THIS WAY TO THE
BLOODY HAND ➔
In the stable was a row of old chairs all turned out of the house at various times because of broken backs and legs. As a matter of fact, the caste were little concerned with the audience. The great point was that they were going to act a play—they scarcely cared whether anyone watched it or not. Upon a broken chair in the middle sat a small child, attracted by the notice. Her chair had only lost one leg, so, by sitting well on to one side, she managed to maintain an upright position on it. At a stern demand for money from William, she had shyly slipped a halfpenny into the fern-pot, which served the double purpose of head-gear and pay-desk. She now sat—an enthralled spectator—while the caste dressed and argued before her.
Outside down the road came the Great Man. He had come by an earlier train by mistake and was walking slowly towards the village hall, intensely bored by the prospect of the afternoon. He stopped suddenly, arrested by a notice on a side gate:
THIS WAY TO THE
BLOODY HAND ➔
He took out his watch. Half an hour to spare. He hesitated a moment, then walked firmly towards the Bloody Hand. Inside an outhouse a group of curiously-dressed children stared at him unsmilingly. One of them, who was dressed in a rug and a fern-pot, addressed him with a stern frown.
INSIDE AN OUTHOUSE A GROUP OF CURIOUSLY-DRESSED
CHILDREN STARED AT HIM UNSMILINGLY.
"We're jus' going to begin," he said, "sit down."