“Perfectly,” replied Mr Bunker, with great gravity.
“Zen vy did ze Lady Hilton schream and ze ozzer Lady Hilton cry, ‘Ach, zat German man!’ And vy did ze old lady schream to ze gentleman, ‘Send him avay! How dare you? Insolence!’ and suchlike vords?”
“What remarkable conduct, my dear Baron!” said Mr Bunker.
“Remargable!” roared the justly incensed Baron. “Is it not more zan remargable? Donner und blitzen! Mon Dieu! Blood! I know not ze English vord so bad enoff for soch conduct.”
“It must have been a joke,” his friend suggested, soothingly.
“Vun dashed bad joke, zen! Ze gentleman said to me, ‘Get out of zis, you rasgal!’ ‘Vat mean you, sare?’ say I. ‘You know quite vell,’ said he. ‘Glear out!’ [pg 122] So I gave him my card and tell him I would be glad to see his frient zat he should send, for zat I vas not used to be called zo. Zen I raise my hat to ze Lady Hilton and say, ‘Adieu, madame, I know now ze English lady,’ and I valk on. Himmel!”
“What a very extraordinary affair, Baron!”
The Baron grunted with inarticulate indignation and nearly pulled his moustache out by the roots. Abruptly he broke out again, “English ladies? I do not believe zey are ladies! Never haf I been treated zo! Vat do you mean, Bonker, by taking me among soch peoples?”
“I, my dear Baron? It was not I who introduced you to the Hiltons. I never saw them before.”
The difficulty of attaching any blame to his friend seemed to have anything but a soothing effect on the Baron. You could almost fancy that you heard his tail lash the floor.