Denry explained to his mother that an
Englishwoman's cottage was her castle, that a landlord's minions had no
right to force an entrance, and that the one thing that Mr Wilbraham
could do was to begin unbuilding the cottage from the top outside....
And he would like to see Mr Wilbraham try it on!
So the sealskin mantle (for it was spring again) went up with Denry to
Bleakridge.
IV
The moon shone in the chill night. The house stood back from Trafalgar
Road in the moonlight--a squarish block of a building.
"Oh!" said Mrs Machin, "it isn't so large."
"No! He didn't want it large. He only wanted it large enough," said
Denry, and pushed a button to the right of the front door. There was no
reply, though they heard the ringing of the bell inside. They waited.
Mrs Machin was very nervous, but thanks to her sealskin mantle she was
not cold.
"This is a funny doorstep," she remarked, to kill time.
"It's of marble," said Denry.
"What's that for?" asked his mother.
"So much easier to keep clean," said Denry.
"Well," said Mrs Machin, "it's pretty dirty now, anyway."
It was.
"Quite simple to clean," said Denry, bending down.
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