Notes on Galloping Foxley oat ba bi pre if Mos pepe ae casts of eit and goto schoo or wor sg the save pce and see the same pple tie ae te agin. rth ry a elder cr str sxornces cmon ‘Seruston thsi ana predictable te foc an nals ‘xcauantance tn hi pet We The expetene 3's up menos of rutin safe en nes meres wh athe What do you think? By rcling memories of Forks eXdnand, Ral Dol able to wie ben sor of ison ave expres ho shea he sh 99 ‘tenes ervronnent af te ube shoo tm ih sit ree an ous, et an imereson on is pup tha aed oh tem thougnaut thar ve 6 you eink au en Wi Pie’ eqmenees tet may hae cornbuted his ess and behavior a or od + hye reremoas nis neous Wi Galaping Fey 30. vestions 0k or pssages inte tet whch provide wk to sepport your Snover to eee queen 1s does he rat, Willa Pettis, op comenuig to WO By 2. What sort of an Wiliam Pein How hos ur undeetaning of himcranged by the sad ofthe ry? 3. Whar does fens asike cbeut we sangre appearance atc Dehaviour Wha oes he man by Pe ws ol ome ous? “hat do you carne 6 tthe wort hing hat Saloping Fey ‘0 Wil Pekrs at cat 5 Desrte ha te nator reds to ot hs Wn bak on allopng Fesey Weuld you have done the some mh iusto? Further activ \itieyour er ston about a chet pup whe we victim of baling. Theda yeas sony nek bth elas aged erences. a Galloping Foxley Five days a week, for thirty-six years, have teavelle the eight twelve fain to he City Is never unduly crowed and takes re ight i to Cannon Steet Staten, only an eleven and s half ‘nine walk fn the doce af my effi in Anti Pia saul ied the procs of commuting; every phase of the ite journey fsa pleasure to me, There isa regularity about it tat is agreeable and comforting toa person of babi ad addition, it serves asa sor of slipway along which Iam geally bt firmly Invnched int the waters of daily business oie. ‘Ours is a smallish country station and only mineieen or tweriy people gather these tosis the eighiweve. Weare & ‘group thot rary changes, and when occasionally new face appears on the platform it causes a certain disclamatory, preston ripple ikea new bird i a cage cana, Bot normally, when Taerive in the meocing with ny usu four minutes to spare, there they all ae, these good, soi, steadfast people, standing in thei ight places wil their right umbels and hats and tis and fhees and their newspapers under their arms, as unchanged and unchangecble through the years asthe furitre fn my oven ving: reom, ike that. ike clso my comer seat by the window an reading The Times to the mise and mation of the tain, This ptt of i lass thisty-sw minutes and it seems to sothe bath my brain and my elf oll body hike a oon long massage Believe me, ther’s nothing ike woutine ad regularity for preserving one’s peace of mind. [have now made this morning jouney nesely ten thousand fimes in all ane Tenjoy it more anc more every iy Also Grelevant, but interesting), ve hecome ¢ sort of ‘lock. tell at once i e are manning wo, thre, ofr rinutes Int and I never have lao ip to know which station weare stopped at 85“The walk athe other cod from Cannan Steet to miy office i either too long nor too sheet a heathy litle perambultion long sticets crowded with fellow commuters all proceeding to their places af work on the seme onfery schedule as myself It ives me a sense of assorance ty be moving among these dependable dignified peop who stick to their jobs and don't [go gxtding sbout allover the word. Their ves, hike my we, ‘are regulate nicely by the minute hand ofan accurate wate, and very offen cur paths eros atthe same times and places 00 tho oe uch da. For example, as I turn the commer in St Switla' Lang, invariably ome bead ce with a genteel middle-aged lady who wearssiver pince-nzand carries a black brief-case in et had fstate secountant,Ishould say, of posibly an executive in the texte Indust. Whan I coss over Threadneedle Steet by the traffic ght, nine times out of ten poss a gentleman wo ‘wears a diferent garden Aer in his baton wach day He dresses in black trousers and gre spats anc iscleelya pacts and meticulous person, probably a banker, o perhaps solicitor Tike mysel; and several Himes in te ast twenty-five yar, as ‘we hae hotried past one another neoss the stot, or eyes Ihave met ina fleoing glance of mal approvsl and respect 'AL tet lf the faces {pass thin hile walk are non familie to me. And good fee they are t9, my kind of fc, my hind of people - sound, sedulos, businesslike folk with none ofthat reslesness and tering eye about thom that You see in all those socalled clover types wha Want to ip the workd Upside-down with thels Labour Goversments and socal smactcines and ll the zest of So you can see that Ham, in every sense of the word, 2 content comme Or wold it be more acura 1 sy that, Tsu a contented commute? At the time sehen T wrote the Title autobiographical shach you have just tea ~ intending to sirculate it among the sal of my otic ean exhortation and 86 an eaample — 1 was giving » perfectly tue account of my tings. ‘But that was a whole wook ago, and nce than somethlig sather pecliae has happened. As mater of fac It started to happen lst Toray the very moe that Twas carrying the rough draft up 4 town In my pocket ad this 0 me Was so Lun and coincidental that I can ealy believe i to have been the work of God Gd had read my ite escay and he had sa to himself ‘This mn Perkins becoming ever-complacet. Its igh ime Engh i lesson” I nest believe that's what append ‘As Ls, as ast Tuesday the Tuesday after Easter a warm yellow spring moxning and Tas sing ont the plato of ‘ur small county station with Te Tres tacked under my arm find the daft of The Gantented Commuter’ in my pocket when immediately become avare that something ws wrong cole actually! that urios ite pple of protest cunning along che raks of my fll commuters. I stopped and glanced around, ‘Tho stranger we standing plumb in the middle of the platform, fet apart and eras folded, looking fr al the world 1s though he owned the whole place He eas abiggish, ticks ‘man, and even fom Bebe somes managed o somvey powerful impression af arrogance and oil. Vry definitely, he was not one of us. He cased a cane instead ofan umbrells his shes were brown instead of back the grey hat was cocked at ridiculous angle, and in one way andl another there scemed 49 ‘bean ences of silk and polish about his person, More than his ido cae to observe, [wakes stag post hen wih may face tthe sky, sing sincerely hope, touch of real ost 10 fan almosphere that wns nen cool ‘The tenn came in. And now try ou can #0 magne my horoe when the new man actually followed me in my ou compartment! Nobody had dene this ome fr ifleen years My collengucssbvays respect my senicly: One of my special ile 8plonsres fs to fave the place to myself far at least one fometones two or even three ststons. Bat her if you plemse, ‘yas this follo thls suangar straddling the seat opposite ane owing his nose and rusting the Duly Mail and lighting a Aisgasing pipe. Ticweted my Ts ond stale a glance at his kee. I uppose he wos about the same age as me sint-two or tise ~ but ‘hee ane of thse unplesantlyhancame, brown, katbery ‘eoustenances that yo sce novradays in svertsemens for ‘men’s shirts ~ the lion shootee and the pola player and the Everest climber end the topical eqplner and the msiag syacsman all rolled into one: dark eyebrows, sey eyes, Strong white seth camping the sem ofa pipe. Personally, nsteustall hndsome:ten. The superficial pleasure fi ie some to easy to them, and they scam 10 walk the world a3 ‘though they themselses were personaly responsible for thie ‘vn good looks. I don mind a exe being pect. That's slifernt. But ina man, Fm sey, but somehow ar ater Id it lovnsight offensive. Anyway, here was this one siting ight ‘opposite mein the carriage ane I vas Joking at him over the {op of my Times when suddenly he glanced up and our eyes "Dyyou min the pip” ho asked holing it up in hls gers. That es all he sid. Hut the sound of hie woe had sen and exteaudinary fect upon re fact hink amps. Thon 1 sort of froze ap and sat ting thi Kr a ess ie hotore gota hols of mpl ane made an onsen “The ssa smoker’ Heid so you may dass you please” just tought Vda ‘Thor it wes agiin, that cavlousy cxsp, fanalag voice, sling ts word and pain thors ext very ac and sal lke 2 lle quick-aing gun ehooting out raspbery seeds Where had Theat it before? And why dl every wor! seem 0 strike upon some fing ender spot far ck in ay atemoey? 88 Cond heavens hough Pull yourself together, What srt of onsen s this? he stranger turned to his peper I pretended to do the sure, But by this ie L wes properly pt ent end U cout ‘sonoontate tal Lstead, hep steal glances at im over the top of the eteil page. It was realy an intolerable face, ‘vgn alma Isicowsly insoms, vith ane sali shanall over he skin. But ad [or ad not cen it before same tien my ie? began to tink hag, Because now, even when ‘ook ti fetta pec kind of diconnor that I cannct spike ess — sehr tn i pel rd ith wey ‘Perhaps even with fae We spoke no mote dusing the journey, but you can well Imagine that hy then my whole rotine hac eo thomghy ‘upset My day was ruined and more than one of my clerk at the office fale he shaper edge of ay tongue, paricularly ater Jneheon shen my digestion strat acting up on me 35 well. “The next morning thoe he wae apn standing he mis ofthe platform with iscane and his pipe and hs lice and bis niuscatingly handsome face, 1 walked past bias and approached certain MrGeummit a stoesbeoker who hasbeen ‘ommsting with me for over twenty-ight yeas. antsy Te ‘ever had an actual conversation wih hn before we age thor ‘reserved lot on our station ~ but rss ke this wil usually bra the ic. “GruramitIeispered "Who's this bounder” ‘eareh me’ Grummat a ‘Proty unpleasant” Ney" Not going to hea segue nt? “Ob God Gruman ai, “Than the tn came in Ts time, fo amy great ele, the man got into another compaconent »Bu the following moming I had him with me again, Well’ he said, settling back in the seat dizely opposite ‘I's topping day” And once agnn elt tha slow uncasy teeing of ‘the memory, stronger than ever this time, closer to che surface but not yet quite within my asic, ‘Then came Friday, the Ist day ofthe week. remember it had rained as I drove to the station, but i as one of those warm sparkling April showers that last only five or ix minutes, ond ‘wher I walked onto the platform alle umbrellas were rolled up and the sun was shining and there were big white clouds floatngin the sky. In spite ofthis, felt dapressod. There was 10 pleasure i this journey for me any longer knew the stranger ‘would be there, And sure enough, he was, standing ith his legs apart just as though he owned the place, and this time swinging his cane casually back and forth through the ait The cane! That did it [stopped like been shot “tes Foxley! Terie under my bresth ‘Galloping Foxley! And ssl swinging his cane!” 1 stepped closer to get a better Took. T tll you T've never had ‘sch a shock in all my lif, It was Fosiey allright Bruce Fostey or Galloping Foxley’ as we wsed to call im. And the lst tie Vd cen him let mo ee - wae at school and Tas no more than ‘seelveor thirteen years old At that point the tran came ia, and heaven help me if he lid’ get into my’ compartment once again. He put is hat and cane up on the rack, then turned and sat dovm and began lighting his pipe. He glanced wp at me trough the smoke with those rather small cole eyes and he said, “Ripping day, init Ju ike summer: There was no mistaking the voice now. Ir hada’t changes! at all Except thatthe things I had been used to hearing it say were aller ‘Al sight, Perkins it used to say ‘All ight, you nasty litle boy. am about to heat you again” 90 How long ago was that? Tt must be neatly filty years [Extraordinary though, how litle the features had altered, Stil the same arrogant tit of the chin, the Macing, nostrils, the contemptuous staring eyes that were too small and a shace too close together for comfort still the same habit of thrusting his face forward at you, impinging on you, pushing you into a comer; and even the hae I could remember~eoarse and slightly wavy ith just a trace of ol ll over i ike a ovelltossed sala He used to keep a botle of groen hair satire on the side table in his stady - when you have to dust a room you gett know and to hate all the object init and this bottle atthe myal coat fof arms cn the label and the name of a shop in Bond Steet, and ‘under that, in small print, it sald “By Appolnement — Hbsirdressos To His Majesty King Edward VIL’ Ican remember that particulary because it seemed so farny that sho show want to boast about being hairdresser to someone who was practically bald ~ even a monarch ‘And now I watched Fawley settle back in his seat and begin rending the paper It was a curious sensation, siting only a yard away from this man who fifty years before had made me so miserable that I had once contemplated sulle, He hadn't recognise here seasn't mach danger of that hecasse of my rouilache, [felt fis sure Iwas safe and col sit there and vate him all [wanted “Looking back on it, ere seems litle doubt that 1 suffered very badly a the hands of Bruce Foxle' my fist year in schoo and stangely enough, the umvitting cause of It all was my father was twelve and a half when T fst weat of to this fine ‘ld public school. That was, le me se, in 1907. My father, who ‘wore sll topper and morning cost, escorted me ta the sation, and L can remember how we were standing on the platform among piles of wooden tuck-boxes and teunks and what seemed like thousands of very large boys milling about and, talking and shouting atone another, ven sueldenly somebody 2‘sho ws wanting to get us gave my father grat ph from behind and neaey oc him of his fe. My father, who was a smal, courteous, dignified parson, ‘umed around with surprising sped anal sia the lp by the writ. “Dent they tach you better manners tn tha a this schol, young an? he sd “Tho, at east a ed taller than my ‘ater, looked do a hin with cold, aeozant laughing ae, an said now, ‘sen to me, my lather sald, stain Back at hr, ‘hata apology wou bein onder” Tht the boy just kept on looking de his mse a my father uh is army ite arogant sea the contr fn mouth and his chin kept coming further aa acter ot "You sie me ashing an input ar! Usman boy fay father went en. ‘And Teas aly peay that you are an esception in your schol T would not wish or any sen of mine to pie up such habits” [At tis point the big boy Incid his hes slighty in my ewtion, snd 2 pie of small cod, rather cose tether eyes looked down into mine Iwas nt particalaty righted a the timer knew nothing aboot the poke f senior bys over jor boysatpublicschocts; and Lean remeber tha one ight back at hen in support of my father, whom I adored anc spectad When my father start to say something ro, the boy simply tunel aay a suse sevely down the plato into the cro. Bruce Fosey never fongot this episodes ond of course she really unlucky thing about for me was that When Fartived st school found mysolin the same ‘Rouse’ as him. Even wesc than that— 17 nis study He was ding hs lst yar an he was a prefect ~ a hoazer’ we ell it and as such he was ‘lilly perited to beat any of the fagy in the howe Bt 2 ng in his study, Yautomadally came fs enn particular, ‘erent sive. Twas is valet and cook and maid and eran ay: ane i wo ny dy oe thet he never fe a Finger foe ‘imei untes abeoutly reese thn soe hat {know of in the world isa servant imped pon t Ue extent that we wretched bite fogs were impaced upon by the baszare st fehl In fst or naw weather Leven ad Wo ston the st ofthe lavatory (hich was an iusto) every ‘omits brealas tn warm it belo Fsley came aon Teould ember hovr he sed to saunter across the 0 1s lose jointed, elegant way, an i chair were in his path he would knock aie and T would have to nan over and pik hip. Fle wore sie shire and akvays had sik handberhiet lucked up is seve, and his shoes weve made by someone called Toh he alsa had yal wes, They wore pont shocs, and it eas my duty to rob the lather wth a Bone fe fifcen minutes each cay to make it shine Bt the word eemores of all had 1 do wth the cgi could se myself nov, smal palesrimp of aby standing jus insige the door of this huge mom in my pyjamas anc Ibodroom slippers and brown camebair dresinegown A single bright electe bulb as hanging om aes font the Ceiling, 3nd all sound the ssalls the black and yellow Foot shins with thelr sweaty sell ling the oom, 2 he ‘ce the clipped, piping vice was saying So which sit Tobe this time? Sia wih the dressing gown on = or Sor with it ot 1 never could bring myself w answer this question. [oul slply stand there saring down atthe dity Hoe plans, izes swith fear ond unable lo tink of anything except that his other Tapger boy would soon starsmashing away atme wit is ong. thin white tick, sleyscinticallystlls egal ang wth parent rash, and T Would Bled, Fe hours ear, {had 3{aie to ge the ie light in is ty Ia spent my pockst money on a, box of special freighters and H had eld nevrspaper aro he ehisny opening to make a aught and Tad kal dow in foot of and blown my gts nto the bottom of the gt but the oss wo not bee, 1 yn tn oblinat oanewen the voice was saying, "then abhave to dace for you 1 want desperately to ameer beesune Une which one T tad ts choore, Ws the fist thiag yeu learn when you wiv. Always keep the dressing-govn om anc ake He ex stokes ‘Otherwise you've alenost certain to get cut. Even three with it on eter than one with to "Take it off thon and get nto the far corer and touch your soos Fm peng give You Four” Sewly I would tke it off an ny it onthe Helge above the Dontlockers. And slowly T woul wall over othe far comer, Cole and eked now Hn my coon pyjamas, srsding sly tn esvingevergthing aul me slender baght en at and far ven, like a magi lantem picture, and very big, and ‘ery unl, ad st of swimming Hough the water my "Go onan louch your oes, Tighter —mich tighter than that Than he would walk down tothe far end oft changing room ar would he walching him upside dawn between my logs and he would disper thragh a donreay that la don {ovo ateps into wht we calle the base-pesge” Tie was 2 stone lore caridor with wonk basins slong re Wal, ancl yond i was the baton. When Fosey disappeared I knew -hewis walking downto the frend of the basin pansage Foley ‘ivays il hat. Then, ne distance ut echoing load among The Bos and the es, I would eae the noe oF his shoes ot thestne oor as hw started galloping oeward, an through my loget would shim lap up the two steps ino the changing a room and come bounding towards me sith his fae thst forward and the cae held igh nthe lz This was te moment when That my eyes and waited forthe cack ad tok! myself {hat whatever hipped must no steghten up, “Anyone oho hasbeen properly beaten wil tl you that the real pain doesnot come until about eight or ten seconds ater the stoke. The tuoke Ise is merely lod ol and 3 sor of sn thd aginst yourbackse,mombing yu completely told a bullet wound dees the sam). But later on oh my Tavens if feels 98 someone i laying a ed hot poker ight ems your rakes utocks ant iis abs impossbe to oven youre fom aching Bock and eathing Het Sour Fingers Foxley knew all about this time lng, and the slow walk back ‘over a distance that must aliogathor hwo been ft yards ve each stroke plenty of te to mach the peak of its pai Vhs nr cera (On the fourth stoke I venuld invariably seaighton up. 1 couldn't help it It was an auhomatic defence eaction tem ‘ody that had had as much a ico lan. "Yeu flinched’ Foley would say. Thatone dons’: coun Go fon =doven you get” “The nex! ne | would remember a grip my ankles. Artervards Re would Walch me a I wld over ~ very aif ‘se and lng my cksice to put on my dessing-pown, Dut L would alays Wy 2 kaep tured away fom him = he couldn't see my face, And when Iwent out, lt woul be, “Ty, you! Come bak [ws in the pasoge then, and { would stop and tam and toa in the doorway, waiting ‘Come hore. Came an, come bac here: Nowe ~ haven't yous Sorgotten something?” AIL could think of 3 that moment was the excruciating burning ain in my bein 5“You sirike me as boing a impudent aad skmanaered boy ne wold a rtatng my father’s voie."Don't they tach You eter manners than tha hs school” “Thank. You, Louk! stammee. Thank .. you «for the beating” "And then. back up the dark stats tothe dommitory and it became mulch better then because i was all over and the pain was going and the ours were clustering round and wating me With curtain ough sympathy born of having gone ough the same thing themsalves, say’ times ‘ele, Perkins, lets havea look “tow many d'you ge “Five wasnt? We heard them easily frm here” “Come on, man. Las ee the marks” Tivol fake down my pyiamis and stan thee while this group of experts solemnly eamined the damage. “Rather far apart rent they? Not ate up to Foley’ sl standard “Tveoof them ae close, Actually touching, Look these to re beste! “That low one was ote shot “ide go sgt down the basin pasage to stares ran? “You got an extra one for Bashing did't you? “ty golly old Foxdey’s zelly got infor you, Perkins” “leedinga bit oo Batter wash if, you know? ‘Then the door would open and Foxy woul be there, and everyone would seater and protend to be doing his teeth or sing his prayers while 1 was left standing in the centre of the oom with my pants dove, “Whats goingou her” Fsley woul say taking. quick look at his own handiwork. “You Perkins! Put your pyiamas on properly and get into bea” ‘and the was the enc of a day “Through che week, [never had moment of time tomyself Hf 96 Foxlay saw me in the study aking up ¢ rovel or pechaps fopaning my stamp album, he wosld mmediatly find something for me todo. One of his favo, especially when ‘a5 alin outside, wasOh, Perkins ka Bune of wid frces woul look rather nw an my desk, det you?” ‘Wild irises grew only azound Orange Ponds. Orange Ponds was two miles down the coud and flé «mle across the fields. would get up fom my chai, put oa my raincoat and ry straw hat, take my umbrella ~ my Baily ~ and set off fo this Fong, and Tonal trek, The strays fut had to be worn all times outdoors, but it was enslly detroyed by rain therefore the broly was necessary to prot the hat: On the other hand, you can't hep a brolly ove: your head ohile scrambling about an a woody bank lookiy, fr iiss, so 1 save my hat from cuin I would putt on she ground under my bly hile sonshed for flowers fn this wa Heat many colds But the mest dreaded! day was Sunday, Sanday as for ‘leaning the study, and how wel ean remember the tera of fheseemings tx fant dosing and bling ard ten he wali for Bosley to come nw nape Pinlshed?” he would ask 1. hin 0” ‘Thar he would stall over to the drawer ols desk and take fut single white love ting it slowly onto his right hand, pushing each finger well home, and 1 would stand there Watching and trembling as he movi around ce room running his white gloved forefinger along the pce tps, the skirting, the shelves, the window ll, the lamp shad, Inaver took my ‘ees off tat finger For me it was an inument of deo [Nasty always, it managed to discover some tiny crak that had overlooked oc perhaps hadn't even that about; and ‘when this happened Foxley would ten sly sound, sailing that dangerous lite smile that wasn'ta smi, holéing up the ”‘whl flger ao that should see for myself he thin smudge of das that lay slong these of ‘Wal ne would sy. So you're a lazy Ble boy. Are’ yout” Noanswer ‘ane you?” “hough T dusted ital’ “Are you or are you nota nasty ary lie bos? ye" ‘Bat yous father woulda’t want You fo goW up like dat ‘would et Your fether is very particular about manners, i he No answee "Task you, your father particular about manners? Perhaps yes” “Terstore willbe doing him afavourif punish you, won't Pe “yee ‘We will moo ater thn, ater prayers, inthe changing roam" ‘The na ofthe day woul be spent an agony af waiting for the evening 0 come ‘Oh my poedness, how twas all coming hack to me ow. ‘Sela ys ls elev tee ‘Dsar Mey and Daddy hank you very much for your eer. hope you ate bath well. ‘om, except have gota cold because Igo caughtin therein but it il son be over Yerterday we played Shrewebry an beat ‘hem 4-2 watched and Foley who You know I the head of ‘ourhause scared one of eu goals. Theix you vory much forthe ‘ake, With love fre Wim Tsually went othe lavaocy to wslemy letter oto theboot- Ile of she bathroom ~ any place out of Fosey’s way. Bue Thad to oleh the tine, Tea wast fourth an Fosley’s toast had to be way. Every day I had to make test for Fosey, and on i % wovklays thee Were no fis allowed inthe studies, coal the fags each making toss for hc ovn sty holder would have to crowd around the ne smal rei the Minas, jockey, foe ‘position with his tasting fork. Under these eons, I stl had see that Foley's toast was (I) very esp, 2) nt burma a al, bot an ready exactly Hse. Tal ay one these requirements vas. “beaabl offence “Hey, yout Whats thie” “estou” “ts tha wally your ides of toast? “welt “You to idle to make i ght aro your” “tir to maki You know what they oto an ile horse, Petkne?” ‘Noy Ne -Well—anyreay you're an ass ha, ha~30 think you gui. "be seeing you lat ‘Oh, the agony of those days. To Buen Fonay’s toast was 2 “peatabe olen’ So eas forgetting stake the mud cf Foskey's ootball boots, So wos filing to bang up Foxley’s football lets, Sows roling ap Fasley’s broly the wrong way rund. ‘So was banging the ssc dooe when Foley was working $0 ‘wo filing Fsleys at to ho foe him So was not clearing the tatlons properly on Fosleys CTC uniforms, So as making thse bie owtalpotish sugges onthe wniorm lt. So was fing to shine the sobs of Fosley’s shows. So was loving osly’# ty ns at anytime Tr at, 50 fr as Flay was concerned as practically a Detable offence myst Tplanced out af the window My goods, we were msely there, must havo hoon drvaming, away like ths fr qute While, and I hada’t ever opened ag Tins. Fsley was stl leoning back in the conmer seat opposite me reading his Daly *‘Mai, and through cloud of blue smoke fom his pipe I could sce the top half of his face aver the nesespapr, he small Bright yt the covragate forehead, the was, slighty aly hae Looking at him now; after all tat tne, was a peculine aa rather exiting experience. know he was no longer dangerous, ‘uta oh! memories wer stil ther and {elit fel alogcthor comfortable in his preseace It was something ike being nse the cage witha tame tiga: ‘What nonsense js this? asked myself Don'tbe stupid: My heavens, if you wanted to you aculd go ahead and tell him ‘exactly what you thought of him and he cooldn' touch yo Hey thet was an iss! ‘Exept that Well after all, was it woah IP Twas to ol foe ‘that sort of thing now; and T wasn’ su that Ia fl auch ‘anger towards him anyway So whatshould I do? J eouln’ st hor staring at him ike an ion ‘A that pont litle impish fancy began ta take a el of ime. What [word ike #9 do, [tld myself, would be to lean actos an! ap him ight om the ean al hi who ‘was. Then I would wateh his face. Afr tht, [sould begin Talking about our schooldays togeer, making it just loud ‘enough for the echor poople inthe carsage to bene. T would ‘mn him playfally 9 some ofthe tings he WSs to do to sme, and pestaps even describe the changing-room esting 20 as to embarrass him a ele. A bt of teasing and lscomfort, ‘woulkls't doth any haem. And it would do rw an awful ot of good Socklenly he glenn upand cag me tring at him. It was the second time this hae happened and T noticed a Hicker of intton in his eye. Allight [tlc myjsolf. Hore we go. But exp i pleas ane sexta and pot. I be mich mors effective that way, one rabarrasing for him. So smi at him and gave him a courteous lite nod. Then, salsng my’ voice, sub, Tdo hope youl excuse me. 1a Uke to ‘nue mysalf’ Tas sing forwan! wating hm losly 0 as not to mis the reaction, My name is Perkins ~ Willan Perkins aa was at Repton in 1907 The other in the carnage wor iting very stil, and I could sense that they were al stoning and waiting 0 se What ou happen nes lad te mest yu, he sid, lowering the paper ois lp. ‘Mine's Fortescue Jocelyn Fortescue. Ft, 19167 10