would like to have gathered behind him his father and
mother, Mary, Helen, Hamlet, Uncle Samuel--yes, and even Aunt Amy, and
to have advanced not only upon Ernest, but upon the whole Dean's family.
It would have given him great pleasure to have set his teeth into the
fat legs of the Dean himself; he would gladly have torn the hat from
the head of Mrs. Dean... Upon Ernest there was no torture he would not
employ.

He would get even; he resolved that before he left that house he would
have his revenge.

Kind Miss Maddison, tripping along and seeing him as a pathetic little
boy in a sailor suit without guile or malice, swept him into an "I spy"
party composed for the most part of small girls who fell down and cried
and said they would go home.

Jeremy, hiding behind a tree, watched the thin back of Ernest as it
lifted itself autocratically above two small boys who looked up to him
with saucer-eyes. Ernest was obviously talking about his school. Jeremy,
lost in the contemplation of his vengeance, forgot his game, and was
taken prisoner with the greatest of ease. He did not care. The afternoon
was spoilt for him. He was not even hungry. Why could he not go to
school to-morrow, and then challenge Ernest to combat? But he might
challenge Ernest without going to school... He had never fought a real
fight, but the sight of his enemy's thin, peaky body was encouraging.

"Now, Jeremy, dear," said Miss Maddison, "it's your turn to hide..."

Soon they all went in to tea. Everyone was thoroughly at home by this
time, and screamed and shouted quite in the most natural manner in the
world. The long table stretched down the whole room, almost from wall to
wall; the sunlight played in pools and splashes upon the carpet and the
flowers and the pictures. There was every sort of thing to eat--thin
bread-and-butter rolled up into little curly sandwiches, little cakes
and big cakes, seed cakes and sugar cakes, and, of course, saffron buns,
jam in little shining dishes, and hot buttered toast so buttery that, it
dripped on to your fingers.

Jeremy sat next to Mary, and behind him hovered Aunt Amy. Only half an
hour ago how this would have angered him! To have her interfering with
him, saying: "Not two at a time, Jeremy," or "Pass the little girl the
sugar, Jeremy--remember your manners." or "Not so big a piece, Jeremy."
But now--he did not know... She was one of the family, and he felt as
though the Dean's Ernest had scorned her as well