第29章

Thedooropenedsuddenly；andMr。Bishopriggsappearedwiththedinner。AnnenervouslyseparatedherselffromArnold。TheoneavailableeyeofMr。Bishopriggsfollowedherreproachfully，asheputthedishesonthetable。

“Iwarnedyebaith，itwasacleanimpossibilitytoknockatthedoorthistime。Don’tblameme，youngmadam——don’tblame_me!“_

“Wherewillyousit？“askedArnold，bywayofdivertingAnne’sattentionfromthefamiliaritiesofFatherBishopriggs。

“Anywhere!“sheanswered，impatiently；snatchingupachair，andplacingitatthebottomofthetable。

Mr。Bishopriggspolitely，butfirmly，putthechairbackagaininitsplace。

“Lord’ssake!whatareyedoin’？It’scleancontrarytoa’thelawsandcustomso’thehoney-mune，tositasfarawayfromyourhusbandasthat!“

Hewavedhispersuasivenapkintooneofthetwochairsplacedclosetogetheratthetable。

Arnoldinterferedoncemore，andpreventedanotheroutbreakofimpatiencefromAnne。

“Whatdoesitmatter？“hesaid。“Letthemanhavehisway。“

“Getitoverassoonasyoucan，“shereturned。“Ican’t，andwon’t，bearitmuchlonger。“

Theytooktheirplacesatthetable，withFatherBishopriggsbehindthem，inthemixedcharacterofmajordomoandguardianangel。

“Here’sthetrout!“hecried，takingthecoveroffwithaflourish。“Halfanhoursince，hewasloupin’inthewater。Thereheliesnoo，friedinthedish。Anemblemo’humanlifeforye!

Whenyecanspareanyleisuretimefromyertwaselves，meditateonthat。“

Arnoldtookupthespoon，togiveAnneoneofthetrout。Mr。

Bishopriggsclappedthecoveronthedishagain，withacountenanceexpressiveofdevouthorror。

“Istherenaebodygaun’tosaygrace？“heasked。

“Come!come!“saidArnold。“Thefishisgettingcold。“

Mr。Bishopriggspiouslyclosedhisavailableeye，andheldthecoverfirmlyonthedish。“Forwhatye’regaun’toreceive，mayyebaithbetrulythankful!“Heopenedhisavailableeye，andwhippedthecoveroffagain。“Myconscienceiseasynoo。Fallto!

Fallto!“

“Sendhimaway!“saidAnne。“Hisfamiliarityisbeyondallendurance。“

“Youneedn’twait，“saidArnold。

“Eh!butI’mheretowait，“objectedMr。Bishopriggs。“What’stheuseo’mygaun’away，whenye’llwantmeanontochangetheplatesforye？“Heconsideredforamoment(privatelyconsultinghisexperience)andarrivedatasatisfactoryconclusionastoArnold’smotiveforwantingtogetridofhim。“Tak’heronyerknee，“hewhisperedinArnold’sear，“assoonasyelike!Feedhimatthefork’send，“headdedtoAnne，“wheneveryeplease!