'
Yeere repeated the incident to Mrs. Hauksbee. He had come to
look upon her as his Mother Confessor.
'And you apologised!' she said. 'Oh, shame! I hate a man who
apologises. Never apologise for what your friend called ''side."
Never! It's a man's business to be insolent and overbearing until he
meets with a stronger. Now, you bad boy, listen to me.'
Simply and straightforwardly, as the 'rickshaw loitered round
Jakko, Mrs. Hauksbee preached to Otis Yeere the Great Gospel of
Conceit, illustrating it with living pictures encountered during their
Sunday afternoon stroll.
'Good gracious!' she ended with the personal argument, 'you'll
apologise next for being my attach‚!'
'Never!' said Otis Yeere. 'That's another thing altogether. I shall
always be '
'What's coming?' thought Mrs. Hauksbee.
'Proud of that,' said Otis.
'Safe for the present,' she said to herself.
'But I'm afraid I have grown conceited. Like Jeshurun, you know.
When he waxed fat, then he kicked. It's the having no worry on
one's mind and the Hill air, I suppose.'
'Hill air, indeed!' said Mrs. Hauksbee to herself. 'He'd have been
hiding in the Club till the last day of his leave, if I hadn't
discovered him.' And aloud
'Why shouldn't you be? You have every right to.'
'I! Why?'
'Oh, hundreds of things. I'm not going to waste this lovely
afternoon by explaining; but I know you have.
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