Read "The Rayner-Slade Amalgamation" by J.S. Fletcher online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Chettle sat alone in the waiting-room, a monument of patient resignation to his fate. His hands were bunched on the head of his walking-stick, his chin propped on his hands; his eyes were bent on a certain spot on the carpet with a fixed stare. And when Allerdyke entered he sprang up as if roused from a fitful slumber.
"I should ha' been asleep in another minute, Mr. Allerdyke," he said apologetically. "Been waiting over an hour, sir -- and I'm dog-tired. I've been at it, hard at it! every minute since I left you. And -- I had to come. I've news."