"From my little property on the mainland," the Count explained. "If it
were a clear day I would take you up to my roof and show you the very
site, although it is leagues and leagues away. But the south wind
always casts a haze over the mainland at this time of day--a kind of
veil."
Mr. van Koppen, connoisseur of cigars, opened his capacious case and
offered its contents, without disclosing the fact that they were
specially manufactured for him at a fabulous price.
"You will find them smokable, I hope. As a matter of fact it's no use
trying to keep a cigar in good condition on the yacht. And it must be
the same on an island like this. So far as tobacco is concerned,
Nepenthe can be nothing but a ship at anchor."
"True," said the Count. "The moist sirocco is injurious to the finer
growths."
"This south wind!" exclaimed Mr. Heard. "This African pest! Is there no
other wind hereabouts? Tell me, Count, does the sirocco always blow?"
"So far as I have observed it blows constantly during the spring and
summer.
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