“We were only wrestling, sir,” said Jeremy, panting.
“Excellent thing for your clothes,” said Thompson. “What do you suppose the gym is for?”
“It was only a minute, sir,” said Riley. “Cole wanted to see whether he was all right.”
“And he is?” asked Thompson.
Jeremy perceived that Olympus was smiling.
“I’m a little out of breath,” he said, “but of course it’s just after dinner. The ground isn’t muddy yet.”
“You’d better wait until you’re in football things,” Thompson said, “then you can roll about as much as you like.”
He walked away, rolling a little as he went. The two boys looked after him and suddenly adored him. Their feelings about him were always undergoing lightning changes. At one moment they adored, at another they detested, at another they admired from a distance, and at another they wondered.
“Wasn’t that decent of him?” said Riley.
“That’s because he’s just had his dinner,” said Jeremy. “It’s his glass of beer. My uncle’s just the same.”