young man. Are you bringing us nuts or crisps?' asked Frank.
'Can't find them, so I've brought you some of my jelly babies,' said Jeremy, offering them to Harold.
'That's extremely generous of you,' said Harold politely. 'May I have a red one?'
'Not for me, thanks,' said his stepfather hastily.
'Not even a head? I'll eat the rest.'
'Not just now, my boy.'
His eye fell upon the bandage round the child's knee.
'Hello, what's this? A hospital job?'
'I fell over in the playground,' explained Jeremy. He deemed it wiser not to mention the infidelity of Johnny Dodd. He had been ticked off once before for telling tales.
'And Miss Fogerty brought me home,' continued the child, 'and I missed the last lesson at school this morning.'
Frank gave a quick enquiring look at his wife, Harold observed.
'Oh, nothing serious – just a graze. I think Miss Fogerty was glad to have him looked after for that half-hour. It bled quite a bit, you know.'
'You're a lucky chap,' said Frank. 'You won't be spoiled like this when you go off to boarding school.'
'Well, we won't talk about that just now,' said Phil hastily, and Harold thought that she had become rather pink. This was obviously a sore point at the moment.
He drained his glass, and heaved himself out of the armchair.
'Well, I must be getting back. Many thanks for the restorative. By the way, Charles is going to let us know how things go next door, so he told me. Shall I ring you?'
'Please do,' said Phil. 'I think he left there a few minutes ago.'
Harold made his farewells, and returned across the darkening green.
'I wonder who will win that particular skirmish?' he thought, remembering the faces of Frank and his wife, whilst Jeremy looked from one to the other.
At the gate, he turned and looked once more at the Baileys' house. A soft light in the doctor's downstairs bedroom made a golden square in the dusky stone of the house.
There was, alas, no doubt who would win the battle there.
The same subject was the topic of conversation between Ella Bembridge and Dotty Harmer, in the latter's cluttered kitchen near Lulling woods.
'Jolly sad,' boomed Ella, 'snuffing it like that. The end of everything, I suppose.'
Dotty, scrabbling for change in ajar which, long ago, had held Gentlemen's Relish, gave a snort.
'If you were a true Christian, Ella, you would look upon it as a new beginning.'
'But who's to know?' Ella's voice was almost a wail.
Dotty looked at her friend sharply.
'Well, I, for one, know! If my dear father believed in the hereafter, and all the good and intelligent clergymen we have met in our lives do so too, then I am quite confident. '
'But what do you think happens, Dotty?'
'We are simply translated,' said Dotty briskly. She looked at the coins in her hand.
'Are you giving me five pence or five Ps for the milk? I quite forget.'
'It started at sixpence, if you remember, but now things have got so out of hand I thought you ought to have five Ps.'
'But isn't that a shilling? That's far too much.'
'The milkman charges more than that for his homogenized muck, so take the bob, Dotty dear, and we'll all be content.'
'It's more than generous. And I shan't have to bother with change, shall I?'
'No. And now, how do you mean translated? Drift off into other new babies, d'you mean, or daffodils, or wireworms? Some other form of life, as it were?'
Dotty grew scarlet with impatience.
'Of course not. I've no time for all that wishy-washy muddled thinking! When you die you simply leave your worn-out body behind, and your spirit takes off. Don't you ever pay attention to the teachings of the Church?'
'But takes off to where, Dotty?'
'To heaven, of course,' said Dotty tartly, seizing an enormous wooden spoon and advancing upon an iron saucepan which had been rumbling and grumbling to itself throughout the conversation.
'And don't fuss any more about such things,' said Dotty. 'I really haven't time to explain it all when the chickens are waiting to be
'Can't find them, so I've brought you some of my jelly babies,' said Jeremy, offering them to Harold.
'That's extremely generous of you,' said Harold politely. 'May I have a red one?'
'Not for me, thanks,' said his stepfather hastily.
'Not even a head? I'll eat the rest.'
'Not just now, my boy.'
His eye fell upon the bandage round the child's knee.
'Hello, what's this? A hospital job?'
'I fell over in the playground,' explained Jeremy. He deemed it wiser not to mention the infidelity of Johnny Dodd. He had been ticked off once before for telling tales.
'And Miss Fogerty brought me home,' continued the child, 'and I missed the last lesson at school this morning.'
Frank gave a quick enquiring look at his wife, Harold observed.
'Oh, nothing serious – just a graze. I think Miss Fogerty was glad to have him looked after for that half-hour. It bled quite a bit, you know.'
'You're a lucky chap,' said Frank. 'You won't be spoiled like this when you go off to boarding school.'
'Well, we won't talk about that just now,' said Phil hastily, and Harold thought that she had become rather pink. This was obviously a sore point at the moment.
He drained his glass, and heaved himself out of the armchair.
'Well, I must be getting back. Many thanks for the restorative. By the way, Charles is going to let us know how things go next door, so he told me. Shall I ring you?'
'Please do,' said Phil. 'I think he left there a few minutes ago.'
Harold made his farewells, and returned across the darkening green.
'I wonder who will win that particular skirmish?' he thought, remembering the faces of Frank and his wife, whilst Jeremy looked from one to the other.
At the gate, he turned and looked once more at the Baileys' house. A soft light in the doctor's downstairs bedroom made a golden square in the dusky stone of the house.
There was, alas, no doubt who would win the battle there.
The same subject was the topic of conversation between Ella Bembridge and Dotty Harmer, in the latter's cluttered kitchen near Lulling woods.
'Jolly sad,' boomed Ella, 'snuffing it like that. The end of everything, I suppose.'
Dotty, scrabbling for change in ajar which, long ago, had held Gentlemen's Relish, gave a snort.
'If you were a true Christian, Ella, you would look upon it as a new beginning.'
'But who's to know?' Ella's voice was almost a wail.
Dotty looked at her friend sharply.
'Well, I, for one, know! If my dear father believed in the hereafter, and all the good and intelligent clergymen we have met in our lives do so too, then I am quite confident. '
'But what do you think happens, Dotty?'
'We are simply translated,' said Dotty briskly. She looked at the coins in her hand.
'Are you giving me five pence or five Ps for the milk? I quite forget.'
'It started at sixpence, if you remember, but now things have got so out of hand I thought you ought to have five Ps.'
'But isn't that a shilling? That's far too much.'
'The milkman charges more than that for his homogenized muck, so take the bob, Dotty dear, and we'll all be content.'
'It's more than generous. And I shan't have to bother with change, shall I?'
'No. And now, how do you mean translated? Drift off into other new babies, d'you mean, or daffodils, or wireworms? Some other form of life, as it were?'
Dotty grew scarlet with impatience.
'Of course not. I've no time for all that wishy-washy muddled thinking! When you die you simply leave your worn-out body behind, and your spirit takes off. Don't you ever pay attention to the teachings of the Church?'
'But takes off to where, Dotty?'
'To heaven, of course,' said Dotty tartly, seizing an enormous wooden spoon and advancing upon an iron saucepan which had been rumbling and grumbling to itself throughout the conversation.
'And don't fuss any more about such things,' said Dotty. 'I really haven't time to explain it all when the chickens are waiting to be
Similar Books
