Crampton

“ The band is playing dance-music in the garden, drowning the sound of the sea. The waiter enters, shewing in Crampton and McComas. Crampton looks cowed and anxious. He sits down wearily and timidly on the ottoman. WAITER. The ladies have gone for a turn through the grounds to see the fancy dresses, sir. If you will be so good as to take seats, gentlemen, I shall tell them. (He is about to go into the garden through the window when McComas stops him.)
McCOMAS. One moment. If another gentleman comes, shew him in without any delay: we are expecting him. ”

“ Think of the people who do kind things in an unkind way—people whose touch hurts, whose voices jar, whose tempers play them false, who wound and worry the people they love in the very act of trying to conciliate them, and yet who need affection as much as the rest of us. Crampton has an abominable temper, I admit. ”

“ Finch—my Finch! (She pounces on McComas and makes him dance.)
McCOMAS (protesting) . Pray restrain — really — (He is borne off dancing through the window.)
VALENTINE (making a last effort) . Mrs Clandon: may I—
PHILIP (forestalling him) . Come, mother. (He seizes his mother and whirls her away.)
MRS CLANDON (remonstrating) . Phil, Phil— (She shares McComas's fate.)
CRAMPTON (following them with senile glee) . Ho! ho! He! he! he! (He goes into the garden chuckling at the fun.)
VALENTINE (collapsing on the ottoman and staring at the waiter) . I might as well be a married man already. ”

“ GLORIA (quitting her careless leaning attitude and confronting him promptly and proudly) . I obey nothing but my sense of what is right. I respect nothing that is not noble. That is my duty. (She adds, less firmly) As to affection, it is not within my control. I am not sure that I quite know what affection means. (She turns away with an evident distaste for that part of the subject, and goes to the luncheon table for a comfortable chair, putting down her book and sunshade.)
CRAMPTON (following her with his eyes) . Do you really mean what you are saying? ”

“ Ruby Ann was at a distance, trying to sell Mrs. Biggs's spotted brown and white wrapper to a scrub woman who was haggling over the price which Mrs. Biggs had insisted should be put upon it. That good woman was busy in the supper-room, or she would have made her way at once to Eloise, who, as she looked over the sea of faces confronting her, saw no one she knew except Howard Crompton, who had been very uncomfortable in the heat and air of the place until she came, and with her fresh, fair young face seemed at once to change the whole atmosphere. ”

“ There was also a small envelope containing a card with "James Crompton" upon it, the one Mandy Ann had carried her mistress on a china plate, and which poor Dora had kept as a souvenir of that visit. With the card were the remains of what must have been a beautiful rose. The petals were brown and crumbling to dust, but still gave out a faint perfume, which Eloise detected. While she was looking at these mementos of a past, Jack was running his eyes over the almost illegible directions on the letters, making out "Miss Lucy Brown, Atlanta, Ga."
"That doesn't help us much," he said to Mr. Mason. ”

“ William laughed as though vastly amused by this idea.
“Smuts!” he said, giving a surreptitious kick to the chair that infuriated its occupant still more. “I guess there wouldn’t be many of us left in this house if Smuts was like this.”
They passed on to the giant.
“A giant,” said William, re-arranging the tinsel crown, which was slightly too big for him. “Real giant. Look at it. As big as two of you put together. How d’you think he gets in at doors and things? Has to have everything made special. Look at him walk. Walk, Ginger.” ”

“ She paid for William and Douglas, and Henry, and Ginger, and herself, and mounted a giant cock. It began. She clung on for dear life. It went faster and faster. There came a gleam into her eyes, a smile of rapture to her lips. Again the crowd gathered to watch her. She looked at the people as the roundabout slowed down.
“How happy they all look,” she said innocently. “It’s—it’s quite a pleasant motion, isn’t it? It seems a pity to get off.” ”

“ William and Ginger had to climb down, pale and rather unsteady. Henry and Douglas followed their example the next time it stopped. But still Aunt Jane stayed on, smiling blissfully, her hat dangling over one ear. And still the crowd at the roundabout grew. The rest of the fair ground was comparatively empty. All the fun of the fair was centred on Aunt Jane.
At last she descended from her mount and joined the rather depressed-looking group of boys who were her escort.
[Pg 82]
“It’s curious,” she said, “how much pleasanter is a circular motion than a straight one. ”

“ Mason and Peter had noticed years before, and from which the Colonel turned away as from something dangerous.
"My mother was a Cracker? My father was a Mr. Harris—a Cracker, too. I am not your daughter, as I have been weak enough at times to believe, and—yes, I will confess it—I was weak enough to be proud that I was a Crompton; but that is over now; my father and mother were Crackers. I am a Cracker, and Eudora Harris. I am eighteen, and my own mistress—amenable to the authority of no one. ”

“ Henry always enjoyed scoring off William.
“Well—shows an’ things,” said William desperately.
There was a moment’s silence, then Ginger repeated thoughtfully. “Shows!” and Douglas, whose eldest brother was home from college for his vacation, murmured self-consciously, “By Jove!”
“We could do a show,” said Ginger. “Get animals an’ things an’ charge money for lookin’ at them.”
“Who’d pay it?” said Henry, the doubter.
“Anyone would. You’d pay to see animals, wouldn’t you?—real animals. People do at the Zoo, don’t they? Well, we’ll get some animals. That’s easy enough, isn’t it?” ”

“ On the path by the river near Fisher’s Lock stood Mr. March with a red carnation in his button hole. Concealed in a tree just above his head were Ginger, Douglas, William and Joan.
Down the path by the river came Ethel wearing her red rose.
Mr. March started forward.
“Well, little girl?” he said with roguish tenderness.
Ethel stopped suddenly and stared at him in amazement.
“Ah!” said Mr. March, shaking a fat finger at her, “The time has come to drop the mask of haughtiness. I know all now, you know, from your own sweet lips, I mean your own sweet pen.... ”

“ They walked together sheepishly in a depressed silence to the Village Hall. Once Ginger raised a hand to his throat.
“Gotter beas’ly throat,” he complained, “I didn’t ought to be out.”
“I’m ill, too,” said Henry; “I told ’em so.”
“An’ me,” said Douglas.
“An’ me,” said William with a hoarse, mirthless laugh. “Cruel sorter thing, sendin’ us all out ill like this.”
At the door of the Village Hall they halted, and William looked longingly towards the field.
“It’s no good,” said Ginger sadly, “they’d find out.” ”

“ We’ll fight for it,” said Ginger, rolling up his sleeves in a businesslike manner. The other Outlaws followed his example. The pram’s cargo eyed them appraisingly.
“Oh, all right! Take your rotten old pram!” they said at last.
Douglas placed the baby in its seat and William thoughtfully put up the hood to shield his charge as far as possible from the curious gaze of the passers-by. His charge was now chewing the pram cover and talking excitedly to itself. With a “heart steeled for any fate” William turned the corner into his own road. The baby’s mother was standing at his gate. ”

“ Ginger and Douglas looked at William rather coldly. Even Jumble seemed to look slightly ashamed of him.
“Well, come along,” said Ginger, “we can’t stop here all day talking—to a girl.”
“But I want to come with you,” said Violet Elizabeth. “I want to play with you.”
“We’re going to play boys’ games. You wouldn’t like it,” said Douglas who was somewhat of a diplomatist.
[Pg 51]
“I like boyth gameth,” pleaded Violet Elizabeth, and her blue eyes filled with tears, “pleath let me come.”
“All right,” said William. “We can’t stop you comin’. Don’t take any notice of her,” he said to the others. ”

“ Robert was hunting distractedly under all the bushes around the seat....
******
The Outlaws had changed their clothes. They stood arrayed as Brigands in all the glory of coloured scarves and handkerchiefs and murderous-looking weapons. Upon the floor lay the limp outer coating of the Page, the Ace of Clubs, the Gondolier and the Goat Herd. They leapt with joy and brandished kitchen choppers and bread knives and trowels.
“Now what’re we going to do?” said Ginger.
“Everyone else is dancing,” suggested Douglas mildly.
“Dancing!” repeated William scornfully. ”

“ They are right here. They hain't let much grass grow. Let me poke your hair back a little from your forehead,—so! That's right, and more becomin'."
"Who are coming?" Eloise asked.
"Why, Mr. Crompton and his friend. I don't know his name," Mrs. Biggs replied, and Eloise felt a sudden chill as she thought of the figure she must present to them.
If she could only look in the glass and adjust herself a little, or if Mrs. Biggs would throw something over the unsightly slipper and the ankle smothered in so many bandages. ”

“ She sprang up and, seizing him by the shoulders, shook him till his teeth chattered, the tinsel crown fell down, encircling ears and nose, and one of his moustaches fell limply at his feet.
“You wicked boy!” she said as she shook him, “you wicked, wicked, wicked boy!”
He escaped from her grasp and fled to the showroom, where, in sheer self-defence, he moved a table and three chairs across the door. The room was empty except for Henry, the blue dog, and the still sleeping Smuts. All that was left of the giant was the crumpled sheets. ”

“ D’you think the gold diggers out in—out in those places would do it if it wasn’t right?”
“Well, I’m gettin’ a bit tired of it anyway,” said Henry.
He voiced the general opinion. Even William’s enthusiasm was waning. It seemed a very hot and muddy way of getting gold ... and it didn’t even seem to get any.
Douglas had already laid aside his sodden stick and wandered up to the house. He was pressing his nose against a dirty, cracked window pane. Suddenly he shouted excitedly.
“I say ... a rat ... there’s a rat in this room!” ”

“ The entire caste gathered round it.
"It's paper money," said Douglas, impressed.
"I don't suppose it's real," said William gloomily. "Well, where're we got to?"
He turned quickly, and the fern-pot descended sharply, extinguishing his head. He struggled with it without success.
"Can't anyone do anything?" said his muffled voice from inside the fern-pot. "I can't go on acting like this—people can't see me. Well, isn't anyone going to do anything?" ”

“ The last was a sound expressive of rage and threatening.
“Keepers!” said William. “Run for your lives, braves. Come on, Jumble.”
They fled through the thicket.
“Pleath,” gasped Violet Elizabeth in the rear, “I can’t run as fatht ath that.”
It was Ginger and Douglas who came back to hold her hands. For all that they ran fleetly, dashing through the undergrowth where the keepers found it difficult to follow, and dodging round trees. At last, breathlessly, they reached a clearing and in the middle of it a cottage as small and attractive as a fairy tale cottage. The door was open. ”

“ Boy! The insult to Rosamund he hardly noticed. Then he freed his feet with a desperate movement and stood up, smoothing back his hair.
"I can explain everything. I'm not a thief—not an ordinary thief." The old gentleman was feeling in all his pockets. "I only wanted a Chinese stamp. It was a question of all my life being involved—that is to say—you wouldn't understand——"
"He's mad," said the old gentleman, having satisfied himself that Henry's pockets were empty, and escorting him from the room by his collar.
"I'm not mad," said Henry. "I'm trying to explain. She said it had to be Chinese. ”

“ Carew of Crompton might at one time have been member for the county, if he had pleased; but he desired no seat except in the saddle, or on the driving-box. He showed such skill in riding, and with "the ribbons," that some persons supposed that his talents must be very considerable in other matters, and affected to regret their misuse; there were reports that he knew Latin better than his own chaplain ”

“ William crept across the field to the stile that led to the main road. Here his progress was barred by a group of three who stood talking by the stile. There was a tall pompous-looking man with a beard, a small woman and an elderly man.
“Oh, yes, we’ve quite settled in now,” the tall, pompous-looking man was saying. “We’ve got a resident patient with us—a Miss Polliter who is a chronic nervous case. We are rather uneasy at having to leave her all to-day with only the cook and house-boy. Unfortunately our housemaid left us suddenly yesterday but we trust that things will have gone all right. ”

“ Still holding the Chinese stamp in a vice-like grip, Henry ran down the path, out of the gate and down the road. He was at curious object. He had left his hat under the bed. His hair looked startled by the whole proceeding. But he had done it—he had got it—he had won her!
He went towards the Phillips' house. He must find her at once. He must lay his heart at her feet. To think that two days ago he had not known her, had thought of nothing but that wretched motor-cycle! ”

“ Beezum. “No—cash down is my terms, an’ I sticks to ’em—if you please, young gents.”
He began his sweeping operations with great energy, and the Outlaws found themselves precipitated into the street by the end of his long broom.
“Mean,” commented William, rising again to the perpendicular. “Jus’ mean! I’ve a good mind not to buy ’em there at all.”
“He’s the only shop that sells ’em,” remarked Ginger.
“An’ we’ve got no money to buy ’em anywhere, anyway,” said Henry.
“S’pose we couldn’t wait for ’em till Saturday?” suggested Douglas tentatively. ”