'Would you
prefer Christmas Day? I'm engaged on Boxing Day AND the day
after.'
'Not in the Five Towns, I trust?' Sir Jee remarked.
'No,' said Smith shortly. 'The Five Towns is about sucked dry.'
The affair was arranged for Christmas Eve.
'Now,' Sir Jee suggested, 'shall I draw you a plan of the castle,
so that you can--'
William Smith's face expressed terrific scorn. 'Do you suppose,'
he said, 'as I haven't had plans o' your castle ever since it was
built? What do you take me for? I'm not a blooming excursionist,
I'm not. I'm a business man--that's what I am.'
Sir Jee was snubbed, and he agreed submissively to all William
Smith's arrangements for the innocent burglary. He perceived that
in William Smith he had stumbled on a professional of the highest
class, and this good fortune pleased him.
'There's only one thing that riles me,' said Smith, in parting,
'and that is that you'll go and say that after you'd done
everything you could for me I went and burgled your castle. And
you'll talk about the ingratitude of the lower classes. I know
you, governor!'
III
On the afternoon of the 24th of December Sir Jehoshaphat drove
home to Sneyd Castle from the principal of the three Dain
manufactories, and found Lady Dain superintending the work of
packing up trunks.
Pages:
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147