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As we moved on I mentioned to him that the man who would steal the toe-bone of an Early Christian, who had only nine, was capable of most crimes, at which he assured me that he hadn't such a thing about him outside of his boots, which shows how one wrong step leads to another. We fell presently into two parties Dicky, Mrs. Portheris, and I holding to the skirts of Brother Demetrius.
And so it was settled that the fiction of Dicky's and my engagement should be permitted to continue to any extent that seemed necessary until Mr. Dod should be able to persuade Miss Portheris to fly with him across the Channel and be married at a Dover registry office. We arranged everything with great precision, and, if necessary, I was to fly too, to make it a little more proper.
"He'd say anything to sell them," put in Brother Eusebius. "He never thinks of his immortal soul, any more than if he was a poor miserable heretic. He'll tell you they're originals next, taken by Nero at the time. You're all good Catholics, of course?" "We are not any kind of Catholics," said Mrs. Portheris severely. "I'll give you my blessing all the same, and no extra charge.
But I know there's a certain percentage of Americans who think a count with a family seat is about the only thing worth bringing away from Europe, now that we manufacture so much for ourselves, and if I meet any of them I'll bear you in mind." "Upon my word!" It was Mrs. Portheris, in the doorway behind us, just arrived from Siena.
We were not people to lean on each other in the ordinary vicissitudes of life, and even under the circumstances I was aware that Mrs. Portheris was a great deal to support, but there was comfort in every pound of her. At last a faint light foreshadowed itself in the direction of Dicky's disappearance, and grew stronger, and was resolved into a candle and a young man, and Mr.
Mafferton should not have been at the top of the Eiffel Tower in the society of Mrs. Portheris, Mr. Dod, and another, that afternoon, but for the moment it seemed to me uniquely amazing. We shook hands, however it was the only thing to do and Mr. Mafferton said this was indeed a surprise as if it were the most ordinary thing possible. Mrs.
Portheris and I were regarding each other with more friendliness than I would have believed possible across our flaring dips in the silence of the Catacombs. "Poor old gentleman," I said; "I hope Mr. Dod will overtake him." "So do I, indeed," said Mrs. Portheris. "I fear we have been very inconsiderate. But young people are always so impatient," she added, and put the blame where it belonged.
Portheris stood in the door. As Isabel entered, I saw that Mr. Dod was making the wildest efforts to communicate something to me with his left eye. "Come, young people," repeated Mrs. Portheris. "Do you think it's safe for so many?" asked Dicky doubtfully. "Suppose anything should give, you know!" Mrs. Portheris looked undecided. Momma, from the interior, immediately proposed to get out.
The news of my engagement to Mr. Dod had apparently done much to bring him to a conclusion; he said it pointed so definitely to the unlikelihood of his ever being able to find a more stimulating companion than Miss Portheris, with all her charms, was likely to prove. It was difficult, of course, to see the connection, but I could not help confiding to Mr.
I prepared for the worst, and the worst would undoubtedly have come if Dicky Dod had not suddenly remembered having seen a man with a foreign telegram looking for somebody in the Cathedral. "It's a feat!" reiterated Mrs. Portheris as the Senator left us in pursuit of the man with the telegram.
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