Bigot laughed and shook his head.
"Ah, you Puritan Bostonnais!" he said; "you'll never learn how to live." Then he went back to his game.
"I think," said Robert, upon whom the heat and thick air were beginning to tell, "that I'd like to go outside and breathe a little fresh air." "It is like a hothouse in here," said de Courcelles.
"It's but a step from this room to a little garden, where we can find all the cool air we want." "Then show the way," said Robert quickly.

He was eager to escape from the room, not alone for the sake of air, but because the place choked him.

After a period of excitement and mental intoxication the reaction had come.

The colors were growing dimmer, the perfume in the air turned to poison, and he longed for the clean out-of-doors.
De Courcelles opened a small door and they stepped out.

Robert did not notice that Boucher instantly put down his cards and followed.