"Which would you rather have, their contempt or mine?"
Radley was quite moved when I answered him thus; and it was a little while before he proceeded:
"I might have stopped your access to Mr. Fillet's study by telling you that the head master was waiting for you there. But I wanted you to stop from your own high motives, and not from fear. Come along now; we'll go together."
We ascended the stairs to the study and entered. Salome at once raised his long figure from his seat and, pointing at my tie, said:
"Ee, bless me, my man, you're very slovenly; put your tie straight."
"Did you find him in the right disposition?"
It would not have been I if at this "Yes, sir" of Radley's my mind had not run up an irrelevant alley, in which I found myself wondering that Radley, who was always called "sir," should ever have to call anyone else "sir." Perhaps I was staring dreamily into vacancy, for Salome said:
"Bless me, I'm very glad to hear that his disposition is all right. But is the boy a fool? Why does he stand staring into vacancy like a brainless nincompoop?"
I turned redder than ever and wondered at whom to look so as to avoid vacancy, and what to do with my hands. Nervously I used the right hand to button up my coat, and then put it out of mischief in my pocket.
"Good God, man!" cried the Head. "Take that hand out of your pocket!"
I took it quickly out and unbuttoned one coat-button: then, for lack of something to do with the hand, did the button up again. I decided to keep the miserable member fingering the button. To make matters worse Salome rested his eyes like a searchlight on the hand. At last he looked distressingly straight at my face.
"Ray," he asked, "are you a perfect fool?"
The Head turned to my housemaster for his testimony.
"One couldn't call him a _fool_," replied Fillet, obviously intending the conclusion: "One might, however, call him a _knave_."
"He's anything but a fool, sir; and he's still less of a knave," said Radley, angry and caring only to repudiate Fillet's innuendo.
"Ray," Salome was again staring me out of countenance. "Do you ever do any work?"
"Yes, sir," I said brightly. It was kind of him to ask questions to which I could honestly answer in the affirmative. I did occasionally do some work.