And half-way across Great Court I heard him murmur:
"Lonely little devil."
V
Three days later came the second Leave-out Day of term. Loring and I had been invited over to Crowley Court, and after Roll Call we changed our clothes and assembled outside Burgess's house to await the racing omnibus that Dainton was bringing to meet us.
"Are we all here?" Tom asked, as his father came in sight, walking the horses slowly up the hill.
"O'Rane's not coming," Sam answered. "He hasn't finished his 'Shelton' yet."
"All aboard then."
We drove away through the Forest belt, made a large luncheon at Crowley Court, spent the afternoon engaged in a sanguinary ratting expedition round Dainton's farm buildings and returned to Melton in time for house prayers. When we left in the morning, Sinclair and O'Rane had been seated at opposite ends of Hall, employed respectively on overdue impositions and a prize copy of verses. On our way back we passed them walking arm in arm up the hill to Big Gateway and found them, later in the evening, sharing the same form in front of the fire and talking in apparent peace.
"The age of miracles is not yet past," I said to Loring, as I went in to prayers.
"O'Rane told me they'd made it up," he answered, "when he came in to take my boots down."