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 some heat. "Do you think Marion could grill bacon so that a self-respecting human being could eat it?"

"She might have been taught," said the duke.

"Taught! Taught!" cried the Honorable John Ruffin. "Oh, this is a father's fond partiality. I did not expect to find it in a man of the world like you, Osterley. You must know that the power of grilling bacon is a heaven-sent gift. It can't be learned."

"But how do you explain that dog?" said the duke obstinately.

The Honorable John Ruffin could very well have explained that Wiggs had made the acquaintance of Pollyooly when she was impersonating Marion at Ricksborough Court. Instead of doing so, he cried indignantly: "I don't explain dogs; I explain the law. I'm a barrister, not a biologist—as you very well know, if you will only stop to think. But I'll tell you what we'll do; we'll all go down to the kitchen, and Pollyooly—Mary Bride—shall grill you some bacon. That will quite convince you."

"I've no fancy for bacon at six o'clock in the day," said the duke gloomily. "I suppose I've made a mistake."