Ho! ho! I should ship as a loafer if ever I shipped at all, which I'm not going
to do. I shall compromise, and go for a small trip to begin with."
"That's something at any rate. Where will you go?" said Torpenhow. "It would do
you all the good in the world, old man."
The Nilghai saw the twinkle in Dick's eye, and refrained from speech.
"I shall go in the first place to Rathray's stable, where I shall hire one
horse, and take him very carefully as far as Richmond Hill. Then I shall walk
him back again, in case he should accidentally burst into a lather and make
Rathray angry. I shall do that tomorrow, for the sake of air and exercise."
"Bah!" Dick had barely time to throw up his arm and ward off the cushion that
the disgusted Torpenhow heaved at his head.
"Air and exercise indeed," said the Nilghai, sitting down heavily on Dick.
"Let's give him a little of both. Get the bellows, Torp."
At this point the conference broke up in disorder, because Dick would not open
his mouth till the Nilghai held his nose fast, and there was some trouble in
forcing the nozzle of the bellows between his teeth; and even when it was there
he weakly tried to puff against the force of the blast, and his cheeks blew up
with a great explosion; and the enemy becoming helpless with laughter he so
beat them over the head with a soft sofa cushion that became unsewn and
distributed its feathers, and Binkie, interfering in Torpenhow's interests, was
bundled into the half-empty bag and advised to scratch his way out, which he
did after a while, travelling rapidly up and down the floor in the shape of an
agitated green haggis, and when he came out looking for satisfaction, the three
pillars of his world were picking feathers out of their hair.
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