Part 15 (2/2)
”Deserted wives, try and get their husbands back that way.”
”I suppose it _is_ legacies sometimes, eh? Perhaps if someone was left a hundred pounds by someone----”
”Hardly ever,” said Buggins.
”Well, 'ow----?” began Kipps and hesitated.
Buggins resumed reading. He was very much excited by a leader on Indian affairs. ”By Jove!” he said, ”it won't do to give these here Blacks votes.”
”No fear,” said Kipps.
”They're different altogether,” said Buggins. ”They 'aven't the sound sense of Englishmen, and they 'aven't the character. There's a sort of tricky dishonesty about 'em--false witness and all that--of which an Englishman has no idea. Outside their courts of law--it's a pos'tive fact, Kipps--there's witnesses waitin' to be 'ired. Reg'lar trade. Touch their 'ats as you go in. Englishmen 'ave no idea, I tell you--not ord'nary Englishmen. It's in their blood. They're too timid to be honest. Too slavish. They aren't used to being free like we are, and if you gave 'em freedom they wouldn't make a proper use of it. Now _we_----. Oh, _d.a.m.n_!”
For the gas had suddenly gone out and Buggins had the whole column of Society Club Chat still to read.
Buggins could talk of nothing after that but Shalford's meanness in turning off the gas, and after being extremely satirical indeed about their employer, undressed in the dark, hit his bare toe against a box and subsided after unseemly e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns into silent ill-temper.
Though Kipps tried to get to sleep before the affair of the letter he had just posted resumed possession of his mind he could not do so. He went over the whole thing again, quite exhaustively. Now that his first terror was abating he couldn't quite determine whether he was glad or sorry that he had posted that letter. If it _should_ happen to be a hundred pounds!
It _must_ be a hundred pounds!
If it was he could hold out for a year, for a couple of years even, before he got a Crib.
Even if it was fifty pounds----!
Buggins was already breathing regularly when Kipps spoke again.
”_Bug_-gins,” he said.
Buggins pretended to be asleep, and thickened his regular breathing (a little too hastily) to a snore.
”I say Buggins,” said Kipps after an interval.
”_What's_ up now?” said Buggins unamiably.
”'Spose _you_ saw an advertis.e.m.e.nt in a paper, with your name in it, see, asking you to come and see someone, like, so as to hear of something very much to your----”
”Hide,” said Buggins shortly.
”But----”
”I'd hide.”
”Er?”
”Goonight, o' man,” said Buggins, with convincing earnestness. Kipps lay still for a long time, then blew profoundly, turned over and stared at the other side of the dark.
He had been a fool to post that letter!
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