"Mr. Carr within?"
"Mr. Carr's not in," replied the temporary clerk. "I dare say you can
wait."
"Likely to be long?"
"I should think not. I have been waiting for him these two hours."
The applicant entered, and sat down in the clerk's room. Lord Hartledon
went into the other, and stood drumming on the window-pane, as he gazed
out upon the Temple garden.
"I'd go, but for that note of Carr's," he said to himself. "If--Halloa!
that's his voice at last."
Mr. Carr and his clerk had returned together. The former, after a few
moments, came in to Lord Hartledon.
"A nice fellow you are, Carr! Sending me word to be here at eleven
o'clock, and then walking off for two mortal hours!"
"I sent you word to wait for me at your own home!"
"Well, that's good!" returned Val. "It said, 'Be here at eleven,' as
plainly as writing could say it."
"And there was a postscript over the leaf telling you, on second thought,
_not_ to be here, but to wait at home for me," said Mr. Carr. "I
remembered a matter of business that would take me up your way this
morning, and thought I'd go on to you. It's just your careless fashion,
Hartledon, reading only half your letters! You should have turned it
over."
"Who was to think there was anything on the other side? Folk don't turn
their letters over from curiosity when they are concluded on the first
page."
"I never had a letter in my life but I turned it over to make sure,"
observed the more careful barrister.
Pages:
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362