TEXT A "Heavens!" exclaimed the
aunt of Clovis, "here’s someone I know bearing down on us. I can’t remember his
name, but be lunched with us once in Town. Tarrington--yes, that’s it. He’s
heard of the picnic I’m giving for the Princess, and he’ll cling to me like a
lifebelt till I give him an invitation; then he’ll ask if he may bring all his
wives and mothers and sisters with him. That’s the worst of these small
watering-places; one can’t escape from anybody." "I’ll fight a
rearguard action for you if you like to do a bolt now," volunteered Clovis;
"you’ve a clear ten yards start if you don’t lose time." The aunt of Clovis
responded gamely to the suggestion, and churned away like a Nile steamer, with a
long brown ripple of spaniel trailing in her wake. "Pretend you don’t know him,"
was her parting advice, tinged with the reckless courage of the
non-combatant. The next moment the overtures of an affably
disposed gentleman were being received by Clovis with a "silent-upon a
peak-in-Darien" stare which denoted an absence of all previous acquaintance with
the object scrutinized. "I expect you don’t know me with my moustache," said the
newcomer; "I’ve only grown it during the last two months." "On the contrary,"
said Clovis, "the moustache is the only thing about you that seemed familiar to
me. I felt certain that I had met it somewhere before." "My name
is Tarrington," restarted the candidate for recognition. "A very useful kind of
name," said Clovis; "with a name of that sort no one would blame you if you did
nothing in particular heroic or remarkable, would they And yet if you were to
raise a troop of light horse in a moment of national emergency, ’Tarrington’s
Light Horse’ would sound quite appropriate and pulse-quickening; whereas if you
were called Spoopin, for instance, the thing would be out of the question. No
one, even in a moment of national emergency, could possibly belong to Spoopin’s
Horse." The new-comer smiled weakly, as one who is not to be put
off by mere flippancy, and began again with patient persistence: "I think you
ought to remember my name--" "I shall," said Clovis, with an air of immense
sincerity. "My aunt was asking me only this morning to suggest names for four
young owls she’s just had sent her as pets. I shall call them all Tarrington;
then if one or two of them die or fly away, or leave us in any of the ways that
pet owls are prone to, there will be always one or two left to carry on your
name. And my aunt won’t let me forget it; she will always be asking ’Have the
Tarringtons had their mice and questions of that sort. She says if you keep
wild creatures in captivity you ought to see after their wants, and of course
she’s quite right there." "I met you at luncheon at your aunt’s
house once--" broke in Mr. Tarrington, pale but still resolute. "My aunt never
lunches," said Clovis; "she belongs to the National Anti-Luncheon League, which
is. doing quite a lot of good work in a quiet, unobtrusive way. A subscription
of half a crown per quarter entitles you to go without ninety-two luncheons."
"This must be something new," exclaimed Tarrington. "It’s the same aunt that
I’ve always had," said Clovis coldly. "I perfectly well remember
meeting you at a luncheon-party given by your aunt," persisted Tarrington. who
was beginning to flush an unhealthy shade of mottled pink. "What
was there for lunch" asked Clovis. "Oh, well, I don’t remember that--" "How
nice of you to remember my aunt when you can no longer recall the names of the
things you ate..." The defeated Tarrington had by this time
retreated out of earshot, comforting himself as best he might with the
reflection that a picnic which included the presence of Clovis might prove a
doubtfully agreeable experience. "I shall certainly go in for a
Parliamentary career," said Clovis to himself as he turned complacently to
rejoin his aunt. "As a talker-out of inconvenient bills I should he invaluable.
" Which of the following statements is TRUE of Clovis
A.He insulted Tarrington by ignoring him. B.He put his wits against Tarrington. C.He disregarded his aunt’s advice. D.He showed his contempt for Tarrington.