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Strange to say I did not writhe nor snarl with disappointment and rage. I took the news with a sang froid that almost killed poor Poopendyke. He never quite got over it. Nor was I especially disturbed or irritated by the telegram of condolence I received on board ship from Tarnowsy himself. He could not resist the temptation to gloat.
Smart has anything to say about it," said her son coolly. "If he " He paused, glaring. I looked him squarely in the eye. If he had possessed the acumen of a pollywog he would have seen that my Dutch was up. "One moment, Mr. Titus," I said, setting my jaw. "I have this to say about it. You are guests in my house. We are jointly interested in the effort to protect the Countess Tarnowsy.
Tarnowsy was sitting up, looking about him in a dazed, bewildered manner. At that moment, Poopendyke came running down the stairs, attracted by the loud voices. He was followed closely by three or four wide-eyed glaziers who were working on the second floor. "In the name of heaven, sir!" "I've bruised my knuckles horribly," was all that I said. I seemed to be in a sort of a daze myself.
Summed up, they resolved themselves into a condition of certainty which admitted of but one aspect: the charming Countess was in love with Amberdale. And the shocking part of it all was that she was in love with him prior to her separation from Tarnowsy! I felt a cold perspiration start out all over my body as this condition forced itself upon me.
Pooly, the notary, will, with your assistance, draw up the proper contracts preliminary to the formal transfer, and I will sign them with you upon my return." "Would it not be better to discuss the question of payments before we go any further, Count Tarnowsy?" "You will be paid in cash, Mr. Smart, the instant the deed is transferred," he said coldly.
We spent two unprofitable days in going over the place, and in the end sank down tired, defeated and without the slightest evidence in our possession that so much as a half crown lay hidden there as treasure- trove. I gave in and announced that if Tarnowsy could find anything worth having he was entitled to it so far as I was concerned, and I wouldn't begrudge him a farthing's worth.
"All husbands are bad," I said, "but some are more pre-eminently evil than others. I am not finding fault with Tarnowsy as a husband. He did just what was expected of him. He did what he set out to do. He isn't to be blamed for living up to his creed. There are bad husbands in America, and bad wives. But they went into the game blindly, most of them.
"A good American husband is a necessity, not a luxury." "Well, to go back to what I started to say, Aline is very bitter about matrimony as viewed from my point of view. I am sorry to say I attribute her attitude to your excellent counselling." "You flatter me. I was under the impression she took her lessons of Tarnowsy." "Granted. But Tarnowsy was unfit. Why tar all of them with the same stick?
She smiled. "Are you hungry?" "Delightfully," said I. We sat down at the table. "Now tell me everything all over again," she said. Mr. Poopendyke began to develop a streak of romantic invention in fact, tomfoolery A day or two after my experience with Count Tarnowsy in the Rempf Hotel. He is the last person in the world of whom I or any one else would suspect silliness of a radical nature.
Smart, for the amount, secured by a mortgage a supplementary mortgage on the Chateau Tarnowsy." Tarnowsy! Now I remembered everything. Tarnowsy! The name struck my memory like a blow. What a stupid dolt I had been!
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