Being Adequate

It's the next morning.

Dr Yates, having got up very early, is driving north to examine the newly discovered skeleton of a Giant Wombat.

Ageless is on his way to the station, with Arthur, Baby Pierre, Lavender and Ouvert, to find a way of getting on the train without paying.

Gaius is on his way to sign up for the cycling event in the Masters Games.

He is walking along the footpath wheeling his hired bicycle.

But who is this wobbling towards him on the road? Two men on bicycles, who look familiar.

Vello! David! cries Gaius. What are you two doing here?

Gaius! says Le Bon David. We thought we might see you.

We're here for the cycling, says The VeloDrone. But with the trouble that's blown up lately, we're pulling out.

Trouble? What trouble? asks Gaius, who has not recently been listening to any news.

Lance Armstrong! says Le Bon David. He's  been caught doping. And lots of others have confessed to it as well.

Dear me, says Gaius, remembering his lucky escape last year with the mints.

It's a complete debacle! says The VeloDrone. Everyone is under suspicion. We need to be circumspect from now on. We are not entirely free of guilt ourselves.

Oh, surely not, says Gaius. I don't think infiltrating the other teams with a talking dog is classed as cheating.

Maybe and maybe not, says The VeloDrone, but we're seriously thinking of entering the Lawn Bowls instead.

What a pity young Arthur has gone home, says Gaius. He's very good at bowls.

Young Arthur? says Le Bon David. Isn't he only seventeen?

He is, but he would qualify, says Gaius. He was born in eighteen fifty four.

I say! says Le Bon David. He would have been an excellent addition to our team. Vello isn't very good at bowls.

I am perfectly adequate at bowls, says The VeloDrone.

Ha ha , says Gaius. That reminds me of something that Spinoza said.

What? says The VeloDrone. Are you reading philosophy now?

I am, says Gaius. I'm reading The Great Philosophers. And you are in it, David, you may be pleased to know.

Not unless Vello is in it too, says Le Bon David, modestly. But I assume he is.

No, he isn't, says Gaius. But I'm sure that is only because Vello is such a polymath he doesn't fit in any category.

The VeloDrone is pleased with this line of reasoning, which he finds entirely adequate.