"Bellows," hissed Mr. Van Pycke, "who instructed you to take my trousers out to press 'em?"
"They needed it, sir, badly," explained Bellows.
"And my shoes, sir,—I did not ask to have them polished, did I?"
"No, sir. As I remember it, you did not."
"It wouldn't have been so bad," almost moaned the unhappy gentleman, turning to his son, "but I didn't discover their absence until after I had, in my ungovernable rage, thrown those confounded wax figure's garments from an upstairs window. And then, by Gad, sir, I couldn't find my own trousers. What's more, I couldn't find the bell button to call for Bellows. There I was, in a strange bedroom without—Oh, I'll never forget it, Bosworth—never! What the devil are you laughing at, sir?"
Miss Downing had quietly reentered the room and was standing just inside the door, a growing smile of appreciation on her lips.
"Wha—what did you do, sir?" asked Bosworth, controlling himself heroically.
"Do? What could I do? Demmit all, trousers don't grow on chandeliers, do they? I couldn't pick off a pair, à la Santa Claus, could I? There was only one thing left to do. That was to shout for Bellows. Just as I was on the point of stealing out to the head of the stairs, I heard voices—a man's and a woman's. I dashed back into the bedroom. 'Gad, sir, what do you think? Those people were in the next room, and the door, which I hadn't noticed before, was partly ajar. At any minute they might come in and find—ahem! I didn't see you, Miss Downing."
"Please go on," she said.
"Only to convince you what kind of a house we have all gotten into," he explained, after a moment of indecision. "Well, I quickly entered a clothes closet near by. I don't want to hurt your feelings, Miss Downing, but the lady in the next bedchamber was your friend, Mrs. Scoville. The man was that confounded De Foe chap. I—I can't tell you what they were saying to each other. It was sickening, I'll say that much. No, no—I won't go into details. It seems there was a maid in there, hooking her up, but they didn't mind her. When the maid went out, I distinctly heard five or six kisses—ahem! Hang it all, Bosworth, I couldn't help eavesdropping. There were people in the hall outside. It was the most brazen thing I've ever known. Unfortunately, I had to sneeze."