“I am on a little holiday.”
A new light of hope came into the little man’s eyes. He was clearly seeking for words.
“I wonder,” he began, “if you could possibly help. My boy has come away from school without permission. He came against my wishes and without my knowledge to see me fight.”
Bobbie looked up at Toby straightly.
“It’s the last time he’ll ever fight, sir. I should never have had another chance. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen him in the ring. And I had to come.”
Toby began to nod his head absently.
“Yes, of course,” he confessed, “you had to come. So should I have had to if he had been my father. Only why didn’t you ask permission?”
Johnny broke in quickly.
“You don’t quite understand, of course,” said he, “but the Headmaster of Harley knows me only as John Carr. It would be impossible to let it be known that a boy at Harley was the son of a professional boxer. I—I wanted to give him every possible chance in life. My one ambition is to see him a gentleman. What chance would he have if he were held down always by the shame of my trade?”
“What shame?” demanded Toby.