The impression that he made upon Robert was distinctly unfavorable.
"Yes, I have met Mr.Willet before," said Van Zoon, "but so many years have passed that I did not know whether he was still living.

I can say the same about young Mr.Lennox." "Oh, they live hazardous lives, but when one is skilled in meeting peril life is not snuffed out so easily," rejoined Mr.Hardy who seemed to be speaking from some hidden motive.

"They've returned to civilization, and I think and trust, Adrian, that we'll hear more of them than for some years past.

They're especial friends of mine, and I shall do the best I can for them, even though my mercantile rivalry with you absorbs, of necessity, so much of my energy." Van Zoon smiled sourly, and then Robert liked him less than ever.
"The times are full of danger," he said, "and one must watch to keep his own." He bowed, and turned to other acquaintances, evidently relieved at parting with them.
"He does not improve with age," said Willet thoughtfully.
Robert was about to ask questions concerning this Adrian Van Zoon, who seemed uneasy in their presence, but once more he restrained himself, his intuition telling him as before that neither Willet nor Master Hardy would answer them.
The play moved on towards its dramatic close and Robert was back in the world of passion and tragedy, of fancy and poetry.

Van Zoon was forgotten, St.Luc faded quite away, and he was not conscious of the presence of Tayoga, or of Grosvenor, or of any of his friends.
Shakespeare's _Richard_ was wholly the humpbacked villain to him, and when he met his fate on Bosworth Field he rejoiced greatly.