I had not been standing in the field many minutes, shut in by the hedge,
and trying to rouse myself to go, before I heard a familiar voice
calling me, and I answered with a feeling of relief, for anything was
better than that sensation of shrinking expectancy, and, drawing a deep
breath, I prepared myself for the plunge.
"Oh, here you are!" cried Mercer, running up to me excitedly. "I say,
here's a go! You've got to come up into the loft directly."
"The loft!" I said, feeling that here was something fresh. "What for?"
"Eely wants us. He sent Dicksee to me to say that we were to go to him
directly."
"Do you know what for?" I said huskily.
"Yes, Dicksee told me. He said he was going to punch our heads for
being cheeky. But I say, Frank, we're not obliged to go, are we?"