He nodded contentedly.
“Bravo! You’re a smart chap, we shall be good friends yet. But now I must tell you something else: this Kromer, or whatever his name is, is a nasty fellow. His face tells me he’s a rascal! What do you think?”
“Oh yes,” I sobbed out, “he is nasty, he’s a devil! But he mustn’t know anything! For God’s sake, he mustn’t know anything. D’you know him? Does he know you?”
“Don’t worry! He’s gone, and he doesn’t know me—not yet. But I should like to make his acquaintance. He goes to the public school?”
“Yes.”
“In which standard?”
“In the fifth. But don’t say anything to him! Please, don’t say anything to him!”
“Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you. I suppose you wouldn’t like to tell me a little more about this fellow Kromer?”
“I can’t! No, let me go!”
He was silent for a while.