"I'm not," he said in a dogged voice. "I wasn't 'hanging back.' I only wanted to see if those porters"
"Never mind! I don't want to hear"
"Oh, dear!" Olivia moaned. "Mother!"
"Nice day," Le Seyeux ventured cheerfully. "Fine ride. This our floor here. Lovely suite for you, sir. Big rooms. Fireplaces. Splendid beds. Everything good."
The apartment was as excellent as he promised; and Tinker was pleased to find a desk in the room set apart for himself. He congratulated the courier warmly upon the selection of these pleasant quarters; then surreptitiously shook his head at him as a sign to be gone upon his secret errand;—Le Seyeux gave him a look of complete reassurance on that point, and departed. A few minutes later Tinker went cautiously to the desk and sat down in a chair before it.
Mrs. Tinker called instantly from the bed where she reposed in the adjoining chamber. "What are you doing now? What do you have to be moving around so much in there for? Why can't you lie down like a Christian and let people get a little rest? Are you fixing to go out somewhere by yourself?
