A Gentleman of Leisure P. G. Wodehouse (list of ebook readers TXT) đ
- Author: P. G. Wodehouse
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For a moment Spike looked wistful. Then his countenance resumed its woodenness. âDere ainât no use for me dis side, boss,â he said. âNew Yorkâs de spot. Youse donât want none of me now youâre married. Howâs Miss Molly, boss?â
âSplendid, Spike, thanks. Weâre going over to France by tonightâs boat.
âItâs been a queer business,â said Jimmy, after a pauseâ ââa deuced queer business. Still, Iâve come very well out of it, at any rate. It seems to me that youâre the only one of us who doesnât end happily, Spike. Iâm married. McEachernâs butted into society so deep that it would take an excavating party with dynamite to get him out of it. Mollyâ âwell, Mollyâs made a bad bargain, but I hope she wonât regret it. Weâre all going some, except you. Youâre going out on the old trail againâ âwhich begins in Third Avenue and ends in Sing Sing. Why tear yourself away, Spike?â
Spike concentrated his gaze on a weedy young emigrant in a blue jersey, who was having his eye examined by the overworked doctor, and seemed to be resenting it.
âDereâs nuttinâ doinâ dis side, boss,â he said at length. âI want to get busy.â
âUlysses Mullins!â said Jimmy, looking at him curiously. âI know the feeling. Thereâs only one cure. I sketched it out for you once, but I doubt if youâll ever take it. You donât think a lot of women, do you? Youâre the rugged bachelor.â
âGoilsâ â!â began Spike comprehensively, and abandoned the topic without dilating on it further.
âDose were great jools, boss,â said Spike thoughtfully.
âI believe youâre still brooding over them, Spike.â
âWe could have got away wit dem, if youâd have stood for itâ âdead easy.â
âYou are brooding over them. Spike, Iâll tell you something which will console you a little before you start out on your wanderings. Itâs in confidence, so keep it dark. That necklace was paste.â
âWhatâs dat?â
âNothing but paste. I spotted it directly you handed them to me. It wasnât worth a hundred dollars.â
A light of understanding came into Spikeâs eyes. His face beamed with the smile of one to whom dark matters are made clear.
âSo datâs why you wouldnât stand for getting away wit it!â he exclaimed.
The last voyager had embarked. The deck was full to congestion.
âTheyâll be sending us ashore in a minute,â said Jimmy. âIâd better be moving. Let me know how youâre getting on, Spike, from time to time. You know the address. And, I say, itâs just possible you may find you want a dollar or two every now and thenâ âwhen youâre going to buy another aeroplane, for instance. Well, you know where to write to for it, donât you?â
âTâanks, boss. But datâll be all right. Iâm goinâ to sit in at anodder game dis timeâ âpolitics, boss. A frâenâ of a mug what I knows has gotten a pull. Heâll find me a job.â
âPolitics!â said Jimmy. âI never thought of that. âMy brother Dan is an alderman with a grip on the Seventh Ward!âââ he quoted softly. âWhy, youâll be a boss before you know where you are.â
âSure,â said Spike, grinning modestly.
âYou ought to be a thundering success in American politics,â said Jimmy. âYouâve got all the necessary qualities.â
A steward passed.
âAny more for the shore?â
âWell, Spikeâ ââ said Jimmy.
âGoodbye, boss.â
âGoodbye,â said Jimmy. âAnd good luck.â
The sun had gone behind the clouds. As the ship slid out on its way a stray beam pierced the greyness.
It shone on a red head.
ColophonA Gentleman of Leisure
was published in 1921 by
P. G. Wodehouse.
This ebook was produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
John Rambow,
and is based on a transcription produced in 2021 by
D. A. Alexander, , Stephen Hutcheson, and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team
for
Project Gutenberg
and on digital scans available at the
Internet Archive.
The cover page is adapted from
Chester Dale,
a painting completed in 1922 by
George Bellows.
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