The home side stood about, in blue, vaguely and embarrassedly saying good-bye. The Cod and a visiting Master were doing it with more address, and more talk. Curious that hallos, good-byes, thank-yous and handshakes were ‘adult’. Did the young dislike them for their falsity, or was it that egoism as yet unassailed ruled out such tributes to strangers? Or just shyness? (Always a dull solution). Carleton, in the blue group, looked over his shoulder, and at once looked away. Why had he been so cruel? My God, surely not envy? No, it was a recognition of folly, and a knowledge that for Carleton’s sake it should be stopped. Extremely ill-expressed. True. He must try and make amends. The other creature was there too, fooling about on the outskirts. A dark little self-satisfied piece of apparently angelic no-good. Dangerous. He was conscious of subjecting the hand-made shoes to the ill-laid concrete, which had ripples in it all the way.
