Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[imchongjun]

Hello, teachers.
Will you help me understand the following sentence?

"Your fountain pen, Horace," he said to me. "Making out a statement for services rendered, by its eagerness."

This is from a part of a novel which describes a seance. Before the seance began, the participants put on a stand items from their pockets such as a knife, bracelet, fountain pen. In the middle of the seance, the knife flew and struck the wall, and the fountain pen began to make a noise.

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Then we heard rhythmic beating on the top of the stand behind the medium. Startling as it was at the beginning, increasing as it did from a slow beat to an incredibly rapid drumming, when the initial shock was over Herbert commenced to gibe.

"Your fountain pen, Horace," he said to me. "Making out a statement for services rendered, by its eagerness."
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I don't quite catch the joke. Is Herbert saying that the pen is eagerly making a statement for services it has rendered to its owner (Horace)? The phrase "by its eagerness" is particularly difficult for me to understand. I appreciate any comments from you. Thank you!!

[CP]

Herbert is explaining to Horace that the noise is from Horace's fountain pen. The pen sounds like it is very excited, making rapid drumming sounds. Herbert tells Horace his fountain pen sounds like it is being used to write out a statement (bill) for services rendered, implying that Horace would be so excited to write out such a bill, that that is what it would sound like.

It is a little joke that the author could have written differently to be easier to understand. But probably the character Herbert speaks a little bit cryptically, or has a dry sense of humor elsewhere in the novel, so the author has him make the joke in those words.

Hope this helps. I'll send you a bill as soon as I get my pen back.
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