Spray on the Windows (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III DOOR-HANDLES?AND THINGS A WIND got up in the night, and the waves ran so high that by morning every window in the terrace was delicately patterned with sea spray. Ann awoke very early and looked out at that sparkle of bluish-grey and old silver which is the colour of pleasant weather at Wodenscar. She dressed, planning a walk before the world was up, and cautiously turned the handle of her bedroom door?or rather, she tried to do so. The handle was of black pottery, and like thousands to be seen in the little houses of England, but it had developed?as seemed rather the habit of things?a character from living with Mrs. Walker. It had, in fact, gained the artistic temperament, and now declined to turn excepting when so disposed. Mrs. Walker had forgotten to tell Ann of this peculiarity, and that it needed humouring, so she pulled and pushed, rattled and shook amid a murmuring fire of such expletives as may be used by those who object to the crudeness of plain condemnation. But it was no good. For determination, however determined, is simply a useless irritant when brought into conflict with the artistic temperament. Thus a mere door-handle, possessing it, can by sheer unreasoning obstinacy quite easily withstand a thinking human being with an immortal soul. "Wait!" shouted Mrs. Walker. "You'll only make it worse. It wants humouring." She proceeded to humour it from the other side of the door, but upon the door-handle had settled down the bitter, dour obstinacy of the artistic temperament roughly handled. It refused to come round. This was not one of its mornings for turning, and it declined to turn. Then Mrs. Walker became annoyed?angry?violent. She flung herself upon that obstinate lump of black pottery and employed warm terms culled from the naut...