All the men believe the war's a certainty."
"I don't think I will, old man, if it's all the same to you. I'll stay quiet
here."
"And meditate? I don't blame you. You observe a good time if ever a man did."
That night there was a tumult on the stairs. The correspondents poured in from
theatre, dinner, and music-hall to Torpenhow's room that they might discuss
their plan of campaign in the event of military operations becoming a
certainty. Torpenhow, the Keneu,, and the Nilghai had bidden all the men they
had worked with to the orgy; and Mr. Beeton, the housekeeper, declared that
never before in his checkered experience had he seen quite such a fancy lot of
gentlemen. They waked the chambers with shoutings and song; and the elder men
were quite as bad as the younger. For the chances of war were in front of them,
and all knew what those meant.
Sitting in his own room a little perplexed by the noise across the landing,
Dick suddenly began to laugh to himself.
"When one comes to think of it the situation is intensely comic. Maisie"s quite
right--poor little thing. I didn't know she could cry like that before; but now
I know what Torp thinks, I'm sure he'd be quite fool enough to stay at home and
try to console me--if he knew.
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