'Yes,' said Felix briefly, 'Mr. Froggatt has been telling me. It must be stopped.'
'Have you heard of the mischief that—'
'Don't be such a girl, Tina. I am going to do the thing, and there is no use in keeping on about it.'
Felix had not called Clement Tina since he had been head of the family, and irritability in him was a token of great perplexity; for indeed his hardest task always was the dealing with Fulbert; and he was besides very sorry to balk the poor boys of one of their few chances of manly amusement.
He would have waited to utter his prohibition till the excitement should have worked off, but he knew that Clement would never hold his peace through the narrative of their adventures; so, as they had not come in when his work was over, he took Theodore on his arm, and retreated to the little parlour behind the shop, where he lay in wait, reading, and mechanically whistling tunes to Theodore, till he heard the bell, and went to open the door.
The gas showed them rosy, merry, glorious, and bespattered, one waving a couple of rabbits, and the other of pheasants, and trying to tickle Theodore's cheeks with the long tails of the latter, of course frightening him into a fretful wail.
'Take Theodore upstairs, if you please, Lance,' said Felix, 'and then come down; I want you.'
'The Captain was going to dine at Bowstead's,' said Fulbert, 'so he drove us in his dog-cart. If the frost holds, we are to go out and skate on Monday.'
Felix employed himself in putting away his papers, without answering.
'I had very good luck,' continued Fulbert, 'four out of six; wonderful for so new a hand, the Captain said.'