“Bully! You keep them here, Miss MacDowell, I may amalgamate them.”
As he turned to leave the office, he noticed Mauney. “Hello, there, Mauney Bard,” he said, pausing. “How are you?”
“Fine, Professor, thank you,” he smiled.
“Did you beat Lorna on the spring exams?”
“No, sir, she defeated me as usual.”
Tanner laughed whole-heartedly.
“Oh—ha! She defeated you as usual. Of course, she did. Very clever girl, Lorna. Of course, she defeated you.”
His expression changed.
“Oh yes!” he reminded himself, “I want to see you, Mauney Bard. Have you got say five minutes to spare?”
“Certainly, sir.”