'I expect that's Clutterbuck being sick, said Beste Chetwynde. 'He's awfully sick when we have mutton.
The boy on Paul's other side now spoke for the first time.
'Mr Prendergast wears a wig, he said, and then be came very confused and subsided into a giggle.
'That's Briggs, said Beste‑Chetwynde, 'only everyone calls him Brolly, because of the shop, you know.
'They're silly rotters, said Briggs.
All this was a great deal easier than Paul had expected; it didn't seem so very hard to get on with boys, after all.
After a time they all stood up, and amid considerable noise Mr Prendergast said grace. Someone called out 'Prendy! very loudly just by Paul's ear.
… per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen, said Mr Prendergast. 'Betse‑Chetwynde, was that you who made that noise?
'Me, sir? No, sir.
'Pennyfeather, did Beste‑Chetwynde make that noise?