“You were to pay the bus fares, and I the ice-cream sodas. That was the bond. A confoundedly generous bond, considering you wolfed two, and they’re eightpence now.”
“The quantity was not nominated in the bond. Go on.”
“If you pay the bus twopence, mine and yours, out of your own money, then it’s palpably unjust to deduct it from the half-crown I lent you, and only pay me back two shillings and owe the fourpence. See that?”
“But you lent it to me to pay with.” Richard did mistily perceive the point David was belabouring, but could not bother to focus it sharply.
“Only till you got some change of your own. You’ve got it now.”
“Well, but ... then you owe me for the ice-cream sodas, they were to be your affair.”
“Granted. Two shillings, and subtract the twopence and the half-crown and fourpence for the waitress that you owe me—leaves——”
“Hi—hold on! We halve the waitress. Might as well do things properly now we’re at it.”
“Twopence for your share of the waitress; add that to my fourpence you gave her....”
“Why?”