Part 5 (1/2)

II

”Welcoreeted the alderman with an almost imperceptible wink Edward Henry had encountered this wink once or twice before; he could not decide precisely what it meant; it was apt to make him reflective He did not dislike Robert Brindley, his habit was not to dislike people; he adh he objected to the ”modern” style of the fronts of his houses and schools But he did take exception to the man's attitude towards the Five Towns, of which, by the way, Brindley was just as much a native as hihly-cultured stranger in a savage land, and to derive rather too much sardonic amusement from the spectacle of existence therein Brindley was a very special crony of Stirling's, and had influenced Stirling But Stirling was too clever to sub was not a native; he was only a Scotchht of the district did not matter Other details about Brindley which Edward Henry deprecated were his necktie, which, for Edward Henry's taste, was too flowing, his scorn of the Pianisto (despite the man's tremendous interest in music) and his incipient

Brindley and the doctor were for ever chattering about books--and buying the's box was not a place where Edward Henry felt entirely at ho presented Mr Bryany, did their best, each in his oay, to make hi, indicating a chair at the front

”Oh! I can't take the front chair!” Edward Henry protested

”Of course you can, my dear Machin!” said Brindley, sharply ”The front chair in a stage-box is the one proper seat in the house for you Do as your doctor prescribes”

And Edward Henry accordingly sat down at the front, with Mr Bryany by his side, and the other two sat behind But Edward Henry was not quite comfortable He faintly resented that speech of Brindley's And yet he did feel that what Brindley had said was true, and he was indeed glad to be in the front chair of a brilliant stage-box on the grand tier, instead of being packed away in the netherht of the Grand Circle He wondered how Brindley and Stirling hadthe confusion of faces in that distant obscurity; he, Edward Henry, had failed to notice them, even in the prouished hiure he was He wondered, too, why they should have invited him to hob-nob with them He was not of their set Indeed, like ree in anybody's set Of one thing he was sure--because he had read it on the self-conscious faces of all three of the hiht up for Mr Bryany's inspection as a major lion and character of the district Well, he did not mind that; nay, he enjoyed that He could feel Mr Bryany covertly looking hie” He smiled and nodded to one or two people ith pride saluted him from the stalls It was ht!

”A full house!” he observed, to break the rather aard silence of the box, as he glanced round at the eant of the aristocracy and the deilded tier, up to the diled and flirted while waiting for the broken plates to be cleared away and the reed Mr Bryany, who spoke with a very slight American accent ”Dakins positively hadn't a seat to offerfree It isn't often I do have a free evening And so I thought I'd pop in here But if Dakins hadn't introducedone”

”So that's how they got to know hiht Edward Henry

And then there was another short silence

”Hear you've been doing so in rubber shares, Machin?”

said Brindley at length

Astonishi+ng how these things got abroad!

”Oh! very little, very little!” Edward Henry laughed ht the bottom will be all out of the rubber an

”Why 'of course'?” Edward Henry interrupted him

”Hear! Hear! Alderly, and Stirling's rich laugh was heard ”Only it does just happen,”

Brindley added, ”that Mr Bryany did us the honour to be born in the district”

”Yes! Longshaw,” Mr Bryany adetic

”Which I left at the age of two”

”Oh, Longshaw!” shaw is at the opposite end of the Five Towns from Bursley, and the shaw in their lives, have only heard of it, as they hear of Chicago or Bangkok Edward Henry had often been to Longshaw, but, like every visitor froarded it as a foolish and unnecessary place

”As I was saying,” resulishhteen years in America, and it seems to me the bottom will soon be knocked out of pretty nearly all the land Look at the Five Towns!”

”No, don't, Mr Bryany!” said Brindley ”Don't go to extre at the Five Towns,” said Edward Henry ”What of it?”

”Well, did you ever see such people for looking twice at a five-pound note?”