He had no private talk with her; but he was glad just to
meet her glance and hear her low replies--glad too to find that, as
the evening wore on, she seemed less distraite and tired.
They went off early, Mr. Sandys pleading fatigue for Maud, and the
necessity for himself of a good night's rest, that he might ride
forth on the following day conquering and to conquer.
The next day they lunched with Jack. When Howard came into the room
he was not surprised to find that two undergraduates had been
asked--Jack's chief allies. One was a big, good-humoured young man,
who was very shy and silent; the other was one Fred Guthrie, who
was one of the nicest men in the College; he was a Winchester boy,
son of a baronet, a Member of Parliament, wealthy and distinguished.
Guthrie had a large allowance, belonged to all the best clubs,
played cricket with the chance of a blue ahead of him, and had,
moreover, a real social gift. He had a quite unembarrassed manner
and, what is rare in a young man, a strong sense of humour. He was a
prominent member of the A. D. C., and had a really artistic gift of
mimicry; but there was no touch of forwardness or conceit about him.
He had been in for some examination or other; and when Howard came
in he was describing his experiences. "What sort of questions?" he
was saying. "Oh, you know the kind--an awful quotation, followed by
the question, 'Who said this, and under what circumstances, and why
did they let him?'" He made himself entirely at home, he talked to
Mr.
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