"I would."
"Have you no heart?"
"No."
"No human feeling?"
"No."
The Bandit turned to Mrs. Bingo. You could see his spirit was broken.
"Do your shoes squeak?" he asked humbly.
"No."
"Then come on in."
"Thank you," said Mrs. Bingo.
She turned for an instant to Bingo, and there was a look in her eyes
that one of those damsels in distress might have given the knight as he
shot his cuffs and turned away from the dead dragon. It was a look of
adoration, of almost reverent respect. Just the sort of look, in fact,
that a husband likes to see.
"Darling!" she said.
"Darling!" said Bingo.
"Angel!" said Mrs. Bingo.
"Precious!" said Bingo. "Come along, Bertie, let's get at that car."
He was silent till he had fetched the can of gasoline and filled the
tank and screwed the cap on again. Then he drew a deep breath.
"Bertie," he said, "I am ashamed to admit it, but occasionally in the
course of a lengthy acquaintance there have been moments when I have
temporarily lost faith in Jeeves."
"My dear chap!" I said, shocked.
"Yes, Bertie, there have. Sometimes my belief in him has wabbled. I
have said to myself, 'Has he the old speed, the ancient vim?' I shall
never say it again. From now on, childlike trust. It was his idea,
Bertie, that if a couple of women headed for tea suddenly found the cup
snatched from their lips, so to speak, they would turn and rend each
other. Observe the result."
"But dash it, Jeeves couldn't have known that the car would break down."
"On the contrary. He let all the gasoline out of the tank when you sent
him to fetch the machine--all except just enough to carry it well into
the wilds beyond the reach of human aid. He foresaw what would happen.
I tell you, Bertie, Jeeves stands alone."
"Absolutely."
"He's a marvel."
"A wonder."
"A wizard."
"A stout fellow," I agreed. "Full of fat-soluble vitamins."
"The exact expression," said young Bingo. "And now let's go and tell
Rosie the car is fixed, and then home to the tankard of ale."
"Not the tankard of ale, old man," I said firmly. "The hot Scotch and
water with a spot of lemon in it."
"You're absolutely right," said Bingo. "What a flair you have in these
matters, Bertie. Hot Scotch and water it is."