"It won't bear talking about."
"It never hit me," George said, huskily, "that even a cat couldn't look at a queen."
"Perfectly possible," Lambert said as he walked off, feeling his bruises, "only the queen mustn't see the cat."
IV
George went, obliterating as best he could the souvenirs of battle. Water, unfortunately, was a requisite, and the nearest was to be found at his own home. His mother gasped.
"You did! After what I said!"
At the pump he splashed cold water over his face and arms.
"I thrashed him," he spluttered.
"I guess that settles it for your father and me."
"Young Planter won't tell anybody," George assured her. "Although I don't see how he's going to get away with it unless he says he was run over by an automobile and kicked by a mule."