"
"Then you go alone," said I. "I don't forget the last time you went."
"What happened?" said Adele, her eyes lighted with expectation.
Berry sighed.
"It was most unfortunate," he said. "You see, it was like this. B-behind
a b-barrier there was a b-booth with a lot of b-bottles, at which you
were b-bothered to throw b-balls. If you b-broke three b-bottles----"
"This nervous alliteration," interposed Adele, "is more than I can
b-bear."
"--you received a guerdon which you were encouraged to select from a
revolting collection of bric-a-brac which was displayed in all its glory
upon an adjacent stall. Laden with munitions, I advanced to the
rails.... Unhappily, in the excitement of the moment, I mistook my
objective.... It was a most natural error. Both were arranged in tiers,
both were pleading for destruction."
"Nonsense," said Daphne. "You did it on purpose. You know you did. I
never saw anything more deliberate in all my life."
"Not at all," replied her husband. "I was confused. A large and critical
crowd had collected to watch my prowess, and I was pardonably nervous."
"But what happened?" said Adele.
"Well," said I, "naturally nobody was expecting such a move, with the
result that the brute got off about six balls before they could stop
him.
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