An Act In A Backwater - 1905 Author:E. F. Benson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III A FORTNIGHT later Jeannie, Miss Fortes- cue, and Arthur were all staying at the Black Eagle Hotel, employed in settling in. Morton had been let, b... more »ut let unfurnished, and in order to avoid the expense of storing, it was laid upon them that they should cram as much furniture into 8 Bolton Street as it would possibly hold. Thus from morning to night the greater part of the street was congested with Pantechnicon vans, and Jeannie and Arthur might be seen many hours a day measuring wardrobes, and finding for the most part that they would not go into any of the rooms. Miss Fortescue sat in a large chair in the middle of the street and made scathing comments on the appearance and behaviour of the others. " I little thought," said this magisterial lady one day, " that the time would come when I should see my nephew in his shirtsleeves wrestling with towel-horses in the Queen's highway." " No, dear Aunt," said Arthur, " and if you will look round you will see a distressed bicyclist who wants to pass. You must move." Miss Clifford, in fact, was approaching. She did not ride with any overpowering command over her machine, and from the desire to avoid Miss Fortescue was making a bee- line for her. A collision was just avoided by Miss Fortescue's extreme agility in removing herself and her chair. A wardrobe was just blocking the front door, and Arthur threw himself down in another unoccupied chair for a moment's rest. Jeannie's voice sounded in passionate appeal from inside the hall, but till the wardrobe had been passed it was impossible to go to her aid. " Oh, it is hot! " he said. " Why on earth did we move in this broiling weather? Aunt Em, dear, I'm going to send for some beer from that wine-merchant's opposite, and if you don't like to see me drink it in ...« less