Wave both arms--backward bend. Recover.
Jazz--tangle--tickle-toe was nothing to it.
"Slippery, isn't it?" he said. "My flannel was frozen to the
wash-stand to-day--had to get it off with a chisel."
I was prepared for these travellers' tales. I knew he was leading up
to water-pipes.
"Couldn't get my cold tub," he went on; "frozen solid overnight."
I had heard of this cold tub before. "My tooth-brush froze on to my
teeth," I capped him; "the teapot spout was hung with icicles, and the
cat's tongue froze on to the milk when it was drinking."
"How about your pipes?" he began, "Who was right about wrapping?"
"Rapping," I said in well-feigned innocence--"rapping? Who rapped?
Rapped on what?"
That set him going.
I gathered when we reached the station there was a strike on. But we
found a milk-lorry travelling our way. So Smith had the entire use of
my right ear into which to say, "I told you so," for an hour, while we
travelled to the spot on which we win our bread. He had dragged from
me the fact that our hot-water tap had also struck. The milk cans
clattered. Smith chattered. So did my teeth.
When I got home that night our house seemed to be more handsomely
garnished with icicles than any other house I had seen that day.
"Keep the home fires burning!" I said to my wife on entering. "If need
be, burn the banisters and the bills and my boot-trees and everything
else beginning with a 'b.
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