"We were making out a list of books!"

"Ah," said Jack with a profound air, "books are dangerous
things--that's the intellectual way of making love! You must be a great
excitement here, with all your ideas!--but now," he went on, "here I
am--I hurried back the moment breakfast was over. I have been horribly
bored--a lawn-tennis party yesterday, the females much to the
fore--it's no good that, it's not the game; at least it's not
lawn-tennis; it's a game all right, but I much suspect it has to do
with love-making rather than exercise."

"You seem very suspicious this morning," said Howard; "you accuse me of
flirting to begin with, and now you suspect lawn-tennis."

Jack shook his head. "I do hate love-making!" he said, "it spoils
everything--it gets in the way, and makes fools of people; the longer I
live, the more I see that most of the things that people do are excuses
for doing something else! But never mind that! I said I had got to get
back to be coached; I said that one of our dons was staying in the
village and had his eye on me. What I want to know is whether you have
made any arrangements about shooting or fishing? You said you would if
you could."

"The keeper is coming in," said Howard, "and we will have a talk to
him; but mind, on one condition--work in the morning, exercise in the
afternoon; and you are to stop to lunch."

"Cousin Anne is bursting into hospitality," said Jack, "because Maud is
coming in for the afternoon. I haven't had time to pump Maud yet about
you, but, by George, I'm going to pump you about her and father. Did
you have a very thick time last night? I could see father was rather
licking his lips."

"Now, no more chatter," said Howard; "you go and get some books, and we
will set to work at once." Jack nodded and fled.

When he came back the keeper was waiting, a friendly old man, who
seemed delighted at the idea of some sport. Jack said, "Look here, I
have arranged it all. Shooting to-day, and you can have father's gun;
he hardly ever uses it, and I have my own. Fishing to-morrow, and so on
alternately. There are heaps of rabbits up the valley--the place crawls
with them."

Howard taught Jack for an hour, as clearly and briskly as he could,
making him take notes. He found him quick and apt, and at the end, Jack
said, "Now if I could only do this every day at Cambridge, I should
soon get on. My word, you do do it well! It makes me shudder to think
of all the practice you must hav