Her voice was plaintive. Remorse smote Wally. It occurred to him that he had not been sufficiently sympathetic. Not a word had he said on the subject of her change of fortunes. He had just stood and gaped and asked questions. After all, what the devil did it matter how she came to be here? He had antic.i.p.ated a long and tedious search for her through the labyrinth of New York, and here Fate had brought her to his very door, and all he could do was to ask why, instead of being thankful. He perceived that he was not much of a fellow.
"Never mind," he said. "You can tell me when you feel like it." He looked at her eagerly. Time seemed to have wiped away that little misunderstanding under the burden of which they had parted. "It"s too wonderful finding you like this!" He hesitated. "I heard about--everything," he said awkwardly.
"My--" Jill hesitated too. "My smash?"
"Yes. Freddie Rooke told me. I was terribly sorry."
"Thank you," said Jill.
There was a pause. They were both thinking of that other disaster which had happened. The presence of Derek Underhill seemed to stand like an unseen phantom between them. Finally Wally spoke at random, choosing the first words that came into his head in his desire to break the silence.
"Jolly place, this, isn"t it?"
Jill perceived that an opening for those tedious explanations had been granted her.
"Uncle Chris thinks so," she said demurely.
Wally looked puzzled.
"Uncle Chris? Oh, your uncle?"
"Yes."
"But--he has never been here."
"Oh, yes. He"s giving a dinner-party here to-night!"
"He"s ... what did you say?"
"It"s all right. I only began at the end of the story instead of the beginning. I"ll tell you the whole thing. And then ... then I suppose you will be terribly angry and make a fuss."
"I"m not much of a lad, as Freddie Rooke would say, for making fusses.
And I can"t imagine being terribly angry with you."
"Well, I"ll risk it. Though, if I wasn"t a brave girl, I should leave Uncle Chris to explain for himself and simply run away."
"Anything is better than that. It"s a miracle meeting you like this, and I don"t want to be deprived of the fruits of it. Tell me anything, but don"t go."
"You"ll be furious."
"Not with you."
"I should hope not with me. I"ve done nothing. I am the innocent heroine. But I"m afraid you will be very angry with Uncle Chris."
"If he"s your uncle, that pa.s.ses him. Besides, he once licked the stuffing out of me with a whangee. That forms a bond. Tell me all."
Jill considered. She had promised to begin at the beginning, but it was difficult to know what was the beginning.
"Have you ever heard of Captain Kidd?" she asked at length.
"You"re wandering from the point, aren"t you?"
"No, I"m not. _Have_ you heard of Captain Kidd?"
"The pirate? Of course."
"Well, Uncle Chris is his direct lineal descendant. That really explains the whole thing."
Wally looked at her enquiringly.
"Could you make it a little easier?" he said.
"I can tell you everything in half a dozen words, if you like. But it will sound awfully abrupt."
"Go ahead."
"Uncle Chris has stolen your apartment."
Wally nodded slowly.
"I see. Stolen my apartment."
"Of course you can"t possibly understand. I shall have to tell you the whole thing, after all."
Wally listened with flattering attention as she began the epic of Major Christopher Selby"s doings in New York. Whatever his emotions, he certainly was not bored.
"So that"s how it all happened," concluded Jill.
For a moment Wally said nothing. He seemed to be digesting what he had heard.
"I see," he said at last. "It"s a variant of those advertis.e.m.e.nts they print in the magazines. "Why pay rent? Own somebody else"s home!""
"That _does_ rather sum it up," said Jill.
Wally burst into a roar of laughter.
"He"s a corker!"
Jill was immensely relieved. For all her courageous bearing, she had not relished the task of breaking the news to Wally. She knew that he had a sense of humour, but a man may have a sense of humour and yet not see anything amusing in having his home stolen in his absence.
"I"m so glad you"re not angry."
"Of course not."
"Most men would be."
"Most men are chumps."