Scarfe was in great good-humour with himself, and even his antipathies to the world at large were decidedly modified by the discovery that Jeffreys was out of town.
His two friends were of the gay and festive order--youths who would have liked to be considered fast, but betrayed constantly that they did not yet know the way how.
Percy, with his usual facile disposition, quickly fell into the ways of the trio, and rather enjoyed the luxury of now and then getting a rise out of the undergrads by showing that "he knew a thing or two" himself.
They spent their first few days together in "going it"-- that is, in seeing and doing all they could.

Scarfe's friends began shyly, feeling their way both with their host and hostess and with their son.

But then they saw that Mr Rimbolt was far too engrossed to think of anything beyond that they should all enjoy themselves and do as they liked--when they saw that Mrs Rimbolt swore by Scarfe, and, to use the choice language of one of them, "didn't sit up at anything as long as the Necktie was in it"-- and when they saw that Percy was a cool hand, and, whatever he thought, did not let himself be startled by anything, these two ingenuous youths plucked up heart and "let out all round." They haunted billiard saloons, but failed to delude any one into the belief that they knew one end of a cue from another.

They went to theatres, where the last thing they looked at was the stage.

They played cards without being quite sure what was the name of the game they played.