Page:Bambi (1914).djvu/24

12 “That will do, Ardelia.”

“Yassum,” said the handmaiden, and withdrew.

“Now, go on.”

“I was full of my big act, so I walked and walked for hours. Then I lay down in the summer-house, and I must have gone to sleep.”

“Go up and take a bath, and come down to some breakfast. I will send Ardelia to get some of father’s things for you if you need them.”

“All right, but don’t delay with breakfast. If I don’t get this act down, I may lose it. That fiend, in female guise, held my paper.”

“Go on! Get ready!”

He plunged out, and Bambi went to send Ardelia to him, while she cooked his eggs and fried his bacon. As she worked, she smiled, out of sheer amusement.

In due course of time, he appeared, freshened up, and with renewed eagerness to be at work. He scarcely noticed Bambina as she served his breakfast. He ate as if he were starved.

“I suppose the landlady held your clothes?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. It was unimportant.”

“How much do you owe her?”

He looked at her in surprise.