Crane replaced the volume and walked to the window.
"Oh," he said, "I stayed behind a moment—"
"A moment!" said Mrs. Falkener, with something that would have been a snort in one less self-controlled.
At this instant, Crane's attention was attracted by a figure he saw crossing the grounds, and he decided to create a diversion.
"Oh, look!" he exclaimed. "Do come and see the housemaid going out for a walk. Did you ever see anything smarter than she looks?"
The diversion was of a more exciting nature than he had intended. Mrs. Falkener came to the window and uttering a piercing exclamation, she cried:
"The woman has on Cora's best hat!"
"Not really?" said Crane, but it did seem to him he remembered having seen the hat before.
"It is, it is," Mrs. Falkener went on, in some excitement. "Call her back at once. Solon, do something. Call the woman back."
Tucker, thus appealed to, threw open the window, and with an extremely creditable volume of voice, he roared: