“Frightened me!” spluttered the old gentleman. “I am not afraid, sir. I am an honest man who need fear no one, sir. I do not believe you dropped your hat. It is perfectly uninjured.”
“It may be news to you, sir,” replied Mr Bunker, “that by gently yet firmly passing the sleeve of your coat round your hat in the direction of the nap, it is possible [pg 119] to restore the gloss. Thus,” and suiting the action to the word he took off his hat, drew his coat-sleeve across it, and with a genial smile at the old gentleman, replaced it on his head.
But his neighbour was evidently of that truculent disposition which merely growls at blandishments. He snorted and replied testily, “That is all very well, sir, but I don’t believe a word of it.”
“If you prefer it, then, I fell off the telegraph wires in an attempt to recover my boots.”
The old gentleman became purple in the face.
“Have a care, sir! I am a director of this company, and at the next station I shall see that you give a proper account of yourself. And here we are, sir. I trust you have a more credible story in readiness.”
As he spoke they drew up beside an underground platform, and the irascible old gentleman, with a very threatening face that was not yet quite cleared of alarm, bustled out in a prodigious hurry. Mr Bunker lay back in his seat and replied with a smile, “I shall be delighted to tell any story within the bounds of strict propriety.”
But the moment he saw the irate director disappear in the crowd he whipped out too, and with the least possible delay transferred himself into a third-class carriage.
From his seat near the window he watched the old gentleman hurry back with three officials at his heels, and hastily search each first-class compartment in turn. The last one was so near him that he could hear his friend say, “Damn it, the rascal has bolted in the crowd!” [pg 120] And with that the four of them rushed off to the barrier to intercept or pursue this suspicious character. Then the whistle blew, and as the train moved off Mr Bunker remarked complacently, if a little mysteriously, to himself, “Well, whoever I am, it would seem I’m rather difficult to catch.”