The Mystery of the Venus Island Fetish by Dido Butterworth & Tim Flannery

Author:Dido Butterworth & Tim Flannery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2014-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Abotomy had set off for the city in his Phantom a few days after Dithers made his escape. As the countryside swept by, he kept breaking into gales of laughter. Dithers’ puzzlement when he couldn’t get his shoes on! And the look on his face when he’d seen the stallion gelded! But the exploding toilet! That trumped it all. He’d planned that piece of devilry after Dithers had mentioned his fear of spiders. Banning the visitor from the inside bathroom was part of the joke, but the explosion was just good luck. Portia had told her husband about the black snake, of course, but he’d pretended not to believe her. He’d watched the entire thing—from the moment Dithers entered the ancient outhouse to the hug Portia had planted on him as he stepped out of the shower. The icing on the cake was the look on Dithers’ face when Abotomy appeared. The poor fellow’s tossle must have shrunk to the size of his little finger! How Abotomy had stopped himself from collapsing in hysterics, he did not know.

Neighbours had kept the squire informed of Dithers’ travels. And when the swagman returned the bike, Abotomy knew the curator was safe. The jest, he reflected, had done a wonder of good. Portia had seemed to go off sex as the pregnancy progressed, but now she was positively kittenish—perhaps to appease him. And Dithers, bless him, had given him the name of that expert on antiquities. He hadn’t entirely trusted Bunkdom. But before he visited Herringbone-Trout he must deliver his haul of specimens to Vere Griffon. And he wanted to beat Dithers back to the museum.

‘Delighted, old chap, to have you back,’ the director said. ‘And even more delighted to see that you’ve succeeded in procuring specimens. I do hope Dithers proved useful?’

A thundercloud crossed Abotomy’s face, the intensity of which alarmed Vere Griffon. ‘Young whelp was sniffing around Portia. And he went missing without leave,’ Abotomy growled.

‘I’m shocked, Chumley. Deeply shocked. Dithers is no deserter. He was decorated in the war, you know. Highly decorated. And he’s a Christ’s College man, like myself. Are you sure there’s no misunderstanding?’

‘Portia did say it was all a colossal mistake. But then, she would. Still, if I so much as catch him anywhere near her again, I’ll have his balls for breakfast. Make sure you tell him that, Vere!’

‘I’ll have a word,’ said Griffon. ‘But I can’t believe that a man like Dithers would cause offence in any way, at least not intentionally. After all, he is so supremely grateful to you for funding his Africa venture.’

‘Well, never mind that.’

‘In any case, Dithers’ absence has been a godsend. I’ve had control over the mammal collection and have selected three Tasmanian tigers for exchange with Giglione. Given the state of his office, I suspect it will be some time before Dithers misses them. They’re in my safe, along with the Bathurst meteorite, awaiting shipment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.