And, by Jove, she held up in front of the kid's bulging eyes, a chunk of toffee about the size of the Albert Memorial!
That finished it. We had just been having a long rehearsal, and the kid was all worked up in his part. He got it right first time.
'Kiss Fweddie!' he shouted.
And the French windows opened and Freddie came out on to the veranda, for all the world as if he had been taking a cue.
'Kiss Fweddie!' shrieked the child.
Freddie looked at the girl, and the girl looked at him. I looked at the ground, and the kid looked at the toffee.
'Kiss Fweddie!' he yelled. 'Kiss Fweddie!'
'What does this mean?' said the girl, turning on me.
'You'd better give it him,' I said. 'He'll go on till you do, you know.'
She gave the kid the toffee and he subsided. Freddie, poor ass, still stood there gaping, without a word.