education, his prospects, and his religion. He never questioned
anything, not because he was too lazy, but because it never struck him
as a normal thing to do. Naturally Martin had to discriminate
carefully between the topics of conversation with his various friends.
With Rayner he talked of cricket and football, the chances of this man
and the failure of that, the reasons for England's success at
Twickenham and Scotland's failure at Inverleith, the prospects of the
varsities in their different contests. Above all, Rayner was sound
about food. Gregson was too superior to 'brew' extensively, so on
half-holiday afternoons in winter Rayner and Martin used to collaborate
in the production and consumption of food. They were both well off for
pocket-money, and between them they would often devour a dozen or more
sausages, a tin of sardines and a large bunch of bananas, not to
mention the accompaniments of the feast, cocoa and bread and jam.
Martin was a strong eater, but it was Rayner who really achieved the
bulk of the work: together they defeated all rivals and established a
house record. After feeding-time they would lie torpid in a heavenly
frowst reading _Wisden's Annual_ or sixpenny magazines. Gregson
secretly despised Martin for enjoying these plebeian orgies, but he
could not afford to quarrel since that would have meant the loss of his
only audience.

It was into the life of this Martin, the intermediate Martin, who was
neither the servant of Spots nor the commander of servants, that Anstey
rushed in. Anstey was a small clever boy who had climbed to the Lower
Sixth at great speed: he had not only considerable ability, but also
possessed a genius for covering the gaps in his knowledge or reading
and he would talk with Martin about authors he had never read. His
manners and appearance were charming and he played half-back for
Berney's second team with skill and pluck. Without being made
conceited by the influential friendships which he found awaiting him
wherever he turned, he had a quiet manner of self-assertion which
fascinated Martin. And so when Rayner or Gregson came to Martin for a
talk they would find Anstey chatting away with his feet on the table.
Then Rayner would go away hurriedly, for he thought Anstey a frivolous
and unreliable creature, and if ever there was a reliable man at Elfrey
it was Rayner. Gregson's objections to Anstey were based on the
latter's sentimental attachment to the Catholi