"'Ot work all round," said Mr. Hoopdriver.
"You could scarcely put it more appropriately. It is my rule of
life to do whatever I find to do with all my might. I believe,
indeed, that the bearings became red hot. Finally one of the
wheels jammed together. A side wheel it was, so that its stoppage
necessitated an inversion of the entire apparatus,--an inversion
in which I participated."
"Meaning, that you went over?" said Mr. Hoopdriver, suddenly much
amused.
"Precisely. And not brooking my defeat, I suffered repeatedly.
You may understand, perhaps, a natural impatience. I
expostulated--playfully, of course. Happily the road was not
overlooked. Finally, the entire apparatus became rigid, and I
abandoned the unequal contest. For all practical purposes the
tricycle was no better than a heavy chair without castors. It was
a case of hauling or carrying."
The clergyman's nutriment appeared in the doorway.
"Five miles," said the clergyman. He began at once to eat bread
and butter vigorously. "Happily," he said, "I am an eupeptic,
energetic sort of person on principle. I would all men were
likewise."
"It's the best way," agreed Mr. Hoopdriver, and the conversation
gave precedence to bread and butter.
"Gelatine," said the clergyman, presently, stirring his tea
thoughtfully, "precipitates the tannin in one's tea and renders
it easy of digestion."
"That's a useful sort of thing to know," said Mr. Hoopdriver.
"You are altogether welcome," said the clergyman, biting
generously at two pieces of bread and butter folded together.
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