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Page 46
'I assure you, Ada--' began that unfortunate young man. Ada turned a
frigid shoulder towards him.
'Come, come,' said Mr Waller disturbed. 'What's all this? What's all
this?'
His niece burst into tears and left the room.
If there is anything more embarrassing to a guest than a family row, we
have yet to hear of it. Mike, scarlet to the extreme edges of his ears,
concentrated himself on his plate. Comrade Prebble made a great many
remarks, which were probably illuminating, if they could have been
understood. Mr Waller looked, astonished, at Mr Richards. Mr Richards,
pink but dogged, loosened his collar, but said nothing. Psmith, leaning
forward, asked Master Edward Waller his opinion on the Licensing Bill.
'We happened to have a word or two,' said Mr Richards at length, 'on
the way home from church on the subject of Women's Suffrage.'
'That fatal topic!' murmured Psmith.
'In Australia--' began Master Edward Waller.
'I was rayther--well, rayther facetious about it,' continued Mr
Richards.
Psmith clicked his tongue sympathetically.
'In Australia--' said Edward.
'I went talking on, laughing and joking, when all of a sudden she flew
out at me. How was I to know she was 'eart and soul in the movement?
You never told me,' he added accusingly to his host.
'In Australia--' said Edward.
'I'll go and try and get her round. How was I to know?'
Mr Richards thrust back his chair and bounded from the room.
'Now, iawinyaw, iear oiler--' said Comrade Prebble judicially, but was
interrupted.
'How very disturbing!' said Mr Waller. 'I am so sorry that this should
have happened. Ada is such a touchy, sensitive girl. She--'
'In Australia,' said Edward in even tones, 'they've _got_ Women's
Suffrage already. Did _you_ know that?' he said to Mike.
Mike made no answer. His eyes were fixed on his plate. A bead of
perspiration began to roll down his forehead. If his feelings could
have been ascertained at that moment, they would have been summed up in
the words, 'Death, where is thy sting?'
18. Psmith Makes a Discovery
'Women,' said Psmith, helping himself to trifle, and speaking with the
air of one launched upon his special subject, 'are, one must recollect,
like--like--er, well, in fact, just so. Passing on lightly from that
conclusion, let us turn for a moment to the Rights of Property, in
connection with which Comrade Prebble and yourself had so much that was
interesting to say this afternoon. Perhaps you'--he bowed in Comrade
Prebble's direction--'would resume, for the benefit of Comrade Jackson--a
novice in the Cause, but earnest--your very lucid--'
Comrade Prebble beamed, and took the floor. Mike began to realize that,
till now, he had never known what boredom meant. There had been moments
in his life which had been less interesting than other moments, but
nothing to touch this for agony. Comrade Prebble's address streamed on
like water rushing over a weir. Every now and then there was a word or
two which was recognizable, but this happened so rarely that it
amounted to little. Sometimes Mr Waller would interject a remark, but
not often. He seemed to be of the opinion that Comrade Prebble's was
the master mind and that to add anything to his views would be in the
nature of painting the lily and gilding the refined gold. Mike himself
said nothing. Psmith and Edward were equally silent. The former sat
like one in a trance, thinking his own thoughts, while Edward, who,
prospecting on the sideboard, had located a rich biscuit-mine, was too
occupied for speech.
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