Scaife wants he gets."

"He wants breeding, Jonathan, but he'll never get that--never."

After this, John saw but little of Desmond; and Scaife hardly spoke to
him. Accordingly, much of our hero's time was spent in the company of
the Duffer and Fluff. The three passed many delightful hours together
at "Ducker." Armed with buns and chocolate, they would rush down the
hill, bathe, lie about on the grass, eat the buns, and chaff the kids
who were learning to swim.

"Long, long, in the misty hereafter
Shall echo, in ears far away,
The lilt of that innocent laughter,
The splash of the spray."

During the School matches they spent the afternoons on the Sixth Form
ground, carefully criticizing every stroke. The theory of the game lay
pat to the tongue, but in practice John was a shocking bungler. At his
small preparatory school in the New Forest, he had not been taught the
elementary principles of either racquets or cricket; but he had a good
eye, played a capital game of golf, rode and shot well for a small boy.
Fluff, although still delicate, gave promise of being a cricketer as
good, possibly, as his brothers, when he became stronger.

Upon Speech Day John's mother and uncle came down to Harrow, and you
may be sure that John escorted them in triumph to the Manor. Mrs.
Verney has since confessed that John's expression as she greeted him
surprised and distressed her. He looked quite unhappy. And the dear
woman, thinking that he must be in debt, seriously considered the
propriety of tipping him handsomely _in advance_. A moment later, as
she slipped out of an old and shabby dust-cloak, revealing the
splendours of a dress fresh from Paris, she divined from John's now
radiant face what had troubled him.

"John," she said, "you didn't really think that I was going to shame
you by wearing this dreadful cloak--did you?"

"I wasn't quite sure," John answered; then he burst out, "Mum, you look
simply lovely. All the fellows will take you for my sister."

And after the great function in Speech-room came the cheering. How
John's heart throbbed when the Head of the School, standing just
outside the door, proclaimed the illustrious name--

"Three cheers for Mr. John Verney."

And how the boys in the road below cheered, as the little man descended
the steps, hat in hand, bowing and blushing! Everybody knew that he
was on the eve of departure for further explorations in Manchuria. He
would be absent,