No, I don't think I should appeal to his
better feelings if I were you."
"I must do something," said Mrs. Olston tearfully; "my husband's parting
words when he went off to Norway were an injunction to see that those
birds were not disturbed, and he's asked about them every time he's
written. Do suggest something."
"I was going to suggest picketing," said Clovis.
"Picketing! You mean setting guards round the birds?"
"No; round Lanner. He can't find his way through those woods by night,
and you could arrange that you or Evelyn or Jack or the German governess
should be by his side in relays all day long. A fellow guest he could
get rid of, but he couldn't very well shake off members of the household,
and even the most determined collector would hardly go climbing after
forbidden buzzards' eggs with a German governess hanging round his neck,
so to speak."
Lanner, who had been lazily watching for an opportunity for prosecuting
his courtship of the Coulterneb girl, found presently that his chances of
getting her to himself for ten minutes even were non-existent. If the
girl was ever alone he never was. His hostess had changed suddenly, as
far as he was concerned, from the desirable type that lets her guests do
nothing in the way that best pleases them, to the sort that drags them
over the ground like so many harrows. She showed him the herb garden and
the greenhouses, the village church, some water-colour sketches that her
sister had done in Corsica, and the place where it was hoped that celery
would grow later in the year.
Pages:
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156