He had a fearful 'head'next morning,which he doctored,as became one of 'the best,'by soaking it in cold water,brewing strong coffee which he could not drink,and only sipping a little Hock at lunch.The legend that 'some fool'had run into him round a corner accounted for a bruise on his cheek.He would on no account have mentioned the fight,for;on second thoughts,it fell far short of his standards.
The next day he went 'down,'and travelled through to Robin Hill.
Nobody was there but June and Holly,for his father had gone to Paris.He spent a restless and unsettled Vacation,quite out of touch with either of his sisters.June,indeed,was occupied with lame ducks,whom,as a rule,Jolly could not stand,especially that Eric Cobbley and his family,'hopeless outsiders,'who were always littering up the house in the Vacation.And between Holly and himself there was a strange division,as if she were beginning to have opinions of her own,which was so--unnecessary.He punched viciously at a ball,rode furiously but alone in Richmond Park,making a point of jumping the stiff,high hurdles put up to close certain worn avenues of grass--keeping his nerve in,he called it.
Jolly was more afraid of being afraid than most boys are.He bought a rifle,too,and put a range up in the home field,shooting across the pond into the kitchen--garden wall,to the peril of gardeners,with the thought that some day,perhaps,he would enlist and save South Africa for his country.In fact,now that they were appealing for Yeomanry recruits the boy was thoroughly upset.