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The footsteps passed on into the room. Jimmy had gone up to his room to put on the costume he was to wear in the first act at about the time when Spennie was being seized upon by Charteris to act as prompter. As he moved toward the stairs, a square-cut figure appeared. It was the faithful Galer.
Spennie bringing a friend?" There was not a great deal of enthusiasm in McEachern's voice. His stepson was not a young man whom he respected very highly. Spennie regarded his stepfather with nervous apprehension, as one who would deal with his shortcomings with a vigor and severity of which his mother was incapable.
And, in the meantime, Wesson would be pressing for his money. "Oh, damn!" he said. He had come to this conclusion for the fiftieth time, when the door opened, and his creditor appeared in person. To Spennie, he looked like the embodiment of Fate, a sort of male Nemesis. "I want to have a talk with you, Spennie," said Wesson, closing the door. "Well?"
Now and then, it is true, we find beginners forging with the accuracy of old hands, or breaking into houses with the finish of experts. But these are isolated cases. The average tyro lacks generalship altogether. Spennie Dreever may be cited as a typical novice.
Number Six-a, Easton Square, was the family's London house. "Burgled!" "Well, broken into," said Spennie, gratified to find that he had got the ear of his entire audience. Even Lady Blunt was silent and attentive. "Chap got in through the scullery window about one o'clock, in the morning. It was the night after you dined with me, Pitt." "And what did our Spennie do?" inquired Sir Thomas.
Nearly all London seemed to be at the station, with the exception of Spennie. Of that light-haired and hearted youth there were no signs. But just as the train was about to start, the missing one came skimming down the platform and hurled himself in. For the first ten minutes he sat panting. At the conclusion of that period, he spoke. "Dash it!" he said.
If you could manage to come to some arrangement about that seat " Spennie climbed hurriedly into the automobile. The last Jimmy saw of him was a hasty vision of him being prodded in the ribs by Lady Blunt's parasol, while its owner said something to him which, judging by his attitude, was not pleasant. He watched them out of sight, and started to follow at a leisurely pace.
He had forgotten that a determined man can change the conversation to any subject he pleases by means of those three words. "By the way," said Mr. McEachern, "I thought Sir Thomas wasn't your uncle intending to announce ?" "Well, yes, he was," said Spennie. "Going to do it during the dancing, maybe?" "Well er no. The fact is, he's not going to do it at all, don't you know."
Somewhat rashly, he had mentioned this to his wife, and Lady Julia's critique of the scheme had been terse and unflattering. "I suppose," said Lady Julia sarcastically, "you will jump to the conclusion that this man whom Spennie is bringing down with him to-day is a criminal of some sort?" "Eh? Is Spennie bringing a friend?" There was not a great deal of enthusiasm in Sir Thomas's voice.
It tickled Jimmy to think that both these giant brains should be so greatly exercised on his account. Spennie, meanwhile, had been doing quite an unprecedented amount of thinking. Quite an intellectual pallor had begun to appear on his normally pink cheeks.
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