say is, that
some one was jealous of my being at Cadover. I'll mention no names, but
I fancy it was Mrs. Silt. I'm sorry for her if it was. Anyhow, she set
Mrs. Failing against me. It came on the top of other things--and out I
went."

"What did Mrs. Silt, whose name I don't mention, say?"

He looked guilty. "I don't know. Easy enough to find something to say.
The point is that she said something. You know, Mr.--I don't know your
name, mine's Wonham, but I'm more grateful than I can put it over
this tobacco. I mean, you ought to know there is another side to this
quarrel. It's wrong, but it's there."

Ansell told him not to be uneasy: he lad already guessed that there
might be another side. But he could not make out why Mr. Wonham should
have come straight from the aunt to the nephew. They were now sitting
on the upturned seat. "What We Want," a good deal shattered, lay between
them.

"On account of above-mentioned reasons, there was a row. I don't
know--you can guess the style of thing. She wanted to treat me to the
colonies, and had up the parson to talk soft-sawder and make out that
a boundless continent was the place for a lad like me. I said, 'I can't
run up to the Rings without getting tired, nor gallop a horse out
of this view without tiring it, so what is the point of a boundless
continent?' Then I saw that she was frightened of me, and bluffed a bit
more, and in the end I was nipped. She caught me--just like her! when
I had nothing on but flannels, and was coming into the house, having
licked the Cadchurch team. She stood up in the doorway between those
stone pilasters and said, 'No! Never again!' and behind her was
Wilbraham, whom I tried to turn out, and the gardener, and poor old
Leighton, who hates being hurt. She said, 'There's a hundred pounds for
you at the London bank, and as much more in December. Go!' I said, 'Keep
your--money, and tell me whose son I am.' I didn't care really. I only
said it on the off-chance of hurting her. Sure enough, she caught on
to the doorhandle (being lame) and said, 'I can't--I promised--I don't
really want to,' and Wilbraham did stare. Then--she's very queer--she
burst out laughing, and went for the packet after all, and we heard her
laugh through the window as she got it. She rolled it at me down
the steps, and she says, 'A leaf out of the eternal comedy for you,
Stephen,' or something of that sort. I opened it as I walked down the
drive, she laughing always and catch