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- Джон Джон Бакен
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- Стр. 27/83
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"
But
if
he
was
lukewarm
politically
he
had
strong
views
on
other
things
.
He
found
out
I
knew
a
bit
about
horses
,
and
jawed
away
about
the
Derby
entries
;
and
he
was
full
of
plans
for
improving
his
shooting
.
Altogether
,
a
very
clean
,
decent
,
callow
young
man
.
As
we
passed
through
a
little
town
two
policemen
signalled
us
to
stop
,
and
flashed
their
lanterns
on
us
.
"
Beg
pardon
,
Sir
Harry
,
"
said
one
.
"
We
've
got
instructions
to
look
out
for
a
car
,
and
the
description
's
no
unlike
yours
.
"
"
Right-o
,
"
said
my
host
,
while
I
thanked
Providence
for
the
devious
ways
I
had
been
brought
to
safety
.
After
that
he
spoke
no
more
,
for
his
mind
began
to
labour
heavily
with
his
coming
speech
.
His
lips
kept
muttering
,
his
eye
wandered
,
and
I
began
to
prepare
myself
for
a
second
catastrophe
.
I
tried
to
think
of
something
to
say
myself
,
but
my
mind
was
dry
as
a
stone
.
The
next
thing
I
knew
we
had
drawn
up
outside
a
door
in
a
street
,
and
were
being
welcomed
by
some
noisy
gentlemen
with
rosettes
.
The
hall
had
about
five
hundred
in
it
,
women
mostly
,
a
lot
of
bald
heads
,
and
a
dozen
or
two
young
men
.
The
chairman
,
a
weaselly
minister
with
a
reddish
nose
,
lamented
Crumpleton
's
absence
,
soliloquized
on
his
influenza
,
and
gave
me
a
certificate
as
a
"
trusted
leader
of
Australian
thought
"
.
There
were
two
policemen
at
the
door
,
and
I
hoped
they
took
note
of
that
testimonial
.
Then
Sir
Harry
started
.
I
never
heard
anything
like
it
.
He
did
n't
begin
to
know
how
to
talk
.
He
had
about
a
bushel
of
notes
from
which
he
read
,
and
when
he
let
go
of
them
he
fell
into
one
prolonged
stutter
.
Every
now
and
then
he
remembered
a
phrase
he
had
learned
by
heart
,
straightened
his
back
,
and
gave
it
off
like
Henry
Irving
,
and
the
next
moment
he
was
bent
double
and
crooning
over
his
papers
.
It
was
the
most
appalling
rot
,
too
.
He
talked
about
the
"
German
menace
"
,
and
said
it
was
all
a
Tory
invention
to
cheat
the
poor
of
their
rights
and
keep
back
the
great
flood
of
social
reform
,
but
that
"
organized
labour
"
realized
this
and
laughed
the
Tories
to
scorn
.
He
was
all
for
reducing
our
Navy
as
a
proof
of
our
good
faith
,
and
then
sending
Germany
an
ultimatum
telling
her
to
do
the
same
or
we
would
knock
her
into
a
cocked
hat
.
He
said
that
,
but
for
the
Tories
,
Germany
and
Britain
would
be
fellow-workers
in
peace
and
reform
.
I
thought
of
the
little
black
book
in
my
pocket
!
A
giddy
lot
Scudder
's
friends
cared
for
peace
and
reform
.
Yet
in
a
queer
way
I
liked
the
speech
.
You
could
see
the
niceness
of
the
chap
shining
out
behind
the
muck
with
which
he
had
been
spoon-fed
.
Also
it
took
a
load
off
my
mind
.
I
might
n't
be
much
of
an
orator
,
but
I
was
a
thousand
per
cent
better
than
Sir
Harry
.
I
did
n't
get
on
so
badly
when
it
came
to
my
turn
.
I
simply
told
them
all
I
could
remember
about
Australia
,
praying
there
should
be
no
Australian
there
--
all
about
its
labour
party
and
emigration
and
universal
service
.
I
doubt
if
I
remembered
to
mention
Free
Trade
,
but
I
said
there
were
no
Tories
in
Australia
,
only
Labour
and
Liberals
.
That
fetched
a
cheer
,
and
I
woke
them
up
a
bit
when
I
started
in
to
tell
them
the
kind
of
glorious
business
I
thought
could
be
made
out
of
the
Empire
if
we
really
put
our
backs
into
it
.
