“Thank you,” returned the Idiot, suavely. “I ought to. I was one of the few men in my class who really earned his degree by persistent effort.”
XVI
THE HORSE SHOW
I SUPPOSE, Mr. Idiot,” observed Mr. Brief, as the Idiot took his accustomed place at the breakfast-table, “that you have been putting in a good deal of your time this week at the Horse Show?”
“Yes,” said the Idiot, “I was there every night it was open. I go to all the shows—Horse, Dog, Baby, Flower, Electrical—it doesn’t matter what. It’s first-rate fun.”
“Pretty fine lot of horses, this year?” asked the Doctor.
“Don’t know,” said the Idiot. “I heard there were some there, but I didn’t see ’em.”
“What?” cried the Doctor. “Went to the Horse Show and didn’t see the horses?”
“No,” said the Idiot. “Why should I? I don’t know a cob from a lazy back. Of course I know that the four-legged beast that goes when you say get ap is a horse, but beyond that my equine education has been neglected. I can see all the horses I want to look at on the street, anyhow.”