“Certainly not!” she disclaimed indignantly. “This was a real mule. You’re very impertinent.”
“Well, you see, he was impertinent to me, saying he was out when he was in. What is his decision—yes or no?”
“No.”
A sharp exclamation came from the nook below.
“Is that the entomological synonym for ‘damn’?” she inquired.
“It’s a lament for time wasted on a—Well, never mind that.”
“But he wants you to carry a message by that secret route of yours. Will you do it for him?”
“No!”
“That’s not being a very kind or courteous beetle man.”
“I owe Mr. Brewster no courtesy.”