It was charitably supposed by those who
overheard her performance, that she was practising for farmyard
imitations at the forth-coming village entertainment.
It was her friend and neighbour, Aurora Burret, who brought her news of
the day's sport.
"Pity you weren't out; we had quite a good day. We found at once, in the
pool just below your garden."
"Did you--kill?" asked Amanda.
"Rather. A fine she-otter. Your husband got rather badly bitten in
trying to 'tail it.' Poor beast, I felt quite sorry for it, it had such
a human look in its eyes when it was killed. You'll call me silly, but
do you know who the look reminded me of? My dear woman, what is the
matter?"
When Amanda had recovered to a certain extent from her attack of nervous
prostration Egbert took her to the Nile Valley to recuperate. Change of
scene speedily brought about the desired recovery of health and mental
balance. The escapades of an adventurous otter in search of a variation
of diet were viewed in their proper light. Amanda's normally placid
temperament reasserted itself. Even a hurricane of shouted curses,
coming from her husband's dressing-room, in her husband's voice, but
hardly in his usual vocabulary, failed to disturb her serenity as she
made a leisurely toilet one evening in a Cairo hotel.
"What is the matter? What has happened?" she asked in amused curiosity.
"The little beast has thrown all my clean shirts into the bath! Wait
till I catch you, you little--"
"What little beast?" asked Amanda, suppressing a desire to laugh;
Egbert's language was so hopelessly inadequate to express his outraged
feelings.
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