Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| THE HEIR | 1 |
| THE CHRISTMAS PARTY | 121 |
| PATIENCE | 179 |
| HER SON | 193 |
| THE PARROT | 243 |
Miss Chase lay on her immense red silkfour-poster that reached as high as the ceiling.Her face was covered over by a sheet, butas she had a high, aristocratic nose, it raisedthe sheet into a ridge, ending in a point. Herhands could also be distinguished beneath thesheet, folded across her chest like the handsof an effigy; and her feet, tight together likethe feet of an effigy, raised the sheet into twofurther points at the bottom of the bed. Shewas eighty-four years old, and she had beendead for twenty-four hours.
The room was darkened into a shadowytwilight. Outside, in a pale, golden sunshine,the birds twittered among the very younggreen of the trees. A thread of this sunshine,alive with golden dust-motes, sundered thecurtain and struck out, horizontally, acrossthe boards of the floor. One of the two menwho were moving with all possible discretionabout the room, paused to draw the curtainsmore completely together.
4“Very annoying, this delay about thecoffin,” said Mr. Nutley. “However, I gotoff the telegrams to the papers in time, Ihope, to get the funeral arrangements altered.It would be very awkward if people fromLondon turned up for the funeral on Thursdayinstead of Friday—very awkward indeed.Of course, the local people wouldn’t turn up;they would know the affair had had to be putoff; but London people—they’re so scattered.And they would be annoyed to findthey had given up a whole day to a countryfuneral that wasn’t to take place after all.”
“I should think so, indeed,” said Mr. Chase,peevishly. “I know the value of time wellenough to appreciate that.”
“Ah yes,” Mr. Nutley replied with sympathy,“you’re anxious to be back at Wolverhampton,I know. It’s very annoying tohave one’s work cut into. And if you feellike that about