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“Oh, no-not really… They talk about everyone. Do you know, old Mr. Masters in the cottage with the post-box is as jealous as he can be because the postman’s father-in-law is going to be a hundred next year and he is only ninety-seven or something. And Mrs. Hogbin who lives next door but two has had thirteen children, and they are all alive and doing well. One of them sends her a parcel every week. And Mr. Tupper who works in a nursery garden the other side of Deeping has had two lots of wisdom teeth.”
“My dear!”
Thomasina nodded.
“And Miranda is a very pleasant neighbour, and of course there’s nothing wrong about it, but they do think it isn’t quite wise to see so much of Augustus Remington-living next door, you know, and ru
Maurice came ru
“Je
“That will do very nicely, Maurice.”
He ran, off again, kicking his heels and waving his arms.
Remembering the unheralded flight of all three children on their first walk together, it was impossible for Miss Silver not to feel some gratification.
When he had gone she said,
“Miss Ball never mentioned a man friend to you?”
“No, never. I thought she told me everything, but-I suppose she didn’t.”
In Miss Silver’s experience no one ever did.
Thomasina went on speaking.
“And there’s another thing she never told me. I didn’t know that she could drive. I suppose she learned when she was in Germany -she didn’t tell me.”
“And she never mentioned the name of Sandrow?”
“She didn’t mention it, but-I was going to tell you. When I didn’t get any answer to my advertisement, I sent for her box. You know, the one she had forwarded to me when she came down here. It wasn’t any use leaving it up there, and I thought I would go through it again, just in case there was anything that would give a clue. I thought there might be something I had missed.”
“A most sensible course. And you found something?”
“I didn’t think I had-not till Gwyneth and Elaine were talking last night. Now I’m not so sure. I’ll tell you. One of the things in the box was an old handbag. The clasp didn’t hold any more, so I expect that was why she didn’t take it with her. Well, I went through it, and it was empty except for a torn-off piece of paper crushed down behind the mirror, and the glass was broken. And there was this bit of paper crumpled up behind it. It was just a piece off one of those thin blocks, with names scribbled on it-Sandro, spelt the Italian way, S A N D R O. And then with a W tacked on-Sandrow. And then spelled a lot of other ways-I can’t remember them all-things like Sindrow-Sendrow. I just didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now-it’s odd, isn’t it?”
Miss Silver thought it very odd indeed. She said so.
It was on their way home that she had her first sight of Mr. John Robinson, the tenant of the other wing. The children, who had made friends with Thomasina, were all talking at once. They wanted her to come home to tea with them, and when she said that the Miss Tremletts would be expecting her they took her by the arms and ran with her down the slope and across the unkempt grass.
By the time Miss Silver, at a more sedate pace, came up with them they were in the dank courtyard looking up at the blind and mutilated face of the house. Benjy was saying,
“And there’s nothing left inside-only spiders, and dust, and Papa’s study what we mustn’t never go near because of his book that he’s writing, and because of the stones that might fall on us.”
His high childish voice set up an echo. The word “fall” came back from the enclosing wings. The air still trembled with it as John Robinson came round the corner to the left and stood for a moment on the outskirts of the group.
Afterwards, when Miss Silver tried to formulate a description of him, she found that it would have fitted so many other people as to be of very little value. He was neither tall nor short. He seemed to be of a slim build, but his clothes were so loose and baggy that even this might be in doubt, since a loose raincoat may hide a sagging waist-line. Beneath the raincoat aged fla
“Youth at the prow-and Prudence-at the helm,” he said, and on this misquotation walked rapidly away, leaving Miss Silver quite a little surprised and not at all sure that she cared about being alluded to as Prudence by a total stranger. Better that, it is true, than the “Pleasure” of the original, but why the quotation at all?
As soon as he was gone the children bubbled over with information about him.
“That was Mr. Robinson.”
“Mr. John Robinson.”
“He watches birds-he knows an awful lot about them. He goes out all night and watches them.”
“And in the day too.”
Maurice said, “He’s batty! ” And Je
Thomasina went back to the stables, and was ten minutes late for tea with the Miss Tremletts.
CHAPTER XVI
Mr. Craddock was present at supper, where he dominated the conversation. During the soup he discoursed upon Alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone, but by the time they were all eating boiled fish he had diverged into a long and very involved dissertation upon Planetary Influences, to which nobody except Miss Silver appeared to pay any attention. Mrs. Craddock occupied herself with serving, and every now and then said “Oh, yes,” or “Oh, no,” as the occasion appeared to demand. The children ate their fish. Once at least Je
Mr. Craddock’s sentences got longer and longer and their meaning less apparent, until with the arrival of a cold and naked looking blancmange Benjy broke into a roar.
“Don’t want it! Don’t like it! Won’t eat it!”
Mrs. Craddock said, “Ssh!” in a guilty voice, and then, “Mrs. Masters must have forgotten. I did tell her-nobody liked it.”
“She likes making it,” said Maurice with angry gloom.
Je
Mrs. Craddock helped the horrid whiteness with a trembling hand. Mr. Craddock had as yet said nothing, but he looked as if he might at any moment let fly with a thunderbolt. Instead, he merely pushed back his chair and left the table.
Nobody ate the cornflour shape except Miss Silver, but after Mr. Craddock’s departure the children partook of hearty slices of bread and jam whilst competing cheerfully as to who could say the most insulting things about the rejected blancmange.