FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70  
71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   >>   >|  
he gentlemen to come in,' said Merton, when the boy returned. They entered: three fair young curates, nervous and inclined to giggle. Shades of difference of ecclesiastical opinion declared themselves in their hats, costume, and jewellery. 'Be seated, gentlemen,' said Merton, and they sat down on three chairs, in identical attitudes. 'We hope,' said the man on the left, 'that we are not here inconveniently. We would have waited, but, you see, we have all come up for the match.' 'How is it going?' asked Merton anxiously. 'Cambridge four wickets down for 115, but--' and the young man stared, 'it must be, it is Pussy Merton!' 'And you, Clancy Minor, why are you not converting the Heathen Chinee? You deserve a death of torture.' 'Goodness! How do you know that?' asked Clancy. 'I know many things,' answered Merton. 'I am not sure which of you is Mr. Bathe.' Clancy presented Mr. Bathe, a florid young evangelist, who blushed. 'Armenia is still suffering, Mr. Bathe; and Mr. Brooke,' said Merton, detecting him by the Method of Residues, 'the oven is still hot in the New Hebrides. What have you got to say for yourselves?' The curates shifted nervously on their chairs. 'We see, Merton,' said Clancy, 'that you know a good deal which we did not know ourselves till lately. In fact, we did not know each other till the Church Congress at Leamington. Then the other men came to tea at my rooms, and saw--' 'A portrait of a lady; each of you possessed a similar portrait,' said Merton. 'How the dev--I mean, how do you know _that_?' 'By a simple deductive process,' said Merton. 'There were also letters,' he said. Here a gurgle from behind the screen was audible to Merton. 'We did not read each others' letters,' said Clancy, blushing. 'Of course not,' said Merton. 'But the handwriting on the envelopes was identical,' Clancy went on. 'Well, and what can our Society do for you?' 'Why, we saw your advertisements, never guessed they were _yours_, of course, Pussy, and--none of us is a man of the world--' 'I congratulate you,' said Merton. 'So we thought we had better take advice: it seemed rather a lark, too, don't you know? The fact is--you appear to have divined it somehow--we find that we are all engaged to the same lady. We can't fight, and we can't all marry her.' 'In Thibet it might be practicable: martyrdom might also be secured there,' said Merton. 'Martyrdom is not good eno
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70  
71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Merton

 

Clancy

 

letters

 
curates
 
chairs
 

identical

 
gentlemen
 

portrait

 

blushing

 

audible


screen
 

possessed

 

similar

 

gurgle

 

process

 
deductive
 

simple

 

divined

 

engaged

 
secured

Martyrdom

 
martyrdom
 

practicable

 

Thibet

 

advice

 

Society

 

advertisements

 
handwriting
 

envelopes

 

guessed


thought

 

congratulate

 

waited

 

inconveniently

 

attitudes

 

anxiously

 

stared

 

Cambridge

 

wickets

 

seated


nervous

 

inclined

 

giggle

 

entered

 

returned

 

Shades

 
difference
 

costume

 

jewellery

 

ecclesiastical