“Always the same!” she muttered, “always the same! I was beginning to think that with Dacre going to school and everything we might be let off and have tea instead. Look, there it is getting stone cold, they’ve clean forgotten it! I never can answer a word when they question me, it’s beastly unfair to force one into looking like a fool when one isn’t. Dacre, of course, might be a cabbage this minute—look at him! They treat one’s brains like puppets to dance when they whistle!” “Gwen, dear Gwen, you let your tongue go mad!” Gwen winced, she prided herself a good deal on her strength and reticence. “As for the examination, it is quite natural your father and mother should arrive at some idea of your state of mind, and as they start on the premise that you know nothing they won’t expect you to shine.” “You don’t know,” said the girl surlily, “one can’t argue from experience with regard to them ever, they are as reasonless and as unjust in their expectations as they are in everything.” “Gwen, I am ashamed of you, you are unjust and no one else, and rather rude seeing that any questions you have to answer will be asked by Mr. Fellowes. Now listen, either your father or my husband is going to speak.” “Your father and mother,” said Mr. Fellowes coming over and standing so that he could watch both of the children, “have asked me to put a few simple questions to you.” The countenances of Mr. and Mrs. Waring fell visibly, this informal, good-humoured, casual way of carrying on, was not the sort of thing they had expected. “One should make a speciality of every form of knowledge, however trivial,” said Mr. Waring in a low voice, “we should have put ourselves in a position to be competent personally to conduct this affair.” His wife looked comprehension, and clasped his hand a trifle harder. No one but themselves and possibly their Creator had any idea of the amount this unfortunate couple had to endure. “If I ask you anything,” went on the rector, “and you can’t answer it, you mustn’t mind, for as you just now heard from your father you are not expected to know anything definitely.” Gwen looked up with a quick sarcastic question in her face. Mr. Fellowes laughed. “You think in that case I had better hold my tongue; well, perhaps I had, but even if one gains no absolute knowledge of the question asked, from the answers to it, one sometimes finds out other things just as useful. In your classical readings you came across many allusions to the gods of Greece and Rome, didn’t you?” “Yes,” they assented. “That wasn’t much of a poser,” reflected Dacre glibly. “On the whole what did you think of them?” “They were pretty mean,” said Dacre with conviction. “They were just like other people, only stronger, and better looking, and bigger,” said Gwen. “Would you be inclined to think any one of them capable of any great or stupendous work?”