"See here, Ramsey," he said, "if there's anything you want to ask me, or to tell me, you'd better out with it and get it over.

Now, what is it ?" "Well--it isn't anything." "Are you _sure ?_" Ramsey's eyes fell before the severe and piercing gaze of his father.
"Yes, sir." Mr.Milholland shook his head doubtfully; then, as his son walked slowly out of the room, he turned to complete his toilet in a somewhat uneasy frame of mind.

Ramsey had undoubtedly wanted to say something to him and the boy's expression had shown that the matter in question was serious, distressing, and, it might be, even critical.
In fact it was--to Ramsey.

Having begun within only the last few hours to regard haberdashery as of vital importance, and believing his father to be possessed of the experience and authority lacking in himself, Ramsey had come to get him to settle a question which had been upsetting him badly, in his own room, since breakfast.

What he want to know was: Whether it was right to wear an extra handkerchief showing out of the coat breast pocket or not, and, if it was right--ought the handkerchief to have a coloured border or to be plain white?
But he had never before brought any such perplexities to his father, and found himself too diffident to set them forth.
However, when he left the house, a few minutes later, he boldly showed an inch of purple border above the pocket; then, as he was himself about to encounter several old lady pedestrians, he blushed and thrust the handkerchief down into deep concealment.