'And, Pennyfeather, I hope you will see that they are distributed fairly evenly about the school. It doesn't do to let any boy win more than two events; I leave you to arrange that. I think it would be only right if little Lord Tangent won something, and Beste‑Chetwynde ‑ yes, his mother is coming down, too.
'I am afraid all this has been thrown upon your shoulders rather suddenly. I only learned this morning that Lady Circumference proposed to visit us, and as Mrs Beste‑Chetwynde was coming too, it seemed too good an opportunity to be missed. It is not often that the visits of two such important parents coincide. She is the Honourable Mrs Beste‑Chetwynde, you know ‑ sister‑in‑law of Lord Pastmaster ‑ a very wealthy woman, South American. They always say that she poisoned her husband, but of course little Beste‑Chetwynde doesn't know that. It never came into court, but there was a great deal of talk about it at the time. Perhaps you remember the case?
'No, said Paul.
'Powdered glass, said Flossie shrilly, 'in his coffee.
'Turkish coffee, said Dingy.
'To work! said the Doctor; 'we have a lot to see to.
* * *
It was raining again by the time that Paul and Mr Prendergast reached the playing‑fields. The boys were waiting for them in bleak little groups, shivering at the unaccustomed austerity of bare knees and open necks. Clutterbuck had fallen down in the mud and was crying quietly behind a tree.
'How shall we divide them? said Paul.
'I don't know, said Mr Prendergast. 'Frankly, I deplore the whole business.