Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper by Donald Henderson

Author:Donald Henderson [Donald Henderson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII

MR BOWLING idly kicked the log and watched the sparks fly. The red firelight lit the crease in his trousers, there was something about neatly creased flannel. He thought sadly: ‘I’m not going to flatter myself that I am the chosen instrument of Delius’s entry into the Next World. It isn’t that … But what I mean to say is, he doesn’t know what’s coming, he knows no fear, it won’t take long, and surely the point is we should all be prepared to die at any moment of any day, the war must at least have taught us that? The blitz must have taught us that? I mean,’ he thought, ‘it is up to each of us, isn’t it?’ And he turned and thought:

‘It’s a bit different with me—I happen to want to go.’

The old dog was barking out there, and Delius said what about letting the brute in for a bit. He laughed sheepishly. ‘My wife doesn’t allow it, but Pots and I have our secrets!’

The only regret, Mr Bowling thought, was separating the old chap from his dog.

‘Do you mind very much if we don’t have him in?’ he said quietly to Nandle.

Nandle stopped by the door and looked his astonishment. His tall, stooping figure threw an enormous shadow across the low ceiling and across the far wall, blotting out the white alcove there. His face took on a shy, babyish expression, rather quaint, as if he was thinking, oh, dear, I hope my guest isn’t going to be hard to entertain, have I said the wrong thing?

‘I’m frightfully sorry,’ he said to his guest slowly and shyly, and hovering with a hand on the door. ‘I thought you liked dogs!’

Bowling was standing with his hands in his pockets.

‘I do like them, old chap,’ he replied in a breezy way, staring down at his shoes.

‘I wouldn’t have …’

‘No, no, I just have a slight headache, as a matter of fact.’

‘I say, I’m most …!’

‘Nothing at all, only a very slight one. I thought the dear old dog, though I love him …’

‘But of course, we don’t want the brute bounding about if you’re like that! Look here, I’ve got some aspirin somewhere!’

‘No …’

‘They’re in Fairy’s room. I’ll go up, it won’t take a second.’

‘I don’t want to trouble you, old man, really.’

‘I insist! No, really, it’s no trouble at all, Bowling. The reverse.’ He went out and there was the sound of his footsteps going up the creaky stairs, all mountainous shadows, and the glimpse of his red, worried face, as if he was thinking: ‘I wonder why he said that about Pots, he was so kind to the dog after lunch, had the brute on his knee, even. I hope he’s not ill …? I wonder how long he is going to stay, he said he’d be off before Fairy and Niggs got back, but he doesn’t seem to be making a move, is he bored?’ The lines deepened into his bit of a forehead.

He went up the stairs and went into Fairy’s room and hunted about for the aspirin.

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