Roberts: "I don"t know her either, Willis. I was just thinking whether you couldn"t manage this wretched man rather better alone. I--I"m afraid I confuse you; and he gets things out of me--admissions, you know--"
Campbell: "No, no! Your moral support is everything. That lie of mine is getting whittled away to nothing; we shall soon be down to the bare truth. If it hadn"t been for these last admissions of yours, I don"t know what I should have done. They were a perfect inspiration. I"ll tell you what, Roberts! I believe you can manage this business twice as well without me. But you must keep your eye out for the cook! You mustn"t let any respectable b.u.t.ter-ball leave the room without asking her if she"s the one. You"ll know how to put it more delicately now.
And I won"t complicate you with McIlheny any more. I"ll just step out here--"
Roberts: "No, no, no! You mustn"t go, Willis. You mustn"t indeed! I shouldn"t know what to do with that tipsy nuisance. Ah, here he comes again!"
Campbell, cheerily, to the approaching McIlheny: "I hope you didn"t lose your train, Mr. McIlheny!"
McIlheny, darkly: "Never moind my thrain, sor! My wife says it was a put-up jahb between ye. She says ye were afther laughun", and lukun"
and winkun" at her before this mahn slipped up to spake to her. Now what do ye make of that?"
Campbell: "We were laughing, of course. I had been laughing at my friend"s predicament, in being left to meet a lady he"d never seen before. You laughed at it yourself."
McIlheny: "I did, sor."
Roberts, basely truckling to him: "It was certainly a ludicrous position."
Campbell: "And when we explained it, it amused your good lady too. She laughed as much as yourself--"
McIlheny: "She did, sor. Ye"re right. Sure it would make a cow laugh.
Well, gintlemen, ye must excuse me. Mrs. McIlheny says I mustn"t stop for the next thrain, and I"ll have to ask you to join me in that gla.s.s of wine some other toime."
Campbell: "Oh, it"s all right, Mr. McIlheny. You"ve only got about half a minute." He glances at the clock, and McIlheny runs out, profusely waving his hand in adieu.
Roberts, taking out his handkerchief and wiping his forehead: "Well, thank Heaven! we"re rid of him at last."
Campbell: "I"m not so sure of that. He"ll probably miss the train. You may be sure Mrs. McIlheny is waiting for him outside of it, and then we shall have them both on our hands indefinitely. We shall have to explain and explain. Fiction has entirely failed us, and I feel that the truth is giving way under our feet. I"ll tell you what, Roberts!"
Roberts, in despair: "What?"
Campbell: "Why, if McIlheny should happen to come back alone, we mustn"t wait for him to renew his invitation to drink; we must take him out ourselves, and get him drunk; so drunk he can"t remember anything; stone drunk; dead drunk. Or, that is, _you_ must. I haven"t got anything to do with him. I wash my hands of the whole affair."
Roberts: "You mustn"t, Willis! You know I can"t manage without you.
And you know I can"t take the man out and get him drunk. I couldn"t. I shouldn"t feel that it was right."
Campbell: "Yes, I know. You"d have to drink with him; and you"ve got no head at all. You"d probably get drunk first, and I don"t know what I should say to Agnes."
Roberts: "That isn"t the point, Willis. I couldn"t ask the man to drink; I should consider it immoral. Besides, what should you do if the cook came while I was away? You wouldn"t know her."
Campbell: "Well, neither would you, if you stayed."
Roberts: "That"s true. There doesn"t seem to be any end of it, or any way out of it. I must just stay and bear it."
Campbell: "Of _course_ you must stay. And when McIlheny comes back, you"d better ask him out to look upon the wine when it is red."
Roberts: "No; that"s impossible, quite. I shouldn"t mind the a.s.sociation--though it isn"t very pleasant; but to offer drink to a man already--Do you suppose it would do to ask him out for a gla.s.s of soda? Plain soda would be good for him. Or I could order claret in it, if the worst came to the worst."
Campbell: "Claret! What Mr. McIlheny requires is forty-rod whiskey in a solution of sulphuric acid. You must take that, or fourth-proof brandy straight, with him."
Roberts, miserably: "I couldn"t; you know I couldn"t."
Campbell: "What are you going to do, then?"
Roberts: "I don"t know; I don"t know. I--I"ll give him in charge to a policeman."
Campbell: "And make a scandal here?"
Roberts: "Of course it can"t be done!"
Campbell: "Of _course_ it can"t. Give a councilman in charge? The policeman will be Irish too, and then what"ll you do? You"re more likely to be carried off yourself, when the facts are explained.
They"ll have an ugly look in the police report."
Roberts: "Oh, it can"t be done! Nothing can be done! I wish Agnes would come!"
The Colored Man who calls the Trains: "Cars ready for South Framingham, Whitneys, East Holliston, Holliston, Metcalf"s, Braggville, and Milford. Express to Framingham. Milford Branch. Track No. 3."
V. _MRS. ROBERTS, MRS. CAMPBELL, ROBERTS, AND CAMPBELL; THEN THE COOK AND McILHENY_
Mrs. Roberts, rushing in and looking about in a flutter, till she discovers her husband: "Good gracious, Edward! Is that our train? I ran all the way from the station door as fast as I could run, and I"m perfectly out of breath. Did you ever hear of anything like my meeting Amy on the very instant? She was getting out of her coupe just as I was getting out of mine, and I saw her the first thing as soon as I looked up. It was the most wonderful chance. And the moment we pushed our way through the door and got inside the outer hall, I heard the man calling the train--he calls so distinctly--and I told her I was sure it was our train; and then we just simply flew, both of us. I had the greatest time getting my plush bag. They were all locked up at Stearns"s as tight as a drum, but I saw somebody inside, moving about, and I rattled the door, and made signs till he came; and then I said I had left my plush bag; and he said it was against the rules, and I"d have to come Monday; and I told him I knew it was, and I didn"t expect him to transgress the rules, but I wished very much to have my plush bag, because there were some things in it that I wished to have, as well as my purse; for I"d brought away my keys in it; and I knew Willis--how d"ye do, Willis?--would want wine with his dinner, and you"d have to break the closet open if I didn"t get the key; and so he said he would see if the person who kept the picked-up things was there yet; and it turned out he was, and he asked me for a description of the bag and its contents; and I described them all, down to the very last thing; and he said I had the greatest memory he ever saw.
And now I think everything is going off perfectly, and I shall be able to show Amy that there"s something inland as well as at the seaside.
Why don"t you speak to her, Edward? What is the matter? What are you looking at?" She detects him in the act of craning his neck to this side and that, and peering over people"s heads and shoulders in the direction of the door. "Hasn"t Norah--Bridget, I mean--come yet?" She frowns significantly, and cautions him concerning Mrs. Campbell by pressing her finger to her lip.
Roberts: "Yes--yes, she"s here; I suppose she"s--she"s here. How do you do, Amy? So glad--" He continues his furtive inspection of the door-way, and Willis turns away with a snicker.
Mrs. Campbell: "Willis, what are you laughing at? Is there anything wrong with my bonnet? Agnes, _is_ there? He would let me go about looking like a perfect auk. Did I bang it getting out of the coupe. Do tell me, Willis!"
Mrs. Roberts, to her husband: "You don"t mean to say you haven"t _seen_ her yet?"
Roberts, desperately: "Seen her? How should I know whether I"ve seen her? I never saw her in my life."
Mrs. Roberts: "Then what are you looking for, in that way?"
Roberts: "I--I"m looking for her husband."
Mrs. Roberts: "Her husband?"
Roberts: "Yes. He keeps coming back." Campbell bursts into a wild shriek of laughter.
Mrs. Roberts, imploringly: "Willis, what _does_ it mean?"
Mrs. Campbell, threateningly: "Willis, if you don"t behave yourself--"
Mrs. Roberts, with the calm of despair: "Well, then, she isn"t coming!
She"s given us the slip! I might have known it! Well, the cat might as well come out of the bag first as last, Amy, though I was trying to keep it in, to spare your feelings; I knew you"d be so full of sympathy." Suddenly to her husband: "But if you saw her husband--Did he say she sent him? I didn"t dream of her being married. How do you know it"s her husband?"
Roberts: "Because--because she went out and got him! Don"t I tell you?"