The Card, a Story of Adventure in the Five Towns

in. He was not only regarded by the whole town as a fellow wonderful and dazzling, but he so regarded himself. He could not get over it. He had alw

med into an oyster; and Denry felt strangely that the oyster-knife was lying about somewhere handy, but just ou

l. The money had been largely invested in mortgage on cottage property; the interest on it had not been paid, and latterly Mrs Codleyn had been obliged to foreclose, thus becoming the owner of some seventy cottages. Mrs Codleyn, though they brought her in about twelve pounds a week gross, esteem

f the revaluation drops you to thirty-five pounds, it means thirty-five shillings in your pocket, which is a box of Havanas or a fancy waistcoat. Is not this exciting? And there are seven thousand houses in Bursley. Mrs Codleyn hoped that her rateable value would be reduced. She based the hope chiefly on the fact that she was a client of Mr Duncalf, the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk was not the Borough Surveyor and had nothing to do with the revaluation. Moreover, Mrs Codleyn persumably [Transcriber's note: sic] entrust

dissatisfaction with which she had learned the news (printed on a bit of bluish p

city for its lack of ceremony. When the stairs had finished creaking under the descent of Mrs Codleyn's righteous fury, Mr

said his master, r

enry was not a personage of high importance in the town, the f

you

s,

if, after our interview this morning, and your extraordinary remarks, you wish to place your interests in other h

e always like that-hypercritical. Also: "Well, I jolly well hope she does chuck him! Then I shan't have those rents to collect." Every Monday, and often on Tuesday, too, Denry

o," said M

he room Mr Duncalf called

chi

s,

dal wave. And for one little second it seemed to him that to have danced with a countess while the flower of B

day after the ball, beneath his great glory, he had trembled to meet Mr Duncalf's eye, lest Mr Duncalf should ask him: "Machin, what were you doing at the Town Hall last night, behaving a

you to the Mayor's ball?" dem

s! And a very di

t. Transparent veracity. He s

hy

otten to put my name down on

ou thought I'd also forgotten to pu

the classic established tailor of the town, Hatterton, whose trade Shillitoe

uncalf, after a judici

castle of his silence, w

self dancing with your betters?"

id Denry.

ou?" The trick of speech had been enormously effective with Shillitoe, for instance, and with the Countess. He was in process of acquiring renown for it. Certainly it was effective now.

k's notice," said M

employers are so unscrup

; and to himself he said: "

enting on Denry the annoyance induced in him by Mrs Codleyn. But it is remarkable that he was not depressed at all. No! he went about with songs and whistling, though he had no prospects except starvation or living on his mothe