"Last instructions?"
"Oh, somebody else to be nobbled, don't you know; some fellow who wants to marry his deceased wife's sister—or else is afraid he'll have to if they pass the Bill. And there's the butcher in Market Street who's got some trouble about slaughterhouses that I'm simply hanged if I can understand. I jawed with him for half-an-hour yesterday, and then didn't hook him safe."
"Alexander must find time to go and hook him," said May, smiling. "Alexander'll be great on slaughter-houses."
"And at the last minute Smiley's been hinting something about Mildmay giving a bit of land to extend the Recreation Ground. A beastly unscrupulous fellow I call Smiley."
"Oh, poor Mr. Smiley! He wants to win."
"He might play fair, though."
"Might he? Oh, well, I suppose so. We've played fair anyhow—pretty fair, haven't we?"
"Rather!"
"You really think so, Jimmy?" She was serious now; Jimmy reached out his hand and touched hers for a moment; he divined that she was asking him for a verdict and was anxious what it might be.
"Rather!" he said again. "That's all right. We've kept to the rules square enough."