"Pshaw! I won't need any money;"--and he started off again toward
Connecticut Avenue. He dared not hail a car, and he would not have
dared had he possessed the fare. Some one might recognize him. He
walked briskly for ten minutes. The humor of the escapade appealed to
him greatly, and he had all he could do to smother the frequent bursts
of laughter which surged to his lips. He reached absently for his
cigar-case. No money, no cigars.
"That's bad. Without a cigar I'm likely to get nervous. Scraping off
that beard made me forgetful. Jove! with these fleshings I feel as
self-conscious as an untried chorus girl. These togs can't be very warm
in winter. Ha! that must be the embassy where all those lights are;
carriages. _Allons!_"
To make positive, he stopped a pedestrian.
"Pardon me, sir," he said, touching his hat, "but will you be so kind
as to inform me if yonder is the British embassy?"
"It is, my man," replied the gentleman.
"Thank you, sir."
And each passed on to his affairs.
"Now for William; we must find William, or the joke will be on Robert."
He manoeuvered his way through the congested thoroughfare, searching
the faces of the grooms and footmen. He dodged hither and thither, and
was once brought to a halt by the mounted police.
"Here, you! What d'ye mean by runnin' around like this? Lost yer
carriage, hey? I've a mind to run ye in. Y' know th' rules relatin' th'
leavin' of yer box in times like these. Been takin' a sly nip,
probably, an' they've sent yer hack down a peg. Get a gait on y', now."
Warburton laughed silently as he made for the sidewalk. The first man
he plumped into was William--a very much worried William, too. Robert
could have fallen on his neck for joy. All was plain sailing now.
"I'm very glad to see you, sir," said William. "I was afraid you could
not get them clothes on, sir. I was getting a trifle worried, too.
Here's the carriage number."
Warburton glanced hastily at it and stuffed it into a convenient pocket.
"It's sixteen carriages up, sir; a bay and a gray. You can't miss them.
The bay, being a saddle-horse, is a bit restive in the harness; but all
you have to do is to touch him with the whip. And don't try to push
ahead of your turn, or you will get into trouble with the police. They
are very strict. And don't let them confuse you, sir. The numbers won't
be in rotation. You'll hear one hundred and fifteen, and the next
moment thirty-five, like as not. It's all according as to how the
guests are leaving. Good luck to you, sir, and don't forget to explain
it all thoroughly to Mr. Warburton, sir."
"Don't you worry, William; we'll come out of this with colors flying."
"Very well, sir. I shall hang around till you are safely off,"--and
William disappeared.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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