"Well, I thought if I had a pal to examine me, I would go through with flying colours."
"Then I am not a pal. You don't suggest," said Hamilton, with ominous dignity, "that I would defraud the public by lying as to the qualities of a deficient character?"
"Yes, I do," said Bones, nodding vigorously, "for my sake and for the sake of the child." The child was that small native whom Bones had rescued and adopted.
"Not even for the sake of the child," said Hamilton, with an air of finality. "Bones, you're ploughed."
Bones did not speak, and Hamilton gathered together the papers, forms, and paraphernalia of examination.
He lifted his head suddenly, to discover that Bones was staring at him. It was no ordinary stare, but something that was a little uncanny. "What the dickens are you looking at?"
Bones did not speak. His round eyes were fixed on his superior in an unwinking glare.
"When I said you had failed," said Hamilton kindly, "I meant, of course——"
"That I'd passed," muttered Bones excitedly. "Say it, Ham—say it! 'Bones, congratulations, dear old lad'——"
"I meant," said Hamilton coldly, "that you have another chance next month."