“No, sir,” said Hinge, “that's only the beginning. They drives off
through the park, turning the carriage round directly the gentlemen gets
into it. They drove as slow as slow could be, just at a lazy kind of
walk, sir; and when they was a little bit of a distance off I ventures
to follow 'era. Their four heads was that close together you might
have covered them with one hat, but of course I never dare venture near
enough to find out what they was a-talking about. They drove about for
two or three hours, and I kep' 'em in sight all the while-At one time
the Baroness Bonnar and the other lady, they gets down to feed the deer
from a paper-bag of biscuits, and the gentlemen strolled about smoking
cigars. Then they all four gets together again just as eager and as busy
as ever. I could see 'em a-talking and a-arguing like mad, and I was
just wild myself to know what it was all about, sir, but of course I
couldn't get a-nigh of 'em. Finally,” said Hinge, “after two or three
hours, they drives back to the Star and Garter, and goes in there. I
found out, sir,” he went on, with a growing air of importance which,
considering the triviality of the intelligence he had so far brought me,
was hard to bear with--“I found out, sir, as they'd ordered lunch; but I
didn't likes to leave 'em without knowing what they was up to, and so
I 'ung about, sir. That comes easy, sir,” said Hinge, “to a man as 'as
been used to barrack life. I 'ung about, and in the course of an hour or
more they comes out very jolly, and drives into the park again, and all
the morning's business over again. Well, sir, having gone on so long, I
didn't like to be put off; and I determined, as a man might say, to see
the finish of it. It come, sir, and it come sooner than I expected. They
drives back about four o'clock, just as it was beginning to get towards
dusk, and they leaves the carriage at the Star and Garter, and they
all walks down the 'ill together, the two ladies in front and the two
gentlemen behind. I followed, sir, at a respectful distance, and they
roams on quite gay and easy for a good mile and a 'arf, and at last they
drops down by the river-side on a little cottage. The dusk was falling
fast, sir, and I was able to get nearer to them than I had been. I was
within twenty yards of them when they all went in together. If you can
get out to-morrow, sir, you can see the cottage, and you'll see where I
got to. It's just right over the river, and there's a bit of what they
used to call a veranda when I was in Bombay, sir. It's right over the
river, the veranda is, and I clomb onto it, and through the Venetian
blind I see the 'ole party. I was just a-peeping in when Sacovitch comes
along and throws the window open, just as if he'd wanted me to hear what
they was a-saying. 'And now,' says he, 'it's all ready, ain't it?'”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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