ernestine got up from the sofa. as she did, the doorbell rang.
whoever can that be, she wondered.
she walked slowly over to the door and looked through the peephole.
she saw a little man wearing an overcoat two sizes too large for him, sort of weaselly looking but not very threatening.
how did this creature get in here, she wondered, i will have to berate the management. or maybe not, what a bore.
she opened the door suddenly. “i believe you have the wrong door,” she told the little weaselly man. “you have no business with anybody here.”
”is jemmy here?” the little man asked, in no way abashed by ernestine’s forceful declaration.
“jemmy is most assuredly not here,” ernestine replied with a smile.
“jemmy, are you in there?” the little man called.
jeremy appeared behind ernestne. “what is it, raffy?” he asked. “it must be serious, for you to come here. i hope it is.”
“oh, it is serious, jem. hobie has spilled the beans to gumm, and it’s all up. gumm is probably right behind me, so we have to make tracks fast.”
“good heavens, what is all this?” exclaimed ernestine. “jeremy, do you mean to tell me you know this person?”
“yes, i am afraid i do, my dear.”
“but - i don’t understood. you are a respected member of the opposition party. and this little fellow is - “
“come, my dear,” jeremy laughed. “don’t play the innocent. i have a secret life, like most human beings, as i am sure you do yourself. i just happen to have got caught, that’s all. now if you will excuse me .”
jeremy turned back to the title man he had addressed as “raffy”. “i assume you have a car outside.”
but another voice interrupted him “not so fast, jem.”
a man appeared behind raffy, a hulking bearlike brute with a small head, a wide hat, and a scowl on his round features.
“oh there you are, bootsie,” jeremy drawled. “hold on, i will be right with you, as soon as i get my coat.”
“never mind that gammon, jem. what about her?” he gestured with his thumb at ernestine.
“oh, you don’t have to worry about ernie, she won’t peach. will you, my dear?”
“i am not sure what i would ‘peach’ about” ernestine answered.
“she will have to come with us,” bootsie announced.
jeremy shrugged. “she night be in the way.”
“i will be the judge of that,” bootsie answered.
“well,” jeremy laughed pleasantly, “it looks like we have a standoff.”
“majority rules,” bootsie countered. " we will let raffy decide. what say you, raffy? shall we take her or leave her?”
raffy took his time answering, looking ernestine up and down. “she’s a right foxy-looking bird, though a bit long in the tooth. i say we take her.”
jeremy sighed. “let us get our coats, my dear,” he told ernestine.
“but -“
“come, come, it has been decided. you might enjoy it. you have always said you wished for more excitement in your life.”
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