Chapter 7 Chapter Six

Two days later, Arthur received a reply from Frank Herrier.Frank was one of those people who would go to the trouble of writing lengthy discourses in response to inquiries, and it was clear that he still had as much interest in eccentric personalities as ever.He dissects the character of Oliver Hadow with the same enthusiasm that a scientist studies a new species. up.He scoffed at the other students' enthusiasm for the sport, and kept saying that cricket was fine for boys but not a pastime for men. (He was only eighteen at the time!) He used to speak grandly of sports that required a lot of courage and that no one else could count on, such as game hunting and mountain climbing.He seemed to enjoy football, but he played it with a ferocity and brutality, which naturally caused a lot of disapproval.It was known at the time that he was breaking the rules when it came to other things.He doesn't do obvious inappropriate things, but he does what most people would consider mean.It would have been fatal to lose to him, for his penchant for crude cynicism about the loser was too much for a young man to bear.

Arthur read the letter twice, stuffed it into an envelope, and handed it to Miss Boyd without leaving a comment.A few hours later, she replied: "I've asked him for tea on Wednesday and there's no turning back now, so you must come and help us. But please be as polite to him as we are, as if he's just freed ourselves from the bondage of the Ten Commandments, as most of us have done.”