The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other StoriesMcNeile, H. C. (Herman Cyril)
General
The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories
McNeile, H. C. (Herman Cyril)
Detective and mystery stories, English; English fiction -- 20th century
For a moment the girl’s lips quivered. "Poor old Hugh!"
Very gently the Soldier stroked the girl’s hair. "We must give him time,
Beryl. He’s—he’s not quite himself yet. By the way," he added, struck
by a sudden thought, "if you haven’t seen him, how do you know he’s come
back?"
The girl’s eyes filled with tears. "I went out to Tommy’s grave again—I
wanted to see that the little fellow was comfortable, and—and—I found
this."
She held out the scrap of paper to the Soldier, and then broke down
uncontrollably. And the man, having glanced at it, coughed with
unnecessary violence and handed it to the Eminent Divine.
"It was just like him—just like Hugh," sobbed the girl. "And Tommy—why,
what more would Tommy want?" She picked up the paper and stared at it
through her tears. "’Good hunting, old chap.—H.D.’ Good hunting. He’s
got a soul—I know he has. He’s having the most glorious chase after
bunnies now—somewhere—somewhere else. Isn’t he?"
She turned appealingly to the Bishop, but that eminent Pillar of the
Church was engrossed in the study of a very ordinary print, and from the
assiduous manner he was polishing his glasses he seemed to be having
difficulties with his eyesight.
And it was thus a moment or two later that the Celebrated Actor found
them.
"Successful." He barked the word grandiloquently from the window.
"Utterly and completely successful. The curtain is shortly going up: it
would be well if the audience took their seats as silently as possible."
"What do you mean, Mr. Trayne?" The girl was staring at him in
amazement through her tears.
"A very human play, my dear young lady, is on the point of being acted.
As producer, general manager, and box office combined, I beg to state
that there will be only one performance. The financial receipts will be
_nil_: the moral receipts will be a soul regained. And who shall say
that it is not a more tangible asset?" For a while he stared
magnificently at nothing, with one hand thrust carelessly out—that
attitude which had long caused infatuated denizens of the pit to stand
for hours in dreadful draughts lest they should fail to secure the front
row. Then he returned with an effort to things mundane. "Follow me,"
he ordered, "and do not talk or make a noise."
"Where’s the boy, Trayne?" demanded the General, almost angrily. In his
own vernacular, he was feeling rattled.
"You shall see in good time. Come."
It was a strange procession which might have been seen wending its way
through the darkness a little later. First came the Celebrated
Actor—supremely happy, as befits the great showman who has the goods to
offer. Then, a few steps behind him, was the Well-known Soldier,
periodically muttering under his breath, and with the girl’s hand on his
arm. Behind them again trotted the Eminent Divine, unable to see very
well in the dark, and continually stubbing his toes on various
obstructions in the ground.
"Where is he taking us to?" whispered the girl to her uncle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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