The great man never spoke, but gave me the end of one finger, and devilish grudgingly at that. He just came to anchor and stood there very straight and stiff, ignoring the chairs thrust toward him from every point. One hand was stuck in his stiff broadcloth bosom, with elbow pointing outward, and his great topheavy head reared above us impressively. Billings rubbed his hands and bowed and smirked. "Lovely weather we are having for summer, don't you think, Professor? Jenkins, a chair for the professor." He was already hedged in by chairs, but he remained standing. Dash it, he was staring hard at me, his beady eyes boring like gimlets, don't you know, and his little shriveled face all puckered up. By Jove, but he looked sour! Looked like he would bite, or, as Billings said afterward, would like to, if the human race wasn't poisonous. "Wonderful stunt, science, isn't it, Professor?" gushed Billings, still rubbing his hands and grinning like a wild what's-its-name. "Tracing the orbits of the shooting stars or measuring the animals in the tiny sewer drop. H'm! Fascinating pursuit! And how marvelous it must be to be able to classify instantly any specimen of man's or nature's handiwork--to--a--call the turn, so to speak--right off the bat, as it were. H'm! We have here to-night--er--" With his hand upon the pajamas, Billings paused, for the professor paid no attention--did not even turn round, in fact. He just stood there staring at me. Billings coughed suggestively. "H'm! As I was saying, we have with us to-night a specimen," he resumed a little louder, "I may say an example of something that, while apparently commonplace and prosaic, is really a rare and unique--" "Ha--specimen _genus cypripedium_," came in a squeaky bark from the professor as he held me in his eye. "Linnaeus, 1753. Ha! _Species acaule_--proper habitat, bogs. Very common--_very_ common, indeed." He batted at me sourly and seemed disappointed. By Jove, I never felt so devilish mortified in all my life! Never! I nearly dropped my monocle and felt myself getting jolly red about the ears. This only seemed to make it worse. "Ha--_labellum_ somewhat pinker purple than normal," he proceeded. "H'm! Unusually fresh specimen." I looked appealingly at Billings. "Oh, I say, you know!" I exclaimed in dismay. Billings had been standing with his mouth agape, but now he made a stride forward and touched the professor on the arm. "That's Mr. Lightnut, Professor," he said blandly. "That's not _the_ specimen. H'm! Slight mistake." Slowly the professor's big head turned on its axis and his little eyes blinked at Billings nastily. "I was referring to the orchid in the gentleman's coat," he observed quietly, and turned back to me. "Of course! Of _course_!" stammered Billings with eagerness. "My mistake--one on me. _Stung!_" his lips pantomimed to me. I addressed the professor hospitably: "Ah! won't you sit down, Professor?"