"I don’t like that sort of thing.  It’s too much Noakes’s way, and what you say throws light on it.  If he and Noakes are pals—well, when I wangle, even if it’s petrol, I like to do it in decent company.  I disliked Wilkins’s manner so much that I declined the petrol: told him I’d wait for the regular supply.  The odd thing is that Noakes has not been here at the shop in my time."