The Project Gutenberg EBook of Will Warburton, by George Gissing

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Will Warburton

Author: George Gissing

Posting Date: July 12, 2009 [EBook #4310]
Release Date: August, 2003
First Posted: January 3, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILL WARBURTON ***

Produced by Charles Aldarondo. HTML version by Al Haines.

Will Warburton

by

George Gissing

CHAPTER 1

The sea-wind in his hair, his eyes agleam with the fresh memory of
Alpine snows, Will Warburton sprang out of the cab, paid the driver a
double fare, flung on to his shoulder a heavy bag and ran up, two steps
at a stride, to a flat on the fourth floor of the many-tenanted
building hard by Chelsea Bridge. His rat-tat-tat brought to the door a
thin yellow face, cautious in espial, through the narrow opening.

"Is it you, sir?"

"All right, Mrs. Hopper! How are you?--how are you?"

He threw his bag into the passage, and cordially grasped the woman's
hands.

"Dinner ready? Savagely hungry. Give me three minutes, and serve."

For about that length of time there sounded in the bedroom a splashing
and a blowing; then Warburton came forth with red cheeks. He seized
upon a little pile of letters and packets which lay on his
writing-table, broke envelopes, rent wrappers, and read with now an
ejaculation of pleasure, now a grunt of disgust, and again a mirthful
half roar. Then, dinner--the feeding of a famished man of robust
appetite and digestion, a man three or four years on the green side of
thirty. It was a speedy business, in not much more than a quarter of an
hour there disappeared a noble steak and its appurtenances, a
golden-crusted apple tart, a substantial slice of ripe Cheddar, two
bottles of creamy Bass.

"Now I can talk!" cried Will to his servant, as he threw himself into a
deep chair, and began lighting his pipe. "What's the news? I seem to
have been away three months rather than three weeks."

"Mr. Franks called yesterday, sir, late in the afternoon, when I was
here cleaning. He was very glad to hear you'd be back to-day, and said
he might look in to-night."

"Good! What else?"

"M