has come over you?’
‘I’ve had such a frightfully busy day. Being boyish with so many people is a dreadful strain.’
‘We must give them all some money,’ said the captain. ‘There’s nothing like it for giving people a settled feeling.’
‘The garage is offering £750 for Towzer’s car,’ said Beaufort.‘That’s two hundred below the market price; but that’s because it will need licence plates.’
‘They were quite amiable about it, were they?’ asked the captain, unbuttoning the top of his trousers and sitting back.
‘Lord, yes! They said if I stumbled on another, do bring it. They’re sending a man up with new plates tonight. He’ll bring the money in pound notes and take the car away.’
‘Those awful heaps of notes from garages,’ said Mrs Mallet, shuddering; ‘tattered, oily, so depreciated. And on the watermark of each one, made with a ball-point pen, the cyphers and hieroglyphs of a hundred unscrupulous strangers. As lamp-posts to a host of dogs. I hate to tender them at a decent shop.’
‘And I hate to think of throwing away a good car like that,’ said the captain. ‘I am sure the Club would like it. Beaufort, just in case, I shall go and put on my big-business suit. If the garage emissary looks at all promising, bring him up. Take the money first, of course.’
‘Very well. And may I be rather more grown-up, just for a change? I don’t want to grumble, yet I do find it wearing to have to spring about so much and show my teeth in those incessant grins. I am almost running out of old-fashioned slang, too. Luckily, I recently remembered “bonzer”.’
‘Oh, yes; dear “bonzer”!’ said Mrs Mallet. ‘How long ago it seems! I shall not admit to remembering it.’
‘By the way,’ said the captain, reaching into his pocket, ‘would either of you like to see the rough Session schedule? It came this morning.’
Beaufort and Mrs Mallet gave cries of excitement and snatched at the paper.
‘I thought I’d keep it under my hat,’ said the captain apologetically, ‘knowing what a busy day we were going to have.’
‘Dr Gluber to open?’ cried Mrs Mallet, scanning the paper. ‘Why such a Russo-German start?’
‘I imagine to get pure theory out of the way as soon as possible,’ said the captain. ‘It’s better to depress people at the beginning than at the end.’
‘And Arthur Murray Stanstead second! Identity in the Middle West .’
‘That’s wise, too. First theory, then statistics. Only then, chaos.’
‘But where’s the Old Guard?’ cried Beaufort, peering over Mrs Mallet’s shoulder.
‘Look, darling,’ she said, ‘here they all are – Orfe, Shubunkin, Musk – dear me, how exciting!’
‘I’ll leave you to gloat,’ said the captain, rising: ‘I must do our first report to the President.’
As the captain went out, Beaufort began to pace the floor so restlessly that Mrs Mallet said: ‘What on earth are you so desperate about?’
‘I’m sick and tired of being young. ’
She burst out laughing and put her arms round his neck.
‘I mean it,’ he said angrily. ‘You two are like people in another world. You do your work professionally. You stay so calm. There is such polish in the cases you handle. I feel clumsy and ridiculous.’
‘What silly ingratitude! Everyone showers love and compliments on you. Everyone is astonished by the grasp you have of your work – and what’s more they tell you how astonished they are. You are terribly spoiled, you know.’
‘I’m loved because I’m not grown up.’
‘You’re loved because you’re so disgracefully talented.’
‘Then when am I to be trusted with something more adult?’
‘Be thankful for what you’ve got. Do you think he doesn’t wish he could still be Prince Charming? Do you think I don’t wish I could be the one who gives and gets all the love and tenderness, instead of just the respect and politeness?’
‘Well, whatever you say, I’m going to be different with
‘I’ve had such a frightfully busy day. Being boyish with so many people is a dreadful strain.’
‘We must give them all some money,’ said the captain. ‘There’s nothing like it for giving people a settled feeling.’
‘The garage is offering £750 for Towzer’s car,’ said Beaufort.‘That’s two hundred below the market price; but that’s because it will need licence plates.’
‘They were quite amiable about it, were they?’ asked the captain, unbuttoning the top of his trousers and sitting back.
‘Lord, yes! They said if I stumbled on another, do bring it. They’re sending a man up with new plates tonight. He’ll bring the money in pound notes and take the car away.’
‘Those awful heaps of notes from garages,’ said Mrs Mallet, shuddering; ‘tattered, oily, so depreciated. And on the watermark of each one, made with a ball-point pen, the cyphers and hieroglyphs of a hundred unscrupulous strangers. As lamp-posts to a host of dogs. I hate to tender them at a decent shop.’
‘And I hate to think of throwing away a good car like that,’ said the captain. ‘I am sure the Club would like it. Beaufort, just in case, I shall go and put on my big-business suit. If the garage emissary looks at all promising, bring him up. Take the money first, of course.’
‘Very well. And may I be rather more grown-up, just for a change? I don’t want to grumble, yet I do find it wearing to have to spring about so much and show my teeth in those incessant grins. I am almost running out of old-fashioned slang, too. Luckily, I recently remembered “bonzer”.’
‘Oh, yes; dear “bonzer”!’ said Mrs Mallet. ‘How long ago it seems! I shall not admit to remembering it.’
‘By the way,’ said the captain, reaching into his pocket, ‘would either of you like to see the rough Session schedule? It came this morning.’
Beaufort and Mrs Mallet gave cries of excitement and snatched at the paper.
‘I thought I’d keep it under my hat,’ said the captain apologetically, ‘knowing what a busy day we were going to have.’
‘Dr Gluber to open?’ cried Mrs Mallet, scanning the paper. ‘Why such a Russo-German start?’
‘I imagine to get pure theory out of the way as soon as possible,’ said the captain. ‘It’s better to depress people at the beginning than at the end.’
‘And Arthur Murray Stanstead second! Identity in the Middle West .’
‘That’s wise, too. First theory, then statistics. Only then, chaos.’
‘But where’s the Old Guard?’ cried Beaufort, peering over Mrs Mallet’s shoulder.
‘Look, darling,’ she said, ‘here they all are – Orfe, Shubunkin, Musk – dear me, how exciting!’
‘I’ll leave you to gloat,’ said the captain, rising: ‘I must do our first report to the President.’
As the captain went out, Beaufort began to pace the floor so restlessly that Mrs Mallet said: ‘What on earth are you so desperate about?’
‘I’m sick and tired of being young. ’
She burst out laughing and put her arms round his neck.
‘I mean it,’ he said angrily. ‘You two are like people in another world. You do your work professionally. You stay so calm. There is such polish in the cases you handle. I feel clumsy and ridiculous.’
‘What silly ingratitude! Everyone showers love and compliments on you. Everyone is astonished by the grasp you have of your work – and what’s more they tell you how astonished they are. You are terribly spoiled, you know.’
‘I’m loved because I’m not grown up.’
‘You’re loved because you’re so disgracefully talented.’
‘Then when am I to be trusted with something more adult?’
‘Be thankful for what you’ve got. Do you think he doesn’t wish he could still be Prince Charming? Do you think I don’t wish I could be the one who gives and gets all the love and tenderness, instead of just the respect and politeness?’
‘Well, whatever you say, I’m going to be different with
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