The Girl on the Boat

by P. G. Wodehouse

“I don’t know.”

“Is it infectious?”

“I expect so.”

“Great Heavens!” cried Mr. Bennett, and, lowering himself cautiously to the ground, squelched across the dripping grass.

In the hall, Webster the valet, dry and dignified, was tapping the barometer with the wrist action of an ambassador knocking on the door of a friendly monarch.

“A sharp downpour, sir,” he remarked.

“Have you been in the house all the time?” demanded Mr. Bennett.

“Yes, sir.”

“Didn’t you hear me shouting?”

“I did fancy I heard something, sir.”