk at last and
safely asleep.
Agathemer paid the whole amount, for all four of us, adjured the waiter-
boy to be good to Clitellus and Summanus, gave him an extra coin, and
signalled me to rise. I lurched to my feet, swaying, almost as drunk as
our victims and beholding Agathemer swaying before me, not only because of
my blurred eyesight, but also because of his unsteadiness on his feet.
We almost fell, but not quite. Somehow we staggered to the door, where,
once outside, the cool night air made us feel almost sobered, though still
too nearly drunk to be sure of our location or direction.
More by luck than anything else we took the right turn and found the
harbor front before the night was entirely black.
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