“Andwhatdidthatsweetyouthdo？”
“Turnedshell-pinkandlookedacrossthefarbluehillslikeadistressedcherubAmItalkingwildly，Polly？Letmesaymysay，andIshallbecalmOtherwiseI
maygoabroadanddisturb；5imlawithafeworiginalreflectionsExceptingalwaysyourownsweetself，thereisn’tasinglewomaninthelandwhounderstandsmewhenIam-what’stheword？”
“Tete-F~e~。”suggestedMrsMalLowe。
“Exactly！AndnowletushavetiffinThedemandsofSocietyareexhausting，andasMrs。
Delvillesays“-HereMrsHauksbee，tothehorrorofthekhitmatgars，lapsedintoaseriesofgrunts，whileMrsMallowestaredinlazysurprise。
’Godgieusagudeconceitofoorselves，’“saidMrsHauksbee，piously，returningtohernaturalspeech“。Now，inanyotherwomanthawouldhavebeenvulgarI
amconsuroedwithcuriositytoseeMrsBentIexpectcomplications。”
“Womanofoneidea。”saidMrsMallowe，shortly；“allcomplicationsarea~oldasthehills！I
havelivedthroughornearall~li-ALL？”
“Andyetdonotunderstandthatmciiandworrenneverbehavetwice~likeIamoldwhowasyoung-ifeverIputmyheadinyourlap，youdear，bigsceptic，youwilllearnthatmypartingisgaua~butnever，noneverhaveIlostmyinterestinmenandwomenPolly，IshallseethisbusinessOuttothebitterend。”
“Iamgoingtosleep。”saidMrsMallowe，calmly“IneverinterferewithmenorwomenunlessI
amcompelled。”
andsheretiredwithdignitytoherownroom。
MrsHauksbee’scuriositywasnotlongleftungratified，forMrs。
BentcameuptoSimlaafewdaysaftertheconversationfaithfullyreportedabove，andpervadedtheMallbyherhusband’sside。
“Behold！”saidMrsHauksbee，thoughtfullyrubbinghernose。
“Thatisthelastlinkofthechain，ifweomitthehusbandoftheDelville，whoeverhemaybe。
LetmeconsiderTheBentsandtheDelvillesinhabitthesamehotel；andtheDelvilleisdetestedbytheWaddy-doyouknowtheWaddy？-
whoisalmostasbigadowdTheWaddyalsoabominatesthemaleBent，forwhich，ifherothersinsdonotweightooheavily，shewilleve~tuallygotoHeaven。”
“Don’tbeirrrverent。”saidMrsMall3we“IlikeMrsBent’sface。”
“IamdiscussingtheWaddy。”returnedMrsHauksbee，loftily。
“TheWaddywilltakethefemaleBentapart，atterhavingborrowed-yes-everythingthatshecan，fromhairpinstobabies’bottles。
Such，mydear，islifeinahotelTheWaddywilltellthefemaleBentfactsandfictionsaboutTheDancingMasterandTheDowd。”
“Lucy，Ishouldlikeyoubetterifyouwerenotalwayslookingintopeople’sback-bed-rooms。”
“Aiiybodycanlookintotheirfrontdrawing-rooms；andrememberwhateverIdo，andwhateverI
look，Inevertalk-astheWaddywillLetushopethatTheDancingMaster’sgreasysmileandmannerofthepedagoguewillsoftentheheartofthatcow，hiswifeIfmouthsspeaktruth，Ishouldthinkthat226
WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
littleMrsBentcouldgetveryangryonoccasion。”
“Butwhatreasonhassheforbeingangry？”
“Whatreason！TheDancingMasterinhimselfisareasonHowdoesitgo？’Ifinhislifesometrivialerrorsfall，Lookinhisfaceandyou’llbelievethemall。’IampreparedtocreditanyevilofTheDancingMaster，becauseIhatehimsoAndTheDowdissodisgustinglybadlydressed“-“Thatshe，too，iscapableofe~eryiniquity？IalwaysprefertobelievethebestofeverybodyItsavessomuchtrouble。”
“VerygoodIprefertobelievetheWorstItsavesuselessexpenditureofsympathyAndyoumaybequitecertainthattheWaddybelieveswithme。”
MrsMallowesighedandmadenoanswer。
TheconversationwasholdenafterdinnerwhileMrsHauksbeewasdressingforadance。
“Iamtootiredtogo。”pleadedMrsMallowe，andMrsHauksbeeleftherinpeacetilltwointhemorning，whenshewasawareofemphaticknockingatherdoor。
“Don’tbeveryangry，dear。”saidMrsHauksbee“Myidiotofanayahhasgonehome，and，asI
hopetosleepto-night，thereisn’tasoulintheplacetounlaceme。”
“Ohthisistoobad！”saidMrsMallowesulkily。
“’Can’thelpitI’malone，lorngrass-widow，dear，butIwillnotsleepinmystaysAndsuchnews，too！Oh，dounlaceme，there’sadarling！TheDowd-TheDancingMaster-IandtheIlawleyBoy-YouknowtheNorthveranda？”
“HowcanIdoanythingifyouspinroundlikethis？”protestedMrs。
Mallowe，fumblingwiththeknotofthelaces。
“Oh，IforgetImusttellmytalewithouttheaidofyoureyesDoyouknowyou’velovelyeyes，dear？Welltobeginwith，ItooktheHawleyBoytoakalojuggah。”
“Didhewantmuchtaking？”
“Lots！Therewasanarrangementofloose-boxesinkanats，andshewasinthenextonetalkingtohim。”
“Which？How？Explain。”
“YouknowwhatImean-TheDow1andTheDancingMasterWecouldheareverywordandwelistenedshamelessly~’speciallytheHawleyBoyPolly，Iquitelovethatwoman！”
“ThisisinterestingThere！No~turnroundWhathappened？”
“OnemomentAh-h！BlessedreJiefI’vebeenlookingforwardtotakmgthemoffforthelasthalf-hour-whichisominousatmytimeoflifeBut，asIwassaying，welistenedandheardTheDowddrawlworsethaneverShedropsherfinalg’slikeabarmaidorablue-bloodedAide-de-Camp’Lookhe-ere，you’regettin’toofond0’me，’shesaid，andTheDancingMasterowneditwassoinlanguagethatnearlymademe~VTheDowdreflectedfoiawhileThen~eheardhersay，’Lookhe-ere，MisterBent，whyareyousuchanaw-fulliar？’InearlyexplodedwhileTheDancingMasterdeniedthechargeItseemsthathenevertoldherhewa。~amarriedman。”
’~Isaidhewouldn’t。”
“Andshehadtakenthistoheart，o~
~ersonalgrounds，IsupposeShedrawledalongforfiveminutes，reproachinghimwithhisperfidyandgrewquitemotherly’Nowyou’vegotanicelittlewifeofyourown-youhave，’shesaid’She’stentimestoogoodforafatoldmanlikeyou，and，lookhe-ere，younevertoldmeawordabouther，andI’vebeenthinkin’aboutitagooddeal，andI
thinkyou’realiar。’Wasn’tthatdelicious？TheDancingMastermaunderedandravedtilltheHawleyBoysuggestedthatheshouldburstinandheathimHisvoicerunsupintoanimpassionedsqueakwhenheisafraid。
TheDowdmustbeanextraordinarywomanSheexplainedthathadhebeenabachelorshemightnothaveobjectedtohisdevotion；butsincehewasamarriedmanandthefatherofaverynicebaby，sheconsideredhimahypocrite，andthissherepeatedtwiceShewoundupherdrawlwith：’AnI’mtellin’youthisbecauseyourwifeisangrywithme，an’Ihatequarrellin’withanyotherwoman，an’IlikeyourwifeYouknowhowyouhavebehavedforthelastsixweeksYoushouldn’thavedoneit，indeedyoushouldn’tYou’retoooldan’fat。’
Can’tyouimaginehowTheDancmgMasterwouldwinceatthat！’Nowgoaway，’shesaid’I
don’twanttotellyouwhatI
thinkofyou，becauseIthinkyouarenotniceI’llstayhe-eretillthenextdancebegins。’Didyouthinkthatthecreaturehadsomuchinher？”
“IneverstudiedherascloselyasyoudidItsoundsunnatural。
Whathappened？”
“TheDancingMasterattemptedblandishment，reproof，jocularity，andthestyleoftheLordHighWarden，andI
hadalmosttopinchtheHawleyBoytomakehimkeepquietShegruntedattheendofeachsentenceand，intheendhewentawayswearingtohimself，quitelikeamaninanovelHelookedmoreobjectionablethaneverIlaughedIlovethatwoman-inspiteofherclothesAndnowI’mgoingtobedWhatdoyouthinkofit？”
“Isha’n’tbegintothinktillthemorning。”saidMrsMallowe，yawning“PerhapsshespokethetruthTheydoflyintoitbyaccidentsometimes。”
MrsHauksbee’saccountofhereavesdroppingwasanornateonebuttrutlifulinthemainForreasonsbestknowntoherself，Mrs“Shady“DelvillehadturneduponMrBentandrenthimlimbfromlimb，castinghimawaylimpanddisconcertedereshewithdrewthelightofhereyesfromhimpermanentlyBeingamanofresource，andanythingbutpleasedinthathehadbeencalledbotholdandfat1hegaveMrsBenttounderstandthathehad，duringherabsenceintheDoon1beenthevictimofunceasingpersecutionatthehandsofMrsDelville，andhetoldthetalesooftenandwithsucheloquencethatheendedinbelievingit，whilehiswifemarvelledatthemannersandcustomsof“somewomen。”Whenthesituationshowedsignsoflanguishing，MrsWaddywasalwaysonhandtowakethesmoulderingfiresofsuspicioninMrsBent’sbosomandtocontributegenerallytothepeaceandcomfortofthehotelMrBent’slifewasnotahappyone，forifMrsWaddy’sstoryweretrue，hewas，arguedhiswife，untrustworthytothelastdegreeIfhisownstatementwastrue，hischarmsofmannerandconversationwereso128
WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
greatthatheneededconstantsurveillanceAndhereceivedit，tillherepentedgenuinelyofhismarriageandneglectedhispersonalappearanceMrsDelvillealoneinthehotelwasunchanged。
Sheremovedherchairsomesixpacestowardtheheadofthetable，andoccasionallyinthetwilightventuredontimidoverturesoffriendshiptoMrsBent，whichwererepulsed。
“Shedoesitformysake。”hintedtheVirtuousBent。
“Adangerousanddesigningwoman。”purredMrsWaddy。
Worstofall，everyotherhotelinSimlawasfull！