R. Delderfield & R. F. Delderfield Read Online Free PDF

obligatory response to a master's quip, set the seal on his triumph. He paused then, savouring it and wondering if either Boyer or Dobson would have the nerve to carry the bluff a stage further. When they did not he said, mildly, 'It's only fair to warn you I'm familiar with all forms of hysteria. In fact, I'm an expert, having spent the last seven months in shell-shock wards.'
    It was well below the belt. He was aware of that but he didn't care. It was a crossroads in his life, and victory was essential. In the uneasy silence that followed he weighed his words carefully, finally opting for a middle course, halfway between outrage and appeal, but choosing irony as the weapon best suited to the occasion.
    'Well, now,' he said, 'Boyer being happily restored to full health, suppose I begin by being frank? This is my second day here but I'll add to that. It's also my second day in the teaching profession – teaching in school, that is, for I've been engaged, among other things, in teaching recruits how to deal with the Opposition. Think about that, because the Opposition, from here on, is you . Right, sit down, both of you, and let's have a show of hands. How many of you were in on Boyer's little relapse?'
    Four hands were raised. Then eight and finally two more, near the front. Their readiness to admit complicity touched him. He said, easily, 'Well, that's honest at all events. Boyer took the risks alone, so I don't really see why he should be expected to carry all the bacon home. Everyone concerned, including Boyer and his male nurse, can copy out the chapter we were doing and bring it to me at morning break tomorrow. You deserve far worse, of course, but they tell me every dog is allowed one bite.'
    The murmur told him all he wanted to know but Boyer still had a surprise for him. He stood up again, red in the face but resolute. 'My… er… apologies, sir… It was only… a… well… sir… a…'
    'A tryout?'
    'Well, yes, sir. None of us knew, sir. About the hospital, I mean.'
    'No reason why you should.' He lowered himself on the edge of the desk for a moment. At any minute he knew that his hands would begin to shake and the prospect terrified him. He said, carefully, 'You've no exams this term, have you?' and Youings, a studious-looking boy in the front row, said, 'No, sir, not this term,' and made it sound as if he regretted it.
    'Has anyone here ever tried teaching you more up-to-date history? The basic causes of the present war, for instance?'
    'A little, sir,' from Youings, who continued, 'Germany's commercial jealousy, and need for overseas markets, sir?' but then, to his surprise, Dobson's hand shot up and he said, in response to a nod, 'Kaiser Bill's trying to rule the world, isn't he, sir?'
    'According to the Daily Mail he is. Any other ideas?'
    In their collective concentration he sensed a desperate eagerness to appease.Letherett, a red-headed boy, reminded the class of the assassination of the Austrian Archduke at Sarajevo. Gibson seemed to think it was all a bid on the part of Germany for naval supremacy. Hoxton was more subtle, stating categorically that Germany had gone to war in the belief that Britain would stand aside and let her occupy France. They were still having their say when the bell went and they seemed genuinely interested in his assessments of their answers. He said, by way of valediction, 'We'll continue the inquest on Friday if my reading of the timetable is correct. Class dismissed,' and he gathered up his books and left without a backward glance.

    It was different again with the Classical Fifth but perhaps not so different from his point of view, for here again he deliberately pushed himself out on a limb.
    The Classical Fifth were beyond the skylarking stage. Some of them, a sizeable minority he would say, were genuinely interested in the subject, and he was luckier here, for they were preparing for summer exam questions on the late nineteenth century, as far as the death of Queen Victoria.