It was perhaps five minutes later that, after conjuring Berry to stay where he was and move the car for nobody, I assisted my wife on to the pavement.
When Fuenterrabia was planned, an eleven-feet-six wheel-base was not considered. To wheedle Pong to the mouth of the Calle del Puerto had been a ticklish business, and I had berthed her deliberately with an eye to our departure for the city gate, rather than to the convenience of such other vehicles as might appear. Besides, for my brother-in-law to have essayed manoeuvres in such surroundings would have been asking for trouble.
As Adèle and I hastened along the street—
"We must look sharp," I insisted. "She's half across the fairway. If anybody with anything broader than a mule feels they can't wait, there'll be murder done."
We came to the shop, panting….
The place was just as we had left it, and—there was no one there.
I looked round impatiently.
"What on earth," I began, "is the good of a——"
As I spoke, the curtain in the corner was pushed to one side, and a
French girl entered the room.
Her manner was most curious.