I was 'ighly interested, I can tell you. So were all
of us. I watched an old man with a rug 'oo'd dropped a book an' was tryin'
to pick it up, when quite slowly, from be'ind two porters--carryin' a
little reticule an' lookin' from side to side--comes out Mrs. Bathurst.
There was no mistakin' the walk in a hundred thousand. She come forward--
right forward--she looked out straight at us with that blindish look which
Pritch alluded to. She walked on and on till she melted out of the
picture--like--like a shadow jumpin' over a candle, an' as she went I
'eard Dawson in the ticky seats be'ind sing out: 'Christ! There's
Mrs. B.!'"
Hooper swallowed his spittle and leaned forward intently.
"Vickery touched me on the knee again. He was clickin' his four false
teeth with his jaw down like an enteric at the last kick. 'Are you sure?'
says he. 'Sure,' I says, 'didn't you 'ear Dawson give tongue? Why, it's
the woman herself.' 'I was sure before,' he says, 'but I brought you to
make sure. Will you come again with me to-morrow?'
"'Willingly,' I says, 'it's like meetin' old friends.'
"'Yes,' he says, openin' his watch, 'very like. It will be four-and-twenty
hours less four minutes before I see her again. Come and have a drink,' he
says. 'It may amuse you, but it's no sort of earthly use to me.' He went
out shaking his head an' stumblin' over people's feet as if he was drunk
already.
Pages:
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341