“What man?”
“This man I’ve been tellin’ you about ever since I started talkin’ only no one listens to me. What I say is that this man——”
“William,” said his mother, “if you say one word more about that man whoever he is——”
“All right,” said William resignedly, and turned his whole attention to his pudding.
******
He renewed the attack, however, after lunch. The car prospects didn’t seem very hopeful but it might be worth while to explore other avenues. He stood at the drawing-room window looking out at the garden where Jenkins, the gardener, was weeding the bed on the lawn.
“Poor ole man,” said William compassionately, “I think he’d do with someone to help him, don’t you, mother?”
His mother looked up from the sock she was darning.
“I think that’s a very kind thought, dear,” she said, “and I’m sure he’d appreciate it. Take one of the kneeling mats out because the grass is rather damp.”
William’s face fell but after a moment’s hesitation he took a kneeling mat and went out to help weed the bed. He returned a few minutes later pursued by an indignant Jenkins after having unwittingly uprooted all his pet seedlings.