The Other Professor was seated at a table, with a large book open before him, on which his forehead was resting: he had clasped his arms round the book, and was snoring heavily. “He usually reads like that,” the Professor remarked, “when the book's very interesting: and then sometimes it's very difficult to get him to attend!”
This seemed to be one of the difficult times: the Professor lifted him up, once or twice, and shook him violently: but he always returned to his book the moment he was let go of, and showed by his heavy breathing that the book was as interesting as ever.
“How dreamy he is!” the Professor exclaimed. “He must have got to a very interesting part of the book!” And he rained quite a shower of thumps on the Other Professor's back, shouting “Hoy! Hoy!” all the time. “Isn't it wonderful that he should be so dreamy?” he said to Bruno.
“If he's always as sleepy as that,” Bruno remarked, “a course he's dreamy!”
“But what are we to do?” said the Professor. “You see he's quite wrapped up in the book!”
“Suppose oo shuts the book?” Bruno suggested.
“That's it!” cried the delighted Professor. “Of course that'll do it!” And he shut up the book so quickly that he caught the Other Professor's nose between the leaves, and gave it a severe pinch.
The Other Professor instantly rose to his feet, and carried the book away to the end of the room, where he put it back in its place in the book-case. “I've been reading for eighteen hours and three-quarters,” he said, “and now I shall rest for fourteen minutes and a half. Is the Lecture all ready?”
“Very nearly,” the Professor humbly replied. “I shall ask you to give me a hint or two—there will be a few little difficulties—”
“And Banquet, I think you said?”