The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories

usband with glinting, eager eyes, which showed that

sly calm. "You don't know

?" sa

randma's bir

uck the table with a violent fist, making his

deu

are usually called "junctures" for short. I could have imagined either of them saying to the other: "Here's a funny thing! The house is on fire!" And then yielding to laughter as they ran for buckets. Mrs Brindley, in particular, laughed now; she gazed at th

esture of habit. All men of business in the Five Towns seem to carry that

progeny and catch the 2.5. It mak

of specially deep plates on to their bibs, dropped their spoons and began to babble abou

er reflection. "And a fine old crowd there'l

Now, you kids, hook i

ut you?" aske

he old lady I'm

ast year, and you

ave him, do you? Or have you had the beautiful idea of taking him over to

s Brindley. "

l, t

their axes, slid down from their

"You mustn't mind me.

you turned loose alone in this amusing tow

ultitudinous books on every wall of the dining-r

said Br

ed by official pilgrimages as a British Museum expert in ceramics. The third was for a purely friendly week-end, and had no pretext. The fact is, I was d

o," said Mrs Brindley. "We cou

e call manners, you know-to invite a fellow-creature to travel a hundred and fifty miles to spend two days here, and then to turn him out before he's been in the house an hour. It's us, that is! But the truth of the matter is, the birthday business

r spouse, as she wafted the boys from the room. "Mr Loring, d

ed the circumstances in six words, depositing me like a parcel. The doctor, who had once by mysterious medicaments saved my frail organism

ance for MacIl

acIlroy?

Off he goes to Cupar, or somewhere, and comes back with another stage Scotchman, named MacIlroy. Now listen here, Doc! A charge to keep you have, and mind you keep it, or I'll never pay your confounded bill. We'll knock on the window to-night as we come back. In