Evening star., 1927-12-11

NAAAAAlS W Dttt ia Ntit Nci IA AA'N' =
you BEEN"
Manning came up to the table,
, poured himself out a long drink. drank
most of it at a draueht. and sat down,
We'll. what do you make of the
fellow"
ONeiH was carving He raised his
eyebrows a little. and said coolly:
There's nothing to make OF him
had a crack on the head. and he's
sleeping it off And why, in the name
of all that's unreasonable. you want
e1 to bring him here" He broke
off, pushed a plate of beef across the
table, and added meaningly, Just as
wei, for you Mrs. Manning's not back.
Her spare room is likely to want a
good deal more patching up than that
I lows head. Monkey, what pos
SeSSed you?
Manning finished his drink, put his
elbows on the table. and produced
thl ferocious scowl which always
meant that he was thinkino hard.
Look here. O'Neill, you've known
me for getting on 20 years" He
paused, and then raped out. Am
Il the sort of man who has hallucina'
tions?"
O'Neill's rather quizzed manner al
tered. mo. you're not. What is it?
I'm going to tell you-seal of pro-
fessional secrecy and all that"
OF course"
That fellow i'm thereof course
YOU think I'm crazy to have brought
him here and to have dragged you in
to attend to him | suppose Dugdale
told YOU how we picked him up?"
"Dugdale said you'd Communicated
the village idiot to help shift a tree. ="
Manning nodded.
That was about the size of it, He's
half-witted peasant, and he's dumb
Unto the bargain. We shifted the
tree, and then some more Of the bank
fell, and he got knocked out I went
to pick him up, and I turned my
torch on his face to see what the
damage was"
O'Nein stared. Manning's voice.
Manning's face suggested an extraor-
binary sense of strain. He wondered
and then Manning pushed back his
chair with a jerk and stood up.
'Well?" said O'Neill.
Manning walked to the window and
back before he answered.
1T sounds crazy" he said.
What sounds craZy?"
THE whole thing. He-he opened
his eyes. and the next thing l knew
he had hold of my wrist, turning it,
you know, so as to throw the light on
m face; and then he laughed
O'Neill I swear he laughed-and he
said. 'Hullo. Monkey, That was bit
of a crump-wasn't it?'
O'Neill gave a long. soft whistle.
Manning sat down and pulled his
chair up to the table. He'd got it off
his chest. The relief was amazing.
He began to attack his plate of cold
beef without troubling about O'Neill's
scrutiny. After a moment O'Neill
saiC:
HE spoke English?"
Manning nodded; his mouth was
full.
HE called you Monkey? You're
sure?"
He said 'Hullo, Monkey. That was
a bit of a crump-wasnt it"-just
like that"
O'Neill knitted his brows, and ran
hand through mis- fair thin hair.
It's incredible"
Just for a fieeting instant Monkey
Manning grinned.
That's what I've been saying to
myself ever since-quite a pleasant
change to hear some one else say
it,
IT'S incredibler' said O'Neill again.
"Who've you got with you? If he'd
heard some one call you Monkey. he
might have just parrOted it,"
II hadn't any one with me except
young Dugdale; and subalterns don't
call me Monkey-not to my face any
way. The parrot theory's no good
I've Just come back from seeing his
people. Devoted aunt-pleasant, hon
est-looking creature who showed me
all his papers; and an uncle whom I'd
have liked to kick-regular surly
brute who talked as if the poor chap
was an incOnvenient animal, though
/ don't mind betting he's been get
ting about three mems work out of
him"
us he's there any likeness. any
look of any one you ever knew"
: Manning made a frightfu face.
How can / say when he's simply
smothered in hair? Take it off and
I'll tell you"
HIM" said O'Neil. 'Wen. I'll
come round in the morning. Monkey
He's pretty safe to sleep till then"
Anton Blum slept till the morning
and then went on sleeping. He drank
a cup Of Benger without waking, and
O'Neill shrugged his shoulders and
said, Let him sleep" Even the stir
and hustle Of Lacy Manning's arrival
did not rouse him.
Mrs. Manning was what Brooks ir-
treverently called a "housefuI" She
was a little person, but she certainly
made herself felt From the moment
that she came inside the front door
silence was a thing Of the past
Presently Manning was receiving a
fortnicht's arrears Of conjugal CON
versation. For the first ten minutes
il concerned Don, and he had no diff
Guilty in keeping his mind on it. Don,
aged 9, had gone to his first prep
school after Christmas, and Lacy had
been over TO see how he was getting
on. She considered herself an abso.
lutely Spartan parent to have held
out until midterm.
Don, it appeared was the most
promising boy in the school.
"And he's going to be most fright.
fully good at games | don't see why
YOU should laugh, Monkey. He is
clever. and he is good at games. Why.
even when he was 6 months old look
how hard he could throw You re-
member my diamond ring-right out
of the WindoW-and it never was
found So that just shows. Monkey,
YOU'RE a pig to laugh" The bright.
mink color deepened in Lacys cheeks.
%You can ask Evelyn If you don't be-
1iave me- Oh. and that reminds
ma" Her voice became eager; she
ran to the bed Tummaged in one of
the piles of odds and ends which
snarned suddenly to have sprung UP
avervwhere, and came back, butter
Ing the leaves of a magazine. Mon
kew. darling. she's going TO do it at
1ast-I really do believe she is"
who's going to do what?" asked
Manning vaguely; his mind was still
on Don. He laughed at Lacy, but he
was really just as big a fool about
Don as she was. Who's going to dc
what" he asked.
Tacy stopped by his chair to pinch
s him. -, ,.r,...,
tdop-eoing TO do il at last, / do be