"Tell me about her some other time."
"Any time that suits you, sir," said Mr. Flannery agreeably. "Well, I'll be off and putting the little car in the garridge."
He left the room, and Chimp, withdrawing his hands from his eyes, gave himself up to racking thought. A man recovering from knock-out drops must necessarily see things in a jaundiced light, but it is scarcely probable that, even had he been in robust health, Mr. Twist's meditations would have been much pleasanter. Condensed, they resolved themselves, like John's, into a passionate wish that he could meet Soapy Molloy again, if only for a moment.
And he had hardly decided that such a meeting was the only thing which life now had to offer, when the door opened again and the maid appeared.
"Mr. Molloy to see you, sir."
Chimp started from his chair.
"Show him in," he said in a tense, husky voice.
There was a shuffling noise without, and Soapy appeared in the doorway.
II