“I thought you were—upstairs just now.”
“Did you? Ah! you saw me jump; I had a twinge. But don’t let’s talk of that. Sit down and let’s talk of something else.”
I sat down, very perplexed and uneasy, and more convinced than ever that Mr Smith was not himself.
“How do you think he’ll get on in his examination?” asked he, after a pause.
“Jack? Oh, I have very little doubts about it,” said I.
“No more have I; he’s well and carefully prepared.”
“Thanks a great deal to you,” said I. “Well, I did get him on a little with the Greek, I believe,” said Mr Smith.
Another pause ensued, during which Mr Smith sat looking hard into the empty grate. Then he asked, “You have known him a long time, Batchelor?”
“Yes; we were at school together.”
“Do you know his parents at all?”