"What's this?" he said. "These are no good to me."
"Well, they're no good to us. We've finished with them."
We sat in the waiting-room with him for half an hour and explained the situation. We said that, highly as we thought of Dearmer, we had not wantonly tried to defraud the Company in order to get a sight of the place; and that, so far from owing him three shillings apiece, we were prepared to take a sovereign to say nothing more about it…. And still the wagonette didn't come.
"Is there a post-office here?" I asked the man. "Or a horse?"
"There might be a horse at the 'Lion.' There's no post-office."
"Well, I suppose I could wire to Brookfield Station from here?"
"Not to Brookfield."
"But supposing you want to tell the station-master there that the train's off the line, or that you've won the first prize at the Flower Show in the vegetable class, how would you do it?"
"Brookfield's not on this line. That's why you've got to pay three shill—"
"Yes, yes. You said all that. Then I shall go and explore the village."