THE VICTIM _and_ THE WORM PHYLLIS BOTTOME * * * * * THE VICTIM _and_ THE WORM BY PHYLLIS BOTTOME AUTHOR OF “THE KINGFISHER,” “THE DARK TOWER,” “A SERVANT OF REALITY,” “THE SECOND FIDDLE,” ETC. [Illustration] NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY * * * * * COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY [Illustration] THE VICTIM _and_ THE WORM. I PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * * * * * CONTENTS PAGE THE VICTIM 7 THE WORM 177 THE VICTIM CHAPTER I Oliver P. Brett sat under the shade of a giant yew and regarded a hedge of red and purple fuchsias with thoughtful eyes. “These bees,” he said to himself, “(if they ain’t wasps which is just as likely), make the calmest sound in the universe. “They act brisk, but they hum as if they were dreaming. They’re like the English. “You could make a skipping run over the face of the earth and not find a quieter place to decline in than England, and yet while you’re declining the English get things done. They’re slow but they go on, and they go on after everything else has stopped. “I put my flashiest into giving them a boost when they needed it most, and they tried hard to turn me down for showing them how. Mad! I was so mad that if I could have got my papers in a hurry I’d have gone out of this old country as fast as their kindergarten railway cars would have taken me. But they hung me up over my papers—just the same as they hung me up over my gas—and by the time they knew what my mother’s maiden name was, and what made my great-aunt kick the bucket at 92, they’d decided to have a go at the gas after all. I’d have lost time if I’d gone elsewhere then, so I stayed.