But he still looked as if he were

When they turned Father Jackson was frowning again and looking at them just as he had looked at his nails. He quickly smiled, though not as nicely as he had smiled at Jesus, and changed his way of looking so that it did not seem that he was curious whether they were really clean. But he still looked as if he were displeased about something. They both looked back, wondering what he was displeased about. Was Catherine wetting her panties, Rufus wondered; he looked at her but she looked all right to him. What was Rufus doing that the man looked so unpleasant, Catherine wondered. She looked at him, but all he was doing was looking at the man. They both looked at him, wishing that if he was displeased with them he would tell them why instead of looking like that, and wishing that he would sit in some other chair. He looked at both of them, feeling that their rude staring was undermining his gaze and his silence, by which he had intended to impress them into a sufficiently solemn and receptive state for the things he intended to say to them; and wondering whether or no he should reprimand them. Surely, he decided, if they lack manners even at such a time as this, this is the time to speak of it. “Children must not stare at their elders,” he said. “That is ill-bred.” “Huh?” both of them asked. What’s “stare,” they wondered; “elders”; “ill-bred”? “Say, ‘Sir,’ or ‘I beg your pardon, Father.’ ” “Sir?” Rufus said. “You,” Father Jackson said to Catherine. “Sir?” Catherine said. “You must not stare at people—look at them, as you are looking at me.” “Oh,” Rufus said. Catherine’s face turned red. “Say, ‘Excuse me, Father.’ ” “Excuse me, Father.” “You,” Father Jackson said to Catherine. Catherine became still redder. “Excuse me, Father,” Rufus whispered. “No prompting, please,” Father Jackson broke in, in a voice pitched for a large class. “Come now, little girl, it is never too soon to learn to be little ladies and little gentlemen, is it?”