“Is that you, Johnny?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You needn’t ship the early mail—nor any mail; wait till I tell you.”
“It’s already gone, sir.”
“Gone?” It had the sound of an unspeakable disappointment in it.
“Yes, sir. Time-table for Brixton and all the towns beyond changed to-day, sir—had to get the papers in twenty minutes earlier than common. I had to rush; if I had been two minutes later—”
The men turned and walked slowly away, not waiting to hear the rest. Neither of them spoke during ten minutes; then Cox said, in a vexed tone,
“What possessed you to be in such a hurry, I can’t make out.”
The answer was humble enough:
“I see it now, but somehow I never thought, you know, until it was too late. But the next time—”