Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: - over—our first meeting, I mean; now we settle down.' Colonel. 'Not yet. Come here, my boy.' He draws him to a chair; he evidently thinks that a father and his boy of thirteen can sit in the same chair. Cosmo is burning to be nice to him, but of course there are limits. Cosmo. 'Look here, father. Of course, you see—ways change. I daresay they did it, when you were a boy, but it isn't done now.' Colonel. 'What isn't done, you dear fellow?' Cosmo. 'Oh—well!—and then taking both hands and saying 'Dear fellow'—'It's gone out, you know.' The Colonel chuckles and forbears. 'I m uncommon glad you told me, Cosmo. Not having been a father for so long, you see, I 'm rather raw at it.' Cosmo, relieved, 'That's all right. You'll soon get the hang of it.' Colonel. 'If you could give me any other tips?' Cosmo, becoming confidential, 'Well, there's my beastly name. Of course you didn't meanany harm when you christened me Cosmo, but —I always sign myself "C. Grey"—to make the fellows think I' m Charles.' Colonel. 'Do they call you that?' Cosmo. 'Lord, no, they call me Grey.' Colonel. 'And do you want me to call you Grey?' Cosmo, magnanimously, 'No, I don't expect that. But I thought that before people, you know, you needn't call me anything. If you want to attract my attention you could just say "Hst!"—like that.' Colonel. 'Right you are. But you won't make your mother call you Hst.' Cosmo, sagaciously, 'Oh no—of course women are different.' Colonel. 'You 'll be very nice to her, Cosmo ? She had to pinch and save more than I should have allowed—to be able to send you into the navy. We are poor people, you know.' Cosmo. 'I 've been planning how to be nice to her.' Colonel. 'Good lad. Good lad.' Cosmo remembers his co...