He drew back Mrs. Botley-Markham's chair with grave courtesy, and that afflicted lady tottered down the room and out of the door, looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The Freak and I resumed our seats.
"Dear Sir Arthur," I said, "are you a knight or a baronet?"
Before this point of precedence could be settled, our host called to us to move up higher.
"I want to introduce you to Sir Arthur Twigg, Mainwaring," he said, indicating a pleasant-looking youth strongly resembling Dicky in appearance and bearing.
"Come to lunch with me to-morrow, Tiny," said Dicky hurriedly to me.
A few minutes later I heard him regretfully explaining to his host that an important legal consultation in his chambers at ten o'clock that evening would prevent him from joining the ladies afterwards in the drawing-room.
CHAPTER XI
THE FIRST TURNING TO THE RIGHT
Next day I lunched with The Freak in Hall in the Inner Temple, where I was introduced by my host to the surrounding company as a "distinguished engineer, who had dammed the Nile several times and was now prepared to speak disrespectfully of the Equator."