—­Intellectual crankery is better out of this movement than in it.

Stephen, recognizing the harsh tone of MacAlister’s voice did not turn in the direction of the voice.  Cranly pushed solemnly through the throng of students, linking Stephen and Temple like a celebrant attended by his ministers on his way to the altar.

Temple bent eagerly across Cranly’s breast and said: 

—­Did you hear MacAlister what he said?  That youth is jealous of you.  Did you see that?  I bet Cranly didn’t see that.  By hell, I saw that at once.

As they crossed the inner hall, the dean of studies was in the act of escaping from the student with whom he had been conversing.  He stood at the foot of the staircase, a foot on the lowest step, his threadbare soutane gathered about him for the ascent with womanish care, nodding his head often and repeating: 

—­Not a doubt of it, Mr Hackett!  Very fine!  Not a doubt of it!

In the middle of the hall the prefect of the college sodality was speaking earnestly, in a soft querulous voice, with a boarder.  As he spoke he wrinkled a little his freckled brow and bit, between his phrases, at a tiny bone pencil.

—­I hope the matric men will all come.  The first arts’ men are pretty sure.  Second arts, too.  We must make sure of the newcomers.

Temple bent again across Cranly, as they were passing through the doorway, and said in a swift whisper: 

—­Do you know that he is a married man? he was a married man before they converted him.  He has a wife and children somewhere.  By hell, I think that’s the queerest notion I ever heard!  Eh?

His whisper trailed off into sly cackling laughter.  The moment they were through the doorway Cranly seized him rudely by the neck and shook him, saying: 

—­You flaming floundering fool!  I’ll take my dying bible there isn’t a bigger bloody ape, do you know, than you in the whole flaming bloody world!

Temple wriggled in his grip, laughing still with sly content, while Cranly repeated flatly at every rude shake: 

—­A flaming flaring bloody idiot!

They crossed the weedy garden together.  The president, wrapped in a heavy loose cloak, was coming towards them along one of the walks, reading his office.  At the end of the walk he halted before turning and raised his eyes.  The students saluted, Temple fumbling as before at the peak of his cap.  They walked forward in silence.  As they neared the alley Stephen could hear the thuds of the players’ hands and the wet smacks of the ball and Davin’s voice crying out excitedly at each stroke.

The three students halted round the box on which Davin sat to follow the game.  Temple, after a few moments, sidled across to Stephen and said: 

—­Excuse me, I wanted to ask you, do you believe that Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a sincere man?

Stephen laughed outright.  Cranly, picking up the broken stave of a cask from the grass at his feet, turned swiftly and said sternly: