The sentence was never completed; it finished in a howl of mingled pain and rage.
"What on earth is the matter now?" asked Mr. Orban.
"Eustace ki-ki-kicked me," stormed Peter, making a dive at his brother with doubled fists; but his father caught him and held him pinioned.
"I can pretty well guess why," said the big man severely. "If he hadn't, I should have spanked you myself. How dare you say 'don't be silly' to your mother?"
Peter hung his head.
"I didn't mean—" he began.
"I should just think you didn't mean it," said his father. "You'll kindly remember you've no right by birth to be a cad, and it is caddish for a gentleman to speak like that to a lady—whether he is ten years old or a hundred."
"Besides," said Eustace, looking furiously at the small culprit, "mother couldn't be silly if she tried."
Peter's humbled expression changed.
"It wasn't for you to kick me," he spluttered resentfully; "I'll kick you back."