Page 52 - the-thirty-nine-steps

Three minutes later we drew up before a comfortable-look-
ing shooting box set among pine-trees, and he ushered me
indoors. He took me first to a bedroom and flung half a doz-
en of his suits before me, for my own had been pretty well
reduced to rags. I selected a loose blue serge, which differed
most conspicuously from my former garments, and bor-
rowed a linen collar. Then he haled me to the dining-room,
where the remnants of a meal stood on the table, and an-
nounced that I had just five minutes to feed. ‘You can take
a snack in your pocket, and we’ll have supper when we get
back. I’ve got to be at the Masonic Hall at eight o’clock, or
my agent will comb my hair.’
I had a cup of coffee and some cold ham, while he yarned
away on the hearth-rug.
‘You find me in the deuce of a mess, Mr by-the-by, you
haven’t told me your name. Twisdon? Any relation of old
Tommy Twisdon of the Sixtieth? No? Well, you see I’m
Liberal Candidate for this part of the world, and I had a
meeting on tonight at Brattleburn that’s my chief town, and
an infernal Tory stronghold. I had got the Colonial ex-Pre-
mier fellow, Crumpleton, coming to speak for me tonight,
and had the thing tremendously billed and the whole place
ground-baited. This afternoon I had a wire from the ruf-
fian saying he had got influenza at Blackpool, and here am
I left to do the whole thing myself. I had meant to speak for
ten minutes and must now go on for forty, and, though I’ve
been racking my brains for three hours to think of some-
thing, I simply cannot last the course. Now you’ve got to be
a good chap and help me. You’re a Free Trader and can tell

52 The Thirty-Nine Steps