id. "Mr. Toad has
changed his mind. He will not require the car. Please understand that
this is final. You needn't wait." Then he followed the others inside
and shut the door.

"Now then!" he said to the Toad, when the four of them stood together
in the Hall, "first of all, take those ridiculous things off!"

"Shan't!" replied Toad, with great spirit. "What is the meaning of
this gross outrage? I demand an instant explanation."

"Take them off him, then, you two," ordered the Badger briefly.

They had to lay Toad out on the floor, kicking and calling all sorts
of names, before they could get to work properly. Then the Rat sat on
him, and the Mole got his motor-clothes off him bit by bit, and they
stood him up on his legs again. A good deal of his blustering spirit
seemed to have evaporated with the removal of his fine panoply. Now
that he was merely Toad, and no longer the Terror of the Highway, he
giggled feebly and looked from one to the other appealingly, seeming
quite to understand the situation.

"You knew it must come to this, sooner or later, Toad," the Badger
explained severely. "You've disregarded all the warnings we've given
you, you've gone on squandering the money your father left you, and
you're getting us animals a bad name in the district by your furious
driving and your smashes and your rows with the police. Independence
is all very well, but we animals never allow our friends to make fools
of themselves beyond a certain limit; and that limit you've reached.
Now, you're a good fellow in many respects, and I don't want to be too
hard on you. I'll make one more effort to bring you to reason. You
will come with me into the smoking-room, and there you will hear some
facts about yourself; and we'll see whether you come out of that room
the same Toad that you went in."

He took Toad firmly by the arm, led him into the smoking-room, and
closed the door behind them.

"_That's_ no good!" said the Rat contemptuously. "_Talking_ to Toad'll
never cure him. He'll _say_ anything."

They made themselves comfortable in arm-chairs and waited patiently.
Through the closed door they could just hear the long continuous drone
of the Badger's voice, rising and falling in waves of oratory; and
presently they noticed that the sermon began to be punctuated at
intervals by long-drawn sobs, evidently proceeding from the bosom of
Toad, who was a soft-hearted and affectionate fellow, very easily
converted--for the time bei