I made myself as agreeable as possible to my comrades, and bore all their chaff and persecution with the utmost good-humour, and went out of my way to secure and retain their good graces.
Of course I could not do this without in a way defying Jack's influence.
Though he had never once taken me to task in so many words, I knew well enough he considered I was wasting my time and money in this perpetual round of festivities.

But I had to take the risk of that.

After all, I was playing to shield him.

If he only knew all, he would be grateful to me, I reflected, rather than offended.
He could not help noticing my altered manner, and of course put it down to anything but its true cause.

He thought I was offended with him for not encouraging my extravagances, and that the great intimacy with Doubleday and Hawkesbury and Crow was meant to show him that I was independent of him.
However, he made one brave effort to pull me up.
"Fred," said he, thoughtfully, one evening, as we walked home--"Fred, what are you going to do about your debts ?" "Oh, pay them some day, I suppose," I said, shortly.
"When will that be ?" he continued, quietly, not noticing my manner.
"I really can't say," I replied, not liking to be thus questioned.
"Do you know how much you owe ?" he asked.
"Really, Jack, you take a great interest in my debts!" "I do," he replied, solemnly, and with the air of a fellow who had made up his mind to go through with an unpleasant duty.
"Well," I said, warming up rather, "I fancy I can look after them quite as well by myself." "I'm afraid I am offending you," said Jack, looking straight at me, "but I don't think you do look after them properly." "What do you mean ?" I demanded.
"I mean," said Jack, with his arm still in mine, "that you are head over ears in debt, and that, instead of paying off, you are spending your money in other ways.