"I think I'll run along," said Keegan.
"Nothing doing, Hughie. You come with me. We'll have breakfast at my house."
Keegan frowned. There were two sisters and a mother in Basine's home.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Oh, because."
Basine persisted, gently malicious. It amused him to inconvenience his friend's scruples. It also gave him a feeling of moral supremacy. Keegan was ashamed to go to his home with him. He pitied him for this and yet enjoyed the fact. It was because Keegan didn't feel sure of himself, of his being a man of virtue. And he, Basine, did. There was no question about it in his mind.
"Ashamed?" he asked with a smile.
"No," Keegan grunted.
"Well, you haven't done anything worse than me," by which he meant "We do things differently and I am above things that knock you out."