He held out his hand.
The old man struggled to his feet, and gave a little old-fashioned bow, but disregarded Dicky's proffered hand.
"Good-bye, sir," he said, "and thank you kindly for what you have done for us."
"Would you mind putting your hand in his, sir?" said the woman to Dicky. "He can't see it. He's blind," she added apologetically.
Five minutes later we found ourselves back at the railings. The motor was already purring, and Romulus and Remus had been put into the victoria.
Miss Damer hastened up to us. Her brown eyes looked very soft.
"Dicky dear," she said tremulously, "we all saw you, and I think you are a brick. But keep away from Hilda for a bit."
CHAPTER IX
THE ONLY WAY OUT
The ladies, pleading fatigue after their long day, retired early, bringing a somewhat oppressive evening to a timely conclusion. Dinner had been a constrained function, for Miss Beverley's aloofness had cast a gloom upon the spirits of her fiancé, and the rest of us had joined with him in a sort of sympathetic melancholy. In the drawing-room afterwards Mr. Crick, whose ebullient soul chafed beneath what he termed "compulsory hump," sat down at the piano and treated us to a musical sketch,--something humorous but lingering. Whereupon Lady Adela awoke out of her sleep, and with a disregard for the performer's feeling that was almost indecent, cut short the entertainment and shepherded her flock to the upper regions.