“You see, the reason why I want you to keep so dark about it all,” Harry had explained, “is because of Ted. I believe the fellow's just as ashamed of this last year at Oxford as I am, but you know, Dorothy, as well as I do (as, alas! Dorothy did know to her sorrow), that Ted's awfully touchy and sensitive, and it takes a very little thing to turn him one way or the other. Well, now, let Harold, who is pretty well out of the notion of Ted already, come to hear of this last scrape, and, youngster as he is, I believe he'd throw him over; and Ted, you know, wouldn't stand any nonsense of that sort and would tell Harold 'to go his own way and welcome,' and who knows what the upshot of that would be! If Ted does not feel he must make an effort to lead a different sort of life for Harold's sake, he may come to the conclusion that the thing's not worth trying. You see, you can't feel sure about a fellow's good resolutions till you have had a chance to test them, and Ted's haven't had to stand any strain as yet.”