going to tell you," I answered, for I wanted time to think.

"Well he is a funny-looking Johnny anyway, looks as pale as a codfish
and as solemn as a boiled owl. You do collect an odd set of friends;
there's that man Foster, who seems to be deaf and dumb, and Murray, who
gives me the blues whenever I see him, and then this apparition."

"You can just shut up jawing," I answered, as I hunted round for my
gown; "when I want you to criticize my friends I will tell you.
Foster's worth about ten billion of you any day."

I was very angry, but Ward only laughed and told me to hurry up unless
I wanted the soup to be cold.

"We are going to have a little roulette in my rooms to-night," he said,
as we walked across the quad. "Will you come?"

"No, I won't," I answered, and I let him go into the hall first, and as
soon as he had chosen his seat I got as far from him as I could. I saw
him talking to Collier, and they seemed to be amused, which did not
lessen my annoyance. If the freshers' wine had been held on that
evening, I am very nearly sure that I should not have gone to it.

After dinner I waylaid Murray, and dragged him off to see Foster at
Oriel. Two days before Foster had been playing rugger for the 'Varsity
against the London Scottish, and I had neither seen the game, because I
had to play in a college match on the same afternoon, nor had I seen
him since. I wanted to hear whether he was satisfied with himself, but
I wanted also to tell him about Owen.

We found him in the college lodge talking to a whole lot of men, but as
soon as he saw us he grabbed one man and took us to his rooms. I did
not want this fourth fellow, but since he was there I must say that
Foster could not have got any one nicer. His name was Henderson, and
he had been so successful as captain of his school cricket XI. that he
had played three times for Somersetshire during August. His legs and
arms were extraordinarily long and his face was covered with freckles;
one freckle had placed itself on the tip of his nose and I did not get
accustomed to it for a long time--it was the sort of thing which one
kept on looking at to see if it was still there. He would not talk
about his cricket, except to say that he should not have played for
Somersetshire if half the regular team had not been laid up, and he
kept on clamouring to play whist, so that at last we gave way to him.

I had a good opinion of my whist, though how I arrived at it I ca