iends. I don't know what you mean."

She looked rather pained.

"No friends! Oh, dear, dear, dear! But are there no nice boys that you
like?"

"No. Most of them are awful rotters."

She put down her beads.

"Clifford! I'm shocked to hear this. Rotters! I suppose that's one of
your school expressions--you mean no nice boys? Poor little fellow! I
shall make a note of that."

He looked up, rather frightened.

"What on earth for?"

"Why, I shall certainly speak to your master about it. Oh! to think that
you haven't got a single friend in the school! _All_ bad boys! There
must be something wrong somewhere!"

"Oh, mummy, for goodness sake don't speak to anybody about it. If you
say a word, I tell you, I sha'n't go back to school. I never heard of
such a thing! I didn't say they were all bad boys--rot! No. Some of them
aren't so bad."

"Well, tell me about one--if it's only one, Clifford."

He thought a moment.

"I'm afraid you'll go writing to the master, as you call it, and get me
expelled for telling tales, or something."

"Oh, my darling, of course I won't! Poor boy! tell me about this one."

"There's one chap who's fairly decent, a chap called Pickering."

"To think," she murmured to herself, stroking her transformation, and
shaking her head, "to think there should be only one boy fairly decent
in all that enormous school!"

"Oh, well! _he's_ simply _frightfully_ decent, as a matter of fact.
Pickering fairly takes it. He's top-hole. There's nothing he can't do."

"What does he do, darling?"

"Oh, I can't exactly explain. He's a bit of all right. It's frightfully
smart to be seen with him."

Lady Kellynch looked surprised at this remark.

"Clifford--really! I'd no idea you had these social views. Of course
you're quite right, dear. I've always been in favour of your being
friends with little gentlemen. But I shouldn't like you to be at
all--what is called a snob. So long as he _is_ a little gentleman, of
course, that's everything."

Clifford laughed.

"I never said Pickering was a gentleman! big or little! You don't
understand, mother. I mean it's smart to be seen with him because--oh! I
can't explain. He's all right."

His mother thought for a little while, then, having heard that it is
right to encourage school friendships at home, so as to know under what
influence your boy got, she said:

"Would you like, dear, to have this young Master Pickering to tea here
one day?"

He looked up, a