And Now Good-bye Read Online Free PDF Page A

nearly twice as old…Nerve, that was
it—and Higgs had plenty of it. Cool-headed fellow climbing steadily up
the ladder which began with a seat on a local council and ended, quite
possibly, at Westminster. He was determined to get on in the world, and Howat
liked him for it.
    “Good morning, Higgs. I hope I’m not interrupting—I
thought I’d better call where I’d be sure of finding
you.”
    “Quite right. Do take a chair. I’ve an appointment in ten
minutes, but I daresay he’ll be late.”
    “Well, I don’t suppose my business will take more than the ten
minutes in any case. I only wanted to know the plans for the Armistice Day
service.”
    “Ah, yes. There’s been the usual fuss about it, you know. Or
perhaps you don’t know. Doxley of the Congregationals thought it was
unfair for the Baptist fellow to be given the opening prayer two years in
succession. So we’ve given him the opening prayer instead. The Vicar of
the Parish Church, of course, does the address—that seems to be
generally agreed upon. Then there’s the second prayer—Salcombe
rather wants that. Unfortunately that means you’ll have to take the
hymns, as you did last year and the year before. I don’t know how you
feel about it—if you object, then Salcombe will have to take his turn
with the hymns, whether he likes it or not, only he’s not so good at
the job—fusses with the tuning-fork for about five minutes before he
can get the note—I daresay you’ve seen him.”
    Howat smiled. “I don’t mind what I do—I’ll fit
myself in just wherever’s convenient. As it happens, I have absolute
pitch, so I don’t need a tuning-fork.”
    “Absolute pitch? What’s that?”
    One thing in Higgs that always especially attracted Howat was his
eagerness to assimilate any casual scrap of knowledge that might come his
way. He answered: “It means that if I want a certain note—middle
C, for instance—I know it, instantly, without having to think. Nothing
very unusual a good many people can do it.”
    “I see. A sort of gift? Must be very useful. You’re fond of
music, aren’t you, Freemantle?”
    “Yes, extremely.”
    “I think I’m beginning to be, too. When I’ve time to
spare I sometimes go down to the shop below and play over records. I like
Bach.” He pronounced it ‘Back’ and added: “By the
way, how should one say that fellow’s name—was I
right?”
    Howat replied: “Well, I think ‘Bark’ is nearer the
German pronunciation. But you don’t need to be too particular. Far more
important to enjoy him.”
    “Far more important to enjoy everything.” The youth’s
face clouded over with a look of half-truculent eagerness. “Which
reminds me, Freemantle, there’s that Sunday games question coming up
before the Council again. I suppose it’s no use trying to persuade you
to come over to our side?”
    “No good at all,” Howat answered, with a shake of the head.
“And you ought to know better than ask, after that last argument we
had.”
    “The trouble is, that last argument didn’t convince me. And
not only that, but it didn’t convince me that it convinced you,
either.”
    “Come now, that’s too subtle for a parson on Monday
morning.”
    Higgs leaned forward and tapped Howat’s knee with his forefinger.
“Look here, why can’t you be serious about it? I’ve always
had a sort of feeling you were the only parson in the town there was any hope
at all for.”
    “That’s very flattering.”
    “I mean it sincerely, flattering or not. We Labour fellows
constantly find you on our side in all sorts of things—the housing
question, unemployment grants—oh, any amount of matters that crop up.
What we sometimes wonder is why you don’t come over to us altogether.
Frankly, we’d welcome you just as wholeheartedly as we respect you
now.”
    Howat smiled, but rather wearily. He was in no mood for a political
argument, especially with such a notoriously