the furze-bushes as if they were the heads of his enemies."
"Excellent descriptive touch," said the Editor. "Well, go on."
"That's all I know about him, except that he stops in the middle of the Heath every day, and he looks all round to see if there's any one about, and if there isn't, he takes his collar off."
The Editor interrupted—which is considered rude—and said—
"You're not romancing?"
"I beg your pardon?" said Oswald.
"Drawing the long bow, I mean," said the Editor.
Oswald drew himself up, and said he wasn't a liar.
The Editor only laughed, and said romancing and lying were not at all the same; only it was important to know what you were playing at. So Oswald accepted his apology, and went on.
"We were hiding among the furze-bushes one day, and we saw him do it. He took off his collar, and he put on a clean one, and he threw the other among the furze-bushes. We picked it up afterwards, and it was a beastly paper one!"
