with his face close
to Mr Tooke's, as if swallowing the gentleman's words as they fell.
This was inconvenient; and his mother made him draw back his stool a
good way. Though he could hear very well, Hugh did not like this, and
he slipped off his stool, and came closer and closer.

"And did you say," asked Mr Proctor, "that your youngest pupil is
nine?"

"Just nine;--the age of my own boy. I could have wished to have none
under ten, for the reason you know of. But--"

"I wish," cried Hugh, thrusting himself in so that Mr Tooke saw the boy
had a mind to sit on his knee,--"I wish you would take boys at eight and
a quarter."

"That is your age," said Mr Tooke, smiling and making room between his
knees.

"How did you know? Mother told you."

"No; indeed she did not,--not exactly. My boy was eight and a quarter
not very long ago; and he--"

"Did he like being in your school?"

"He always seemed very happy there, though he was so much the youngest.
And they teased him sometimes for being the youngest. Now you know, if
you came, you would be the youngest, and they might tease you for it."

"I don't think I should mind that. What sort of teasing, though?"

"Trying whether he was afraid of things."

"What sort of things?"

"Being on the top of a wall, or up in a tree. And then they sent him
errands when he was tired, or when he wanted to be doing something else.
They tried too whether he could bear some rough things without
telling."

"And did he?"

"Yes, generally. On the whole, very well. I see they think him a brave
boy now."

"I think I could. But do not you really take boys as young as I am?"

"Such is really my rule."

It was very provoking, but Hugh was here called away to fish up Jane's
work out of the water-butt. As he had put it in, he was the proper
person to get it out. He thought he should have liked the fun of it;
but now he was in a great hurry back, to hear Mr Tooke talk. It really
seemed as if the shirt-collar was alive, it always slipped away so when
he thought he had it. Jane kept him to the job till he brought up her
work, dripping and soiled. By that time tea was ready,--an early tea,
because Mr Tooke had to go away. Whatever was said at tea was about
politics, and about a new black dye which some chemist had discovered;
and Mr Tooke went away directly after.

He turned round full upon Hugh, just as he was going. Hugh stepped
back, for it flashed upon him that he was