“He that is valiant, and dares fight,
Though drubb’d, can lose no honour by’t.”
“By jove,” he muttered, “Butler had some sense, after all!”
Phillip and his sister were awaiting him before the porch.
“Put your hat on and come along,” Phillip commanded. “We’re going over to the stable.”
“All right, but I don’t need a hat,” John answered evasively as he joined them.
“Oh, but I really think you’d better put one on,” Margaret said. “It’s so easy to take cold these days.”
“Why, of course, I’ll get one.” John returned to the hall. But the choice was limited, and he finally selected a ridiculously small woolen cap which didn’t begin to go onto the back of his head. Phillip laughed loudly when he saw it.
“You’re a sight!” he said. “Look just like Tommy Dutton of our class. He has a head like a big cannon ball and always wears a funny little green cap at the back of it. You can’t see the cap until Tommy has gone by. That’s Margaret’s, isn’t it, Margey? And, I say, you’ve got his!”
“It’s of no consequence,” murmured John. “I can wear this beautifully if you don’t mind.”