“Do they? How very fortunate!”
“We should hate to miss it even for a moment.”
“Oh, Mr. Vivian!” whispered Lady Julia, “this is dreadful. I’m almost sure he’s brought it with him.”
“No, no. It’s not alive.”
“A dead mouse!”
“It’s a river.”
“A river! But he said it was a mouse.”
“It’s both. Mr. Sagittarius,” added the Prophet, in a loud and desperate tone of voice, “you’ll find this champagne quite dry. You needn’t be afraid of it.”
“Did you get it from by the rabbit shop, sir?” asked Mr. Sagittarius, lifting his glass. “I ordered a dozen in, only the day before yesterday.”
Lady Julia began to tremble.