We did not know what it was. The ferrule skewered it and Geoffrey ran, waving it in the air.

Then we both gave piercing screams. Geoffrey had skewered a frog. He flung it from him madly and it fell in the grass. I felt sick but I rushed up to it, trying to decide how to kill it in the least revolting way to myself.

But I saw that it was an old, dead frog, dry and hard as leather. I told Geoffrey and we both lay against a smooth beech trunk laughing and recovering. It had been a disgusting moment. Geoffrey dug the ferrule into the ground and then wiped it on the leaves.

He looked at his watch. “We must be quick,” he said. “Aunt Janet will be there.”

The lights were shining in the windows as we went back into the village. They made the daylight seem blue. A mist was rising and the red roofs shone through it, bright as orange-peel.

We came to the stone guest-house where Aunt Janet had arranged to stay. It was small and we walked straight into the sitting-room. Little tables covered in Japanese crepe table-cloths were dotted about and there were some armchairs round the fire.

We looked in the glass over the mantelpiece and smoothed our hair; then we waited for Aunt Janet.

At last the door opened and she appeared. She wore a tight little turban and she looked like a monkey. She kissed Geoffrey and grinned at me with her wide, prehistoric mouth.

The tea was brought in and we sat down at one of the little tables. Large scones, black-currant jam and fruit cake were spread in front of us. The tea was in a bright, silver lustre pot. I said to Aunt Janet, to make conversation, “What a nice lustre pot!” I felt Geoffrey trying to kick me under the table and I wondered what I had said or done wrong.

It was a dull tea. None of us were able to talk for long, but in spite of the gloom I enjoyed it. It was a respite.

We ended up by talking about chess although none of us played it. Then Geoffrey left the room, and while he was gone Aunt Janet turned to me and said:

“You are Geoffrey’s friend. I think it would be so nice if you suggested that he should be confirmed this term. I know his mother has brought him up to be a Roman Catholic, but it would be so much nicer if he were like the rest of us, don’t you think?”

I was dumb. To try to make me influence Geoffrey against the wishes of his mother who was just dead seemed horrible. I felt insulted. Aunt Janet must think me very simple and stupid.

I smirked at her, said something vague; then Geoffrey came back. We took up our straw hats and said goodbye.

“Isn’t she like a monkey?” he said as we walked down the dark High Street.

“Yes, she is.” I smiled inwardly. I was going to take a delight in influencing him as strongly as I could against changing his religion. So I began bluntly:

“While you were out of the room she tried to get me to say that I’d persuade you not to be a Catholic.”

He looked at me and his face went hard. “The bitch!” was all he said; then he burst out:

“But why did you talk to her about lust at tea-time. I thought you were mad-muttering something about lust.”

For a moment I could not think what he meant, then I realized, and laughed.

“I was only talking about the lustre teapot.”

“What’s lustre?” he asked.

“It’s shiny stuff-like metal, only china.”

“Oh!” he answered blankly, and I wondered where his thoughts were.

I watched him that night as we did our prep, in the study.