"I say, Mrs. Braiding, what about this dish-cover?"
He lifted the article, of which the copper was beginning to show
through the Sheffield plating.
"Yes sir. It does look rather impoverished, doesn't it?"
"But I told Braiding to use the new toast-dish I bought last week but
one."
"Did you, sir? I was very happy about the new one as soon as I saw
it, but Braiding never gave me your instructions in regard to it." She
glanced at the cabinet in which the new toast-dish reposed with other
antique metal-work. "Braiding's been rather upset this last few days,
sir."
"What about?"
"This recruiting, sir. Of course, you are aware he's decided on it."
"I'm not aware of anything of the sort," said G.J. rather roughly,
perhaps to hide his sudden emotion, perhaps to express his irritation
at Mrs. Braiding's strange habit of pretending that the most startling
pieces of news were matters of common knowledge.
"Well, sir, of course you were out most of yesterday, and you dined at
the club. Braiding attended at a recruiting office yesterday, sir.
He stood three hours in the crowd outside because there was no room
inside, and then he stood over two hours in a passage inside before
his turn came, and nothing to eat all day, or drink either.
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