Through The Wall

“That’s all right. Of course he can come, and we’ll talk things over. But he must try and get a job.”

Ina nodded.

“He says he will.” She turned abruptly to the window.

It wasn’t until then that Marian noticed that the room had been got ready for a visitor. There was soap on the wash-stand, and two clean towels on the old-fashioned towel-horse. The carafe had been filled, and the bed made.

Standing at the window with her back to her, Ina said,

“I’ve put him in here.”

Cyril strolled in a quarter of an hour later with a deprecatory “My dear-” for his sister-in-law and a su

Pe

“Tongue like a leaky tap-drip, drip, drip, and nothing that’s any more good than what you’d let run down the sink. Darling this, and darling that!”

“He didn’t!”

Eliza snorted.

“Not to me, he didn’t.” Then, after an ominous pause. “Not yet. But I don’t doubt he’ll come to it. Darling, or sweet or both-they just run off his tongue. It’s ‘Marian darling,’ and ‘Ina my sweet,’ and arms round their shoulders, and bouncing up to open doors enough to turn you giddy. Tried it on Mactavish-called him ‘Puss’ which he hates like any poison-and who wouldn’t-and snapped his fingers at him to come.”

“What did Mactavish do?”

“Didn’t let on he so much as knew he was there-waved his tail and went out of the window. And if he’d touched him he’d have scratched.”

Pe

“Poor Ina! Eliza, are you sure? Perhaps he just doesn’t know about cats.”

Eliza looked down her nose.

“Never was surer about anything in my life. There was one like him down at Bury Dene where I used to stay with my aunt. Jim Hoskins his name was-curly hair and blue eyes, and all the girls ru

Pe

“Well, Ina hasn’t got twins.”

“Not yet,” said Eliza, and departed in the odour of disapproval.

Pe

Chapter 16

Miss Silver was at breakfast next day with her niece Ethel and little Josephine, when the telephone bell rang. Mrs. Burkett had been reading selected passages out of a letter just received from her husband, and Josephine was taking advantage of the fact to fish all the bits of crust out of her bread and milk and drop them one by one upon the carpet. Miss Silver’s attention being divided between the latest news from Europe and the less stirring events retailed by John Burkett, the manoeuvre had been very successful. It was not, in fact, until Miss Silver had lifted the receiver and said “Hullo!” that she heard Ethel exclaim in a dismayed voice from behind her, “Oh, Josephine! How naughty!” Glancing over her shoulder, she was aware of Josephine being an angel child, all smiles, curls, and i

And then Miss Adrian’s dulcet voice was thrilling along the wire.

“Is that Miss Silver?”

“Miss Silver speaking.”

“This is Helen Adrian. Wasn’t it clever of me to remember the name of the house your niece had taken! That’s how I got your number. I rang up the Supervisor, and she gave it to me at once. And I expect you’re wondering why I wanted it, but as a matter of fact-well-you remember what I came to see you about?”

“Certainly.”

“I thought it might be a good plan if you were to meet the crowd up here. Cyril rolled up last night, too su

Miss Silver coughed. Really, Miss Adrian’s tone! And the expressions she used-quite unbelievably ill-bred! It was a significant cough. It would have checked a person at all sensitive to the finer shades. Musically, Miss Adrian might have a sensitive ear, but in no other respect. She continued as if there had been no cough.

“What I was trying to explain was, we shall all be making one happy party down on the beach for tea. And when I said you were an old friend of mine and staying at Farne, Miss Remington said wouldn’t I like to ask you to join us. So I thought what a good opportunity it would be for you to see Cyril and Felix and the whole set-out. And actually, of course, it’s supposed to be a very pretty cove, and the view is rather special. And if you’re interested in authors and that sort of thing, Richard Cu

Miss Silver coughed with considerable firmness.

“If this is a professional invitation, Miss Adrian, I must remind you that I declined to handle your case.”

“Yes, I know you did. And that’s quite all right, because I am quite sure I can handle it myself. But I thought perhaps you would come out and have tea just in a friendly sort of way. I thought perhaps you might be interested, and then just in case anything went wrong-not, of course, that anything is likely to, but if it did, and I wanted some advice, well, you’d have met everyone, wouldn’t you? And if it came to that, of course I’d be quite willing to pay a fee.”