"Tell me about Peter."
"Oh, there's nothing much that stands telling. We were two idiots—two silly asses. I insulted him—and he struck out. I called him a cad—I believe I called him a damned cad."
"To his face?"
"To his nose."
"Oh, you shouldn't have done that."
"And he got mad, by Jove! Oh, it didn't last. We pulled off in a second or two. We saw we were two idiots—two kids. It wasn't worth getting on one's high horse about—or attempting to follow it up—it was too beastly silly for heroics—except that—that he—"
"Except that he—what?"
"Except that he—got the better of me. He has the better of me still. And I can't allow that, by Jove! Do you see?"
"I don't see very clearly. In what way did he get the better of you?"
"In the whole thing—the way he carried it off—the whole silly business."