answer, and
I guessed that his rage had reached its climax. I tried to lower the
flood on his table by means of my pocket-handkerchief, and waited.

"What sort of a fellow is this son who pushes himself upon you in this
way? It's monstrous."

"He's quiet and all right, and he has never pushed himself at all. I
made him promise to come; he didn't want to, only it's his chance to
get well and he must take it. You would have done the same thing."

"What's he like?"

"He's not exactly like any one else I know at Oxford, but----"

"Of course he isn't."

"I was going to say no one could possibly dislike him."

"I suppose he will have to come, but I want you to understand that in
future I insist on knowing whom you want to ask here before you ask
them. I am exceedingly annoyed, I shall go and see your mother."

I went with him, as when I am about I generally manage to absorb most
of his anger, but after a few outbursts my mother soothed him, and in
the end he even gave a grim sort of smile when I said that unless he
had saved the Professor there would have been no bother about his son.

"Don't call that man a Professor," he said, "he's a humbug, he always
was and always will be, and if it wasn't that I am sorry for a son who
has such a father I wouldn't be talked over by you. But you have given
your uncle something to think about," and that idea sent him smiling to
the window.

One most splendid thing happened while Jack Ward was staying with us,
for just before he was going away Nina fell into the river again and
Jack was superb enough idiot to repeat his previous performance and
jump in after her. I met them trying to get into the house by a back
way, and from the look of them I saw that they were feeling rather
silly. It is all very well to fall into one river, but when you start
going overboard anywhere the thing becomes comical, and they fell from
their high position as rescued and rescuer and had to put up with a
good deal of wit, as we understood it at home. I didn't say much,
because Nina was better than I was at saying things, but whenever I saw
her I gave way to fits of silent laughter. I can't think how I thought
of that dodge, it was so extraordinarily successful and so far above my
average efforts, and as soon as I saw that it was working properly, I
did not mind being called anything she liked. And my father, being
particularly well just then, helped me by what, I was determined to
believe