PODBURY places himself in a
position from which he can command a view of the Musik-saal,
over the top of "ueber Land und Meer," and awaits results._
* * * * *
STORICULES.
VI.--BUDWELL'S REVENGE.
My friend, THOMAS GIDLING, is something indefinite and authoritative
in the Post Office. He is a practical man. He can do fretwork, cook a
steak, clean boots, find out what's wrong with the gas, and understand
Waterloo Station; in an emergency he is invaluable. This is just as
well, because destiny has decided that the life of THOMAS GIDLING
shall be a series of emergencies. He has comfortable bachelor
quarters at the very top of Parkington Chambers, which are situated in
Bloomsbury.
[Illustration]
One night last winter I had been dining with GIDLING at his Club;
after dinner he proposed that we should go round to his flat for a
talk and a smoke. GIDLING, being practical, can make coffee, which is
a thing that they cannot do at GIDLING's Club, nor, indeed, at many
others. So I consented.
We had climbed painfully to the top of Parkington Chambers, and had
just got inside GIDLING's outer door, when we noticed a very marked
and curious smell. "There's something wrong about this," remarked
GIDLING, severely.
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