And, catching his father under the arm-pits, he hoisted him up a bit:
"No, that won't do either," he said. "Look here, you're squashing my stomach!"
"Is this better?"
"Yes, if you keep still, old chap, and don't move, you can stay like that."
And he passed his fingers through his father's short, curly hair, while Van der Welcke lay silent, closed his eyes and thought:
"Fancy me, when I was fourteen, pulling up my father by his arms and saying to him, 'Look here, you're squashing my stomach!... If you keep still, old chap, you can stay like that!'"
And he suddenly began to splutter with laughter.
"I say, what's up? What are you laughing at?"
"Addie, I was thinking, I was thinking...."
"Well, what were you thinking?"