ould choose any of them. I think he will
take his own line. I never knew anyone who knew so definitely what he
intended to do, and what he did not intend to do!"

"You have hit it," said the Vicar, "and I do not think you could have
said anything which could please me more. He is independent; it is my
own temperament over again! You will forgive a touch of vanity, Howard,
but that is me all over. And that simplifies our plan of action very
considerably, you know!"

"Yes," said Howard, "it undoubtedly does. I have no doubt from what
Jack told me that he intends to make money. It isn't, in him, just the
vague desire to have the command of money, which most young men have. I
have to talk over their careers with a good many young men, and it
generally ends in their saying they would like a secretaryship, which
would give them interesting work and long holidays and the command of
much of their time, and lead on to something better, with a prospect of
early retirement on a pension."

The Vicar laughed loudly at this. "Excellent!" he said, "a very human
view; that's a real bit of human nature."

"But Jack," said Howard, "isn't like that. He enjoys his life and gets
what fun out of it he can; but he thinks Cambridge a waste of time. I
don't know any young man who is so perfectly clear that he wants real
work. He is not idle as many young men are idle, prolonging the easy
days as long as they can. He is an extraordinary mixture; he enjoys
himself like a schoolboy, and yet he wants to get to work."

"Well, I think that a very encouraging picture!" said the Vicar; "there
is something very sensible about that. I confess I have mostly seen the
schoolboy side of Jack, and it delights one to know that there is a
serious side! Let us hear what Maud thinks; this kind of talk is really
very enjoyable."

"Yes," said Maud, looking up. "I am sure that Mr. Kennedy is quite
right. I believe that Jack would like to go into an office to-morrow."

"There," said the Vicar, "you see she agrees with you. It is really a
pleasure to find oneself mistaken. I confess I had not discerned this
quality in Jack; he had seemed to me much set on amusement."

"Oh yes," said Howard, "he likes his fun, and he is active enough; but
it is all passing the time."

"Well, this is really most satisfactory," said the Vicar. "So you
really think he is cut out for business; something commercial? Well, I
confess I had rather hankered after something more defini