Anthony Lyveden

Lyveden, D.S.O

ve worn a wristwatch constantly for nearly six years, Time alone can accustom you to its absence. And at the present moment Major Lyve

of foot-passengers a little white dog stuck to his heels resolutely. The sudden sight of a clock-maker's on the opposite side o

minutes p

urned eastward. It was clear that he

his straining ears refreshingly. At once he considered the dog and, thankful for the distraction, stepp

p," he said kindly. "L

he stooped and dabbled

tle white dog advanced

sult! Der

ut above the metallic

t of the shelter of the portico on to the crowded pav

t about, to read th

he sheet carefully, whistled to Patch, and strode off westward with the ste

hony Lyveden that the horse which was carrying all t

*

mony that his lady mother only survived her husband by six and a half hours. When debts, funeral and testamentary expenses had been deducted from his father's bank balance, the sum of twenty-three pounds nine

nd Oxford, and procured him a commission in the Royal Regiment of Artillery before most of the boy's compeer

shall speak for itself

I give, devise, and bequeath all my real and personal estate of every description unto my nephew Anthony Lyveden abs

he gates of Gaza. He read the letter carefully twice. Then he stuffed it into a cross-pocket and s

hat he was whistling under his breath as h

omise more than fulfilled. The magic carpet of the grass, stuffed with a million scents, was his Elysium. A bookworm made free of the Bodleian could no

own in the sun. For a while he remained wrapped in meditation, abstractedly watching the t

r haltingly to an influential acquaintance. The latter's reception of his distress had been so startlingly obnoxious that he would have died rather than r

anywhere else outside a race-course. Some of it is worth hearing, most of it i

. Certainly the horse was little mentioned. Lyveden had neve

He was genuinely attached to his young customer, and knew

clusion that thirty-three birds in the bush were better than one in the hand. Reckoning a bird at one h

a protesting Smith one hundred and one pounds, to be invested on B

arter-past six, accepted the commission, pocketed the no

nd pounds-i

, Anthony never knew. A man whose sole assets are a Sealyham, a very few clot

ellow, c

and Lyveden set

disguise-and straightway led the fool into Paradise. Indeed, they were so happy together, the fool and the dog, that, though no work came along, nothing mattered. You see, it was a fool's paradise. That was natural. The result was that one day the fool lifted up his eyes, and there was a great big finger-post, pointing the way they were going. And it said WAY OUT. The dog couldn't read, so it didn't worry him; but the fool could, and fear smote upon his heart. In fact, he got desperate, poor fool. Of course, if he'd had any sense, he'd 've walked slo

etic tax-collector brough

occupation of the cha

t a tangent in the dire

n old lady, he present

experience, he would ap

ruck four, and Lyvede

ended the area steps of

a

g a bowler hat, black boots, a single collar, which stood up uncomfortably all the way round his neck, and a dark blue suit. The latter was clean and had been carefully brushed, but it was man

eving finger between his throat and the collar for the

fair-haired girl in a print dress. Her sleeves

as determined to do the thing properl

stared at

id. "Better come

he passage and out of sight. A second later a momentary burst of ch

engagement was to rest with the butler. Then a door opened and closed, and a girl dressed as a parlour-maid appeared up

er to the ad.

ight," sa

regarded a wet forefinger. "Got a bo

er assistance, but, deciding to risk a breach o

ten!" he

ed at him cur

, as fish goes. But there, I ain't got much use fo

miss. I've n

any way," was the

t him s

e withdrawn amid a paroxysm of giggling. Somebody was pushed into full view to retire precipitately amid an explosion of mirth. Preceded by stifled expressions of encouragement

ore under

ur-maid reappeare

his bone is," she v

tairs and presently into a small wi

ouch Mrs. Slumper regarded th

counted them. She was enclosed in a dress which was at once highly fashionable and painfully unbecoming, and the pearls which rose and fell upon her tremendous b

bin with?" sai

madam, this will

r choked wi

r 'and on me?" She looked round savagely.

r the knife, Anthony plucked the eye-glasses fr

her sails. Anthony saw this, and

te willing to leave at the end of a week

grunted with

ages j

m, and-er-all found. And one aft

blinked at

ed of tryin' for a footman, or I'd see yer further. 'Owever...." Sh

s signature, when it occurred to him that footmen do not write at their mistresses' bureaus except privily or by invitation. He flushed furiou

lumper

u'll 'ave ter wait, an' open the door, an' clean the boots, an' come aout on the car. I've got some noo l

w evening

-ri

bowed hi

the landing, he would have leaned ag

at the door he

e a littl

ny gr

r between the respective sandbanks of disloyalty an

l stare

e why she had remained upon th

" she sai

felt c

she let him out

o-morrow,"

right,

had covered a hundred paces, he stopped and turned up his trous

at a quarter to ten to learn that his mistress had engage

*

re branch, less than forty minutes from town, and he arranged to lodge the terrier there the same afternoon. For the sum of a guinea a week the little dog would be fed and housed and exercised. A veterinary surgeon was att

rom the office a

a busy

luxury of it all was very tasty, very appealing. He regretted that he had not used it more often. There was a time when he had thought the place dull. Blasphemy!

ned and a fo

shivered into a

-more collars of the bearing-rein type, some stiff shirts, made-up white ties, pinchbeck studs and cufflinks. As he emerged from the shop, Anthony found himself wondering whether he need have been so harsh

se and hold-all-at the cloakr

ve of the two. Often and often he had fed well to the embarrassment of his master's s

ul. At the sign of The Crooked Billet liver and bacon was the dish of the day. So much a blurred menu was proclaimi

the bacon. This was rather salt, but the zest with which t

journey. Mercifully Patc

e under the lee of a wood. Fair meadows ringed it about, and in the bright

passed up the w

A jolly fair-haired girl-the superintendent-conducted him everywhere. The d

proud of him," s

eat friends. I hope

probably. You'll b

ys," said Lyveden.

ved a receipt. Patch was entered in a big book, together with his age and descri

have the telephone numb

it to you

nd the girl rose. The fo

picked u

d visit-the best they had ever paid. No other place they had been to was full of dogs. Y

p very close and let him lick his nose. Then he bade him be a

he said. "Good day. I'll let m

he hall-blindly. There had been a look in

door closed heavily. With a sudden wrench he was out of the girl's arms and across the shadowy hall. For a moment

*

lf-way up the front st

, surveyed hims

er with the kit,"

se there was nothing t

rain and sun. Such features as his broad forehead, aquiline nose, and strong well-shaped mouth, would have distinguished any countenance. Yet the whole of it was shapely and clean-cut, and there was a q

ad played the deuce with his temperament. The man had gone all to pieces. That, now that a week had gone by, he was

R T

ort progress. Nine months have gone by, and I have not written once. S

r, I have n

d not deny it, because I know better. You see

of any public-house in, say, Bethnal Green. Below stairs she is known as "the dream-child." My master appears to have married, not so

s of his successful desertion from the Army in 1917, there is nothing against him. My work would be comparatively light if the unfortunate resemblance, to which I have alluded above, were less pronounced. In a word, the butler's working day fini

as a magnet the steel. Need I say that she is an uninvited guest? Yesterday, at the wedding of a young Marquess, she was stopped at the doors. "Lef me card at

were, I fancy, hired with the dress-coats to which they were fastened. That they enjoyed the viands is emphasized by the fact that, prior to their departure, several of the guests concea

le the dispute. Once I actually took the liberty of separating them. Indeed, as recently as yesterday evening the dre

r-gage," says

ut yer betters to rights, Schooly. Ugh, I wonder yer

her husband was understood to mutter that he had rather be an

his direction, the dream-child demanded my

ision for which Mr. Slumper, to whom victory is e

d a hilarious few hours, and Lancaster Gate is never mentioned. In the servants' hall, by the way, I am credited with a delicate wife-an impression

must take

e to reply. I know I have spoken ill of y

toi, vi

NY LY

ea. He was taking a second look at what he could see of his back, when the front-door bell rang. Ev

face to face with a man who had been his firs

o footmen stared at

, Walters," said

ouching his hat. "An', beggin' your

re," said Lyveden. "This

. "Sorry to 'ave troubled you, sir." He to

the door open till the c

red that this was unsatisfactory, for a

but would you s

escended

some consequence regarded him shrewdly. She had

re?" she dema

drew him

lumper,

received with an i

w that Lady Helen Ami

, madam,

at Anthony, who looked

r pardon," s

e passed Walters, who was standing wide-ey

had been hired as it stood. Certainly the Slumpers had given no hint of such a state of affairs. Probably

*

ony visited Patch f

sday had become an easy-going friend. By pocketing his lunch, Lyveden could catch it with

ting was a repli

ose to his feet. Out of a passage came Patch readily, the fair-haired girl behind him bidding him go ahead. For a moment he looked about him. Then he saw Lyveden, stiffened and stood stock s

, Pa

e terrier licked his face frantically. Then he squirmed like a mad thing till he was down, tore to a bas

laughed

said Lyveden. "It's jus

e a present when

r a wonderful walk. The

fairly beggare

he pocket garden under sweet-smelling limes, where stocks stood orderly and honeysuckle sprawled

ls. Somewhere a clock was in labour-an old, old timepiece, to whom the telling of the hour

o'c

moving for another quarter of an hour. Upon the warm red br

ive it me in

herself. Arrived there, she stood for a moment looking pleasedly round. It

misty blue of her eyes stood there for gentleness, the curve of the red lips for pride. Wisdom sat in her temples under the thick dark hair. Strength herself had moulded the exquisite chin. And a rogue of a dimple was there to mock the lot of them-the print of the delicate finger of Laughter herself, set in a baby's cheek twe

the world. He may be forgiven,

r hat, pulling it down with a fine careless con

counting her Irish terrier an intrude

nt the plac

mming his pipe into a pocket, flung himself forward: the mistress of the inn and her maid crowded each other in the doorway, emitting cries of distress:

round. Then he picked up the pair anyhow and

s parted and the water gave up its prey. Two choking, gasping, spluttering heads appeared simultaneou

xpected, he shook himself inconsiderately, and Anthony, who was not on the bench, was generously bedewed. Then Patch was hauled out by t

to my lady and

he said. "My dog wa

rolling him now?

aking the water out of his ears as he came. Wet as he

t hurt," he said quie

n from her perch, summoned her terrier and strolled

amped into the inn. A moment later he had paid his reckoning and was out on the road.

down by the wayside and dried his terrier's ears

*

g to make their unpleasant way down Anthony's neck. His feet had been wet for hours. The violence of the language employed by

mper was sure they were doing the right thing. A box would have been better, of course, but there had been some difficulty, and Slumper, being a weak-kneed fool, had been bluffed into takin

ed to rain

wing-doors wide open. A blasphemous murmur of

the lobby, walking with an air of having just consecrated the building free of charge, and followed by a nervous-lipped l

cried somebody. "

an explosi

dden guffaw, reminded Lyveden vividly of his service in France. His thoughts ramped back to the old

ng choked. Attendants were bellowing big names, innumerable engines we

ed and one!" th

ony, elbowing his w

uickly to where h

ley of invective, which dealt more particularly with Mrs. Slumper's pedigree, but touched lightly upon

ing-board and advise his master. When it was next in order but two, he stepped on to the pavement and struggled towards the ent

waiting!"

all cloaks and soft hair and slim silk stockings-the

e glanced round quickly. Her eyes met Anthony's, rested a moment of time, and then sw

d known him again, and to stuff the breath of an exquisite perfume into the same reliquary

*

a particularly smart we

the announcements, was

afternoon as he was cle

the weddin' o' that there Finnigan boy. I'm sure I'm sick o' cru

ed with the tra

ng Sunday, madam, so

that," was t

enience you, madam, but

d alway

ggar in a 'ired fly? Look 'ere, young man, I didn't ought to 'ave took you at all, reelly. Wot with no refs an' no experience, yer might 'ave walked the soles orf of yer perishin' boots before yer got into a 'ouse like this. But I gave you a chance, I

ake Monda

ollowed him in silence till

then, that Lyveden

the fact that the pleasaunce was to his liking did not weigh with him. The little inn and its curtilage had become but environs.) She had been unreasonable and worse than churlish. There was no getting away from it-she had been aggressively rude, administering a rebuff though he had made no advance. To pile Ossa upon Pelion, she now knew him for what he was-a flunkey, act

has made by restoring some cards, Anthony took Ossa off Pelion, said to himself, "I don't bel

e rest did not seem worth keeping, and he inquired whether anything had been seen of the lady whose dog hi

d his hostess. "All alone, with her little dog. I don't

house like a ma

ad sh

ead, however, gave innumerable replies-all of them obvious and none of them flatter

feel that there was much in what the chauffeur had said about her forbears. At the time he had se

so little attention. Not that he care

even Lyveden was ba

nd the parlour-maid should have restored to its place. Without waiting to change, he picked up

he key was withdrawn violently, reinserted, and wrenched. The pressure upon the door being maintained, the lock was jammed. Whosoever was there had lost hi

upon his face, which was all grey, and he was shaking fearfully. Holding on to the furniture as he went, he tottered

keyhole of the door, which he was still holding open, brought him to his senses, a

tely. Anthony went to his side and held the glass to his lips. As he drank, his teeth chattered upon the rim of the tumbler, and some of the spirit ran over his chin. Twice he made a gesture for more. After the third dose he h

t' d

n he came back, his master h

your wages

o pounds a

as if the effort of calculation was more than he could bear.

slowly. "One month's wages, an

tared at

en here a mon

aved aside t

ind. Couldn't let you down. Others can go to hell, but not you. And now-better clear

esperately. He was trying instinctively to grapple

usly. The brandy was getting into its stride now,

he croaked

iece chimed the half-hour, and the laugh snapped off short.

fifty-nine." The tense utterance broke into a whimper. "An'-an' that's too old for prison, Lyveden, an' they wouldn't give me a chance. The lawyers 'd

r in Anthony c

?" The other nodded, "S

at the ceiling. "She'll have to go with me,"

, sir," said Anthony

at he w

was permitted to attend. Consequently she was anything but pleased when her husband entered the room. Such procedure was out of all order and con

Mrs. Slumper hurled herself against Nec

lations were literally cuffed into a whimper. Five minutes later, toothless, half-dressed and trembling, she thrust a few things into a dre

h which his colleagues were certain to signalize the débacle. When the two appeared, he started involuntarily. He had been prepared for violence, he had expected tears.... The vision of a blubbering idiot, that mowed and mumbled, its wig awry, its

hat and overcoat and Mr. and Mrs. Slumper into the taxi, flung his ow

l pregnant silence, broken only by the sound of rapid irreg

would take them to the coast by the first available train. At the booking-office he learned, to hi

ding behind, coming up, overhauling him fast. The blood which had flooded his face had begun to recede. The hand that rece

red as they passed. O

ds of sweat upon the side of his nose. His mouth was working painfully. It was a question whether th

e to the

pass, but he put them into the que

touch on his shoulder the poor devil started frightfully and drew in his breath

esent his tickets, and the inspector took the pasteboard out of his shaking hand. He clipped it and handed it back, staring

apparently addressing a colleague, whom Anthony

aved a sig

ble-presumably "Joe"-step into view and put a

vibration of a wire that is taut. The ridiculous figure at

urged the officia

ut his handkerchief, and wiped his

," he said. "I'

is heel and walked

no more