Perceval Gibbon

“ A DOG—AND UNCLEAN
THE little Jaffa steamer splashed out past the tall statue of Lesseps, which stands at the seaward end of the western pier of Port Said, and lifted her bows to the roll of the free water of the Mediterranean. At the after rail two people watched the roofs and masts slide back into the morning haze. One was the Englishwoman, Miss Gregory, at whose coming on board all hands had stopped to stare, for the sheer quality of her. Fifty years of age, or thereabouts, she had the suave and secure presence of one whose place in the world has never been in doubt ”

“ The Orient Hotel in those days looked out upon the street through a tall arched door, and within it the courtyard was roofed over to be a spacious lounging-place for the hotel's frequenters. Miss Gregory summoned her most formal demeanour as she turned in, with the dog soberly at heel.From the palm-screened office at the farther end of the courtyard, Aristide saw her arrival, and came forward to meet her—the most pliant, most accomplished of maîtres d hôtel. Aristide had practised his hospitable profession in most of the great ports of the Mediterranean ”

“ It was rather funny to watch, and Miss Gregory was interested. She failed to notice that the dog, whose memory of Mr. Blake was not less accurate than hers, was interested too.
Mr. Blake's conscience had smitten him at the moment of her flight from the wharf. No honest man lacks the seeds of chivalry, however he may lack the art of it. ”

“ He wondered why the proper, easy thing to say was so hard to find.
"Thank you, no," he answered, and Miss Gregory turned away to the expectant Aristide. That truly great man was as placid as she; he never allowed passion to complicate finance. The settlement was so satisfactory that he even felt a certain compunction for kicking Pat.
Miss Gregory passed the day in looking for Pat. Jaffa was not a city of imposing proportions, but one could not imagine a place better adapted for losing a dog. ”

“ The dog followed at her heel, with his short stump of a tail erect, restored to his double capacity of man's champion and slave.
He makes fewest mistakes who registers fewest judgments. In her diary that evening, as, she sat on the edge of her bunk, with the calm dog alert at her feet, Miss Gregory entered her reflections on the subject of Mr. Blake. "A man like a hedgehog," she wrote, "partaking of the characters of both hedge and hog. ”

“ You see, the dog and I have much the same views of life and behaviour."
"Eh?" He glanced round, fearful that she spoke in jest; her face reassured him.
"I'm afraid it sounds rather mad," said, Miss Gregory; "but think it out. Both of us stand by those who need our help; we 're not down on the weak and lonely; we 're decently clean in our manners; and we can both take care of ourselves. Really, I'm not joking. A decent human being and a decent dog have a lot in common."
Mr. Blake nodded his head at each point she mentioned. ”

“ In the afternoon she took occasion to visit two other hotels, to secure accommodation for the night, and found that the tale of Pat's deeds at the Orient had got there first. At both there were smiling, deferential managers on the model of Aristide. They had excellent rooms at her disposal, charming, exceptional rooms. "But, Madame—excoose. Ve do not receive dogs, hein? Eet is ze rule." To each of them Miss Gregory showed first a grim countenance and then a broad back. She saw a good deal of Jaffa that day. ”

“ Here and there, in the dark places of heathendom, his name had honour. Years ago, when the field of his labours had been Morocco, he had lain three months in a pestilent prison, awaiting death by torture. ”