Part 7 (1/2)
”I think, if you don't mind, we'd rather you played right-handed.”
”Certainly.” The next ball was a full pitch, and I took a right-handed six. There was an awful hush. I looked round at the field and prepared to run for it. I felt that they suspected me of all the undiscovered crimes of the year.
”Look here,” I said, nearly crying, ”I'll play any way you like--sideways, or upside down, or hanging on to the branch of a tree, or--”
The atmosphere was too much for me. I trod on my wickets, burst into tears, and bolted to the tent.
”Well,” said Dahlia, ”we won.”
”Yes,” we all agreed, ”we won.”
”Even if we didn't do much of it ourselves,” Simpson pointed out, ”we had jolly good fun.”
”We always have THAT,” said Myra.
THE HOUSE-WARMING
I.--WORK FOR ALL
”Well,” said Dahlia, ”what do you think of it?”
I knocked the ashes out of my after-breakfast pipe, arranged the cus.h.i.+ons of my deck-chair, and let my eyes wander lazily over the house and its surroundings. After a year of hotels and other people's houses, Dahlia and Archie had come into their own.
”I've no complaints,” I said happily.
A vision of white and gold appeared in the doorway and glided over the lawn toward us--Myra with a jug.
”None at all,” said Simpson, sitting up eagerly.
”But Thomas isn't quite satisfied with one of the bathrooms, I'm afraid. I heard him saying something in the pa.s.sage about it this morning when I was inside.”
”I asked if you'd gone to sleep in the bath,” explained Thomas.
”I hadn't. It is practically impossible, Thomas, to go to sleep in a cold bath.”
”Except, perhaps, for a Civil Servant,” said Blair.
”Exactly. Of the practice in the Admiralty Thomas can tell us later on. For myself I was at the window looking at the beautiful view.”
”Why can't you look at it from your own window instead of keeping people out of the bathroom?” grunted Thomas.
”Because the view from my room is an entirely different one.”
”There is no stint in this house,” Dahlia pointed out.
”No,” said Simpson, jumping up excitedly.