He sat clawing with one foot after another, lacerating his shins and his garments in vain.

At length in despair he dropped his fork again, and under cover of this diversion attempted to stoop and adjust the intractable folds.
In his flurry he naturally forgot the fork; so that when, after a minute and a half, he emerged without it into the upper world, his two companions were not a little perplexed.
"What have you been up to down there?
Do you generally eat your grub under the table ?" asked Wally.

"All I can say is, it's the best place for him if he wears his hair like that," said the other in tones of alarm.

"Young kid, I never noticed that before! Whatever induces you to part it on the right?
Did you ever hear of a Fellsgarth fellow-- Oh, I say, what a wigging you'll get! Look at me and Wally and Yorke and all of 'em.

Whew! it makes one ill to see it! Just look round for yourself." As more than half of those present appeared to have no parting at all, and most of the rest parted on the left, Fisher minor realised with horror that he had been guilty of a terrible solecism.
The alarm depicted in the faces of both the twins was proof enough that the matter was a critical one.