a stick at ^trifle/the cad$ ! 
 
 [Seepage 181.
 
 THE 
 
 WILLOUOW 
 CAPTAINS 
 
 TAL5OT 
 5AINES 
 REED 
 
 LONDON 
 
 HLNRV PROWDE 
 
 HODDER $ ifTOUGdHTON
 
 FrtnUdiy H U U, Witton * Viney, Ld., London
 
 CHAPTER L 
 THE LAST OF THE OLD CAPTAIN. 
 
 SOMETHING unusual is happening at Willoughby 
 v^ The Union Jack floats proudly over the old ivy-covered 
 tower of the school, the schoolrooms are deserted, there is 
 a band playing somewhere, a double row of carriages is' 
 drawn up round the large meadow (familiarly called " The 
 Big "), old Mrs. Gallop, the orange and sherbet woman, is 
 almost beside herself with business flurry, and boys are going 
 hither and ^hither, some of them in white ducks with favours 
 on their sleeves, and others in their Sunday "tiles," with 
 sisters and cousins and aunts in tow, whose presence adds 
 greatly to the brightness of the scene. 
 
 Among these last-named holiday-making young Willough- 
 bites no one parades more triumphantly to-day than Master 
 Cusack, of Welch's House, by the side of his father, Captain 
 Cusack, R.N. Cusack, ever since he came to Willoughby, 
 has bored friend and foe with endless references to " the 
 gov., captain in the R.N., you know," and now that he 
 really has a chance of showing off his parent in the flesh his 
 small head is nearly turned. He puffs along like a small 
 steam-tug with a glorious man-of-war in tow, and is too 
 anxious to exhibit his prize in "The Big" to do even the 
 ordinary honours of the place to his relative. 
 
 Captain Cusack, R.N., the meekest and most amiable 
 of men, resigns himself pleasantly to the will of his dutiful 
 conductor, only too pleased to see the boy so happy, and 
 
 i 
 
 2049891
 
 2 The Last of tlie Old Captain. 
 
 pardonably gratified to know that he himself is the special 
 object of that young gentleman's jubilation. He had come 
 down, hoping for a quiet hour or two to see his boy and 
 inspect Willoughby, but he finds that, instead, he is to be 
 inspected himself, and, though he wouldn't thwart the lad 
 for the world, he would just as soon have dropped in at 
 Willoughby on a rather less public occasion. 
 
 Young Cusack, as is the manner of small tugs, assumes 
 complete control of his parent and rattles away incessantly 
 as he conducts him through the grounds, past the school, 
 towards the all-attracting " Big." 
 
 " That's Welch's," he says, pointing to the right wing of 
 the long Tudor building before them " that's Welch's on 
 the right, and Parrett's in the middle, and the schoolhouse 
 on the left. Jolly rooks' nests in the schoolhouse elms, 
 only Paddy won't let us go after them." 
 
 " Who is Paddy ? " inquires the father. 
 
 "Oh, the doctor, you know Dr. Patrick. You'll see 
 him down in ' The Big,' and his dame, and " 
 
 " And what's written up over the door there ? " inquires 
 Captain Cusack, pointing up to the coat-of-arms above thv> 
 great doorway. 
 
 " Oh, some Latin bosh ! I don't know. I say, we'd better 
 look sharp, father, or they'll have started the open hurdles." 
 
 " What are the open hurdles ? " mildly inquires the 
 somewhat perplexed captain, who has been at sea so long 
 that he is really not up to all the modern phrases. 
 
 " Why, you know, it's the sports, and there are two open 
 events, the hurdles and the mile, and we've got Rawson, of 
 the London Athletic, down against us in both ; but I rather 
 back Wyndham. He made stunning time in the March 
 gallops, and he's in prime form now." 
 
 " Is Wyndham a Willoughby boy ? " 
 
 " Rather. He's our cock, you know, and this will be his
 
 Sporting Intelligence. 3 
 
 last show up. Hullo 1 you fellows," he cries, as two other 
 small boys approach at a trot ; " what's on ? Have the 
 hurdles started ? By the way, this is my father, you know ; 
 he came down." 
 
 The two small boys, who are arrayed in ducks and 
 running-shoes, shake hands rather sheepishly with the im- 
 posing visitor and look shyly up and down. 
 
 " And are you running in any of the races, my men ? " 
 says Captain Cusack, kindly. 
 
 He couldn't have hit on a happier topic. The two are 
 at their ease at once. 
 
 " Yes, sir, the junior hundred yards. I say, Cusack, your 
 gov your father's just in time for the final heat. In the 
 first I had a dead heat with Watkins, you know," continues 
 he, addressing the captain. "Watkins was scratch, and I 
 had five yards, and the ruck got ten. It was a beastly 
 shame giving Filbert ten, though wasn't it, Telson? after 
 his running second to me in the March gallops ; they ought 
 to have stuck him where I was. But I ran him down all 
 the same, and dead-heated it with Watkins, and Telson here 
 TV as a good second in his heat." 
 
 " I was sure of a first, but that young ass Wace fouled 
 me," puts in Telson. 
 
 " And now it's dead-even which of us two wins. We 
 both get five yards on Watkins, and he'll be pumped with 
 the long jump, and none of the others are hot men, so it's 
 pretty well between us two, isn't it, Telson ? " 
 
 " Rather, and I think I back you to do it, Parson, old 
 man," rejoins the generous Telson. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," says Parson, dubiously; "you're a 
 better man on the finish, I fancy." 
 
 " All depends on how I take off. Gully's such a boshy 
 starter, you know ; always puts me out. Why can't they let 
 Parrett do it ? "
 
 4 The Last of the Old Captain. 
 
 And off they rattle, forgetting all about Cusack and hii 
 gallant father, and evidently convinced in their own minds 
 that the flags and the carriages and the rosettes and all the 
 festivities are solely in honour of the final heat of the junior 
 hundred yards, in which they two are to take part. 
 
 Captain Cusack, with a smile on his face, watches them 
 trot off, and asks his son, 
 
 " Who are those two nice young fellows ? " 
 
 " Oh, a couple of kids not in our house," replies Master 
 Cusack, by no means cordially. " Jolly cheek of them 
 talking to you like that, though 1 " 
 
 " Not at all," says the captain. " I'd like to see their 
 race, Harry." 
 
 But Harry has no notion of throwing his fathsr away upon 
 the "junior hundred yards," and as they are now in " The 
 Big," in the midst of the festive assembly there congregated, 
 he is easily able to shirk the question. 
 
 An important event is evidently just over. The com- 
 pany has crowded into the enclosure, and boys, ladies, 
 gentlemen, masters are all mixed up in one great throng 
 through which it is almost impossible for even so dexterous a 
 tug as young Cusack to pilot his worthy relative. 
 
 The band is playing in the pavilion, distant cheers are 
 audible in the direction of the tents, a shrill uproar is going 
 on in the corner where the junior hundred yards is about to 
 begin, and all around them is such a buzz of talking and 
 laughter that Captain Cusack is fairly bewildered. 
 
 He would like to be allowed to pay his respects to the 
 Doctor and Mrs. Patrick, and to his boy's master, and would 
 very much like to witness the exploits of those two redoubt- 
 able chums Telson and Parson ; but he is not his own master, 
 and has to do what he is told. Young Cusack is shouting 
 every minute to acquaintances in the crowd that he has got 
 bis father here. But every one is so wedged up that the
 
 " How are you, Captain ?" 5 
 
 introductions chiefly consist of a friendly nodding and 
 waving of the hand at the crowd indefinitely from the gallant 
 father, who would not for the world be anything but gracious 
 to his son's friends, but who cannot for the life of him tell 
 which of the score of youthful faces darting sidelong glances 
 in their direction is the particular one he is meant to be 
 saluting. At last in the press they stumble upon one boy 
 at close quarters, whom Cusack the younger captures forth- 
 with. 
 
 " Ah, Pil, I was looking for you. Here's the my father, 
 I mean R.N., you know." 
 
 " How are you, captain ? " says the new comer. He had 
 heard Captain Cusack was coming over, and had mentally 
 rehearsed several times what it seemed to him would be the 
 most appropriate salutation under the circumstances. 
 
 The captain says he is very well, and likes the look of 
 Mr. " Pil " (whose real name is Pilbury), and looks forward to 
 a little pleasant chat with his son's friend But this hope is 
 doomed to be a disappointment, for Pil is in a hurry. 
 
 " Just going to get the house tubs ready," he says ; "I'll 
 be back in time for the mile." 
 
 " Then is the hurdles over ? " 
 
 " Rather I " exclaims Pil, in astonishment. " Why, where 
 have you been ? Of course you know who won ? " 
 
 " No," says Cusack, eagerly " who? " 
 
 14 Why, Wyndham I You never saw such a race 1 At 
 the fourth hurdle from home Wyndham, Bloomfield, Game, 
 Tipper, and Rawson were the only ones left in. Game and 
 Tipper muffed the jump, and it was left to the other three. 
 Bloomfield had cut out grandly. He was a yard or two 
 ahead, then Wyndham, and the London man lying out, ten 
 yards behind. He had been going pretty easily, but he 
 lammed it on for the next hurdle, and pulled up close. 
 The three went over almost even, and then Bloomfield was
 
 6 The Last of the Old Captain. 
 
 out of it. My eye, Cusack ! you should have seen the finish 
 after that I The London fellow fancied he was going to \\in 
 in a canter, but old Wyndham stuck to him like a leech, and 
 after the last fence ran him clean down the finest thing you 
 ever saw and won by a yard. Wasn't it prime ? Ta, ta f 
 I'm off DOW ; see you again at the mile ; " and off he goes. 
 
 The glorious victory of Willoughby at the hurdles has 
 evidently been as much of a surprise as it has been a 
 triumph, and every one is full of hope now that the result 
 of the " mile " may be equally satisfactory. In the midst of 
 all the excitement and enthusiasm it suddenly occurs to the 
 business-like Master Cusack that he had better secure a" good 
 position for the great race without delay, and accordingly 
 he pilots his father out of the crush, and makes for a spot 
 near the winning-post, where the crowd at the cords has a 
 few gaps; and here, by a little unscrupulous shoving, he 
 contrives to wedge himself in, with his'father close behind, at 
 about the very best spot on the course, with a full view of the 
 last two hundred yards, and only a few feet from the finish. 
 
 It is half an hour before the race is due, and, by way of 
 beguiling the time, Cusack shouts to one and another of his 
 acquaintances opposite, and introduces his father to the 
 crowd generally. The course has not yet been cleared, so 
 there is plenty of variety as the stream of passers-by drifts 
 along. Among the last, looking about anxiously for a place 
 to stand and watch the big race, are Telson and Parson, 
 arm-in-arm. 
 
 Captain Cusack hails them cheerily. 
 
 " Well, who won, my boys ? who won ? " 
 
 The dejected countenances of the two heroes is answer 
 enough. 
 
 "Watkins won," says Parson, speaking in a subdued 
 voice. " The fact is, my shoe-lace came undone just when 
 I was putting it OD at the end."
 
 The Origin of the Limpet. 7 
 
 " And the swindle is," puts in Telson, " that just as I was 
 spurting for the last twenty yards Watkins took my water. 
 I could have fouled him, you know, but I didn't care to." 
 
 " Fact is," says Parson, insinuating himself under the 
 cords, greatly to the indignation of some other small boys 
 near, "it's a chowse letting Watkins enter for the juniors. 
 I'm certain he's not under thirteen is he, Telson ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of him ! " says Telson, who has also artfully 
 squeezed himself into the front rank hard by ; " besides, 
 he's a Limpet, and Limpets have no right to run as juniors." 
 
 " What is a Limpet? " asks Captain Cusack of his son. 
 
 " I don't know what else you call him," says : young 
 Cusack, rather surlily, for he is very wroth at the way 
 Telson has sneaked himself into a rather better position 
 than his own ; " he's he's a Limpet, you know." 
 
 " Limpets/' says a gentleman near, " are the boys in the 
 middle school." 
 
 " Rather a peculiar name," suggests the captain. 
 
 " Yes ; it means an inhabitant of Limbo, the Willoughby 
 name for the middle school, because the boys there are 
 supposed to be too old to have to fag, and too young to be 
 allowed to have fags." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " laughs Captain Cusack, " a capital name ; " 
 and he and the gentleman get up a conversation about 
 their own school days which beguiles the time till the bell 
 sounds for the great race of the day. 
 
 The starling-point is a little below where our friends are 
 standing, and the race is just three times round the course 
 and a few yards at the end up to the winning-post. Only 
 four runners are starting, three of whom have already dis- 
 tinguished themselves in the hurdle-race. Wyndham, the 
 school captain, is that tall, handsome fellow with the red 
 stripe in front of his jersey, who occupies the inside 
 " berth " on the starting-line. Next to him is Ashley.- also
 
 S The Last of the Old Captain. 
 
 wearing the school stripe; and between Ashley tnd the 
 other schoolboy, Bloomfield, is Rawson, the dread sd 
 Londoner, a practised athlete, whose whiskered face con- 
 trasts strangely with the smooth, youthful countenances of 
 his competitors. 
 
 "Ashley's to cut out the running for Willoughby this 
 time," says Telson, " and he'll do it too ; he's fresh." 
 
 So he is. At the signal to start he rushes off as if the 
 race was a quarter of a mile instead of a mile, and the 
 Londoner, perplexed by his tactics, starts hard also, intend- 
 ing to keep him in hand. Bloomfield and Wyndham, one 
 on each side of the track, began rather more easily, and 
 during the first lap allow themselves to drop twelve or 
 fifteen yards behind. The Londoner quickly takes in the 
 situation, but evidently doesn't quite know whether to keep 
 up to Ashley or lie up like the others. If he does the 
 latter, the chances are the fresh man may get ahead beyond 
 catching, and possibly win the race ; and if he does the 
 former well, has he the wind to hold out when the other 
 two begin to "put it on" ? He thinks he has, so he keeps 
 close up to Ashley. 
 
 The cheers, of course, all round the field are tremendous, 
 and nowhere more exciting than where Telson and Parson 
 are located. As the runners pass them at the end of the 
 first lap the excitement of these youths breaks forth into 
 terrific shouts. 
 
 "Well run, Ashley; keep it up 1 He's blowing! Put 
 it on ihere, Wyndham ; HOW'S your time, Bloomfield 1 " And 
 before the cries have left their lips the procession has 
 passed, and the second lap has begun. 
 
 Towards the end of the second lap Ashley shows signs 
 of flagging, and Bloomfield is quickening his pace. 
 
 11 Huzza 1" yells Parson; "Bloomfield's going to take 
 it up now. Jolly well-planned cut-out, eh, Telson ? "
 
 A Double Victory. 9 
 
 " Rather ! " shrieks Telson. " Here they come I Whis- 
 kers is ahead. Now, Willoughby well run indeed ! Lam 
 it on, Bloomfield, you're gaining. Keep it up, Ashley. 
 Now, Wyndham ; now 1 " 
 
 Ashley drops gradually to the rear, and before the final 
 lap is half over has retired from the race, covered with glory 
 for his useful piece of work. But anxious eyes are turned 
 to the other three. The Londoner holds his own, and 
 Bloomfield's rush up seems to have come to nothing. 
 About a quarter of a mile from home an ominous silence 
 drops upon the crowd, and for a few moments Willoughby 
 is too disheartened to cheer. Then at last there rises a 
 single wild cheer somewhere. What is it? The positions 
 are still the same, and 
 
 No ! Both Wyndham and Bloomfield are gaining ; and 
 as the discovery is made there goes up such a shout that 
 the rooks in the elms start away from their nests in a 
 panic. 
 
 Never was seen such a gallant spurt in that old meadow 
 Foot by foot the two Willoughby boys pull up and lessen 
 the hateful distance which divides them from the leader. 
 He of course sees his danger, and answers spurt for spurt. 
 For a few yards he neither gains nor loses, then, joyful 
 sight, he loses 1 
 
 " Look at them now ! " cries Telson, as they approach 
 "look at them both. They're both going to win! Ah, 
 well run, Willoughby splendidly run ; you're going like 
 mad keep it up I Huzzah ! level. Keep it up I Wynd- 
 ham's ahead ; so's Bloomfield. Both ahead 1 Well run 
 both. Keep it up now. Hurrah 1 " 
 
 Amid such shouts the race ends. Wyndham first, Bloom- 
 field a yard behind, and the Londoner, dead beat, a yard 
 behind Bloomfield. 
 
 What wonder if the old school goes mad as it swarms
 
 10 
 
 The Last of the Old Captain. 
 
 over the cords and dashes towards the winner? Telson 
 actually forgets Parson, Cusack deserts even his own father 
 in the jubilation of the moment, each striving to get within 
 cheering distance of the heroes of the day as they are 
 carried shoulder-high round the ground amid the shouts 
 and applause of the whole multitude. 
 
 So ended, in a victory unparalleled in its glorious annals, 
 the May Day races of 18 at Willoughby; and there was 
 not a fellow in the school, whether athlete or not, whose 
 bosom did not glow with pride at the result. That the 
 school would not disgrace herself every one had been 
 perfectly certain, for was not Willoughby one of the crack 
 athletic schools of the country, boasting of an endless 
 succession of fine runners, and rowers, and cricketers ? But 
 to score thus off a picked London athlete, beating him in two 
 events, and in one of them doubly beating him, was a 
 triumph only a very few had dared to anticipate, and even 
 they were considerably astonished to find their prophecy 
 come true. 
 
 Perhaps the person least excited by the entire day's 
 events was the hero of the day himself. Wyndham, the old 
 captain, as he now was for this was his last appearance 
 at the old school was not the sort of fellow to get his 
 head turned by anything if he could help it. He hated 
 scenes of any sort, and therefore took a specially long time 
 over his bath, which his fag had prepared for him with the 
 most lavish care in his study. Boys waylaid his door and 
 tiie schoolhouse gate for a full hour ready to cheer him 
 when he came out ; but he knew better than to gratify them 
 and finally they went off and lionised Bloomfield instead, 
 who bore his laurels with rather less indifference. 
 
 The old captain, however, could not wholly elude the 
 honours destined for him. Dinner in the big hall that 
 afternoon was crowded to overflowing. And when at its
 
 Old Wyndharris Speech. n 
 
 close the doctor stood up and, in accordance with im- 
 memorial custom, proposed the health of the old captain, 
 who, he said, was not only head classic, but facile princeps 
 in all the manly sports for which Willoughby was famed, 
 you would have thought the old roof vras coming down with 
 the applause. Poor Wyndham would fain have shirked his 
 duty, had he been allowed to do it. But Willoughby would 
 as soon have given up a week of the summer holiday as 
 have gone without the captain's speech. 
 
 As he rose to his feet deafening cries of " Well run, sir ; 
 well run ! " drowned any effort he could have made at 
 speaking ; and he had to stand till, by dint of sheer threats 
 of violence, the monitors had reduced the company to order 
 Then he said, cheers interrupting him at every third word, 
 
 " I'm much obliged to the doctor for speaking so kindly 
 about me. You fellows know the old school will get on 
 very well after I've gone. (No ! no !) Willoughby always 
 does get on, and any one who says, ' No I no ! ' ought to 
 know better." 
 
 The applause at this point was overpowering ; and the few 
 guilty ones tried hard, by joining in it, to cover their shame. 
 
 " I've had a jolly time here, and am proud of being a 
 Willoughby captain. I shouldn't be a bit proud if I didn't 
 think it was the finest school going. And the reason it's 
 the finest school is because the fellows think first of the 
 school and next of themselves. As long as they do that 
 Willoughby will be what she is now. Thank you, doctor, 
 and you, fellows." 
 
 These were the last words of the old captain. He left 
 Willoughby next day, and few of the boys knew what they 
 had lost till he had gone. 
 
 How he was missed, and how these parting words of his 
 came often to ring in the ears of the old school during the 
 months that were to follow, this story will show.
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 FOUR HOURS IN A FAG'S LIFE. 
 
 WILLOUGHBY wore its ordinary work-a-day look 
 on the morning following the eventful May races. 
 And yet any one who had seen the old school just then 
 would have admitted that a more picturesque place could 
 hardly have been found. It was one of those lovely early 
 summer days when everything looks beautiful, and when 
 only schooi'boys can have the heart to lie in bed. The 
 fresh scent of the sea came up with the morning air across 
 the cliff-bound uplands ; and far away, from headland to 
 headland of Craydle Bay, the waters glowed and sparkled 
 in the sunlight Inland, too, along by the river, the woods 
 were musical with newly-awakened birds, and the downs 
 waved softly with early hay. And towering above all, amid 
 its stately elms, and clad from end to end with ivy, stood 
 the old school itself, glowing in morning brightness, as it 
 had stood for two centuries past, and as those who know 
 and love it hope it may yet stand for centuries to come. 
 
 But though any one else could hardly have failed to be 
 impressed with the loveliness of such a morning in such a 
 spot, on Master Frederick Parson, head monitor's fag of 
 Parrett's House, as he kicked the bedclothes pensively off 
 his person, and looked at the watch under his pillow, the 
 beauties of nature were completely lost. Parson was in a 
 bad frame of mind that morning. Everything seemed 
 against him. He'd been beaten in the junior hundred
 
 Troubles that afflict the fitst. 13 
 
 yards yesterday, so had Telson. Just their luck. They'd 
 ran in every race for the last two years, and never won so 
 much as a shilling penknife yet. More than that ; just 
 because he had walked across the quadrangle to see Telson 
 home after supper last night (Telson belonged to the School 
 House) he had been caught by a monitor and given eight 
 French verbs to write out for being out-of-doors, after lock-up. 
 What harm, Parson would like to know, was there in seeing 
 a friend across the quad ? Coates, the monitor, probably 
 had no friend he didn't deserve to have one or he 
 wouldn't have been down on Parson for a thing like that. 
 
 Then, further than that, he (Parson) had not looked at 
 his Csesar, and Warton had promised to report him to 
 the doctor next time he showed up without preparation. 
 Bother Warton ! bother the doctor ! bother Caesar ! what 
 did they all want to conspire together for against a 
 wretched junior's peace ? He'd have to cram up the Caesar 
 from Telson's crib somehow, only the nuisance was Bloom- 
 field had fixed on this particular morning for a turn on the 
 river with Game, and Parson would of course have to steer 
 for them. Just his luck again ! He didn't mind steering 
 for Bloomfield, of course, and if he must fag he'd as soon 
 fag for him as anybody, especially now that he would be 
 captain of the eleven and of the boats ; but how, Parson 
 wanted to know, was he to do his Csesar and his French 
 verbs, and steer Bloomfield and Game up the river at one and 
 the same time ? He couldn't take the books in the boat. 
 
 Wellj he supposed he'd have to get reported ; and probably 
 " Paddy " would give it him on the hands. He was always 
 getting it on the hands, far oftener than Telson, who was 
 Riddell's fag, and never had to go and steer boats up the 
 river. In fact, Riddell, he knew, looked over Telson's 
 lessons for him catch Bloomfield doing as much for 
 Parson !
 
 Honrs a Fags Life. 
 
 wont gnevaaceof an wasthathehadtogetnpthat 
 BOBCM and ofl IB HI! or dse he'd get a Hckimj. 
 Tkat wld be vase ar .day tfcm gettMg * OB Ac hawb 
 
 So he kkked off tbe ciodies smlj v and ptt one foot out 
 of bed. But the other vas a *o" IBBC following. Foe 
 Parson was fagged. He'd dreamt afl night of that wretched 
 , and wasat a bk refreshed; and if he had 
 he'd got those eight French vote and the 
 
 t the watch in hs hatul cut 
 Parson is oat of his bed and into his 
 in the twinkling of an eye, and scuttling down the 
 passage to his senior's room as if the avenger of blood was 
 at bis kfT*f 
 
 Eloomfield, if truth most be told, is as disinclined to get 
 up as his fag has been; and Parson has almost to use 
 personal violence before he can create an impression on his 
 lord and master. 
 
 " Whaf s the time ? " demands the senior. 
 
 " Six that is, a second or two past," replies Parson. 
 
 "Why didn't you call me punctually?" asks Bloomfield, 
 digging his nose comfortably into the pillow. "What do 
 you mean by a second or two ? * 
 
 " It's only seven past," says Parson, in an injured tone. 
 
 " Very well ; go and see if Game's up." 
 
 Parson skulks off to rouse Game, knowing perfectly well 
 that Bloomfield will be sound asleep again before he is out 
 of the door, which turns out to be the case. After super- 
 human efforts to extract from Game an assurance that he's 
 getting up that moment, and Parson needn't wait, the
 
 Waking up a Senior. 15 
 
 luckless fag returns to find his master snoring like one of 
 the seven sleepers. The same process has to be repeated- 
 Shouts and shakes, and an occasional sly pinch, have 
 no effect Parson is tempted to leave his graceless lord to 
 his fate, and betake himself to his French verbs ; but a dim 
 surmise as to the consequences prevents him. At last he 
 braces himself up for one desperate effort. With a mighty 
 tug he snatches the clothes off the bed, and, dragging with 
 all his might at the arm of the obstinate hero, yells out, 
 
 " I say, Bloomfield, it's half-past six, and you wanted to 
 be up at six. Get up ! " 
 
 The effect of these combined efforts is that Bloomfield 
 sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes, and demands, 
 
 " Half-past six 1 Why didn't you call me at sue, you 
 young cad, eh?" 
 
 " So I did." 
 
 " Don't tell crams. If you'd called me at six I should 
 have been up, shouldn't I ?" exclaimed Bloomfield. 
 
 " I tell you I did call you," sulkily retorts the fag. 
 
 " Look here," says Bloomfield, becoming alarmingly wide- 
 awake, " I don't want any of your cheek. Go and see if 
 Game's up, and then see if the boat's ready. The tub 
 pair, mind ; look sharp ! " 
 
 "Please, Bloomfield," says Parson, meekly, "do you 
 mind if I get Parks to cox. you ? I've not looked at my 
 Caesar yet, and I've got eight French verbs to do besides 
 for Coates." 
 
 " Do you hear me ? Go and see if Game's up," replies 
 Bloomfield. " If you choose not to do your work overnight, 
 and get impositions for breaking rules into the bargain, it's 
 not my look-out, is it ? " 
 
 " But I only went " begins the unfortunate Parson. 
 
 " I'll went you with the flat of a bat if you don't cut,* 
 shouts Bloomfield. Whereat his fag vanishes.
 
 1 6 Four Hours in a Fag's Lt/e. 
 
 Game, of course, is fast asleep, but on him Parson has no 
 notion of bestowing the pains he had devoted to BloomfielcL 
 Finding the sleeper deaf to all his calls, he adopts the 
 simple expedient of dipping the end of a towel in water and 
 laying it neatly across the victim's face, shouting in his ear 
 at the same time, 
 
 " Game, I say, Bloomfield's waiting for you down at the 
 boats." 
 
 Having delivered himself of which, he retreats rather 
 hastily, and only just in time. 
 
 The row up the river that morning was rather pleasant 
 than otherwise. When once they were awake the morning 
 had its effect on the spirits of all three boys. Even Parson, 
 sitting lazily in the stern, listening to the Sixth Form gossip 
 of the two rowers, forgot about his Caesar and French verbs, 
 and felt rather glad he had turned out after all. 
 
 The chief object of the present expedition was not 
 pleasure by any means as far as Bloomfield and Game were 
 concerned. It was one of a series of training practices in 
 anticipation of the school regatta, which was to come off on 
 the 2nd of June, in which the rival four-oars of the three 
 houses were to compete for the championship of the river. 
 The and of June was far enough ahead at present, but an 
 old hand like Bloomfield knew well that the time was all 
 too short to lick his crew into shape. Parrett's boat, by all 
 ordinary calculation, ought to win, for they had a specially 
 good lot of men this year ; and now Wyndham had left, the 
 schoolhouse boat would be quite an orphan. Bloomfield 
 himself was far away the best oar left in Willoughby, and if 
 he could only get Game to work off a little of his extra fat, 
 and bully Tipper into reaching better forward, and break 
 Ashley of his trick of feathering under water, he had a 
 crew at his back which it would be hard indeed to beat. 
 This morning he was taking Game in hand, and that
 
 Boiling down Game. 17 
 
 substantial athlete was beginning to find out that " working 
 off one's extra fat " in a tub pair on a warm summer morning 
 is not all sport. 
 
 " I wonder if Tipper and Ashley will show up," said 
 Bloomfield, who was rowing bow for the sake of keeping 
 a better watch on his pupil. " They promised they would. 
 Ashley, you know (do keep it up, Game, you're surely not 
 blowed yet) Ashley's about as much too light as you are 
 too fat (try a little burst round the corner now ; keep us 
 well out, young un) but if he'll only keep his blade square 
 till he's out of the water (there you go again ! Of course 
 you're hot ; that's what I brought you out for. How do 
 you suppose you're to boil down to the proper weight 
 unless you do perspire a bit?) he'll make a very decent 
 bow. Ah, there are Porter and Fairbairn in the school- 
 house tub (you needn't stop rowing, Game; keep it up, 
 man ; show them how you can spurt). I never thought 
 they'd try Porter in their boat. They might as well try 
 Riddell. Just shows how hard- up they must be for men. 
 How are you ? " he cried, as the schoolhouse tub went 
 clumsily past, both rowers looking decidedly nervous under 
 the critical eye of the captain of Parrett's. 
 
 Poor Game, who had been kept hard at it for nearly a 
 mile, now fairly struck, and declared he couldn't keep it up 
 any longer, and as he had really done a very good spell of 
 work, Bloomfield consented to land at the Willows and 
 bathe ; after which he and Game would run back, and young 
 Parson might scull home the tub. 
 
 Which delightful plan Master Parson by no means 
 jumped at. He had calculated on getting at least a quarter 
 of an hour for his Caesar before morning chapel if they 
 returned as they had come. But now, if he was expected 
 to lug that great heavy boat back by himself, not only would 
 he not get that, but the chances were he would get locked
 
 1 8 Four Hours in a Fags Life. 
 
 out for chapel altogether, and it would be no excuse that 
 he had had to act as galley-slave for Bloomfield or any- 
 body else. 
 
 " Look alive ! " cries Bloomfield from the bank, where 
 he is already stripped for his header. " And, by the way, 
 on your way up go round to Chalker's and tell him only to 
 stick up one set of cricket nets in our court ; don't forget, 
 now. Be quick; you've not too much time before chapel." 
 Saying which, he takes a running dive from the bank and 
 leaves the luckless Parson to boil over inwardly as he digs 
 his sculls spitefully into the water and begins his homeward 
 journey. 
 
 Was life worth living at this rate? If he didn't tell 
 Chalker about the nets that imbecile old fieldkeeper would 
 be certain to stick up half a dozen sets, and there'd be no 
 end of a row. That was 7.30 striking now, and he had to 
 be in the chapel at five minutes to eight, and Chalker's hut 
 was a long five minutes from the boathonse. And then 
 those eight French verbs and that Caesar 
 
 It was no use thinking about them, and Parson lashed 
 out with his sculls, caring little if that hulking tub went to 
 the bottom. He'd rather like it, in fact, for he wanted a 
 swim. He hadn't even had time to tub that morning, and 
 it was certain there'd be no time now till goodness knew 
 when not till after second school, and then probably he'd 
 be spending a pleasant half-hour in the doctor's study. 
 
 At this point he became aware of another boat bearing 
 down on him, manned by three juniors, who were making 
 up in noise and splashing what they lacked in style and 
 oarsmanship. 
 
 Parson knew them yards away. They were rowdies of 
 Welch's house, and he groaned inwardly at the prospect 
 before him. The boy steering was our old acquaintance 
 Pilbury, and as his boat approached he shouted out cheerily,
 
 A Run on the Bank. 19 
 
 " Hullo, there, Parson ! mind your eye 1 We'll race you in 
 give you ten yards and bump you in twenty 1 Pull away, 
 you fellows ! One, two, three, gun ! Off you go ! Oh, 
 well rowed, my boat ! Now you've got him ! Wire in, 
 now ! Smash him up ! scrunch him into the bank ! Hooroo ! 
 two to one on us ! Lay on to it, you fellows ; he can't go 
 straight ! Six more strokes and you're into him ! One, 
 two, three ha, ha 1 he's funking it I four, five now a 
 good one for the last six ! Hooroo ! bump to us ! Welch's 
 for ever I " 
 
 So saying, the hostile boat came full tilt on to the stern 
 of the Parrett's tub, and the outraged Parson found himself 
 next moment sprawling on his back, with the nose of his 
 boat firmly wedged into the clay bank of the river, while 
 his insulting adversaries sped gaily away down stream, 
 making the morning hideous with their shouts and laughter. 
 
 This little incident, as may be supposed, did not tend to 
 compose the fluttered spirits of the unhappy Frederick. To 
 say nothing of the indignity of being deliberately run down 
 and screwed into the bank by a crew of young " Welchers," 
 the loss of time involved in extricating his boat from the 
 muddy obstacle which held her by the nose, put all chance 
 of getting in in time to go round to Chalker's before chapel 
 out of the question. Indeed, it looked very like a shut-out 
 from chapel too, and that meant no end of a row. 
 
 By a superhuman effort he got his boat clear, and sculled 
 down hard all, reaching the boathouse at seven minutes to 
 eight. He had just presence of mind enough to shout the 
 message for Chalker to the boat-boy, with a promise of 
 twopence if he delivered it at once ; and then with a des- 
 perate rush he just succeeded in reaching the chapel and 
 squeezing himself in at the door as the bell ceased ringing. 
 
 Chapel was not, under the circumstances, a very edifying 
 service to Parson that morning. His frame of mind was
 
 ao Four Hours tn a fags Life. 
 
 not devotional, and his feelings of bottled-up wrath at what 
 was past, and dejected anticipation of what was to come, 
 left between them no room for interest in or meaning for 
 the words in which his schoolfellows were joining. The 
 only satisfaction morning prayers brought to him was that, 
 for ten minutes at least, no one could harry him ; and that 
 at least was something to be grateful for. 
 
 Morning chapel at Willoughby was supposed to be at 
 7.15, and was at 7.15 all the months of the year except 
 May, June, and July, when, in consideration of the early- 
 morning rowing and bathing, it was postponed for three- 
 quarters of an hour a concession made up for by the 
 sacrifice of the usual half-hour's interval between breakfast 
 and first lesson. 
 
 This arrangement was all against Parson, who, if the 
 half-hour had been still available, could at least have 
 skimmed through his Caesar, and perhaps have begged a 
 friend to help him with the French verbs, and possibly even 
 have had it out with Pilbury for his morning's diversion. As 
 it was, there was no opportunity for the performance of 
 any one of these duties, and at the sound of the pitiless bell 
 he slunk into first lesson, feeling himself a doomed man. 
 
 His one hope was Telson. Telson sat next him in class, 
 and, he knew well, would help him if he could. 
 
 "Telson," he groaned, directly he found himself beside 
 his faithful ally, " I've not looked at it ! " 
 
 Telson whistled "There'll be a row," he muttered, 
 consolingly ; " it's a jolly hard bit." 
 
 " Haven't you got the crib ? " 
 
 Telson looked uncomfortable. " Riddell caught me with 
 it and made me give it up." 
 
 "What on earth business has Riddell with your cribs, 
 I'd like to know?" exclaimed Parson, indignant, not at all 
 on the question of morality, but because the last straw on
 
 A Delicious Lecture. 21 
 
 which he had relied for scrambling through his Casar had 
 failed him. 
 
 " He didn't take it, but he advised me to give it up." 
 
 " And you were fool enough to give in to him ? " 
 
 " Well, he made out it wasn't honourable to use cribs," 
 said Telson. 
 
 "Grandmother!" snarled Parson. "Why, Telson, I 
 didn't think you'd have been such a soft ! " 
 
 " No more did I, but somehow oh I I'm awfully sorry, 
 old man ; I'll try and get it back." 
 
 " Doesn't much matter," said Parson, resignedly. " I'm 
 in for it hot to-day." 
 
 " 111 prompt you all I can," said the repentant Telson. 
 
 " Thanks ; I'd do the same to you if I could," replied 
 Parson. 
 
 " It h a long lane that has no turning," as the proverb 
 says, and Parson, after all, was destined to enjoy one brief 
 glimpse of the smiles of fortune that day. The first boy 
 put up to translate stumbled over a somewhat intricate point 
 of syntax. Now Mr. Warton, the master as the manner 
 of many masters is was writing a little book on Latin 
 Syntax, and this particular passage happened to be a superb 
 example of a certain style of construction which till this 
 moment had escaped his notice. Delighted with the dis- 
 covery, he launched out into a short lecture on the subject 
 generally, citing all the examples he had already got in his 
 book, and comparing them with other forms of construction 
 to be found scattered through the entire range of Latin 
 classical literature. 
 
 How Parson and Telson enjoyed that lecture! They 
 listened to it with rapt attention, with hearts full of grati- 
 tude and faces full of sympathy. They did not understand 
 a word of it, but a chapter out of " Midshipman Easy " 
 could not have delighted them more ; and when they saw
 
 22 
 
 Four Hours in a Fags Life. 
 
 that the clock had slowly worked round from nine to ten 
 they would not have interrupted it for the world. 
 
 " Ah 1 " said Mr. Warton, taking out his watch, " 1 see 
 time's up. We've had more Syntax than Caesar to-day. 
 Never mind, it's a point well worth remarking, and sure to 
 be useful as you get on in Latin. The class is dismissed." 
 
 Little he knew the joy his words carried to two small 
 hearts in his audience. 
 
 " Jolly good luck that 1 " said Parson, as he strolled out 
 into the passage arm-in-arm with his friend. " Now if I 
 can only get those beastly verbs done before Coatos asks 
 for them ! I say, Telson, do you know the dodge for 
 sticking three nibs on one pen and writing three lines all at 
 one time ? " 
 
 "Tried it once," said Telson," "but it didn't pay. It 
 took longer to keep sticking them in when they fell out, 
 and measuring them to write on the lines, than to write the 
 thing twice over the ordinary way. I'll write out part, old 
 man." 
 
 "Thanks Telson, you're an awful brick. I suppose 
 Riddell wouldn't think it wicked of you to write another 
 fellow's impot, would he ? " 
 
 " I half fancy he would ; but I won't tell him. Hullo ! 
 though, here comes Coates." 
 
 A monitor wearing his " mortar-board " approached. 
 
 " Where's your imposition, Parson ? " he asked. 
 
 " I'm awfully sorry," said Parson, " but it's not quite done 
 yet, Coates." 
 
 " How much is done ? " demanded Coates. 
 
 " Not any yet," said Parson, with some confusion. " I 
 was just going to begin. Wasn't I, Telson ? " 
 
 " Won't do," said Coates ; " you were up the river this 
 morning, I saw you. If you can go up the river you can 
 do your impositions. Better come with me to the captain."
 
 No Captain ! 23 
 
 Coming with a monitor to the captain meant something 
 unpleasant. The discipline of Willoughby, particularly in 
 outside matters, was left almost entirely in the hands of the 
 monitors, who with the captain, their head, were responsible 
 as a body to the head master for the order of the school. 
 It was very rarely that a case had to go beyond the 
 monitors, whose authority was usually sufficient to enable 
 them to deal summarily with all ordinary offenders. 
 
 It was by no means the first time that Parson, who was 
 reputed by almost every one but himself and Telson to be 
 an incorrigible scamp, had been haled away to this awful 
 tribunal, and he was half regretting that he had not met his 
 fate over the Caesar after all, and so escaped his present 
 position, when another monitor appeared down the passage 
 and met them. It was Ashley. 
 
 " Hullo ! Coates," said he, " I wish you'd come to my 
 study and help me choose half a dozen trout-flies, there's a 
 good fellow. I've had a book up from the town, and I 
 d jn't know which are the best to use." 
 
 " All serene," said Coates, " I'll be there directly. I'm 
 just going to take this youngster to the captain." 
 
 " Who is the captain ? " said Ashley. " Wyndham's 
 gone, and no one's been named yet that I know of. I 
 suppose it's Bloomfield." 
 
 " Eh ? I never thought of that No, I expect it'll be a 
 schoolhouse fellow. Always is, isn't it. Parson, you can 
 go. Bring me twelve French verbs written out to my study 
 before chapel to-morrow. Come on, Ashley." 
 
 And Parson departed, consoled in spirit, to announce to 
 Telson and the lower school generally that Willoughby 
 was at present without a captain.^
 
 CHAPTER IH 
 THE VACANT CAPTAINCY. 
 
 WHO was to be the new captain of Willoughby? 
 This was a question it had occurred to only a 
 very few to ask until Wyndham had finally quitted the 
 school. Fellows had grown so used to the old order of 
 things, which had continued now for two years, that the 
 possibility of their bowing to any other chief than " Old 
 Wynd" had scarcely crossed their minds. But the ques- 
 tion being once asked, it became very interesting indeed. 
 
 The captains of Willoughby had been by long tradition 
 what is known as "all-round men." There was something 
 in the air of the place that seemed specially favourable to 
 the development of muscle and classical proficiency at the 
 same time, and the consequence was that the last three 
 heads of the school had combined in one person the senior 
 classic and the captains of the clubs. Wyndham had been 
 the best of these; indeed he was as much ahead of his 
 fellows in the classical school as he was in the cricket-field 
 and on the river, which was saying not a little. His pre- 
 decessors had both also been head boys in classics ; and 
 although neither of them actually the best men of their 
 time in athletics, they had been sufficiently near the best 
 to entitle them to the place of honour which made the 
 Willoughby captain supreme, not only in school, but out 
 of it. So that in the memory of the present " generation " 
 a school generation being reckoned as five years the
 
 A Grave Question. 15 
 
 Willoughby captain had always been cock of the school 
 in every sense in which such a distinction was possible. 
 
 But now all of a sudden the school woke up to the fact 
 that this delightful state of things was not everlasting. 
 Wyndham had left, and his mantle had fallen from him in 
 two pieces. 
 
 The new head classic was Riddell, a comparatively 
 unknown boy in the school, who had come there a couple 
 of years ago from a private school, and about whom the 
 most that was known was that he was physically weak and 
 timid, rarely taking part in any athletic exercises, having 
 very few chums, interfering very little with anybody else, 
 and reputed " pi." as the more irreverent among the 
 Willoughbites were wont to stigmatise any fellow who 
 made a profession of goodness. Such was the boy on 
 whom, according to strict rule, the captaincy of Willoughby 
 would devolve, and it need hardly be said that the discovery 
 spread consternation wherever it travelled. 
 
 Among the seniors the idea was hardly taken seriously. 
 
 " The doctor would never be so ridiculous," said Ashley 
 to Coates, as they talked the matter over in the study of 
 the former. " We might as well shut up the school." 
 
 "The worst of it is, I don't see how he can help it," 
 replied Coates. 
 
 "Help it! Of course he can help it if he likes. 
 There's no written law that head classics are to be cap- 
 tains, if they can't hold a bat or run a hundred yards, is 
 there 
 
 " I don't suppose there is. But who else is there ? " 
 
 "Why, Bloomfield, of course. He's just the fellow for 
 it, and the fellows all look up to him." 
 
 " But Bloomfield's low down in the sixth," said 
 Coates.. 
 
 "What's that to do with it? Felton was a muff at
 
 26 The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 rowing, but he was made captain of the boats all the same 
 while he was cock of the school." 
 
 At this point another monitor entered. 
 
 " Ah, Tipper," said Ashley, " what do you think Coates 
 here is saying? He says Riddell is to be the new cap- 
 tain." 
 
 Tipper burst into a loud laugh. 
 
 "That would be a joke ! Think of Riddell stroking the 
 school eight at Henley, eh ! or kicking off for us against 
 Rockshire ! I suppose Coates thinks because Riddell's 
 a schoolhouse boy he's bound to be the man. Never fear. 
 You'll see Parrett's come to the front at last, my boy ! " 
 
 " Why, are you to be the new captain ? " asked Coates, 
 with a slight sneer. 
 
 Tipper was not pleased with this little piece of sarcasm. 
 He was a good cricketer and a fine runner, but in school 
 everybody knew him to be as poor a scholar as a fellow 
 could be to be in the sixth at all. 
 
 " I dare say even I would be as good as any schoolhouse 
 fellow you could pick out," said he. " But if you want to 
 know, Bloomfield's the man." 
 
 "Just what I was saying," said Ashley. "But Coates 
 says he's not far enough up in the school." 
 
 "All bosh," said Tipper. "What difference does it 
 make if a fellow's first or twentieth in the school, as long as 
 he's cock of everything outside ! I don't see how the doctor 
 can hesitate a moment between the two." 
 
 This was the conclusion come to at almost all the con- 
 claves which met together during the day to discuss the 
 burning question. It was the conclusion moreover to which 
 Bloomfield himself came as he talked the matter over with 
 a few of his friends after third school. 
 
 " You see," said he, "it's not that I care about the thing 
 for its own sake. It would be a precious grind, I know, to
 
 Bloomfield is Modest. 27 
 
 have to be responsible for everything that goes on, and to 
 have to lick all the kids that want a hiding. But for all 
 that, I'd sooner do it than let the school run down." 
 
 " What I hope," said some one, " is that even if Paddy 
 doesn't see it himself, Riddell will, and will have the sense 
 to back out of it. I fancy he wouldn't be sorry." 
 
 "Not he," said Bloomfield. "I heard him say once he 
 pitied Wyndham all the bother he had, especially when he 
 was wanting to stew for the exams." 
 
 " Has any one seen Riddell lately ? " asked Game. " It 
 wouldn't be a bad thing for some of us to see him, and put 
 it to him, that the school would, go to the dogs to a dead 
 certainty if he was captain." 
 
 " Rather a blunt way of putting it," said Porter, laughing. 
 " I'd break it to him rather more gently than that." 
 
 " Well, you know what I mean," replied Game, who was 
 of the downright order. 
 
 " You see," said Bloomfield, who, despite his protesta- 
 tions, was evidently not displeased at the notion of his 
 possible honours, " I don't profess to be much of a swell 
 in school ; but I don't know I fancy I could keep order 
 rather better than he could. The fellows know me." 
 
 " They ought to, if they don't," said Wibberly, who was a 
 toady. 
 
 " Fancy Riddell having to lick a junior," said Game. 
 " Why he'd faint at the very idea." 
 
 " Probably take him off to his study and have a prayer- 
 meeting with Fairbairn and a few more of that lot upon the 
 top of him," said Gilks, a schoolhouse monitor, and not a 
 nice-looking fellow. 
 
 " I guess I'd sooner get a hiding from old Bloomfield 
 than that," laughed Wibberly. 
 
 " I hope," said Game, " snivelling's not going to be the 
 order of the day. I can't stand it."
 
 28 The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 "I don't think you've any right to call Riddell a 
 sniveller," said Porter. " He may be a muff at sports, but 
 I don't fancy he's a sneak. And I don't see that it's 
 against him, either, if he does go in for being what he pro- 
 fesses to be." 
 
 " Hear 1 hear I quite a sermon from Porter," cried 
 Wibberly. 
 
 "Porter's right," said Bloomfield. " No one says it was 
 against him. All I say is that I don't expect the fellows 
 will mind him as much as they would a fellow who well, 
 who's better known, you know." 
 
 " Ratner," said Game, " I know it would seem precious 
 rum being a monitor under him." 
 
 " Well," said Bloomfield, " I suppose it will be settled 
 soon. Meanwhile, Game, what do you say to another 
 grind in the tub ? You didn't half work this morning, you 
 beggar." 
 
 Game groaned resignedly, and said " All right ; " and hue 
 and cry was forthwith made for Master Parson's services at 
 the helm. 
 
 But Master Parson, as it happened, was not to be found. 
 He was neither in the school nor in his house, and a 
 search through the grounds failed to unearth him. He 
 had not been seen since his escape from the monitorial 
 fangs after morning school. The natural thing, of course, 
 on not finding him at home in his own quarters, was to 
 look for him in Telson's. But he was not there, nor, strange 
 to say, was Telson himself. And, what was still more odd, 
 when search came to be made, Bosher, another fag of 
 Parrett's house, was missing, and so was Lawkins, and 
 Pringle, and King, and Wakefield, and one or two others 
 of the same glorious company. After a fruitless search, the 
 oarsmen had finally to go down to the river without a fag at 
 all, and impound the boat-boy to steer for them.
 
 A little Matter of business. 29 
 
 The fact was, Parson's miraculous release from the hands 
 of the law that morning, aud the reason which led to it, 
 had suggested both to himself and the faithful Telson that 
 the present was rather a rare opportunity for them in the 
 annals of Willoughby. If there was no captain, there was 
 no one to give them a licking (for the worst an ordinary 
 monitor could do was to give an imposition), and that 
 being so, it would surely be a waste of precious opportunity 
 if they failed to signalise the event by some little celebration. 
 And, as it happened, there was a little celebration which 
 badly wanted celebrating, and for which only a chance like 
 the present could have been considered favourable. In other 
 words, there was a rather long score which the juniors of 
 Parrett's were anxious to settle up with the juniors of 
 Welch's. The debt was of long standing, having begun as 
 far back as the middle of the Lent term, when the Welchers 
 had played upon some of Parrett's with a hose from behind 
 their own door, and culminating in the unprovoked outrage 
 upon the luckless Parson on the river that very morning. 
 
 Now if there was one thing more than another the young 
 Parretts prided themselves in, it was their punctuality in 
 matters of business ; and it had troubled them sorely that 
 circumstances over which they had no control (in other 
 words, the fear of Wyndham) should have prevented their 
 settling scores with the Welchers at an earlier date. Now, 
 however, an opportunity was come, and, like all honest 
 men, they determined at once to avail themselves of it. 
 
 So the reason why Bloomheld and Game could find no 
 fags in Parrett's house to steer for them was because all the 
 fags of Parrett's house, aided by Telson of the schoolhouse, 
 were at that moment paying a business call at Welch's, and 
 having on the whole rather a lively time of it 
 
 The juniors of Welch's were, take them altogether, a 
 rather more rowdy lot than the juniors of either of the
 
 3O The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 two other houses, or, indeed, than those of both the other 
 houses put together. Somehow Welch's was always the 
 rowdy house of Willoughby. The honours of the school, 
 whether in class or in field, always seemed to go in any 
 direction but their own, and as, for five or six years at any 
 rate, they had been unable to claim any one distinguished 
 Willoughbite as a member of their house, they had come 
 to regard themselves somewhat in the light of Ishmaelites. 
 Everybody's hand seemed to be against them, and they 
 therefore didn't see why their hand shouldn't be against 
 every one. 
 
 It was this feeling which had prompted the assaults of 
 which the youthful Parretts had come to complain, and 
 which the Welchers distributed as impartially as possible 
 among all their fellow Willoughbites. 
 
 The fact was, Welch's was a bad house. The fellows 
 there rarely made common cause for any lawful pur- 
 pose, certainly never for the credit of the school. They 
 were split up into cliques and sets of all sorts, and the 
 rising generation among them were left to grow up pretty 
 much as they liked. 
 
 On the afternoon in question an entertainment on a small 
 scale was going on in the study jointly occupied by Cusack 
 and Pilbury. Captain Cusack, R.N., when he had parted 
 from his dutiful son the night before, had put five shillings 
 into his hand as a pleasant memento of his visit ; and 
 Master Cusack, directly after second school that morning, 
 had skulked down into Shellport with his hat-box, and 
 returned in due time with the same receptacle packed 
 almost to bursting with dough -nuts, herrings, peppermint- 
 rock, and sherbet. With these dainties to recommend him 
 (and his possession of them soon got wind) it need hardly 
 be said he became all of a sudden the most popular youth 
 in Welch's. Fellows who would have liked to kick him
 
 The Magic Hat-box. 3* 
 
 yesterday now found themselves loving him like their own 
 brother, and the enthusiasm felt for him grew to such a 
 pitch that it really seemed as if not only his hat-box, but 
 he himself, was in danger. However, by a little judicious 
 manoeuvring he got safe into his study, and, after a hasty 
 consultation with Pil, decided to ask Curtis, Philpot, 
 Morrison, and Morgan, their four most intimate friends, to 
 do them the pleasure of joining in a small " blow-out " after 
 third school. These four worthies, who, by a most curious 
 coincidence, happened to be loafing outside Cusack's study 
 door at the very moment when Pilbury started off to find 
 them, had much pleasure in accepting their friend's kind 
 invitation ; and the rest, finding themselves out of it, yapped 
 off disconsolately, agreeing inwardly that Cusack was the 
 stingiest beast in all Willoughby. 
 
 If punctuality is a test of politeness, Curtis, Morgan, 
 Philpot, and Morrison were that afternoon four of the 
 politest young gentlemen in the land ; for they were all 
 inside Cusack's study almost before the bell dismissing third 
 school had ceased to sound. 
 
 "Jolly brickish of you, old man," said Morrison, com- 
 placently regarding the unpacking of the magic hat-box. 
 " I've not seen a dough-nut for years." 
 
 " I got these at a new shop," said Cusack, trying to rescue 
 some of the sherbet which had fallen in among the herrings. 
 11 Gormon never has anything but red-currant jam in his. 
 These are greengage." 
 
 " How jolly prime ! " was the delighted exclamation. 
 
 " Three-halfpence each, though," said Cusack, laying the 
 herrings out in a row on the table. " I say, I wish we'd 
 got some forks or something to toast these with." 
 
 " Wouldn't the slate do to stick them on ? " suggested 
 Curtis. 
 
 "Might do, only Grange wrote out a lot of Euclid
 
 32 The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 questions on it, and I've got to show them to him answered 
 to-morrow, and I'd get in an awful row if it was rubbed 
 out." 
 
 " Rather a bore. I tell you what, though," exclaimed 
 Philpot, struck with the brilliant idea, " there's the pan in 
 the chemistry-room they mix up the sulphur and phospho- 
 rus and that sort of thing in. I'll cut and get that. It's 
 just the thing." 
 
 " All serene," said Cusack ; " better give it a rub over in 
 case it blows up, you know." 
 
 Philpot said " All right," and went, leaving the others to 
 poke up the fire and get all ready for the reception of the 
 pan. 
 
 He was a long while about it, certainly, considering that 
 the chemistry-room was only just at the end of the passage. 
 
 " I wonder what he's up to ? " said Pilbury, when after 
 about three minutes he did not return. 
 
 " I wish he'd hurry up," said Curtis, whose special attrac- 
 tion was towards the dough-nuts, which of course could not 
 come on till after the herrings. 
 
 "I wonder if he's larking about with some of the 
 chemicals. I never knew such a fellow as he is for smells 
 and blow-ups " 
 
 " I'll blow him up if he's not sharp," said Cusack, losing 
 patience and looking mournfully at the row of herrings on 
 the table. 
 
 11 Let's begin without him," said Pilbury. 
 
 " So we would if we had anything to do them on." 
 
 "I'll go and see if I can get a fork or two," said 
 Morrison. 
 
 11 Thanks, and wake up Philpot while you're out." 
 
 Morrison went, and the others kicked their heels im- 
 patiently and eyed the good things hungrily as they waited. 
 
 Cusack tried toastiny i herring on one of the small forks,
 
 A Coup tfEtat. 33 
 
 but the heat of the fire was too great for him to hold his 
 hand at such close quarters, and he gave it up in 
 disgust. 
 
 What was the matter with everybody this afternoon? 
 Morrison was away ages and did not return. 
 
 " Oh, bother it all ! " exclaimed Cusack, whose patience 
 was now fairly exhausted, " if they don't choose to come 
 I'm hung if they'll get anything now. I'll go and get the 
 pan myself." 
 
 And off he went in high dudgeon, leaving his guests in 
 charge of the feast. 
 
 " If he can't get the pan or a toasting fork," said Curtis, 
 disinterestedly, " wouldn't it be as well to have the dough- 
 nuts now, and leave the herrings till supper, eh, Pil ? Pity 
 for them to get stale." 
 
 Pilbury said nothing, but broke off a little piece of the 
 peppermint-rock in a meditative manner, and drummed his 
 feet on the floor. 
 
 " Upon my word," he broke out after a good three 
 minutes' waiting, " that blessed pan must be jolly heavy. 
 There's three of them sticking to it now ! " 
 
 "Wait a bit, I hear him coming," said Curtis, going to 
 the door. He stepped out into the passage, Morgan 
 following him. 
 
 Pilbury heard a sudden scuffling outside, and a sound of 
 what did not seem like Welchers' voices. He hurried to 
 the door to ascertain the cause, and as he did so he found 
 himself caught roughly by the arm and slung violently 
 against the opposite wall, while at the same moment Telson, 
 Parson, Bosher, and half a dozen Parrett juniors rushed 
 past him into the empty study, slamming and locking and 
 barricading the door behind them 1 
 
 It was all so quickly done that the luckless Welchers 
 could hardly believe their own senses. But when they 
 
 2
 
 34 The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 heard the distant voice of Philpot shouting that he was 
 locked up in the chemistry -room, and of Morrison com- 
 plaining that he couldn't get out of his own study, and of 
 Cusack demanding to be released from the lavatory; and 
 when their combined assault on the door produced nothing 
 but defiant laughter mingled with the merry frizzing of the 
 herrings before the fire, they knew it was no dream but a 
 hideous fact. They had presence of mind enough to release 
 their incarcerated comrades and attempt another assault in 
 force on the door. But it came to nothing. In vain they 
 shouted, threatened, entreated, kicked. They only received 
 facetious answers from inside, which aggravated their 
 misery. 
 
 " Go it, you fellows," shouted one voice, very like Parson's, 
 only the mouth was so full that it was hard to say for 
 certain. "Jolly good dough-nuts these; have another, 
 Bosher, you've only had four. I say, Cusack, where did 
 you catch these prime herrings ? Best I've tasted since I 
 came here. Afraid your slate's a little damaged ; awfully 
 sorry, you ought to keep a toasting-fork ha ! ha ! " and a 
 chorus of laughter greeted the sally. 
 
 Cusack groaned and fumed. 
 
 " You pack of young cads," he howled through the key- 
 hole. " Come out of there, do you hear? you thieves you. 
 I'll warm you, Parson, when I get hold of you." 
 
 "Just what we're doing to the bloaters," cried Telson. 
 
 There was a pause. Then Pilbury cried in tones of 
 feigned warning, " Here comes the doctor ! We'll see what 
 he says." 
 
 " Won't do," shouted Parson from within. " Won't wash, 
 my boy. Paddy's down at Shellport. Any more sherbet 
 left, King?" 
 
 "I'll go and tell the captain, that's what I'll do," said 
 Pilbury.
 
 A Brilliant Sortie. 35 
 
 " Won't wash again," cried Parson. " There's no captain 
 to tell ; I say, we're leaving something for you, aren't we, 
 you fellows ? There'll be all the heads of the herrings and 
 the greengage stones jolly blow-out for you." 
 
 It was no use attempting further parley, and the irate 
 Welchers were compelled to lurk furiously outside the door 
 while the feast proceeded, and console themselves with the 
 prospect of paying the enemy out when it was all 
 over. 
 
 But the skill which had accompanied the execution of the 
 raid so far was not likely to omit all precautions possible 
 to make good a retreat. While most of the party were 
 making all the noise they could, and succeeding with jest 
 and gibe in keeping the attention of those outside, the 
 barricade against the door had been quietly removed, and 
 decks cleared for the sortie. 
 
 " Now then, you fellows," cried Parson to his men, in a 
 voice which those outside were intended to hear, "make 
 yourselves comfortable. Here's a stunning lot of peppermint- 
 rock here, pass it round. Needn't go home for half an 
 hour at least I " 
 
 The watchers outside groaned. There was no help at 
 hand ; and for one of them to go and seek it was only to in- 
 crease the odds against them. The only thing was to wait 
 patiently till the enemy did come out. Then it would bs 
 their turn. So they leaned up against the door and waited. 
 The revelry within became more and more boisterous, and 
 the chances of a speedy retreat more and more remote, 
 when all of a sudden there was a sharp click and the door 
 swung back hard on its hinges, precipitating Cusack, 
 Pilbury, and Curtis backwards into the room in among the 
 very feet of the besieged as, in a compact body, they rushed 
 out. Morrison, Philpot, and Morgan did what little they 
 could to oppose them but they were simply run over and
 
 36 The Vacant Captaincy. 
 
 swept aside by the wily troop of Parretts, who with shouts 
 of derisive triumph gained the staircase with unbroken ranks, 
 and gave their pursuers the parting gratification of watching 
 them slide down the banisters one by one, and then 
 lounge ofl arm-in-arm, sated and jubilant, to their own 
 quarters.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE NEW CAPTAIN'S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 OF course a row was made, or attempted to be made, 
 about the daring exploit of the fags of Parrett's 
 House narrated in the last chapter. The matter was duly 
 reported to the head monitor of Welch's by the injured 
 parties. But the result only proved how very cunning the 
 offenders had been in choosing this particular time for the 
 execution of their raid. 
 
 The head of Welch's reported the matter to Bloomfield, 
 as the head of Parrett's. But Bloomfield, who had plenty 
 to do to punish offences committed in his own House^ 
 replied that the head of Welch's had better mention it to 
 the captain of the school. He couldn't do anything. The 
 head of Welch's pointed out that there was no captain of 
 the school at present. What was he to do ? 
 
 Bloomfield suggested that he had better " find out," and 
 there the matter ended. Wherever the head Welcher took 
 his complaint he got the same answer ; and it became 
 perfectly clear that as long as Willoughby was without a 
 captain, law and order was at a discount 
 
 However, such a state of things was not destined long to 
 last. A notice went round from the doctor to the monitors 
 the next day asking them to assemble directly after chapel 
 the following morning in the library. Every one knew what 
 this meant; and when later on it was rumoured that 
 Riddell had gone to the doctor's that evening to tea, it 
 became pretty evident in which direction things were going.
 
 38 The New Captain's Introduction. 
 
 " Tea at the doctor's " was always regarded as rather a 
 terrible ordeal by those who occasionally came in for the 
 honour. Some would infinitely have preferred a licking in 
 the library, and others would have felt decidedly more 
 comfortable in the dock of a police-court. Even the oldest 
 boys, whose conduct was exemplary, and whose conscience 
 had as little to make it uneasy in the head master's presence 
 as in the presence of the youngest fag in Willoughby, were 
 always glad when the ceremony was over. 
 
 The reason of all this was not in the doctor. Dr. Patrick 
 was one of the kindest and pleasantest of men. He could 
 not, perhaps, throw off the Dominie altogether on such 
 occasions, but he always tried hard, and if there had been 
 no one more formidable than "Paddy" to deal with the 
 meal would have been comparatively pleasant and un- 
 alarming. 
 
 But there was a Mrs. Patrick and a Mrs. Patrick's sister, 
 and before these awful personages the boldest Willoughbite 
 quailed and trembled. From the moment the unhappy 
 guest entered the parlour these two (who were always there) 
 fastened their eyes on him and withered him. They spoke 
 ceremoniously in the language in which the grand old ladies 
 used to speak in the old story-books. If he chanced to 
 speak, they sat erect in their chairs listening to him with all 
 their ears, looking at him with all their eyes, freezing him 
 with all their faintest of smiles. No one could sit there 
 under their inspection without feeling that every word and 
 look and gesture was being observed, probably with a view 
 to recording it in a letter home ; and the idea of being at 
 one's ease with them in the room was about as preposterous 
 as the idea of sleeping comfortably on a wasp's nest ! 
 
 And yet, if truth were known, these good females meant 
 well. They had their own ideas of what boys should be 
 (atither having any of their own), and fondly imagined th-tt
 
 A Terrible Ordeal. 39 
 
 during these occasional ceremonies in the doctor's parlour 
 they were rendering valuable assistance in the " dear boy's * 
 education by giving him some idea of the manners and 
 charms of polite society I 
 
 It was in such genial company that Riddell, the head 
 classic of Willoughby, was invited to bask for a short time 
 on the evening of the day before the appointment of 
 the new captain, He had been there once before when his 
 father and mother had come over to visit him. And even 
 with their presence as a set-off, the evening had been one 
 of the most awful experiences of his life. But now that he 
 was to go all alone to partake of state tea with those two, 
 this shy awkward boy felt about as cheerful as if he had been 
 walking helplessly into a lion's den. 
 
 "Well, Riddell," said the doctor, pleasantly, as after 
 long hesitation the guest at last ventured to arrive, " how 
 are you? My dear, this is Riddell, whom I believe you 
 have seen before. Miss Stringer too I think you met." 
 
 Riddell coloured deeply and shivered inwardly as he 
 advanced first to one lady then to the other and solemnly 
 shook hands. 
 
 " I trust your parents are in good health, Mr. Riddt?!," 
 said Mrs. Patrick in her most precise tones. 
 
 "Very well indeed, thank you," replied Riddell; "that 
 is," he added, correcting himself suddenly, "my mother 
 is very poorly, thank you." 
 
 " I regret to hear you say so," said Mrs. Patrick, trans- 
 fixing the unhappy youth with her eyes. " I trust her 
 indisposition is uot of a serious character." 
 
 " I hope she will, thank you, ma'am," replied Riddell, 
 who somehow fancied his hostess had said, or had been 
 going to say, she hoped his mother would soon recover. 
 
 " Er, I beg your pardon ? " said Mrs. Patrick, leaning 
 slightly foiwaid and inclining her head a little on one side.
 
 40 The New Captain's Introduction. 
 
 "I mean, I beg your pardon," said Riddell, suddenly 
 perceiving his mistake and losing his head at the same time, 
 " I mean, quite so, thank you." 
 
 "You mean," interposed Miss Stringer at this point, 
 in a voice a note deeper than her sister's, "that your 
 mother's indisposition is of a serious character ? " 
 
 " Oh no, not at all, I'm sure," ejaculated the hapless 
 Riddell. 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so, very," said Miss 
 Stringer. 
 
 "Very," said Mrs. Patrick. 
 
 At this point Riddell had serious thoughts of bolting 
 altogether, and might have done so had not the servant 
 just then created a diversion by bringing in the kettle. 
 
 "Sit down, Riddell," said the doctor, "and make your- 
 self at home. What are the prospects for the regatta this 
 year ? Is the schoolhouse boat to win ? " 
 
 " I'm sorry I can't say," replied Riddell. " I believe 
 Parrett's is the favourite." 
 
 " Mr. Riddell means Mr. Parrett's, I presume ? " asked 
 Mrs. Patrick in her sweetest tones, looking hard at the 
 speaker, *nd emphasising the " Mr." 
 
 " I beg your paidon," he said, " I'm sorry." 
 
 " We shall miss Wyndham," said the doctor. 
 
 " Yes, thank you," replied Riddell, who at that moment 
 was dodging vaguely in front of Miss Stringer as she stood 
 solemnly waiting to get past him to the tea-table. 
 
 It was a relief when tea was at last ready, and when 
 some other occupation was possible than that of looking 
 at and being looked at by these two ladies. 
 
 "You're not very fond of athletics, Riddell?" asked the 
 doctor. 
 
 " No, sir," answered Riddell, steadily avoiding the eyes 
 of the females.
 
 A Sheep among Wolves. 41 
 
 " I often think you'd be better if you took more exercise," 
 said the doctor. 
 
 "Judging by Mr. Riddell's looks," said Mrs. Patrick, "it 
 would certainly seem as if he hardly did himself justice 
 physically." 
 
 This enigmatical sentence, which might have been a 
 compliment or might have been a rebuke or might have 
 meant neither, Riddell found himself quite unable to reply 
 to appropriately, and therefore, like a sensible man, took 
 a drink of tea instead. It was the first dawn of reviving 
 presence of mind. 
 
 " Apart from your own health altogether," continued the 
 doctor, " I fancy your position with the other boys would 
 be better if you entered rather more into their sports." 
 
 " I often feel that, sir," said Riddell, with a touch of 
 seriousness in his tones, " and I wish I could do it." 
 
 11 1 hope that there is no consideration as to health 
 which debars you from this very desirable exercise, Mr. 
 Riddell," said Mrs. Patrick. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said Riddell, who did not quite 
 take it in. 
 
 Mrs. Patrick never liked being asked to repeat her 
 speeches. She flattered herself they were lucid enough to 
 need no second delivery. She therefore repeated her 
 remark slowly and in precisely the same words and tone 
 
 " I hope that there is no consideration as to health 
 which debars you from this very desirable exercise, Mr. 
 Riddell ? " 
 
 Riddell took half a moment to consider, and then replied, 
 triumphantly, 
 
 " I'm quite well, thank you, ma'am." 
 
 " I am pleased to hear that," said Mrs. Patrick, rather 
 icily, for this last observation had seemed to her a little 
 rude.
 
 42 Tke New Captains Introduction. 
 
 " Very," chimed in Miss Stringer. 
 
 After this there was a silence, which Riddell devoutly 
 hoped might last till it was time to go. Had the ladies 
 not been there he would have liked very much to speak to 
 the doctor about school matters, and the doctor, but for 
 the same cause, would have wished to talk to his head boy. 
 But it was evident this tea-table was not the place for such 
 conversation. 
 
 " I hear," said the doctor, after the pause had continued 
 some time, addressing his sister-in-law, "there is likely to 
 be an election in Shellport before long ; Sir Abraham is 
 retiring." 
 
 " Indeed, you surprise me," said Miss Stringer. 
 
 "It is unexpected," said the doctor, "but it is thought 
 there will be a sharp contest for the seat." 
 
 "And are you a Liberal or a Conservative, Mr. Riddell? " 
 asked Mrs. Patrick, thinking it time that unfortunate youth 
 was again tempted into the conversation. 
 
 "A Liberal, ma'am," replied Riddell. 
 
 " Oh I boys are generally Conservatives, are they not ? " 
 
 She asked this question in a tone as if she expected him 
 to try to deceive her in his answer. However, he evaded 
 it by replying bashfully, 
 
 " I hope not." 
 
 " And pray," said Miss Stringer, putting down her cup, 
 and turning full on her victim, "will you favour us with 
 your reasons for such a hope, Mr. Riddell ? " 
 
 Poor Riddell 1 he little thought what he had let himself 
 in for. If there was one subject the two ladies were rabid 
 on it was politics. They proceeded to pounce upon, 
 devour, and annihilate the unlucky head classic without 
 mercy. They made him contradict himself twice or thrice 
 in every sentence ; they proved to him clearly that he knew 
 nothing at all of what he was talking about, and generally
 
 An Invitation to Breakfast. 43 
 
 gave him to understand that he was an impertinent, con- 
 ceited puppy for presuming to have an opinion of his own 
 on such matters ! 
 
 Riddell came out of the ordeal very much as a duck 
 comes out of the hands of the poulterer. Luckily, by the 
 time the discussion was over it was time for him to go. He 
 certainly could not have held out much longer, As it was, 
 he was good for nothing after it, and went to bed early 
 that night with a very bad headache. 
 
 Before he left, however, the doctor had accompanied 
 him into the hall, and said, 
 
 " There are a few things, Riddell, I want to speak to you 
 about. Will you come to my study a quarter of an hour 
 before morning chapel to-morrow?" 
 
 Had the invitation been to breakfast in that horrible 
 parlour Riddell would flatly have declined it. As it was 
 he cheerfully accepted it, and only wished the doctor had 
 thought of it before, and spared him the misery of that 
 evening with the two Willoughby griffins ! 
 
 He could hardly help guessing what it was the doctor 
 had to say to him, or why it was he had been asked 
 to tea that evening. And he felt very dejected as he 
 thought about it Like most of the other Willoughbites, 
 the idea of a new captain having to be appointed had never 
 occurred to him till Wyndham had finally left the school. 
 And when it did occur, and when moreover it began to 
 dawn upon him that he himself was the probable successor, 
 horror filled his mind. He couldn't do it. He was not cut 
 out for it. He would sooner leave Willoughby altogether. 
 The boys either knew nothing about him, or they laughed 
 at him for his clumsiness, or they suspected him as a 
 coward, or they despised him as a prig. He had wit 
 enough to know what Willoughby thought of him, and that 
 being so, how could he ever be its captain ?
 
 44 The New Captain's Introduction. 
 
 " I would much rather you named some one else," said 
 he to the doctor at their interview next morning. "I 
 know quite well I couldn't get on." 
 
 " You have not tried yet," said the doctor. 
 
 " But I've not the strength, and the boys don't like me," 
 pleaded RiddelL 
 
 "You must make them like you, Riddell," said the 
 doctor. 
 
 " How can I ? They will dislike me all the more if I am 
 made captain. I have no influence with them, indeed I 
 have not." 
 
 " How do you know ? " said the doctor again. " Have 
 you tried yet ? " 
 
 " I could never do what Wyndham did. He was such a 
 splendid captain." 
 
 "Why?" asked the doctor. 
 
 " I suppose because he was a splendid athlete, and threw 
 himself into all their pursuits, and and set a good example 
 himself." 
 
 " I think you are partly right and partly wrong," said the 
 doctor. " There are several fine athletes in Willoughby 
 who would make poor captains ; and as for throwing one- 
 self into school pursuits aud setting a good example, I don't 
 think either is beyond your reach." 
 
 Riddell felt very uncomfortable. He began to feel that 
 after all he might be shirking a duty he ought to undertake. 
 But he made one more effort. 
 
 " There are so many others would do it better, sir, whom 
 the boys look up to already," he said. " Bloomfield, for 
 instance, or " 
 
 The doctor held up his hand. 
 
 "We will not go into that, Riddell," he said. "You 
 must not suppose I and others have not considered the 
 good of Willoughby in this matter. It remains for you to
 
 'It's worth trying, Riddell" 45 
 
 consider it also. As you grow older you will constantly 
 find duties confronting you which may be sorely against 
 your inclination, but which as an honest man you will know 
 are not to be shirked. You have a chance of beginning 
 now. I don't pretend to say you will find it easy or 
 pleasant work, or that you are likely to succeed, at first at any 
 rate, as well as others have done. But unless I am mistaken 
 you will not give in on that account. Of course you will 
 need to exert yourself. You know what boys look for in 
 a captain ; it's not mere muscle, or agility. Get them by all 
 means if you can ; but what will be worth far more than 
 these will be sympathy. If they discover you are one 
 with them, and that in your efforts to keep order you have 
 the welfare of the school chiefly at heart, they will come out, 
 depend upon it, and meet you half-way. It's worthtrying, 
 Riddell." 
 
 Riddell said nothing, but his face was rather more hope- 
 ful as he looked up at the doctor. 
 
 "Come," said the latter, "there's the bell for chapel. 
 It's time we went in." 
 
 Riddell entered chapel that morning in a strangely con- 
 flicting frame of mind. The hope was still in his face, but 
 the misgivings were still in his heart, and the whole pros- 
 pect before him seemed to be a dream. 
 
 As the slight shy boy walked slowly up the floor to his 
 place among the Sixth, the boys on either side eyed him 
 curiously and eagerly, and a half-titter, half-sneer greeted 
 his appearance. 
 
 Some regarded him with a disfavour which amounted to 
 positive dislike, others with disdain and even contempt, and 
 others thought of Wyndham and wondered what Willoughby 
 was coming to. Even among the Sixth many an unfriendly 
 glance was darted at him as he took his seat, and many a 
 whispered foreboding passed from boy to boy. Only a few
 
 46 The New Captains Introduction. 
 
 watched him with looks of sympathy, and of these scarcely 
 one was hopeful. 
 
 Happily for Riddell, he could not see half of all this ; 
 and when in a moment the doctor entered and prayers 
 began, he saw none of it. For he was one of a few at 
 Willoughby to whom this early morning service was some- 
 thing more than a mere routine, and who felt, especially at 
 times like this, that in those beautiful familiar words was 
 to be found the best of all preparations for the day's 
 duties. 
 
 Telson, as he stood down by the door, with his hands in 
 his pockets, beside his friend Parson, was void of all such 
 reflections. What was chiefly occupying his lordly mind at 
 that moment was the discovery suddenly made, that if 
 Riddell was the new captain, he of course would be 
 captain's fag. And he was not quite sure whether to be 
 pleased or the reverse at his new dignity. 
 
 " You see," said he to his ally, in a whisper, " it's good 
 larks marking the fellows off every morning as they come 
 into chapel, but then, don't you twig that means I've got to 
 be here the moment the bell begins ringing ? and that's no 
 joke." 
 
 " No, unless you got leave to ring the bell too," said 
 Parsoa " Then of course they couldn't troop in till you 
 were there. I'd come down and help with the bell, you 
 know." 
 
 " Wouldn't do, I fancy," said Telson. " Then, of course, 
 it's swell enough work to have to go about and tell the 
 monitors what they've got to do, but I'm not so sure if it's 
 a good thing to mix altogether with monitors likely to 
 spoil a chap, eh?" 
 
 11 Rather," said Parsoa " Look out, Porter's looking." 
 
 Whereupon this brief but edifying dialogue broke off for 
 Ihe present
 
 The Doctor and ttie Monitors. 47 
 
 The monitors duly assembled in the doctor's library after 
 chapel They all of them knew whnt was coming, and 
 their general attitude did not seem promising for the new 
 rlgime. Each one possibly fancied he had the interests of 
 Willoughby at heart, and all but one or two felt convinced 
 that in putting Riddell into the position of captain the 
 doctor was committing a serious mistake. Every one 
 could have given good reasons for thinking so, and would 
 have asserted that they had no personal ill-feeling towards 
 the new captain, but for the sake of the school they were 
 sure he was not the fit person. Whether each one felt 
 equally sure that he himself would have filled the post 
 better is a question it is not necessary to ask here. 
 
 The doctor was brief and to the point. 
 
 ** I dare say you know why I have called you together," 
 he said. " Wyndham whom every one here liked and 
 respected, and who did a great deal for the school " 
 (" Hear, hear," from one or two voices) " has left, and we 
 shall all miss him. The captain of the school has always for 
 a long time past been the head classical boy. It is not a law 
 of the Medes and Persians that it should be so, and if 
 there seemed any special reason why the rule should be 
 broken through there is nothing to prevent that being 
 done." 
 
 At this point one or two breathed rather more freely and 
 the attention generally was intensified. After all, this 
 seemed like the preface to a more favourable announcement. 
 But those who thought so found their mistake when the 
 doctor proceeded. 
 
 " In the present case there is no such reason, and Riddell 
 here is fully aware of the duties expected of him, and is 
 prepared to perform them. I look to you to support him, 
 and am confident if all work heartily together no one need 
 be afraid for the continued success of Willoughby."
 
 48 The New Captains Introduction. 
 
 The doctor ended his speech amid the silence of his 
 audience, which was not broken as he turned and left the 
 room. At the same moment, to the relief of no one more 
 than of Riddell, the bell sounded for breakfast and the 
 assembly forthwith broke up.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE NEW CAPTAIN IS DISCUSSED ON LAND AND 
 WATER. 
 
 THE doctor's announcement was not long in taking 
 effect. As soon as third school was over that after- 
 noon the monitors assembled in the Sixth Form room to 
 discuss the situation. Fortunately for Riddell's peace of 
 mind, he was not present ; but nearly all the others, whether 
 friendly or otherwise, were there. 
 
 Game, with his usual downrightness, opened the ball. 
 
 "Well, you fellows," said he, "what are you going to 
 do?" 
 
 " Let's have a game of leapfrog while the fags aren't 
 looking," said Crossfield, a schoolhouse monitor and a wag 
 in a small way. 
 
 "It's all very well for you to fool about," said Game, 
 ill-temperedly. "You schoolhouse fellows think, as long 
 as you get well looked after, Willoughby may go to the 
 dogs." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " said Fairbairn. " I don't think 
 so." 
 
 " I suppose you'd like to make out that Riddell is made 
 captain because he's the best man for the place, and not 
 because the doctor always favours the schoolhouse," 
 snarled Wibberly. 
 
 " He's made captain because he's head classic," replied
 
 5O The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 Fairbairn ; " it has nothing to do with his being a school- 
 house fellw." 
 
 "All very well," said Tucker, of Welch's, "but it's a 
 precious odd thing, all the same, that the captain is always 
 picked out of the schoolhouse." 
 
 " And it's a precious odd thing too," chimed in Cross- 
 field, "that a head classic was never to be got out of 
 Welch's for love or money ! " 
 
 ' This turned the laugh against the unlucky Tucker, who 
 was notoriously a long way off being head classic. 
 
 "What I say is," said Game, "we want an all-round 
 man for captain a fellow like Bloomfield here, who's well 
 up in the Sixth, and far away the best fellow in the eleven 
 and the boats. Besides, he doesn't shut himself up like 
 Riddell, and give himself airs. I can't see why the doctor 
 didn't name him. The only thing against him seems to 
 be that he's not a schoolhouse gentleman." 
 
 " That's the best thing about him in my opinion," said 
 Ashley. 
 
 If Game and his friends had determined to do their best 
 to gain friends for the new captain, this constant bringing- 
 up of the rivalry between Barrett's house and the school- 
 house was the very way to do it. Many of the school- 
 house monitors had felt as sore as anybody about the 
 appointment, but this sort of talk inclined not a few of 
 them to take Riddell's side. 
 
 " I don't want any row made on my account," said 
 Bloomfield. " If Paddy thinks Riddell's the best man, we 
 have no choice in the matter." 
 
 " Haven't we, though ! " said Wibberly. " We aren't 
 going to have a fellow put over our heads against our will 
 at any rate, not without having a word in the matter." 
 
 " What can you do ? " asked Coates. 
 
 " We can resign, I suppose ? " said Tucker.
 
 Declined with Thanks. 51 
 
 " Oh, yes I " said Crossfield. " And suppose Paddy took 
 you at your word, my boy? Sad thing for Welch's that 
 would be 1 " 
 
 " I don't know why you choose to make a beast of your- 
 self whenever I speak," said Tucker, angrily ; " I've as 
 much right " 
 
 " Shut up, Tucker, for goodness' sake I " said Bloom- 
 field ; " don't begin by quarrelling." 
 
 " Well, then, what does he want to cheek me for ? " 
 demanded Tucker. " He's a stuck-up schoolhouse prig, 
 that's what he is ! " 
 
 " And if I only had the flow of costermonger's talk which 
 some people possess " began Crossfield. 
 
 "Are you going to shut up or not?" demanded Bloom- 
 field. 
 
 " Hullo ! you aren't captain yet, old man ! " replied the 
 irrepressible Crossfield ; " but if you do want to know, I am 
 going to shut up now till I want to speak again." 
 
 "We might get up a petition to the doctor, anyhow," 
 suggested Game, returning to the subject; " he'd have to 
 take notice of that." 
 
 " What will you say in the petition?" asked Porter. 
 
 " Oh ! easy enough that Say we don't consider Riddell 
 fit to be captain, and we'd sooner have some one else." 
 
 " Better say we'd sooner have Bloomfield at once," said 
 Wibberly. 
 
 " No ; please don't mention my name," said Bloomfield. 
 
 " Wouldn't the best thing be to send Riddell back with a 
 label, ' Declined, with thanks,' pinned on his coat-tail?" 
 suggested Crossfield. 
 
 "Yes; and add, 'Try again, Paddy,"' said Coates, 
 laughing. 
 
 " And just mention no schoolhouse snobs are wanted," 
 said Tucker.
 
 52 The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 " And suggest, mildly, that a nice, clever, amiable, high- 
 principled Welcher like Tom Tucker would be acceptable," 
 added Crossfield. 
 
 " Look here," said Tucker, very red in the face, advanc- 
 ing towards his tormentor, " I've stood your impudence long 
 enough, you cad, and I won't stand any more." 
 
 " Sit down, then," replied Crossfield, cheerfully, " plenty 
 of forms." 
 
 " Look here, you fellows'" said Bloomfield again, " for 
 goodness' sake shut up. Have it out afterwards if you like, 
 but don't fight here." 
 
 " I don't mind where I have it out," growled Tucker, 
 "but I'll teach him to cheek me, see if I don't." 
 
 So saying, much to the relief of every one, he turned on 
 his heel and left the room. 
 
 After this the discussion again got round to Riddell, and 
 the question of a petition was revived. 
 
 " It would be quite easy to draw something up that would 
 say what we want to say and not give offence to any one," 
 said Ashley. 
 
 " But what do you want to say ? " asked Fairbairn. " If 
 you want to tell the doctor he's wrong, and that we are the 
 people to set him right, I don't see how yon can help 
 offending him." 
 
 "That's not what we want to say at all," said Game. 
 " We want to say that the captain of Willoughby has always 
 been a fellow who was good all round, and we think the new 
 captain ought to be of the same sort for the sake of the 
 school." 
 
 " Hear, hear," said one or two of Parrett's house ; "what 
 could be better than that ? " 
 
 "Well," said Porter, "I don't see much difference 
 between saying that and telling the doctor he doesn't know 
 what he's about"
 
 A Humble Protest. 53 
 
 "Of course you say so that's your schoolhouse pre- 
 judice," replied Wibberly. 
 
 " It's nothing of the sort," said Fairbaim, warmly ; " you 
 know that as well as I do, Wibberly." 
 
 " I know it is," retorted Wibberly ; " you'd put up with 
 anybody as long as he wasn't a Parrett's fellow." 
 
 And so the wrangle went on ; and at the end of it the 
 company was as near agreeing as they had been at the 
 beginning. 
 
 Finally one or two of the schoolhouse fellows, such as 
 Fairbairn, Coates, and Porter, withdrew, and the Parrett 
 faction, having it then pretty much their own way, drew up 
 the following petition : 
 
 " We the undersigned monitors respectfully hope you will 
 reconsider your decision as to the New Captain. The captain 
 has hitherto always been an 'all-round man,' and we think 
 it would be best for the discipline of the school to have a 
 fellow of the same sort now. We wish to say nothing 
 against Riddell except that we do not think he is the best 
 fellow for the position. We hope you will excuse us for 
 stating our opinion." 
 
 To this extraordinary document all the monitors of 
 Parrett's and Welch's houses present put their names, as 
 well as Gilks and one cr two others of the schoolhouse, 
 and after deciding not to present it till next day, by which 
 time it was hoped other signatures might be procured, the 
 august assembly broke up. 
 
 The reign of Riddell had not, to say the least of it, 
 opened auspiciously as far as his fellow-monitors were con- 
 cerned. And outside that body, in Willoughby at large, 
 things did not look much more promising. 
 
 The feeling in Parrett's house was of course one of un- 
 mingled wrath and mutiny. When once the heads of the 
 house were known to have declared so unmistakably
 
 54 The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 against the new captain, it was not much to be wondered at 
 that the rank and file followed their lead in a still more 
 demonstrative manner. 
 
 It happened that Parson and his friends, Telson (who, 
 though a schoolhouse boy, seemed to live most of his life 
 in Parrett's), King, Wakefield, and Lawkins, had planned a 
 little expedition up the river between third school and 
 " call-over " that afternoon, and the present state of affairs 
 in the school formed a rather lively topic of discussion for 
 these worthies as they pulled the Parrett's " Noah's ark " 
 by which complimentary title the capacious boat devoted to 
 the use of the juniors of the house was known lazily up 
 on the tide towards Balsham. 
 
 The river was pretty full, as usual at that time of day, 
 and as one form which the wrath of the youthful Parretts 
 took was to insult, and if opportunity arose, to run down 
 the craft of either of the other houses, the discussion on 
 the condition of Willoughby was relieved by more than one 
 lively incident. 
 
 " Think of that chap being captain," said Parson, standing 
 up on the back seat, with the rudder lines in his hands so 
 as to command a good view of the stream ahead. " He 
 couldn't row as well as old Bosher there." 
 
 As "Old Bosher " was at that moment engaged in super, 
 human efforts to keep his balance with one hand, and 
 extricate his oar, which had feathered two feet under the 
 surface of the water, with the other, this illustration was 
 particularly effective and picturesque. 
 
 " Oh, he's an awful cad," said Wakefield, who was rowing 
 bow. " He reported me to Wyndham last term for letting 
 off crackers in bed." 
 
 " What a beastly shame ! " was the sympathising chorus. 
 
 ;t And you know " added King. 
 
 But as Bosher fell rather violently backward into his lap
 
 A Voyage in Noah's Ark. 55 
 
 at this instant, and let his oar go altogether, what King was 
 going to say did not come out. 
 
 After a vast amount of manoeuvring, back- watering, 
 shouting, and reaching to recover the lost oar, the voyage 
 proceeded. 
 
 They had not proceeded far when the racing-boat of their 
 house, manned by Bloomfield, Game, Tipper, and Ashley, 
 and coached from the bank by Mr. Parrett himself, spun 
 past them in fine style and at a great rate. As became loyal 
 Parretts, the juniors pulled into the bank to let the four-oar 
 pass, and, not content with this act of homage, they volun- 
 teered a round of vehement applause into the bargain. 
 
 " Bravo 1 Well rowed, our house ! Two to one on 
 Parrett's ! Three cheers for Bloomfield ! Three cheers for 
 the captain ! Hooroo ! " 
 
 With this gratifying salute the boat darted out of sight 
 round the bend, leaving the juniors once more to continue 
 on their festive way. 
 
 " Isn't old Bloomfield a stunner ? " said Lawkins. " He's 
 the sort of fellow for captain ! Not that schoolhouse idiot, 
 Riddell." 
 
 " Easy all there about the schoolhouse," shouted down 
 Telson from his place at "stroke. " I'll fight you if you say 
 it again." 
 
 " Hurrah I let's land and have a mill ! " cried King. 
 " I back you, Telson, old man." 
 
 "Oh, I didn't mean to cheek you, Telson," said Lawkins, 
 humbly. " I'll apologise, you know." 
 
 "Jolly good job," said Telson, grandly, "or I'd have 
 licked you." 
 
 "All the same," said Lawkins, " old Bloomfield's " 
 
 " Look out now ! " suddenly broke in Parson, who had 
 been gradually getting excited where he stood ; " there's 
 the Welchers coming ! Pull hard, you fellows, or they'll cut
 
 56 The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 us out. Now then ! Row, Bosher, can't you, you old cow ? 
 Yah I hoo ! Welchers ahoy 1 " he cried, raising his voice in 
 tones of derisive defiance. " Yah ! hoo I herrings and 
 dough-nuts, jolly cowards, daren't wait for us 1 Booh, 
 funk-its ! " 
 
 With such taunts the Hector of Parrett's endeavoured to 
 incite the enemy to battle. And the enemy, if truth must 
 be told, needed very little persuasion, especially as the 
 crew in question consisted of Cusack, Pilbury, and the 
 three other ill-starred victim of the raid of two days ago. 
 
 They lay on their oars and waited for the foe to come up, 
 Cusack shouting meanwhile, 
 
 " Who'd be afraid of a pack of thieves like you ! 1 
 wouldn't I I dare you to land and fight us 1 Dare you to 
 run into us ! Dare you to stand still till we lick you ! Dare 
 you to do anything but steal other fellows' grub 1 Yeow I " 
 
 " Now, you fellows," cried Parson, "put it on." 
 
 A few strokes brought the two boats level, and then, as 
 they lay side by side at oar's distance, ensued a notable and 
 tremendous splashing match, which ,was kept up with 
 terrific vigour on both sides, until not only was every 
 combatant splashed through, but the two boats themselves 
 were nearly swamped. 
 
 Then, after either side had insultingly claimed the 
 victory, the boats separated, and the dripping warriors 
 parted with a final broadside. 
 
 " There you are, take that, and go and tell the captain I " 
 shouted Parson. 
 
 "You wouldn't dare do it if Bloomfield was captain," 
 retorted the Welchers. " We'll have him captain, then see 
 how you'll smile ! Yah! bah!" 
 
 And, amid terrific cat-calling on either side, the crews 
 parted. 
 
 This last taunt was a sore one for the young Parretts. It
 
 The Schoolhouse Crew. 57 
 
 had never occurred to them that Bloomfield, if he were 
 captain, might perhaps spoil their sport more than Riddell. 
 But it was only a passing annoyance. After all they were 
 Parretts, and Bloomfield was their man, whether he spoiled 
 their sport or not. Telson had no objection to this 
 sentiment as long as no one presumed "to cheek the school- 
 house" in uttering it Whenever that was done he 
 insisted on his unalterable determination to fight the 
 offender unless he swallowed his words, which the offender 
 usually did. 
 
 The tide was getting slack, and it was time for them to 
 turn if they were to be in for " call-over." Just, however, 
 as they were about to do so, a shout behind attracted them, 
 and they became aware of another four-oared boat approach- 
 ing with the schoolhouse flag in the prow. It came along 
 at a fair pace, but with nothing like the style which had 
 marked the Parretts' boat. 
 
 The crew consisted of Fairbairn, Porter, Coates, and 
 Gilks, with Crossneld steering : the first time a complete 
 schoolhouse crew had appeared on the river this year. 
 
 The blood of the young Parretts was up, and the credit 
 of their house was in question. 
 
 " Put it on now," said Parson to his men, as the school- 
 house boat came up. " Show 'em what you can do 1 Now 
 then, slide into it I Race 'em ! " 
 
 And the young heroes laid into their work and made 
 Noah's Ark forge along at an unwonted pace. Parson 
 busily encouraged them, varying his exhortations by occa- 
 sional taunts addressed to the other boat. 
 
 " Now then," he shouted, " two to one on us. Come on, 
 you there, jolly schoolhouse louts " 
 
 " Parson, I'll fight you if you say it again," interposed 
 Telson by way of parenthesis. 
 
 " Oh, beg pardon, old man. Pull away, you fellows 1
 
 58 The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 Parretts for ever ! No Riddell for us ! Three cheers for 
 Bloomfield ! You're gaining, you fellows. Oh, well pulled 
 indeed our boat !" 
 
 The schoolhouse boat had slackened speed, and pad- 
 dling gently alongside, was taking careful note of these 
 audacious youngsters, who, puffing and plunging along, 
 fully believed they were beating the picked four of the rival 
 house by their own prowess. 
 
 The big boys seemed amused on the whole, and good- 
 humouredly kept up the semblance of a race for about half 
 a mile, taking care to give the challenging crew a wide berth. 
 
 At last, after about ten minutes had been spent in this 
 way, and when the young champions were all, except 
 Parson, fairly exhausted, Crossfield took out his watch and 
 said to his crew, winking as he did so, 
 
 " Time we turned, you fellows ; it's five o'clock. Easy 
 all, pull bow side ! back water, stroke ! " 
 
 And so saying, the schoolhouse boat suddenly turned 
 round and started off at a smart pace down stream, where 
 it was soon out of reach of the parting taunts and opprobri- 
 ous noises which Parson, for the credit of his house, con- 
 tinued to hurl at its crew till they were beyond earshot. 
 
 Then it suddenly began to occur to these elated young 
 navigators that if it had been time for the four-oar to turn 
 three minutes ago it was possibly time for them to turn 
 also. 
 
 " What did he say the time was ? " asked King. 
 
 " Five o'clock ! " said Lawkins. 
 
 " Five o'clock ! and call-over is at 5.20! We can't do it 
 in the time ! " exclaimed Parson, aghast. 
 
 " My eye, what a row there'll be," groaned Telson. " I've 
 been late for call-over twice this week already, and I'm 
 certain to get reported now ! " 
 
 " So shall I be," said Bosher.
 
 A Glorious Revenge. 59 
 
 " It's all a vile dodge of those schoolhouse cads," 
 exclaimed King. " I mean," said he (perceiving that 
 Telson was about to make a remark), " of those cads. 
 They did it on purpose to make us late. I see it all now. 
 And then they'll report us. Ugh ! did you ever know such 
 blackguards ? " 
 
 The discovery was too late to be any good that is, as far 
 as the hope of reaching Willoughby before call-over was 
 concerned. However, it warned them the sooner they 
 turned now the sooner they would get back at all So they 
 turned viciously and started homewards. 
 
 The rowers were all too tired and enraged to talk much, 
 and the journey down stream was silent and gloomy. They 
 heard, about a mile from home, the school bell ringing for 
 call-over, and groaned inwardly when presently it ceased, 
 and they knew their names were being called over and not 
 one of them there to answer. Parson alone made any 
 attempt to keep up the drooping spirits of his crew. 
 
 " Never fear. We'll pay them out, you see. And if they 
 do report us we'll only get impots. The beasts ! I wish 
 we'd run into them and drowned them all ! so I do." 
 
 At this point the speaker became aware of an outrigger 
 skiff rapidly approaching them. The rower of course had 
 his back turned, and evidently not expecting anything ahead, 
 was steering himself "over his toes," as the term is that is 
 by some landmark behind the boat. Who he was Parson 
 could not make out, but he wore a light-blue ribbon on his 
 straw, and that was enough. Light blue was the school- 
 house colour. Here was a chance of paying out of the 
 enemy, anyhow ! 
 
 So he ordered his men to " easy all " and allow the 
 unconscious sculler to come close up. Then when he was 
 within a few yards he started up, and with a wild shout of, 
 
 " Yah booh, cad 1 " gave the signal to his crew to pull
 
 60 The New Captain is Discussed. 
 
 on, and brought his boat close alongside the skiff The 
 rower, startled by the sudden shout, turned quickly round 
 
 Horror of horrors 1 It was Mr. Parrett himself 1 
 
 There was no time to do anything. At the instant he 
 turned, his left scull came into violent contact with the oars 
 of the Noah's Ark, and was jerked from his hand, and at 
 the same time the light boat gave a violent lurch over and 
 capsized, sending her occupant headlong into the river ! 
 
 The small boys, pale with fright and dazed by the 
 suddenness of the accident, sat for a moment unable to 
 move or cry out. Then by a sudden wild impulse Parson 
 sprang boldly into the water, followed in a second or two 
 first by Telson, then by Lawkins. The other three held 
 to the oars and waited where they were. 
 
 The tide was running down at a good pace, and the river 
 was fairly wide, but there was not much danger to any of 
 the immersed ones. All Willoughby boys could swim, and 
 as Mr. Parrett had taught most of them to do so himself, 
 he hardly stood in need of the help of his three pupils. A 
 few strokes brought them all to the bank in safety. 
 
 An uncomfortable moment ensued. Mr. Parrett said 
 nothing to the three dripping boys who stood before him, 
 but called to the boys in the boat to row in, bringing the 
 skiff with them. 
 
 All the while this was being done, Telson and Parson 
 looked despairingly at one another, and darted scared looks 
 at Mr. Parrett. He appeared not to notice them, but stood 
 impatiently waiting for the boats. 
 
 " Is the scull broken ? " he called out as they approached, 
 
 " No, sir," said Wakefield. 
 
 The skiff was put in close to the bank, and a brief 
 examination showed that it was not damaged. Mr. Parrett 
 got into it, and without saying a word began to push off 
 
 " Please, sir," cried Parson at this point, feeling that hia
 
 A Double Invitation. 61 
 
 last chance was going, " I'm so sorry. We didn't know it 
 was you, sir. It was all my fault." 
 
 " No, sir," shouted Telson, " it was all my fault. We're 
 awfully sorry, sir." 
 
 Mr. Parrett took no notice of these protestations, but 
 said, quietly, " You'd better get home quickly and change 
 your things." 
 
 So saying he sculled off, with a face hardly less puzzled 
 than the small scared faces which, after watching him go, 
 turned dismally to their own unlucky Noah's Ark. 
 
 On their arrival at the school some half-hour later, 
 Parson, Telson, Bosher, King, and Lawkins were informed 
 that, having been reported for being absent at call-over, the 
 captain wished to see them in his study after breakfast the 
 next morning. 
 
 Later on that same evening another notice reached them 
 that they were wanted in Mr. Pairett's room at oner
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. 
 
 MR. PARRETT was a popular master at Willoughby. 
 He was an old Cambridge " blue," and it was to 
 his influence and example that the school in general, 
 and Parrett's house in particular, were chiefly indebted 
 for their excellence in all manly sports. He was the 
 most patient of trainers, and the most long-suffering of 
 " coaches." Nearly all his spare time was given up to the 
 public service. Every afternoon you would be sure to find 
 him in his flannels running along the bank beside some 
 boat, or standing to be bowled at by aspiring young 
 cricketers in the meadow, or superintending a swimming 
 party up at the Willows. 
 
 Boys didn't give Mr. Parrett credit for all the self-denial 
 he really underwent ; for he had a way of seeming to enjoy 
 even the drudgery of his self-imposed work, and it rarely 
 occurred even to the most hopeless of " duffers " to imagine 
 that all the trouble spent over him was anything but a 
 pleasure to the master who spent it. 
 
 Mr. Parrett had his reward, however, in the good will of 
 the boys generally, which he prized highly, and nowhere 
 was he more popular than among the juniors of his own house. 
 
 What was their dismay, therefore, at the accident of that 
 unlucky afternoon, and with what doleful faces did they 
 present themselves in a melancholy procession at the door 
 of his room at the appointed hour ! 
 
 M Come in," said Mr. Parrett, who was still in his flannels,
 
 Parson Explains. 63 
 
 and had not quite done tea. " Oh, you are the boys that I 
 met on the river this afternoon. All except one belonging 
 to my house, I see." 
 
 " Yes, sir," exclaimed Telson, who was the distinguished 
 exception, " they're all Parretts except me, and it was all 
 my fault, sir, and I'm " 
 
 " No," interrupted Parson, " it was all my fault ; I was 
 steering." 
 
 "It was all our faults," said Lawkins. 
 
 " Oh," said Mr. Parrett, who could not help looking a little 
 amused at the eager faces of the young culprits. " Perhaps 
 it was my fault for not looking where I was coming to." 
 
 " Oh, sir," said Parson, " that wouldn't have been any 
 good. We ran you down on purpose." 
 
 " Eh ?" said Mr. Parrett, not quite sure whether he had 
 heard correctly. 
 
 "That is, we didn't know it was you, sir; we thought it 
 
 was a schoolhouse "(here Telson looked threatening) 
 
 " I mean we thought it was some one else. We wouldn't 
 have done it if we thought it was you, sir indeed we 
 wouldn't" 
 
 " No, sir, that we wouldn't," chimed in the chorus. 
 
 " And who do you think it was, pray ? " inquired Mr. 
 Parrett. 
 
 " A schoolhouse fellow," replied Parson, avoiding Telson's 
 glances. 
 
 "Which schoolhouse boy?" asked the master. 
 
 " Any one, sir. It didn't matter much which." 
 
 " Indeed. Ard what has the schoolhouse done to 
 you ? " said Mr. Parrett, leaning back in his chair and 
 pushing his plate away. 
 
 It wasn't an easy question, but Parson felt something 
 ought to be said. 
 
 " Some of them are rather cads, sir," he said.
 
 64 Breakers Ahead. 
 
 ("Parson," whispered Telson. " I'll fight you when you 
 get outside.") 
 
 "I mean, sir," said Parson, hurriedly, "that is (I beg 
 pardon, Telson, old man, I didn't mean) they don't like 
 us, and " 
 
 " And we don't like them," said Lawkins. 
 
 " And you think they ought to like you ? " asked Mr. 
 Parrett, severely. 
 
 This was a poser. The Parrett juniors had never asked 
 themselves the question before. 
 
 " Now listen to me," said Mr. Parrett " I'm angry with 
 you, and I'm going to punish you. I am not angry with 
 you for capsi/ing me this afternoon. You did it by mistake, 
 you say, and no harm was done. And I'm not going to 
 punish you for being out late, for that the captain will do. 
 But boys who make nuisances of themselves and then com- 
 plain that other boys don't like them are not to be put up 
 with in Willoughby. You five have had a lesson already. 
 You might have caused a much worse accident than you 
 did by your folly. You may be thankful you did not For 
 a week neither of you is to go on to the river at all, and 
 after that till the end of the term you will only be allowed 
 to go with the captain's permission, or in the company of a 
 senior. You can go." 
 
 The party turned to obey, when Mr. Parrett added, 
 
 "Three of you, Telson, Parson, and Lawkins, remain a 
 moment." 
 
 The other two went off, leaving their three comrades 
 standing at the end of the table, wondering what on earth 
 was coming next. 
 
 Mr. Parrett's manner changed as he turned to them 
 He became embarrassed, and spoke almost nervously. 
 
 "You three," he said, "jumped in after me this after- 
 noon, did you not ? "
 
 Fagged of Impositions. 65 
 
 11 Yes, please, sir," said Telson ; " Parson was first, sir." 
 
 Mr. Parrett rose from his seat, and, without saying a word, 
 shook hands with each one of them, greatly to their 
 astonishment and confusion. 
 
 " You can go now," said the master, when the ceremony 
 was concluded ; " good-night, boys." 
 
 " Good-night, sir," said they, and filed out of the room. 
 
 It was some time before Parson and Telson, as they 
 walked slowly back along the passage, could find words 
 suitable to the occasion. Then Telson said, 
 
 " Well, that was a rum thing of him to do I " 
 
 " What did he mean ? " asked Parson. 
 
 " Goodness knows. But, I say, it's a jolly soak being 
 stopped the river, though." 
 
 " Yes, and having to get a ' permit ' when the time Is up. 
 I'd sooner not go on than beg a ' permit ' of the captain." 
 
 " I wonder what he'll say to us to-morrow," said Telson. 
 " He won't lick us, eh ? " 
 
 "He'd better not," said Parson. "You and I could 
 lick him easy. 1 ' 
 
 " I suppose he'll give us a howling impot. I say I'm 
 getting fagged of impots. I've had four this week." 
 
 "I've had three," sighed Telson. "Heigho! Wil- 
 loughby's going to the dogs. I've a good mind to cut the 
 whole concern." 
 
 And so in rather desponding mood the two friends 
 separated, and Telson had an exciting chase across the 
 quadrangle to avoid two monitors who were prowling about 
 there (as he concluded) for the express purpose of " potting " 
 him. 
 
 In this, however, he was mistaken. The two monitors 
 were Gilks of the schoolhouse and Silk of Welch's, who 
 were taking the air this hot summer evening, and thinking 
 and talking of anything but Master Telson. 
 
 3
 
 66 Breakers Ahead. 
 
 " I tell you," said Gilks, " I detest the fellow." 
 
 " You detest such a lot of fellows, Gilks," said Silk. 
 
 " I know I do," said Gilks, " but I hate Riddell more 
 than the lot put together." 
 
 " I should have thought he was rather an inoffensive 
 duffer," suggested Silk. 
 
 " That's just the worst of it. I'd give anything to catch 
 him out in anything that wasn't quite square, just to pay 
 him out for ^his sickening priggishness. " Why," he ex- 
 claimed, with increasing anger in his tone, " what do you 
 think he did the other day, long before he was captain, or 
 had any pretence to give himself airs? He pulled me up 
 before all the fellows for well, for using " 
 
 " For swearing ? " said Silk. 
 
 "Yes, if you like. For swearing. What business is it 
 of his what I say ? I should like to know." 
 
 " Usen't Wyndham to be down on fellows for swearing 
 too ? " asked Silk. 
 
 "Yes, he was," said Gilks (who had good reason to 
 know) ; " but he had a right to do it. This cub 
 hasn't." 
 
 "What did Riddell say?" 
 
 " What did he say ? He said it didn't make what I 
 said any better worth hearing for sticking in an oath, and 
 
 that Oh, I don't know what precious impudence he 
 
 didn't give me." 
 
 " Ha, ha," said Silk, " it wasn't bad. But I agree with 
 you, the fellow is a prig " 
 
 "I know I mean to make a stand now," said Gilks. 
 "He shan't stick up his sanctimonious nose over us all, 
 now he's captain, if I can help it." 
 
 M Why, what will you do ?" asked Silk. 
 
 "Do I I'll punch his head the first time he dare lecture 
 me."
 
 A nice Pair. 67 
 
 41 My dear fellow," said Silk, " don't be such a fool. 
 You won't do a bit of good by that. If you do want to pay 
 him out, pay him out in his own coin." 
 
 " How do you mean ? " inquired Gilks. 
 
 "I mean, keep a sharp look out till you catch his 
 holiness tripping." 
 
 " But the beggar never does trip. He's so vilely careful, 
 he never gives a chance," growled Gilks. 
 
 "Awfully uncivil of him, when he knows how grateful 
 we should be to him," said Silk, laughing. "Never mind, 
 old man, keep in with him if you can. Something's sure to 
 turn up. He won't suspect you, as you're in the school- 
 house ; and we ought to be able to manage to put a spoke 
 in his wheel somehow." 
 
 " Wish you may do it," said Gilks. " Anyhow, I dare say 
 you are right ; it's no use flaring up too soon, if there is a 
 chance of doing him. By the way, Fairbairn's pretty nearly 
 as bad as Riddell ; they're a pair, you know." 
 
 " Yes, but Fairbairn's in the boat," said Silk. 
 
 " So he is ; and what's more, he's got a spite against me, 
 and wants to turn me out of it." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "He says I don't do enough work. I should like to 
 know how a fellow is to work behind a sanctimonious ass 
 like him?" 
 
 " I hear the schoolhouse boat isn't a bad one, even 
 without Wyndham," said Silk. 
 
 "Pretty fair. But if I'm in it I'll see it doesn't win," 
 said Gilks. 
 
 " What a nice boy you are, to be sure I I suppose you've 
 a bet on Parrett's, like me ? " 
 
 " No, I haven't," said Gilks, " but I want it to win all the 
 same, because of Bloomfield. If Parrett's gets to the head 
 of the river, there'i all the better chance of getting Bloom-
 
 68 Breakers Ahead. 
 
 field for captain next term ; and things would be far 
 pleasanter then." 
 
 "Yes. I don't suppose Bloomfield's very particular," 
 said Silk. 
 
 "Not he. You can make him do what you like. He's 
 not all the notions of his own that the Reverend Riddel 1 
 has, hang him I " 
 
 " Well, old man," said Silk, " as I said before, you're a 
 a nice boy, and a sweet companion for a tender youth like 
 me. Ha, ha ! Good-night Are you one of the deputation 
 that's going to present the petition in the morning ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am," said Gilks. 
 
 " Take my advice and back out of it It won't come to 
 anything, and if you're not mixed up in it our pious friends 
 will think you are one of them, and that'll pay. Do you 
 twig ? Good-night. You are a nice boy ! " 
 
 So saying these two worthies separated. 
 
 Gilks acted on his friend's advice, and contrived to be 
 absent after chapel next morning, when it was proposed to 
 present the petition to the doctor. He managed to invent 
 some excuse for his desertion which made it appear it was 
 unavoidable. Nevertheless it was a good deal complained 
 of, because he had been the only representative of tha 
 schoolhouse who had promised to go with the others to 
 the doctor. 
 
 However it was decided not to postpone the ceremony 
 any further. As it was, one or two were beginning to have 
 their doubts as to its wisdom, and Game and those like him, 
 who were the prime movers in the matter, began to fear the 
 #hole thing might fall through. 
 
 So, directly after morning chapel, the deputation, consist- 
 ing of three, marched boldly to the doctor's library and 
 knocked at the door. 
 
 " Come in-," said Dr. Patrick.
 
 The Doctor and the Deputation. 69 
 
 He was surprised to see three monitors obey the invita- 
 tion. It was very rarely that a petition was presented from 
 the school to the head master at Willoughby. Once, some 
 years ago, a petition signed by the entire school, from the 
 captain down to the junior fag, praying for a holiday in 
 honour of an old Willoughbite having led the British troops 
 to victory in a great battle, had been presented and granted. 
 And once since then, a petition from the monitors of each 
 house requesting that the head of each house might be 
 allowed to use the cane when necessary, instead of the 
 captain of the school only, had been presented and 
 declined. 
 
 Now came a third petition, signed by certain monitors 
 of two houses, asking the doctor to withdraw one captain 
 and substitute another. 
 
 " What is it ? " asked the head master. 
 
 "A petition, sir," said Game, handing the momentous 
 document in. 
 
 The doctor opened it and glanced at it with a puzzled 
 look, which soon darkened into a frown. 
 
 " What is all this ? " he asked, looking up. 
 
 His aspect was not promising. Nevertheless it was 
 necessary for some one to speak, and Game therefore 
 blurted out, 
 
 " We don't think Riddell will make a good captain, sir, 
 and " and here stopped. 
 
 " And what, sir ? " demanded the doctor. 
 
 "And," said Game, in rather a faltering voice, "we 
 thought you would not be angry if we petitioned you about 
 it." 
 
 "Do you speak for yourself, Game," said the doctor, "or 
 for others ? " 
 
 " For the monitors, sir ; that is, for those who have signed 
 that paper."
 
 pro Breakers Ahead. 
 
 The doctor folded up the petition and handed it back to 
 Game without reading it. 
 
 " I am glad you have told me what it is all about," said 
 he, sternly, " in time to prevent my reading either the peti- 
 tion or the names attached. It does not do you credit as 
 monitors, and I hope you will soon see the matter in the 
 same light. I did not expect it of you, but I regret it less 
 on your account than on account of the school, to whom you 
 have set a bad example. You may go." 
 
 The doctor spoke in tones of unwonted anger, not un 
 mixed with scorn. He rarely ' flared up,' but when he did 
 it was always uncomfortable for those against whom his 
 wrath was roused. 
 
 The deputation slunk off sheepishly, carrying their 
 petition with them, and too glad to get out of the 
 angry presence of the head master to think of anything 
 else. 
 
 The doctor may have been right, and probably was right 
 in thus summarily extinguishing the petition and the peti- 
 tioners. But he had done it in a manner which was hardly 
 calculated to smooth matters. 
 
 Indeed, when the deputation reported their bad success 
 to the monitors who awaited them, the general feeling was 
 far more one of anger at being snubbed than of repentance 
 for having done a foolish thing. 
 
 " If Paddy had only taken the trouble to read the thing 
 through," said Ashley, " and honour us with one or two 
 reasons for not doing what we asked, it wouldn't have been 
 so bad." 
 
 " As it is he's as good as told us to mind our own busi- 
 ness and he'll mind his," said Tipper, little thinking how 
 exactly he had described the case. 
 
 "If we're not to be allowed to say a word about the 
 management of the school," said Game. " I don't see what
 
 Beware of the Flatterer. 71 
 
 right be has to expect us to do his work for him, and 
 keep order." 
 
 " Oh, it won't do to resign or anything of that sort," said 
 Ashley. " That would be like funking it altogether." 
 
 " He'll soon find his mistake out, never fear," said 
 another. " He won't listen to us, but he can't help believing 
 his own eyes." 
 
 " Yes, it can't go on for long," said Tipper. " Riddell's 
 bound to show that he's not up to his work sooner or later, 
 and I won't interfere to prevent it." 
 
 " Meanwhile," said Game, who of all the malcontents was 
 the most honest, " what's to become of Willoughby ? We 
 must keep some sort of order, whoever is captain." 
 
 " Why, whatever authority can we have when the most 
 we can do is to report fellows to that milksop?" said 
 Tipper. 
 
 " I'll tell you what," said Ashley, " if we're compelled to 
 call Riddell captain, there's nothing to prevent us consider- 
 ing another fellow so." 
 
 "What do you mean ? " asked some one. 
 
 " He means," said Game, " and it's not half a bad idea, 
 that if Bloomfield will help us to keep order, we can 
 consider him captain whether he's called so or not. If once 
 the fellows know they'll get reported to him, we shall have 
 some sort of authority." 
 
 '' Of course," said Bloomfield, who had not yet spoken, 
 '* I'll do my best to keep order and all that ; but as I'm not 
 captain, it's no use to pretend being it." 
 
 "Oh, we'll see about that," said Ashley. " If you choose 
 to work for the school after what has happened, all I can 
 say is you deserve to be backed up, and I'll back you up 
 for one." 
 
 " So will I," said Wibberly. 
 
 Bloomfield could not resist flattery. As soon as it was
 
 72 Breakers Ahead. 
 
 represented to him that the hope of Willoughby centred in 
 him, and that he was acting a beautiful and Christian part 
 in still taking an interest in its welfare after the way he had 
 been treated, he felt as if he really ought to meet his 
 admirers half way. 
 
 " Already a lot of the kids consider you as captain," said 
 Game. " Didn't you hear a boatful of them cheering you 
 yesterday ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Bloomfield, " I heard that." 
 " Very well, they're much more likely to keep order for 
 you than for that other fellow. We'll try it anyhow." 
 
 " I know a lot of the schoolhouse monitors think just 
 the same as we do," said Tipper, " but they're so precious 
 jealous for their house. They'd sooner stick to Riddell 
 than allow a Parrett's fellow to be cock of the school." 
 
 " A Parrett's fellow is cock of the school all the same," 
 said Wibberly. " I wish the regatta was over. That will 
 put things right." 
 
 "Yes; when once Parrett's boat is at the head of the 
 river the schoolhouse won't have much to crow for," said 
 Ashley. 
 
 " For all that," replied Bloomfield, u they seem to be 
 grinding a bit with the crew they have got" 
 
 " Let them grind," said Game, laughing. " I'd as soon 
 back Welch's boat as theirs. Fairbairn's the only man that 
 does any work, and he's no form at all. Why don't they 
 put the new captain in the boat, I wonder ? " 
 
 The bare idea was sufficient to set the company laughing, 
 in the midst of which the assembly dispersed. 
 
 " By the way," said Game to Ashley, as they went into 
 the " Big," " to-night is the opening meeting of the School 
 Parliament. I mean to propose Bloomfield for president ; 
 will you second it ? " 
 ' Rather," said Ashley.
 
 CHAPTER 
 THE NEW CAPTAIN ENTERS ON HIS DUTIES. 
 
 THE morning that witnessed the collapse of the famou* 
 Monitors' Petition had not been idly spent by the new 
 captain. He had made the worst possible preparation for 
 his new duties by lying awake half the night, brooding over 
 his difficulties and working himself into a state of nervous 
 misery very unlike what one would expect of the captain of 
 a great public school 
 
 What worried him was not so much that he felt himself 
 unpopular, or that he knew all Willoughby was in arms 
 against him. That wasn't cheerful, certainly, or precisely 
 solacing to a fellow's self-esteem ; but it was not nearly so 
 disheartening as the feeling that he himself was unequal 
 to cope with the difficulties he would have to face. How 
 could he cope with them ? He had never succeeded yet 
 in keeping Telson, his own fag, in order. How was he 
 to expect to administer discipline to all the scapegraces of 
 Willoughby ? It would be bad enough, even if the monitors 
 as a body were working with him, but when he was left 
 almost single-handed, as seemed probable, what chance 
 was there? Whatever would he do supposing a boy was 
 reported to him for some offence, such as going out of 
 
 bounds or 
 
 By the way 1 And here a horrible thought flashed across 
 his mind. He had been so flurried last night with one 
 thing and another that he had hardly noticed a message
 
 74 The New Captain enters on his Duties. 
 
 sent him after call-over by the Register Clerk. But it 
 occurred to him now that it was about some boys whc had 
 not answered to their names. 
 
 He got out of bed with a groan and searched the mantel- 
 piece for the note. Ah ! here it was : 
 
 "GO. Fr. p.m., Telson (S.H.), Bosher, King, Lawkins, 
 Parson (P), Abs. Go Capt. 8 Sa. (Telson 2, Bosher i. 
 Parson 2.)" 
 
 After a great deal of puzzling and cogitation Riddeli 
 managed to translate this lucid document into ordinary 
 English as follows : 
 
 " Call Over, Friday evening, Telson (schoolhouse), 
 Bosher, King, Lawkins, Parson (Parrett's) , absent. To go 
 to the captain at half-past eight on Saturday. (Telson has 
 already been absent twice this week, Bosher once, Parson 
 twice.)" And with the discovery the unhappy captain found 
 his worst fears realised. 
 
 Whatever would he do? It was now half-past five. 
 In three hours they would be here. What would Wyndham 
 have done? Caned them, no doubt. Riddeli had no 
 cane. Ruler ? He might break one of their fingers, or they 
 might resist ; or worse still baffle him with some ingenious 
 excuse which he would not know how to deal with. 
 
 He sat by his bed staring hopelessly at the paper and 
 wishing himself anywhere but head of the school and then 
 as no new light appeared to dawn on the question, and as 
 going back to bed would be a farce, he proceeded to dress. 
 
 He had just completed his toilet when he heard some one 
 moving in the next study. 
 
 " There's Fairbairn getting up," he said to himself. "I 
 wonder if he could help me ? " 
 
 He thought he could. And yet, under the nervous 
 exterior of this boy there lurked a certain pride which held 
 iiim back from acting on the impulse. After all, if he was
 
 The New Captain Afloat. 75 
 
 to do the work, why should he try to shunt part of his 
 responsibility on to another? 
 
 So, though he went to his friend's study, he said nothing 
 about the batch of juniors from whom he expected a morning 
 call. 
 
 Fairbairn was arraying himself in his boating things, and 
 greeted his friend cheerily. 
 
 " Hullo, Riddell, here's an early start for you ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Riddell ; " I couldn't sleep very well, so I 
 thought I might as well get up." 
 
 " Best thing for you. But why haven't you your flannels 
 on?" 
 
 " I'm not going out," said Riddell. " Besides, I don't 
 believe I have flannels," added he. 
 
 " What, a Willoughby captain and no flannels ! You'll 
 have to get a suit at once, do you hear ? But, I say, why 
 don't you come down to the river with Porter and me ? 
 We're going to have a little practice spin, and you could 
 steer us. It would do you more good than sticking indoors. 
 Come along." 
 
 Riddell protested he would rather not, and that he 
 couldn't steer; but Fairbairn pooh-poohed both objections, 
 and finally carried off his man to the river, where his un- 
 wonted appearance in the stern of the schoolhouse pair-oar 
 caused no little astonishment and merriment among the 
 various early visitors who usually frequented the waters of 
 the Craydle. 
 
 Despite these unflattering remarks, and despite the con- 
 stant terror he was in of piloting his boat into the bank, 
 or running foul of other boats, Riddell decidedly enjoyed 
 his little outing, the more so as the exercise and occupation 
 drove away entirely for a time all thoughts of the coming 
 visit of the ill-behaved juniors. 
 
 But as soon as he returned to the school the prospect o/
 
 76 The New Captain enters on his Duties. 
 
 this ordeal began again to haunt him, and spoilt morning 
 chapel for him completely. 
 
 As he stood during the service in his captain's place he 
 could not prevent his eye wandering hurriedly down the 
 ranks of boys opposite and wondering how many of them 
 he would be called upon to interview in his study before the 
 term was over. As he reached the end of the array his eye 
 rested on Telson close to the door, talking and laughing 
 behind his hand with Parson, who listened in an uncon- 
 cerned way, and looked about him as if he felt himself to be 
 the monarch of all he surveyed. These were two of the 
 boys who would wait upon him in his study immediately 
 after prayers 1 Riddell turned quite miserable at the idea. 
 
 Prayers ended at last, and while the other monitors 
 repaired to the Sixth Form room to discuss the presentation 
 of the petition as narrated in our last chapter, Riddell 
 walked dejectedly to his study and prepared to receive 
 rompany. 
 
 No one came for a long time, and Riddell was beginning 
 to hope that, after all, the dreaded interview was not to 
 come off, or that there was a mistake somewhere, and some 
 one else was to deal with the culprits instead of himself, 
 when a scuttling of footsteps down the passage made his 
 blood run cold and his heart sink into his boots. 
 
 " I must be cool," he said to himself, fiercely, as a knock 
 sounded at the door, " or I shall make a fool of myself. 
 Come in." 
 
 In response to this somewhat tremulous invitation, 
 Telson, Parson, Bosher, Lawkins, King, trooped into his 
 study, the picture of satisfaction and assurance, and stood 
 lounging about the room with their hands in their pockets 
 as though curiosity was the sole motive of their visit. 
 
 Riddell, while waiting for them, had hastily considered 
 what he ought to say or do. But now, any ideas he ever
 
 Injured Innocence. 77 
 
 had darted from his mind, and he gazed nervously at tht 
 small company. 
 
 " Oh ! " said he at length, breaking silence by a tremen- 
 dous effort, and conscious that he was looking as confused 
 as he felt, " I suppose you are the boys " 
 
 "Yes," said Bosher, leaning complacently against the 
 table and staring at a picture over the mantelpiece. 
 
 "The boys who were late," said Riddell, stammering. 
 " Let me see." Here he took up the paper and began to 
 read it over : ' C. O. Fri. Telson (S. H.).' Ah, yes ! 
 Telson. You were late, weren't you? Why were you 
 late ! " 
 
 A question like this was decidedly a novelty ; Wyndham's 
 formula had invariably been, " Telson, hold out your 
 hand," and then if Telson had anything to remark he was 
 at liberty to do so. But to be thus invited to make excuses 
 was an unexpected treat which these cunning juniors were 
 quite sharp enough to jump at. 
 
 "Oh, you know," began Telson, "it wasn't our fault 
 We were up-stream in the Ark, and meant to be back all 
 right, only the schoolhouse boat overhauled us, and we 
 had to race them a bit didn't we, you fellows ? " 
 
 " Rather," said Parson ; " and a spanking race it was. 
 We held up to them all down the Willow Reach, and were 
 just collaring them for the finish up to Balsham Weir, when 
 the beasts pulled in and funked it." 
 
 "And then, of course, we couldn't get back in time," said 
 Lawkins. " We were jolly fagged weren't we, you fellows ? 
 and it was all a plant of those schoolhouse cads." 
 
 " Fight you ! " said Telson, menacingly. 
 
 "Oh, beg pardon, old man, didn't mean. They ran us 
 up on purpose to make us late. You ask them. It was a 
 beastly low trick I " 
 
 "And then coming back," continued Telson, "we ran
 
 78 The New Captain enters on his Duties. 
 
 down old Parrett in his skiff and spilt him, and we 
 had to fish him out didn't we, you chaps ? and that 
 made us late. You ask Parrett ; he's potted us for it, last 
 night." 
 
 Riddell listened to all this in a bewildered way, not know- 
 ing what to make of it. If the boys' story was correct, 
 there certainly might be some force in their excuse. It 
 would hardly be fair to punish them if they were decoyed 
 out of their way by some seniors. And then, of course, 
 this story about Mr. Parrett ; they would never make up a 
 story like that And if it was true well, he did not see 
 how they could have done otherwise than stay and help him 
 out of the water after capsizing him into it. It really 
 seemed to him as if these boys did not deserve to be 
 punished. True, Telson and Parson had been twice late 
 this week, but that was not what they were reported for 
 now. The question wag, were they to be chastised for 
 this third offence or not ? 
 
 " What did Mr. Parrett do to you ? " he asked presently. 
 
 " Oh," said Parson, gaily, fully taking in the situation so 
 far, " he was down on us hot. He's stopped our going on 
 the river a week, and then we've got to get a permit till 
 the end of the term. Jolly hard lines it is, especially race 
 term. I shan't be able to cox. Parrett's boat at the regatta. 
 No more will young Telson cox. the schoolhouse boat 
 You ask Parrett," said he, in tones of manly appeal 
 
 "Then you mean Mr. Parrett has already punished 
 you?" asked Riddell. 
 
 "Rather," said Telson. " I'd sooner have had a licking 
 any day than get stopped river play. Wouldn't you, 
 Parson ? " 
 
 " I should think I would," said Parson. 
 
 "Well," said Riddell, dubiously, "of course if Mr. 
 Parrett has already punished you "
 
 Done ! 79 
 
 " You ask him ! " again said Parson. " You ask him if he's 
 not stopped our river play. All five of us ! Mayn't go on 
 at all for a week, and then we've got to get your permit 
 Isn't that what he said, you chaps ? " 
 
 " Yes," chimed in the " chaps," in injured voices. 
 
 "Well, then," said Riddell, "as that is so, I think you 
 can that is, I wish just to tell you you it mustn't occur 
 again." 
 
 " Oh, all right," said Parson, making for the door. 
 
 " And I hope," began Riddell 
 
 But what it was he hoped, his youthful audience did not 
 remain to hear. They had vanished with amazing celerity, 
 and the captain, as he walked pensively up to the door and 
 shut it, could hear them marching jauntily down the passage 
 shouting and laughing over their morning's adventures. 
 
 A moment's reflection satisfied Riddell that he had been 
 " done " by these unscrupulous youngsters. He had let them 
 off on their own representations, and without taking due 
 care to verify their story. And now it would go out to all 
 Willoughby that the new captain was a fool, and that any 
 one who liked could be late for call-over if only he had the 
 ingenuity to concoct a plausible story when he was reported. 
 A nice beginning this to his new reign ! Riddell saw it all 
 clearly now, when it was too late. Why ever had he not 
 seen it as clearly at the time? 
 
 Was it too late ? Riddell went to the door again and 
 looked down the passage. The young malefactors were out 
 of sight, but their footsteps and voices were still audible. 
 Hadn't he better summon them back ? Had not he better, 
 at any cost to his own pride, own that he had made a mis- 
 take, rather than let the discipline of Willoughby run down? 
 
 He took a few hurried steps in the direction of the 
 voices, and was even making up his mind to run, when it 
 suddenly occurred to him. " What if, after all, their story
 
 8o The New Captain enters on his Duties. 
 
 had been true, and the calling of them back should be a 
 greater mistake even than the letting of them off?" 
 
 This awkward doubt drove him back once more to his 
 study, where, shutting the door, he flung himself into his 
 chair in a state of abject despondency and shame. 
 
 Twenty times he determined to go to the doctor at once, 
 and refuse for an hour longer to play the farce of being 
 captain of Willoughby. And as often another spirit kept 
 him back, and whispered to him that it was only the 
 cowards who gave in at a single failure. 
 
 From these unpleasant reflections the summons to first 
 school was a welcome diversion, and he gladly shook off 
 the captain for an hour, and figured in his more congenial 
 part of a scholar. But even here he was not allowed wholly 
 to forget his new responsibilities. Nearly all those around 
 him were fellow-monitors, who had just come smarting from 
 the doctor's summary rejection of their petition ; and 
 Riddell could tell by their angry looks and ill-tempered 
 words that he, however innocent, was the object of their 
 irritation. He had never been a favourite before, but it 
 certainly was not pleasant to have to learn now by the most 
 unmistakable signs that he was downrightly unpopular and 
 disliked by those from whom he should have had his 
 warmest backing up. 
 
 And yet, strange to say, it was this sense of his own 
 unpopularity which more than anything nerved him to a 
 resolution to stick to his post, and, come what would of 
 it, do his best to discharge his new unwelcome tasks. If 
 only he could feel a little more sure of himself ! But how 
 was it likely he could feel sure of himself after his lament- 
 able failure of the morning ? 
 
 But the lamentable failure of the morning, as it happened, 
 was nothing to other failures speedily to follow on this sama 
 unlucky day.
 
 A Row in the Fourth. 81 
 
 Scarcely was Riddell back in his study after first school, 
 hoping for a little breathing space in which to recover his 
 fluttered spirits, when Gilks entered and said, 
 
 " I say, there's a row going on in the Fourth. You'd 
 better stop it, or the doctor will be down on us." 
 
 And so saying he vanished, leaving the captain about 
 as comfortable with this piece of intelligence as he would 
 have been with a bombshell suddenly pitched into his study. 
 
 A row in the Fourth 1 the headquarters of the Limpets, 
 each one of whom was a stronger man than he, and whom 
 Wyndham himself had often been put to it to keep within 
 bounds I 
 
 With an ominous shiver Riddell put on his cap and 
 sallied out in the direction of the Fourth. A man about 
 to throw himself over a precipice could hardly have looked 
 less cheerful ! 
 
 Gilks's report had certainly been well founded, for long 
 before the captain reached his destination the roar of battle 
 sounded up the passage. It may have been an ordinary 
 Limpet row, or it may have been a special diversion got up 
 (with the connivance of one or two unfriendly monitors) for 
 the special benefit of the new captain. Be that as it may, 
 it was a disturbance calling for instant suppression, and the 
 idea of Riddell going to suppress it was ridiculous even to 
 himself. 
 
 He opened the door, unnoticed by the combatants within 
 both on account of the noise and the dust. It was im- 
 possible to tell what the fight was about ; the blood on both 
 sides was evidently up, and the battle, it was clear, was 
 anything but a mock one. Riddell stood there for some 
 time a bewildered and unrecognised spectator. It would be 
 useless for him to attempt to make himself heard above all 
 the din, and worse than useless to attempt single-handed to 
 Interpose between the combatants. The only thing to do
 
 82 The New Captafn enters on his Duties. 
 
 seemed to be to wait till the battle was over. But then, 
 thought Riddell, what would be the use of interfering when 
 it was all over ? His duty was to stop it, and stop it he 
 must ! 
 
 With which resolve, and taking advantage of a momen- 
 tary lull in the conflict, he advanced with a desperate effort 
 towards a boy who appeared to be the leader of one of the 
 two parties, and who was gesticulating and shouting at the 
 top of his voice to encourage his followers. This champion 
 did not notice the captain as he approached, and when he 
 did, he mistook him for one of the enemy, and sprang at him 
 like a young tiger, knocking him over just as the ranks once 
 more closed, and the battle began again. 
 
 What might have been RiddelPs fate it would be hard to 
 say had not a loud shout of, " Man down there ! Hold 
 hard ! " suddenly suspended hostilities. 
 
 Such a cry was never disregarded at Willoughby, even by 
 the most desperate of combatants, and every one stood 
 now impatiently where he was, waiting for the obstruction to 
 regain his feet. 
 
 The spectacle which the new captain of Willoughby 
 presented, as with scared face and dust-covered garment he 
 rose slowly from the floor, was strange indeed. It was a 
 second or two before any one recognised him, and then the 
 boys seemed not to be sure whether it was not his ghost, 
 so mysteriously had he appeared in their midst, coming from 
 no one knew where. 
 
 As, however, the true state of affairs gradually dawned 
 on them a loud shout of laughter rose on every hand, and 
 the quarrel was at once forgotten in the merriment occasioned 
 by this wonderful apparition. 
 
 Riddell, pale and agitated, stood where he was as one in 
 a. dream, from which he was only aroused by voices shouting 
 4mt amid the laughter,
 
 An Inglorious Exit. 83 
 
 * Hullo 1 where did you come from ? What's the row ? 
 Look at him ! " 
 
 At the same time fellows crowded round him and offered 
 to brush him down, accompanying their violent services with 
 bursts of equally violent merriment. 
 
 With a hard effort Riddell shook himself free and stepped 
 out of the crowd. 
 
 " Please let me go," he said. " I just came to say there 
 was too much noise, and " 
 
 But the laughter of the Limpets drowned the rest, in the 
 midst of which he retired miserably to the door and 
 escaped. 
 
 In the passage outside he met Bloomfield, with Wibberly. 
 and Game, hurrying to the scene of the riot. They scarcely 
 deigned to recognise him with anything more than a half- 
 curious, half-contemptuous glance. 
 
 " Some one must stop this row ! " said Bloomfield to his 
 companions as they passed. " The doctor will be down on 
 us." 
 
 "You stop it, Bloomfield!" said Wibberly; they'll 
 shut up for you" 
 
 This was all the unfortunate Riddell heard, except that 
 in a few moments the uproar from the Fourth Form room 
 suddenly ceased, and was not renewed. 
 
 " What did Bloomfield do this morning when he came 
 into your room ? " asked Riddell that evening of Wyndham 
 junior, a Limpet in whom, for his brother's sake, the new 
 captain felt a special interest, and whom he invited as often 
 as he liked to come and prepare his lessons with him. 
 
 " Oh ! " said Wyndham, who had been one of the com- 
 batants, " he gave Watkins and Cattermole a hiding, and 
 swore he'd allow no removes from the Limpet's eleven to 
 the school second this term if there was any more row.'* 
 
 This reply by no means added to Riddell's comfort
 
 84 The New Captain Enters on His Duties. 
 
 "Gave Cattermole and Watkins a hiding." Fancy his 
 attempting to give Cattermole and Watkins a hiding ! And 
 not only that, he had held out some awful threat about 
 Limpet's cricket, which appeared to have a magical effect. 
 
 Fancy the effect of his threatening to exclude a Limpet 
 from the second eleven when it was all he knew that the 
 school had a second eleven ! 
 
 The difficulties and perplexities which had loomed before 
 him in the morning were closing around him now in grim 
 earnest I The worst he had feared had happened, and more 
 than the worst. It was now proved beyond all doubt that 
 he was utterly incompetent. Would it not be sheer mad- 
 ness in him to attempt this impossible task a day longer ? 
 
 The reader has no doubt asked the same question long 
 ago. Of course it's madness of him to attempt it. A muff 
 like Riddell never could be captain of a school, and it's all 
 bosh to suppose he could be. But, my dear reader, a muff 
 like Riddell was the captain of a school ; and what's more 
 he didn't give it up even after the day's adventures just 
 described. 
 
 Riddell was not perfect. I know it is an unheard-of 
 thing for a good boy in a story-book not to be perfect, and 
 that is one reason which convinces me this story of mine 
 must be an impossible one. Riddell was not perfect. He 
 had a fault. Can you believe it he had many faults ? He 
 even had a besetting sin, and that besetting sin was pride 
 Not the sort of pride that makes you consider yourself 
 better than your neighbours. Riddell really couldn't think 
 that even had he wished it. But his pride was of that 
 kind which won't admit of anybody to help it, which would 
 sooner knock its head to bits against a stone wall than 
 own it can't get through it, and which can never bring 
 itself to say " I am beaten," even when it Is clear to all 
 the world it is beaten.
 
 Not Beaten Yet. 85 
 
 fride had had a fall this day at any rate; but it had 
 risen again more stubborn than ever ; and if Riddell went 
 to bed that night the most unhappy boy in Willoughby, he 
 went there also resolving more than ever to remain its 
 captain. 
 
 Other events had happened that day which, one might 
 suppose, should have convinced him he was attempting an 
 impossibility. But these must be reserved for the next 
 chapter.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE WILLOUGHBY PARLIAMENT IN SESSION. 
 
 THE " Parliament " at Willoughby was one of the very 
 old institutions of the school. Old, white-headed 
 Willoughbites, when talking of their remote schooldays, 
 would often recall their exploits "on the floor of the 
 house," when Pilligrew (now a Cabinet Minister) brought 
 in his famous bill to abolish morning chapel in winter, 
 and was opposed by Jilson (now Ambassador to the Court 
 at Whereisit) in a speech two hours long; or when old 
 Coates (a grandfather, by the way, of the present bearer of 
 that name in the school) divided the house fifteen times in 
 one afternoon on the question of presenting a requisition to 
 the head master to put more treacle into the suet puddings I 
 They were exciting days, and the custom had gone on 
 flourishing up to the present. 
 
 The Willoughby Parliament was an institution which the 
 masters of the school wisely connived at, while holding 
 aloof themselves from its proceedings. There was no 
 restraint as to the questions to be discussed or the manner 
 and time of the discussion, provided the rules of the school 
 were not infringed. The management was entirely in the 
 hands of the boys, who elected their own officers, and paid 
 sixpence a term for the privilege of a seat in the august 
 assembly. 
 
 The proceedings were regulated by certain rules handed 
 down by long tradition according to which the business of
 
 The Willoughby Parliament. 87 
 
 the House was modelled as closely as possible on the pro- 
 cedure of the House of Commons itself. Every boy was 
 supposed to represent some place or other, and marvellous 
 was the scouring of atlases and geography books to discover 
 constituencies for the young members. There was a 
 Government and an Opposition, of course, only in the case 
 of the former the " Ministers " were elected by the votes 
 of the whole assembly, at the beginning of each session. 
 They were designated by the titles of their office. There 
 was a Premier and a Home Secretary, and a First Lord of 
 the Admiralty, and so on, and great was the pride of a 
 Willoughbite when he first heard himself referred to as the 
 Right Honourable ! 
 
 Everything that came before the house had to come in 
 the form of a bill or a resolution. Any one anxious to bring 
 up a subject (and there was nothing to prevent the junior 
 fag bringing in a bill if he liked) usually handed in his 
 motion early in the session, so as to stand a good chance 
 of getting a date for his discussion. Later on, when more 
 subjects were handed in than there were evenings to debate 
 them, the order was decided by ballot, and due notice given 
 every Friday of the business for the next evening. 
 
 Another feature of these meetings was, of course, the ques- 
 tions. Any one was entitled to question the "Government" 
 on matters affecting the school, and the putting and answer- 
 ing of these questions was usually the most entertaining part 
 of an evening's business. Naturally enough, it was not always 
 easy to decide to whose department many of the questions 
 asked belonged, but tradition had settled this to some 
 extent. The Home Secretary had to answer questions about 
 the monitors, the First Lord of the Admiralty about the 
 ooats, the Secretary of State for War about rights, and so on, 
 while more doubtful questions were usually first asked of the 
 Premier, who, if he didn't find it convenient to answer
 
 88 The Willoughby Parliament in Session. 
 
 them, was entitled to refer the inquirer to some other member 
 of the Government. 
 
 It need hardly be said that the meetings of the Willoughby 
 Parliament were occasionally more noisy than dignified, 
 and yet there existed a certain sense of order and respect 
 for the " authority of the House " which held the members 
 in check, and prevented the meetings from degenerating 
 into riots. Another reason for the same result existed in 
 the doctor, who sanctioned the Parliament only as long as 
 it was conducted in an orderly manner, and did not offend 
 against the rules of the school. And a final and more 
 terrible reason still was in the fact that the House had the 
 power of expelling a member who was generally obnoxiou*. 
 
 The session at Willoughby always opened on the Saturday 
 after the May sports, and notice had been duly given that 
 Parliament would assemble this year on the usual date, and 
 that the first business would be the election of a Speaker 
 and a Government. 
 
 The reader will easily understand that, under present 
 circumstances, an unusual amount of interest and curiosity 
 centred in the opening meeting of the school senate, and 
 at the hour of meeting the big dining-hall, arranged after 
 the model of the great House of Commons, was, in spite of 
 the fact that it was a summer evening, densely packed by an 
 excited assembly of members. 
 
 Most of the boys as they entered had stopped a moment 
 to read the " order paper," which was displayed in a 
 prominent place beside the door. It was crowned with 
 notices, the first three of which gave a good idea of the pro- 
 spect of a lively evening. 
 
 i. "That the captain of the school be elected Speaker of 
 this House." Proposed by T. Fairbairn ; seconded by E. 
 Coates. 
 
 . "That Mr. Bloomfield be elected Speaker of this
 
 A Contested Election. 89 
 
 House." Proposed by G. Game; seconded by R. 
 
 Ashiey. 
 
 3. " That Francis Cusack, Esq., member for the Isle of 
 Wight, be elected Speaker of this House." Proposed, A. 
 Pilbury, Esq. ; seconded, L. Philpot, Esq. 
 
 The humour of the last notice was eclipsed by the 
 icriousness of the other two. It had always been taken for 
 granted that the captain of Willoughby was also the Speaker 
 of the House, and a contested election for that office was 
 without precedent Now, however, the old rule was to be 
 challenged ; and as the members waited for the clock to 
 strike six they discussed the coming contest among them- 
 selves with a solemnity which could hardly have been sur- 
 passed in Westminster itself. 
 
 The clock sounded at last ; every one was in his place. 
 The seniors sat ranged on the front benches on either side 
 of the table, and the others crowded the benches behind 
 them, impatiently waiting for the proceedings to com- 
 mence.| 
 
 According to custom, Riddell, as captain of the school, 
 rose, and briefly proposed, " That Mr. Isaacs, Senior Limpet, 
 be requested to preside until after the election of a 
 Speaker." 
 
 The appearance of the captain to move this resolution 
 had always been the signal for a loud ovation from the 
 House. But this year the cheers were confined to a very 
 small cluster of schoolhouse boys, and died away languidly 
 in the general silence which prevailed elsewhere. Riddell's 
 motion being seconded and carried, Mr. Isaacs, a pallid 
 unintelligent-looking Limpet, rose and advanced to the 
 chair at the end of the table usually occupied by the Chair- 
 man of Committees, and, knocking with a hammer once or 
 twice, demanded silence. This being secured, he called 
 out. " Mr. Fairbairn ! " and sat down.
 
 90 The Willoughby Parliament in Session. 
 
 Fairbairn's speech was brief and to the point 
 
 " I beg to move that the captain of the school be elected 
 Speaker of this House. I don't know that I need say any 
 thing in support of this. (" Oh, oh 1 " from a voice opposite.) 
 " The captain always has been Speaker, and Mr. Riddell has 
 already taken an active part in the business of the house 
 and knows what the Speaker's duties are. We all miss old 
 Wyndham "(loud cheers) " L but I'm sure Riddell will be a 
 worthy successor to him in the chair of this House." 
 
 Coates having said, " I beg to second the motion," Mr. 
 Isaacs put it to the meeting, and asked if there was any 
 amendment. Whereupon Game rose, amid loud cheers 
 from all quarters. 
 
 Game, as has already been said, was an honest 
 fellow. He meant what he said, and generally said what 
 he meant. He was fully convinced in his own mind that 
 Willoughby would go to the dogs under the new captain, 
 and therefore if Riddell had been his own twin-brother he 
 would have protested against him all the same. 
 
 " I beg to move an amendment," he said, " and it is 
 this : That Mr. Bloomfield be appointed Speaker of this 
 House instead of Mr. Riddell." [It will be noticed by the 
 way that when Willoughby sat in Parliament everybody 
 was " Mr."] " And the reason I do so is because I consider 
 Mr. Bloomfield ought to be captain of the school instead 
 of Mr. Riddell. (Loud Parrett cheers.) I've nothing to 
 say against Mr. Riddell (cheers from the schoolhouse) 
 except that I don't consider he's the right man in the right 
 place. (Great applause.) He's been made captain against 
 our wishes ("Hear, hear," and "Oh, oh I") and we 
 can't help it. But we're not obliged to have him captain 
 here, and what's more, we don't mean to ! (Terrific cheers, 
 especially from the juniors.) Mr. Bloomfield's our maa 
 Only to-day he stopped a row in the Fourth in two minutes
 
 Ashley s Speech. 91 
 
 which Mr. Riddell couldn't have stopped if he'd stayed till 
 now. (Laughter, and cries of " Give him a clothes-brush ! " ) 
 The fellows all look up to Mr. Bloomfield. He ran grandly 
 for the school at the sports the other day, and licked the 
 London fellow. (Here the enthusiasm became positively 
 deafening.) What's Mr. Riddell done for the school? I 
 should like to know. We want a fellow who has done 
 something for the school, and, I repeat, Mr. Bloomfield's 
 our man, and I hope you'll elect him Speaker." 
 
 Game sat down amidst a tempest of applause, which 
 brought a flush of pleasure even to his serious face. 
 
 Many curious eyes were turned to Riddell to see the 
 effect of this uncomplimentary oration upon him. 
 
 At first he had looked nervous and uncomfortable, and 
 had even whispered to Fairbairn, who sat next him, " Don't 
 you think I'd better go ? " 
 
 " For goodness' sake, no 1 " exclaimed Fairbairn. " Don't 
 be a fool, Riddell." 
 
 The caution had its weight, Riddell saw he must brave 
 it out; and that being settled, he felt more comfortable, 
 and listened to all the unpleasant things that were said in 
 a composed manner which greatly perplexed his adversaries, 
 
 Ashley, who seconded Game's motion, was hardly so 
 fortunate in his remarks as his predecessor. 
 
 " I second the motion, gentlemen," he said. " It's time 
 we made a stand against this sort of thing. (" What sort 
 of thing?" from voices on the schoolhouse side.) Why, 
 schoolhouse tyranny. (Frantic Parrett cheers.) Why is 
 the whole credit of Willoughby to be sacrificed for the sake 
 of your precious schoolhouse? ("Question I" "Order!" 
 drowned by renewed cheers.) Why, just because he's a 
 schoolhouse fellow, is a muff to be stuck over us? and 
 just because he's a Parrett's fellow, is a splendid fellow like 
 Mr. Bloomfield to be snubbed in the face of the whole
 
 92 The Willoughby Parliament in Session. 
 
 school? (Loud cheers.) It's time Willoughby found out 
 that Parrett's is the cock house of the school. ("Oh! 
 oh ! " from the Welchers.) It's got the best men in it 
 (P.mett cheers.) It's head of the river. (" Oh no, not 
 yet," from Fairbairn.) Well, it will be very soon. It's 
 ahead in everything. ("Except intelligence," from Cross- 
 field.) No, I don't even except intelligence. (Loud cheers 
 from Bosher, and laughter.) And, as a sign of its intel- 
 ligence, I beg to second the motion." 
 
 This abrupt and somewhat vague termination to Ashley's 
 spirited address did not detract from the applause with 
 which it was greeted by his own partisans, or from the 
 wrath with which it was received by the schoolhouse 
 boys. 
 
 The moment he sat down Crossfield sprang to his feet 
 This was the signal for loud schoolhouse cheers, and for 
 general attention from all quarters, for Crossfield usually 
 had something to say worth listening to. 
 
 " Mr. Limpet, sir " (loud laughter ; Isaacs, who had 
 been drawing niggers on the paper before him started, and 
 blushed very much to find himself thus appealed to) " I 
 am sure we are all much obliged to the honourable member 
 who has just sat down for the ' sign of intelligence ' he has 
 just favoured us with. (Laughter.) We've been looking 
 for it for a long time (laughter) and it's come at last ! 
 (Cheers and laughter.) Sir, it would be a great pity to let 
 such an occasion pass without notice. I'm not sure that 
 the doctor might not think it worth a half-holiday. A sign 
 of intelligence from the hon. gentleman I And what is 
 the sign, sir? (Laughter.) The hon. member seconds the 
 motion. (" Hear, hear 1 * from Parrett's.) Gentlemen of 
 the same party say ' Hear, hear I ' as much as to say, ' We, 
 too, show signs of intelligence 1 ' Do you really, gentlemen ? 
 I could not have believed * (Loud laughter.) Why does
 
 Crossfield 's Speech. 93 
 
 he second the motion ? Because he's a Parrett's boy, and 
 Mr. Bloomfield is a Parrett's boy, and all Paxrett's boys say 
 a Parrett's boy ought to be the head of the school ! Gentle- 
 men, parrots aren't always to be trusted, even when they 
 show signs of intelligence ! (Cheers and laughter.) Don't 
 you believe all a parrot tells you about parrots. (Laughter.) 
 I prefer the arguments of the gentleman who moved the 
 amendment. He says he doesn't think Mr. Riddell is fit 
 to be captain. (Cheers.) I agree with him (tremendous 
 Parrett's cheers, and consternation of schoolhouse) I 
 don't think Mr. Riddell is fit to be captain. He doesn't 
 think so himself. (" Hear, hear ! " from Riddell, and 
 laughter.) But the gentleman says Mr. Bloomfield is the 
 man. (Loud cheers.) I don't agree with that at all 
 Mr. Riddell knows very little about sports, though I do 
 hear he was seen coxing a schoolhouse boat this morning. 
 (Derisive cheers.) Mr. Bloomfield knows almost as little 
 about classics 1 (Loud laughter from the schoolhouse.) 
 Why, gentlemen, do you mean to say you think a fellow 
 who couldn't translate ' Balbus hopped over a wall ' without 
 looking up three words in a lexicon is fit to be a Willoughby 
 captain ? (Laughter from the juniors, and cries of " Time 1 " 
 trom Parretts.) I say not. Even though he's a Parrett's 
 boy, and therefore can show a sign of intelligence ! 
 (Laughter.) No ; what I say is, whether we believe in him 
 or not, Mr. Riddell is captain ; and until you can show me 
 a less bad one, I'll vote for him." 
 
 This oration, delivered with great animation and amidst 
 constant laughter, helped to put the meeting in rather 
 better humour, all except the Parrett's fellows, who did not 
 enjoy it at all. 
 
 However, before any of them could make up his mind 
 to reply, a shrill voice was heard from the other end of the 
 hall,
 
 94 The Willoughby Parliament tn Session. 
 
 ** Sir 1 It is time the Welchers had a word ! " 
 
 This innocent announcement caused a loud burst of 
 laughter, in which every one joined, especially when it was 
 discovered that the orator was none other than the youthful 
 Mr. Pilbury himself! 
 
 He stood surrounded by a small cluster of admiring 
 juniors, who glared defiantly out on the assembly generally, 
 and " backed up their man " till he could hardly breathe. 
 
 "It's all very well," screamed Pilbury. (Loud cheers 
 from Cusack and Philpot.) But here the chairman's 
 hammer sounded and cries of "Order " checked the orator's 
 progress. 
 
 " The hon. member," said Isaacs, " cannot propose his 
 motion till the motion before the House is disposed of." 
 
 Pilbury scowled fiercely at the speaker. 
 
 ** I shall propose it," he cried, " and you'd better shut up, 
 old Ikey ! " 
 
 Game, amid much laughter, rose to order, and asked if 
 these expressions were parliamentary ? 
 
 Isaacs said, " Certainly not, and Mr. Pilbury must with- 
 draw them." 
 
 Mr. Pilbury said " he'd withdraw his grandmother," and 
 attempted to continue his speech, when Fairbairn rose and 
 suggested to the hon. member that if he would only 
 wait a bit the House would be delighted to hear him. 
 After this conciliatory advice Pilbury let himself be pulled 
 down into his seat by his admirers, and the debate on 
 Game's amendment continued. 
 
 It was hot and exciting. The arguments were mostly on 
 the side of the schoolhouse, and the vehemence on the 
 side of Parrett's. Once or twice a Welcher dropped in a 
 speech, attacking both parties, and once or twice a school- 
 bouse boy spoke in favour of Bloomfield, or a Parrett's boy 
 spoke in favour of Riddell. At last, after about an hour's
 
 The Tlouse Divides. 95 
 
 angry debate, the House divided. That is, all those in 
 favour of Game's amendment moved over to one side of 
 the room, and those against it to the other, and those who 
 did not want to vote at all kept their seats in the middle. 
 
 There was no need to count the numbers of the rival 
 parties as they stood. Only about twenty-five stood beside 
 Fairbairn and the schoolhouse, while nearly two hundred 
 and fifty boys crowded the side of the room along which 
 Game and his followers took their stand. The triumph of 
 the opponents to the new captain was complete, and the 
 school had given him and the head master a most emphatic 
 reply to the late appointment. 
 
 Riddell would have much preferred to be allowed to with- 
 draw of his own accord rather than remain to be beaten. 
 But his friend* had all opposed the idea as cowardly, and 
 he had given in to them. He now took his defeat very 
 placidly, and even joined in the laughter which greeted Mr. 
 Isaac's call. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Pilbury ! " 
 
 Mr. Pilbury was "off his speech." If he had been 
 allowed to proceed when he first rose, he had the steam up 
 and could have let out, as he told his friends; but now 
 the spirit had been taken out of him. However, he was 
 compelled to make an effort, and began as before, 
 
 " Sir, it is time the Welchers had a word." 
 
 He didn't mean anything funny, he was certain, but 
 everybody laughed. 
 
 " Why shouldn't old Cusack here (" Order, order") 
 
 " What's the row ? " 
 
 Isaacs informed the hon. gentleman that members of that 
 House were always called " Mr." 
 
 " Mr. Cusack, then," said Pilbury, " it's just a dodge of 
 Ikey to floor me in my speech. Why shouldn't old Mr, 
 Cusack eh, what say?"
 
 *6 The Willovghby Parliament in Session. 
 
 This was addressed to Philpot, who was eagerly trying to 
 prompt his ally. 
 
 " Go it, let out at them," he whispered 
 
 * Why shouldn't old Mr. Cusack go h and let out that 
 is all right, Philpot, you pig, I'll pay you oat, sec if I 
 don't Why shouldn't old Mr. Cusack, gentlemen er " 
 
 " Do," suggested Cusack himself! 
 
 "Do," shouted Pilbury, "do, gentlemen do? Why 
 shouldn't (aH right, Gus Telson, I see yon chucking darts) 
 why shouldn't old Mr. Cusack " 
 
 "Does any gentleman second the amendment?" asked 
 Mr. Isaacs, evidently getting hungry and anxious to be 
 released from his post 
 
 "Yes," shouted Philpot, " Mr. Gentlemen, yes, I do 
 
 "Wait a bit, you howling cad," yrflaim^j Pilbury, in ex- 
 citement ** I've not done yet ! * 
 
 " Mr. Philpot ! " said Mr. Isaacs. 
 
 " Philpot be blowed," cried the irate Pilbury, u wait till 
 I'm done* * 
 
 " Order, order," shouted members on all sides. 
 
 "Moved by Mr. Pilbury, seconded by Mr. Philpot, 
 began Isaacs. 
 
 " Easy all," cried Philpot, " I've not spoken yet" 
 
 " Order, order," cried Isaacs. 
 
 " Order yourself," retorted Philpot, " I've got a right to 
 speak." 
 
 "So have I," said Pilbury, " and I was up first" 
 
 Forge away," said Philpot, " you'll be all right* 
 
 " Nothing to do with you if I a* all right," snarled 
 Pflbury. 
 
 You seem to think you're the only fellow can talk." 
 
 "Ayes to the right, noes to the left," said Isaacs, in u 
 Joed voice.
 
 Mr. Speaker Bloomfield. 97 
 
 The House instantly divided, and before either Pilbury or 
 Philpot could make up their minds about proceeding, the 
 motion had been declared lost by a majority of three hun- 
 dred odd to one. 
 
 In a great state of wrath the injured Welchers left the 
 hall, making as much noise as they possibly could in doing 
 so. 
 
 As soon as they were gone, Isaacs put the question that 
 Bloomfield be elected Speaker, and this was carried without 
 a division, the schoolhouse fellows not caring to demand 
 one. 
 
 Amid loud and long-confemed cheers the new Speaker 
 took his seat, and as soon as silence could be restored, 
 said, 
 
 " I'm much obliged to you all for your vote. I hope 
 Willoughby won't go down. Ill try to prevent it for one. 
 (Loud cheers.) I'm very proud to be elected your Speaker, 
 and feel it quite as much honour as if I was captain of the 
 school. (Loud cries of " So you are ! " from Parrctt's.) In 
 reference to what one gentleman said about me, I hope you 
 won't believe it. I'm twelfth in classics. (Laughter from the 
 schoolhouse and terrific applause from Parrett's.) That's 
 all I have to say." 
 
 The remaining business of the afternoon was dull com- 
 pared with what had gone before. The elections for the 
 various posts in the Government did not excite very much 
 enthusiasm, especially among the juniors, who deserted the 
 meeting soon after they began. After what had occurred it 
 is hardly to be wondered at that the partisans of Bloomfield 
 'and the Parretts had the matter pretty much in their own 
 hands, and used it to their own advantage. When the list 
 was finally declared, it was found that only one school- 
 house fellow, Porter, had a place in the "Cabinet" He 
 was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. Game was
 
 98 The Willoughby Parliament in Session. 
 
 First Lord of the Admiralty, Wibberly, War Secretary, 
 Ashley, Home Secretary, and Strutter, a comparatively ob- 
 scure boy, Premier. All these, as well as the other officers 
 appointed, were Parrett's fellows, who may have flattered 
 themselves their election was a simple recognition of merit 
 in each case, but who, taken altogether, were a long way off 
 being the most distinguished boys of Willoughby. 
 
 Parliament did not adjourn till a late hour that evening, 
 and no one was particularly sorry when it did.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 A SCIENTIFIC AFTERNOON IN WELCH'S. 
 
 " TT)IL," said Cusack, a few days after the unfortunate 
 
 JL end to that gentleman's "motion" in Parliament 
 " Pil, it strikes me we can do pretty much as we like these 
 times. What do you think ? " 
 
 " Well, I don't know," said Pil, meditatively ; " I got a 
 pot from Coates to-day for playing fives against the school- 
 house door." 
 
 " Oh yes ; of course, if you fool about out of doors you'll 
 get potted. What I mean is, indoors here there's no one to 
 pull us up that I can see." 
 
 " Oh ! I see what you mean," said Pil. " Yes, you're 
 about right there." 
 
 " Gully, you know," continued Cusack " Gully's no 
 good as master of a house ; he's always grubbing over his 
 books. Bless his heart ! it doesn't matter to him whether 
 we cut one another's throats ! " 
 
 " Not it ! I dare say he'd be rather glad if we did" 
 replied Pilbury. 
 
 "Then there's Tucker. No fear of his reporting us, 
 eh!" 
 
 "Rather not! when he's always breaking rules himself, 
 and slinking down to Shellport, and kicking up rows with 
 the other chaps. What do you think I found in his brush- 
 and-comb bag the other day ? Thirteen cigar-ends ! He
 
 ioo A Scientific Afternoon in Welch's. 
 
 goes about collecting them in Shellport, I suppose, and 
 finishes them up on the quiet." 
 
 "Oh, he's a beast!" said Cusack. "And old Silk's 
 about as bad. He doesn't care a bit what we do as long as 
 he enjoys himself. Don't suppose he'd be down on us, do 
 you?" 
 
 " No fear ! He might pot us now and then for appear- 
 ance* sake, but he wouldn't report us, I guess." 
 
 " And suppose he did," said Cusack ; " the new captain's 
 as big a muff as all the lot of them put together. He's 
 afraid to look at a chap. Didn't you hear what he did to 
 the Parrett's kids the other day ? " 
 
 "Yes; didn't I ! " exclaimed Pilbury. " He let them all 
 off, and begged their pardons or something. But I'm jolly 
 glad Parrett was down on them. He's stopped their river- 
 play, and they won't be able to show up at the regatta." 
 
 " I'm jolly glad ! " said Cusack ; " chaps like them 
 deserve to catch it, don't they, Pil? " 
 
 " Rather ! " replied Pilbury. 
 
 A silence ensued, during which both heroes were doubt- 
 less meditating upon the unexampled iniquities of the 
 Parrett juniors. 
 
 Presently Pilbury observed somewhat dolefully, " Beastly 
 slow, isn't it, Cusack ? " 
 
 'What's beastly slow?" 
 
 " Oh, everything ! No fun kicking up a row if there's no 
 one to pull you up. I'm getting sick of rows." 
 
 t^usack stared at his friend with rather concerned looks. 
 He could not be well, surely, or he would never come out 
 with sentiments like those. 
 
 " Fact is," continued Pilbury, contemplatively balancing 
 himself on one foot on the corner of the fender, "I've half 
 a notion to go in for being steady this term, old man, just 
 for a change."
 
 A Brilliant Idea. 101 
 
 As if to suit the action to the word, the fender suddenly 
 capsized under him, and shot him head first into the waist- 
 coat of his friend. 
 
 Cusack solemnly restored him to his feet and replied, 
 " Rather a rum start, isn't it ? " 
 
 " Well," said Pilbury, examining his shin to see if it had 
 been grazed by the treacherous fender, "I don't see what 
 else there is to do. Any chap can fool about. I'm fagged 
 of fooling about ; ain't you ? " 
 
 "I don't know," said Cusack, doubtfully. "It's not 
 such a lark as it used to be, certainly." 
 
 " What do you say to going it steady this term ? " asked 
 Pilbury. 
 
 " Depends on what you mean by ' steady.' If you mean 
 never going out of bounds or using cribs, I'm not game." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean that, you know," said Pilbury. 
 " What I mean is, shutting up rows, and that sort of thing." 
 
 " What can a fellow do ? " asked Cusack, dubiously. 
 
 " Oh, lots to do, you know," said Pilbury " dominoes, 
 you know, or spellicans. I've got a box at home." 
 
 " Jolly slow always playing dominoes," said Cusack, " or 
 spellicans." 
 
 Well, then, there's " 
 
 " Hold hard 1 " broke in Cusack, struck with a sudden 
 idea. " What's the name of the thing old Philpot's always 
 at?" 
 
 "What, chemistry? Jolly good idea, old man! Let's 
 go in for that." 
 
 " Not a bad lark," said Cusack " lots of explosions and 
 things. Philpot told me he could make Pharaoh's serpents, 
 and smells like rotten eggs. We'll get him to coach us, eh, 
 Pil?" 
 
 " I'm game," said Pil, no less delighted than his friend, 
 at this happy thought
 
 1O2 A Scientific Afternoon in Welch's. 
 
 And, full of their new idea of " going it steady," the two 
 worthies forthwith sallied out and made hue and cry for 
 Philpot. 
 
 Unless Philpot in his leisure moments was engaged in 
 some predatory expedition, or happened to be serving a 
 term of imprisonment in the detention room, it was a pretty 
 safe guess to look for him in the laboratory, where as an 
 ardent student of science he was permitted to resort, and 
 within certain limits practise for himself. Philpot him- 
 self bore the office of " second under bottle-washer " in 
 Willoughby ; that is, he assisted the boy who assisted the 
 chemistry fag who assisted the assistant master to the 
 science master ; and on the strength of this distinction he 
 was allowed some special privileges in the way of improving 
 himself in his favourite branch of study. 
 
 He was on the whole rather a promising pupil, and had 
 a very fair idea of the properties of the several substances 
 he was allowed to experiment with. Indeed he had had 
 to pass an examination and perform some experiments in 
 the presence of the master before he was allowed to enter 
 the laboratory as a private student at all. No one knew 
 exactly how he distinguished himself on that occasion, or 
 how he succeeded with his experiments, but it was well 
 known that, if he had succeeded then, he had never done 
 so since ; that is, according to anybody's idea but his own. 
 
 Cusack and Pilbury found him busy blowing through a 
 tube into a bottle of water, looking very like a purple cherub 
 bursting at the cheeks. He was so engrossed with his task 
 that he did not even notice their entry, indeed it was not 
 till Pilbury had stepped behind him and clapped him 
 suddenly on either side of the face, making his cheeks 
 explode like a small balloon, and spilling the contents of 
 his bottle all over the table, that he became aware that he 
 had visitors.
 
 A Science Professor. 103 
 
 11 What a frightful idiot you are, Pilbury ! " he exclaimed ; 
 " you've spoilt that whole experiment. I wish you'd shut 
 up fooling and get out." 
 
 " Awfully sorry, old man," said Pilbury, " but you did 
 look so jolly puffed out, you know ; didn't he, Cusack ? " 
 
 " Now you've done, you'd better hook it," said Philpot, 
 4< you've not got leave to come here." 
 
 " Oh, don't be riled," said Cusack ; " the fact is, Pil and 
 I came to see if you'd put us up to a thing or two in this 
 sort of business." 
 
 " We've gone on the steady, Phil, you know," explained 
 Pilbury, in conciliatory tones, "and thought it would be 
 rather jolly if we three worked up a little chemistry together." 
 
 " We'd watch you do the things at first, of course," said 
 Cusack, " till we twigged all the dodges." 
 
 " And it would be jolly good practice for you, you know, 
 in case ever old Mix-'em-up is laid up, and you have to 
 lecture instead." 
 
 Philpot regarded his two would-be pupils doubtfully, but 
 softened considerably as they went on. 
 
 " You'll have to promise not to fool," said he, presently, 
 " or there'll be a row." 
 
 " Oh, rather ; we won't touch anything without asking, 
 will we, Pil ? " replied Cusack. " Awfully brickish of you, 
 Philpot." 
 
 Philpot took the compliment very complacently, and the 
 two students settled themselves one on either side of the 
 table and waited for operations to begin. 
 
 " Wire in, old man," said Pilbury, encouragingly ; " cut 
 all the jaw, you know, and start with the experiments. 
 Can't you give us a jolly flare up to begin with ? " 
 
 " All serene," said Philpot, who had now quite recovered 
 his humour, and was pleased to find himself in the positioa 
 of an instructor of youth, " wait a bit, then."
 
 IO4 A Scientific Afternoon in Welch's. 
 
 He reached down from a shelf a large saucer containing 
 water, in which lay a round substance rather like the end of 
 a stick of peppermint-rock. On this Philpot began to 
 operate with a pair of scissors, greatly to the amusement of 
 his spectators, for try all he would he couldn't get hold of it. 
 
 " What are you trying to do ? " said Cusack. 
 
 " Cut a bit off," said Philpot, trying to stick the sub- 
 stance with a long bodkin, in order to hold it steady. 
 
 " Why, that's not the way to cut it, you old dolt,"' said 
 Pilbury. " Here, I'll do it," and he advanced to the saucer. 
 
 "What'llyoudo?" 
 
 " Why, fish it out, of course, and cut it then." 
 
 " You'd better not try. It's phosphorus." 
 
 "Is it, though and what does it do?" 
 
 " Burn you, rather, unless you keep it in water. Ah, 
 got him at last." 
 
 So saying Philpot triumphantly spiked the obstinate piece 
 of phosphorus, and succeeded in cutting off a small piece. 
 
 " Is that what makes the flare up," asked Cusack. 
 
 " Yes, wait a bit, till I get the jar." 
 
 "What jar?" asked Pilbury. "Here's one; will this 
 do?" 
 
 " Look out, I say 1 " exclaimed Philpot, in great excite- 
 ment ; " let it go, will you ? " 
 
 "What's the row?" asked Pilbury and Cusack, both in 
 alarm. 
 
 "Why, that's got my oxygen in it," cried Philpot, 
 securing the bottle and gently lifting it on to the table, 
 taking care to hold the glass plate that covered the mouth 
 in its place. 
 
 " Got his what in it ? " asked Cusack. 
 
 " Oxygen. It took me an hour to get." 
 
 "There's nothing in that empty jar," said Pilbury, 
 laughing.
 
 A Dazzling Experiment. 105 
 
 Isn t there, though ? " said Philpot ; "if s full" 
 
 " You mean to say that jar's full of something," said 
 Cusack. " Look here, don't you try to stuff us up. What's 
 the use of saying it's full when it's empty ? " 
 
 "It's full of gas, I tell you," said Philpot. " Don't you 
 talk till you know." 
 
 This rebuke somewhat silenced the two devotees of 
 science, who, however, continued to regard the jar scepti- 
 cally and rather contemptuously. 
 
 Philpot next dived into a drawer and drew from it a 
 large cork, through which passed a long wire having a 
 small cup at the lower end. 
 
 " Now look out," he said. 
 
 He proceeded to shovel the small piece of phosphorus 
 into the little cup under the cork, and drawing it out of the 
 water, applied a light. The phosphorus lit up immediately, 
 and at the same instant he slipped the glass plate off the 
 mouth of the oxygen jar, and clapped the cork, with the 
 wire and cup hanging down from it, in its place. 
 
 The effect was magical. The moment the phosphorus 
 was introduced into the oxygen it flared up with a brilliancy 
 that perfectly dazzled the spectators, and made the entire 
 jar look like one mass of light 
 
 The two pupils were delighted ; Philpot was complacently 
 triumphant ; when all of a sudden there was a loud report, 
 the illumination suddenly ceased, and the jar, broken to 
 pieces, collapsed. 
 
 Pilbury and Cusack, who at the first alarm had retreated 
 somewhat suddenly to the door, returned as soon as they 
 perceived there was no danger, and were profuse in their 
 praises of the experiment and the experimenter. 
 
 "Awfully prime, that was 1 " cried Cusack j "wasn't it, 
 Pil?" 
 
 " Stunning 1 " said Pilbury.
 
 io6 A Scientific Afternoon in Welch's. 
 
 *' Jolly grind that jar bursting up, though," said Philpot, 
 with a troubled countenance. 
 
 " Why, wasn't that part of the show-off? " asked Pilbury. 
 
 " Part of the show-off ! No ! " exclaimed Philpot 
 
 " I thought it was the best part of it all," said Cusack. 
 
 " So did I. No end of a bust up it was." 
 
 " You see," said Philpot, solemnly, " what I ought to 
 have done was to dilute the oxygen with a little air first, 
 but you fellows flurried me so I forgot all about it." 
 
 " Jolly glad you did, or we'd have missed the bust up," 
 said Cusack. " I say, can't we try now ? I know the way 
 to do it quite well." 
 
 But this proposal Philpot flatly declined to accede to, 
 and could only appease their disappointment by promising 
 to perform one other experiment for their benefit. 
 
 This was of rather an elaborate nature. The operator 
 first placed in a saucer some stuff which he explained was 
 iodine. On to this he poured from a small bottle which 
 smelt uncommonly like smelling-salts a small quantity of 
 liquid, and then proceeded to stir the concoction up. 
 
 The two students were not to be restrained from offering 
 their services at this point, and Philpot yielded. After they 
 had stirred to their hearts' content, Philpot ordered them to 
 desist and let it stand a bit 
 
 This they consented to do, and occupied the interval in 
 taking down and smelling all the bottles within reach, with 
 a hardihood that frightened the wits out of poor Philpot. 
 
 " Look here," he said, when presently Pilbury suddenly 
 dropped one bottle with a crash to the floor, and began 
 violently spitting and choking, "you promised you wouldn't 
 touch anything, and I'll shut up if you go on fooling any 
 more. Serves you right, Pil, so it does." 
 
 It was some time before the unfortunate Pil recovered 
 from the results of his unlucky experiment, and even when
 
 Iodide of Nitrogen. 107 
 
 he did, the odours from the broken bottle were so offensive 
 that the windows had to be opened wide before the atmo- 
 sphere of the room became tolerable. It wouldn't have 
 taken so long, only it was deemed advisable to shut the 
 door at the same time to prevent the smell getting outside 
 and telling tales to the school at large. 
 
 By the time this pleasant diversion was disposed of the 
 concoction in the saucer had recovered from its stirring, and 
 Philpot declared it was ready to go ahead with. 
 
 He therefore placed another saucer upside down upon 
 this one, and carefully strained off between the two all the 
 liquid, leaving only a black powder in the saucer, which he 
 announced was iodide of nitrogen. 
 
 " Jolly rum name," said Cusack, " what does it do ? " 
 
 " You wait a bit," said Philpot, scooping the wet powder 
 up with the end of a knife and spreading it out on small 
 separate pieces of paper. 
 
 "Fellow's born a chemist," said Pilbury, watching him 
 admiringly ; " that's just what old Joram does at the dis- 
 pensary. What's all the spread out for ? " 
 
 " To dry it," said Philpot. 
 
 " Why don't you stick it on the shovel and hold it over 
 the gas?" suggested Cusack. "Jolly fag waiting till it 
 dries itself." 
 
 "Oh, it won't belong," said Philpot 
 
 "And what's it going to do when it's done," asked 
 Cusack. 
 
 " Hope it'll flare up like the other," said Pilbury. 
 
 " It ought to," said Philpot. 
 
 " Ought it? Hurrah ! I say, Cusack, what a jolly clever 
 beggar old Phil is, isn't he ? " 
 
 "Rather," said the admiring Cusack, perching himself 
 on the side of the table and swinging his legs to pass the 
 time.
 
 io8 A Scientific Afternoon in Welch 's. 
 
 " Oh," said Philpot, condescendingly, " it only wants a 
 little practice." 
 
 " Rather ; I mean to practise hard, don't you, Cusack ? " 
 
 Cusack said, Yes he did, and proceeded to prowl round 
 the laboratory in a manner that made Philpot very uncom- 
 fortable. 
 
 It was a relief to all parties when the powders were at 
 last pronounced to be dry. 
 
 11 Now," said Philpot, taking up one of the small papers 
 gently on the flat of his hand, " we shall have to be careful." 
 
 "That little lot won't make half a flare," suggested 
 Pilbury ; " let's have two or three at once." 
 
 So saying he lifted up one of the other papers and 
 emptied its contents into the paper on Philpot's hand. 
 
 "Look out," said Philpot, "it'll blow up." 
 
 ' Eh, what ? " cried Cusack, jumping off the table in his 
 excitement at the glorious news. 
 
 As he did so Philpot uttered a cry, which was accompanied 
 by a loud crackling explosion, and a dense volume of blue 
 smoke, which made the boys turn pale with terror. For a 
 moment neither of them could move or utter a sound except 
 Philpot, who danced round and round the room in the 
 smoke howling and wringing his hand. 
 
 Wken at last they did recover presence of mind enough 
 to inquire of their preceptor if he was injured, it was in tones 
 of terrible alarm. 
 
 w Oh, Phil, old man, are you hurt ? What was it ? We're 
 so awfully sorry. Is your hand blown off? " 
 
 " No," said Philpot, continuing to wring his injured hand, 
 but otherwise considerably recovered, "it was your fault 
 jnmping off the table. The beastly stuff goes off almost if 
 you look at it. It's lucky it wasn't all dry, or I might have 
 had my eyes out 1 " 
 
 It was a great relief to find matters were no worse, and
 
 A Bad House. 109 
 
 that in a very few minutes Philpot's hand had recovered 
 from the smart of the explosion. This accident, however, 
 decided fhe young enthusiasts that for the present they had 
 perhaps had enough chemistry for one lesson. 
 
 In a few days, however, they had all sufficiently got over 
 the shock of the last afternoon's experiments to decide on 
 a fresh venture, and these lessons continued, on and off, 
 during the rest of the term. It can hardly be said that by 
 the end of the term Pilbury or Cusack knew any more 
 about chemistry than they had known this first day. They 
 persistently refused to listen to any of Philpot's " jaw," as 
 they rudely termed his attempts at explanation, and confined 
 themselves to the experiments. However, though in many 
 respects they wasted their time over their new pursuit, these 
 volatile youths might have been a good deal worse employed. 
 
 In fact, if every Welcher had been no worse employed 
 that house would not have brought all the discredit on 
 Willoughby which it did. As it was, everybody there 
 seemed to follow his own sweet will without a single thought 
 for the good of the school or the welfare of his fellows. The 
 heads of the house, Tucker and Silk, did not even attempt 
 to set a good example, and that being so, it was hardly to 
 be expected those below them would be much interested to 
 supply the deficiencies. 
 
 On the very afternoon when Pilbury and Cusack had been 
 sitting at the feet of the learned Philpot in the laboratory, 
 Silk, a monitor, had, along with Gilks, of the schoolhouse, 
 a monitor too, gone down to Shellport, against all rules, 
 taking Wyndham junior, one of their special proteges, with 
 them. 
 
 They appeared to be pretty familiar with the ins and outs 
 of the big town, and though on this occasion they occupied 
 their time in no more disgraceful a way than waiting on the 
 harbour pier to see the mail steamer come in, they yet felt,
 
 no A Scientific Afternoon in Welch s. 
 
 all three of them, as if they would by no means like to be 
 seen by any one who knew them. 
 
 And it appeared as if they were going to be spared this 
 embarrassment, for they encountered no one they knew till 
 they were actually on their way home. 
 
 Then, just as they were passing the station door, they 
 met, to their horror, a boy in a college cap just coming out 
 with a parcel under his arm. To their astonishment, it 
 proved to be no other than Riddell himself. 
 
 Riddell, who had come down by a special " permit " from 
 the doctor to get a parcel containing, by the way, his new 
 boating flannels at first looked as astonished and uncom- 
 fortable as the three truants themselves. He would sooner 
 have had anything happen to him than such a meeting. 
 However, as usual, his sense of duty came to his rescue. 
 
 He advanced to the group in a nervous manner, and, 
 addressing Wyndham, said, hurriedly, " Please come to my 
 room this evening, Wyndham," and then, without waiting 
 for a reply, or staying to notice the ominous looks of the 
 two monitors, he departed, and proceeded as fast is he 
 could back to Willoughby.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 WYNDHAM JUNIOR AND HIS FRIENDS. 
 
 WYNDHAM, the old captain, just before leaving 
 Willoughby, had done his best to interest Riddell 
 in the welfare of his young brother, a Limpet in the Fourth. 
 
 "I wish you'd look after him now and then Riddell," 
 he said ; " he's not a bad fellow, I fancy, but he's not got 
 quite enough ballast on board, and unless there's some one 
 to look after him he's very likely to get into bad hands." 
 
 Riddell promised he would do his best, and the elder 
 brother was most grateful. 
 
 "I shall be ever so much easier now," he said, "and it's 
 awfully good of you, Riddell. I wouldn't care for the 
 young 'un to go wrong, you know. Thanks very much, 
 old man." 
 
 And so it came to pass that among the legacies which 
 the old captain left behind him at Willoughby, the one 
 which fell to Riddell was a young brother, slightly rickety 
 in character and short of ballast. 
 
 A parting request like Wyndham's would have been very 
 hard for any friend to refuse ; but to Riddell the promise 
 " to look after young Wyndham " meant a great deal more 
 than it would have done to many other fellows. It was 
 not enough for him to make occasional inquiries as to his 
 young protege^ or even to try to shield him when he tell 
 into scrapes. Riddell's idea of looking after a rickety 
 youngster included a good deal more than this, and from
 
 1 1 2 Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 
 
 the moment the old captain had left, amid all his own 
 tribulations and adversities, the thought of young Wyndham 
 had saddled itself on Riddell's conscience with an uncom- 
 fortable weight 
 
 This was the reason why he made the boy free of his 
 study, and gave up a good deal of his own time in helping 
 him with his work. And it was the same reason which 
 prompted him on the afternoon spoken of in the last 
 chapter, much against his inclination, to accost the three 
 truants in Shellport, and request Wyndham to come to his 
 study. 
 
 "You're in for a nice sermon, my boy," said Gilks, as 
 the three walked home. 
 
 "I wish he hadn't seen us," said Wyndham, feeling 
 uncomfortable. 
 
 "Why, you don't suppose hell lick you?" said Silk, 
 laughing. 
 
 "No, but he'll be awfully vexed." 
 
 "Vexed!" cried Gilks. "Poor fellow! How I'd like 
 to comfort him ! Take my advice and forget all about 
 going to his study. He'll not be sorry, I can tell you." 
 
 " Oh, I must go," said Wyndham. " I don't want to 
 offend him." 
 
 " Kind of you," said Silk, laughing. " Funny thing how 
 considerate a fellow can be to another fellow who does his 
 lessons for him." 
 
 Wyndham blushed, but said nothing. He knew these 
 two companions were not the sort of boys his brother would 
 have cared to have him associate with, nor did he parti- 
 cularly like them himself. But when two senior boys take 
 the trouble to patronise a junior and make fun of his 
 "peculiarities," as they called his scruples, it is hardly 
 surprising that the youngster comes out a good way to meet 
 his patrons.
 
 Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 113 
 
 Wyndham, by the way, was rather more than a youngster. 
 He was a Limpet, and looked back on the days of fagging 
 as a long-closed chapter of his history. Had he been a 
 junior like Telson or Pilbury, it would have been less likely 
 either that Game and Silk would take such trouble to 
 cultivate his acquaintance, or that he would submit himself 
 so easily to their patronage. As it was, he was his own 
 master. Nobody had a right to demand his services, 
 neither had he yet attained to the responsibilities of a 
 monitor. He could please himself, and therefore yielded 
 himself unquestioningly to the somewhat flattering attentions 
 of the two seniors. 
 
 No, not quite unquestioningly. Short as was the time 
 since his brother had left, it had been long enough for 
 Riddell to let the boy see that he wished to be his friend. 
 He had never told him so in words, but Wyndham could 
 guess what all the kind interest which the new captain 
 evinced in him meant And it was the thought of this 
 that kept alive the one or two scruples he still retained in 
 joining himself to the society of Gilks and Silk. 
 
 And so he declined the invitation of these two friends 
 to defy the captain's summons. 
 
 " Well," said Gilks, " if you must put your head into the 
 lion's mouth, you must, mustn't he, Silk ? But I say, as 
 you are to get pulled up, I don't see why you shouldn't 
 have all the fun you can for your money. What do you 
 say to a game of skittles at Beamish's ? w 
 
 " What a nice boy you are ! " said Silk, laughing ; " the 
 young un doesn't know Beamish's." 
 
 " Not know Beamish's ! at the Aquarium ! " said Gilks. 
 
 " No. What is he ? " inquired Wyndham. 
 
 " He's the Aquarium 1 " said Gilks, laughing. 
 
 "And do they play skittles in the Aquarium?" asked 
 the boy.
 
 H4 Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 
 
 " Rather I " said Silk ; " it amuses the fishes, you 
 know." 
 
 Beamish's was, as Gilks had said, another name for the 
 Shellport Aquarium a disreputable place of resort, whose 
 only title to the name of Aquarium was that it had in it, 
 in an obscure corner which nobody ever explored, a small 
 tank, which might have contained fishes if there had been 
 any put into it. As it was, the last thing any one went to 
 Beamish's for was to study fishes, the other attractions of the 
 place the skittles, bowls, and refreshment bars being far 
 more popular. These things in themselves, of course, were 
 not enough to make Beamish's a bad place. That character 
 was supplied by the company that were mostly in the habit 
 of frequenting it, of which it is enough to say it was the very 
 reverse of select. 
 
 At this time of day, however, the place was almost empty, 
 and when, after a good deal of chaff and persuasion, Wynd- 
 ham was induced to take a little turn round the place, he 
 was surprised to find it so quiet and unobjectionable. The 
 boys had a short game at skittles and a short game at bowls, 
 and bought a few buns and an ice at the refreshment stall, 
 and then departed schoolwards. 
 
 They reached Willoughby in good time for call-over, no 
 one except Riddell being aware of their pleasant expedition. 
 Still Wyndham, when it was all over, did not feel altogether 
 comfortable. Not that he thought what he had done was 
 very bad, or that he had sinned in deceiving the masters and 
 breaking the rules of the school. What troubled him was 
 that he knew Riddell would be vexed. 
 
 He repaired to the captain's study with his books as 
 usual after evening chapel and found him busy over his 
 work. 
 
 But as soon as the boy entered, Riddell pushed the 
 papers away rather nervously.
 
 Tn the Captains Study. 115 
 
 " Well, Wyndham," said he, " I'm glad you've come." 
 
 Wyndham deposited his books and looked rather un- 
 comfortable. 
 
 Riddell had rather hoped the boy would refer to the 
 subject first, but he did not. Riddell therefore said, " I was 
 sorry to see you down in Shellport this afternoon, Wyndham. 
 You hadn't a permit, had you ? " 
 
 " No," said Wyndham. 
 
 " It's hardly the thing, is it ? " said the captain, quietly, 
 after a pause. 
 
 His voice, devoid of all anger or self-importance, made 
 Wyndham still more uncomfortable. 
 
 " I'm awfully sorry," said he. " I suppose I oughtn't to 
 have gone. I beg your pardon, Riddell." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Riddell, " don't do that, please." 
 
 "You know," said Wyndham, " as those two took me, it 
 didn't seem to be much harm. We only went to see the 
 steamer come in." 
 
 "The thing is," said Riddell, "it was against the 
 rules." 
 
 " But Gilks and Silk are both monitors, aren't they ? " 
 
 " They are," said the captain, with a touch of bitterness in 
 his tone. 
 
 There was another pause, this time a long one. Neither 
 boy seemed inclined to return to the subject. Wyndham 
 opened his books and made a pretence of beginning his 
 work, and Riddell fidgeted with the papers before him. In 
 the mind of the latter a hurried debate was going on. 
 
 " What had I better do ? I might send him up to the 
 doctor and perhaps get him expelled. It might be the best 
 thing for him too, for if those two have got hold of him 
 he's sure to go wrong. I can't do anything to keep him 
 from them. And yet, I promised old Wynd I must try ; 
 I might help to keep him straight God help me 1 "
 
 Ti6 Wyndham Junior and hts Friends. 
 
 Is the reader astonished that the captain of a great public 
 school should so far forget himself as to utter a secret 
 prayer in his own study about such a matter as the correction 
 of a young scapegrace? It was an unusual thing to do, 
 certainly ; and probably if Wyndham had known what was 
 passing in the captain's mind he would have thought more 
 poorly of his brother's friend than he did. But I am not 
 quite sure, reader, whether Riddell was committing such an 
 absurdity as some persons might think ; or whether you or 
 I, or any other fellow in a similar position, would be any 
 the worse for forgetting ourselves in the same way. What 
 do you think ? It is worth thinking over, when you have time. 
 
 "God help me," said Riddell to himself, and he felt 
 his mind wonderfully cleared already as he said it 
 
 Clearer, that is, as to what he ought to do, but still rather 
 embarrassed as to how to do it But he meant to try. 
 
 " I say, Wyndham," he said, in his quiet way. " I want 
 to ask your advice ? " 
 
 " What about ? " asked Wyndham, looking up in surprise. 
 "About those fellows?" 
 
 " Not exactly. It's more about myself," said the captain. 
 
 " What about you ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 " Why, there's a fellow in the school I'm awfully anxious 
 to do some good to," began Riddell. 
 
 " Rather a common failing of yours," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Wanting to do it is more common than doing it," said 
 Riddell; "but I don't know how to tackle this fellow, 
 Wyndham." 
 
 " Who is he ? Do I know him ? " asked the boy. 
 
 " I'm not sure that you know him particularly well," said 
 the captain. " He's not a bad fellow ; in fact he has a lot 
 of good in him." 
 
 " Is he a Limpet ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 11 But," continued Riddell ; not noticing the question,
 
 A Parable. 117 
 
 ' he's got a horrid fault He won't stand up for himself, 
 Wyndham." 
 
 " Oh," observed Wyndham, " there's a lot of them like 
 that regular cowards they are." 
 
 " Exactly, this fellow's one of them. He's always funking 
 it" 
 
 Wyndham laughed. 
 
 " I know who you mean Tedbury, isn't it ? " 
 
 " No, that's not his name," said Riddell. " He's a nicer 
 sort of fellow than Tedbury. There are one or two fellows 
 that are always down on him, too. They see he's no pluck, 
 and so they think they can do what they like with him." 
 
 " Meekins gets a good deal mauled about by some of the 
 others," said Wyndham. 
 
 " This fellow gets a good deal more damaged than 
 Meekins," said the captain. "In fact he gets so mauled 
 his friends will soon hardly be able to recognise him." 
 
 Wyndham looked sharply at the speaker. Riddell was 
 quite grave and serious, and proceeded quietly, 
 
 " The worst of it is, this fellow's quite well able to stick 
 up for himself if he likes, and could easily hold his own. 
 Only he's lazy, or else he likes getting damaged." 
 
 " Are you making all this up ? " demanded Wyndham 
 colouring. 
 
 Riddell took no notice of the inquiry, but continued 
 rather more earnestly, 
 
 'Now I'd like your advice, Wyndham, old fellow. I 
 want to do this fellow a good turn. Which do you sup- 
 pose would be the best turn to do him ; to pitch into the 
 fellows that are always doing him harm ? or to try to per- 
 suade him to stick up for himself and not let them do just 
 what they like with him, eh ? " 
 
 Wyndham had seen it all before the question was ended, 
 and hung down his head in silence.
 
 1 1 8 Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 
 
 Riddell did not disturb him, but waited quietly, and, if 
 truth be told, anxiously, till he should reply. 
 
 Presently the boy looked up with a troubled face, and 
 said, 
 
 I know I'm an awful fool, Riddell." 
 
 " But you're not obliged to be," said the captain, 
 cheerily. 
 
 "I'll try not to be, I really will," said Wyndham. 
 " Only- " 
 
 " Only what ? " asked Riddell, after a pause. 
 
 " Only somehow I never think of it at the time." 
 
 " I know," said Riddell, kindly. 
 
 "Why only this afternoon," said Wyndham, drawn out 
 by the sympathy of his companion, " I tried to object to 
 going down to the town, and they made up some excuse, 
 so that I would have seemed like a regular prig to hold out, 
 and so I went. I'm awfully sorry now. I know I'm a 
 coward, Riddell ; I ought to have stuck out" 
 
 "I think you ought," said Riddell; "they would pro- 
 bably have laughed at you, and possibly tried to bully you a 
 bit. But you can take care of yourself, I fancy, when it 
 comes to that, eh ? " 
 
 " I can about the bullying," said Wyndham. 
 
 "And so," said Riddell, "you really advise me to say 
 to this fellow I was telling you about, to stand up for him- 
 self and not let himself be led about by any one ? " 
 
 " Except you, Riddell," said the boy. 
 
 " No," said Riddell, " not even me. / can't profess to 
 tell you all you ought to do." 
 
 " I should like to know who can, if you can't ? " saM 
 Wyndham. 
 
 " I think we both know," said Riddell, gravely. 
 
 The conversation ended here. For an hour and a half 
 after that each boy was busy over his work, and neither
 
 How long will it last? 119 
 
 spoke a word. Their thoughts may not all have been in 
 the books before them ; in fact it may safely be said they 
 were not. But they were thoughts that did not require 
 words. Only when Wyndham rose to go, and wished his 
 friend good-night, Riddell indirectly referred to the subject 
 of their talk. 
 
 " By the way, Wyndham, Isaacs has given up the school 
 librarianship ; I suppose you know. How would you like 
 to take it ? " 
 
 " What has a fellow got to do ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 " You have to issue the new books every Monday and 
 collect the old ones every Saturday. There are about one 
 hundred boys subscribe, and they order the new book 
 when they give up the old, so it's simple enough." 
 
 " Takes a lot of time, doesn't it ? " said Wyndham. 
 
 " No, not very much, I believe. Isaacs shirked it a 
 good deal, and you'd have to keep the lists rather better 
 than he did. But I fancy you'd enjoy it rather ; and," he 
 added, " it will be an excuse for seeing less of some not 
 very nice friends." 
 
 Wyndham said he would take the post, and went off 
 happier in his own mind than he had been for a long time, 
 and leaving Riddell happier too, despite all his failures and 
 vexations elsewhere, than he had been since he became 
 captain of Willoughby. 
 
 But, though happy, he could hardly be elated. His 
 effort that evening had certainly been a success, but how 
 long would its effects last ? 
 
 Riddell was not fool enough to imagine that his promise 
 to old Wyndham was now discharged by that one evening's 
 talk. He knew the boy well enough to be sure that the 
 task was only just begun. And his thankfulness at having 
 made a beginning was tempered with many anxieties for 
 the future.
 
 i2o Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 
 
 And he might well be anxious ! 
 
 For a day or two Wyndham was an altered boy. He 
 surprised his masters by his attention in class, and his 
 schoolfellows all except Riddell by the steadiness of his 
 behaviour. He avoided his former companions, and 
 devoted himself with enthusiasm to his new duties as 
 librarian, to which the doctor, at Riddell's suggestion, had 
 appointed him. 
 
 This alteration, approved of as it was in many quarters, 
 was by no means appreciated by two boys at Willoughby. 
 It was not that they cared twopence about the society of 
 their young Limpet, or that they had any moral objection 
 to good behaviour and steady work. What irritated Gilks 
 and Silk over the business was that they saw in it the hand 
 of an enemy, and felt that the present change in their 
 prot'egi was due to Riddell's influence in opposition to their 
 own. 
 
 The two monitors felt hurt at this ; it was like a direct 
 snub aimed at them, and, considering the quarter from 
 which it came, they did not like it at all. 
 
 " This sort of thing won't do," said Gilks to his friend 
 one day, shortly after Riddell's talk with Wyndbam. " The 
 young un's cut our acquaintance." 
 
 " Hope we shall recover in time," said Silk, sneering. 
 "Yes ; he's gone decidedly 'pi.' the last week." 
 
 " It's all that reverend prig's doing ! " growled Gilks. 
 " I mean to spoil his little game for him, though," added 
 he. 
 
 How'll you do it?" asked Silk. 
 
 11 That's just it 1 I wish I knew," said Gilks. 
 
 11 Oh ! leave it to me, I'll get at him somehow. I don't 
 suppose he's too far gone yet." 
 
 Accordingly Silk took an early opportunity of meeting his 
 young friend.
 
 The Vbice of the Tempter, 121 
 
 Ah 1 Wyndham," said he, casually ; " don't see much 
 of you now." 
 
 "Now," said Wyndham, shortly; "I'm busy with the 
 library." 
 
 " Oh ! I'm afraid, though, you're rather glad of an excuse 
 to cut Gilks and me after the row we got you into last 
 week." 
 
 " You didn't get me into any row," said Wyndham. 
 
 " What ! didn't he lick you for it ? Ah ! I see how it is. 
 He's afraid you'd let out on him for being down too. 
 Rather a good dodge too. Gilks and I half thought of 
 reporting him, but we didn't." 
 
 " He had a permit, hadn't he ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes rather ! I don't doubt that. Just like 
 Brown's, the town boy's excuses. Writes them himself." 
 
 "I'm certain Riddell wouldn't do such a thing," said 
 Wyndham, warming. 
 
 " I never said he would," replied Silk, seeing he was 
 going a little too far. "You see, captains don't want per- 
 mits. There's no one to pull them up. But I say, I'm 
 awfully sorry about last week." 
 
 " Oh ! it doesn't matter," said Wyndham, who could not 
 help being rather gratified to hear a monitor making apolo- 
 gies to him ; " only I don't mean to go down again." 
 
 " No, of course not ; and if Gilks suggests it I'll back you 
 up. By the way," he added, in tones of feigned alarm, " I 
 suppose you didn't tell him about going to Beamish's, did 
 you ? " 
 
 " No," said Wyndham, whose conscience had already 
 reproached him several times for not having confessed the 
 fact. 
 
 u I'm awfully glad of that," said Silk, apparently much 
 relieved. " Whatever you do, keep that quiet" 
 
 " Why ?" said Wyndham, rather concerned.
 
 122 Wyndham Junior and his Friends. 
 
 " My dear fellow, if that got out well, I don't know what 
 would happen." 
 
 " Why, is it a bad place, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, not at all," laughed Silk, with a mysterious 
 wink. "All serene for fellows like Gilks; but if it was 
 known we'd taken you there, we'd be done for." 
 
 Wyndham began to feel he had had a narrow escape of 
 "doing" for his two patrons without knowing it 
 
 "Promise you won't tell anybody, 1 ' said Silk. 
 
 " Of course I won't," said Wyndham, rather scornful at 
 the idea of telling tales of a schoolfellow. 
 
 " Thanks ; and I'll take care and say nothing about you, 
 and Gilks won't either, I know. So it'll be all right. I 
 don't know what possessed the fellow to suggest going in 
 there." 
 
 All this was somewhat perplexing to Wyndham. He had 
 never imagined Beamish's was such a terrible place, or that 
 the penalty of being found there was so severe. He felt that 
 he had had a fortunate escape, and was glad Silk had put 
 him up to it before he had let it out. 
 
 He became more friendly with his ally after this. There 
 is always a bond of attraction where a common danger 
 threatens, and Wyndham felt that, however determined he 
 was not to be led away any more by these friends of his, it 
 was just as well to be civil to them. 
 
 So he even accepted an invitation to come and have tea 
 in Silk's room that evening, to look at a volume of " Punch " 
 the latter had got from home, and to talk over the coming 
 boat-race. 
 
 Had he overheard a hurried conversation which took 
 place between Silk and Gilks shortly afterwards in the 
 Sixth Form room he would have looked forward to that 
 evening with anything but eagerness. 
 
 "Well?" asked Giiks.
 
 A Jolly Clever Fellow. 123 
 
 M Hooked him, I fancy," said Silk. " He's coming to 
 tea this evening." 
 
 " Good man. How did you manage it ? " 
 
 "Oh, and by the way," said Silk, "that going to 
 Eeamish's last week was no end of a crime. If it's found 
 out it's expulsion, remember. He believes it all. I've told 
 him we won't let out on him, and he's promised not to say 
 a word about it. Fancy we've rather a pull on him there." 
 
 " You're a jolly clever fellow, Silk," said Gilks, admir- 
 ingly. 
 
 "May be, but I'm not such a nice boy as you are, 
 Gilks."
 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 THE SCHOOLHOUSE BOAT AT WORK. 
 
 ILKS and his ally knew their business well enough 
 to see that they must go to work " gingerly " to 
 recover their lost Limpet. Consequently when Wyndham, 
 according to promise, turned up to tea in Silk's study, 
 nothing was said or done in any way likely to offend his 
 lately awakened scruples. 
 
 The tea was a good one, the volume of " Punch " was 
 amusing, and the talk confined itself almost altogether to 
 school affairs, and chiefly to the coming boat-race. 
 
 This last subject was one of intense interest to young 
 Wyndham. As brother to the old captain, he was naturally 
 eager to see his brother's boat retain its old position on the 
 river; and as an ardent schoolhouse boy himself, he had 
 a further reason for wishing the same result. 
 
 " You know," said he, " I think our fellows are looking 
 up, don't you, Gilks ? " 
 
 "So fellows say," replied Gilks; " of course, being in the 
 boat myself, it's hard to tell" 
 
 " But doesn't the boat seem to be going better ? " asked 
 Wyndham. " It looks to be going a lot better from the 
 bank." 
 
 "But you don't mean to say, young un," said Silk," you 
 ever expect the schoolhouse will beat Parrett's ? H j 
 
 "I'm afraid they are rather strong," said Wyndham, 
 regretfully.
 
 Talk about the Boats. 125 
 
 w Strong ! " said Silk ; " they're the finest crew Wil- 
 loughby's turned out for years. Better even than the one 
 your brother stroked last races." 
 
 " And they mean winning, too," said Gilks, " from all 
 I hear. They're specially set on it because they think 
 they've been snubbed over the captaincy, and mean to 
 show they are the cock house, though the doctor won't own 
 it" 
 
 "Well," said Silk, "as I've not much faith in the 
 Welchers' boat in fact, I'm not sure if they'll be able to 
 get up a crew at all I feel delightfully impartial." 
 
 " I hope you'll back us," said Wyndham, earnestly. 
 
 11 Of course, old Gilks is one of your crew," said Silk. 
 
 " You know," said the boy, " I'd give anything for our 
 boat to win. It would be such a score for us, after all that 
 has been said, wouldn't it, Gilks ? " 
 
 "Well, fellows haven't been very complimentary about 
 the schoolhouse lately, certainly," said Gilks. 
 
 "No, they certainly haven't," replied Wyndham. "By 
 the way, Gilks, what sort of cox. does Riddell make ? " 
 
 "Rather an amusing one, from all I can hear," said 
 Gilks. " He's not steered the four yet ; but he's had some 
 tub practice, and is beginning to find out that the natural 
 place for a boat is between the banks instead of on them." 
 
 " Oh," said Wyndham, " I heard Fairbaira say he pro- 
 mised very well He's a light-weight, you know, and as 
 the juniors are all stopped river-play, we shall have to get 
 a cox. And if Riddell will do, it won't be a bad thing 
 any way." 
 
 "I'm rather surprised they didn't try you for it," said 
 Gilks. " You're well known, you know, and used to the 
 river." 
 
 " Oh, I'd rather Riddell did it if he can," said Wyndham. 
 " I know he's awfully anxious to get it up."
 
 126 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 The talk went on like this, and trenched on no un- 
 comfortable topic. The only reference to anything of the 
 sort was when Silk said, just as Wyndham was going, 
 
 " Oh, Wyndham, I've told Gilks here that you've pro- 
 mised not to let out about Beamish's " 
 
 "Yes," said Gilks, "I wouldn't care for that to get 
 about, young un." 
 
 " Oh, of course I won't say anything," said Wyndham. 
 
 "Thanks, no more will we; will we, Silk?" replied 
 Gilks. 
 
 Silk assented and their visitor departed. 
 
 " Young fool ! " said Gilks, when he and his friend were 
 left alone. " He's not worth bothering about." 
 
 " If it weren't for the other prig I'd agree with you," said 
 Silk. " But don't you think we can hit at his reverence 
 occasionally through his disciple ? " 
 
 " I dare say," said Gilks. " The young prig had an inno- 
 cent enough time of it to-night to suit even him. How 
 he dos talk ! " 
 
 " Yes, and isn't he hot about the race ? I say, Gilks, 
 f hope there'll be no mistake about Parrett's winning. I've 
 a lot of money on them." 
 
 " Never fear," said Gilks. " It'll be rather a rum thing 
 if I, rowing in the schoolhouse boat, can't put the drag 
 on them somehow. I don't expect for a moment it will 
 be wanted ; but if it is, Gilks will be under the painful 
 necessity of catching a crab ! " 
 
 " I don't mind how you do it as long as there's no 
 mistake about it," said Silk. With which ungenerous 
 admission Gilks produced a couple of cigar ends from his 
 pocket, and these two nice boys proceeded to spend a 
 dissipated evening. 
 
 The reader will have guessed from what has already been 
 said that the coming boat-race was every day becoming a
 
 The Coming Struggle. 127 
 
 more and more exciting topic in Willoughby. Under any 
 circumstances the race was, along with the May sports 
 and the cricket match against Rockshire, one of the events 
 of the year. But this year, ever since it had come somehow 
 to be mixed up with the squabble about the captaincy, and 
 the jealousy between Parrett's and the schoolhouse, it had 
 become more important than ever. 
 
 Old Wyndham had, of course, left the schoolhouse 
 boat at the head of the river, but there was scarcely a boy 
 (even in the schoolhouse itself) who seriously expected it 
 would remain there over the coming regatta. 
 
 The Parrett's fellows were already crowing in anticipation, 
 and the victory of Bloomfield's boat was only waited for as a 
 final ground for resisting the authority of any captain but their 
 own. Their boat was certainly one of the best which the 
 school had turned out, and compared with their competitors' 
 it seemed as if nothing short of a miracle could prevent its 
 triumph. 
 
 But the schcolhouse fellows, little as they expected to 
 win, were meaning to make a hot fight of it. They were 
 on their mettle quite as much as their rivals. Ever since 
 Wyndham had left, the schoolhouse had been sneered at 
 as having no pretensions left to any athletic distinction. 
 They meant to put themselves right in this particular if 
 not in victory, at any rate in a gallant attempt. 
 
 And so the schoolhouse boat might be seen out early 
 and late, doing honest hard work, and doing it well too. 
 Strict training was the order of the day, and scarcely a day 
 passed without some one of the crew adding to his usual 
 labours a cross-country run, or a hard grind in the big tub, 
 to better his form. These extraordinary exertions were a 
 source of amusement to their opponents, who felt their own 
 superiority all the more by witnessing the efforts put forth 
 to cope with it ; and even in the schoolhouse there were
 
 128 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 not a few who regarded all the work as labour thi^wn 
 away, and as only adding in prospect to the glorification of 
 the enemy. 
 
 However,' Fairbairn was not the man to be moved by small 
 considerations such as these. He did not care what fellows 
 said, or how much they laughed, as long as Porter swung 
 out well at the reach forward, and Coates straightened his 
 back, and Gilks pulled his oar better through from begin- 
 ning to end. To secure these ends he himself was game 
 for any amount of work and trouble, and no cold water 
 could damp either his ardour or his hopefulness. 
 
 But the chief sensation with regard to the training of the 
 schoolhouse boat was the sudden appearance of Riddell 
 as its coxswain. As the reader has heard, the new captain 
 had already been out once or twice " on the quiet " in the 
 pair-oar, and during these expeditions he had learned all he 
 knew of the art of navigation. The idea of his steering 
 the schoolhouse boat had never occurred either to himself 
 or Fairbairn when he first undertook these practices at the 
 solicitation of his friend. But after a lesson or two he 
 showed such promise that the idea did strike Fairbairn, 
 who mentioned it to one or two of his set and asked their 
 advice. 
 
 These judges were horrified naturally at the idea. Riddell 
 was too heavy, too clumsy, too nervous. But Fairbairn 
 was loth to give up his idea ; so he went to Mr. Parrett, 
 and asked him if he would mind running with the school- 
 house pair-oar during the next morning's spin, and watching 
 the steering of the new captain. Mr. Parrett did so ; and 
 was not a little pleased with the performance, but advised 
 Fairbairn to try him in the four-oar before deciding. 
 
 Fairbairn, delighted, immediately broached the subject to 
 his friend. Poor Riddell was astounded at such a notion, 
 
 He cox. the schoolhouse boat in the regatta !
 
 Talked over. 129 
 
 " My dear fellow," said he to Fairbairn. " I'm not a very 
 exalted personage in Willoughby as it is but this would be 
 *he finishing stroke 1 " 
 
 "What do you mean that it's infra dig. to cox. the 
 boat?" 
 
 "Oh no!" said Riddell, "anything but that But it 
 might be infra dig. for the boat to be steered into the bank 
 in the middle of the race." 
 
 "Humbug, if thafs your only reason. Anyhow, old 
 man, come down and try your hand in the four to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 Riddell protested that the idea was absurd, and that he 
 wouldn't hear of it. But Fairbairn reasoned him down. 
 He hadn't steered them into the bank since the second 
 morning he hadn't tried steering the four-oar, how did he 
 know he couldn't do it ? Mr. Parrett had advised the trial 
 strongly, and so on. 
 
 " No," said he, " the only question is your weight 
 You'd have to run off a bit of that, you know." 
 
 " Oh," said Riddell, " as to that, you can take as many 
 pounds off me as you like ; but " 
 
 " None of your buts, old man," said Fairbairn. "I say, 
 if we only were to win, with you as cox., what a score it 
 would be ! " 
 
 " None of your ' ifs,' old man," said Riddell, laughing. 
 " But I'll come to-morrow, if you are determined to have 
 your way." 
 
 " Of course I am," said Fairbairn. 
 
 This conversation took place the evening that young 
 Wyndham was taking tea with Silk and Gilks in the study 
 of the former. 
 
 The intelligence that the new captain was to be taken 
 out to steer the schoolhouse boat mysteriously got wind 
 before the evening was over, and spread over the school like 
 
 5
 
 130 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 wildfire. Consequently, when Riddell arrived at the boat- 
 house in the morning, he was surprised and horrified to find 
 that nearly all Willoughby was awake and down at the river 
 banks to see him. 
 
 It was embarrassing certainly, and when presently the 
 crew got into their seats and a start was made, it became 
 evident the new coxswain was anything but at home in his 
 new position. The boat was a long time getting clear of 
 the landing stage owing to his persistently mistaking in his 
 flurry his right hand for his left, and then when it did get 
 out into mid stream the same reason prevented him from 
 discovering that the reason why the boat would turn round 
 instead of going straight was because he had his right cord 
 pulled hard the whole time. 
 
 This spectacle, as may be imagined, afforded intense 
 gratification to the curious onlookers, and many and 
 hilarious were the shouts which fell on the ears of the un- 
 lucky captain. 
 
 " Oh, well coxed there 1 " one voice cried. 
 
 " Well steered in a circle 1 " shouted another. 
 
 " Mind you don't knock the bank down," yelled a third. 
 
 " Pull your right there ! " 
 
 "Try him without the rudder. See if he don't steer 
 better that way." 
 
 In the midst of these uncomplimentary shouts the boat 
 slowly wended its erratic course up the river, amidst crowds 
 of boys on either bank. 
 
 " Riddell, old man," said Fairbairn, leaning forward from 
 his place at stroke, " what's the row ? " 
 
 It only needed a friendly voice to recall the captain to 
 himself. By an effort he forgot about the crowds and 
 turned a deaf ear to the shouts, and straightening himself, 
 and taking the lines steadily in his hands, looked up quietly 
 at his friend. Richard was himself again.
 
 A Mysterious Disturbance. 131 
 
 " Now then ! " cried Fairbairn to his men behind, M row 
 all ! " and he led them off with a long steady stroke. 
 
 For a little distance the boat travelled well. Riddell 
 kept a good course, and the whole crew worked steadily. 
 The scoffers on the bank were perplexed, and their jeers 
 died away feebly. This was not a crew of muffs assuredly. 
 Those first twenty or thirty yards were rowed in a style not 
 very far short of the Parrett's standard, and Parson himself, 
 the best cox. of Parrett's house, could hardly have taken 
 the boat down that reach in a better course. 
 
 There was something ominous in this. But, to the great 
 relief of the unfriendly critics, this showy lead was not 
 maintained. Before a hundred yards were completed 
 something seemed to go wrong in the boat. It rolled 
 htavily and wavered in its course. What was wrong? 
 
 The fault was certainly not in Fairbairn, who kept 
 doggedly to work in perfectly even style. Nor, to all 
 appearance, was it in Riddell. He was evidently puzzled 
 by the sudden unsteadiness of the boat, but no one could 
 lay it to his charge. 
 
 " Who's that digging behind ? " cried Fairbairn over hii 
 shoulder. 
 
 None of the other three owned the soft impeachment, 
 and the boat seemed to right itself of its own accord. 
 
 Fairbairn, whose temper was never improved by per- 
 plexities, quickened his stroke, and gave his men a spell 
 of hard work for a bit to punish them. 
 
 This seemed to have a good effect, and once again the 
 onlookers were startled to see how steadily and fast the 
 boat was travelling. But once again the mysterious dis- 
 turbance interrupted their progress. 
 
 This time Fairbairn stopped short, and turning round 
 demanded angrily who it was who was playing the fool, for 
 an effect like this could only be put down to such a course.
 
 132 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 Porter, Coates, and Gilks all repudiated the suggestion, and 
 once more, amid the ironical cheers of the onlookers, Fair- 
 bairn resumed his work and lashed viciously out with his 
 oar. 
 
 This last protest of his seemed to have had the desired 
 effect, for during the rest of the journey up to the Willows 
 the boat travelled fairly well, though it was evident plenty 
 of work was needed before the crew could be considered in 
 proper racing trim. But no sooner had they turned and 
 started for the home journey than once again the rolling 
 suddenly became manifest Fairbairn rowed on a stroke or 
 two without apparently noticing it, then turning sharply 
 round in the middle of a stroke he discovered the reason. 
 
 The blade of Gilks's oar was about a foot under the sur- 
 face, and he himself was lurching over his seat, with the 
 handle of the oar up to about his chin. 
 
 " What on earth do you mean by it ? " demanded Fair- 
 bairn, angrily. 
 
 " Mean by what ? " asked Gilks. 
 
 " By playing the fool like that ; that's what 1 mean," 
 retorted Fairbairn. 
 
 " Who was playing the fool ? " snarled Gilks. " How 
 can I help catching a crab when he's constantly turning the 
 boat's head in the middle of a stroke ? " 
 
 " All rot 1 " said Fairbairn. 
 
 " All very well for you at stroke," said Gilks, viciously. 
 " You come and row bow and see if you don't feel it I'd 
 like to know who could keep his oar straight with ich 
 steering." 
 
 " If you'd row half as well as he steers," said Fairbairn, 
 " you'd row a precious sight better than you do I You'd 
 better take care, Gilks." 
 
 " Take care of what, you fool ? " demanded Gilks, whose 
 temper was now fairly gone.
 
 Turned out of the Boat. 133 
 
 " Ready all, you fellows I " cried Fairbairn, stretching 
 forward. 
 
 This brief conversation had been heard only by those 
 in the boat, but its purport had been gathered by those on 
 the bank who had watched the angry looks and heard the 
 angry voices of the speakers. 
 
 " Bravo I fight it out 1 " cried some one, and the news 
 that there was a quarrel in the schoolhouse boat added 
 greatly to the zest of the critics' enjoyment. 
 
 Fairbairn's caution whether purposely, or because he 
 could not help it was lost upon the offending bow oar. 
 The boat had scarcely started again when Gilks caught 
 another crab, which for the moment nearly upset the crew. 
 Fairbairn rowed on, with thunder in his face, regardless 
 of the incident, and Riddell kept as straight a course as 
 he could, despite the unsteadiness. In due time the un- 
 satisfactory practice came to an end, and the crew stood 
 together again on the steps of the boathouse. 
 
 Gilks seemed to expect, and every one else expected, 
 that Fairbairn would once more take the defaulter to task 
 for his performance that morning, and Fairbairn did not 
 disappoint him ; though he dealt with the matter in a rather 
 unexpected manner. 
 
 " I shall want the tub-pair after third school," said he to 
 the boatman. " Riddell, will you come and cox Crossfield 
 and me ? " 
 
 11 Who Crossfield ? " asked Coates. 
 
 " Yes ; I shall try him for bow." 
 
 " You mean to say," exclaimed Gilks, taking the matter 
 in, " you're going to turn me out of the boat ? " 
 
 " Certainly," said Fairbairn, coolly. 
 
 " What for ? " demanded Gilks, threateningly. 
 
 " Because," replied Fairbairn, taking RiddelTs arm and 
 walking slowly off" because we can do better without you."
 
 134 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 Gilks stared at him a moment as though he meditated 
 flying at him. If he did, he thought better of it, and 
 turned away, muttering to himself that he would pay them 
 all out, let them see if he did not 
 
 Threats of this sort were not unheard-of things from 
 Gilks, and no one was greatly disturbed by them. On the 
 whole, Fairbairn's decision was approved of by most of the 
 schoolhouse partisans, particularly those who had watched 
 the proceedings of the morning. A few thought Gilks 
 might have been accorded a second chance, but the 
 majority argued that if a fellow caught crabs like that in 
 a practice he would probably do it in the race, and they did 
 not want the risk of that. 
 
 As to his excuse about the steering, every one who knew 
 anything about that knew it meant nothing, and Gilks did 
 not repeat it 
 
 A? he reached the school Silk met him with angry looks. 
 
 "Is it true what I hear," said he, " that you're out of the 
 boat?" 
 
 " Yes, it is," growled Gilks. 
 
 " Why, you idiot ! whatever have you done this for ? " 
 
 w I did nothing. They wanted to get rid of me, and 
 they did." 
 
 " Yes, because you hadn't the ordinary sense to keep up 
 appearances till the race, and must begin to practise your 
 tricks a month beforehand ! " said Silk, greatly enraged, for 
 him. 
 
 " All very well," said Gilks, sullenly. " I should have 
 liked to see you rowing your best with that puppy steering ; 
 thinking he's doing it so wonderfully, the prig ! " 
 
 " And just because you hadn't the patience to hold out a 
 week or two you go and spoil everything. I didn't think 
 you were such a fool, upon my word." 
 
 Gilks was cowed by the wrath of his friend.
 
 Fairbairn is no Fool. 135 
 
 14 1 couldn't help it," he said. " I'm awfully sorry." 
 
 " It's done us completely now," said Silk. " For all we 
 know they may win. Who's to take your place ? * 
 
 " Crossfield." 
 
 "Just the man I was afraid. He's the best man they 
 could have picked out. I tell you what, Gilks, you'd 
 better go and apologise and see if you can't get back into 
 the boat. Who could have believed you'd be such a fool I 
 Go at once, for goodness' sake." 
 
 Gilks, who saw his own mistake fully as well as his friend, 
 obeyed. He found Fairbairn in his study with Riddell. 
 The former seemed not at all surprised to see him. 
 
 " Fairbairn," said Gilks, " I hope you'll let me stay in 
 the boat I'm sorry I played the fool this morning." 
 
 " Then you were playing the fool ? " demanded Fairbairn, 
 to whom Riddell had just been confiding that perhaps, after 
 all, there had been some fault in the steering to account 
 for it. 
 
 "Yes," said Gilks, sullenly. 
 
 "Then," said Fairbairn, hotly, "you may be a fool, but 
 I won't be such a big one as to let you stay in the boat 
 another day ! " 
 
 Gilks glared a moment at the speaker. Evidently it 
 would be no use to argue or plead further ; and, smarting 
 with rage and humiliation, none the less keen that Riddell 
 had been present and heard all, he turned away. 
 
 " You'll be sorry for this, you two," he growled. " Hum- 
 bugs ! " 
 
 " Well rid of him," said Fairbairn, as soon as he had 
 gone. 
 
 " Yes. I don't think much of him," said Riddell, think- 
 ing as much of young Wyndham and his temptations as 
 of the schoolhouse boat. 
 
 Well, old man," said Fairbairn, after a pause, "you
 
 136 The Schoolhouse Boat at Work. 
 
 steered awfully well when you once began. Whatever made 
 you so shaky at first ? " 
 
 " My usual complaint," said Riddell, smiling. " I was 
 thinking what other people were thinking." 
 
 " Oh," said Fairbairn, " unless you can give that up you 
 may as well shut up shop altogether." 
 
 "Well, if I must do one or the other, I think I'll keep 
 the shop open," said Riddell, cheerily. " By the way," 
 added he, looking at his watch and sighing, " I have to see 
 some juniors in my study in two minutes. Good-bye." 
 
 " Be sure you're down for the tub practice this after 
 noon." 
 
 " 111 be there," said RiddelL
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 BLOOM FIELD IN TRIBULATION. 
 
 T) LOOMFIELD was beginning co discover already that 
 J_/ the new dignity to which he had been raised by his 
 own partisans at Willoughby was anything but a bed of 
 roses. Vain and easily led as he was, he was not a bad 
 fellow by any means; and when the mutiny against the 
 new captain first begun, he flattered himself that by allow- 
 ing himself to be set up in opposition he was really doing 
 a service to Willoughby, and securing the school against 
 a great many disasters which were certain to ensue if 
 Riddell was left supreme. 
 
 But in these lofty hopes he was getting to be a trifle 
 disappointed. In his own house, of course, especially 
 among those over whom he was wont to rule in athletic 
 sports, his authority was paramount. But these, after all, 
 constituted only a small section of Willoughby. Over the 
 rest of the school his influence was strangely overlooked, 
 and even the terrors of his arm failed to bring his subjects 
 to obedience. 
 
 It was all very well at first, when the one idea was 
 indignation against the doctor's new appointment. But as 
 soon as the malcontents discovered that they had raised 
 one more tyrant over their own heads, they began to find 
 out their mistake, and did their best to correct it. They 
 argued that as they had elected Bloomfield themselves 
 they weren't bound to obey him unless they chose; and
 
 138 Bloomfield in Tribulation. 
 
 when it came to the point of having to give up their own 
 will in obedience to his, they remembered he was not the 
 real captain of Willoughby and had no right to order them ! 
 
 So poor Bloomfield did not find things quite as com- 
 fortable as he had expected. 
 
 One of the first rebuffs he got was administered by no 
 less stately a hand than that of Master Telson of the 
 schoolhouse. 
 
 This young gentleman ever since his last unfortunate 
 expedition in " Noah's Ark " had been somewhat under a 
 cloud. His forced absence from the river for a whole 
 week had preyed upon his spirits. And when at the end 
 of that period he did revisit his old haunts, armed with a 
 captain's permit, it was only to discover that whatever 
 small chance he ever had of coxing his house's boat at 
 the coming regatta, had vanished under the new arrange- 
 ment which had brought Riddell into the boat. 
 
 It is only fair to say that this disappointment, keen as it 
 was, had no effect on his loyalty. He was as ready as ever 
 to fight any one who spoke ill of the schoolhouse. But 
 it certainly had given him a jar, which resulted in rather 
 strained relations with some of his old allies in Parrett's. 
 
 Of course nothing could shake his devotion to Parson. 
 That was secure whatever happened, but towards the other 
 heroes of Parrett's, particularly the seniors, he felt un- 
 friendly. He conceived he must have been the victim of 
 a plot to prevent his steering the schoolhouse boat. It 
 was the only reason he could think of for his ill-luck ; and 
 though he never tried to argue it out, it was pretty clear to 
 his own mind some one was at the bottom of it And if 
 that was so, who more likely than Bloomfield and Game 
 and that lot, who had everything to gain by his being 
 turned out of the rival boat ? 
 
 This was the state of mind of our aggrieved junior one
 
 Telson takes off his Coat. 139 
 
 afternoon not long before the regatta, as he strolled dis- 
 mally across the " Big " on his way to the river. Parson 
 was not with him. He was down coxing his boat, and 
 the thought of this only reminded Telson of his own bad 
 luck, and added to his ill-temper. 
 
 He was roused from his moody reflections by the 
 approach of two boys, who hailed him cherrily. 
 
 "What cheer? Telson, old man," cried King, "how 
 jolly blue you look ! What's the row ? " 
 
 " Nothing," replied Telson. 
 
 "We've just been down to see the boats. Awful spree 
 to see old Riddell steering! isn't it, Bosher?" 
 
 " Yes," said Bosher ; " but he's better than he was." 
 
 " Never mind, they won't lick us," said King. " You 
 should have seen our boat I Bless you, those schoolhouse 
 louts " 
 
 " King, I'll fight you 1 " said Telson, suddenly. 
 
 " Oh 1 beg pardon, old man, I didn't eh what ?" 
 
 This last remark was caused by the fact that Telson was 
 taking off his coat King, utterly taken aback by these 
 ominous preparations, protested his sorrow, apologised, and 
 generally humiliated himself before the offended school- 
 house junior. 
 
 But Telson had been looking out for a cause of quarrel, 
 and now one had come ; he was just in the humour for 
 going through with the business. " Do you funk it ? " he 
 asked 
 
 " Oh, no ; not that, old man," said King, still friendly, 
 and very slowly unbuttoning his jacket ; " but I'll apologise, 
 Telson, you know." 
 
 " Don't want any apologising ; I want to fight," said 
 Telson. " I'll take young Bosher too." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Bosher, rather alarmed, " I don't want to 
 fight."
 
 140 Bloomfield in Tribulation. 
 
 " I knew you were a beastly funk 1 " said Telson, scorn- 
 fully. 
 
 "No, I'm not," said Bosher, meekly. 
 
 " Get out of the way ! " cried the majestic Telson, brush- 
 ing past him towards King, who now stood with his coat off 
 and a very apologetic face, ready for the young bantam's 
 disposal 
 
 Telson and King fought there and then. It was not a 
 rery sanguinary contest, nor was it particularly scientific. 
 It did Telson good, and it did not do King much harm. 
 The only awkward thing about it was that neither side knew 
 exactly when to stop. Telson claimed the victory after 
 every round, and King respectfully disputed the statement 
 Telson thereupon taunted his adversary with " funking it," 
 and went at him again, very showy in action, but decidedly 
 feeble in execution. King, by keeping one arm over his 
 face and working the other gently up and down in front of 
 his body, was able to ward off most of the blows aimed, and 
 neither aspired nor aimed to hit out himself. 
 
 The " fight " might have lasted a week had not Game, 
 coming up that way from the boats, caught sight of it. AM 
 it was neither an exciting combat nor a profitable one, the 
 Parrett's monitor considered it a good case for interfering, 
 as well as for calling in the authority of the popular 
 captain. 
 
 " King and Telson," he said, stepping between the com- 
 batants, "stop it, and come to Bloomfield's study after 
 chapel. You know fighting in the ' Big ' is against rules." 
 
 "What are we to go to Bloomfield for?" demanded 
 Telson, whose temper was still disturbed. 
 
 " For breaking rules," said Game, as he walked on. 
 
 " Shall you go?" said Telson to King as the two slowly 
 put on their coats. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so, or he'll give us a licking."
 
 A Voluntary Surrender. 141 
 
 " I shan't go ; he's not the captain," said Telson. 
 
 " I say, you'll catch it if you don't," said King, with 
 apprehension in his looks. " They're always down on you 
 if you don't go to the captain when you're told." 
 
 " I tell you he's not the captain," replied Telson, testily, 
 " and I shan't go. If they want to report me they'll have 
 to do it to Riddell." 
 
 With which virtuous decision he went his way, slightly 
 solaced in his mind by the fight, and still more consoled 
 by the prospect of a row ahead. 
 
 Telson was quite 'cute enough to see he had a strong 
 position to start with, and if only he played his cards well 
 he might score off the enemy with credit. 
 
 He therefore declined an invitation to Parson's to partake 
 of shrimps and jam at tea, and kept himself in his own 
 house till the time appointed for reporting himself to the 
 captain. Then, instead of going to Bloomfield, he pre- 
 sented himself before Riddell. 
 
 " Well ? " said the captain, in his usual half-apologetic 
 tone. 
 
 " Oh ! " said Telson, " I'm reported, please, Riddell." 
 
 " What for ? Who reported you ? " asked Riddell. 
 
 " Game for fighting," replied Telson. 
 
 " He hasn't told me of it. You'd better come in the 
 morning." 
 
 " Oh ! it's all right," said Telson. " I was fighting King 
 in the ' Big ' this afternoon." 
 
 Riddell looked perplexed. This was the first case of 
 a boy voluntarily delivering himself up to justice, and he 
 hardly knew what to do. 
 
 However, he had found out thus much by this time 
 that it didn't so much matter what he did as long as he 
 did something. 
 
 "You know it's against rules," said he, as severely as
 
 142 Bloomfield in 7ribulation. 
 
 he could, "and it's not the first time you've done it. You 
 must do fifty lines of Virgil, and stop in the house on 
 Monday and Tuesday." 
 
 "All right! Thanks," said Telson, rapidly departing, 
 and leaving Riddell quite bewildered by the apparent 
 gratitude of his fag. 
 
 Telson betook himself quietly to his study and began 
 to write his lines. It was evident from the restless way 
 in which he looked up at every footstep outside he did not 
 expect to remain long undisturbed at this harmless occupa- 
 tion. . Nor was he disappointed. 
 
 In about ten minutes King entered and said, " I say, Tel- 
 son, you're in for it 1 You're to go to Bloomfield directly," 
 
 "What's he given you ? " 
 
 "A licking!" said King; "and stopped my play half 
 a week. But I say, you'd better go sharp 1 " 
 
 " I'm not going," said Telson. 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed King, in amazement. 
 
 " Cut it," said Telson ; " I'm busy." 
 
 " He sent me to fetch you," said King. 
 
 " Don't I tell you I'm not coming ? I'll lick you, King, 
 if you don't cut it 1 " 
 
 King did "cut it" in a considerable state of alarm at 
 the foolhardiness of his youthful comrade. 
 
 But Telson knew his business. No sooner had King 
 gone than he took up his Virgil and paper, and repaired 
 once more to Riddell's study. 
 
 11 Please, Riddell," said he, meekly, " do you mind me 
 writing my lines here ? " 
 
 " Not a bit," said Riddell, whose study was always open 
 house to his youthful fag. 
 
 Telson said "Thank you," and immediately deposited 
 himself at the table, and quietly continued his work, await- 
 ing the result of King's message.
 
 A Great Game for Telson. 143 
 
 The result was not long in coming. 
 
 " Telson ! " shouted a voice down the passage in less 
 than five minutes. 
 
 Telson went to the door and shouted back, 
 
 11 What's the row ? " 
 
 "Where are you?" said the voice. 
 
 " Here," replied Telson, shutting the door and resuming 
 his work. 
 
 " Who's that? " asked Riddell of his fag. 
 
 " I don't know, unless it's Game," said Telson. 
 
 " Now then, Telson," cried the voice again, "come here." 
 
 " I can't I'm busy ! " shouted Telson back from where 
 he sat. At the same moment the door opened, and Game 
 entered in a great state of wrath. 
 
 The appearance of a Parrett monitor "on duty " in the 
 schoolhouse was always a strange spectacle ; and Game, 
 when he discovered into whose study he had marched, was 
 a trifle embarrassed. 
 
 " What is it, Game ? " asked Riddell, civilly. 
 
 " I want Telson," said Game, who, by the way, had 
 scarcely spoken to the new captain since his appointment. 
 
 " What do you want ? " said Telson, boldly. 
 
 " Why didn't you come when you were sent for ? " de- 
 manded Game. 
 
 " Who sent for me ? " 
 
 " Bloomfield." 
 
 "I'm not Bloomfield's fag," retorted Telson. "I'm 
 Riddell's." 
 
 "What did I tell you this afternoon?" said Game, 
 beginning to suspect that he had fallen into a trap. 
 
 "Told me to go to the captain after chapel." 
 
 "And what do you mean by not going? " 
 
 " I did go I went to Riddell." 
 
 " I told you to go to Bloomfield," said Game, growing hot.
 
 144 Bloomfield in Tribulation. 
 
 " Bloomfield's not the captain," retorted Telson, beginning 
 to enjoy himself. "Riddell's captain." 
 
 " You were fighting in the ' Big,' " said Game, looking 
 uneasily at Riddell while he spoke, 
 
 " I know I was. Riddell's potted me for it, haven't you, 
 Riddell?" 
 
 " I've given Telson fifty lines, and stopped his play two 
 days," said Riddell, quietly. 
 
 "Yes, and I'm writing the lines now," said Telson, 
 dipping his pen in the ink, and scarcely smothering a 
 laugh. 
 
 Game, now fully aware of his rebuff, was glad of an 
 opportunity of covering his defeat by a diversion. 
 
 " Look here," said he, walking up to Telson, " I didn't. 
 come here to be cheeked by you, I can tell you." 
 
 " Who's cheeking you ? " said Telson. " I'm not." 
 
 " Yes, you are," said Game. " I'm not going to be hum- 
 bugged about by you." 
 
 " I don't want to humbug you about," replied the junior, 
 defiantly. 
 
 " I think there's a mistake, you know," said Riddell, think- 
 ing it right to interpose. " I've given him lines for fighting 
 in the ' Big,' and there's really no reason for his going to 
 Bloomfield." 
 
 "I told him to come to Bloomfield, and he ought to 
 have come." 
 
 " I don't think you had any right to tell him to go to 
 Bloomfield," replied Riddell, with a boldness which aston- 
 ished himself. " I'm responsible for stopping fights." 
 
 " I don't want you to tell me my business," retorted Game, 
 hotly ; " who are you ? " 
 
 Game could have thrashed the captain as easily as he could 
 Telson, and the thought flashed through Riddell's mind as he 
 paused to reply. He would much have preferred saying
 
 The Captain Astonishes Himself. 145 
 
 nothing, but somehow the present seemed to be a sort of 
 crisis in his life. If he gave in now, the chance of asserting 
 himself in Willoughby might never return. 
 
 " I'm the captain," he replied, steadily, " and as long as I 
 am captain I'm responsible for the order of the school, and 
 I prefer to do my own work I " 
 
 There was something in his look and tone as he uttered 
 these inoffensive words which took Game aback and even 
 startled Telson. It was not at all like what fellows had 
 been used to from Riddell, certainly very unlike the manner 
 he was generally credited with. But neither Telson nor 
 Game were half so amazed at this little outburst as was the 
 speaker himself. He was half frightened the moment he 
 had uttered it. Now he was in for it with a vengeance ! 
 It would go out to all Willoughby, he knew, that he meant 
 to stand by his guns. What an awful failure, if, after all, he 
 should not be able to keep his word ! 
 
 Game, with a forced smile which ill accorded with his 
 inward astonishment, left the study without another word, 
 heedless even of the laugh which Telson could no longer 
 repress. 
 
 Of course many perverted stories of their adventure 
 immediately got abroad in Willoughby. Telson's highly- 
 coloured version made it appear that a pitched battle had 
 been fought between Game and the new captain, resulting 
 in the defeat of the former chiefly through Telson's instru- 
 mentality and assistance. As, however, this narrative did 
 not appear in the same dress two hours running, it was soon 
 taken for what it was worth, and most fellows preferred to 
 believe the Parretts 1 version of the story, which stated that 
 Riddell had announced his intention of keeping order in 
 Willoughby without the help of the monitors, and had had 
 the cheek to tell Bloomfield to mind his own business. 
 
 The indignation of Parrett's house on hearing such a
 
 146 Bloomfield in Tribulation. 
 
 story may be imagined. It was even past a joke. Bloom- 
 field seriously offered to resign all pretensions to authority 
 and let things take their course. 
 
 " It makes me seem," he said, " as if I wanted to stick 
 myself up. If he's so sure of keeping order by himself, I 
 don't see what use it is my pretending to do it too." 
 
 "It would serve him right if you did so," said Game. 
 *' But it would be so awfully like giving in now, after you 
 have once begun." 
 
 This view of the matter decided the question. But 
 Bloomfield all the same was considerably impressed by 
 what had happened. 
 
 He knew in his heart that his only title to the position he 
 assumed was the whim of his schoolfellows. He was a 
 usurper, in fact, and however much he tried to persuade 
 himself he was acting solely for the good of Willoughby, he 
 knew those motives were only half sincere. And in spite of 
 all his efforts, the school was as rowdy as ever. If he did 
 thrash a batch of juniors one day, or stop some disorderly 
 Limpets of their play, it never seemed to make much 
 impression. Whereas the one or two rioters whom Riddell 
 had ventured to tackle had somehow distinctly reformed 
 their habits. How was it ? 
 
 Bloomfield, as he thought the thing over, was not quite 
 happy. He had been happier far last term when, under 
 old Wyndham, he had exerted himself loyally for the good 
 of the school. Was he not exerting himself now ? Why 
 should he be unhappy ? It was not because he felt himself 
 beaten he scorned the idea or that he felt unequal to the 
 task before him. That too was preposterous. And yet, he 
 felt, he certainly needed something. If only now he were 
 first classic as well as captain of the clubs, what a pull he 
 would have ! 
 
 And as this thought occurred to him, he also recalled
 
 Bloomfield Examines Himself. 147 
 
 Crossfield's famous speech at the last Parliament and the 
 laughter which had greeted it. Could he translate " Balbus 
 hopped over a wall " without the dictionary ? Ah 1 He 
 thought sometimes he would try, just to prove how 
 slanderous Crossfield's insinuation had been. The result of 
 all these cogitations was that Bloomfield began to discover 
 he was not quite such an " all-round " man as his frienda 
 had told him. And that being so, had not he better 
 qualify himself like an honest man for his post ? 
 
 He did not like to confide the idea to his friends for 
 fear of their laughter, but for a week or two at least he 
 actually read rather hard on the sly. The worst of it was, 
 that till the examinations next term there could be nothing 
 to show for it. For the Sixth did not change their places 
 every day as the lower forms did There was no chance of 
 leaping to the top at a bound by some lucky answer, or even 
 of advancing a single desk. And therefore, however hard 
 he worked this term, he would never rise above eighteenth 
 classic in the eyes of the school, and that was not well, he 
 would have liked to be a little higher for the sake of 
 Willoughby ! 
 
 The outlook was not encouraging. Even Wibberly, the 
 toady, and Silk, the Welcher, were better men than he was 
 at classics. 
 
 Suppose, instead of spending his energy over classics, 
 he were to get up one or two rousing speeches for the 
 Parliament, which should take the shine out of every one 
 else and carry the school by storm ? It was not a bad 
 idea. But the chance would not come. No one could get 
 up a fine speech on such a hackneyed subject as " That 
 Rowing is a finer Sport than Cricket," or that " The Study 
 of Science in Public Schools should be Abolished I " And 
 when he did attempt to prepare an oration on the subject of 
 Compulsory Football, the first friend he showed it to poiftted
 
 148 Bloomfield in Tribulation. 
 
 out so many faults in the composition of the first sentence 
 that prudence prompted him to put the effusion in 
 the fire. 
 
 Meanwhile his friends and admirers kept him busy. 
 Their delight seemed to be to seize on all the youngsters 
 they could by any pretext lay hands on and hale them to 
 appear before him. By this means they imagined they 
 were making his authority known and dealing a serious blow 
 at the less obtrusive captain in the schoolhouse. 
 
 Poor Bloomfield had to administer justice right and left 
 for every imaginable offence, and was so watched and 
 prompted by officious admirers that he was constantly 
 losing his head and making himself ridiculous. 
 
 He gave one boy a thrashing for being found with a 
 paper dart in his hand, because Game had reported him ; 
 and to another, who had stolen a book, he gave only 
 twenty lines, because he was in the second eleven. Cusack, 
 the Welcher, who was caught climbing the schoolhouse 
 elms one Monday, he sentenced to an hour's detention ; and 
 Pilbury, whom he caught in the same act on Tuesday, he 
 deprived of play for a week that is, he said he was not to 
 leave his house for a week. But Pilbury turned up the 
 very next day in the " Big," under the very nose of the 
 Parrett captain, who did not even observe his presence. 
 
 It was this sort of thing which, as the term dragged on, 
 made Bloomfield more and more uncomfortable with his 
 position. It was all very well for Game, and Ashley, and 
 Wibberley to declare that but for him Willoughby would 
 have gone to the dogs it was all very well of them to make 
 game of and caricature Riddell and his failures. Seeing is 
 believing; and Bloomfield, whose heart was honest, and 
 whose common sense, when left to itself, was not altogether 
 feeble, could not help making the unpleasant discovery that 
 he was not doing very much after all for Willoughby.
 
 TTie Coming Race 149 
 
 But the boat-race was now coming on. There, at any 
 rate, was a sphere in which he need fear no rival. With 
 Parrett's boat at the head of the river, and he its stroke, he 
 would at any rate have one claim on the obedience of 
 Willoughby which nobody could gainsay.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 TELSON AND PARSON GO TO AN EVENING PARTY 
 
 T T was the Saturday before the boat-race, and the excite- 
 JL ment of Willoughby was working up every hour. Boys 
 who were generally in the habit of lying in bed till the 
 chapel bell began to ring had been up at six for a week 
 past, to look at the practices on the river. Parliament had 
 adjourned till after the event, and even the doings of the 
 rival captains indoors were forgotten for a while in prospect 
 of the still more exciting contest out of doors. 
 
 Everybody even the Welchers, who at the last moment 
 had given up any attempt to form a crew, and " scratched " 
 found it hard to think or talk of any other subject, and 
 beyond the school bounds, in Shellport itself, a rumour of 
 the coming race had got wind and attracted many outsiders 
 to the river banks. 
 
 But it was not the prospect of the coming race which 
 this Saturday afternoon was agitating the mind of Master 
 Henry Brown. 
 
 Brown was a Limpet, belonging to the schoolhouse, 
 who occupied the distinguished position of being the only 
 day-boarder in Willoughby. His parents lived in Shellport, 
 and thus had the benefit of the constant society of their 
 dear Harry; while the school, on the other hand, was 
 deprived of that advantage for a portion of every day in the 
 term. 
 
 It was probably to make up for this deprivation that
 
 A Great Social Event- t 151 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brown made it a practice of giving an 
 evening party once a term, to which the doctor and his 
 ladies were always invited, and also any two of dear Harry's 
 friends he liked to name. 
 
 In this way the fond parents not only felt they were doing 
 a polite and neighbourly act to their son's schoolmaster and 
 schoolfellows, but that they were also the means of bringing 
 together teacher and pupil in an easy unconstrained manner 
 which would hardly be possible within the walls of the 
 school itself. 
 
 It was the prospect of one of these delightful entertain- 
 ments that was exhilarating Brown this Saturday afternoon. 
 
 And it must be confessed the excitement was due to very 
 opposite emotions in the breast of the day-boarder. The 
 doctor and his ladies were coming 1 On the last two 
 occasions they had been unfortunately prevented, which 
 had been a great blow to Brown's " pa and ma " but a 
 relief to Brown himself. And now the prospect of meeting 
 these awful dignitaries face to face in his own house put 
 him in a small panic. But on the other hand, he knew 
 there would be jellies, and savoury pie, and strawberries, and 
 tipsy-cake, at home that night He had seen them arrive 
 from the confectioner's that morning, and, Limpet as he 
 was, Brown smiled inwardly as he meditated thereon. This 
 was a second ground for excitement. And a third, equal to 
 either of the other two, was that Parson and Telson were 
 invited and were coming ! 
 
 He had tried one or two other fellows first. He had 
 sounded Coates on the subject, but he unfortunately was 
 engaged. He had pressed Wyndham to come, but Wyndham 
 was busy that evening with the library. He had appealed 
 to one or two other schoolhouse Limpets, but all, on hear- 
 ing that the doctor and Co. were to be present, respectfully 
 declined.
 
 152 An Evening Party. 
 
 Finally Brown dropped upon Telson, and condescendingly 
 proposed to him to be present as one of his two friends. 
 
 Telson thought the matter over and fancied it promised 
 well. He liked the sound of the jellies and the tipsy-cake, 
 and just at present he knew of no special reason for " funk- 
 ing" the doctor. As for the doctor's ladies, Telson had 
 never seen them, so they did not weigh particularly with him. 
 
 " Who else is going ?" he asked. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know yet," said Brown, rather grandly. 
 " I've one or two fellows in my mind." 
 
 " Why don't you ask young Parson ? " suggested Telson, 
 innocently. 
 
 " Parson ? he's not a schoolhouse kid." 
 
 " I know he's not, but he and I are very chummy, you 
 know. I wouldn't mind coming if he went" 
 
 " I'll see," said Brown, mightily, but secretly relieved to 
 know of some one likely to come as his second " friend." 
 
 " All right," said Telson. " I've not promised, mind, if 
 he can't come." 
 
 " Oh, yes, you have 1 " replied Brown, severely, as he left 
 the room. 
 
 In due time he found Parson and broached the subject 
 to him. 
 
 Parson viewed the matter in very much the same light as 
 Telson had. He liked the " tuck-in " better than the com- 
 pany. 
 
 It never occurred to him it was odd that Brown should 
 come all the way from the schoolhouse to invite him, a 
 Parrett's junior, to his feast ; nor did it occur to him either 
 that the invitation put him under any obligation to his 
 would-be host. 
 
 " I tell you what I'll do," said he, in a businesslike 
 manner, much as if Brown had asked him to clean out his 
 study for him. " if you ask Telson to come too, I'm game."
 
 Punctuality is a Virtue. 153 
 
 Brown half doubted whether these two allies had not 
 been consulting together on the subject, so startling was the 
 similarity of their conditions. 
 
 " Oh 1 Telson's coming," he said, in as offhand a way as 
 he could. 
 
 " He is ! Then I'm on, old man ; rather ! " exclaimed 
 the deligh ed Parson. 
 
 " All right ! Six-thirty, mind, and chokers I " said 
 Brown, not a little relieved to have scraped up two friends 
 for the festive occasion. 
 
 At the appointed time or rather before the appointed 
 time, for they arrived at twenty minutes past six our two 
 heroes, arrayed in their Sunday jackets and white ties, 
 presented themselves at the house of their host They had 
 " put it on " considerably in order to get ahead of the doctor's 
 party; for they considered that as Parson expressed it 
 " it would be a jolly lot less blushy work " to be there 
 before the head master arrived. There was no doubt about 
 their success in this little manoeuvre, for when the servant 
 opened the door the hall was full of rout seats, and a man, 
 uncommonly like the greengrocer, in a dress coat, was 
 busily unpacking plates out of a small hamper. 
 
 Into this scene of confusion Parson and Telson were 
 ushered, and here they were left standing for about five 
 minutes, interested spectators, till the hall was cleared 
 and the domestic had leisure to go and tell Master Harry 
 of their arrival. 
 
 Master Harry was dressing, and sent down word they 
 had better go into the shoe-room till he came down. 
 Which they did, and amused themselves during the interval 
 with trying on Mr. Brown's Wellingtons, and tying together 
 the laces of all Harry's boots they could discover. 
 
 In due time Harry appeared in grand array. 
 
 " How jolly early you are ! " was his hospitable greeting
 
 154 An Evening Party. 
 
 14 You said six-thirty, didn't you ? " said Telson. 
 
 " Yes ; it's only just that now. Nobody will be here for 
 a quarter of an hour yet. You had better come in and see 
 ma." 
 
 The two guests obeyed cheerfully. Ma was in the draw- 
 ing-room, busily adjusting the sashes of the three juvenile 
 Misses Brown, with her mouth full of pins. So all she could 
 do was to smile pleasantly at her two visitors and nod her 
 head as they each came up and held out their hands to be 
 shaken. 
 
 " Better sit down," suggested Brown. 
 
 Parson and Telson thereupon retreated to the sofa, on 
 the edge of which they sat for another five or ten minutes, 
 looking about them complacently, and not attempting to 
 break the silence of the scene. 
 
 The silence, however, was soon broken by a loud double 
 knock at the hall door, which was the signal for Mr. Brown, 
 senior, to bolt into the room in a guilty way with one cuff not 
 quite buttoned, and stand on the hearthrug with as free-and- 
 easy an air as if he had been waiting there a quarter of an 
 hour at least. Knock followed knock in quick succession, 
 and after the usual amount of fluttering in the hall, the 
 greengrocer flung open the drawing-room door and ushered 
 in Dr. and Mrs. Patrick, Miss Stringer, and half a dozen 
 other arrivals. 
 
 Our two heroes, sitting side by side, unnoticed on the 
 edge of the sofa, had full opportunity to take stock of the 
 various guests, most of whom were strangers to them. 
 
 As every one appeared to be about the doctor's age, 
 things promised slowly for Parson and Telson, whose in- 
 terest in Brown's party decidedly languished when finally 
 they found themselves swept off their perch and helplessly 
 wedged into a corner by an impenetrable phalanx of skirts. 
 
 But this was nothing compared with a discovery they
 
 Wretched Augustus I 155 
 
 made at the same time that they had missed their tea ! 
 There was a merry rattle of cups and spoons in a room far 
 off, through the half-open door of which they could catch 
 glimpses of persons drinking tea, and of Brown handing 
 round biscuits and cake. The sight of this was too much 
 to be borne. It was at least worth an effort to retrieve their 
 fatal mistake. 
 
 " I say," said Telson, looking for his friend round the 
 skirts of a stately female, " hadn't we better go and help 
 Brown, Parson ? " 
 
 Luckless youth 1 The lady in question, hearing the un- 
 expected voice at her side, backed a. little and caught sight 
 of the speaker. 
 
 " What, dear ? " she said, benevolently, taking his hand 
 and sitting down on the sofa ; " and who are you, my little 
 man ? " 
 
 " My little man " was fairly trapped ; there was no escap- 
 ing this seizure. Parson got away safely to the tea-room, 
 and the sight of him dodging about among the cakes and 
 cups only added to the misery of the hapless Telson. 
 
 " Who are you, my little dear ? " said the lady, who was 
 no other than Miss Stringer herself. 
 
 Telson, fortunately for him, was ignorant of the fact as 
 ignorant, indeed, as Miss Stringer was of the fact that the 
 little dear she was addressing was a Willoughbite. 
 
 "Telson, ma'am," said Telson, following Parson with 
 longing eyes. 
 
 " Johnny ? " said the lady. 
 
 " No Augustus," replied the proud bearer of the 
 name. 
 
 Miss Stringer surveyed him benevolently. He was a 
 nice-looking boy, was Telson and the lady thought so too. 
 
 "And will you give me a kiss, Augustus dear?" she 
 said, with her most winning smile.
 
 156 An Evening Party. 
 
 What could Augustus do ? A hundred desperate alter- 
 natives darted through his mind. He would bolt into the 
 tea-room ; he would shout for help ; he would show fight ; 
 
 he would But while he was making up his mind what 
 
 he would do, he found himself being kissed on the cheek in 
 the most barefaced manner, before everybody, by this extra- 
 ordinary female; and, more than that, being actually set 
 down on the sofa beside her ! He only hoped Parson or 
 Brown had not seen it. 
 
 Well for Miss Stringer she did not guess the wrath that 
 boiled in the bosom of her small companion ! 
 
 " And do you live here, dear ? " inquired she, pleased to 
 have this opportunity of studying the juvenile human nature 
 in which she was so much interested. 
 
 " No, I don't," said Telson, surlily ; then, suddenly re- 
 collecting he was in polite though disagreeable company, he 
 added, " ma'am." 
 
 " And where do you go to school, pray ? " inquired the 
 spinster. 
 
 "Oh, Willoughby," replied Telson, who had gradually 
 given up all hope of tea, and was making up his mind to 
 his fate. 
 
 Miss Stringer gave a little start at this piece of informa- 
 tion, and was on the point of betraying her identity, but she 
 forbore. " After all," thought she, " he might be more con- 
 strained if I were to enlighten him on that subject" 
 
 "So you go to Willoughby," she said, with interest. 
 " And how do you like it ? " 
 
 " Oh, well enough," said Telson, relenting somewhat 
 towards his companion as she showed no further signs of 
 kissing him. " Nice lot of fellows, you know, on the 
 whole." 
 
 " Indeed ? Let me see, who is the head master ? " in-; 
 quired the lady.
 
 Poor Miss Stringer ! 157 
 
 " Oh, Paddy that old boy theie by the fire. And that's 
 Mrs. Paddy there with the curls." 
 
 Miss Stringer appeared to receive another shock at this 
 piece of information, which, however, Telson, flattered by 
 her evident interest in his remarks, did not take to heart. 
 
 " And," said she, presently, with a slight nervousness in 
 her voice, " I hope you like them ? " 
 
 " Oh," blurted out Telson, " Paddy's not so bad, but the 
 dame's an old beast, you know at least, so fellows say. I 
 say," added he, " don't you tell her I said so ! " 
 
 Miss Stringer regarded him with a peculiar smile, which 
 the boy at once took to mean a promise. So he rattled on. 
 " And she's got a sister, or somebody hangs about the place, 
 worse than any of them. Why, when old Wynd " 
 
 "And," said Miss Stringer, suddenly " and which house 
 are you in in the schoolhouse ? " 
 
 " Hullo, then ! you know Willoughby ? " demanded 
 Telson, sharply. 
 
 Miss Stringer looked confused, as well she might, but re- 
 plied, " Ah ! all public schools have a schoolhouse, have 
 they not?" 
 
 " I suppose so," said Telson. " Yes, I'm a schoolhouse 
 fellow. I'm the captain's fag, you know old Riddell." 
 
 " Mr. Riddell is the captain, then?" 
 
 " Rather I Do you know him ? " 
 
 Poor Miss Stringer 1 How sad it is, to be sure, when once 
 we go astray. She, the Griffin of Willoughby, was as much 
 at the mercy of this honest unconscious fag as if he had 
 caught her in the act of picking a pocket. For how could 
 she reveal herself now ? 
 
 " I I think I met him once," she said. 
 
 "Where? at his home, was it?" asked Telson, who 
 seemed to be urged by a most fiendish curiosity on the 
 tubject.
 
 158 An Evening Party. 
 
 " No," faltered the lady; "it was er I think it was at 
 Dr. Patrick's." 
 
 " Very likely," said Telson. " He was up there to tea, 
 I know just before he was made captain. But I didn't 
 know any one else was there except Paddy and his 
 hyenas." 
 
 " His what, sir ! " exclaimed Miss Stringer, in a voice 
 which nearly startled Telson off the sofa. 
 
 " I mean, you know, the fellows " 
 
 " And where do you live at home ? " asked Miss Stringer, 
 determined to steer clear of this awkward topic. 
 
 " Oh, London," said Telson ; " do you know London ? " 
 
 " Yes it is indeed a wonderful place," said Miss Stringer, 
 " and whereabouts does your father live ? " 
 
 " Oh, my governor's in India," began Telson. 
 
 " Your who ? " said Miss Stringer, with a feeble attempt 
 at severity. 
 
 "My dad, you know; and I live with my grandfather. 
 Jolly old boy. He was at Willoughby when he was a boy. 
 Did you know him then ? I expect he'll recollect you, you 
 know." 
 
 " I dv not think," said Miss Stringer, with a very ruffled 
 countenance, " that your grandfather and I ever met." 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. He recollects most of the old people 
 down here, you know. I say, there's Parson beckoning ; 
 he's my chum, you know. I expect he wants me to help 
 with some of the things." 
 
 And so saying off he went, leaving Miss Stringer, so to 
 speak, fairly doubled up, and in a state of mind which may 
 be more easily imagined than described. 
 
 Every one observed how singularly silent and retiring 
 Miss Stringer was all that evening. Some attributed it to the 
 heat of the room, others feared she might not be well, others 
 guessed she found the Browns' entertainment very slow;
 
 Mrs. Patrick does not know. 159 
 
 but no one, least of all Telson himself, had a suspicion of 
 the true reason. 
 
 That young gentleman and his ally, after finding out that 
 there was not much chance of their services being required 
 to " look after the things" the greengrocer being quite able 
 to deal with the business single-handed found themselves 
 once more stranded in the drawing-room, and gradually 
 getting edged back by the skirts, when an unlooked-for dis- 
 tinction rescued them from their perilous situation. 
 
 The distinction was none other than a sign of recognition 
 from the doctor and a friendly signal to approach. 
 
 Like a pair of small well- trained circus ponies the two 
 friends obeyed the summons and climbed over the intervening 
 skirts. 
 
 "Well, Telson and Parson," said the doctor, shaking 
 hands, " I'd no idea you were here how are you ? " 
 
 " We got a captain's permit. Quite well, thank you, sir." 
 
 " My dear, these are two of our boys, Telson and Parson." 
 
 Mrs. Patrick regarded the two boys in her usual precise 
 way, and said, 
 
 " Among so many boys undej our roof, I find it im- 
 possible to remember every face. And which is Master 
 Telson ? * 
 
 "This is Telson," said Parson. "He's in the school- 
 house, you know" 
 
 " I do not know," said Mrs. Patrick, severely. 
 
 " Don't you ? " said Parson, with genuine astonishment 
 "He's captain's fag, you know." 
 
 " I must repeat I do not know," reiterated Mrs. Patrick. 
 
 " Oh, well, he's only been that a little time, since the 
 sports, you know, when old Wyndham left. I say, ma'am> 
 are you going to be at the race on Wednesday ? " 
 
 Mrs. Patrick looked somewhat baffled as she replied, ' 
 
 " I think it very possible."
 
 160 An Evening Party. 
 
 " It'll be a jolly good race," said Telson. Old Parson 
 is coxing Parrett's, and it looks like a win for them Only 
 we aren't so bad, and now Gilks is out of the boat and 
 Riddell's settled as cox. we ought to make a race of it 
 Fairbairn ; s quite as long a reach as Bloomfield, only he 
 doesn't kick his stretcher so hard does he, Parson ? " 
 
 ' ' Rather not, " said Parson. ' ' That's where we get the pull 
 of you : besides, I'm a lighter weight than Riddell, though 
 he's boiled down a, good bit since he went into training." 
 
 "Good deal depends on who gets the inside berth," said 
 Telson, delightfully oblivious of the bewildered Mrs. Paddy's 
 presence. " It's a jolly long swing round Willow Point for 
 the outsiders half a length at least." 
 
 " Yes ; but it's just as bad round the corner at the finish 
 the other way." 
 
 " Ah ! talking about the race, I see," said the doctor, 
 returning to the group at this point. " So, Telson, Riddell's 
 to steer your boat after all" 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Telson ; " it's settled now." 
 
 "So that the schoolhouse boat is still the captain's 
 boat, eh? Ah! Parson, though, I suppose, wants the 
 Parrett's boat to wia" 
 
 " Parson's cox for Parrett's," said Telson. 
 
 " Parrett I mean Mr. Parrett stopped my river play 
 a week, sir," said Parson, by way of explaining the cir- 
 cumstance ; " but I've had captain's leave to row out since, 
 so they kept me in the boat." 
 
 This sporting conversation went on for some time longer, 
 Mrs. Patrick not venturing again to join in. At last the 
 doctor broke up the conference of his own accord, and our 
 two heroes, once more adrift, went out for a lounge in the 
 hall, as they explained, to cool themselves, but really to be 
 at hand for a bo& into the supper-room whenever the happy 
 noment should atrim
 
 Brotherly Conduct of Parson and Telson. 161 
 
 It did arrive after what seemed to be a week's suspense 
 and then the hardships and perils of the evening were fully 
 compensated for. The two friends got into a snug corner, 
 "far from the madding crowd," where, to put it mildly, 
 they spent a very busy half-hour. They managed it well. 
 Neither boy helped himself he wouldn't be so greedy ; but 
 each helped the other. When Telson saw Parson's plate 
 getting empty of sandwiches, he most attentively fetched 
 him a clean one with a trifle on it ; and when Telson had 
 finally got through his jellies (for he had more than one) 
 it was Parson's brotherly hand which assisted him to an 
 ice! 
 
 As they sat there they positively wished Brown's "pa 
 and ma " gave a party once a week ! 
 
 But all good things come to an end, and so did this 
 grand party. Guests began to depart, and among the 
 earliest were the doctor and his ladies. The doctor came 
 up to the boys, and said, kindly, " We're driving up ; you 
 two had better come with us, there's plenty of room on the 
 box. Now, my love now, Miss Stringer." 
 
 Miss Stringer ! Telson nearly fainted as he saw who it 
 was who answered to the name. 
 
 " Let's walk up," he said, entreatingly, to Parson. 
 
 " I don't mind, only Paddy " 
 
 " Now then, boys," cried the doctor, " there's room for 
 one inside, Telson, will you come ? " 
 
 Telson bounded up on to the box without another word, 
 and Parson beside him, and the fly drove off. 
 
 " Oh, Parson, old man I'm a gone coon ! " exclaimed 
 Telson, in tones of abject misery, as soon as they were clear 
 of the Browns' premises. 
 
 "Why, what's up?" 
 
 " Miss Stringer ! " 
 
 " What about her ? Isn't she a cad, eh ? " 
 
 6
 
 1 62 An Evening Party. 
 
 " Yes, and I told her so t " groaned Telson ; " I didn't 
 know who she was, and I said " 
 
 " Hullo, I say, look there ! " exclaimed Parson, suddenly 
 catching his friend by the arm. 
 
 They were passing the Aquarium, which at that moment 
 was disgorging its visitors. Among those who emerged 
 exactly as the doctor's fly passed were three boys, whom 
 Telson and Parson recognised in a moment. 
 
 They were Silk and Gilks and another younger boy, who 
 seemed to shrink from observation, and whose head was 
 turned another way as the fly passed. The three, im- 
 mediately on gaining the street, started to run towards 
 Willoughby ahead of the fly. 
 
 The two boys on the box pulled their caps over their 
 eyes, and said not a word till the truants were clear. Then 
 Telson said, " That was young Wyndham ! " 
 
 " I know. I wonder if Paddy saw them ? " 
 
 " Shouldn't think so. And they didn't see us. I say, 
 will they get in before us ? " 
 
 " It'll be a shave if they do. What a row there'll be if 
 they don't 1 " 
 
 It was a curious thing that almost immediately after this 
 short dialogue Telson's cap fell off into the road, and the 
 fly had to be pulled up while he and Parson got down and 
 looked for it. It was a dark night, and the cap took some 
 time to find. When finally it was recovered, and progress 
 was resumed, full five minutes had been lost over the 
 search, by which time the truants had got a clear ha'*-mile 
 to the good, and were safd
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 THE BOAT-RACE. 
 
 few days that intervened between the Saturday of 
 JL Brown's party and the Wednesday of the great race 
 were days of restless suspense in Willoughby. Even Welch's 
 caught the contagion, and regretted at the last hour that 
 they had withdrawn from the all-important contest. As to 
 the other two Houses, there never had been a year when 
 the excitement ran so high or the rivalry grew so keen. 
 Somehow the entire politics of Willoughby appeared to be 
 mixed up in the contest, and it seemed as if the result of 
 this one struggle was to decide everything. 
 
 The crews had worked hard up to the last, watched 
 morning and evening by anxious spectators from the bank. 
 The trials had been carefully noted and times compared, the 
 variations in style had been eagerly criticised, the weights 
 of the rowers had become public property, and in short 
 every detail likely to influence the result was a subject of 
 almost painful interest to the eager partisans on either 
 side. 
 
 And every hour seemed to promise a closer race. Not 
 that Parrett's had fallen off. On the contrary, they still 
 remained what they had been all along, the smartest and 
 strongest crew that Willoughby had ever put upon the river. 
 But the schoolhouse boat had made wonderful strides. 
 It was long since it had ceased to be the laughing-stock of 
 the hostile juniors, and it was some time since its appear-
 
 1 64 The Boat- Race. 
 
 ance and work had begun to cause a shade of uneasiness in 
 the minds of a few of the rival house. Fairbairn, far from 
 Bloomfield's match in physique or style, had yet displayed 
 an amount of steady, determined work which had astonished 
 most fellows, and inspired with confidence not only his 
 partisans on the bank, but the three oarsmen at his back. 
 By dint of patient, untiring practice he had worked his 
 crew up to a pitch of training scarcely hoped for, and every 
 day the schoolhouse boat had gained in style and speed. 
 
 Had the race been a fortnight or three weeks later few 
 boys would have cared to prophesy definitely as to the 
 result As it was, though Parrett's was morally bound to 
 win, it was clear the race would be a fierce one, and hardly 
 fought every foot 
 
 Such was the general opinion in Willoughby that Tuesday 
 evening after the last practice had come to an end, and 
 when the boats were finally housed for the night only to re- 
 appear next day in racing trim. 
 
 Young Wyndham, as he sat in Riddell's study with his 
 books before him, could as soon have done a stroke of 
 work as fly over the schoolhouse elms. Indeed, it was 
 such a farce for him even to make the attempt that he shut 
 up his books and gave up the idea. 
 
 " I say, Riddell," he said, presently, addressing the 
 captain, who, though excited too after his own fashion, was 
 poring determinedly over his work. 
 
 " Well ? " asked he, looking up. 
 
 " I say, do you think there's any chance of our boat 
 winning ? " 
 
 The boy asked the question so anxiously that one might 
 have supposed his whole happiness in life depended on the 
 answer. 
 
 " It's very hard to say," said Riddell. " I think ive have 
 ome chance, at any rate."
 
 Wyndham Cannot Work. 165 
 
 " You did the course In as good time as Parrett's yester- 
 day, didn't you ? " said Wyndham. 
 
 " Yes, but we had a better tide," said Riddell. 
 
 Wyndham's face clouded, for he knew it was true. 
 
 "You must win, I say," said he, almost fiercely. 
 
 Riddell smiled. 
 
 " I mean to oblige you if I can, for one," said he. 
 
 11 If they win," said Wyndham, " it'll be " 
 
 But what it would be the youthful enthusiast lacked words 
 to express. 
 
 Riddell turned again to his writing. 
 
 " Hadn't you better finish your work ? " said he. 
 
 " Oh, I can't 1 " exclaimed Wyndham. " Who could work 
 just before the race? " 
 
 So saying, he got up and gathered together his things. 
 
 Riddell was sorry for this. He had hoped the boy would 
 stay. Amid all his fresh duties the new captain had kept 
 his eye on his old friend's brother, and of late he had seen 
 things which made him uneasy. Wyndham was on friendly 
 terms again with his two undesirable patrons, and simulta- 
 neously his work in the library and his visits to Riddell's 
 own study had become less regular. It all meant some- 
 thing, Riddell knew ; and he knew, too, that that something 
 was not any good. He made one attempt to detain the boy. 
 
 " You aren't going ? " he said kindly. 
 
 " Yes. It's really no use grinding to-night, Riddell." 
 
 " Won't you stop and keep me company, though ? " asked 
 the captain. 
 
 " You're working," said the boy. " I'll come to-morrow. 
 Good-night" 
 
 And he went, leaving Riddell very uncomfortable. Why 
 should he be so eager to go ? Why should he always seem 
 so restless now whenever he was in that study? Why 
 should he always avoid any reference to
 
 1 66 The Boat- Race. 
 
 Ah ! here he was back again. A gleam of hope shot 
 through Riddell's breast as he saw the door open and 
 Wyndham re-enter. Perhaps, after all, the boy was going 
 to stay and give kim a chance. 
 
 But no, Wyndham had come back for his knife, which 
 Riddell had borrowed for sharpening a pencil That was 
 all he wanted ; and having recovered it he departed 
 quickly. 
 
 Riddell spent the rest of that evening in low spirits. He 
 had been baulked, and worse than that, he felt other hands 
 were playing their game more successfully, and that amongst 
 them all young Wyndham was going wrong. 
 
 So the eve of the great boat-race was anything but a 
 cheerful evening for the new captain. 
 
 But with the morning even Riddell could hardly harbour 
 any thoughts outside the event of the day. Morning school 
 that Wednesday was a farce all over Wiiloughby. Even 
 the doctor seemed absent-minded, while one or two of 
 the junior masters gave up the attempt in despair. 
 
 The race was fixed for three o'clock, when the tide would 
 be running up at its fastest, and long before that hour every 
 advantageous point of view on the banks was secured by 
 eager spectators. These were by no means all Wiiloughby 
 boys, for the school boat-race was always more or less of 
 an event in Shellport itself, whose inhabitants flocked in 
 large numbers to the scene of the contest. 
 
 Carriages lined the banks on either side for a considerable 
 distance, and as usual the doctor's party assembled in great 
 force on Willow Point. The towing-path was jealously kept 
 clear for the schoolboys, who trooped down in force the 
 moment after lunch, and took possession of their places 
 along the course. Some crowded at the starting-point. 
 These were chiefly the more athletic heroes of the school, 
 whose flannels and running-shoes bespoke their intention of
 
 "Arcades Ambo" 167 
 
 following the race on foot. Others, less actively inclined, 
 massed at various critical points along the course, some 
 at the finish, but more opposite Willow Point, which being 
 just three-quarters of the way down, and almost within view 
 of the goal, was generally considered the most advantageous 
 point of view of the whole race. 
 
 At this point, in a snug corner above the path, with a fine 
 view of the sharp bend of the river, and of the reaches up 
 and down stream which met there, sat Gilks and Silk. 
 They knew probably as well as any one that the crisis of 
 the race was pretty sure to be played out at Willow Corner, 
 and not a few late comers looked up at their commanding 
 perch with envy. 
 
 " Where's the young 'un ? " said Silk. 
 " Running with the race," said Gilks. u I couldn't dis- 
 suade him. He's gone daft over the thing." 
 Silk laughed. 
 
 " I'm afraid it'll be a blow to him, then. Young fool 
 I say, he was at his father confessor's last night I wonder 
 if he'll let out about Saturday night ? " 
 
 " Not he. That is," said Gilks, viciously, " I don't think 
 he will." 
 
 " Well, it might be warmish for him if he did." 
 " Very warmish," said Gilks, with a scowl, which it was 
 just as well for Wyndham's comfort he did not see. 
 
 There was a silence, during which Gilks whistled to him- 
 self, and Silk regarded his ally with a smile. 
 
 " You are a nice boy ! " he broke out presently. And the 
 laugh which greeted this very unoriginal observation closed 
 the conversation for a time. 
 
 Meanwhile, down at the boathouse things were getting 
 /ery lively. 
 
 Telson, Philpot, Pilbury, Cusack, King, and other of our 
 juvenile friends, who, with their usual modesty, proposed to
 
 168 The Boat-Race. 
 
 run along with the race, and now formed part of the crowd 
 which awaited the start, kept up a boisterous chorus of 
 shouts, some of defiance, some of derision, some of applause, 
 addressed alternately to foe and friend. 
 
 The young Welchers especially, having no personal 
 interest hi the race, felt themselves delightfully free to 
 make themselves objectionable to all parties, and took full 
 advantage of the circumstance. 
 
 They howled at everybody and everything. Whenever 
 King and Bosher greeted the appearance of the Parrett's 
 boat with a friendly cheer they hooted ; and no sooner did 
 Telson sing out to welcome the crew of his house, but they 
 caterwauled derisively in the same direction. 
 
 " Jolly lot they know about rowing ! " yelled Cusack. 
 
 " Why don't you give them some lessons ? " retorted 
 Telson, hotly. 
 
 " Boo hoo ! Who got kicked out of his boat 1 Young 
 muller, couldn't steer a tub." 
 
 " I'll tub you, young Pilbury, see if I don't, presently," 
 replied Telson. 
 
 " Never mind them," shouted King, " can't even make up 
 a boat ; pack of funks, all of them 1 " 
 
 " Hullo ! who are you ? " cried Philpot, rounding on these 
 new assailants. "We'd have a boat, never fear, if there 
 was any chance of fair play." 
 
 " Lot of fair play you'd want, to turn the boat round and 
 round and catch crabs every other second 1 " 
 
 11 There are our fellows ! " cried Wyndham, raising a loud 
 cheer as Fairbairn, Coates, Porter, Crossfield, and Riddell 
 appeared on the landing stage. 
 
 " Hurrah I schoolhouse, hurrah I " 
 
 "Ye-ow look at them there's a lotl" hooted the 
 Welchers. 
 
 11 There's old Parson ! " yelled Telson, Bosher, and King,
 
 An Exciting Moment. 169 
 
 as the youthful hero in question strutted magnificently down 
 to the landing. 
 
 "What cheer, stuck-up jackass ?" howled the Welchers, 
 with an insulting laugh ; " why don't you grin ? " 
 
 This remark was suggested by Parson grandly waving his 
 handkerchief and smiling to his admiring friends. 
 
 But it is time to quit these friends and make our way 
 to the boats themselves, which now lie waiting for their 
 crews to embark. 
 
 This is always a tedious process for on-lookers. The 
 shifting of stretchers, the getting-out of oars, the arrange- 
 ment of rudder strings, and the delicate trimming of the 
 boat, may be interesting enough to the crews themselves, 
 but only feed the impatience of onlookers. 
 
 And as usual hitches are bound to occur. Coates has 
 got the oar belonging to Crossfield. And when this mis- 
 take has been remedied, Bloomfield in the other boat 
 suddenly discovers that his stretcher is a little weak, and 
 insists on waiting till a new one is brought. 
 
 Finally everything is ready, and the two boats slowly 
 swing out into mid-stream. The schoolhouse boat has 
 won the toss, for it takes up the inside berth, amid the 
 triumphant cheers of its partisans. 
 
 " Hurrah I you're inside," they cry. 
 
 " Mind you put them into the bank," is the derisive echo 
 of the enemy. 
 
 " Now, Fairbairn ; now, you fellows," cries Wyndham's 
 voice. 
 
 " Now, boss Riddell mind your eye. Pull your left 
 when you want to go right," shout the facetious Welchers. 
 
 Riddell has long got past the stage of being flurried by 
 shouts from the bank. He feels nervous undoubtedly, but 
 he does not look it, as he quietly tries his rudder lines and 
 settles himself on his seat.
 
 170 The Boat-Race. 
 
 Fairbairn Is as cool as ever. To look at him he might 
 be just starting for a quiet saunter up stream. And the 
 crew behind him are equally composed, as they lie on their 
 oars waiting for the start. 
 
 But the Parrett's crew, as they come smartly up and 
 take their outside berth, receive an ovation far beyond that 
 of their rivals. They are undoubtedly the popular crew, 
 as well as the favourites. Every man in the boat has done 
 something for Willoughby hi times past, and as the boys 
 see their heroes ready now for a fresh triumph, they forget 
 all about their little tyrannies indoors, and cheer them like 
 mad. 
 
 " Bravo Parrett's. Bravo Bloomfield ! Hurrah, captain I 
 You're to win." 
 
 Even the Welchers for the moment join in the popular 
 clamour. 
 
 " Go it, you cripples 1 " ciies Cusack, encouragingly ; 
 " no milksop captains. Two to one on Bloomfield ! " 
 
 All this time the boats are lying in position. Mr. 
 Parrett on the little steam-launch behind surveys them 
 critically, and satisfies himself that all is square. Then he 
 advances to the prow of his boat and shouts the usual 
 question. 
 
 The next moment he gives the word, and the two boats 
 dart forward like arrows from a bow, and the race has 
 begun. 
 
 Gilks and Silk up above Willow Corner heard the shout 
 which greeted the start, and turned anxiously towards the 
 direction from which it came. 
 
 " They're off now ! " said Silk, trying to appear more 
 unconcerned than he really was. 
 
 * Yes ; no mistake about it ! " said Gilks, whose anxiety 
 was certainly not less than that of his friend. 
 
 " How long before we see them ? "
 
 WIio Leads? 171 
 
 "Three minutes; they ought to get into the School 
 Reach by then." 
 
 Neither spoke for a minute. Then Silk said, " What a 
 row the fellows are making ! " 
 
 " Yes/' said Gilks ; " there's a bigger crowd than I ever 
 saw down this year." 
 
 Another silence. And then presently in the far distance, 
 at the end of the School Reach, they could see first the 
 smoke of Mr. Parrett's launch, then a black moving crowd 
 on the bank, and finally two white specks on the water. 
 
 " There they are ! " said Gilks. 
 
 14 Can you tell which is which ? " asked Silk. 
 
 " No, not yet." 
 
 An anxious minute followed. The doctor and his party 
 on the point opposite left their tent and came down to the 
 water's edge; spectators who had been getting tired of 
 waiting now freshened up and made final and desperate 
 attempts to improve their position, while those who meant 
 to fall in with the runners buttoned their jackets and turned 
 up their trouser ends. 
 
 " Schoolhouse inside 1 " exclaimed Gilks, suddenly, as 
 the sun momentarily caught the blue oars of the inside 
 boat. 
 
 This was all that could be ascertained for the moment. 
 From where they sat the blue and the' red flags seemed to 
 be coming towards them exactly abreast 
 
 The crowd advanced with a roar, above which it was 
 impossible to hear the name of the leading crew. But 
 presently, as the two boats approached the corner, a slight 
 turn inwards enabled them to answer the question for them- 
 selves. 
 
 "We lead! "exclaimed Silk. 
 
 Silk was a Welcher and Gilks a schoolhouse boy, but 
 " we " meant Parrett's,
 
 172 The Boat-Race. 
 
 Yes, the red flag was ahead, though only a little 
 
 "How long before they're at the point? " 
 
 "Half a minute. I say, how splendidly the school- 
 house are steering, though ! " 
 
 Silk laughed "More than Parrett's are! Young 
 Parson's taking them round rather sharp, isn't he?" 
 
 " No ; he always turns in like that ; it's better than the 
 long sweep. Now look out 1 " 
 
 During this brief dialogue the two boats had come on 
 towards the corner. As far as Gilks and Silk could see at 
 present Parrett's led by about half a length, which advan- 
 tage, however, it stood to lose owing to its outside position 
 at the corner. Parson, however, knew what he was about 
 even better than Riddell, who had kept a magnificent course 
 down the reach, but who now seemed afraid to take full 
 advantage of the sharp corner. The Parrett's coxswain, on 
 the other hand, with his half-length to the good, began turn- 
 ing his boat's head early, even at the risk of running 
 dangerously close on his rival's water, and so saved as 
 much as possible of the lost ground. 
 
 It was an anxious moment, for as the boats came round 
 that corner so the race usually depended. The crowd on 
 the banks well knew the crisis, and shouted out their 
 warnings and encouragements to the rival coxswains with 
 redoubled eagerness. 
 
 " Now then, Riddell 1 round you go ! Pull your right ! " 
 
 " Steered indeed, Parrett's ! Bravo, Parson 1 " 
 
 The corner was half turned, the boats lay nearly level, 
 each coxswain pulling hard with his right line, when sud- 
 denly there was a shock in the Parrett's boat, followed by a 
 loud shout from Parson, and next moment the boat was 
 shooting helplessly straight towards the bank, from which it 
 was only saved by a prompt order to " Backwater all 1 " from 
 Bloomneld.
 
 A Tragedy. 173 
 
 What could it be ? The shouts on the bank died away 
 into sudden stillness, and fellows forgot even to keep up 
 with the schoolhouse boat, which, followed by the steam- 
 launch, rowed steadily on towards the winning-post. 
 
 What was it ? The answer soon became known, when 
 Parson, standing in his boat, waved the broken end of a 
 rudder-line above his head. At the critical point of the 
 race this had failed, and in consequence all the efforts of 
 the rowers were useless, and and the schoolhouse boat 
 was Head of the River ! 
 
 The rage, excitement, and disappointment at such an 
 unlooked-for termination to the great struggle was beyond 
 description, as the reader may imagine. A general rush was 
 made for the unlucky boat, and shouts and recriminations 
 and taunts and condolences bore witness to the mixed 
 feelings of the spectators. 
 
 Some demanded a fresh race there and then, some sug- 
 gested foul play, others urged the boat to row on and make 
 the best race they could of it, others boldly claimed the 
 victory for Parrett's, since they led at the moment of the 
 accident. 
 
 Amidst all this tumult the unlucky boat slowly backed 
 into mid-stream, and turned towards home, Parson steering 
 no longer by rudder but by word of mouth. As it did so, 
 a distant report announced that the schoolhouse boat had 
 reached the winning-post ; whereat the Parrett partisans set 
 up a loud defiant shout, which they maintained during the 
 entire homeward progress of their ill-starred boat. 
 
 Among the few who remained on the scene of the acci- 
 dent were Gilks and Silk, both pale and agitated. 
 
 The latter, as has been said, was painfully interested in 
 the result of the race. To him the defeat of Parrett's 
 meant more than the mere disappointment of a hope or the 
 humiliation by a rival It meant the loss of a good deal
 
 174 The Boat-Race. 
 
 more money than he possessed, and the miscarriage of a 
 good deal which he had expected with absolute confidence 
 to win. No wonder then that his face was white and his 
 voice trembling as he rounded on his friend. 
 
 " You fool 1 " exclaimed he, with an oath. 
 
 It was rather hard surely on Gilks, who may have en- 
 couraged his friend to rely on the victory of the Parrett's 
 boat, but who certainly was as much astounded and mor- 
 tified by the accident as he was. 
 
 "There must be another race," said he, hurriedly. 
 " They can't take this as decisive, I tell you. They must 
 have another." 
 
 " You wouldn't have said so if the right boat had won," 
 said Silk, with a sneer. 
 
 " I can't make it out," said Gilks, looking very miserable. 
 
 " Fools never can," snarled Silk, turning on his heel.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 FOUL PLAY I 
 
 \T riLLOUGHBY reassembled after the eventful boat- 
 VV race in a state of fever. The great event which- 
 was to settle everything had settled nothing, and the sus- 
 pense and excitement which was to have been set at rest 
 remained still as unsatisfied as ever, and intensified by a 
 feeling of rage and disappointment 
 
 As boys dropped in in groups from the tourse, and 
 clustered round the school gate, one might have supposed 
 by their troubled faces that instead of a rudder-line having 
 broken both crews had been capsized and drowned. 
 
 The Parrett's partisans particularly were loud in their 
 clamour for a new race, and many of them freely insinuated 
 foul play as the cause of the accident. 
 
 The schoolhouse, on the other hand, indignantly repelled 
 the charge, and dared their opponents defiantly to meet 
 them again. And amidst all this wrangling and bickering, 
 the Welchers dispensed their taunts and invectives with 
 even-handed impartiality, and filled in just what was wanted 
 to make the scene one of utter confusion and Babel. 
 
 " I tell you we'd have beaten them hollow," shouted 
 Wibberly to the company in general. 
 
 " No you wouldn't ! " retorted Wyndham ; " we were 
 ahead and our men were as fresh as yours, every bit ! " 
 
 " Ya boo cheats ! Told you there'd be no fair play 
 with such a pack," shouted the Welchers.
 
 176 Foul Play I 
 
 * Look here, who are you calling a cheat?" said 
 Wyndham, very red in the face, edging up to the speaker. 
 
 " You, if you like," shouted Pilbury and Cusack. 
 
 " I'll knock your heads together when I catch you," said 
 Wyndham, with lofty disgust, not intending to put himself 
 out for two juniors. 
 
 A loud laugh greeted the threat. 
 
 Meanwhile, fellows were running up every moment. Some 
 who had been waiting for the boats at the winning-post had 
 only just heard the news, and came in red-hot with excite- 
 ment to learn particulars. 
 
 "It's all a vile dodge," howled Wibberly, "to get their 
 boat to the head of the river." 
 
 " I'll bet anything the precious captain's at the bottom of 
 it," shouted another. " He'd stick at nothing, I know." 
 
 " Yes, and you'll see, now they'll funk another race I " 
 
 " Who'll funk another race ? " roared the hot-headed 
 Wyndham, " I'll row you myself, you asses, the lot of 
 you." 
 
 Another derisive laugh followed at the speaker's ex- 
 pense. 
 
 * It's not our fault if your line broke," cried a school- 
 house boy. " It's your look-out. You should have seen it 
 was right before you started." 
 
 " Yes. You wouldn't have been so anxious for a new 
 race if it was our line had broken," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Yes, we would. We're not afraid of you ! " 
 
 "Yes, you are." 
 
 " No, we aren't. You're a set of cheats. Couldn't win 
 by fair means, so you've tried foul." 
 
 " I'll fight any one who says so," retorted Wyndham. 
 
 How long the wrangle might have gone on, and to what 
 riot it might have led, cannot be told. It was at its hottest, 
 and a general fight seemed imminent, when a diversion was
 
 Parson Brings News. 177 
 
 caused by the sudden appearance of Parson running at full 
 speed up the path from the river. 
 
 There was something unusual in the looks and manner 
 of the Parretts' coxswain, which even his misadventure that 
 afternoon was not sufficient to account for. He bore 
 tidings of some sort, it was evident, and by common con- 
 sent the clamour of the crowd was suspended as he 
 approached. 
 
 Among the first to hail him at shouting distance was 
 Telson. 
 
 " What's up, old man? " he cried: 
 
 Parson rushed on a dozen yards or so before he answered. 
 Then he yelled, in a voice half choked with excitement, 
 
 " The line was cut ! It's foul play 1 " 
 
 The howl which arose from the agitated crowd at this 
 amazing piece of news amazing even to those who had 
 most freely raised the cry of foul play was one the like of 
 which Willoughby never heard before or since. Mingled 
 rage, scorn, incredulity, derision, all found vent in that one 
 shout and then suddenly died into silence as Parson began 
 again. 
 
 " They've looked at the place where it broke," he gasped. 
 " It's a clean cut half way through. I knew it was foul 
 play I " 
 
 Once again the shout drowned his voice. 
 
 " Who did it ? " shrieked a voice, before Parson could 
 resume. 
 
 Parson glared round wrathfully for the speaker. 
 
 " I don't know," he replied. " Sorry for him if I 
 did!" 
 
 This valiant invective from the honest little fag failed even 
 to appear ludicrous in the midst of the general excitement. 
 Further words were now interrupted by the appearance of 
 the Parretts' crew coming slowly up the walk.
 
 178 Foul Play f 
 
 This was the signal for a general cheer and rush in their 
 direction, in the midst of which the defeated heroes with 
 difficulty struggled up to the school. Wrath and indignation 
 were on all their faces. In reply to the hundred inquiries 
 showered upon them they said nothing, but forced their way 
 through the press sullenly, heedless of the cheers of their 
 sympathisers or the silence of their opponents. 
 
 The crowd slowly fell back to let them pass, and watched 
 them disappear into the school. Then they turned again 
 towards the path from the river, and waited with grim 
 purpose. 
 
 The news announced by Parson and confirmed by the 
 black looks of the injured crew had fallen like a thunderbolt, 
 and for the moment Willoughby was stunned. The boys 
 could not would not believe that one of their number 
 could be guilty of such an act. And yet, how could they 
 disbelieve it? 
 
 In a few minutes there was a cry of " Here they are ! " 
 and at the same moment the schoolhouse crew appeared on 
 the walk. They, victors though they were, looked troubled 
 and dispirited as they approached, talking eagerly among 
 themselves, and unconcerned apparently about the crowd 
 which in ominous silence awaited them. 
 
 They certainly did not look like guilty persons, and it is 
 most probable not even the wildest libeller in Willoughby 
 would have cared positively to charge any one of them with 
 the dishonourable deed. 
 
 But for all that, they had won in consequence of that 
 deed, and that was quite sufficient to set three-fourths of the 
 crowd against them. 
 
 As they came up a loud groan and cries of " Cheats ! 
 Foul play ! " suddenly arose. Startled by the unexpected 
 demonstration, the five heroes looked up with flushed 
 faces.
 
 A Battle Royal. 179 
 
 " Cheats ! Cowards ! " reiterated the hostile section, 
 beginning at the same time to surge towards them. 
 
 Foremost among these was Tucker of Welch's house 
 and Wibberly of Parrett's, who, as the crowd behind pressed 
 forward, were carried with their abusive taunts on their lips 
 into the midst of the schoolhouse group. The latter, as may 
 be imagined, were in anything but the humour for an assault 
 of this sort, and their leaders instantly resented it in a very 
 practical manner. 
 
 " Where are you coming to ? " demanded Fairbairn, 
 flinging Wibberly from him into the arms of his followers. 
 
 Before Wibberly could recover his balance the crowd had 
 closed in by a sudden impulse, and with a loud shout had 
 set upon the crew. 
 
 " Have them over, Parrett's 1 " shouted a voice, as Wib- 
 berly staggered back a second time before Fairbairn's 
 stalwart arm, while at the same moment Tucker received a 
 similar rebuff from Crossfield. 
 
 The summons was promptly answered, and a dash was 
 made on the five schoolhouse boys with a view to carry- 
 ing out the threat literally, when Wyndham's voice shouted, 
 " Rescue here ! schoolhouse, come on ! " 
 
 Instantly the whole crowd seemed to resolve itself by 
 magic into two parties, and a short but desperate battle 
 ensued. 
 
 The fire had been waiting for weeks for a match, and now 
 the flare-up had come. Nobody knew whom he hit out at 
 or by whom he was attacked that forenoon. The pent-up 
 irritation of half a term found vent in that famous battle in 
 which the schoolhouse boys fought their way inch by inch 
 up to the door of their house. 
 
 Luckily for them, the most formidable of their rivals 
 were not upon the field of action, and in due time the 
 compact phalanx of seniors, aided by Wyndham and his
 
 i8o Foul Play! 
 
 band of recruits, forced their way through superior numbers, 
 and finally burst triumphantly through and gained their 
 stronghold. 
 
 But the victory was hardly bought, for the slaughter had 
 been great. 
 
 Coates had a black eye, and Porter's jacket was torn 
 fro his back. Riddell had twice been knocked down and 
 trodden on, while Wyndham, Telson, and others of the 
 rescuing party were barely recognisable through dust and 
 bruises. On the other side the loss had been even greater. 
 Tucker and Wibberly, the only two monitors engaged, were 
 completely doubled up, while the number of maimed and 
 disabled Limpets and juniors was nearly beyond counting. 
 
 So ended the great battle at the school gate, and it ended 
 only just in time, for as the schoolhouse boys finally 
 gained their quarters, and the enemy picked itself up and 
 turned surlily schoolwards, the doctor and his party arrived 
 on the scene and gave a finishing touch to the rout. 
 
 That evening was a sore one for Willoughby. Sore not 
 only in respect of bruised bodies and swollen faces, but 
 still more in the sense of disappointment, suspicion, and 
 foul play. 
 
 Among the most violent of the Parrett's the whole 
 mystery of the thing was perfectly clear. These philoso- 
 phers could see it all from beginning to end, and were 
 astonished any one else should be so dull as not to see 
 it too. 
 
 " Of course, it's a regularly arranged thing," said Wibberly, 
 whose face was enveloped in a handkerchief and whose lips 
 were unusually thick. " They've vowed all along to keep 
 their boat at the head of the river, and they've managed 
 it." 
 
 "Yes," said another. "They knew what they had tc 
 expect if Bloomfield got there. I can see it all"
 
 Bloomfield in Dumps. 181 
 
 "But you don't mean to say," said Strutter, "the 
 Premier," " that you think any one of those fellows would 
 do such a thing as cut our rope ? " 
 
 " I don't know," said Wibberly. " I don't see why they 
 shouldn't. I don't fancy they'd stick at a trifle, the cads ! " 
 
 " If Gilks had been in the boat," said another, " I 
 could have believed it of him, but he was as anxious for us 
 to win as we were ourselves." 
 
 "No wonder; he and his friend Silk have been betting 
 right and left on us, I hear." 
 
 " Well, I suppose there's bound to be a new race," said 
 Strutter. 
 
 " I don't know," replied Wibberly. " I'd be just as well 
 pleased if Bloomfield refused. The vile cheats ! " 
 
 Bloomfield, be it said to his credit, was no party to 
 these reckless accusations. Mortified as he was beyond 
 description, and disappointed by the collapse of his ambi- 
 tion, he yet scouted the idea of any one of his five rivals 
 being guilty of so dirty a trick as the cutting of his boat's 
 rudder-line. At the same time he was as convinced as 
 any one that foul play had been at the bottom of the 
 accident, and the perpetrator of the mean act was un- 
 doubtedly a schoolhouse boy. What mortified him most 
 was that he did not feel as positive by any means as others 
 that his boat, without the accident, would have won the 
 race. He had been astonished and even disheartened by 
 the performance of the rival crew, who had stuck to him 
 in a manner he had not looked for, and which had boded 
 seriously for the final result. 
 
 It was this reflection, more even than the thought of the 
 Broken line, which troubled him that evening. Could it 
 be possible that his luck was deserting him ? 
 
 His companions were troubled by no such suggestion. 
 >adignation was the uppermost feeling in their breasts.
 
 1 82 Foul Play t 
 
 Whoever had done the deed, it was a vile action, and till 
 the culprit was brought to justice the whole schoolhouse 
 was responsible in their eyes. 
 
 " I wonder a single one of them can hold up his head," 
 exclaimed Game. 
 
 " I hope to goodness Bloomfield won't demand a fresh 
 race. / won't row if he does," said Ashley. 
 
 "And the worst of it is they'll try to make out now they 
 would have won in any case. I heard one of them say so 
 myself this very afternoon." 
 
 " Let them say what they like," said Ashley. " No- 
 body will believe them." 
 
 Perhaps these hot-headed heroes, had they been able to 
 overhear a conversation that was going on at that very 
 time in the captain's study, would have discovered that at 
 any rate it was not the immediate intention of the school- 
 house to insist that the victory was theirs. 
 
 Riddell had recovered somewhat from his rough hand- 
 ling that afternoon, but he looked pale and dejected as, 
 along with his friend Fairbairn, he sat and discussed for the 
 twentieth time the event of the day. 
 
 " It's quite evident we must offer them a fresh race," 
 said he. 
 
 " Yes, I think so," said Fairbairn. " It's hard lines, for 
 I expect it won't be easy to get our men up to the mark 
 again after they are once run down." 
 
 " We can't help that," said Riddell. " It's the least we 
 can do." 
 
 " Of course. But I don't see, Riddell, old man, that 
 we are bound to hang down our heads over this business. 
 Whoever did it did as mean a trick to us as ever he did to 
 them. I'd like to have him a minute or two, even if he 
 was my own brother." 
 
 " Well," said Riddell, " to my mind it seems like a dis-
 
 A Brave Ojffer. 183 
 
 grace to tne whole house, and the least we can do is to 
 offer to row again." 
 
 "Oh, rather; that's settled. I say," added Fairbairn, 
 " I'd give anything to get at the bottom of it. I saw the 
 boats locked up last night, and I was there when they were 
 taken out this morning. I can't imagine how it was done." 
 
 " It seemed a clean cut, didn't it ? " 
 
 "Yes; about three-quarters of the way through. Who- 
 ever did it must have been up to his business, for he only 
 touched the right cord on which all the strain comes at the 
 corner." 
 
 u It must have been done between five o'clock yesterday 
 and this morning," said Riddell. " If the cut had been 
 there yesterday the line would have given at the corner to 
 a certainty." 
 
 " Oh, yes ; it must have been done in the night.' 
 
 " Doesn't the boatman know anything about it ? * 
 
 " No ; I asked him. He says no one opened the door 
 after the boats had gone in except himself and the boat- 
 boy." 
 
 "It's horribly mysterious," said Riddell. "But, I say, 
 hadn't we better offer the new race at once ? " 
 
 "All serene." 
 
 " Had we better write ? " asked Riddell. 
 
 "No; why? What's the use of looking ashamed?" 
 said Fairbairn ; " let's go to them. Bloomfield's sure to be 
 in his study." 
 
 The two boys went accordingly, and found the Parrett's 
 captain in his study along with Game and Ashley. It was 
 rarely indeed that the schoolhouse seniors penetrated 
 uninvited into the headquarters of their rivals. But on 
 this occasion they had a right cause at heart and honest 
 consciences to back them. 
 
 But it was evident at a glance they had fallen on un-
 
 1 84 Foul Play I 
 
 friendly society. Game, quite apart from his state of mind 
 with regard to the accident, had not forgotten his repulse 
 at the hands of the new captain a week or two ago, nor had 
 Bloomfield quite got over the indirect snub he had received 
 on the same occasion. 
 
 Riddell himself had almost forgotten the circumstance, 
 and attributed the unencouraging aspect of the rival seniors 
 entirely to the day's misadventure. 
 
 " Excuse us coming over," said he, feeling that a be- 
 ginning must be made to the interview, " but we wanted to 
 tell you how sorry our fellows are about the race." 
 
 " Have you found out who did it ? " asked Bloomfield. 
 
 " No," said Riddell, " and we can't even guess." 
 
 " But what we came for specially," broke in Fairbairn at 
 this point, " was to say we are quite ready to row you again 
 any day you like." 
 
 There was a touch of defiance in the tone of the school- 
 house stroke which "was particularly irritating to the 
 Parrett's boys. 
 
 " Of course, we would row you " began Bloomfield. 
 
 " But we don't mean to," broke in Game, " till this ugly 
 business is cleared up." 
 
 ' What do you mean ? " asked Fairbairn. 
 
 " You know what we mean," said Game, warmly. " As 
 soon as you find out who cut our line we'll go out on the 
 river again." 
 
 " Yes ; we don't mean to row you till that's done," said 
 Ashley. 
 
 " How on earth are we to find out who cut your line any 
 more than you?" said Fairbairn, losing his temper 
 
 " There's no doubt he must be a schoolhouse fellow," 
 said Bloomfield, who but for his friends would have been 
 disposed to accept the challenge. 
 
 " I'm afraid he is," said RiddelL
 
 The Challenge Declined. 185 
 
 " Well, I won't row again till we know who he is," 
 repeated Ashley. 
 
 "Do you suppose we know who he is?" demanded 
 Fairbairn. 
 
 " You're the proper people to find out, that's all I know," 
 said Ashley. 
 
 "Then you mean to say you won't row again?" asked 
 Fairbairn. 
 
 " No, if it comes to that," said Bloomfield. 
 
 "Why," said Game, "the same thing might happen 
 again." 
 
 " If you'd looked to your lines before you started," said 
 Fairbairn, hotly, " it wouldn't have happened." 
 
 "We shall certainly make a point of looking at them 
 again when next we row you," said Ashley, with a sneer. 
 
 Fairbairn seemed inclined to retort, but a look from 
 Riddell deterred him. 
 
 " Then you won't row again ? " he repeated once more. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Then we claim to-day's race," said Fairbairn. 
 
 " You can claim what you like," said Game. 
 
 " And our boat remains at the head of the river." 
 
 " It doesn't matter to us where it remains," replied 
 Ashley. " You may think what you like and we'll think 
 what we like." 
 
 It was evidently useless to attempt further parley, and 
 the two schoolhouse boys accordingly retired, bitterly dis- 
 appointed to be thwarted of their only chance of righting 
 themselves and their house in the eyes of Willoughby. 
 
 It soon got to be known there was to be no second race, 
 and, as usual, all sorts of stories accompanied the rumour. 
 The enemies of the schoolhouse said openly that they had 
 refused Bloomfi eld's demand for a new race, and intended 
 to stick to their ill-gotten laurels in spite of everybody. On
 
 1 86 Foul Play! 
 
 the other side it was as freely asserted that Parrett's had 
 funked it ; and some went even so far to hint that the 
 snapping of the rope happened fortunately for the boat, 
 and saved it und jr cover of an accident from the disgrace 
 of a defeat. The few who knew the real story considered 
 Bloomfield was quite right in refusing another race till the 
 culprit of the first should be brought to ustice. 
 
 But the two fellows on whom the announcement fell most 
 severely were Gilks and Silk. For if the race of that day 
 was to stand, the schoolhouse boat had definitely won the 
 race, and consequently they were both losers to a con- 
 siderable extent. 
 
 They had counted almost certainly on a second race, but 
 now that this had been decided against, their wrath and 
 dismay knew no bounds. They spent the evening in 
 vituperations and angry discussion, and ended it in what 
 was very little short of a downright quarrel. Indeed, if 
 young Wyndham had not opportunely arrived on the scene 
 shortly before bedtime and created a diversion, the quarrel 
 might have come to blows. 
 
 Wyndham burst into the room suddenly. 
 
 " Has either of you seen my knife ? " he enquired ; " I've 
 lost it." 
 
 " Have you ? " inquired Silk. 
 
 " Yes ; I fancy I left it here last night. I say, have you 
 heard Parrett's won't accept a new race ? " 
 
 " I wonder why ? " asked Silk. 
 
 " Because they say they won't have out their boat again 
 till the fellow's found who cut the lines." 
 
 " Well, I don't blame them do you, Gilks ? " said Silk. 
 " I suppose there's no idea who he is ? " 
 
 " Not a bit," said Wyndham ; " I wish to goodness there 
 was. Some fool, I expect, who's been betting against 
 Parrett's."
 
 Silk Negotiates a Loan. 187 
 
 " I could show you a fool who's been betting on Parrett's," 
 said Silk, " and who's decidedly up a tree now ! I say, 
 young un, I suppose you couldn't lend me a sov. till the end 
 ,of the term ? " 
 
 " I've only got half-a-sov. in the world," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Well, I'll try and make that do, thanks," said Silk. 
 
 Wyndham pulled out his purse rather ruefully and 
 handed him the coin. 
 
 " Mind you let me have it back, please," he said, " as 
 I'm saving up for a racket. And I say," added he, leaving, 
 " if you do come across my knife, let's have it, will you ? "
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 BOSHER, HIS DIARY. 
 
 "PROBABLY no two boys in all Willoughby were more 
 L excited over the result of the famous boat-race than 
 Parson and his dear friend Telson. And it is hardly 
 necessary to state that this agitation arose from totally 
 conflicting reasons. 
 
 Parson's indignation found solace in the most sweeping 
 and vehement invectives his vocabulary could afford against 
 the unknown author of the dastardly outrage upon his 
 rudder-line. By an easy effort of imagination he included 
 the whole schoolhouse, root and branch, in his anathemas, 
 and by a very trifling additional effort he discovered that 
 the objects of his censure were guilty, every one of them, 
 not only of this particular crime, but of every crime in the 
 Newgate Calendar, from picking pockets to murder. He 
 fully agreed with the decision of his chiefs to have nothing 
 more to do with such a graceless crew till the injury was 
 atoned for ; and meanwhile he felt himself at perfect liberty 
 nay, it was his painful duty to insult, abuse, and mal- 
 treat, as occasion offered, every one unlucky enough 
 to wear the schoolhouse ribbon on his cap. 
 
 This being the case, it may be imagined his friend Telson 
 (who, by the way, had barely recovered from the shock of 
 Brown's party) found himself in a very delicate position. 
 For in the whole of his code of honour two points were 
 paramount with him. One was loyalty to the schoolhouse,
 
 A Friendly Wrangle. 189 
 
 the other was loyalty to Parson. How these two duties 
 could be carried out now, at one and the same time, was a 
 source of much anxiety to the perplexed Augustus. 
 
 He too was as indignant about the whole affair as his 
 friend. But his wrath was aimed first of all against those 
 who dared to insinuate that any schoolhouse boy could 
 have been guilty of the evil deed, and next against the 
 Parretts' authorities for refusing Riddell's and Fairbairn's 
 offer of a new race. 
 
 He and his friend had a long and painful discussion of 
 the whole question an evening or two later in the study of 
 the latter. 
 
 " It's all very well," said he, " to say it's a schoolhouse 
 chap has done it " 
 
 " I tell you a schoolhouse chap must have done it," 
 said Parson. " Who else would do such a dirty trick ? " 
 
 " I'll fight you, old man, if you go on like that," observed 
 the schoolhouse fag. 
 
 "Oh, beg pardon," said Parson, apologetically. "I 
 mean who else could have done it, you know ? " 
 
 " A Welcher might," suggested Telson. 
 
 "What would be the good to him? They hadn't a 
 boat. Besides, they all go against Riddell, don't they ? " 
 
 " Well, I mean to say," said Telson, falling back on to 
 the next grievance, " your fellows ought to row us again. 
 We'd have rowed you again like a shot if our line had 
 smashed. We don't funk you." 
 
 " And do you think we funk you ? A pack of I mean," 
 added Parson, pulling up in time, " do you think we funk 
 you ? " 
 
 " Why don't you row us again, then ? " 
 
 " Because there's no honour in the thing while your 
 fellows go in for beastly low dodges like that," replied 
 Parson.
 
 190 Bosher, his Diary. 
 
 "I tell you," said Telson, finding it very difficult to Keep 
 in with his friend, " we did not do it. I say we didn't do 
 it ; there ! " 
 
 "What's the use of your saying that when you know 
 no one but a schoolhouse fellow could have done it?" 
 demanded his friend. 
 
 " I tell you we didn't do it," repeated Telson, " and you've 
 got to prove we did before you say we did," added he, with 
 triumphant emphasis. 
 
 " You've got to prove you didn't," replied Parson, not to 
 be beaten in this line of argument. 
 
 " How can I prove we didn't when when we didn't do 
 it ? " cried Telson, making up in noise for what he lacked 
 in logic. 
 
 " I knew you couldn't prove it ! " said Parson, triumphant 
 in his turn. " I knew it was one of your blackguard " 
 
 "All right, old man, I shall fight you," said Telson. 
 
 " I didn't mean, old man, really," said Parson. " What 
 I mean to say is " 
 
 " I don't care what you say," said Telson. " What I say 
 is, we did not do it ! " 
 
 " All very well," replied Parson, " but I'm certain you 
 did." 
 
 " How are you certain, I'd like to know ? ". 
 
 " Because, I tell you," said Parson, slowly and incisively, 
 " it couldn't have been done by any one else." 
 
 "How do you know it couldn't?" asked Telson 
 warmly. 
 
 " There you are ! If you didn't do it you'd be able to 
 prove it, but you can't, you see." 
 
 And so this edifying argument went on, or rather round, 
 very much after the style of a dog trying to catch his tail, 
 and at its close Parson and Telson stood as far from solving 
 the mystery as ever.
 
 A Welcome Diversion. 191 
 
 This slight difference of opinion, however, could hardly 
 fail to result in a little mutual irritation, and for the first 
 time in their friendship the two boys felt as if they did not 
 love one another exactly like brethren. It was therefore no 
 small relief when further argument was abruptly cut short 
 by the entrance of King, looking particularly cheerful and 
 important. 
 
 " Hullo, you two ! " exclaimed he. " Guessed I'd find 
 you here. Such a lark ! " 
 
 " What is it ? " asked the two friends, delighted with any 
 diversion. 
 
 " Why," exclaimed the delighted King, " you know 
 Bosher ? " 
 
 " What about him ? What's he done ? " 
 
 " Guess." 
 
 " It's not he that cut the rudder-line, is it ? " asked 
 Telson. 
 
 " No, of course not. But, just fancy, he keeps a diary ! * 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the other two, laughing, " old 
 Bosher keep a diary ! How do you know that ? " 
 
 King looked very mysterious, and then said, laughing, 
 
 " I say, what would you give for a squint at it ? " 
 
 M Have you got it, then ? " 
 
 " Rather," said King, producing a small notebook from 
 his pocket " I found it in the Big just now." 
 
 The notion of Bosher keeping a diary had been amusing 
 enough, but the chance of looking at such a production was 
 irresistible. 
 
 The boys did make one languid protest, more, however, 
 to relieve their consciences than to dissuade one another 
 from the meanness of looking into another boy's diary. 
 
 " Rather low, perhaps," said Telson, " to look at a 
 fellow's notes." 
 
 " I don't know," said King. " If a fellow keeps a diary
 
 192 Bosher ) his Diary. 
 
 he must expect it to be looked at if he leaves it about. I 
 know I should." 
 
 " Well, yes, so should I too," said Parson. " Besides, 
 you know, of course we wouldn't tell any one else." 
 
 " Rather not," said Telsoa " But you know, Parson," 
 he added, seriously, " it's just possible he might have some- 
 thing about the rudder-line in it, and it would be a great 
 thing to clear that up, wouldn't it ? " 
 
 " So it would," said Parson, seating himself at the table. 
 
 Telson and King did the same, and Bosher's diary was 
 forthwith opened. 
 
 To all appearance Bosher was the most unlikely boy in 
 all Willoughby to keep a diary. He was not usually credited 
 with overmuch intelligence, and certainly not with much 
 sentiment, and the few remarks he did occasionally offer on 
 things in general were never very weighty. He was a good- 
 tempered, noisy, able-bodied fag, who was at any one's 
 service, and who in all- his exploits did about as much work 
 for as little glory as any boy in the school. 
 
 The present discovery certainly revealed him in a new 
 and startling light, and it was with a feeling somewhat akin 
 to awe that the three boys who called themselves his friends 
 set themselves to the task of inspecting his private his 
 very private diary. 
 
 The small volume dated from the beginning of the term, 
 and the first entry the trio examined may be taken as a fair 
 specimen of its general contents. 
 
 "'May 20. The twentieth of May. I awake at 5.37, 
 and got up at 5.43. My motive is to see the boats. It 
 was a beautiful and fine morning. The early birds were sing- 
 ing gladly wore my flannels for running along with the boat.'" 
 
 Bosher was a little shaky occasionally in his punctuation, 
 which will explain any apparent incoherence in the above 
 and following sentences.
 
 Painful Confessions. 193 
 
 M ' I sang as I dressed except while washing The Minstrel 
 Boy. Started out at 6.2 met Parson in the Big. Parson 
 thinks too much of himself.' " 
 
 " Sharp chap, Bosher," said King. 
 
 " I'll pull his nose when I see him," said Parson, who, 
 however, did not appear very deeply affronted so far. 
 
 The reading continued. 
 
 11 ' Parson ran on and left me alone. Now that I am 
 alone let me muse on my past life and hope it will be better 
 only the schoolhouse boat was out I think they or our 
 boat will win. Nice seeing them row Gilks catches a crab ' " 
 (this was previous to Gilks's ejection from the boat), 
 " ' Entered chapel at i to 8 King was there eating toffee.' " 
 
 " Hullo, King, you're all right When this diary's pub- 
 lished some day, you'll figure all serene," said Telson, 
 laughing. 
 
 " Wait a bit," said King, " your turn's coming.' 
 
 " ' At breakfast sit opposite Telson. He eats vulgar. 
 Thou shouldest not talk with thy mouth full, Telson, I 
 prithee.' " 
 
 The readers fairly broke down at this point Telson had 
 to admit that his turn had come, and relieved himself by 
 announcing that he would prithee his candid chronicler 
 some day in a way which would astonish him. 
 
 " ' Meditations at breakfast,' continued the diary. The 
 world is very big. I am small in the world, t will ambi- 
 tion twenty lines for gross conduct with Harrison throwing 
 bread I repent entirely. Parson wanted me to do his 
 " Caesar " for him.' " 
 
 " Oh, what a whacker 1 " exclaimed Parson. 
 
 " ' I declined, owing to not knowing ' " 
 
 " I can believe that ! " added Parson. 
 
 " ' Both detained for gross conduct not knowing verbs my 
 home is far away. Let out at 12.28."' 
 
 7
 
 194 Bosher, his Diary. 
 
 " What rot it is ! " exclaimed Parson, looking up. 
 " What a howling young ass he must be to put it all down I " 
 
 "I guess he didn't expect we'd see it," said Telson. 
 " But, I say, we can't read it all. Let's see what he says 
 about the boat-race." 
 
 This was agreed to, and the eventful day was turned to. 
 
 " ' Rose at 7.3,' " began Telson, reading " oh, we don't 
 want that. Let's see, ' Attended chapel at half a minute to 
 eight Half a minute more I had been too late. That had 
 been bad alas had I been bad it had been bad for me next 
 to Wyndham in chapel. Wyndham hath lost his knife he 
 requested me had I seen it. I answered nay I had not. 
 He said ' Oh, what frightful bosh it is, I say ! " 
 
 " So it is ; but it would be a spree to see what he says 
 about the race." 
 
 " That'll be pages on, at the rate he goes at," said Telson, 
 whipping over a few leaves. " Let's see. ' Gross conduct 
 with King talking in class King meanly tells Parrett he is a 
 beastly sneak.'" 
 
 " What does he say ? " exclaimed King. " I told Parrett 
 he was a beastly sneak ? What crams the fellow tells ! 
 Fancy me saying that to Parrett ! All I said was I wasn't 
 talking I " 
 
 " Why, I see it," said Parson. " He's left out a semi- 
 colon or something ; the ' he's a beastly sneak ' means you, 
 old man. King meanly tells Parrett. He [that is, King] 
 is a beastly sneak.' That makes it all right." 
 
 " Does it ? " cried the indignant King " does it make it 
 all right ! I'll make it all right for him, I can promise him. 
 I never sneaked of him in my life ! " 
 
 " Wire in, old man, and get to the race," urged Parson 
 impatiently. 
 
 " Here, this looks like it," said Telson, reading. " ' Be- 
 ing the boat-race no afternoon school I am pleased. A vast
 
 Listeners hear no Compliments. 195 
 
 mass on the towpath I being in flannels waited twenty-three 
 minutes for the start. Meditating as I stood, how vast is 
 the world.' (Hullo ! he had that before ; that seems to be 
 his usual meditation.) ' How vast is the world. I am 
 small in the world Parson is a conceited ass.' " 
 
 Parson turned very red in the face, of course, at this un- 
 expected turn, which, however, his two companions greatly 
 enjoyed. 
 
 " ' Parson is a conceited ass ' " 
 
 " I say, you needn't go over it twice," expostulated the 
 injured youth. 
 
 " ' A conceited ass,' " continued Telson, his voice waver- 
 ing with suppressed laughter. " ' He thinks he is a great 
 man but he's little in the world and fond of gross conduct. 
 He and, Telson are the conceitedest asses in Willoughby.' " 
 
 This double shot fairly broke down the gravity both of 
 reader and audience, and it was some little time before the 
 diary could proceed. The account of the race v which 
 followed was evidently not original. It appeared to be 
 copied verbatim from an account of the last University 
 Boat-race, with a few interpolations intended to adapt it to 
 the present circumstances. It began thus : 
 
 " ' Punctually at half-past eight [" eight " scratched out 
 and " three " substituted] Mr. Searle [altered to Mr. Parrett] 
 gave the signal to go, and at the word the sixteen oars 
 dashed simultaneously into the water. The Oxonians 
 were the first to show a lead, and at the Creek [" Creek " 
 scratched out and nothing substituted] were a foot to the 
 good. The Craydle is a pleasing river with banks running 
 up from the sea to slopes up the Concrete Wall this advan- 
 tage was fully maintained " [" maintained " altered to 
 "lost"] '" 
 
 " Oh, skip all that," said Parson impatiently \ "go on to 
 the part about Willow Corner."
 
 196 Bosher, his Diary. 
 
 ' " ' About a mile from home the Oxford stroke [" stroke " 
 altered to " Bloomfield "] spurted, and the dark blue flag 
 [" dark blue " altered to " schoolhouse "] once more shot 
 ahead. Gross steering by Parson, who I allude to above, 
 who steers his boat into the bank and breaks rudder-line. 
 It is ascertained Fairbairn and others are suspected. After 
 this a ding-dong race ensued to the finish where eventually 
 the dark [altered to " light "] blues won by a foot [altered to 
 " mile "] Parrett's having given in owing to Parson who is 
 alluded to above.' " 
 
 "Oh, I say, this is a drop too much," exclaimed the 
 wrathful Parson, rising. " I'll pay him out for this, see if I 
 don't!" 
 
 " Don't be an ass, Parson," said Telson. " Sit down, 
 can't you ? You've no business to look at his diary at all, 
 you know, if it comes to that." 
 
 Parson sat down with a wrathful countenance, and Tel- 
 son proceeded. 
 
 " We shall not see a new race as I hear Riddell and 
 Bloomfield declining. I spoke to Parson who completely 
 repents. He suspects Telson who he ascertains is the one 
 to do it. It is gross. How many things go wrong. Wynd- 
 ham hath not found his knife he requested me had I seen 
 it. I answered nay, not so. I have composed these verses 
 which I will set down here as they may recall the past : 
 
 " My name is Norval [altered to " Bosher "1 on the Grampian [altered 
 
 to " Willoughby "] hills 
 
 My father [altered to " Doctor Patrick "] feeds his flocks [altered to 
 "boys"]." 
 
 Well," said Telson, as he closed the thrilling narrative, 
 and tossed it back to King, " I never thought Bosher was 
 up to much, but I didn't know he was a downright 
 lunatic." 
 
 , I don't know," said King "It's not so bad. I
 
 Enter the Author. 197 
 
 tried to keep a diary once, but I could never find anything 
 to say." 
 
 " Well, I guess Basher's not hard up in that line," said 
 Telson, laughing. " But, I say, we ought to give it to him 
 back somehow." 
 
 " I'll give it to him back pretty hot 1 " exclaimed Parson. 
 " I vote we burn the boshy thing." 
 
 " Oh, you can't do that. You'd better smuggle it back 
 into his study somehow, King, without his knowing." 
 
 " All serene," said King, pocketing the book. " Hallo 1 
 who's this coming ? " 
 
 As he spoke there was a sound of hurrying footsteps in 
 the passage outside, and immediately afterwards the door 
 opened and revealed none other than the sentimental author 
 of Bosher's diary himself. 
 
 Just at present, and luckily for him, he did not appear to 
 be in a sentimental mood ; his face was a little scared and 
 mysterious-looking as he hurriedly stepped into the room 
 and shut the door after him. 
 
 11 Look out, I say 1" he exclaimed, " the Welchers are 
 coming ! " 
 
 This magic announcement dispelled in a moment what- 
 ever resentment may have lurked in the minds of any of the 
 three students on account of the diary. In the presence of 
 a common danger like this, with the common enemy, so to 
 speak, at the very door, they were all friends and brother! 
 at once. 
 
 " Where ? How do you know ? " demanded the three. 
 
 M I was looking for a book I had lost," said Bosher, ' in 
 the Big near our door, and I heard Cusack tell Pilbury to 
 wait till he went and saw if the coast was clear. So they'll 
 be here directly." 
 
 "Jolly lucky you heard them," said Parson. "What 
 we do, you fellows ? "
 
 198 Bosher, his Diary. 
 
 There was a slight interval for reflection, and then Telson 
 said, 
 
 "Fancy the jug dodge is about the best They won't be 
 up to it, eh ? " 
 
 This proposal seemed to meet with general approval, and 
 as time was precious Parson's tin jug, full of water, was 
 forthwith hoisted adroitly over the door, and delicately 
 adjusted with nail and twine so that the opening of the 
 door should be the signal for its tilting over and disgorging 
 its contents OP the head of the luckless intruder. It was 
 such an old ^ethod of warfare that the conspirators really 
 felt half aanamed to fall back upon it, only time was short 
 and the enemy might come any moment. As an additional 
 precaution, also, a piece of the twine was stretched across 
 the doorway about three inches from the ground, with the 
 considerate purpose of tripping up the expected visitors. 
 And to complete the preparations, each of the besieged 
 armed himself with an appropriate weapon wherewith to 
 greet the intruders, and thus accoutred sat down and waited 
 the event with serene minds. 
 
 The event was not long in coming. Before many minutes 
 a stealthy footstep was heard outside, which it was easy to 
 guess belonged to the spy of the attacking party. Parson 
 motioned to the others to be silent, and seated himself at 
 his table, with a book before him, in full view of the key- 
 hole. The little raanreuvre evidently told, for the footsteps 
 were heard stealthily hurrying away, and the watchers knew 
 the main body would soon be here. 
 
 It seemed no time before the approaching sounds 
 gladdened their expectant ears. The invaders were 
 evidently walking in step and trying to imitate the heavy 
 walk of some senior, so as to give no suspicion of their 
 purpose. 
 
 The besieged smiled knowingly at one another, glanced
 
 A Trivial Mistake. 199 
 
 up at the suspended jug, and then softly rising with their 
 weapons at the " ready," calmly awaited the assault . 
 
 Whoever knew a set of Parrett's juniors caught napping ? 
 The Welchers would have to be a precious deal more 
 cunning than this if they expected to score off them. 
 
 The footsteps advanced and reached the door. There 
 was a brief pause, the handle turned, Parson gave the 
 signal, and next moment Mr. Parret entered the study ! 
 
 As he opened the door the jug overhead, true to its 
 mechanism, tilted forward and launched a deluge of water 
 over the head and shoulders of the ill-starred master, just as 
 he tripped forward over the string and fell prone into the 
 apartment, while at the same instant, accompanied by a 
 loud howl, one sponge, two slippers, and a knotted towel 
 flew into his face and completed his demolition. 
 
 What Mr. Parrett's reflections may have been during the 
 few seconds which immediately followed no one ever found 
 out. But, whatever they were, it is safe to say they were as 
 nothing compared with the horror and terror of the youthful 
 malefactors as they looked on and saw what they had 
 done. 
 
 With a cry almost piteous in its agony, they rushed 
 towards him and lifted him, dripping and bruised as he was, 
 to his feet, gazing at him with looks of speechless suppli- 
 cation, and feeling crushed with all the guilt of actual 
 murderers. 
 
 It spoke volumes for Mr. Parrett's self-control that, 
 instead of sitting and gaping foolishly at the scene of the 
 disaster, or instead of suddenly hitting out right and left, as 
 others would have done, he took out his handkerchief and 
 proceeded quietly to dry his face while he collected his 
 scattered thoughts. 
 
 At length he said, " Are these elaborate preparation! 
 usually kept up here ? "
 
 2OO Bosher his Diary. 
 
 "Oh no, sirl" cried Parson, in tones of misery. 
 " Indeed, sir, we never expected you. We expected " 
 
 His speech was cut short by a fresh noise outside this 
 time the real enemy, who, little guessing what was going on 
 within, halted a moment outside before commencing pro- 
 ceedings. Then, with a simultaneous war-whoop, they 
 half opened the door, and, without entering themselves, 
 projected into the centre of the room a bottle ! Pilbury 
 and Cusack had not studied natural science for nothing ! 
 
 The strange projectile smashed to atoms as it fell, and at 
 the same instant there arose a stench the like of which the 
 nose of Willoughby had never known before. 
 
 Mr. Parrett and the boys choked and made a dash for the 
 door, but the enemy were hanging on to the handle in full 
 force, and it was at least two minutes before the almost 
 suffocated Parson could gasp, " Open the door 1 do you 
 hear ? Mr. Parrett's here ; let him out." 
 
 " Won't wash, my boy ! " cried a mocking voice "won't 
 wash I Wait a bit, we've got another bottle for you when 
 you're quite ready ! " 
 
 " Let me out, boys ! " cried Mr. Parrett as well as he 
 could for choking and holding his nose. 
 
 " Tell you it won't wash, my boy ! " cried the insulting 
 voice outside. " Try again ! Have a little more sulphuretted 
 hydrogen. Jolly stuff, isn't it ? Hold on, you fellows, while 
 I chuck it in ! " 
 
 The idea of another bottle was more than any one could 
 endure. 
 
 Mr. Parrett groaned and cleared his throat for another 
 summons, but Parson was before him. 
 
 " I say," cried he, in positively piteous tones, " we give 
 in. I'll apologise, anything do you hear ? " 
 
 " Eh go down on your knees, then," cried the enemy. 
 
 "I am," said Parson.
 
 Capitulation. 201 
 
 " Is he ? the rest of you ? is he on his knees ? both of 
 them?" 
 
 " Yes, he is," cried Bosher. " Honour bright." 
 
 " Well then, say ' I'm a beastly cad, and a funk, and a 
 sneak, and I knuckle under and will never do it any more." 
 
 "I'm a beastly cad," gasped Parson, choking with shame, 
 anger, and sulphuretted hydrogen, " and a funk, and a 
 sneak, and I knuckle under and will never do it any more. ' * 
 
 " Now all the rest of you say it I " 
 
 Telson, Bosher, and King obeyed, one after the other. 
 
 "Is that all of you?" 
 
 "Yes," said Parson, terrified at the prospect of Mr. 
 Parrett having to go through the ordeal " Telson, Bosher, 
 King, and I are the only boys here." 
 
 " All serene," cried the jubilant voice outside, " open the 
 door, you fellows ! " 
 
 We draw a veil over the scene which followed ! 
 
 Mr. Parrett hurried out of the room the moment the 
 door was open, merely turning to say, 
 
 " Come to me all of you at seven to-night ! " 
 
 And then with his handkerchief still over his mouth be 
 hurried off.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 A SURPRISE IN STORE. 
 
 FOR a few minutes, as the disconcerted and terrified 
 youngsters stood in a small band at Parson's study- 
 door and watched Mr. Parrett slowly retreat down the 
 passage, it seemed as if the final crisis in the career of every 
 one present had arrived. 
 
 It would have been bad enough to be caught in the 
 midst of a simple free fight and sent up to the doctor. But 
 the case was far more terrible than that ! For Mr. Parrett 
 had been fearfully and wonderfully mixed up in the whole 
 affair. A few weeks ago the Parrett's juniors had done 
 their best to drown him ; now they had done their best to 
 drown him and break his neck and crack his skull all at one 
 onslaught ; and as if that wasn't enough, the Welchers had 
 stepped in at the same moment and added poison and 
 suffocation to the other crimes of which the unlucky master 
 was the victim. 
 
 Of course he would think it from the beginning to end 
 one elaborate and fiendish plot against his life. It would 
 not matter to him which boys committed one assault and 
 which another. He had figured as the victim of all parties, 
 and all parties, there could be no doubt, would now be 
 included under one terrific sentence. 
 
 In the presence of this common doom, schoolhouse, 
 Parretts, and Welchers for the first time that term showed 
 symptoms of a passing brotherhood.
 
 A Truce of Misfortune. 203 
 
 They stood rooted to the spot and speechless for at least 
 two minutes after the ill-starred master had vanished, then 
 Telson usually the first to recover his wits whistled 
 drearily and low, 
 
 " Whew ! we will catch it 1 " 
 
 " Think we'll be expelled ? " said Cusack. 
 
 " Shouldn't wonder," said Parson, retreating slowly into 
 his study, followed by the rest. 
 
 " He'll send us up to the doctor, certain," said King. 
 
 There was a long unpleasant pause, at the end of which 
 Cusack said, 
 
 " Well, it's no use staying here. Come on, you fel- 
 lows." 
 
 " May as well stay," suggested Parson. " We'd better all 
 turn up together." 
 
 So it was decided not to break up the party, and that 
 evening the unwonted spectacle of Telson, Parretts, and 
 Welchers, sitting amicably together in one study, might have 
 been noted as one of the greatest wonders of that wonderful 
 term. 
 
 Of course boys could not sit and talk of nothing. And 
 of course it was hardly to be expected they would confine 
 their conversation altogether to a review of their mis- 
 deeds. The talk gradually became general, and occasionally 
 even animated. 
 
 " Guess Pil and I will have to shut up chemistry after 
 this," said Cusack. 
 
 Pilbury smiled grimly. 
 
 " What do you call the beastly stuff?" asked Telson. 
 
 " Sulphuretted hydrogen," said Cusack, briskly. " First 
 cf all you take a " 
 
 " Oh, shut up shop 1 We don't want a chemistry lec- 
 ture," broke in Parson. 
 
 There was a brief pause, then Philpot asked,
 
 2O4 A Surprise in Store. 
 
 "I say, is it true then, there's not going to be a new 
 race?" 
 
 " Of course not," said Parson ; " what's the use when we 
 can't be sure of fair play ? " 
 
 " Jolly right too," said Cusack, delighted to agree with 
 his old enemy for once ; " those schoolhouse cads are 
 cheats, every one of them ? " 
 
 " All right ! " exclaimed Telson jumping up ; " I'll fight 
 you, young Cusack, for that ! " 
 
 Cusack was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected 
 outbreak, but was inclined, nevertheless, to accept the 
 challenge. Parson, however, interfered peremptorily. 
 
 "Look here," he said, "we're in quite enough row for 
 one day, without wanting any more. So shut up, you 
 fellows, do you hear ? " 
 
 " Make him apologise, then," said Telson, wrathfully. 
 
 " Oh, all serene. Nobody was hurting you," said 
 Cusack. 
 
 " Do you apologise, or do you not ? " demanded Telson. 
 
 " I didn't say I didn't, did I ? " 
 
 This was as much as the irascible schoolhouse fag 
 could expect, so he sat down again. 
 
 "You know," said Pilbury, anxious to make things 
 quite pleasant again, " a lot of the fellows say the school- 
 bouse would have won in any case." 
 
 " I'd like to know who says that," demanded Parson, 
 whose turn it now was to be angry. 
 
 "Oh, everybody in our house. They looked like win- 
 ning, you know, from the very start, didn't they, Pil ? " 
 
 " Yes, a lot you and your friend Pil know about rowing," 
 sneered Parson. 
 
 " Know as much as you do ! " 
 
 " Pity if you know such a lot you cant put a boat on 
 the river."
 
 The Victim. 205 
 
 " I tell you what well do," said Cusack. " Pil and I 
 will row any two of your lot ; there now. Funk it, eh ? " 
 
 Parson looked hard at the speaker, and then glanced at 
 Telson. Telson glanced back at Parson, and then eyed 
 the Welchers grimly. 
 
 " You'd promise fair play ? " asked Parson. 
 
 " Of course we would ; we always do." 
 
 *' You'd give us fair play, then ? " demanded Parson. 
 
 " Yes, honour bright." 
 
 " All serene. Telson and I will row you ; eh, Telson ? " 
 
 " Rather ! " said Telson, " and give them a start too." 
 
 " All very well, you fellows," said King, " but suppose 
 we're all expelled to-morrow." 
 
 This unpleasant suggestion took away most of the in- 
 terest in the proposed race, and it was decided to defer 
 further arrangements till the fate of the parties should be 
 decided. 
 
 After this the party waited gloomily till seven o'clock 
 came, and then, in decidedly low spirits, rose in a body 
 and repaired to Mr. Parrett's study. 
 
 Had they been aware of the actual state of that amiable 
 athlete's mind from the moment they last saw him, hand- 
 kerchief in mouth, hurrying down the passage, till now, 
 their trepidation would have been considerably relieved. 
 The first thing Mr. Parrett had done on regaining his 
 room after that " bad quarter of an hour " with his juniors 
 was to throw himself into a chair and laugh heartily. 
 
 The fact was, his sense of humour was inconveniently 
 acute for the master of a public school, so that what would 
 strike other masters as a heinous offence, occurred to him 
 more as a ludicrous chapter of accidents. And to Mr. 
 Parrett's mind a more ludicrous chapter of accidents had 
 rarely occurred in his history. He saw the whole matter 
 at once, and the more he thought about it the funnier it all
 
 206 A Surprise in Store. 
 
 seemed. And yet, funny as it was, it was a painful neces- 
 sity that discipline must be maintained, and that however 
 much he enjoyed the joke he must be severe on the 
 jokers. 
 
 When, therefore, the group of youthful culprits slowly 
 filed into his room, his voice was stern and his coun- 
 tenance betrayed no symptoms of the amusement which 
 lurked beneath. 
 
 " Now, you boys," said he, surveying the anxious array 
 carefully, " what have you to say for yourselves ? " 
 
 " Please, sir," began Parson, Telson, and Cusack, all at 
 a breath. 
 
 " Stop," said Mr. Parrett ; " only one at a time. You, 
 Parson, what have you to say ? " 
 
 " Please, sir," said Parson, " we're all awfully sorry. It 
 was quite an accident, really." 
 
 " What was an accident ? " demanded Mr. Parrett 
 
 " Why, you getting mauled about like " 
 
 " Tell me, Parson," said Mr. Parrett, pinching himself to 
 keep himself grave, " was it an accident that your water- 
 can was hung over the door and the string stretched across 
 the bottom of it ? " 
 
 " Oh no, sir ; not that, but " 
 
 " Was it an accident that you had missiles in your hands 
 and threw them in the direction of the door as it was 
 opened ? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 "Then, sir, what was the accident?" 
 
 " You were the accident, please, sir," said Parson, sadly. 
 
 " I guessed so. And for whom were these preparations 
 intended, pray ? " 
 
 " For the Welchers, sir," began Parson, longing to 
 launch out into a full explanation ; " and please, sir,- " 
 
 But again the master pulled him up short, and, turning
 
 Mr. Parrett passes Sentence. 207 
 
 to Cusack and his brother Welchers, said, "And you 
 your preparations were for ? " 
 
 " For the Parretts, sir," broke in Cusack. 
 
 "Just so," said Mr. Parrett, deliberately. "And now 
 just listen to me. This is not the first time I have had to 
 speak to some of you for this very conduct." 
 
 Parson, Telson, Bosher, and the other Parretts looked 
 very dejected at this point. 
 
 " And it is by no means the first time this term that all of 
 you have been guilty of similar disturbances. Most of you 
 here look frightened and uneasy enough now. I wish I 
 could believe it was because you know you have been 
 doing wrong and disgracing the school, instead of merely 
 because I happened to have suffered by your bad conduct. 
 But such conduct must be put a stop to. For the remainder 
 of the term each one of you will lose one hour's play a day 
 except Saturdays." 
 
 A shudder, half of anguish, half of relief, went round the 
 small assembly at this first clause of Mr. Parrett's sen- 
 tence. The next clause was still more severe. 
 
 " For the remainder of this term, too, none of you will be 
 allowed to go into any house except your own, under any 
 pretence, without my leave, or the Doctor's." 
 
 Telson and Parson looked at one another and groaned 
 inwardly. They could hardly realise what this cruel sen- 
 tence involved, but they knew it meant that life would 
 hardly be worth living for the next six weeks. 
 
 " And," continued Mr. Parrett, " I have one more thing 
 to say. Some of you here are in my house, and every one 
 of you, I see, is in my form in Third School. You are 
 most of you idle boys, and, as you know, there are plenty 
 in the same Form better behaved and more industrious than 
 yourselves." 
 
 " Oh yes, sir," said Parson, frankly.
 
 2oS A Surprise in Store. 
 
 " What I shall do during the remainder of the term is 
 this," said Mr. Parrett. " If I hear of any other case of 
 disturbance between the boys of different houses, in which 
 any one of you are implicated, I intend to punish the entire 
 Form, and stop every boy's play for one day. It rests with 
 you, therefore, to decide whether such a thing shall take 
 place or not. But if you give me reason, I shall most 
 certainly do it 1 " 
 
 Mr. Parrett spoke severely, and looked as good as his 
 word. He had carefully weighed his words beforehand, 
 and he knew tolerably well the boys with whom he had to 
 deal. They were noisy boys, and troublesome boys, and 
 cheeky boys, and idle boys, but they were honest on the 
 whole, and the master calculated pretty shrewdly on the 
 effect which this last decision would have on their 
 conduct. 
 
 As long as it was a mere question of getting his own 
 particular self into a row, not one of these boys fixed any 
 precise limit to his disorderly instincts ; but when it came 
 to getting a whole lot of other boys into the row too, a new 
 and very embarrassing difficulty arose which was fairly 
 insurmountable. 
 
 Mr. Parrett dismissed the boys sternly, and then, trusting 
 he had done right, and trusting still more to be able to 
 turn the better qualities of his noisy young pupils to some 
 good purpose, he went straight to the doctor and told him 
 what. he had done. 
 
 Dr. Patrick fully approved of the decision of his colleague, 
 and while on the subject opened his mind to him on the 
 question of the discipline of Willoughby generally. 
 
 " Have you been able to judge at all of the order of the 
 school lately, Parrett ? " he said. 
 
 "Well, sir," said Mr. Parrett, "I'm not sure that it is 
 as good as it should be. Of course, it was an experiment
 
 A Council of War. 209 
 
 making Riddell captain, particularly as he is not generally 
 popular." 
 
 " His unpopularity arises from no cause in himself," said 
 the doctor ; " if it did I would not have put him in the post 
 But he will live it down in fact, he is doing so now, I fancy." 
 
 " I think he is," said Mr. Parrett. " The great difficulty 
 is to get him to assert himself." 
 
 " I trust," said the doctor, after a pause, " there is no 
 truth in the report that Bloomfield and the monitors of your 
 house are trying to set up a counter authority to RiddelTs." 
 
 " It is true," said Mr. Parrett ; " and it is the secret of 
 most of the bad order in the school. But I am not sure, 
 sir, whether it is a matter you would do well to notice. It is 
 one of the difficulties which Riddell has to live down, and 
 which bring him out more than anything else. He has 
 made his mark already on the usurpers." 
 
 " You are quite right," said the doctor. " I would rather 
 leave a difficulty like that to right itself. And I dare say 
 the reason Riddell is so slow in asserting himself, as you say, 
 is that in his own house he really has not much to do." 
 
 " Exactly," said Mr. Parrett. 
 
 The doctor paused for a moment and then started on an 
 apparently fresh topic. 
 
 " I am afraid Welch's house is no better than it was." 
 
 " How can it be ? " said Mr. Parrett. " It has not a 
 single senior of influence or even character in it." 
 
 "And more than that," added the doctor, " it contains a 
 few boys one or two only, I hope whose influence is 
 distinctly bad." 
 
 Mr. Parrett nodded 
 
 " A change of some sort must be made," said the doctor. 
 " It has occurred to me, Parrett, quite recently, that Riddell 
 might do better there." 
 
 Mr. Parrett opened his eyes wide.
 
 A Surprise in Store. 
 
 "You are astonished," said the doctor. "So was I 
 when I first thought of it But Riddell is a safe man, if 
 slow, and his influence is just what is wanted in Welch's. 
 Besides, Fairbairn would make an excellent head for the 
 schoolhouse. What do you think ? " 
 
 " Without doubt Riddell, as far as character goes, is the 
 best boy you could choose. I'm not quite sure, though, 
 whether he has sufficient force." 
 
 " But, as you say, his force answers to his difficulties. 
 At any rate I am disposed to try him. A few weeks 
 will show how he gets on. I have not much fear myself." 
 
 And so the head master and his lieutenant separated. 
 
 Little dreaming of the changes in store for them, Silk 
 and Gilks were sitting together in the study of the latter, 
 furtively consuming cigar-ends and looking decidedly glum 
 as they conversed together in low and mysterious and not 
 very amicable tones. 
 
 Think he'll do it ? " said Silk. 
 
 " He had a letter from home this morning," replied Gilks, 
 " I know, because he sat next to me at breakfast while he 
 was reading it." 
 
 " Did you see what it said," inquired Silk, as naturally 
 as if looking over another fellow's letters were an ordinary 
 proceeding. 
 
 " No, but it was from his brother, and it had a post-office 
 order in it." 
 
 " It had ? that's lucky. How much was it for ? 
 
 ' I couldn't see," said Gilks. 
 
 " Where is he now ? " asked Silk, after a pause. 
 
 " 1 don't know. Probably in his Holiness's study or, 
 no, it's library night he'll be there." 
 
 " What a nuisance that library is. The young beggar's 
 always pottering about there," said Silk. " Think he'll 
 look us up before bed-time ? "
 
 Wyndham Interrupted. 211 
 
 " Don't know," said Gilks. 
 
 " You'd better know," said Silk. " He must come, and 
 you'd better see he does." 
 
 This last was spoken in a somewhat menacing voice, and 
 Gilks sulkily replied, 
 
 "What are you in such a hurry to-night for? The 
 morning will do, won't it." 
 
 " No," said Silk, " it won't, there ; and if it did, I choose 
 to see him to-night." 
 
 " I don't know what makes you so precious disagreeable,*' 
 growled Gilks. " I don't want to be ordered about by you, 
 I can tell you." 
 
 Silk sneered. "I'm under great obligations to you, I 
 know," he said. 
 
 " Well," said Gilks, who winced visibly under the satire, 
 " however could I help it ? It wasn't my fault, I tell you. 
 I'm awfully sorry you lost on the race, but " 
 
 " But you'd better look alive and do what I tell you,** 
 said Silk, viciously. 
 
 It was curious, to say the least of it, that in so short a 
 time the Welcher should have so completely got the upper 
 hand of his confederate that the latter departed meekly 
 without another word on his errand. 
 
 He found Wyndham, as he had expected, in the library, 
 busy getting together the books for distribution next day. 
 
 " Hullo ! " said Gilks, with a show of cordiality ; " here 
 you are again. You seem to live here." 
 
 " No, I don't," said Wyndham, looking not very pleased 
 to be interrupted ; " but I always have to get ready an 
 evening before the day, or the fellows kick up such a jolly 
 row when they're kept waiting." 
 
 " How long shall you be ? " asked Gilks. 
 
 " I don't know. Why ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 " Only Silk wants to speak to you."
 
 212 A Surprise in Store. 
 
 Wyndham's face clouded. He had come fresh from 
 Riddell's study an hour ago. His brother's friend had been 
 as kind as ever. In a hundred ways he had shown it with- 
 out sermon or lecture, and Wyndham had felt stung with a 
 sense of his own ingratitude and dishonesty as he accepted 
 the help and goodness of his mentor. 
 
 Now, consequently, this summons to present himself 
 before Silk was more than usually distasteful. 
 
 " I can't come, tell him. It will take me all the evening 
 to finish this." 
 
 " You'd better go, though," said Gilks. 
 
 "I can't. Why had I better go?" asked Wyndham, 
 looking uncomfortable. 
 
 " It's something important he wants you for. You'd 
 better go, young un." 
 
 Wyndham flung down the book in his hand with a 
 baffled air, and muttering, " I hate the fellow I " walked 
 miserably off. 
 
 Gilks called him back for a moment 
 
 " I say," he said, " don't you be such a fool as to rile 
 Silk, young un. He could make it precious awkward for 
 you and me too if it came to a row. Take my advice and 
 keep in with him." 
 
 Wyndham answered nothing, but went off moodily to Silk. 
 
 "Ah, Wyndham," said the latter, cordially, as his young 
 protege entered, " I was just wondering if you'd give me a 
 look up." 
 
 "Gilks came and said you wanted me; that's why I 
 came," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Awfully good of you," said Silk. " Of course I wanted 
 you. The fact is, young un," said he, becoming a little 
 mysterious, " there's rather an awkward thing turned up. 
 I hope it won't come to anything, I'm sure, but it doesn't do 
 to be too sure."
 
 Intimidation. 213 
 
 " What do you mean ? " demanded Wyndham, looking 
 alarmed. 
 
 " I mean," said Silk, slowly, " that last time you took 
 Gilks and me down to Beamish's " 
 
 " 7 took you ! " exclaimed Wyndham. " You took me 
 you made me go." 
 
 Silk laughed. 
 
 " Well, the last time we three went to Beamish's, if you 
 like the Saturday before the race ; last Saturday, in fact 
 somebody saw us, or rather saw you." 
 
 "What!" cried Wyndham, turning pale. "Who was 
 it?" 
 
 " It wouldn't do you any good to know," said Silk, " but 
 it seems to be a fact." 
 
 ' Who was it ? a master or a monitor, or who ? " asked 
 the boy, anxiously. 
 
 " Neither. I don't fancy you know the fellow at all; I 
 do, though." 
 
 Silk, as he concocted this lie, would probably have been 
 as astonished as any one to discover that the escapade in 
 question had really been witnessed by two boys from the 
 box of the doctor's own fly ! 
 
 " You know him ? " said Wyndham. " Will he let out, 
 do you think?" 
 
 " I can't say. I think I could prevent him," said 
 Silk. 
 
 " Oh, please do," said the troubled boy, full of exaggerated 
 terror at the consequences of detection. 
 
 " I'll see," said Silk, not very assuringly. 
 
 " What ! " cried Wyndham. " You surely won't leave me 
 hi the lurch, Silk ? " 
 
 Silk looked benevolently at his young friend. 
 
 * It depends," said he, coolly. 
 
 " Depends I On what ? Oh, Silk, what do you mean ? *
 
 214 A Surprise in Store. 
 
 "Don't alarm yourself," said Silk, smiling. Then he 
 added, confidentially, " The fact is, young un, I'm hard up. 
 I lost a lot of money on the race, owing to that that is, 
 because Parrett's lost The thing is, can you lend me a 
 couple of sovereigns, Wyndham ? " 
 
 Wyndham's face clouded for a moment, but he replied 
 quickly, 
 
 " Yes, I can, Silk, if you'll promise to see it doesn't get 
 out about last Saturday." 
 
 " Of course I will. You don't suppose I'm such a cad as 
 all that." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Wyndham, looking more cheerful, and 
 taking out his purse. 
 
 He drew from it a post-office order. 
 
 " it's for three pounds," he said. " I was going to change 
 it to-morrow." 
 
 " Oh, I'll do that," said Silk. I'm going into town 
 early. You have signed it, I see. There'll be a sov. to give 
 you out of it, won't there ? " 
 
 " Yes, please ; and the two pounds, and the ten shillings 
 the other day," faltered the boy. 
 
 " You shall have them back, never fear," said Silk, pocket- 
 ing the order. 
 
 Wyndham, in spite of this assurance, did fear consider- 
 ably, as he returned with empty purse to his house.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE NEW CAPTAIN TURNED WELCHER. 
 
 RID DELL, who probably felt the sting of the boat-race 
 mishap more sensitively than any boy in Willoughby, 
 was pacing the playground in a dispirited mood a morning 
 or two after, when Dr. Patrick suddenly confronted him. 
 
 " Ah, Riddell," said the latter, cheerily, " I'm glad I 
 have met you. I want to have a talk. Let me see," said 
 he, pulling out his watch, " there's hardly time now, 
 though. Will you come and have tea with me this even- 
 ing ? " 
 
 Riddell turned pale at the bare suggestion, and would 
 probably have invented some wild excuse to get off the 
 dreaded honour had not the doctor continued, 
 
 " I'm sorry Mrs. Patrick and her sister are from home ; 
 they take a great interest in you, I can assure you." 
 
 " Oh, not at all," cried Riddell, whom the bare mention 
 of those ladies' names was sufficient to confuse hopelessly. 
 
 " Come at seven o'clock, will you ? " said the doctor, 
 pleasantly, not noticing his head boy's perturbation. 
 
 Riddell continued his walk in a state of considerable 
 perplexity. For some moments he could not get beyond 
 the fact that Mrs. Patrick and Miss Stringer were from 
 home, and the relief of that reflection was unspeakable. 
 But what could the doctor want him for ? Was it to tell 
 him he did not consider him equal to the duties of captain, 
 and to relieve him of his office ? Riddell devoutly wished 
 it might be so. And yet he hardly fancied from the head
 
 216 The New Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 master's manner this was to be the subject of their inter- 
 view. 
 
 Perhaps it was to cross-examine him as to the boat-race. 
 That wretched boat-race ! Riddell had hardly had a 
 minute's peace since that afternoon. The burden of the 
 whole affair seemed to rest upon him. The taunts of the 
 disappointed Parretts, which glanced harmless off minds 
 like Fairbairn's and Porter's, wounded him to the quick, 
 and, until the mystery should be solved, Riddell felt almost 
 like a guilty party himself. He rather hoped the doctor 
 did want to talk about this. It would be a relief to un- 
 burden his mind, at any rate. 
 
 But even these troubles were slight compared with 
 Riddell's concern about his old friend's brother. In spite 
 of all his efforts young Wyndham was going wrong. He 
 was getting more irregular in his visits to Riddell's study, 
 and when he did come he was more reserved and secret, 
 and less inclined to confide in his friend than before. It 
 was easy to guess the reason, and Riddell felt baffled and 
 dispirited as he thought about it To save young 
 Wyndham from his bad friends would be worth to him 
 more even than to secure the order of Willoughby, or to 
 discover the perpetrator of the boat-race outrage. 
 
 In this troubled state of mind Riddell passed the day 
 till the time arrived for him to present himself at the 
 doctor's. 
 
 He entered warily and suspiciously, as though not quite 
 sure whether, after all, the two ladies might be lying in 
 ambush somewhere for him. But no, there was no decep- 
 tion, only the doctor was there, and he, unrestrained by 
 the presence of his usual body-guard, was most friendly 
 and cordial. 
 
 "Ah, Riddell, glad to see you. Sit down. You find 
 me a bachelor, you see, for once in a way."
 
 An Astounding Proposal, 217 
 
 Riddell was soon at his ease. The doctor chatted 
 pleasantly over their tea about various Willoughby topics, 
 giving his opinion on some and asking the captain's opinion 
 on others, and so delicately showing his sympathy for the boy 
 in his difficulties and his approval of his efforts for the good 
 of the school, that Riddell was quite won over, and prepared 
 for the serious matter which the doctor presently broached. 
 
 "Yes," said the latter, in reply to some reference by 
 Riddell to the Welchers. " Yes, I am a good deal con- 
 cerned about Welch's house, RiddelL I dare say you can 
 understand why." 
 
 " I think so, sir. They don't seem to pull together there 
 somehow, or have sympathy with the good of the school." 
 
 "Precisely. That's just what it is," said the doctor, 
 delighted to find his head boy so exactly understanding 
 the nature of the house over which he was to be installed. 
 " They seem to be ' each man for himself, and none for the 
 State,' I fear." 
 
 "I think so," said Riddell. "They hold aloof from 
 most of the school doings, unless there's a chance of a row. 
 They had no boat on the river this year, and I don't think 
 they will have a man in the eleven against Rockshire. And 
 they seem to have no ambition to work for the school." 
 
 The doctor mused a bit, and then said, with a half sigh, 
 as if to himself, 
 
 " And I wish that were the worst of it" 
 
 Then turning to Riddell, he said, 
 
 "I am glad to hear your opinion of Welch's house, 
 Riddell, and to find that you seem to understand what is 
 wrong there. What should you say to taking charge of that 
 house in future ? " 
 
 This was breaking the news suddenly, with a vengeance, 
 and Riddell fairly gaped at the head master as he sat back 
 in his chair, and wondered if he had heard aright.
 
 2i8 The Now Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 "What, sirl" at length he gasped; "7 take charge of 
 Welch's!" 
 
 " Yes, ray boy," said the doctor, quietly. 
 
 " Oh, I could never do it, sir I " exclaimed Riddell, pale 
 at the very notion. 
 
 "Try," said the head master. " It may not be so impos- 
 sible as you think." 
 
 "I'm not popular, sir," faltered Riddell, "and I've no 
 influence. Indeed, it would only make things worse. Try 
 some one else, sir. Try Fairbairn." 
 
 " I shall want Fairbairn to be the head of the school- 
 house," said the doctor. 
 
 " I'm sure it would be a mistake, sir," repeated Riddell. 
 11 If there was any chance of my succeeding I would try, 
 but " 
 
 " But," said the doctor, " you have not tried. Listen, 
 Riddell ; I know I am not inviting you to a bed of roses. 
 It is a come-down, I know, for the captain of the school 
 and the head of the schoolhouse to go down to Welch's, 
 especially such a Welch's as ours is at present. But the 
 post of danger, you know, is the post of honour. I leave it 
 to you. You need not go unless you wish. I shall not 
 think worse of you if you conscientiously feel you should 
 not go. Think it over. Count all the cost. You have 
 already made a position for yourself in the schoolhouse. 
 You will have to quit that, of course, and start afresh and 
 single-handed in the new house, and it is not likely that 
 those who defy the rules of the school will take at first to a 
 fellow who comes to enforce them. Think it all over, I say, 
 and decide with open eyes." 
 
 The doctor's words had a strange inspiriting effect on 
 this shy and diffident boy. The recital of all the diffi- 
 culties in the way was the most powerful argument to a 
 nature like his, and when at length the doctor wished him
 
 Taking Counsel of a Friend. 2 1 9 
 
 good-night and told him to take till the following day to 
 decide, Riddell was already growing accustomed to the 
 prospect of his new duty. 
 
 For all that, the day that ensued was anxious and 
 troubled. Not so much on account of Welch's. On that 
 point his mind was pretty nearly made up. It seemed a 
 call of duty, and therefore it was a call of honour, which 
 Riddell dare not disobey. But to leave the schoolhouse 
 just now, when it lay under the reproach caused by the 
 boat-race accident ; and worse still, to leave it just when 
 young Wyndham seemed to be drifting from his moorings 
 and yielding with less and less effort to the temptations of 
 bad companions these were troubles compared with 
 which the perils and difficulties of his new task were but 
 light. 
 
 For a long time that night Riddell sat in his study and 
 pondered over the doctor's offer, and looked at it in all its 
 aspects, and counted up all the cost. 
 
 Then like a wise man he took counsel of a Friend. Ah I 
 you say, he talked it over with Fairbairn, or Porter, or 
 the acute Crossfield or, perhaps, he wrote a letter to old 
 Wyndham ? No, reader, Riddell had a Friend at Willough- 
 by dearer even than old Wyndham, and nearer than Fair- 
 bairn, or Porter, or Crossfield, and that night when all the 
 school was asleep, little dreaming what its captain did, he 
 went to that Friend and told Him all his difficulties about 
 Welch's, and his anxieties about young Wyndham, and even 
 his unhappiness about the boat-race ; and in doing so found 
 himself wonderfully cheered and ready to face the new duty, 
 and even hopeful of success. 
 
 Next morning he went to the doctor and told him he 
 was ready to enter on his new duties. Dr. Patrick was not 
 the man to flatter his head boy or to inspire him with undue 
 hopes ; but he was undoubtedly gratified by the decision,
 
 22O The New Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 and Riddell felt encouraged in the consciousness of hit 
 sympathy. 
 
 At call-over that evening the Welchers had the pleasure 
 of being informed by the doctor of the new arrangements 
 proposed for their welfare, and, it need hardly be said, were 
 considerably moved thereby. 
 
 At first they were disposed to regard the affair as a joke 
 and a capital piece of fun. But when that evening Riddell 
 put in an appearance at supper, in their house, and when 
 Telson was intercepted bringing over his late master's goods 
 and- chattels to the study next but one to that of Silk, they 
 began to take the matter in rather more seriously. 
 
 For the first time for a long while Welch's house seemed 
 to be of one mind a mind made up of equal mixtures 
 of resentment and amazement and amusement. Probably, 
 had they been more accustomed to thinking together, they 
 would have summoned a monster meeting, as Parrett's 
 would have done, to discuss the situation. As it was, they 
 resolved themselves into several small groups, each of which 
 dealt with the topic of the hour in its own way. 
 
 The juniors of course had a good deal to say on the 
 subject. Pilbury, Cusack, Philpot, Morgan, and a few 
 other kindred spirits held a council of war in the study of 
 the two former immediately after supper. 
 
 " Rum start this, eh, Pil I " said Cusack, by way of open- 
 ing proceedings. 
 
 " You know," said Pil, confidentially, " I'm not surprised. 
 He made such a regular mess of it in the schoolhouse." 
 
 " Don't know what's the good of his coming here, then," 
 said Philpot; "our fellows aren't a bit quieter than the 
 schoolhouse." 
 
 No one was bold enough to dispute this peculiarly modest 
 description of the order of Welch's house. 
 
 " I wonder if he's been kicked out of the captaincy as
 
 Giving him "Bouncer" 221 
 
 well," asked Cusack, who was apparently convinced in his 
 own mind that the new move was a degradation for 
 Riddell. 
 
 " I don't know," said Morgan ; " Paddy said something 
 about it being a good thing for us to get the captain of the 
 school as head of our house." 
 
 " Oh, ah a jolly good thing," said Pilbury ; "jolly look- 
 out for us if he's stuck here to pull us up whenever we 
 have a lark." 
 
 " Bless you, ht can't pull a fellow up ! " said somebody. 
 
 " They said he used to now and then in the school- 
 house." 
 
 " Not he. He's afraid to look at a chap." 
 
 " I say," said Cusack, " rather a spree to fetch him, eh, 
 you fellows, and see how he does. Eh ? " 
 
 "I'm game," said Pilbury; "what shall we do? Smash 
 in his study-door? " 
 
 " Oh, no," said Cusack, " no use doing that. Let's give 
 him 'Bouncer' to start with." 
 
 " That ought to startle him up," said Philpot, laughing, 
 " if he's not used to it." 
 
 " Rather open the door a bit, Morgan. Now, you 
 fellows, are you all game ? All together." 
 
 And with that the party struck up at the top of their 
 voices the famous old Willoughby chorus, of which the 
 first verse runs as follows : 
 
 "Oh, Bouncer was a Willoughby chap, sir, 
 
 Bouncer ! Bouncer 1 Bouncer ! 
 Upon his head he wore his cap, sir, 
 
 Bouncer 1 Bouncer ! Bouncer ! 
 Below his cap he wore his head, 
 His eyes were black and his hair was re<J, 
 And he carried his bat. for a cool hum/r^ 
 
 Bouncer ! Bouncer I Bouncer ! 
 
 This poetic record of the virtues and accomplishments of
 
 222 The New Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 their legendary school hero gave ample scope, as the reader 
 may surmise, for spirited declamation ; and on the present 
 occasion more Welchers than Riddell were startled by the 
 sudden and vehement outburst of the patriotic hymn. 
 Indeed, as it appeared to be a point of honour with the 
 vocalists to pitch no two voices in the same key, the effect 
 was even alarming, and suggested the sudden letting loose 
 of a menagerie. 
 
 The singers waited meekly for a few seconds to see 
 whether their efforts had met with the success they deserved. 
 But as a dead silence reigned, and no one came, they 
 considerately determined to give their audience another 
 chance ; and therefore launched forthwith into the second 
 verse, which was delivered with even more dramatic power 
 than the first : 
 
 "Old Bouncer stood six foot and an inch, sir, 
 
 Bouncer ! Bouncer ! Bouncer ! 
 And four foot round his chest was a pinch, sir, 
 
 Bouncer 1 Bouncer ! Bouncer ! 
 Twelve stone two was his fighting weight, 
 And he stroked our boat for the champion plate, 
 And ran his mile in four thirty-eight, 
 
 Bouncer I Bouncer I Bouncer 1 
 
 This time the heroic efforts of the melodious juniors had 
 their reward. Before the last line was reached the door of 
 the new captain's study opened, and Riddell appeared in 
 the passage. His first appearance in his new capacity was 
 naturally a matter of curiosity on every hand; and as he 
 approached the scene of the noise he became aware that 
 almost every occupant of the passage was standing at his 
 door, watching curiously for what was to happen. 
 
 He certainly did not look, as he walked nervously down 
 the corridor, the sort of fellow to quell a riot ; and any one 
 might have prophesied that he was not likely to come off
 
 The Captain looks in. 223 
 
 any better now than he did when he once went on a similar 
 errand to the stronghold of the Limpets. 
 
 And yet the weeks that had elapsed since then had not 
 been thrown away on Riddell. Would the reader like to 
 hear what his thoughts were as he neared the scene of his 
 trial? 
 
 " What had I better do ? If I get in a rage I shall only 
 make a fool of myself; if I report them to the doctor I 
 shall be shirking my own work; if I remonstrate mildly 
 and do no more, my chances in Welch's are done for, and 
 these fellows who are on the look-out for my failure will 
 get their crow. I must get on the right side of these 
 youngsters if I can, so here goes ! " 
 
 With this reflection he reached the door just as the third 
 verse of " Bouncer " commenced, the performers having 
 carefully turned their backs so as to appear wholly uncon- 
 scious of a visitor. Verse three referred altogether to the 
 intellectual attainments of the wonderful Bouncer. 
 
 " Bouncer was the cock of the school, sir, 
 
 Bouncer I Bouncer ! Bouncer ! 
 And Socrates to him was a fool, sir, 
 
 Bouncer ! Bouncer ! Bouncer 1 
 He could cross the ' asses' bridge ' in the dark 
 And ' Hie Hsec Hoc ' he thought a lark, 
 And swallowed irregular verbs like a shark, 
 
 Bouncer ! Bouncer I Bouncer ! " 
 
 Before this spirit-stirring recital had reached its climax 
 one or two of the performers had found it impossible to 
 resist a look round to see how the captain took it. So that 
 the " surprise " at finding him standing there at its con- 
 clusion fell rather flat. 
 
 Much to the disappointment of the spectators outside, 
 moreover, Riddell shut the door behind him. The junior* 
 eyed him curiously. Contrary to their expectation, he 
 neither looked frightened nor confused, but his face was
 
 224 The New Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 as cheery as his voice as he said, " You see, I couldn't 
 resist your beautiful music." 
 
 Was he in jest or earnest ? Did he really mean he had 
 enjoyed the chorus, or was he poking fun at them ? They 
 could not quite tell. 
 
 "Oh," said Cusack, not quite as defiantly, however, as 
 he could have wished, " that's a song we sing among our- 
 selves, isn't it, you fellows ? " 
 
 "Ah I" said Riddell, before "the fellows" could chime 
 in, " it's good fun belonging to a musical set especially for 
 songs like this, that appear to have several tunes all sung 
 at once ! You should give a concert." 
 
 The boys looked more perplexed than ever. It sounded 
 like chaff, and yet they could scarcely believe it was. So 
 they smiled vacantly at one another, and began to feel the 
 situation a little awkward. 
 
 " I suppose," continued Riddell, feeling his way carefully 
 " I suppose between nine and ten is the usual time for 
 singing in Welch's ? I fancied it was before supper ! " 
 
 " Oh I" said Pilbury, " we do as we like here." 
 
 " Do you, really ? " replied the captain. " How jolly 
 that must be ! " 
 
 Cusack and Pilbury could hardly tell why they laughed 
 at this very innocent observation, but they did, and Riddell 
 was quick enough to see his advantage. 
 
 " You know, I'd be very sorry to interfere with the 
 beautiful music," he said ; " but do you think you could 
 get to like not to sing after supper ? " 
 
 The boys stared as if they were not quite sure yet how to 
 take it. However, the captain made himself clear without 
 further delay. "The fact is," said he, a trifle nervously, 
 but in his friendliest tones "the fact is I don't know 
 what you think, but I'd be awfully glad if you fellows 
 would back me up for a week or two in Welch's. Of course,
 
 "7m a Welcher now." 225 
 
 you know, the doctor's put me here, and I don't suppose 
 you're much alarmed by the move, eh ? You needn't be." 
 
 " We aren't," said Morgan, in a decidedly mild attempt 
 at heroism. 
 
 "I'm glad of that," said the captain ; whereat the rest of 
 the company laughed at the unlucky Morgan, who had 
 quite expected the joke to go the other way. " You know," 
 continued Riddell, sitting up on the table and talking as 
 familiarly as though he were in his own study, " I'd rather 
 like if among us we could pull Welch's up a bit before the 
 end of the term. It seems rather a shame, for instance, we 
 didn't have a boat on the river these races, and that there's 
 not a single Welcher in the first eleven." 
 
 11 It's a beastly shame 1 " said Philpot. " Bloomfield's 
 down on us, you know ; he's got a spite against us." 
 
 " Oh ! I don't know," said Riddell. " I fancy if we'd 
 got some good-enough men he'd be only too glad to put 
 them in. After all, the glory of the school is the chief 
 thing." 
 
 " Tucker and Silk will never practise," said Cusack. " I 
 know 7 would if I'd got the chance." 
 
 " Well, I don't see why you shouldn't start the House 
 Cricket Club this year, at any rate," said Riddell. 
 
 " That's just what Tucker and Silk won't do. We wanted 
 them to do it, didn't we, Pil ? " 
 
 " Rather ! " said Pil ; " and they told us to mind our own 
 business." 
 
 " Suppose we start it ourselves ? " suggested the captain ; 
 " I'm a Welcher now, you know. I don't see why, because 
 Tucker and Silk object, the whole house should be done 
 out of its cricket" 
 
 " No more do I," sa : d Philpot. 
 
 "They'll kick up a jolly row with us, though," said 
 Morgan. 
 
 S
 
 226 The New Captain turned Welcher. 
 
 " I don't think so," said Riddell. " At any rate, that's 
 no reason why there shouldn't be a club." 
 
 " All serene ! " said Cusack, warming up to the notion, 
 and quite forgetting " Bouncer." " I say, Riddell, couldn't 
 we start it now ? " 
 
 "Yes, certainly," said Riddell; "why not? I propose 
 Cusack be the secretary." 
 
 " Oh, I say ! " cried that youth, blushing, half with 
 pleasure and half with embarrassment; "you'd better be 
 that, Riddell." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Riddell, laughing, " I don't know the 
 fellows so well as you. If you were secretary, and Pilbury 
 or Philpot treasurer, I'd be president, or something of that 
 sort, if you like." 
 
 The idea of the new club took like wildfire, and an 
 enthusiastic consultation followed. It was resolved to 
 summon a meeting next day of all who took an interest in 
 the sport, and to arrange for a trial match at once. Riddell 
 went as warmly into the details as any one, and took every 
 opportunity of working up the patriotic spirit of his younger 
 companions. 
 
 " You know," said he, " I don't see at all why we shouldn't 
 be able to get together a team for the junior elevens if we 
 practise hard." 
 
 " The nuisance is," said Cusack, " we're stopped an hour 
 a day's play all this term." 
 
 "What for?" inquired the captain. 
 
 The melancholy story of Mr. Parrett and the sulphuretted 
 hydrogen was recounted 
 
 "' It's a pity," said he, gravely. 
 
 "I wonder if Paddy would mind giving us a licking 
 instead," suggested Pilbury, whose hands were of the horny 
 kind. 
 
 Even the others whose palms were less seasoned seemed
 
 On the Right Side of the Juniors. 227 
 
 willing to fall in with this alternative, but Riddell discouraged 
 it. 
 
 " No," said he, " he's not likely to do that. But I tell 
 you what I'll do. I'll see him and Parrett and tell them 
 about the club, and undertake that you'll be steady the rest 
 of the term if they'll let you off. Do you think I'd be safe 
 in saying so ? " 
 
 " Rather ! I'll promise, for one," cried Cusack. 
 
 " And 111 try," said Pilbury. 
 
 " So will we," said the others. 
 
 So it was settled. And when next day Riddell in triumph 
 was able to announce that the doctor and Mr. Parrett had 
 agreed to withdraw the prohibition, in consideration of the 
 captain's promise on their behalf, great was the jubilation. 
 
 Greater still was Riddell's own satisfaction in feeling that 
 he had at least made a good start towards getting on the 
 right side of the juniors of his new house.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 "IS WILLOUGHBY DEGENERATE?' 
 
 AS might be expected, the new captain's move in 
 attempting to win over the juniors of Welch's only 
 served to increase the irritation of those seniors who had 
 hitherto reigned supreme in the house. 
 
 But Riddell had taken this into his calculation, and was 
 therefore not greatly astonished when immediately after the 
 enthusiastic cricket meeting just referred to, Silk followed 
 him to his study in a by no means amiable frame of 
 mind. 
 
 Silk was not given to losing his temper, but on the 
 present occasion he was decidedly ruffled. And no 
 wonder. 
 
 Any fellow would be ruffled who suddenly found himself 
 deposed from his authority in the manner in which Silk had 
 been. Had he been one of the most conscientious and 
 painstaking of monitors, he might well have been excused 
 flaring up a little, and, indeed, would have shown a poor 
 spirit had he not done so. 
 
 But Silk, as the reader knows, was neither painstaking nor 
 conscientious. He did not care a rap about Welch's, still 
 less about Willoughby. As long as ke could please himself 
 and annoy his enemies, he did not care what became of 
 his house or the boys in it. It was only when any one 
 ventured to dispute his authority as head of the house that 
 he attached any value to his office. In fact, it was the story
 
 The Dog in the Manger. 229 
 
 of the Dog in the Manger carried out in school life he 
 would not be troubled doing his duty to Welch's, and he 
 would not if he could help it let any one else do it for 
 him. 
 
 Riddell, if truth must be told, was not at all sorry to have 
 an early opportunity of coming to an explanation with Silk. 
 
 Silk was one of the very few boys in Willoughby whom 
 the captain positively disliked, and that being so Riddell 
 was troubled with none of the half-apologetic nervousness 
 which he usually felt in the presence of his other fellow- 
 seniors. He looked upon Silk both as an enemy to 
 Willoughby and as the evil genius of young Wyndham, 
 and therefore was by no means disposed to beg his pardon 
 or consult his pleasure in the new order of things at 
 Welch's. 
 
 " I hear the juniors have been saying something to you 
 about starting the cricket club," said Silk, in tones which 
 were the reverse of conciliatory. 
 
 "Yes," said Riddell; "or, rather, I suggested it to 
 them." 
 
 " You did ! All I can say is, it's like your impudence. 
 Welch's is come to a pretty pass if ymtrt sent here to look 
 after our athletics." 
 
 Riddell did not feel called upon to reply to this, and Silk 
 therefore continued, 
 
 " Don't you know Tucker and I have been captains of 
 the clubs here for the last two years ? w 
 
 "I was told so." 
 
 "Then what business have you to interfere?" 
 
 " There was no house club at all this yqar." 
 
 " A lot you care about the cricket. I know well enough 
 it's just a canting dodge for snubbing Tucker and me before 
 the fellows, nothing more." 
 
 " You're quite mistaken," replied Riddell.
 
 M /r Willoughby Degenerate?" 
 
 " Oh, of course ! You'd like to make out that you care s 
 % about cricket. You who couldn't even bowl a ball from 
 one end of the wickets to the other ! " 
 
 There seemed nothing particular to reply to in this, so 
 Riddell remained silent. This only irritated Silk the more, 
 who felt that he was by no means getting the best of 
 it 
 
 " You'd better stop this sort of thing at once," he said, 
 viciously. "You're sent here to look after the morals of 
 the house, not to interfere with what doesn't concern you. 
 Tucker and I can look after the cricket without you." 
 
 "Are you and Tucker going to start the old club again, 
 then ? " asked Riddell, quietly. 
 
 " Whatever business of yours is it whether we are or 
 aren't ? Find out." 
 
 "That's what I'm trying to do. If you are, I'll advise 
 fee other fellows to join it and not have two clubs." 
 
 ** You advise the fellows ! " sneered Silk ; " they don't 
 scant a schoolhouse prig like you to advise them." 
 
 It was evidently no use trying to conciliate a fellow like 
 this, and Riddell began to get tired of the interview. 
 
 " I don't want to offend you or anybody," said he 
 boldly ; " but if you and Tucker won't take the trouble to 
 start the club, I don't see that all the house is to be done 
 out of their cricket in consequence. The fellows have little 
 enough to keep them together as it is." 
 
 "You are a nice little thing to keep them together with, I 
 must say," snarled Silk, " and you've made a good start by 
 setting the juniors against their seniors." 
 
 " I've done nothing of the sort," replied Riddell, quietly ; 
 **and if you'll excuse me, I've some work to do, and there's 
 really not much use talking on the subject." 
 
 So saying, he turned, and began taking his books down 
 tSrooa the shelf.
 
 Daring to be called a Coward. 233 
 
 Silk, whose irritation had been gradually getting beyoatf 
 bounds, was pleased to regard this action as a direct iasofe 
 to himself, and flared up accordingly. 
 
 " Look here, you snivelling, stuck-up, hypocritical prig* 
 you ! " exclaimed he, advancing and seizing the captaia 
 roughly by the arm, " we'd better come to an understanding 
 at once. If you think you're going to cheek us just 
 please here, you're mistaken, I tell you. What <J 
 mean by it ? " 
 
 " By what ? " inquired Riddell, mildly, but quite 
 posedly. 
 
 Silk's only reply was a passionate blow in the eaptaasfe 
 face, which sent him staggering to the other side of tbe 
 room. 
 
 It was a critical moment. Riddell was no coward, EWW 
 was he one of those sickly individuals who, not satisfied to 
 be struck on one cheek only, invite a repetition of the 
 assault on the other side. Physically weak and nenrons as 
 he was, he had sufficient British instinct to move hira to 
 stand up for himself. 
 
 And yet as he stood there a moment irresolute, it flaabed 
 across him that whatever the cost he must not enter trpoo 
 a fight with Silk. 
 
 Of course he would be called a coward, and nothing be 
 could say could prove he wasn't. He was no match far 
 Silk, and consequently his refusal to defend himself wadd 
 be called fear. 
 
 "And yet," thought he, "if I fight, my chance in 
 Welch's is gone, even if I were able to beat him. T&e 
 fellows will have no more respect for me than any other 
 rowdy, and will soon enough make my thrashing an. 
 for mutiny." 
 
 It was a hard position for any boy, and the 
 required to hold him back cost Riddell more effort
 
 232 "Is Willoughby Degenerate?" 
 
 had he blindly rushed into the fray and given himself 
 up to be thrashed. 
 
 41 Will you fight ? " shouted Silk, advancing, 
 
 ** No," said Riddell, as coolly as he could. 
 
 " Wretched coward ! " exclaimed the bully, " of course 
 you won't. Then take what you deserve. I'll give you the 
 biggest hiding you ever had in your life." 
 
 He would probably have carried out his threat, and 
 Riddell would probably before half a minute have given 
 tip all further idea of non-resistance, when an opportune 
 diversion occurred in the person of Telson, who appeared 
 with the remainder of his late senior's possessions from the 
 schoolhouse. 
 
 " I say, Riddell," he exclaimed, almost before the door 
 was open, " here's a jolly go ! I've got to be that beast 
 Gilk's fag, and Hullo ! what's up? " 
 
 This remark was caused by Silk's suddenly turning on 
 his heel and hurrying from the study without putting into 
 execution his threat. 
 
 " What was he up to ? " asked Telson, as the door was 
 shut 
 
 " He was going to exterminate me, so he said," replied 
 Riddell, smiling. 
 
 " I wish he'd tried, and you'd given him a jolly licking," 
 said Telson. " He's a cad. I wonder what young Wyndham 
 or any one sees to like in him." 
 
 " Wyndham likes him, then?" asked the captain. 
 
 " They always seem jolly thick," said the fag. " By the 
 way, Riddell, were you ever at Beamish's? " 
 
 ' Beamish's ? No ! " exclaimed Riddell. " Why ? " 
 
 " Oh," said Telson, " I only wanted to know what sort 
 of place it was." 
 
 " Not a good one. There's a pretty strong rule against 
 it in the school. Bad job for any one caught going there/
 
 Parliament again. 233 
 
 M I know, I'm not going ; I only wanted to know what 
 sort of place it was. But I'm off, I've got a motion on in 
 Parliament to-morrow. I say, Riddell, I wish you hadn't 
 left the schoolhouse." 
 
 And off went the junior, leaving Riddell somewhat per- 
 plexed by his chatter, but considerably consoled neverthe- 
 less to think that there was any one in the schoolhouse, or 
 anywhere, who was sorry to lose him. 
 
 However, the same reason which took Telson away left 
 Riddell also little time to spend in vague reflections. He, 
 too, had a speech to prepare for Parliament to-morrow. 
 
 The meeting promised to be an important one in many 
 respects. It was the first after the boat-race, and conse- 
 quently party feeling was likely to make use of the oppor- 
 tunity to let off a little of its steam. Then, of course, it was 
 the captain s first public appearance as the head of Welch's, 
 and that was sure to excite a good deal of curiosity and 
 interest. And last, not least, the subject for the evening 
 was a debate on the question, " That Willoughby is Degen- 
 erate," to be opened in the affirmative by Ashley, and in 
 the negative by Porter, and on this burning question the 
 debate as^well as the division promised to be pretty interesting. 
 
 There was the usual lively time before the regular 
 business was reached over "Questions," of which there 
 were a good many on the notice paper. But it will be best 
 to report the meeting in *A ,, SU al Parliamentary style, as it 
 would have appeared on the " records of the House, u. 
 any record been kept at Willoughby : 
 
 Mr. BLOOMFIELD took the chair at three o'clock. 
 
 Mr. MERRISON (Welcher) gave notice that at the next 
 meeting he would move " That this House gives its support 
 to the Liberal candidate in the coming election at Shellport, 
 and does all in its power to kick out the Radical." (Loud 
 cheers.)
 
 134 " Is Wtlloughby Degenerate ? " 
 
 Mr. PRINGLE (Parrett's) asked the Home Secretary what 
 day the summer holidays were to begin. 
 
 Mr. ASHLEY replied that he was not in a position to in- 
 form the hon. member, but probably in about six weeks. 
 
 Mr. WYNDHAM, jun. (schoolhouse), wished to ask why 
 Parrett's would not row another race when the schoolhouse 
 had offered it ? (Great schoolhouse cheers.) 
 
 Mr. GAME (First Lord of the Admiralty), amid equally 
 loud cheers on Parrett's side, replied that as soon as the 
 schoolhouse found out who had been mean enough to cut 
 the Parrett's rudder-line, and gave him up to justice, they 
 would see about it 
 
 Whereupon Mr. WIBBERLY begged to ask the school- 
 bouse stroke whether he had any information to give the 
 House on the subject. 
 
 Mr. FAIRBAIRN. The information I have to give the 
 House is that Mr. Riddell and I, directly after the race, 
 went to Mr. Bloomfield and said we were sorry for the 
 accident (ironical laughter from Parrett's) and offered to 
 tow them again any day they liked, and the offer was 
 declined (Schoolhouse cheers.) 
 
 Mr. TIPPER. I should like to know if the schoolhouse 
 fellows are making any efforts to discover the culprit by 
 whose assistance they won the race. (Tremendous Parrett's 
 cheers.) 
 
 Mr. FAIRBAIRN. I can't say we <uc. (Derisive cheers 
 o f Qf^^tti^moTn Irom Parrett's.) The hon gentlemen 
 opposite seem to know so much about it, that I think they 
 had better find the culprit themselves. (" Hear, hear," 
 from the schoolhouse.) 
 
 The proceedings at this stage became rather noisy, every 
 oae being anxious to express his opinion on the question. 
 It was not till after the President had threatened to "adjourn 
 the House " that silence was at length restored.
 
 Question Time. 235 
 
 BLOOM FIELD took the sensible course, also, of announc- 
 ing that, as quite enough questions had been asked about 
 the race, he should not allow any more on that subject. 
 
 Whereupon Mr. TUCKER, the Welcher, rose and put a 
 question on another matter. He wanted to know the 
 reason why Mr. Riddell had become a Welcher ; whether 
 it was true that he had been turned out of the schoolhouse 
 for being incompetent ; and whether he had been kicked out 
 of the captaincy as well. 
 
 Mr. CROSSFIELD said he had been requested to reply, 
 And first he must congratulate the hon. member on having 
 succeeded in asking a question which any one could under- 
 stand. (Laughter.) In reply, he understood Mr. RiddeD 
 had been sent to Welch's in order to study the virtues of a 
 fellow called Tucker, who was 
 
 Mr. TUCKER, rising: Mr. Chairman, I didn't put my 
 question in order to be insulted by Crossfield or any one- 
 (Laughter.) 
 
 Mr. CROSSFIELD. I apologise to the hon. gentleman. 1 
 will not insult him by supposing he has any virtues. 1 
 should say Mr. Riddell has gone to take a few lessons ID 
 the art of keeping a house in order, which no one can so 
 well teach him as Mr. Tucker. (Loud laughter.) In reply 
 to the gentleman's second question 
 
 Mr. TUCKER. I don't want any more. (Laughter.) 
 
 Mr. CROSSFIELD. In reply to the gentleman's second 
 question, I am sorry to inform him that his impressions 
 are about as correct and intelligent as they usually are. 
 (Renewed cheers and laughter, in the midst of which Tucte* 
 subsided in a state of mind hardly amiable.) 
 
 As soon as silence was restored, Mr. PORTER wished to 
 ask the captain of the eleven whether the team to play 
 against Rockshire was yet settled. 
 
 Mr. BLOOMFIELD. Not quite. Nine names are fixed 1
 
 236 "/? Willoughby Degenerate?" 
 
 Game, Tipper, Ashley, Wibberly, and myself from Parrett's 
 house, and Fairbairn, Porter, Coates, and Crossfield from the 
 schoolhouse. (Cheers and counter-cheers, and loud cries 
 of "What about the Welchers?") What about the 
 Welchers ? That's what everybody wants to know ! (Loud 
 cheers.}. 
 
 Hereupon Mr. CUSACK rose in his place and asked if the 
 House was aware that the Welchers' cricket club was started 
 again; that he was the secretary; and old Mr. Pil the 
 treasurer, and Mr. Riddell the president, that the subscription 
 
 was two shillings and sixpence in advance, and that But 
 
 here the enthusiastic secretary's announcement was drowned 
 in the general laughter of the assembly, led by the Parrett's 
 juniors, who roared as if they'd never heard such a joke in 
 their lives. " Won't be a joke when we smash you in one 
 innings," shouted Cusack, standing on his seat to give 
 emphasis to the challenge. " Ho, ho ! when's that to be ? " 
 " When you like," cried the Welchers. " Do you funk it ? " 
 "Unless those juniors there hold their row," interposed 
 Bloomfield, " I shall have them turned out of the meeting." 
 Whereat the little breeze calmed down. 
 
 The President then called upon Mr. ASHLEY to move the 
 resolution standing in his name, which he did in a rathf 
 feeble speech. " I really don't think it necessary to say 
 much to prove that the school is degenerate. Look at the 
 clubs ! They aren't nearly as good as they were in old 
 Wyndham's time. Parrett's clubs, thanks to Mr. Bloom- 
 field, keep up ; but where are the others ? Then the rows. 
 (Hear, hear.) I'm sure there have been more rows in the 
 school this term than all the rest of the year put together. 
 The juniors seem to do what they like (" Hear, hear," 
 from Telson, Parson, and Co.) and no one seems to know 
 who has a right to keep any one else in order. Now, why 
 is all this? (Loud cheers from Boshei.) You know as well
 
 Porter speaks out. 237 
 
 as I do. The captain "of the school always used to be a 
 fellow the boys could look up to. Old Wyndham and the 
 captain before him were something like fellows. (Loud 
 Parrett's cheers.) They weren't afraid to look any one 
 in the face (cheers) and they didn't, when they got tired 
 of one house (cheers) ask the doctor to move them 
 to another. (Terrific applause from the Parrett's and 
 Welchers.) Why, if this boat-race affair had happened in 
 old Wyndham's time, do you suppose he wouldn't have 
 made it right, and found out the fellow, even if it was his 
 own brother ? (Loud cheers, amidst which young Wyndham 
 blushed a great deal at this unexpected piece of notoriety.) 
 I'm not going to say any more." (" Hear, hear," from 
 Fairbairn.) 
 
 Mr. PORTER rose to open the debate on the other side. 
 He wasn't going to give in that Willoughby was going 
 down. It was unpatriotic. (Cheers.) He meant to say if 
 the school did go down it was the fellows' own fault, and 
 not all to be blamed on one boy. Mr. Riddell would 
 probably answer for himself (laughter) but he (Mr. 
 Porter) was pretty sure the school would not degenerate 
 under him. The fellows seemed to think the only thing 
 in the world was brute strength. He had no objection to 
 brute strength (cheers and laughter) in fact he fancied 
 he had a little of his own ("Hear, hear," from Telson 
 whose ears Porter had boxed only that morning) but 
 Willoughby wanted something better than that ; and he 
 meant to say there were plenty of fellows in the school wko 
 didn't make much noise, but who did as much to keep 
 up the school as all the rowdies put together. And when 
 things have quieted down, as he hoped they would, these 
 fellows would get more thanks than they did now. (Cheers 
 from a few, who apparently considered this last allusion 
 referred specially to them.)
 
 238 "/f Willoughby Degenerate?'' 
 
 Porter was not a good speaker, and the little he did say 
 was a good deal bungled. Still there was a manly ring 
 about his speech which pleased the better disposed section 
 of his audience, some of whom did not even belong to the 
 same house. 
 
 Silk followed. The Welcher monitor was clever to a 
 certain degree, and although he never chose to devote his 
 cleverness to good purposes, he usually managed to get 
 himself listened to when he chose to take the trouble. And 
 at present, his peculiar position as the deposed head of 
 Welch's gave a certain interest to what he had to say. 
 Bitter enough it was. 
 
 " What chance is there of the school not going down, I 
 should like to know," said he, " when cant is the order of 
 the day ? (Hear.) Of course the school is going down. 
 What interest can any one have in his house when some 
 one comes and begins by setting the juniors against the 
 seniors and then turning up the whites of his eyes and 
 saying, 'What a shocking state of disorder the house is 
 in ? ' Why before ' the little stranger '(loud laughter) 
 came to Welch's, the seniors and juniors never fell out 
 ("Hear, hear," from several quarters), but now there's 
 a regular mutiny. And what's bad for one house is bad 
 for the school. I don't care who's head of Welch's. He's 
 welcome to the honour if he likes, but let him act above- 
 board, that's what I say, and not snivel and look pious 
 while all the time he's doing a dirty trick. (Cheers from 
 T^cfccr-anoToine or two more, which, however, instantly 
 died out when Crossfield rose.) 
 
 Crossfield was the plague of the senior Welchers' lives ! 
 
 "I was much affected by the beautiful speech of the 
 gentleman who has just sat down," he began. " It id 
 always so sweet to hear conscious innocence asserting itself 
 After the gentleman's noble efforts for the good of lib
 
 The Captains Speech. 239 
 
 house (laughter) and the splendid example he has set 
 of rectitude (laughter) and high moral principle 
 (laughter) it is truly touching to find him put on one side 
 for an interloper who is villainous enough to tell the juniors 
 they need not walk in his saintly footsteps ! (Laughter.) 
 But that is not what I wanted to say, and as the gentleman 
 appears to be overcome by his emotions (Silk was at that 
 moment angrily leaving the room) I don't think we need 
 trouble any more about him. (Cheers and laughter.) All 
 I wished to say was this : I always understood from the 
 gentlemen of Parrett's that Mr. Bloomfield was captain of 
 Willoughby. (Loud cries of " So he is ! ") and that nobody 
 cared a straw for Mr. Riddell (" No more they do ! ") 
 Then, I don't think Mr. Ashley is very complimentary to 
 Mr. Bloomfield when he says the fault of all the mischief 
 is that the captain is not an all-round man. For all that 
 he's quite correct. Mr. Bloomfield is a well-meaning man, 
 no doubt, but he certainly is not an all-round man." 
 (Uproar.) 
 
 RIDDELL then rose, and his rising was the signal for a 
 great demonstration of party feeling. Parrett's of course 
 went against him, and a large section of Welch's, but the 
 schoolhouse, aided by Cusack, Pilbury, and Co., backed 
 him up. He spoke nervously but boldly. 
 
 " I am sorry to have to support the motion of Mr. 
 Ashley. I agree with him that Willoughby is not what it 
 was, and not what it should be. (Cheers.) And I also 
 agree with him in thinking that the school might have a 
 good deal better captain than it has. (Cries of " No ! " 
 from the schoolhouse.) However, I do not want to say a 
 word about myself. What I do want to say is this it's one 
 thing to discover that we are degenerate, and another to try 
 to put ourselves right again. And are we likely to do that 
 as long as we are all at sixes and sevens, pulling different
 
 240 "/j Willoughby Degenerate?" 
 
 ways, caring far more about our own gratifications than the 
 good of the whole school ? I don't think so, and I don't 
 believe Mr. Bloomfield does either. Every fellow worth 
 the name of a Willoughbite must be sorry to see things as 
 they are. (Hear, hear.) Why should they remain so? 
 Surely the good of the school is more important than 
 squabbling about who is captain and which is the best 
 house. Of course, we all back up our own house, and, 
 as a Welcher now, I mean to try if our house can't give a 
 good account of itself before the term's over. (Loud cheers 
 from Pilbury, Cusack, Philpot, etc.) And if each house 
 pulls itself up, not at the expense of a rival house (Hear, 
 hear) but for the glory of the school (Hear, hear) we 
 shan't have to complain of Willoughby being degenerate 
 much longer. You remember what old Wyndham said the 
 night before he left. As long as the fellows think first of 
 the school and then of themselves Willoughby will be all 
 right. Depend upon it he was right We cheered him loud 
 enough then, why not take his advice still ? " (Loud 
 cheers.) 
 
 This spirited address roused the applause of all the 
 better-minded section, whose cheers were not wholly un- 
 mingled with self-reproach. Bloomfield himself, it was 
 plain, felt its force, and as to the more vehement members 
 of Parrett's, it considerably damped their ardour. 
 
 " Old man," said Fairbairn that evening to his friend the 
 captain, "you struck a really good blow for the school this 
 afternoon. I don't know how you managed to pitch on just 
 the right thing to say, as you did. Things will come all 
 right, take my word for it. They're beginning already." 
 
 Alas I there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, as 
 Willoughby had yet to discover.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 IS WILLOUGHBY MAD? 
 
 THINGS did not mend all at once at Willoughby. No 
 one expected they would. And within a few days 
 after the " debate in Parliament " it seemed as if the school 
 had finally abandoned all ideas of order and discipline. 
 
 The reader will remember that more than once mention 
 had been made of an approaching election for the free and 
 enlightened borough of Shellport, which was occupying the 
 attention not only of the town, and of the doctor and his 
 ladies, but also of the boys themselves. And the cheers 
 with which Merrison's notice of motion, mentioned in the 
 last chapter, was received, showed plainly enough how 
 things were going. 
 
 By long tradition Willoughby had been a Whig school 
 Fellows did not exactly know what Whig meant, but they 
 knew it was the opposite of Tory on one side and Radical 
 on the other, and they went accordingly. On the present 
 occasion, moreover, they had a sort of personal interest in 
 the event, for the Whig candidate, Sir George Pony, had 
 been discovered to be a sort of second uncle a few times 
 removed of Pringle, one of the Parrett's fags, whereas the 
 Radical, Mr. Cheeseman, was a nobody ! 
 
 For all these reasons Willoughby felt it had a great stake 
 in the contest, and tacitly determined to make its voice 
 beard. 
 
 Small election meetings were held by the more enthusiastic
 
 242 Is Willoughby Mad? 
 
 politicians of the school, for the purpose of giving vent 
 to their anti-Radical sympathies. At these one boy was 
 usually compelled to represent the Whig and another to 
 figure as the unpopular Radical. And the cheering of the 
 one and the hooting of the other was an immense consola- 
 tion to the young patriots ; and when, as usually happened, 
 the meeting proceeded to poll for the candidates, and it was 
 announced that the Whig had got 15,999 votes (there were 
 just 16,000 inhabitants in Shellport), and the Radical only 
 one (polled by himself), the applause would become simply 
 deafening. 
 
 Even the seniors, in a more dignified way, took up the 
 Whig cause, and wore the Whig colours ; and woe betide 
 the rash boy who sported the opposition badge ! 
 
 The juniors were hardly the boys to let an occasion like 
 this slip, and many and glorious were the demonstrations in 
 which they engaged. They broke out into a blaze of yellow, 
 and insisted on wearing their colours even in bed. Pringle 
 was a regular hero, and cheered whenever he showed his 
 face ; whereas Brown, the town boy, whose father was sus- 
 pected of being a Radical, was daily and almost hourly 
 mobbed till his life became a burden to him. All other 
 distinctions and quarrels were forgotten in this enthusiastic 
 and glorious outburst of patriotic feeling. 
 
 Two days before the election a mass meeting of juniors 
 and Limpets of all houses and ages, summoned by proclama- 
 tion, was held in a corner of the playground, " to hear 
 addresses by the candidates, and elect a member for 
 Shellport." Pringle, of course, was to figure as his distant 
 uncle, and upon the unhappy Bosher had fallen the lot of 
 assuming the unpopular role of Mr. Cheeseman. The meeting, 
 though only professing to be a juniors' assembly, attracted 
 a good many seniors also, whose curiosity and sense of 
 humour were by no means disappointed at the proceedings.
 
 A Mass Meeting. 243 
 
 The chairman, Parson, standing on the top of two 
 cricket-boxes, with a yellow band round his hat, a yellow 
 rosette on each side of his jacket, and a yellow tie round his 
 neck, said they were met to choose a member, and knew 
 who was their man. (Loud cheers for " Pringle.") They 
 didn't want any Radical cads (cheers) and didn't know 
 what they wanted down here. (Cheers.) (Bosher : " 7 
 don't want to be a Radical, you know." Loud cries of 
 " Shut up ! " " Turn him out I ") He'd like to know what 
 that young ass Curtis was grinning at ? He'd have him 
 turned out if he had any of his cheek. He always suspected 
 Curtis was a Radical. (Curtis : " No, I'm not I'm for 
 Pony.") There, he knew he was, because Radicals always 
 told crams ! Whereat Parson resumed the level ground. 
 Pringle, who had about as much idea of public speaking as 
 he had of Chinese, was then hoisted up on to the platform 
 amid terrific applause. 
 
 He smiled vacantly, and nodded his head, and waved his 
 hand, and occasionally, when he caught sight of some parti- 
 cularly familiar friend, brought it up vertically near his 
 nose. 
 
 "Silence! Shut up! Hold your row for Pony!" yelled 
 the chairman. 
 
 " Go ahead, Pringle ! " cried the candidate's supporters. 
 
 " Speak out 1 " shouted the crowd. 
 
 "All right," said the unhappy orator, "what have I got 
 to say, though ? " 
 
 " Oh, anything fire ahead. Any bosh will do." 
 
 Pringle ruminated a bit, then, impelled to it by the cheers 
 of his audience, he shouted, for lack of anything better to 
 say, all he could remember of his English history lesson of 
 that morning. 
 
 "Gentlemen (cheers) the first thing Edward III. did 
 on ascending the crown (terrific applause, in which the
 
 244 -& Willoughby Mad? 
 
 seniors present joined) was to behead the two favourite 
 ministers (prolonged cheers) of his mother." (Applause, 
 amidst which Pringle suddenly disappeared from view, and 
 Merrison, the Limpet, mounted the cricket-box. Merrison 
 was a politician after Willoughby's own heart.) 
 
 " I beg to move that Sir George Pony is a fit and proper 
 member for Willoughby," he screamed. " I think the 
 Radicals ought all to be hung. (Cheers.) They're worse 
 than the Tories. (Counter cheers.) One's about as bad 
 as the other. (United cheers.) We're all Whigs here. 
 (Applause.) I say down with everybody that isn't. 
 (Cheers.) If the Radical gets in I don't mind if the Con- 
 stitution gets smashed. (" Nor do we ! ") It will serve 
 them right for allowing the Radicals in." (Mighty applause.) 
 
 I am not going to continue the report of this animated 
 and intellectual meeting. It lasted till call-over, was re- 
 newed again directly after tea, and continued long after the 
 speakers and audience were in bed. Bosher got dreadfully 
 mobbed, besides being hit on the ear with a stone and 
 hunted several times round the playground by the anti- 
 Radicals. 
 
 Altogether Willoughby had gone a little " off its head/ 
 so to speak, on the subject of the election. Riddell found 
 himself powerless to control the excitement, and the other 
 monitors were most of them too much interested in the 
 event themselves to be of much service. The practice for 
 the Rockshire match, as well as the play of the newly- 
 started Welchers' club, was for the time completely sus- 
 pended ; and it was evident that until the election was over 
 there was no prospect of seeing the school in its right mind 
 again. 
 
 The day before the event was a busy and anxious one 
 for the captain. All day long fellows came applying to him 
 on the wildest of pretexts for " permits " the following after-
 
 A Notice. 245 
 
 ftoon to go into town. Pilbury, Cusack, and Philpot 
 wanted to get their hair cut. King and Wakefield had to 
 get measured for boots, and to-morrow afternoon was the 
 only time they could fix for the ceremony. Parson and 
 Telson suddenly recollected that they had never called to 
 pay their respects at Brown's after the pleasant evening they 
 had spent there a few weeks ago. Strutter, Tedbury, and a 
 few other Limpets were anxious to study geology that after- 
 noon at the Town Museum, Pringle wanted to see how his 
 " uncle " was getting on, etc., etc. 
 
 All which ingenious pretexts the captain very naturally 
 saw through and firmly declined, much to the mortification 
 of the applicants who many of them returned to the charge 
 with fresh and still more ingenious arguments for making 
 an exception in their particular case. But all to no effect. 
 About midday the captain's study was empty, and the 
 following notice pasted on the door told its own story. 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 Bv the Doctor's order, no permits will be allowed to-morrow. 
 Co.ll-over will be at four instead of five. 
 
 A. RIDDELL, CAPT. 
 
 In other words, the authorities were determined that 
 Willoughby should take no part in the election, and to 
 make things quite sure had fixed call-over for the very hour 
 when the poll would be closing. 
 
 Of course poor Riddell came in for all the blame of this 
 unpopular announcement, and had a bad time of it in con- 
 sequence. It was at first reported that the captain was a 
 Radical, and that that was the reason of the prohibition, 
 but this story was contradicted by his appearance that same 
 evening with a yellow ribbon in his button-hole. It was 
 next insinuated that as he had not been allowed to go down 
 himself he was determined no one else should, and Wil-
 
 246 Is Willoughby Mad? 
 
 loughby, having once taken up the idea, convinced itself 
 this was the truth. 
 
 However, when a good many of the disappointed appli- 
 cants went to Bloomfield, and were met by him with a 
 similar refusal, it began to dawn upon them that after all 
 the doctor might be at the bottom of this plot to thwart 
 them of their patriotic desires, and this discovery, though 
 it by no means allayed their discontent, appeared to keep 
 their resentment within some sort of bounds. 
 
 The juniors, disappointed in the hope of publicly display- 
 ing their anti-radical sentiments before all Shellport, looked 
 about for consolation indoors that evening, and found it in 
 a demonstration against the unlucky Bosher, who, against 
 his will, had been forced to personate the Radical at the 
 recent meeting, and now found it impossible to retrieve his 
 reputation. He was hissed all round the playground, and 
 finally had to barricade himself in his study to escape further 
 persecution. But even there he was not safe. The youth- 
 ful Whigs forced their way into his stronghold, and after 
 much vituperation and reproach, proceeded to still more 
 violent measures. 
 
 " Howling young Radical cad ! " exclaimed Telson, who, 
 carried away by the excitement of the hour, had forgotten 
 all Mr. Parrett's prohibitions, aud had come to visit his old 
 allies ; " you ought to be ashamed of yourself." 
 
 "Indeed, I'm Yellow," pleaded the unhappy Bosher. 
 " They forced me to be Cheeseman at the meeting, but it 
 wasn't my fault." 
 
 " Don't tell crams," cried the others. " It's bad enough 
 to be a Radical without trying to deceive us." 
 
 " I'm not trying to deceive you, really I'm not," protested 
 Bosher. " I'll be anything you like. I hate the Radicals. 
 Oh, I say, don't be cads, you fellows. Let me be a Whig, 
 do!"
 
 Bosher' $ Diary again. 247 
 
 " No, " cried the virtuous Parson. " We'll have no 
 Radical cads on our side." 
 
 " But I'm not a Radical cad," cried Bosher ; " at least 
 not a Radical." 
 
 At that moment King made a sudden grab at a small 
 black book which lay on the mantelpiece. 
 
 " Oh, you fellows," cried he, " here's a lark. Here's his 
 diary." 
 
 A mighty Whig cheer followed the discovery, amidst which 
 Bosher's wild protests and entreaties were quite drowned. 
 
 " His diary ! " exclaimed Parson. " That'll show if he's 
 a Radical or not. Hand it over, King. That'll show up 
 his jolly gross conduct, eh ? " 
 
 " No, no I " cried Bosher. " Give it up, you fellows ; it's 
 mine. Don't be cads, I say ; it's private." And he made a 
 wild dash for his treasure. 
 
 But it was no use. Parson gravely addressed his prisoner. 
 
 " Look here, young Bosher, it's no use making a row. 
 We must look at the diary to see if you're really a Radical 
 or not. It's our painful duty, so you'd better be quiet 
 We're sorry to have to do it, you know, but it can't be 
 helped. If we find nothing Radical in the diary we'll let 
 you off." 
 
 It was no use protesting, and poor Bosher had to submit 
 with the best grace he could to hear his inmost thoughts 
 read out in public. 
 
 " Here, Telson, old man," said Parson, " you read it 
 Speak out, mind. Better go backwards ; start at yesterday. " 
 
 Telson took the precious volume solemnly and began, 
 frequently interrupted by the protests of the author, and 
 more frequently by the laughter of his audience. 
 
 " 'Thursday, the 4th day of the week (" I always thought 
 it was the fifth," observed Cusack). Rose at 6.13. Time 
 forbad to shave down in the Big. N.B. The world is big,
 
 248 Is Willoughby Mad? 
 
 I am small in the world, I sawest Riddell who is now 
 in Welch's playing cricket with the little boys. Pilbury 
 sported too, ugly in the face. (Here all but Pilbury seemed 
 greatly amused.) Also Cusack, who thinks a great deal 
 (" Hear, hear," from Cusack) about himself. (Laughter.) 
 I attend an election at 10.2 in the Big. Parson taketh the 
 chair. Parson is a f 1 and two between.' " 
 
 " Oh ! " broke in the outraged Parson. " I knew he was 
 a Radical cad. All right, Bosher, my boy ; you'll catch it ! 
 Steam away, Telson ! " 
 
 " * It was a gross meeting, Pringle being much stuck up, 
 He maketh a speech. Meditations while Pringle is making 
 a speech. The grass is very green. (Great laughter at 
 Pringle's expense.) I will aspire up Telson thinketh he is 
 much, but thou ist not oh, Telson, much at all I spoke 
 boldly and to the point. I am the Radical.' " 
 
 " There you are ! " exclaimed Parson, triumphantly : 
 " didn't I tell you so ? Bosher ! What do you mean by 
 telling such howling crams, Bosher ? " 
 
 " I only meant " 
 
 " Shut up ! Fire away, Telson 1 " 
 
 " ' I am the Radical. I desire to smash everything the 
 little Welchers make noises. Meditations : let me be noble 
 dinner at 3.1 stew. The turnips are gross. I request leave 
 of Riddell to go to the town to-morrow but he sayeth no. 
 I am roused ' that's all of yesterday." 
 
 ' About enough too ! " exclaimed the wrathful Parson. 
 " Just read the day before, before we start hiding him." 
 
 " Oh, please don't lick me ! " cried the unhappy author : 
 " I'll apologise, you know, Parson, Telson j please don't ! " 
 
 " Wednesday rose at 8.13. Sang as I shaved the 
 Vicar of Bray. I shall now describe my fellows which are 
 all ugly and gross. Parson is the worst' " 
 
 " Eh ? " exclaimed the wrathful owner of that name.
 
 He is a Radical ! 249 
 
 M ' Parson is the worst,' " read Telson, with evident glee, 
 
 " ' and and ' oh, let's see," he added, hurriedly turning 
 
 over the page. 
 
 " No, no ; read fair ; do you hear ? " cried Parson. 
 " No skipping." 
 
 " I'll crack your skull, Bosher," said Telson, indignantly, 
 handing the diary across to Parson and pointing to the 
 passage, 
 
 "'And Telson is the most conceited ignorant school - 
 house frog I ever saw at breakfast got thirty lines for gross 
 conduct with the abominable King.' " 
 
 " There ! " exclaimed Telson, in a red heat ; " what does 
 he mean by it ? Of course, I don't care for myself; if s 
 about the schoolhouse." 
 
 " What's that he says about me ? " said King. 
 
 " ' The abominable King,' " cried Telson, reading with 
 great relish ; " ' thirty lines for gross conduct with the 
 abominable King.' " 
 
 "Oh, I say, this is too much, you fellows," cried King. 
 
 "Not a bit too much. Just finish that day, Telson," 
 said Parson, handing back the diary. 
 
 " Please give it up," pleaded Bosher, but he was immedi- 
 ately sat upon by his outraged companions, and forced to 
 listen to the rest of the chronicle. 
 
 " ' Wyndham hath not found his knife. I grieve for 
 Wyndham thinking Cusack and the little Welchers to be 
 the thiefs. I smile when Cusack goes to prison in the 
 Parliament a gross speech is made by Riddell I reply in 
 noble speech for the Radicals.' " 
 
 "That'll do, that's enough; he u a Radical then; he 
 says so himself! " cried Telson, shutting up the book, and 
 flinging it across the room at Bosher, who was standing 
 near the door and just dodged it in time. A regular 
 scramble ensued to secure the "gross" volume, in the
 
 250 Is Willoughby Mad? 
 
 midst of which the unhappy author, seeing his chance, 
 slipped from the room, and bolted for his life down the 
 passage. 
 
 His persecutors did not trouble to pursue him, and 
 a sudden rumour shortly afterwards that Mr. Parrett was 
 prowling about sent Telson and the few Welchers slinking 
 back to their quarters. And so ended the eve of the great 
 election. 
 
 The next morning Riddell and those interested in the 
 discipline of the school were surprised to see that the 
 excitement was apparently abated, instead of, as might have 
 been expected, increased. The attendance at morning 
 chapel and call-over was most punctual, and between 
 breakfast and first school only two boys came to him to ask 
 for permits to go into town. One of these was young 
 Wyndham, whom Riddell had seen very little of since 
 leaving the schoolhouse. 
 
 Wyndham's desire to go down into town had, as it 
 happened, no connection at all with the election. He was 
 as much interested in that, of course, as the rest of 
 Willoughby, but the reason he wanted to go to Shellport 
 this afternoon was to see an old home chum of his, from 
 whom he had just heard that he would be passing in the 
 train through Shellport that afternoon. 
 
 Great, therefore, was his disappointment when Riddell 
 told him that no permits were allowed that afternoon. 
 
 " What ? " exclaimed the boy. ' I've not seen Evans 
 for a year, and he'll think it so awfully low, after writing 
 to me, if I don't show up at the station." 
 
 " I'm awfully sorry, Wyndham," said Riddell, who had 
 heard so many wild pretexts for getting leave during the 
 last two days that he even doubted how far Wyndham's 
 might be true or not ; " the doctor says no one is to go 
 down, and I can't give any permits."
 
 Wyndham Revolts. 251 
 
 " But I tell you all I want is to see Evans there's no 
 harm in that." 
 
 " Of course not, and you should get the permit at once 
 if any were allowed." 
 
 " You could give me one if you chose." 
 
 " But if I gave to one I should have to give to all." 
 
 "I don't see that you need tell everybody," said 
 Wyndham, nettled. 
 
 " I'm sorry it can't be done, Wyndham ; I can't make 
 any exceptions," said the captain, firmly. 
 
 "You could well enough if you chose," said Wyndham, 
 sorely disappointed and aggrieved. " The fact is, I don't 
 know why, I believe you've got a spite against me of late." 
 
 " You know I haven't, Wyndham," said Riddell, kindly. 
 
 Wyndham did know, and at any other time would have 
 felt reproached by the consciousness of his own injustice. 
 But he was just now so bitterly disappointed that he 
 smothered every other feeling, and answered angrily, 
 
 " Yes, you have, and I don't care if you have ; I suppose 
 it's because I'm friends with Silk. I can tell you Silk's a 
 good deal more brickish to me than you are ! " 
 
 Poor Riddell ! This, then, was the end of his hopes of 
 winning over his old friend's brother. The words struck 
 him like a knife. He would almost sooner break all the 
 rules in the school, so he felt that moment, than drive this 
 one boy to throw in his lot with fellows like Silk ! 
 
 " Wyndham 1 " he said, almost appealingly. 
 
 But Wyndham was gone, and the chance was lost. 
 
 The rest of that day passed miserably for the captain. 
 An ominous silence and order seemed to hang over 
 morning school. No further applicants molested him. No 
 case of disorder was reported during the morning, and at 
 dinner the boys were so quiet they might have been in 
 church.
 
 252 fs Willougkby Mad? 
 
 Just after morning school, and before dinner, as he 
 crossed the playground, Wyndham passed him, talking and 
 laughing with Silk ; and neither of them noticed him. 
 
 The captain retired to his study, dejected and miserable, 
 and, as his only comfort, buried himself in his books. For 
 an hour at least before the early call-over he might forget 
 his trouble in hard work. 
 
 But before that hour was half over Riddell closed his 
 book with a start and a sense of something unusual This 
 unearthly stillness all over the place he never remem- 
 bered anything of the sort before. Not a sound rose from 
 the neighbouring studies, and when he looked out the 
 playground was as deserted as if it had been the middle of 
 the summer holidays. What did it all mean ? 
 
 Then suddenly the truth flashed upon him. What could 
 it mean, but that Willoughby had mutinied, and, in open 
 defiance of his authority, gone down without leave to 
 Shellport ! 
 
 He hurried out of his room. There was scarcely a 
 sound in the house. He went into the playground only 
 one boy, Gilks, was prowling about there, half mad with 
 toothache, and either unable or unwilling to give him any 
 information. He looked in at Parrett's, no one was there, 
 and even the schoolhouse seemed desolate. 
 
 The captain returned to his study and waited in anything 
 but a placid frame of mind. He felt utterly humbled and 
 crestfallen. It had really seemed of late as if he was 
 making some headway in his uphill task of ruling Willough- 
 by, but this was a shock he had never expected. It 
 seemed to point to a combination all over the school to 
 thwart him, and in face of such a feeling further effort 
 seemed hopeless. 
 
 Riddell imagined too much. Would it have pained hiru 
 to know that three-quarters of those who, politics-mad, had
 
 si Heavy List. 253 
 
 ttius broken bounds that afternoon had never so much as 
 given him a thought in the matter, and in fact had gone off, 
 not to defy him, but simply to please themselves ? 
 
 The bell for call-over rang, and Riddell went despond- 
 ingly to the big hall. Only about a score of fellows, 
 including Bloomfield, Porter, Fairbairn, Coates, and 
 Wibberly (who, by the way, always did as Bloomfield did), 
 answered to their names amid a good deal of wonder and 
 a little laughter. 
 
 Bloomfield, who had also regarded the afternoon's 
 business as a test of his authority, looked as crestfallen as 
 the real captain, and for the first time that term he and 
 Riddell approached one another with a common interest. 
 
 " There'll be an awful row about this," said he. 
 
 "There will," said Riddell; "will you report your 
 fellows, or shall I send up the whole list to the doctor ? " 
 
 " You send up all the names," said Bloomfield, " that 
 is, unless Fairbairn wants to report the schoolhouse him- 
 self." 
 
 " No," said Fairbairn, " you send up the list, Riddell." 
 
 And so Riddell's captaincy received its first undisputed 
 acknowledgment that term, and he sent up his formidable 
 list to the doctor, and with mingled curiosity, impatience^ 
 and despondency waited the result.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 THE NEW CAPTAIN TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 THERE was something more than toothache the mat- 
 ter with Gilks that afternoon. 
 
 The fact was his spirits were a good deal worse than his 
 teeth. Things had been going wrong with him for some 
 time, ever since the day he was politely turned out of the 
 schoolhouse boat. He had lost caste among his fellows, 
 and what little influence he ever had among the juniors had 
 also vanished. 
 
 Still, if that had been all, Gilks would scarcely have been 
 moping up at Willoughby among the virtuous few that 
 afternoon, while the rest of the school were running mad 
 down in Shellport. 
 
 He had a greater 'trouble than this. Silk, in whose 
 genial friendship he had basked for so many months, had 
 not treated him well. Indeed it was a well-known fact in 
 Willoughby that between these two precious friends there 
 had been some sort of unpleasantness bordering on a 
 row ; and it was also reported that Gilks had come off worst 
 in the affair. 
 
 This was the secret of that unfortunate youth's tooth- 
 ache he had been jilted by his familiar friend. Who 
 would not feel sad under the circumstances ? 
 
 And yet Gilks's frame of mind was, so to speak, a good 
 deal more black than blue. As he paced up and down the 
 play-ground, rather like a wolf in a cage waiting for dinner,
 
 Gilks Toothache. 255 
 
 he was far more exercised to devise some way of making his 
 faithless friend smart for his cruelty than to win back his 
 affection. 
 
 When two good fellows fall out it is bad enough, but when 
 two bad fellows fall out it may be even worse, for whereas 
 in the former case one of the two is probably in the right, 
 in the latter both are pretty certain to be in the wrong. 
 
 No one knew exactly what the quarrel had been about, or 
 what, if any, were its merits, or whether it was a breaking off 
 of all friendship or merely a passing breeze. Whatever it 
 was, it was enough to give Gilks the " toothache " on this 
 particular afternoon and keep him at Willoughby. 
 
 The hour that elapsed after call-over dragged heavily for 
 every one. The three heads of houses, after their brief 
 consultation, went their several ways at least Bloomfield 
 went his, while Riddell and Fairbairn solaced themselves in 
 one another's society. 
 
 " What is the use of keeping up this farce ? " exclaimed 
 Riddell, when they were back in his study. " Isrit it a 
 farce ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of it I don't think much of this affair at all. 
 Of course there'll be a row, but it seems to me a case of 
 temporary lunacy that we can't be responsible for." 
 
 " But the doctor holds me responsible.' 
 
 " You may be sure he won't be down on you for 
 this." 
 
 " And then, isn't it just a proof to the whole school that 
 I've no more authority than the smallest junior ? Look at 
 that miserable notice there on the door. Who has cared a 
 rap about it ? " 
 
 " My dear fellow, you're always flying off to despair when- 
 ever you get the chance. The same thing might have 
 happened to any captain." 
 
 " I wish some one else was captain," said Riddell.
 
 2$6 The New Captain to the Rescue. 
 
 " The fellows will mind what I say less than ever now. I'm 
 sure I would gladly give it up to Bloomfield." 
 
 " All bosh. You know you wouldn't. And when you've 
 got your head back you'll laugh at yourself for thinking it. 
 Besides, wasn't Bloomfield every bit as much cut up about 
 it as you or me ? But," added Fairbairn, " to change the 
 subject, do you see much of young Wyndham now you've 
 left us ? " 
 
 " Not much. What about him ? " asked- Riddell, eagerly. 
 
 "Only I fancy he's not all straight," said Fairbairn. 
 " He's fallen into bad hands I'm afraid." 
 
 " That's an old story," said Riddell ; " but what has he 
 done?" 
 
 "Nothing particular. I caught him coming home one 
 night late, long after call-over. I ought to have reported 
 him for it, but I thought I'd tell you first It's a pity for 
 him, for he's not a bad fellow." 
 
 " I'd give anything to get him away from Silk ! " said 
 RiddelL " It seems a sort of infatuation with him, for he 
 knows well enough Silk means him no good, and yet he's 
 thick with him. And now I expect he'll cut me altogether 
 since I refused him a permit to the town this afternoon." 
 
 " He's gone down all the same," said Fairbairn. 
 
 " Yes, and not alone either," replied Riddell. 
 
 " Hullo ! " exclaimed Fairbairn just then, as a sudden 
 sound broke the unwonted stillness of the deserted school, 
 " that sounds like some of the fellows coming back." 
 
 He was right. As the two seniors stood leaning out of 
 the window, the sounds which at first had been little more 
 than a distant murmur increased to a roar. 
 
 Willoughby was evidently returning in force, and any- 
 thing but peacefully. 
 
 Cries of " Now then, school ! " " Hack it through, there ! " 
 " Down with the Radicals ! " " Pony for ever ! " mingled
 
 The Battle at the Gate. 257 
 
 with yells and cheers and coarser shouts of " Down with the 
 schoolboys 1 " indicated clearly enough that a lively battle 
 was in progress, and that Willoughby was fighting its way 
 home. 
 
 The whole town seemed to be coming at their heels, and 
 more than once a pitched battle had to be decided before 
 any progress could be made. But slowly and surely the 
 discipline of the schoolboys, animated by the familiar words 
 of command ofthe football-field, asserted itself above the 
 ill-conditioned force of their assailants, and at every forward 
 step the triumphant shout of " Pony for ever ! " rose with 
 a mighty cheer, which deafened all opposition cries. 
 
 In due time the playground gate was reached, amid 
 tremendous cheering, and next moment, driving before 
 them some of their demoralised opponents, the vanguard of 
 the school burst in. 
 
 Even Riddell and Fairbairn, as they looked down on the 
 scene, could hardly forbear a little natural pride on witness- 
 ing this triumphant charge home of their truant school- 
 fellows. 
 
 That the battle had been sore and desperate was evident 
 by the limping gait, the torn clothes, and the damaged faces 
 of some of the combatants as they swarmed in in an irre- 
 sistible tide, amid the applause of their comrades and the 
 howls of the baffled enemy, who raged vainly without like 
 so many wild beasts robbed of their prey. 
 
 Among the last to fight their way in were Game, Ashley, 
 Tipper, and a few other seniors, who, truants as they were, 
 had yet, to their credit, assumed the place of danger in the 
 rear, where the crowd pressed thickest and with most violence. 
 A sorry spectacle were some of these heroes when finally 
 they plunged into the playground and then turned at bay at 
 the gate. 
 
 " All in ! " shouted a voice, and immediatelv a rush was 
 

 
 258 The New Captain to the Rescue. 
 
 made to close the gates and prevent further entrance, when 
 a loud cry of " Hold on, Willoughby ! Rescue here ! " held 
 them back. 
 
 Riddell started at the sound, and next moment had 
 vaulted from the low window to the ground, closely 
 followed by Fairbairn. 
 
 " Rescue ! rescue ! Man down 1 " cried the school within. 
 
 " Keep them in 1 shut them in ! " cried the roughs with- 
 out. 
 
 " It's young Wyndham ! " said Riddell, rushing wildly to 
 the front ; " he'll be murdered ! " 
 
 " Scrag him ! scrag the schoolboy ! " yelled the roughs, 
 making a rush in the direction of the cries. 
 
 Not a moment was to be lost ; in another minute it 
 might be too late to do any good, and, with a tremendous 
 shout of " Rescue, Willoughby I " the school turned as 
 wildly to get ou of the playground as it had just now 
 struggled to get ifl. 
 
 The captain *nd Fairbairn were the first to get through 
 the gate, followed closely by the other seniors. Riddell 
 was conscious of seeing young Wyndham lying a few yards 
 off among the feet of the roughs, and of being himself 
 carried forward to within reach of him ; then of a blow from 
 behind, which sent him forward, half stunned, right on to 
 the top of his young friend. 
 
 After that Riddell was only dimly conscious of what 
 passed, and it was not until he found himself once more 
 in the playground, being helped along by Fairbairn towards 
 the house, that he took in the fact that the rescue had been 
 accomplished, and that the battle was at an end. 
 
 " Did they get Wyndham in all right ? " he asked. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Was he much damaged ? * 
 
 ' Very little. You got it worse than he did.*
 
 Riddell as a Bulldog. 259 
 
 " Some fellow got behind me and sent me over," said 
 Riddell. 
 
 " Some fellow did," said Fairbairn, fiercely, " and I know 
 who." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Silk." 
 
 " What I are you sure ? " 
 
 " I was as close to you at the time as I am now I'm 
 quite sure." 
 
 " The coward 1 Did any one else see it ? " 
 
 " No, I think not." 
 
 The two walked on in silence to Welch's house, and 
 once more reached the study they had so abruptly quitted, 
 
 " Are you badly hurt ? " asked Fairbairn. 
 
 " Not a bit ; my shin is a little barked, that's all." 
 
 " What a bulldog you can be when you like, old man," 
 said Fairbairn, laughing. " I never saw any one go into 
 battle so gamely. Why, the whole glory of the rescue 
 belongs to you." 
 
 " What bosh 1 You had to rescue me as well as Wynd- 
 ham. But I'm thankful he's safe." 
 
 " You're awfully sweet about that precious youngster," 
 said Fairbairn. " I hope he'll be grateful to you, that's all." 
 
 Riddell said nothing, and shortly afterwards Fairbairn 
 said he must go. As he was leaving Riddell called him 
 back. 
 
 "I say, Fairbairn," said he, in his half-nervous way, "you 
 needn't say anything about Silk, there's a good fellow; it 
 wouldn't do any good." 
 
 " He deserves a good thrashing," said Fairbairn, wrath 
 fully. 
 
 " Never mind ; don't say anything about it, please." 
 
 And Fairbairn promised and went. 
 
 It was quite a novel sensation for the captain to find him- 
 self figuring in the eyes of Willoughby as a " bulldog."
 
 a6o The New Captain to the Rescue. 
 
 He knew he was about the last person to deserve the proud 
 title, and yet such are the freaks of fortune, the exaggerated 
 stories of the rescue, differing as they did in nearly every 
 other particular, agreed in this, that he had performed 
 prodigies of valour in the engagement, and had, in fact, 
 rescued Wyndham single-handed. 
 
 More than one fellow dropped in during the evening to 
 inquire how he was, and to confirm his new reputation. 
 
 Pilbury and Cusack were among the first. 
 
 "Is it true your leg's broken?" cried the latter, as he 
 entered the study, in tones of unfeigned concern. 
 
 " No, of course not," replied the captain, laughing. 
 " What made you think so ? " 
 
 " The fellows said so. Pil and I were too far behind 
 to back you up, you know, or we would have, wouldn't 
 we, Pil?" 
 
 " Rather," replied Pil. 
 
 "Why," said the captain, catching sight of the bruised 
 and ragged condition of these young men of war " why, 
 you've been knocked about a great deal more than I have." 
 
 " Oh," said Cusack, " that was in the run up from Maltby, 
 you know. We did get it a little hot at first until we pulled 
 together and came up in a body." 
 
 " Never mind," said Pilbury, " it was a jolly fine show-up 
 for Pony. He's sure to get in; the Radicals were no- 
 where." 
 
 "And what are you going to say to the doctor in the 
 morning ? " asked Riddell. 
 
 "Eh? oh, I suppose we shall catch it. Never mind, 
 there'll be lots to keep us company. And we've given 
 Pony a stunning leg-up." 
 
 And so the two heroes, highly delighted with themselves, 
 And still far too excited to feel ashamed of their mutinous 
 conduct, departed to talk over the day's doings with the
 
 Town and Gown. 261 
 
 rest of their set, and rejoice in the glorious " leg-up " they 
 had given to the Whig candidate. 
 
 Other fellows looked in, and bit by bit Riddell picked up 
 the whole history of that eventful afternoon. 
 
 It did not appear whether the wholesale breaking of 
 bounds had been a preconcerted act or a spontaneous and 
 infectious impulse on the part of the whole school Which- 
 ever it was, directly dinner was over and the monitors had 
 retired to their houses, a general stampede had been made for 
 Shellport, and almost before many.of the truants knew where 
 they were they were in the thick of the election crowd. 
 
 At first each set vented its loyalty in its own peculiar 
 way. Some stood in the streets and cheered everything 
 yellow they could discover; others crowded round the 
 polling places and groaned the Radicals ; some went off to 
 look for the candidates themselves, and when at last Sir 
 George Pony appeared on the scene in his carriage his 
 enthusiastic young supporters set up a cheer enough to 
 frighten the good old gentleman out of his wits, and, but for 
 the active interference of the police, would have insisted on 
 taking out the horses and dragging the triumphal car them- 
 selves round the town. 
 
 For a considerable time these juvenile demonstrations 
 were allowed to pass with good-humoured forbearance by 
 the town ; but when presently, emboldened by their im- 
 munity, the schoolboys proceeded not only to hoot but 
 occasionally to molest the opposite side, the young Shell- 
 porters began to resent the invasion. A few scuffles ensued, 
 and the temper of both parties rose. The schoolboys waxed 
 more and more outrageous, and the town boys more and 
 more indignant, so that just about the time when the poll 
 was closing, and when call-over was being sounded up at 
 the school, a free fight had begun in the streets of Shell- 
 port.
 
 262 The New Captain to the Rescue. 
 
 At the first alarm the school had rallied from all sides, 
 and concentrated its forces on the enemy, who seemed 
 determined to dispute every inch of the ground between the 
 town and the school. 
 
 How that battle ended, and how finally the schoolboys 
 got home, we have already seen. 
 
 Riddell did not feel it his duty under present circum- 
 stances to read his visitors a lecture on the wickedness of 
 breaking bounds. He said it was a wonder they had all got 
 up as safely as they had, and that no more damage had 
 been done. As to the penalties, he advised them to turn 
 up at call-over in the morning and hear all about that from 
 the doctor. 
 
 Early next morning, just as Riddell was dressed, there 
 was a knock at his door, and young Wyndham entered. 
 
 He looked dejected and uncomfortable, but otheirose 
 appeared to have recovered from the effects of yesterday's 
 ill-usage. 
 
 '*! say," said he, going up to the captain and holding 
 out his hand, " I'm awfully sorry I was such a cad to 
 you yesterday." 
 
 " Not a bit, old fellow," said Riddell, seizing his hand, 
 and glowing with pleasure at this unexpected visit. " Every- 
 body was a bit riled, and no wonder." 
 
 " But I've no excuse, I know, after all your brickishness 
 to me, and now, after your helping me out as you did in the 
 scrimmage yesterday, I'm awfully ashamed of being such a 
 low cad." 
 
 This was evidently no put-on apology for the occasion, 
 and Wyndham, as he spoke, looked as penitent as his words. 
 
 '* Oh, nonsense ! " said Riddell, who could never stand 
 being apologised to, and always felt more uncomfortable at 
 such times than the apologiser. " But I say, were you much 
 kurt?"
 
 Wyndham Surrenders. 263 
 
 " No, not much. I got down among their feet somehow 
 and couldn't get up. But if you hadn't turned up when you 
 did I might nave got it hot." 
 
 "It was Fairbairn pulled us both out, I think," said 
 Riddell, " for I was down too." 
 
 " Yes, I hear you got an awful hack." 
 
 " Nothing much at all." 
 
 " I say, Riddell," said Wyndham, nervously, after a pause, 
 " I mean to break with Silk ; I wish I'd never taken up 
 with him. I shouldn't have gone down to the town at all 
 yesterday if it hadn't been for him." 
 
 " I think you'd be ever so much better without him," 
 said Riddell. 
 
 " I know I would. Do you recollect lecturing me about 
 sticking up for myself that night last month ? I've been 
 uncomfortable about chumming with him ever since, but 
 somehow he seemed to have a pull on me." 
 
 " What sort of pull ? " 
 
 " Oh," said the boy, becoming stiD more uncomfortable, 
 and afraid of breaking his promise to say nothing about 
 Beamish's, " a good many things of one sort or another. 
 I've gone wrong, I know." 
 
 Wyndham would have given much to be free to make a 
 full confession of all his " going wrong " to the sympathetic 
 Riddell, but, heartily weary as he was of Silk and Gilks, he 
 had promised them to keep their secrets, and young Wynd- 
 ham, whatever his faults, was honest 
 
 Riddell was quick enough to see that there was some- 
 thing of the sort, and did not press to know more. It was 
 too good news to hear from the boy's own lips that he was 
 determined to break loose from these bad friends, to need 
 to know any more. 
 
 " I don't know how it is," said Wyndham, after another 
 pause. " It seems so much easier for some fellows f?
 
 264 The New Captain to the Rescue. 
 
 square than for others. I've made up my mind I'd do right 
 a dozen times this term, but it's never come off." 
 
 " It's hard work, I know," said Riddell, sympathisingly. 
 
 " Yet it seems easy enough to you. I say, I wish you'd 
 look sharp after me for a week or so, Riddell, till I get a 
 good start." 
 
 Riddell laughed. 
 
 " A lot of good that would do you I The best person to 
 look sharp after young Wyndham is young Wyndham himself." 
 
 " Of course I know," said the boy, " but I've sort of lost 
 confidence in myself." 
 
 " We can't any of us stand by ourselves," said the captain. 
 " I know I can't. But the help is easy to get, isn't it ? " 
 
 I need not repeat all the talk that took place that morning 
 between the two boys. What they said was meant for no 
 ears but their own. How one in his quiet manly way tried 
 to help the younger boy, and how the other with all sorts 
 of fears and hopes listened and took courage, was known 
 only to the two friends themselves, and to One other from 
 Whom no secrets not even the secrets of a schoolboy are 
 hid. 
 
 The bell for call-over put an end to their talk, and with 
 lighter hearts than most in Willoughby they walked across 
 to the Great Hall and heard the doctor's sentence on the 
 truants of yesterday. 
 
 It was not very formidable. No half-holiday next 
 Wednesday, and for the seniors a hundred lines of Greek to 
 write out ; for the Limpets a hundred lines of Latin, and 
 for the juniors fifty lines of Latin. The doctor had 
 evidently taken a lenient view of the case, regarding the 
 escapade more as a case of temporary insanity than of 
 determined disobedience. However, he relieved his mind 
 by a good round lecture, to which the school listened most 
 resignedly.
 
 Suspended. 265 
 
 There was, however, one part of the punishment which 
 fell heavily on a few of those present. Among the truants 
 had been no less than five monitors Game, Tipper, Ashley, 
 Silk, and Tucker. 
 
 " It would be a farce," said the doctor, severely, " after 
 what has happened, to allow you to retain the posts of 
 confidence you have held in the school. Your blame is all 
 the greater in proportion as your influence was greater too. 
 For the remainder of this term you cease to be monitors. 
 It depends entirely on yourselves whether next term you 
 are reinstated."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 A MYSTERIOUS LETTER. 
 
 IT was hardly to be expected that the political excitement 
 of Willoughby would altogether disappear until the re- 
 sult of the election was made known. And for some reason 
 or other a whole day had to elapse before the tidings found 
 their way up to the school. 
 
 After what had happened no one had the hardihood to 
 ask leave to go down into the town, and none of the butcher's 
 or baker's boys that Parson and Telson intercepted in the 
 grounds could give any information. The hopes of Wil- 
 loughby centred on Brown, the town boy, whose arrival the 
 next morning was awaited with as much excitement and im- 
 patience as if he had been a general returning home from 
 a victorious campaign. 
 
 Fully aware of his importance, and feeling popularity to 
 be too unusual a luxury to be lightly given up, he behaved 
 himself at first with aggravating reserve. 
 
 " Who's in ! " shouted Parson from the school gate, the 
 moment Brown appeared about a quarter of a mile down 
 the road 
 
 Brown, of course, could not hear. 
 
 The question was repeated with greater vehemence as he 
 approached, until at last he had no excuse for not hearing. 
 
 " Do you hear, you old badger, who's in ? " yelled Parson 
 and Telson. 
 
 *' Look here, you kids," said Brown, loftily, " who are you
 
 Cheeseman is in. 267 
 
 calling a badger ? I'll knock your cheeky heads together if 
 you don't look out" 
 
 " Oh I say, who's in I can't you speak ? " reiterated the 
 youths, who at this moment possessed only one idea between 
 them. 
 
 " Who is it ? Who's got in ? " repeated some Limpets, 
 who were as eager every bit to hear as the juniors. 
 
 " In where ? " replied the aggravating Brown, shouldering 
 his way in at the gate and intoxicated with his own im- 
 portance. " What are you talking about ? " 
 
 " Why, who's been elected for Shellport ? Is Pony in ? " 
 shouted the boys, impatiently. 
 
 " Pony ! " rejoined Brown, half contemptuously, " do 
 you suppose they'd have an old stick like him ! " 
 
 " What," exclaimed Merrison. " Is Cheeseman in after 
 all, then?" 
 
 "Eh?" 
 
 " Is Cheeseman in, can't you hear?" 
 
 " I never said he was," replied Brown, majestically. 
 
 This was rather too much, and a simultaneous rush was 
 made for the pompous town boy, and the secret forcibly ex- 
 tracted in double-quick time. 
 
 " Now," cried one of the Limpets, giving his arm a pre- 
 monitory screw, " out with it, or I'm sorry for you." 
 
 " Here, let go my arm, you cad, I say ; oh ! you hurt \ 
 let go, I oh ! oh ! Cheeseman's in ! " 
 
 The arm was flung away in disgust as a simultaneous 
 groan greeted the announcement. 
 
 " How much by ? " demanded the inquisitors, once more 
 preparing to apply the screw. 
 
 But Brown had had quite enough of it, and answered 
 glibly, " Eight hundred and twenty-five majority ! " 
 
 This was a terrible blow, and in the general dismay which 
 followed, Brown was temporarily overlooked.
 
 268 A Mysterious Letter. 
 
 " Eight hundred and twenty-five ! exclaimed Merrison. 
 "Why, it's an awful licking. Every one was sure Pony 
 would be five hundred ahead." 
 
 " It's foul play and bribery, depend on it," said another. 
 
 " Or they've counted wrong." 
 
 " Or Brown is telling lies ! " 
 
 Now, if Brown had been a wise boy he would have taken 
 advantage of the excitement which immediately followed his 
 announcement to retreat quietly and rapidly up to the 
 school, and he reproached himself greatly that he had not. 
 For the ill-temper of the assembly was oly too ready to fix 
 on some object upon which to vent itself, and this last 
 suggestion, coupled with the suspicion that Brown's father 
 had been one of the backers of the Radical candidate, 
 brought the town boy once more into most uncomfortable 
 notoriety. 
 
 He was hunted almost for his life round the playground 
 and up to the school. It was no use for him to protest 
 that he was out-and-out yellow, that his father had been on 
 Pony's committee. He was far too valuable a scapegoat to be 
 let off; and when at last he managed to bolt headlong into 
 the school and seek shelter in the master's cloak-room, it is 
 safe to say that though he himself felt rather the worse for 
 the adventure, Willoughby on the whole felt rather better. 
 
 In due time the news was confirmed, and the school 
 settled rather viciously down to its ordinary work. It was 
 almost a relief when first school was over, and all those who 
 had impositions to write were ordered to keep their places 
 and begin their tasks. 
 
 What venom of wrath and disappointment could they not 
 put into those unlucky lines 1 If the paper had only been 
 the skin of the Radical Cheeseman, and the pens needles, 
 how they would have delighted in their penalty ! 
 
 Scarcely had they begun work, however, when the school
 
 An Act of Clememcy. 269 
 
 messenger came round unexpectedly to summon the whole 
 school to assemble in the Great Hall. What could it be ? 
 Was it another lecture? or had the doctor repented of 
 letting them off so easy ? Or was there to be another 
 change in the captaincy ? or what ? 
 
 The hall soon filled, and every one waited impatiently for 
 the doctor. He arrived presently, with a letter in his hand 
 and a somewhat important look on his face. 
 
 " The last time I spoke in this room," said he, " I had to 
 discharge the painful duty of punishing the whole school 
 for a serious and inexcusable act of insubordination." 
 
 " Why do they always call it a painful duty ? " inquired 
 the artless Telson of his ally; "I'm sure it doesn't hurt 
 ffom." 
 
 " Silence ! whoever is speaking ! " said the doctor, sternly, 
 " I hope what was said then will not be forgotten. An act 
 of that kind could not possibly be allowed to pass without 
 punishment, and any repetition of it would entail the 
 severest measures. However, I say no more of that at 
 present. I have called you together to read to you a letter 
 
 I have just received from the newly-elected Member for 
 Shellport, Mr. Cheeseman." 
 
 As the doctor pronounced this unpopular name, one 
 hardy junior, quite mistaking the gravity of the occasion, 
 began a low hiss. 
 
 Before the infection could spread the doctor suddenly 
 laid down the letter, and with a voice of thunder demanded, 
 
 II Who is that ? Stand up, sir, in your place ! " 
 
 The luckless form of the youthful Lawkins, pale and 
 scared, rose from a back bench. 
 
 " Leave the room, sir ! " said the doctor, wrathfully, 
 "and write out your imposition double, and come to me 
 after third school ! " 
 
 Poor Lfcivkins retired, and the assembly, being warned by
 
 270 A Mysterious Letter. 
 
 his awful example, heard the doctor out without further 
 interruption. 
 
 " Mr. Cheeseman writes as follows : 
 
 " ' DEAR DR. PATRICK, I hope I need no apology for 
 writing to you on a matter affecting the boys under your 
 charge. A large number of these young politicians, as you are 
 aware, took a somewhat active part in the recent election, in 
 which it was not my good fortune to be their favourite can- 
 didate. I understand that their crusade into the town was 
 not only without your permission, but in direct opposition 
 to your wishes ; and I conclude, that being so, the offenders 
 have merited the punishment due for such escapades. The 
 election, as you know, is now decided, and I am anxious 
 that one of my first acts in my new capacity should be one 
 of intercession with you to take as lenient a view as you 
 can of this schoolboy freak ; and if you should find it con- 
 sistent with your duty to remit any penalty that may have 
 been inflicted, I shall be as grateful to you as no doubt your 
 boys will be, 
 
 " ' I am, dear doctor, 
 " ' Yours faithfully, 
 
 "'A. CHEESEMAN."' 
 
 The doctor laid down the letter amidst ominous silence, 
 which even the feeble cheers of Bosher, Brown, and a few 
 others barely disturbed. 
 
 " In consideration of this generous letter," he continued, 
 " I have decided to remit the impositions I gave on 
 Saturday, and also to withdraw the prohibition about the 
 half-holiday. The matter of the monitors I cannot re- 
 consider. I may suggest that, after what has happened, it 
 would be a graceful act on the part of the boys to send Mr. 
 Cheeseman a letter of thanks, at any rate, if not of apology. 
 You are now dismissed."
 
 A Self-denying Ordinance. 271 
 
 It was quite evident that the majority of the boys were 
 at a loss how to take this strange and unexpected 
 announcement. True, they hated the Radicals, but they 
 also hated impositions and detention, and the probability is 
 that, if left to themselves, they would quietly have availed 
 themselves of Mr. Cheeseman's clemency. 
 
 But to the small band of hot-headed enthusiasts the very 
 notion of being under an obligation to the Radical was 
 repulsive. They could scarcely wait till the doctor had 
 departed before they vehemently denounced the idea. 
 
 "Well," said Merrison, "if that's not what you call 
 adding insult to injury, I don't know what you do ! I 
 know / mean to write every letter of my impot if it was a 
 thousand lines instead of a hundred 1 " 
 
 " So shall I ; and I'll not stir out of doors all Wednesday 
 afternoon either," said another. 
 
 " Of course not; no honourable fellow would." 
 
 " I suppose he thinks he's going to bribe us, the cad. 
 Perhaps he hopes well give him a leg up next election ? " 
 
 " I vote we put on a spurt with the impots and get them 
 all done together," said another. " Paddy shall see which 
 way we go, at any rate." 
 
 And so, sorely to the disappointment of some of the 
 juniors, who had been rejoicing prematurely in the removal 
 of their penalties, the order went round in all the houses 
 that every boy was expected in honour to finish his im- 
 position by next day, and also to remain in on Wednesday 
 afternoon, as a protest against "Radical cheek," and this 
 was an appeal no loyal Whig could resist 
 
 It was at least an unusual spectacle in Willoughby to 
 see nearly the whole school insisting on performing a task 
 which no one required of them j each boy not only doing 
 it himself, but seeing that his neighbour did it too ! 
 
 Several of the small boys and a few lazy senior*
 
 2; 2 A Mysterious Letter. 
 
 protested, but they were coerced with most terrific 
 threats. 
 
 The Wednesday half-holiday was spent in determined 
 seclusion, scarcely a boy showing his face in the play- 
 ground. Even those who had not broken bounds on 
 election-day, and who, therefore, in no case came under the 
 penalty, felt quite out of it, and half ashamed of themselves 
 in the presence of this general burst of political devotion ; 
 and it was rumoured that one or two of the weakest-minded 
 of these actually stayed in and wrote out the imposition too ! 
 
 The following morning was an impressive one in the 
 annals of Willoughby. The doctor, as he stood in the 
 Great Hall speaking to Mr. Parrett after morning prayers, 
 was, much to his amazement, waylaid by the school in a 
 body. Every boy carried in his hand a sheet of paper, 
 and wore on his face a most self-satisfied expression. 
 
 " What is all this ? " inquired the doctor, sharply, a little 
 bit frightened, perhaps, at this sudden and mysterious 
 invasion of his privacy. 
 
 Merrison was pushed forward by the crowd, and ad- 
 vancing paper in hand, replied for the company generally. 
 
 "Please, sir," said he, " we've brought the impositions." 
 
 " Eh ? " said the doctor. 
 
 "The impositions, sir. We didn't want to be let off, 
 so we stayed in yesterday afternoon, all of us, and wrote 
 them." 
 
 From the tones in which Merrison uttered this explanation 
 one might have supposed he expected the doctor to fall on 
 his neck and shed tears of joy over the lofty virtue of his pupils. 
 
 Dr. Patrick was quick enough to take in the state of 
 affairs at once, and wise enough to make the best of the 
 situation. 
 
 " Ah," said he, coolly, taking Merrison's proffered imposi- 
 on and glancing his eyes down it. " I am glad to see you
 
 A Snub all Round. 273 
 
 desire to make amends for what occurred on Saturday. You 
 can leave the impositions on this table." 
 
 "Please, sir, it's not that," said Merrison, hurriedly, 
 alarmed at being suspected of anything like contrition. 
 " It's not that ; we " 
 
 " You can leave the impositions on the table," said the 
 doctor, sternly, turning at the same time to continue his 
 conversation with Mr. Parrett, which the arrival of the 
 visitors had interrupted. 
 
 It was a sad blow for Willoughby, this ! They had ex- 
 pected better things. They had meant their act of self- 
 devotion to be a crushing defiance to the Radical, and even 
 a mild rebuke to the doctor himself. But it had turned out 
 neither. 
 
 Slowly and sorrowfully they filed past the table and laid 
 their sacrifices thereon, and then departed, dejected and 
 crestfallen. The doctor, with his back turned, never no- 
 ticed them, and no one had the hardihood to attempt 
 further to attract his attention. 
 
 So ended the election episode at Willoughby. 
 
 " I hope you've enjoyed yourselves," said Crossfield to 
 Tedbury the Limpet, that afternoon. " Jolly time you've 
 had of it." 
 
 " It's all that young ass Merrison's doing," growled 
 Tedbury. 
 
 " Never mind," said Crossfield, laughing ; " I'm sure it's 
 done you all good. You all wanted something of the sort, 
 and you'll be better of it." 
 
 " You're always trying to make a fool of me, Crossfield," 
 said Tedbury, wrathfully. 
 
 My deai fellow, there's not much chance of that. You 
 are far too good a hand at making a fool of yourself to put 
 any one else to the trouble. Ta, ta. Shall you be down at 
 the cricket practice again now ? "
 
 274 A Mysterious Letter. 
 
 This last was a pertinent question. For in the midst of 
 all the late political excitement cricket had decidedly lan- 
 guished at the school, and the Rockshire match as well as 
 the house matches were getting alarmingly near. 
 
 However, on the first afternoon after Willoughby had re- 
 turned to its senses a general rush took place once more to 
 the Big, and it was evident during the week which followed 
 that the fellows intended to make up for lost time. 
 
 Nowhere was this activity more observed than in the 
 newly-revived Welchers' club, presided over by the captain, 
 and enlivened by the countenances of that ardent trio, 
 Cusack, Pilbury, and Philpot 
 
 During the week preceding the election they had worked 
 with unabated enthusiasm. You might have seen practice 
 going on any morning at half-past six in the Welchers' corner 
 of the Big. The other houses at first regarded it as a good 
 joke, and the earliest practices of the new club were usually 
 performed in the presence of a large and facetious audience, 
 who appeared to derive infinite delight from every ball that 
 was bowled and every run that was made. 
 
 But the Welchers were not to be snuffed out Riddell 
 watched over the fortunes of the new club with most paternal 
 interest, losing no opportunity of firing its enthusiasm, and 
 throwing himself heart and soul into its work. Indeed, as a 
 cricketer the captain came out in quite a new light, which 
 astonished even himself. 
 
 He had always taken for granted he was utterly incapable 
 of any athletic achievement, but, with the steady practice 
 now entailed upon him, it began to dawn, not only upon 
 himself, but other people, that as a fielder at slip or cover- 
 slip he was decidedly useful, while as a batsman he 
 exhibited a certain style of his own that usually brought 
 together a few runs for his side. 
 
 But even his own success was less than that of the club
 
 The Welchers Club. 275 
 
 generally. Every member of that small fraternity was 
 intent on the glory of the club, and worked hammer and 
 tongs to secure it. Mr. Parrett, kindly jack-of-all-trades as 
 he was, was easily persuaded by Riddell to come down 
 occasionally and bowl them a few balls, and give them a 
 few hints as to style generally. And every time he came 
 down he was more encouraging. Even Bloomfield and a 
 few of the First Eleven magnates thought it worth their 
 while to saunter round once or twice and watch the practice 
 of this promising club. 
 
 It may be judged that, in proportion as the young 
 Welchers found themselves succeeding, their enthusiasm 
 for their club and its president increased. The club grew 
 daily. Some Limpets joined it, and even a few seniors. 
 There was some talk of a first eleven to play in the house 
 matches, while by this time the second eleven was an 
 accomplished fact, its members thirsting for the day when 
 they should match their prowess against the Parretts or 
 schoolhouse juniors. 
 
 The election, as I have said, had rudely interrupted all 
 this healthy preparation, and for a moment it seemed to 
 Riddell as if all his new hold on his boys had disappeared. 
 But that event once over, great was his relief to find that 
 they returned to the sport with unabated and even increased 
 ardour. 
 
 That week Welch's had out for the first time two sets 
 of wickets, and even thus could hardly keep going all who 
 wanted to play. 
 
 " I tell you what," said Bloomfield, one afternoon, as, 
 with his friend Ashley, he was quietly looking on, while pre- 
 tending not to do so, " say what you will, Riddell doesn't 
 do badly at slip. Watch this over." 
 
 As it happened, Mr. Parrett was bowling down some 
 rather swift balls to the boy who was batting, with a little
 
 276 A Mysterious Letter. 
 
 break from the off, which the batsman seemed unable to 
 play in any manner but by sending them among the slips. 
 So that, during the over, Riddell, blissfully unconscious of 
 the critical eyes that were upon him, had a busy time of it. 
 And so well did he pick the balls up that the two spies 
 stayed to watch another over, and after that another, at the 
 close of which Bloomfield said, 
 
 "Upon my word, it's not half bad. And a slip's the 
 very man we want to make up the eleven for Rockshire." 
 
 " My dear fellow," said Ashley, in tones almost of alarm, 
 " you're surely not thinking of putting a fellow like that 
 into the eleven." 
 
 " I don't care much who goes in so long as he can play," 
 said Bloomfield. 
 
 " But fancy the fellow's bumptiousness if he gets stuck 
 into the team ! He's bad enough as it is," said Ashley. 
 
 "We've got the schoolhouse fellows to look at," said 
 Bloomfield, "come along. If they've any one better well 
 take him, but we must get hold of the best man." 
 
 So oif they went, and the Welchers' practice continued 
 gaily till the bell for call-over sounded. 
 
 "Riddell," said Cusack, who had become captain's fag 
 since the migration to Welch's, " there's a letter for you." 
 
 "Where? " asked the captain. 
 
 " On your table. I saw it there when I was sticking 
 away your pens just now." 
 
 " You may as well bring it," said Riddell ; " I am going 
 to the library." 
 
 So Cusack went off, and presently reappeared in the 
 library with the letter. 
 
 Riddell was busy at the moment searching through the 
 catalogue, and consequently let the letter lie unopened for 
 some little time beside him. In due time, however, he 
 turned and took it up.
 
 A Clue? 277 
 
 It was a strangely directed letter, at any rate not in 
 ordinary handwriting, but in printed characters, evidently 
 to disguise the authorship. 
 
 Riddell hastily tore open the envelope of this mysterious 
 missive and read the contents, which were also written like 
 printing, in characters quite unrecognisable. 
 
 The letter was as follows : 
 
 11 Riddell, If you want to get to the bottom of that 
 boat-race affair, you had better see what Tom the boat-boy 
 has to say. That's all."
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 TOM THE BOAT-BOY EARNS FOUR-AND-SIXPENCE. 
 
 RIDDELL, as he read over and over again the 
 mysterious document in his hand, hardly knew what 
 to make of it. 
 
 It looked like a clue, certainly. But who had sent it ? 
 Was it a friend or an enemy ; and if the latter, might it 
 not just as likely be a hoax as not ? 
 
 He examined the disguised writing letter for letter, but 
 failed to recognise in it the hand of any one he knew. 
 He called back Cusack and cross-examined him as to how 
 and when the letter was brought to his study ; but Cusack 
 could tell him nothing. All he knew was that when he 
 went in to look after Riddell's tea that afternoon, it was 
 lying there on the table. He couldn't say how long it had 
 been there. He hadn't been in the room since dinner, nor 
 had Riddell. 
 
 Cusack was very curious to know what the letter was 
 about concerning which the captain seemed so much 
 excited ; but Riddell declined to gratify him on this point, 
 and put the paper away in his pocket and returned to his 
 work. 
 
 " No," said he to himself, " if it's a hoax there's no object 
 in making it public property, and still less reason if there's 
 anything in it." 
 
 Of one thing he was determined he must go down to- 
 morrow morning and have an interview with Tom the
 
 Wyndham s Fortune made. 279 
 
 boat-boy. The thing might all be a hoax, but if there was 
 the remotest chance of its being otherwise it was clearly his 
 duty to do what he could to find out the miscreant who 
 had brought such disgrace upon Willoughby. So he spent 
 a somewhat uneasy evening, and even appeared absent- 
 minded when young Wyndham, now a constant visitor to 
 his study, paid his usual evening calL 
 
 " I say," said the boy, with beaming face, as he entered, 
 " isn't it prime, Riddell ? Bloomfield's going to try me in 
 the second eleven, he says. You know I've been grinding 
 at cricket like a horse lately, and he came down and 
 watched me this afternoon, and I was in, and made no end 
 of a lucky score off Dobson's bowling. And then Bloom- 
 field said he'd bowl me an over. My eye ! what a funk I 
 was in. I could hardly hold the bat But I straightened 
 up somehow, and his first ball went by. The next was 
 frightfully swift, and dead on, but it broke a bit to the leg, 
 and I was just in time to get at it and send it right away 
 between long-leg and long-stop in the elms a safe five if 
 we'd been running. And old Bloomfield laughed and said 
 he couldn't wait till the ball was sent up, and said I could 
 turn up at the second eleven Big practice to-morrow and 
 see how I got on there. I say, isn't it prime, Riddell? 
 I tell you, I shall stand on my head if I get into the 
 team." 
 
 Riddell had only partially heard this jubilant speech, for 
 at that moment Tom the boat-boy was more in his thoughts 
 even than Wyndham the Limpet. However, he had heard 
 enough to gather from it that his young prote"g was in a 
 vast state of joy and content, and as usual he was ready 
 with any amount of sympathy. 
 
 " It will be splendid if you do get in," said he. 
 
 "Yes. They've only got eight places actually fixed, I 
 hear, so I've three chances. I say, Riddell, I like Bloom-
 
 280 To nt the Boat-boy earns Four-and-sixpence. 
 
 field, do you know? I think he's an awfully good cap- 
 tain." 
 
 Riddell could not help smiling at this artless outburst 
 from the young candidate for cricket honours, and replied, 
 " I like him too, for he came and watched our practice too, 
 here at Welch's." 
 
 " Did he bowl you any balls ? " demanded Wyndham. 
 
 " No, happily," said Riddell ; " but some one told me 
 he told somebody else that I might possibly squeeze into 
 the eleven against Rockshire if I practised hard." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed Wyndham, in most uncomplimentary 
 astonishment. " You in the first eleven 1 I say, it must 
 be a mistake." 
 
 "I'm afraid they'll think it a mistake," said Riddell, 
 laughing ; " but I certainly have heard something of the 
 sort." 
 
 "Why, you usen't to play at all in our house," said 
 Wyndham. 
 
 "No more I did; but since I came here I've been 
 going in for it rather more, though I never dreamt of 
 such rapid promotion." 
 
 "Well," said Wyndham, quite patronisingly, "I'm jolly 
 glad to hear it ; but I wish you were in the schoolhouse 
 instead of Welch's. By the way, how are the ' kids ' in 
 your house getting on ? " 
 
 " The ' kids ' are getting on very well, I fancy," said the 
 captain. " They've a match with the Parrett's juniors fixed 
 already, and mean to challenge the schoolhouse too, I fancy." 
 
 " I say, that's coming it rather strong," said Wyndham, 
 half incredulously. 
 
 " It's a fact, though," said Riddell ; " and what's more, I 
 have it on Parrett's authority that they are getting to play 
 very well together, and any eleven that plays them will have 
 to look out for itself if it is to beat them."
 
 Cricket a good Physic. 281 
 
 " Ho, ho ! I guess our fellows will be able to manage 
 that. Of course, you know, if I'm in the second eleven, I 
 shan't be able to play with my house juniors." 
 
 "That will be a calamity ! " said Riddell, laughing, as he 
 began to get out his books and settle himself for the 
 evening's work. 
 
 Despite all the boy's juvenile conceit and self-assurance, 
 Riddell rejoiced to find him grown enthusiastic about any- 
 thing so harmless as cricket. Wyndham had been working 
 hard the last week or so in a double sense working hard 
 not only at cricket, but in striving to act up to the better 
 resolutions which, with Riddell's help, he had formed. And 
 he had succeeded so far in both. Indeed, the cricket had 
 helped the good resolutions, and the good resolutions had 
 helped the cricket. As long as every spare moment was 
 occupied with his congenial sport, and a place in the second 
 eleven was a prize within reach, he had neither time nor 
 nclination to fall back on the society of Silk or Gtiks, or 
 any of their set. And as long as the good resolutions con- 
 tinued to fire his breast, he was only too glad to find refuge 
 from temptation in the steady pursuit of so honourable an 
 ambition as cricket. 
 
 He was, if truth must be told, more enthusiastic about 
 his cricket than about his studies, and that evening it was a 
 good while before Wyndham could get his mind detached 
 from bats and balls and concentrated on Livy. 
 
 Riddell himself, too, found work more than ordinarily 
 difficult that night, but his thoughts were wandering on far 
 less congenial ground than cricket. 
 
 Supposing that letter did mean something, how ought he 
 to act ? It was no pleasant responsibility to have thrown on 
 his shoulders the duty of bringing a criminal to justice, and 
 possibly of being the means of his expulsion. And yet the 
 honour of Willoughby was at stake, and no squeamishness
 
 282 Tom the Boat-boy earns Four-and- sixpence. 
 
 ought to interfere with that He wished, true or untrue, that 
 the wretched letter had been left anywhere but in his study. 
 
 " I say," said young Wyndham, after about an hour's 
 spell of work, and strangely enough starting the very topic 
 with which Riddell's mind was full " I say, I think that 
 boat-race business is blowing over, do you know? You 
 don't hear nearly so much about it now." 
 
 " The thing is, ought it to blow over ? " said the captain, 
 gravely. 
 
 " Why, of course ! Besides, after all it may have been an 
 accident. I broke a bit of cord the other day, and it looked 
 just as if it had been partly cut through. Anyhow, it's just 
 as much the Parretts' business as ours, and they aren't doing 
 anything, I know." 
 
 " It would be a good deal more satisfactory to have it 
 cleared up," said Riddell. 
 
 "It would do just as well to have a new race, and settle 
 the thing right off even if they were to lick us." 
 
 Wyndham went soon afterwards. Riddell was too much 
 occupied with his own perplexities to think much just then 
 of the boy's views on this burning question. And after all, 
 had he thought of them, he would probably have guessed, 
 as the reader may have done, that Wyndham's present 
 cricket mania made him dread any reopening of the old 
 soreness between Parrett's and the schoolhouse, which would 
 be sure to result, among other things, in his exclusion, as a 
 member of the latter fraternity, from the coveted place in 
 the second eleven. 
 
 The next morning the captain was up early, and on his 
 way to the boat-house. Ever since the race the river had 
 been almost deserted, at any rate in the early mornings. 
 
 Consequently when Riddell arrived at the boat-house he 
 found no one up. After a good deal of knocking he 
 managed to rouse the boatman.
 
 A Privileged Person. 283 
 
 " I want Tom," he said, " to steer me up to the Willows." 
 
 14 You might have let me known you'd want the gig 
 yesterday," said the man, rather surlily ; "I'd have left it 
 out for you overnight." 
 
 Had it been Bloomfield or Fairbairn, or any other of the 
 boating heroes of Willoughby, Blades the boatman would 
 have sung a very different song. But a boatman does not 
 know anything about senior classics. 
 
 " You'll find a boat moored by the landing there," said 
 that functionary ; " and give a call for young Alf, he'll do 
 to steer you." 
 
 But this would not suit Riddell at all " No," said he ; 
 " I want Tom, please, and tell him to be quick." 
 
 The man went off surlily, and Riddell was left to kick 
 his heels for twenty minutes in a state of very uncomfortable 
 suspense. 
 
 At length, to his relief, Tom, a knowing youth of about 
 fourteen, appeared, with a cushion r ver one shoulder and 
 a pair of sculls over the other, and the embarkation was duly 
 effected. 
 
 Tom was a privileged person at Willoughby. In con- 
 sideration of not objecting to an occasional licking, he was 
 permitted to be as impudent and familiar as he pleased to 
 the young gentlemen in whose service he laboured. Being 
 a professional waterman, he considered it his right to 
 patronise everybody. Even old Wyndham last season had 
 received most fatherly encouragement from this irreverent 
 youngster, while any one who could make no pretensions to 
 skill with the oars was simply at his mercy. 
 
 This being so, Riddell had made up his mind for a trying 
 time of it, and was not disappointed. 
 
 " What ! so you're a-goin' in for scullin' then ? " 
 demanded the young waterman as the boat put off. 
 
 41 Yes ; I want to try my hand," said the captain.
 
 2 84 Tom the Boat-boy earns Four-and-sixpence. 
 
 " You'll never do no good at it, I can tell yer, before yer 
 begins," said the boy. 
 
 So it seemed. What with inexperience of the sculls, and 
 nervousness under the eye of this ruthless young critic, and 
 uneasiness as to the outcome of this strange interview, 
 Riddell made a very bad performance. 
 
 "Ya-owl I thought it would come to that!" jeered 
 Tom when, after a few strokes, the captain got his sculls 
 hopelessly feathered under water and could not get them up 
 again. " There you are 1 That comes of diggin' 1 Always 
 the way with you chaps ! " 
 
 " Suppose, instead of going on like that," said Riddell, 
 getting up the blades of his sculls with a huge effort, " you 
 show me the way to do it properly ? " 
 
 "What's the use of showing you? You could never 
 learn, I can see it by the looks of you I " 
 
 After this particularly complimentary speech Riddell 
 rowed ploddingly on for a little distance, Tom whistling 
 shrilly in the stern all the way in a manner most discouraging 
 for conversation. 
 
 But Riddell was determined, come what would, he would 
 broach the unpleasant subject. Consequently, after some 
 further progress up stream, he rested on his oars, and said, 
 
 " I've not been out on the water since the day of the 
 boat-race." 
 
 " Aren't you, though ? " said Tom. 
 
 A pause. 
 
 " That was a queer thing, the rudder-line breaking that 
 day," said Riddell, looking hard at his young companion. 
 
 Tom apparently did not quite like it Either it seemed 
 as if Riddell thought ht, knew something about the affair, or 
 else his conscience was not quite easy. 
 
 " In course it was," replied he, surlily " I knows nothink 
 about it"
 
 Outraged Virtu*. 285 
 
 Riddell, for a quiet, nervous boy, was shrewd for his 
 age, and there was something in Tom's constrained and un- 
 comfortable manner as he made this disclaimer that con- 
 vinced him that after all the mysterious letter hod something 
 in it. 
 
 It was a bold step to take, he knew, and it might end in 
 a failure, but he would chance it at any rate. 
 
 " You do know something about it, Tom ! " said he, 
 sternly, and with a searching look at the young water- 
 man. 
 
 Tom did ! He didn't say so ! Indeed he violently denied 
 that he did, and broke out into a state of most virtuous 
 indignation. 
 
 " Well I ever, if that ain't a nice thing to say to a chap. 
 I tell you, I knows nothink about it. The idea ! What 'ud 
 I know anythink about it for ? I tell you you're out, 
 governor. You're come to the wrong shop do you hear ? " 
 
 Riddell did hear ; and watching the boy's manner as he 
 hurried out these protests, he was satisfied that he was on 
 the right tack. 
 
 It had never occurred to him before. Perhaps the culprit 
 was Tom himself; perhaps it was he who, for some reason 
 of his own, had cut the line and caused all the mischief. 
 
 If that were so, what a relief and what a satisfaction it 
 would be 1 Riddell felt that if Tom himself were the wrong- 
 doer he could almost embrace him, so great would be his 
 joy at knowing that no Willoughby boy was guilty of the 
 crime. But it was too good a notion to be true, and Tom 
 soon dispelled it. 
 
 11 1 tell you," continued he, vehemently, but looking down 
 so as to avoid the captain's eye. " I tell you I aren't done 
 it, there. It's no use your trying to fix it on me. Do you 
 suppose I wouldn't know if I'd done it ? You blame the 
 right parties, governor, do you hear ? I oirit done it."
 
 286 Tom the Boat-boy earns Four-and-sixpence. 
 
 " I never said you did," replied Riddell, feeling he had 
 by this time got the upper hand in the argument, " but you 
 know who did." 
 
 " There you go. How do I know ? I don't know, and 
 I ain't done it." 
 
 "Do you mean to tell me," said Riddell, "the lines 
 could have been cut and you not know it ? Don't you 
 sleep in the boat-house ? " 
 
 " In course I do but I ain't done it, there ! " 
 
 " Don't be a young fool, Tom," said Riddell, sternly. 
 " What I want to know is who did do it." 
 
 " How do you suppose I know ? " demanded the boy. 
 
 " Who did do it ? " again repeated Riddell. 
 
 " I don't know, there ! " retorted Tom. " I never see his 
 face." 
 
 " Then some one did come to the boat-house that night ?" 
 said Riddell. 
 
 " How do I know? Suppose they did ?" 
 
 " Suppose they did? I want to know who it was." 
 
 " I tell you I don't know. It was pitch dark, and I ain't 
 seen his face, there ; and what's more, I don't know the 
 chap." 
 
 " But you let him into the boat-house ? " 
 
 " No, I didn't," said Tom, whose strong point was evi- 
 dently not in standing cross-examination. " That's where 
 you're wrong again. You're all wrong." 
 
 " You knew he was there, at any rate," said Riddell. 
 
 "No, I didn't. You're wrong agin. You don't know 
 what you're talkin' about. How could I know he was there, 
 when I worn't there myself? " 
 
 " What ! did he get in while you were away ? " 
 
 " In course he did. Do you suppose I goes to bed like 
 you kids at eight o'clock ? No fear. Why, I don't get my 
 upper at Joe Blades's till ten."
 
 Cross-examination. 287 
 
 "Then you found some one in the boat-house when you 
 went there, after supper, to go to bed ? " 
 
 " There you are, all wrong agin. How do you suppose 
 I'd find him when he got out of the window ? * 
 
 " Then he came in and went out by the window ? n asked 
 RiddeD. 
 
 " Why, you don't suppose he could come down the chim- 
 bley, do you?" retorted Tom, scornfully, "and there's no 
 way else." 
 
 "You had the key of the door all the time, of course," 
 said Riddell. 
 
 " In course. Do you suppose we leaves the boat'us open 
 for anybody as likes to come in without leave ? " 
 
 "Then it was seeing the window open made you know 
 some one had been in ? " continued the captain. 
 
 " Wrong agin ! Why, you aren't been right once yet." 
 
 " Do you mean you really saw some one there?" 
 
 " How could I see him when he was a-hoppin' out of the 
 winder just as I comes in? I tell you I didn't see him. 
 You couldn't have sor him either, not with all your 
 learnin'." 
 
 " Then you've no idea who it was ? " 
 
 " Ain't I ? that's all you know." 
 
 "Why, you say you never saw him. Did you hear his 
 voice ? " 
 
 " No, I didn't." 
 
 " Has some one told you ? Has he come and told you 
 himself? " 
 
 "No, he ain't. Wrong agin." 
 
 "Did he leave anything behind that you would know 
 him by, then ? " 
 
 The boy looked up sharply at Riddell, who saw that he 
 had made a point, and followed it up. 
 
 " What did he leave behind ? His cap ? " be asked.
 
 288 Tom the Boat-boy earns Four-and-sixpence, 
 
 " His cap ! Do you suppose chaps cut strings with their 
 caps ? Why, you must be a flat." 
 
 "His knife, was it?" exclaimed Riddell, excitedly. 
 "Was it his knife?" 
 
 " There you go ; you're so clever. I as good as tell yer, 
 and then you go on as if you guessed it yourself! You ain't 
 got as much learnin' as you think, governor." 
 
 41 But was it his knife he left behind ? " inquired Riddell, 
 too eager to attend to the sarcasms of his companion. 
 
 " What could it 'a been, unless it might be a razor. You 
 don't cut ropes with your thumb-nails, do you ? Of course it 
 was his knife." 
 
 " And have you got it still, Tom ? " 
 
 Here Tom began to get shy. As long as it was only 
 information that the captain wanted to get at be didn't so 
 much mind being cross-examined, but directly it looked as 
 if his knife was in peril he bristled up. 
 
 " That'll do," said he gruffly ; " my knife's nothink to do 
 with you." 
 
 " I know it isn't, and I don't want to take it from you. 
 I only want to look at it." 
 
 "Oh, yes ; all very fine. And you mean to make out as 
 it's yourn and you was the chap I saw hoppin' out of the 
 winder, do yer ? I know better. He weren't your cut, so 
 you needn't try to make that out." 
 
 " Of course it wasn't I," said Riddell, horrified even 
 at the bare suspicion, still more at the idea of any one 
 confessing to such a crime for the sake of getting a paltry 
 knife. 
 
 Still Tom was obdurate and would not produce his trea- 
 sure. In vain Riddell assured him that he made no claim 
 to it, and, even if the knife were his own, would not dream 
 of depriving the boy of it now. Tom listened to it all with 
 3ti incredulous scowl, and Riddell was beginning to despair
 
 Young Wyndham's Knife ! 289 
 
 of ever setting eyes on the knife, when the boy solved the 
 difficulty of his own accord. 
 
 " What do you want to look at it for ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Only to see if I knew whose it was once." 
 
 " Well, I ain't a-goin' to let yer see it unless you lay a 
 half-a-crown down on that there seat. There ! I ain't a-- 
 going to be done by you or any of your scholars." 
 
 Riddell gladly put down the money and had the satisfac- 
 tion at last of seeing Tom fumble in his pockets for the 
 precious weapon. 
 
 It was a long time coming to light, and meanwhile the 
 boy kept a suspicious eye on the money, evidently not 
 quite sure whether, after all, he was safe. 
 
 At length from the deepest depth of his trowser pocket 
 his hand emerged, bringing with it the knife. 
 
 Had Tom not been so intent on the half-crown which 
 lay on the seat he would have been amazed at the sudden 
 pallor which overspread the captain's face and the half- 
 suppressed gasp which he gave as his eyes fell on -young 
 Wyndhanfs knife I 
 
 There was no mistaking it. Riddell knew it well. 
 Wyndham when first he possessed it was never tired 01 
 flourishing it proudly before all his acquaintances, and 
 finding some pretext for using it or lending it every five 
 minutes of the day. 
 
 Riddell had often had it pressed upon him. Yes, and 
 now, with a shock that was almost sickening, he recollected 
 that he had had it in his hand that very night before the 
 boat-race. 
 
 And with the thought there rushed in upon him the whole 
 memory of that evening. How excited, how restless the 
 boy had been, how impossible he had found it to work, 
 how wildly he had talked about the coming race, and how 
 he had set his mind on the schoolhouse boat winning, 
 
 10
 
 290 Tom the Boat-boy earns Four-and-sixpence. 
 
 Riddell remembered every word of it now, and how Wynd- 
 ham's excitement had baulked him of his desire for a serious 
 talk that evening. And then he remembered how abruptly 
 the boy had left him, returning hurriedly a moment after 
 for his knife this very knife which less than two hours 
 afterwards had been dropped on the boat-house floor in the 
 culprit's hurried retreat by the window ! 
 
 Riddell felt literally sick as it all rushed through his mind 
 at the sight of the knife in Tom's hand. 
 
 "Have you saw it enough? " demanded the youth, still 
 eyeing the half-crown. 
 
 " Yes," murmured Riddell. And surely he never uttered 
 a truer word. 
 
 Tom, startled by his voice, looked up. 
 
 " Hullo," said he, " what's up ? One would think you'd 
 never saw a knife afore ! " 
 
 Riddell tried feebly to smile and recover himself. 
 
 " Tell you what," said Tom, struck with a brilliant idea 
 M tell you what, governor. You lay another two bob on the 
 top of that there half-a-crown and it's your's. Come 1 " 
 
 Riddell mechanically took out his purse and produced 
 the florin. It was almost the last coin that remained of his 
 pocket-money for that term, but he was too miserable even 
 to think of that. 
 
 Tom grabbed at the money eagerly, and deposited the 
 knife in Rid dell's hand in exchange. 
 
 Then, with a load on his heart such as he had never felt 
 before, the captain turned the boat's head and rowed slowly 
 back to WUloughby.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 THE ROCKSHIRE MATCH. 
 
 RIDDELL was not destined to have much leisure 
 during the next few days for indulging his misery or 
 making up his mind in what direction his duty lay. 
 
 As he reached the school after his memorable excursion 
 on the river, he was met by Fairbairn, who had evidently 
 been on the look-out for him. 
 
 "Why, where have you been? and what's wrong ?" he 
 exclaimed, as he observed his friend's dejected looks. 
 
 " I've been a turn on the river," replied Riddell, making 
 a desperate effort to recover his wits and look cheerful. 
 
 " You look every bit as if you were just starting there to 
 drown yourself," said Fairbairn ; " but, I say, I've got a 
 message for you." 
 
 "From whom?" inquired Riddell, who had had quite 
 enough " messages " during the last few days to last him 
 for the rest of the term. 
 
 " You'd scarcely guess from Bloomfield. The thing is, 
 he has two places yet to fill up in the eleven for Saturday, 
 and he wants you to play for one." 
 
 Despite his trouble, Riddell could hardly conceal a smile 
 of pleasure at this honour, which, though not exactly un- 
 expected, he had hardly realised till now. 
 
 " Oh, I say," said he, " I'm certain there are lots of 
 better fellows." 
 
 " You may be quite sure if there had been Bloomfield
 
 2 92 The Rockshire Match. 
 
 would have picked them up," said Fairbairn. M As it 
 happens, we want a slip, and I heard Bloomfield say him- 
 self that you are awfully good there. You seem to have 
 hidden your light under a bushel, old man, while in the 
 schoolhouse." 
 
 " I may have been lucky while Bloomfield was watching," 
 said Riddell. 
 
 "All gammon. You needn't fancy he's doing this to 
 compliment you, old man. Game and that lot are awfully 
 down on him about it They'd like to make up the team 
 entirely of Parretts, but it seems they can't do without us 
 for once ! Of course you'll play." 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Riddell; "he's captain of the eleven; I 
 must" 
 
 " Hurrah. Well, you'll have to turn up at the Big 
 practices, of course, during the next three days. There's 
 one at three this afternoon and another at 6.30, and if you 
 like to come down for an hour after first school I'll give you 
 some balls at the nets." 
 
 This was Tuesday. The Rockshire match was to come 
 off on Saturday, and between now and then, as Riddell well 
 knew, every spare moment he could call his own would have 
 to be devoted to cricket. 
 
 Personally, with the burden of the secret of young 
 Wyndham's knife upon him, he would have been glad 
 enough of some excuse for avoiding the honour even of a 
 place in the first eleven. But there was no such excuse. 
 On the contrary, his duty pointed clearly to his making the 
 best of the opportunity. As captain of the school, even a 
 humble place in the first eleven would be an undoubted gain 
 to his influence ; while to Welch's demoralised Welch's 
 the knowledge that once more one of their number was 
 " playing for the school " might be of real service. 
 
 Till Saturday, at any rate, he must try to banish the
 
 Passing Muster 293 
 
 hideous nightmare from his mind, and give himself up wholly 
 to the calls of cricket 
 
 It is easier to resolve to give up one's mind to a pursuit 
 than it is to do it, and for the first day or two Riddell found 
 himself but a half-hearted cricketer. However, as the 
 eventful day drew near things grew more serious, not to say 
 critical. 
 
 It was a nervous occasion for the captain the first time he 
 presented himself at a Big practice, and he could not help 
 feeling that the eyes which watched his performance were 
 more than ordinarily critical, and many of them less than 
 ordinarily friendly. 
 
 Still he managed not to disgrace himself, and on the next 
 occasion, having partially recovered his presence of mind, 
 he was able to do himself even more justice. Every one 
 had to admit that Riddell was a long way off being a fine 
 cricketer he would have been the first to admit it himself 
 but for all that, what with a quick eye, and much per- 
 severance, and sound judgment, he possessed more than 
 one of the qualities which go to make up a useful member 
 of any team. 
 
 "He ought to do," said Bloomfield to Game on the 
 Friday evening after the last of the practices. " He stood 
 up to Fairbairn's bowling not at all badly." 
 
 " Shouldn't wonder," said Game, whose prejudice was 
 stronger than his judgment, " if Fairbairn bowled down easy 
 to him on purpose ; they're awfully thick, you know." 
 
 " But / didn't bowl down to him easy," replied Bloom- 
 field ; " and he cut me for two twice running." 
 
 Game could not answer this argument, and was bound to 
 admit a worse man might have been put into the odd 
 place. 
 
 " It's a pity, though ; they'll be so jolly cocky, all that set, 
 there'll be no enduring it I only hope our fellows will do
 
 294 The Rockshire Match. 
 
 most of the scoring to-morrow, and not leave them a chance 
 of saying they won the match for us." 
 
 Bloomfield laughed. " Not much fear of that," said he; 
 "but if they did, I suppose you'd sooner beat Rockshire 
 with their help than be thrashed ? " 
 
 Game was not quite sure, and said nothing. 
 
 One might have supposed that an occasion like the 
 present, when the picked eleven Willoughby was to play 
 the picked eleven of Rockshire, that there would have been 
 no place left for party rivalry, or any feeling but one of 
 patriotic ardour for the victory of the old school. But so 
 deeply was the disease of party spirit rooted in Willoughby 
 that even this match came to be looked on quite ..as much 
 as a struggle between rival houses as between the school and 
 an outside team. 
 
 The discovery was made that the eleven consisted of five 
 schoolhouse players, five Parrett's players, and one Welcher. 
 More than that, the ingenious noted the fact that the two 
 best bowlers of the eleven were Bloomfield and Fairbairn, 
 one from each house, who would also both field as wicket- 
 keepers when not bowling. And the two second bowlers 
 were Game and Porter, also one from each house. This 
 minute analysis might doubtless have been continued down 
 to the cover-points. At any rate, it was manifest the two 
 houses were very evenly divided, both as regarded merit and 
 place, and it would therefore be easy to see which con- 
 tributed most to the service of the school. 
 
 The Rockshire men arrived by the ten o'clock train, and 
 were met as usual by the Willoughby omnibus at the station. 
 As they alighted and proceeded to stroll in a long proces- 
 sion across the Big to their tent, they were regarded with 
 much awe and curiosity by the small boys assembled to 
 witness their advent, some of whom were quite at a loss to 
 understand how boy slike themselves could ever expect not
 
 The Enemy arrive. 295 
 
 to be beaten by great whiskered heroes like these. Even 
 the young Welchers, who had contrired to be practising close 
 to the line of march, felt awed in their presence, and made a 
 most hideous hash of the little exhibition with which they 
 had intended to astonish their visitors. 
 
 The self-confident ease of these Rockshire men was even 
 a trifle discouraging for a few of the school heroes them- 
 selves, who looked on nervously as their rivals coolly went 
 up and inspected the wickets and criticised the pitch, and 
 then proceeded, laughing among themselves, towards the 
 pavilion. Things like this are more or less terrifying, and 
 an old team that comes down to play a young one ought to 
 be more considerate. 
 
 It was fortunate for the school team that all its members 
 were not as shy and diffident as others, or the operation of 
 tossing for innings and other matters of form would never 
 have been got through. 
 
 Mr. Parrett, however, as an old 'Varsity blue, was as 
 great a hero in the sight of Rockshire as Rockshire was 
 in the sight of Willoughby, and with his aid the pre- 
 liminaries were all arranged, and Willoughby went out first 
 to field. 
 
 The Big was never so crowded witn ooys, masters, or the 
 outside public, as it was on this bright June day. The 
 exploits of the school at the recent election may have had 
 something to do with the number of townsfolk who flocked 
 up to see the game, but apart from that the Rockshire 
 match was always one of the great events of the season. 
 
 Last year, thanks to old Wyndham's prowess, the school 
 had won ; but before that, back almost to the days of the 
 mythical Bouncer, the fates had been the other way ; and 
 this year, good as the team was, no one had the hardihood 
 to predict with any confidence a victory for the boys. 
 
 Just as Ridde!! was leaving the tent to take his place in
 
 296 The Rocks hire Match. 
 
 the field, young Wyndham came up and clapped him 
 cheerily on the back. 
 
 "Go m and win, I say," he cried, gaily. "I back you, 
 old man." 
 
 It was the first time the two had met since Riddeli's inter- 
 view with Tom the boat-boy, and the sight of his old 
 friend's brother, and the sound of his voice just now, gave 
 the captain a shock which for the moment almost un- 
 manned him. 
 
 He turned pale as he looked at the boy, and thought of 
 that knife. 
 
 "Oh, I say," said Wyndham, noticing his perturbation, 
 " pull yourself together, old man ; you'll get on all serene. 
 I was funky the first time I showed up for the second eleven, 
 you know, but it's all right now ! " 
 
 "Now, Riddell ! " cried Bloomfield, impatiently, from the 
 wickets ; and off the captain hurried to his post, with a load 
 of trouble at his heart, and feeling anything but a jubilant 
 athlete. 
 
 Wyndham, little dreaming what was passing through his 
 patron's mind, settled himself cross-legged at the door of 
 the scorer's tent, and thought of nothing for the next few 
 hours but the match. 
 
 The two Rockshire men, upon whom devolved the duty 
 of " opening the ball," strolled slowly up to the wickets, 
 and a minute later the match had begun. 
 
 As usual, the first few overs were uneventful. The bowlers 
 were trying what the batsmen were made of, and the batsmen 
 were trying what the bowlers were made of. Riddell was 
 thankful for his part that no ball came his way, and the 
 spectators generally seemed to regard two maiden overs as 
 3, sort of necessary infliction at the opening of any big match. 
 
 But when Bloomfield took the ball again it was evident 
 things were to grow a little brisker. His first ball was very
 
 "First Blood.* 297 
 
 neatly patted towards square-leg for two, amid the cheers 
 which always greet "the first blood," and his next bell 
 slipped past the longstop for a bye. Wyndham and some 
 other enthusiasts sighed, as if those three runs had settled 
 the fate of Willoughby. But his sigh was abruptly turned 
 into a cheer when next moment the Rockshire man's wicket 
 tumbled all of a heap, and one of the foe was out for three. 
 
 Willoughby began to breathe again. When they had seen 
 those two portentous heroes go in, the prospect of their ever 
 going out had seemed fearfully remote. But now, if one 
 man was got rid of for only three runs, why should not ten 
 men go for only thirity ? At which arithmetical discovery 
 the school immediately leapt from the depths of des- 
 pondency to the heights of confidence, and considered the 
 match as good as won before it was fairly begun. 
 
 However, during the next half- hour they had time to seek 
 the happy mean between the two extremes. The new 
 comer was a tough customer, and should certainly have 
 gone in first. For he was one of those aggravating batsmen 
 who keep a steady bat at everything, who never aspire to a 
 slog, never walk out to a slow, never step back to a yorker, 
 are never too soon for a lob, or too late for a shooter in 
 fact, who play the safe plodding game in the face of all 
 temptation. 
 
 The one comfort was, he did not make many runs. Still, 
 this sort of business is demoralising for bowlers and slow for 
 the field, and a change of bowlers was consequently decided 
 upon after about half an hour's play, when the score was at 
 twenty-one. 
 
 Game and Porter were the two new hands, the latter 
 being the first to officiate with a very neat maiden over, 
 loudly cheered from the school tent. Game who followed, 
 was not so fortunate. The Rockshire man who had gone in 
 first cut him hard for three on his second ball the first
 
 298 The Rockshire Match. 
 
 hard hit of the match. And this the steady man followed 
 up with a quiet two neatly placed between point and mid-off. 
 Then came another ball, which the same player turned off 
 sharply into the slips. 
 
 It was a fairly difficult ball to field, but Riddell picked it 
 up smartly and returned it to the wickets in time to prevent 
 a run being made. 
 
 " Well fielded indeed, sir ! " cried Wyndham's voice from 
 the tent Little thought he how strangely those words of 
 encouragement missed their mark. Riddell had just been 
 forgetting his trouble and warming up to the game, and 
 now they came once more to remind him of that hated knife 
 and Tom the boat-boy's story. 
 
 The next ball the Rockshire man also " slipped," but this 
 time, though it was within easier reach, and for a first-rate 
 fielder was even a possible catch, Riddell missed it, and two 
 runs were made. 
 
 " Look out there 1 " cried Bloomfield severely. 
 
 " Well tried, sir ! " cried some one, sarcastically. 
 
 " Well missed, sir ! " cried some one else, with painful 
 truthfulness. 
 
 Riddell saw the crisis. Another miss like that, a few more 
 taunts like those, and he might as well retire from the field. 
 
 Not for the first time in his life he pulled himself to- 
 gether with a vehement effort and shook off every thought 
 but the one duty that claimed him. 
 
 And only just in time. 
 
 The last ball of the over was played again into slip, this 
 time very smartly. The school shivered as they saw it whiz 
 straight for the weak point. But they might have spared 
 themselves their agitation, for Riddell had it all but a 
 catch before the shiver was over, and had returned it to 
 Fairbairn at the wickets promptly enough to make the Rock- 
 siiire man feel he had had a narrow escape of a run-out
 
 A Catch. 299 
 
 " Fielded, sir 1 " said Bloomfield, as the players crossed 
 over; and this commendation was more encouraging than 
 all the shouts of the schoolhouse partisans. 
 
 Porter's next over disposed of the first Rockshire man, 
 amid great school rejoicing, which was only tempered by 
 the reflection among the Parretts that it was a wicket to 
 the credit of the schoolhouse half of the eleven. 
 
 Then followed a succession of short but smart innings, 
 during which the Rockshire score crawled up to seventy, 
 despite of a further change of bowlers and very careful all- 
 round fielding by the school. 
 
 All this time the steady man hung on obstinately ; nothing 
 seemed to puzzle him or tempt him out of his caution. 
 Even a few underhands from Bloomfield failed to entice him 
 to hit out indeed, he blocked them more gingerly and 
 suspiciously than any. 
 
 At length, in sheer desperation, Coates was put on to 
 bowl ; anything seemed better than this hopeless deadlock. 
 And so it turned out. Coates's first ball came down tempt- 
 ingly towards the off stump. Any enterprising player would 
 hare cut it for a safe four, but this cautious hand, who 
 seemed to smell a rat in everything, was evidently deter- 
 mined not to be taken in by first appearances, and turned 
 it off, half contemptuously, to his favourite quarter among 
 the slips, thinking possibly he might punish the next rather 
 more freely. But the next was not to come for him. 
 Coates's ball was rising a bit as the batsman touched it, 
 and though he did not hit it up, it yet spun a foot or so 
 above the ground, an easy catch, straight into Riddell's 
 hand, who held it fast, much to his own surprise, and greatly 
 to the jubilation of all Willoughby. 
 
 " Well caught, sir! Caught, indeed ! Played up, Riddell !" 
 were the cries which on all hands greeted the achievement, 
 Wynd 1 im's call being longest and loudest of them alL
 
 300 The Rockshire Match. 
 
 But this time Riddell suffered no harm from the sound 
 of that familiar voice. He had steeled himself against it 
 for a few hours at least, and it was to him but one out of 
 many. 
 
 Rockshire's first innings terminated shortly with no further 
 event of note. The last wicket fell for ninety-two, a respect- 
 able total, of which fifty-nine had been made off the Parretts' 
 batsmen, and thirty-three off the schoolhouse. Indeed, the 
 advantage of the schoolhouse did not end there. Out of 
 three catches not counting Riddell's they had made two, 
 while of the five wickets which had been taken by the 
 bowling, they claimed three against their rivals' two. 
 
 Great was the dismay of Parrett's as these results were 
 made known. They buoyed themselves up greatly, however, 
 with the prospect of the batting, where it would be strange 
 indeed if they did not score better than the schoolhouse. 
 And after all, it is the runs that win a match. 
 
 Bloomfield himself, be it said to his credit, allowed no 
 petty considerations of party rivalry to influence him in 
 sending in the best men at the right time. However much 
 in some ways he might lend himself to the whims of his 
 more energetic comrades, in a matter like the Rockshire 
 match, where he was in sole command, and responsible for 
 the glory of the school, he acted with the sole object of 
 winning the match. 
 
 It would have been easy to send in Fairbairn and Porter 
 last, when they would have no chance of scoring ; or Coates, 
 who was a rash hitter, and never was safe until the back of 
 the bowling had been somewhat broken, might have been 
 sent in first 
 
 But such an arrangement Bloomfield knew would be fatal 
 for the chances of the school, and it therefore never entered 
 his head to contrive it. And his fairness in this respect was 
 fully justified, for the school put together a hundred and
 
 The Second Innings. 301 
 
 twelve runs just twenty more than their opponents a per- 
 formance which not even the most sanguine Willoughbite 
 had dared to anticipate. Towards this total Riddell, who 
 had gone in last and carried his bat, had contributed seven, 
 not a little to his own surprise and the delight of the on- 
 looking Welchers. But the most remarkable thing about 
 the innings was that, contrary to all calculation, the five 
 schoolhouse fellows had contributed no less than sixty-four 
 runs to the total, while the Parretts' united score only 
 amounted to forty-one ! 
 
 The second innings of Rockshire differed very little from 
 the first. The steady man went in first, and bothered every 
 bowler the school could bring against him ; and, having had 
 one lesson, he took good care not to give himself another, 
 and rather avoided slip for the future. So that Riddell had 
 & quiet time of it, fielding the few balls that came to him 
 steadily and promptly, but otherwise not figuring promi- 
 nently in the downfall of any wicket 
 
 It was half-past four before Rockshire finally retired with 
 a total for their second innings of ninety-nine, leaving the 
 school boys with eighty runs to obtain to win. 
 
 It was not a formidable total after their first-innings per- 
 formance, but at the outset a calamity happened enough to 
 depress the hopes of any Willoughbite. 
 
 Bloomfield had gone in first with every intention of 
 breaking the ice effectually for his side. What, therefore, 
 was the consternation of everybody when, after neatly block- 
 ing the first ball, he was clean bowled for a duck's-egg by 
 the second ! Willoughby literally howled with disappoint- 
 ment, and gave itself up to despair as it saw its captain and 
 champion retreating slowly back to the tent, trailing his bat 
 behind him, and not daring to look up at the hideous " " 
 on the telegraph board. 
 
 But hope was at hand, though Parrett's was not to supply
 
 
 302 The Rock&hire Match. 
 
 it Coates and Crossfield, who were now together, made 
 a most unexpected and stubborn stand. They even scored 
 freely, and the longer they held together the harder it was 
 to part them. The reviving hopes of the Rockshire partisans 
 gradually died out before this awkward combination, and 
 Game and Ashley and Tipper, as they sat and watched this 
 spirited performance by the two schoolhouse boys, felt their 
 triumph for the school utterly swamped in the still more 
 signal victory which the despised house was achieving over 
 them. 
 
 The score, amid terrific cheering, went up to fifty-two 
 before a separation could be effected. Then Coates was 
 caught at long-leg, and retired, covered with glory, in favour 
 of Tipper. 
 
 Alas for Parrett's ! Tipper, in whom their forlorn hopes 
 rested, was run out during his first over, while attempting 
 to snatch a bye ! 
 
 It was an anxious moment while Bloomfield was deciding 
 whom next to send in. There was still thirty runs to make, 
 but unless he took care the whole innings might be muddled 
 away in the getting of them. 
 
 " You go in, Fairbairn," said the captain. 
 
 The Parretts felt their fate to be sealed hopelessly. Had 
 Game been sent in he might still have done something for 
 Parrett's, but now his chance might never come. 
 
 It did not come. Fairbairn joined Crossfield, and the 
 two did just what they liked with the bowling. As the score 
 shot up from fifty to sixty and from sixty to seventy, the 
 school became perfectly hoarse with cheering. Even most 
 of the partisans of Parrett's, sorely as the match was going 
 against them, could not help joining in the applause no-R 
 that the prospect of the school winning by seven wickets 
 had become a probability. 
 
 Up went the score another three for Fairbairn another
 
 The Winning Hit. 303 
 
 two for Crossfield seventy-five then next moment a terrific 
 cheer greeted a four by Fairbairn, which brought the 
 numbers equal ; and before the figures were well registered 
 another drive settled the question, and Willoughby had 
 beaten Rockshire by seven wickets !
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?* 
 
 / *TT*HE evening of the Rockshire match was one of strangely 
 X conflicting emotions in Willoughby. 
 
 In the schoolhouse the jubilation was beyond bounds, 
 and the victory of the school was swallowed up in the 
 glorious exploits of the five schoolhouse heroes, who had, 
 so their admirers declared, as good as won the match among 
 them, and had vindicated themselves from the reproach of 
 degeneracy, and once for all wiped away the hateful stigma 
 of the boat-race. The night was spent till bedtime in one 
 prolonged cheer in honour of their heroes, who were glad 
 enough to hide anywhere to escape the mobbing they came 
 in for whenever they showed their faces. 
 
 In Parrett's house the festivities were of a far more sub- 
 dued order. As Willoughbites they were, of course, bound 
 to rejoice in the victory of the old school. But at what 
 cost did they do it ? For had not that very victory meant 
 also the overthrow of their reign in Willoughby. No 
 reasoning or excusing could do away with the fact that after 
 all their boasting, and all their assumed superiority, they 
 had taken considerably less than half the wickets, secured 
 considerably less than a third of the catches, and scored 
 considerably less than a quarter of the runs by which the 
 match had been won. Their detain had been bowled for 
 a Buck's egg. Their best bowl?rs had been knocked about
 
 Ichabod. 305 
 
 by the very batsmen whom the schoolhouse bowlers had 
 dispatched with ease. 
 
 It was vain to attempt to account for it, to assert that the 
 schoolhouse had had the best of the luck : that the light 
 had favoured them ; or that just when they happened to 
 bowl the Rockshire men had got careless. Even such stick- 
 at-nothing enthusiasts as Parson, Bosher, and Co., couldn't 
 make a case of it, and were forced to admit with deep 
 mortification that the glory had departed from Parrett's, at 
 any rate for a season. 
 
 Perhaps the most patriotic rejoicings that evening were in 
 Welch's house. They cared but little about the rivalry 
 between Parrett's and the schoolhouse, and were therefore 
 free to exult as Willoughbites pure and simple, bestowing, 
 of course, a special cheer on their own man, Riddell, who, 
 though not having performed prodigies, had yet done honest 
 work for his eleven, and at any rate made one smart catch. 
 
 " I tell you what," said Fairbairn, who along with Coates 
 and Porter had escaped from the violent applause of the 
 schoolhouse and sought refuge that evening in the captain's 
 study " I tell you what, I'm getting perfectly sick of this 
 everlasting schoolhouse against Parrett business." 
 
 " So am I," said Porter. " As if they need go into the 
 sulks because our fellows did better than they did 1 " 
 
 " They've brought it on themselves, anyhow," said Coates 
 "and it may do them good to have to sing small for once.' 
 
 " I'm afraid if it had been the other way our fellows 
 would have been just as much cut up as theirs are," said 
 Fairbairn. " Upon my word I half envy you, Riddell, old 
 man, being a Welcher." 
 
 Riddell smiled. 
 
 " OUT fellows certainly consider themselves free to abuse 
 or cheer all round, without the least partiality. Listen to 
 them now."
 
 306 "Am I my Brothers Keeper?" 
 
 And certainly the hubbub that was going on was a trifle 
 outrageous, even for Welchers. 
 
 Indeed it was so outrageous that Riddell was obliged to 
 ask his visitors to excuse him for a moment while he went 
 mnd quieted them. 
 
 As he opened the door of the preparation-room, where 
 the house was assembled, a louder cheer than ever arose in 
 his honour ; and then those who waited in the study heard 
 a general lull in the noise, which continued in subdued 
 animation after he had left the scene and returned to his 
 friends. 
 
 This casual illustration of the captain's influence in his 
 new house was quite a revelation to the three schoolhouse 
 monitors. 
 
 "Why, what do you do to them to shut them up like 
 that ? " asked Coates, with something like envy in his tones. 
 " It takes half an hour's bawling to stop a row like that in 
 our house, and a licking or two into the bargain ; doesn't it, 
 you fellows ? " 
 
 Riddell laughed. 
 
 "They are cricket-mad at present," said he, "and I 
 suppose they're afraid of having their match against Parrett's 
 stopped." 
 
 It was a modest way, no doubt, of accounting for their 
 obedience to his authority ; but whatever the reason might 
 be, it was certain the captain had no further occasion to 
 interfere that evening. 
 
 ** There's one comfort about this match," said Fairbairn, 
 after a pause, "we probably shall not hear any more of 
 that wretched boat-race now." 
 
 Whatever induced him to start this most unfortunate topic 
 at this time of all others ? 
 
 Riddell, who amid all the excitement of the match had 
 contrived partially to forget the burden that lay on his spirit,
 
 An Uncomfortable Talk. 307 
 
 started uncomfortably at the words, and his face changed to 
 one of undisguised trouble. The others could hardly help 
 noticing it. 
 
 " No, we're never likely to get at the bottom of it," said 
 Porter ; " so the sooner it drops the better." 
 
 " It's very odd, all the same," said Fairbairn, " that there's 
 not been a single hint as to who did it. I wonder i 
 perhaps, we were wrong in taking for granted it was more 
 than an accident." 
 
 This last question was addressed to Riddell, who replied, 
 nervously and uneasily, 
 
 " No, that is, yes. It can't have been. I'm sure it wasn't 
 an accident." 
 
 His three friends looked perplexed by his sudden con- 
 fusion and change of manner, and Porter had the presence 
 of mind to change the subject 
 
 " I hear there's a jolly row on between Silk and Gilts,* 
 said he. " No one knows exactly why." 
 
 " I heard it was a bet," said Coates. 
 
 " At any rate they've had a split," said Porter. 
 
 " They never did much good while they were in partner- 
 ship," said Coates. "Young Wyndham got rather drawn 
 in by them, I heard." 
 
 "Rather!" said Fairbairn. "He was precious near 
 going to the dogs altogether if old Riddell here hadn't 
 pulled him up." 
 
 Riddell seemed to lack spirit to join in the conversation, 
 which continued without him. 
 
 " Yes, the young 'un cuts them dead now," said Porter, 
 " but he's a bit afraid of them still, I fancy." 
 
 " I suppose they could let out upon him about some 
 scrape or other," said Coates, " and that's what gives them 
 a pull." 
 
 " Anyhow, it's a good job he has pulled up," said Fair-
 
 308 " Am I my Br otters Keeper?" 
 
 bairn, " for he'i not a bad youngster. He's got into the 
 second eleven just lately, and is tremendously proud of it. 
 He's vowed he'll get old Wyndhara to come down and 
 umpire in the match with Templeton second eleven next 
 month." 
 
 All this talk was anything but pleasant for poor Riddell. 
 Little did the speakers dream of the connection between the 
 boat-race and young Wyndham ; in fact, the latter topic, as 
 he knew quite well, had been started on purpose to get over 
 the awkwardness which his own confusion about the former 
 had caused. 
 
 But to Riddell, with that knife burning in his pocket, it 
 was all one prolonged torture, so that he was heartily glad 
 when at length his friends rose to depart. 
 
 He excused himself from walking across the quadrangle 
 with them, and said good-night in a spiritless way, very 
 different from the cheery manner in which he had welcomed 
 them an hour ago. 
 
 " I never saw such a rum fellow as Riddell ." said Coates, 
 as the three strolled over. " Did you see how cut up he 
 got when something was said about the boat-race ? " 
 
 " He's a little cracked on that subject," said Fairbairn. 
 " I do believe, until the culprit is found out, he considers 
 himself responsible for the whole affair." 
 
 " Well, to judge by his looks he might have been the 
 culprit himself," said Porter, laughing. " Hullo, here's 
 young Wyndham." 
 
 "Where are you off to?" asked Fairbairn, with due 
 monitorial solemnity, of that flighty youth; "don't you 
 know it's nearly eight?" 
 
 " Oh, do you mind my going across to Riddell's ? " asked 
 the boy ; " he'll think I've cut him if I don't show up. I've 
 not been to his room for half a week." 
 
 "It's a curious thing he has survived it so long," said
 
 Spider and Fly. 309 
 
 Fairbairn, laughing. " Mind you are back by 8.30, though, 
 for 111 have lock-up punctual to-night, while there's so much 
 row going on." 
 
 "Thanks, Fairbairn," said Wyndham. "I say, what a 
 stunning score our house knocked up in the second innings. 
 
 Why, we " 
 
 " Cut off," cried Fairbairn, " and tell Riddell all about it. 
 Come on, you fellows." 
 
 Wyndham hurried on full of the prospect of a talk ovei 
 the match with Riddell. 
 
 Just at the door of Welch's, however, he met Silk. 
 
 The two had scarcely met since the day of the election, 
 when Wyndham, to spite Riddell, had joined himself to this 
 bad friend, and yielded to his persuasion to go down, against 
 leave, to Shellport. 
 
 "Oh, young 'un," said Silk, in friendly tones, " you turned 
 up ? I'd almost given you up for good." 
 
 " I'm going to Riddell's," said Wyndham, determined for 
 once to stand by his colours and have nothing more to do 
 with this tempter. 
 
 Silk's face fell, as it always did when Riddell's name was 
 mentioned. He had imagined the boy was coming to see 
 him, and it did not please him to find himself mistaken. 
 
 "Are you?" said he. "Come along to my study first, 
 though ; I want to speak to you." 
 
 " I can't come, thank you," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Can't ! Why ever not ? " exclaimed Silk. 
 
 " I don't want to come, that's why," said Wyndham, 
 doggedly, and attempting to move past 
 
 But this by no means suited Silk. 
 
 "Suppose I tell you you must come," demanded he, 
 stepping in front of the boy with a menacing air. 
 
 " Please let me go by," repeated Wyndham, making 
 another attempt.
 
 310 "Am I my Brothers Keeper?" 
 
 * Not till you tell me what you mean by saying you won't 
 do as I tell you." 
 
 " I mean that I'm not going to your study," said young 
 Wyndham. 
 
 " Oh, very well," said Silk, standing back to let him 
 pass. 
 
 There was something in his tone and manner as he said 
 the words which made Wyndham uneasy. He had made 
 up his mind at all costs he would break with Silk ; yet now 
 he could not help remembering he was at the fellow's mercy. 
 
 So, instead of going on, he stood where he was, and said, 
 rather less defiantly, 
 
 " Can't you say what you've got to say here ? " 
 
 " Oh, of course. I can easily tell the whole school of 
 your " 
 
 " Oh, hush, please 1 " cried the boy in alarm ; " you 
 promised you wouldn't tell any one. I'll come to your 
 study." 
 
 Silk, with a triumphant sneer, turned and led the way, 
 followed by his chafing victim, who devoutly wished he 
 had never thought of coming to see Riddell at all. 
 
 When they were in the study, Silk turned and said, 
 
 " All I want to say is, that I don't choose for you to be 
 going such a lot to Riddell. I don't like him, and you'd 
 better keep away." 
 
 "Why?" faltered Wyndham. "It doesn't do you any 
 harm." 
 
 " How do I know you don't blab all my secrets to him, 
 eh?" 
 
 " Oh, I wouldn't do it for anything. I promised you and 
 Gilks." 
 
 " Bah ! what's the use of that ? You go and tell him 
 everything you do yourself, and of course he knows it means 
 us as well as you."
 
 A Pledge Renewed. 311 
 
 " No, he doesn't really. I've never said a word to him 
 about about Beamish's." 
 
 "It's a good job you haven't; and you'd better not, I 
 can tell you." 
 
 " I won't," said the boy. 
 
 " I don't choose to have my concerns talked about to 
 anybody," said Silk, " I suppose it was he put you up to 
 cutting me." 
 
 " No that is," said Wyndham, " yes, he did advise me 
 not to be so much with Gilks and you." 
 
 " He did ? " exclaimed Silk, in a rage. " I thought so ; 
 and you M 
 
 Fortunately at this moment Tucker and one or two other 
 of the noisy Welchers broke into the room ; and in the 
 diversion so created Wyndham was thankful to slip away. 
 
 This, then, was the end of his good resolutions and the 
 hopes they had fostered I He was as much in the power of 
 this bad friend as ever nay, more, for had he not that very 
 evening been forced to renew the one promise which kept 
 him from confiding everything to Riddell ? 
 
 He proceeded dejectedly to the captain's study, his 
 cricket enthusiasm strangely damped, and the load of his 
 old short-comings heavy upon him. 
 
 Riddell, who was pacing the room moodily, stopped in 
 a half-startled way as his visitor entered. 
 
 " Do you want me? " he said. 
 
 " No," said Wyndham. " I only just came across to see 
 you, because I thought you'd wonder what had become of 
 me." 
 
 " Yes," said Riddell, trying to compose himself, " with 
 all this cricket practice there's not been much chance of 
 seeing one another." 
 
 "No," replied Wyndham, whom the very mention of 
 cricket was enough to excite. " I say, wasn't it an awfully
 
 3i2 "Am I my Brother's Keeper?" 
 
 fine licking we gave them ? Our fellows are crowing like 
 anything, and, you know, if it hadn't been for your catch it 
 might have been a much more narrow affair." 
 
 "Ah, well! it's all over now," said Riddellj "so I 
 suppose you'll come and see me oftener?" 
 
 "I hope so. Of course, there's the second eleven 
 practices still going on for the Templeton match, but I'll 
 turn up here all the same." 
 
 Riddell took a turn or two in silence. What was he to 
 do ? A word from him, he felt, could ruin this boy before 
 all Willoughby, and possibly disgrace him for life. 
 
 He, Riddell, as captain of the school, seemed to have 
 a clear duty in the matter. Had the culprit been any one 
 else had it been Silk, for instance, or Gilks would he 
 have hung back ? He knew he would not, painful as the 
 task would be. The honour of the school was in question, 
 and he had no right to palter with that 
 
 Yet how could he deal thus with young Wyndham ? his 
 friend's brother, the fellow he cared for most in Willoughby, 
 over whose struggles he had watched so anxiously, and for 
 whom, now, better resolves and honest ambitions were open- 
 ing up so cheery a prospect. How could he do it ? 
 
 Was there no chance that after all he might be mistaken ? 
 Alas I that cruel knife and the memory of that evening 
 crushed out the hope. 
 
 What could he do? To do nothing would be simply 
 adding his own crime to that of another. If only the boy 
 would confess voluntarily 1 Could that have possibly been 
 the object which brought him there that evening ? The last 
 time they had talked together, even in the midst of his 
 contrition, he had been strangely reserved about something 
 in the past. Might not this be the very secret he had now 
 come to confide ? 
 
 "How have you been getting on the last week?" he
 
 Nearly cleared up. 313 
 
 asked, gravely. "Have you been able to keep pretty 
 straight ? " 
 
 "Yes, I hope so," said Wyndham. "You see, this 
 cricket doesn't give a fellow much chance of going wrong." 
 
 " No ; but of course one needs to do more than merely 
 not go wrong," said the captain. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I suppose when any of us has done wrong we ought to 
 try to make up for it somehow." 
 
 " Oh, yes, of course," said Wyndham, feeling a little un- 
 comfortable. " The worst of it is, you can't always do that 
 except by keeping right in future." 
 
 " Supposing you had owed some fellow a sovereign last 
 term, you would consider that all you had to do was not to 
 owe him any more this term ? " said Riddell. 
 
 " No ; of course not I I'd have to pay him, I know," 
 said Wyndham. 
 
 " Well, what I mean," said the captain, " is that that 
 why, the fact is, Wyndham," said he, " I'm afraid you have 
 still some old scores you ought to clear up." 
 
 Wyndham looked hard at the captain, and coloured. 
 
 " I see what you mean," he said, in a low voice. " I 
 know you're right. I wish I could do it" 
 
 "You wish!" exclaimed RiddelL "Wishing will not 
 do it." 
 
 Wyndham looked hard at him once more, and answered, 
 in agitated tones, 
 
 " I say, RiddelL Do you know about it, then ? " 
 
 " I think I do." 
 
 At that moment a bell began to sound across the 
 quadrangle. 
 
 ; ' That's lock-up ; I must go I " exclaimed Wyndham, 
 wildly. " For goodness' sake, don't tell any one, Riddell 1 
 Oh what a fool I have been 1 "
 
 314 "Am I my Brother's Keeper?' 
 
 And next moment he was gone. 
 
 Riddell continued to pace the room, half stupefied with 
 bewilderment and misery. 
 
 " For goodness' sake, don't tell any one 1 " The cry 
 rang in his ears till it drove him nearly mad. 
 
 Poor Wyndham! What must his state of mind be? 
 What must it have been all this time, with that miserable 
 secret lurking there and poisoning his whole life? And 
 yet the chance had been given him, and he had clung to 
 the secret still, and in the face of discovery had no other 
 cry than this, " For goodness' sake, don't tell any one I " 
 
 That evening, so jubilant all over Willoughby, was one 
 of the most wretched Riddell ever spent
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 AN EXPLOSION OF "SKY-ROCKETS.* 
 
 T) ARSON, Bosher, King, and the other Parrett's juniors 
 X were in bad spirits. It was not so much the Rock- 
 shire match that was preying on the brotherhood, grievous 
 as that blow had been. Nor were they at the present 
 suffering under any particular infliction, or smarting under 
 any special sense of injustice. Their healths and digestions 
 were all tolerably good, and the mutual friendship in which 
 they had been wont to rejoice showed no signs of immediate 
 dissolution. 
 
 The fact was, they didn't know exactly what was the 
 matter with themselves. They could not pretend that it 
 was remorse for the little amount of work they had done 
 during the term, for they stoutly denied that they had done 
 little. On the contrary, they insisted that they were being 
 crammed to a shameful extent. 
 
 Nor was their conscience reproaching them for their past 
 transgressions. Of course, they could not help admitting 
 that they had occasionally got into rows lately, but, as 
 every one knew, it was never their fault. It had always 
 been owing to some accident or piece of bad luck, and it 
 was quite enough to get punished for it, without being 
 expected to reproach themselves for it. 
 
 No. When they came to think of it they didn't see that 
 they had anything to reproach themselves with. On the 
 whole, they were more to be pitied than blamed. They
 
 316 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets." 
 
 invariably meant well, but they never got any credit for 
 their good intentions, while they were everlastingly getting 
 into trouble on account of their ill-luck ! 
 
 The fact of the matter was, these virtuous young gentle- 
 men were suffering from that most painful of maladies 
 dulness. 
 
 They had nothing to do that is, they had nothing to do 
 but work and play cricket. The latter was all very well, 
 but even cricket, when it means three practices a day 
 presided over by a strict senior, gets to be a little weari- 
 some. 
 
 As for the work they groaned as they thought of it. 
 It hadn't been so bad at the beginning of the term, when 
 Bosher's crib to the Caesar and Wakefield's key to 
 Colenso's arithmetic had lent them their genial aid. But 
 ever since Mr. Parrett, in the vindictiveness of his heart, 
 had suddenly started Eutropius in the place of Csesar, and 
 Todhunter in the place of Colenso, life had barely been 
 worth living. 
 
 It was this last grievance which was the special topic 
 of discussion at an informal tea-party held, about a week 
 after the Rockshire match, in Parson's study. 
 
 The company solaced their wounded feelings with 
 unlimited bloater-paste and red- currant jam, and under 
 the soothing influence of these condiments, aided by the 
 watery contents of Parson's teapot, their sorrows found 
 relief in words. 
 
 " I bet anything he pitched on Eutropius," said Parson, 
 with his cup to his lips, " because he knows nobody ever 
 wrote a crib to him." 
 
 " I don't suppose any one could make him out enough," 
 said King. " It's awful rot." 
 
 " Yes, and Ashley says it's awfully bad Latin." 
 
 Parson laughed satirically.
 
 A Tea Party, 317 
 
 " Jolly lot they care what sort of Latin it is as long as 
 they can do us over it." 
 
 11 1 believe," said Bosher, " Gilks has a key to Todhunter." 
 
 "He has? Young Teison had better collar it, then," 
 said King, whose opinions on the laws of property as 
 regarded cribs were lax. 
 
 "Bah! What's the use of bothering?" cried Parson, 
 pouring himself out his eighth cup of tea. " If he pulls me 
 up for not doing the beastly things I shall tell him they're 
 too hard, straight out." 
 
 " Tell him it's jolly gross conduct," cried a voice at the 
 door, followed immediately by Teison, who, contrary to all 
 rules, had slipped across to pay a friendly visit. 
 
 He was welcomed with the usual rejoicing, and duly 
 installed at the festive board. 
 
 " It's all right if I am caught," said he. " Gilks sent me 
 a message to Wibberly, and I just dropped in here on the 
 way. I say, who's going to lick, you or Welch's ? " 
 
 " Welch's 1 " exclaimed the company, in general con- 
 tempt. " It's like their cheek to challenge us. We mean 
 to give them a lesson." 
 
 "Mind you do," said Teison, "or it'll be jolly rough 
 on Parrett's. No end of a poor show you made at the 
 Rockshire." 
 
 " Look here, Teison," said Parson, gravely, " suppose we 
 don't talk about that. We were just wondering if Gilks 
 had got a key to Todhunter somewhere." 
 
 Teison laughed. 
 
 " Wonder if he hadn't ! He's got more cribs than school 
 books, I think." 
 
 " I say," said King, mo c t persuasively, " could you 
 collar it, do you think, old man ? " 
 
 " Eh ? No," said Teison ; " I draw the line at that 
 sort of thing, you know."
 
 3i8 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets:' 
 
 M Well, then," said King, evidently in a state of desperate 
 mental agitation, " could you ever find out the answer for 
 No. tj in Exercise 8, and let me know it in the morning? 
 I'd be awfully obliged." 
 
 Telson said he would see, whereat King was most 
 profuse in his gratitude, and Telron received several other 
 commissions of a similar nature. 
 
 These little matters of business being satisfactorily settled, 
 the company proceeded to the discussion of more general 
 topics. 
 
 " Fearful slow term this," said Parson, with a yawn. 
 
 "Yes," said Telson, spreading a piece of bread with 
 about a quarter-of-an-inch layer of jam ; " we're somehow 
 done out of everything this term." 
 
 M Yes, We can't go out on the river ; we can't go into 
 town ; we can't go and have a lark in Welch's ; you can't 
 come over to see us " 
 
 ** No ; that's a howling shame ! " said Telson. 
 
 ** We can't do anything, in fact," continued Parson (now 
 at cup No. 9). " Why, we haven't had a spree for weeks." 
 
 ** You seemed to think my diary was a spree," said 
 Bosher, meekly. 
 
 There was a general laugh at this. 
 
 M By the way, have you got it here ? M 
 
 " No fear ! I'll take good care you don't see it again, 
 you cads ! " 
 
 *' Eli ? By the way, that reminds me we never paid 
 Bosher out for being a Radical, you fellows," said Parson. 
 
 " Oh, no oh, yes, you did 1 " cried Bosher. " I apolo- 
 gise, you fellows. I'll let you see the diary, you know, 
 some day. Really, I'm not a Radical." 
 
 Fortunately for Bosher, the political excitement at 
 Willoughby had quite worn away, so that no one now felt 
 it his duty to execute the sentence of the law upon him
 
 An Awful Possibility. 319 
 
 and, after being made to apologise on his knees to each of 
 the company in turn, he was solemnly let off. 
 
 " You see," said Parson, returning to the point, " we've 
 been up before Parrett twice this term ; that's the mischief. 
 We might have chanced a spree of some sort, only if we 
 get pulled up again he may expel us." 
 
 There was some force in this argument, and it was 
 generally agreed it would be better for Willoughby that the 
 risk of a calamity like this should not be incurred. 
 
 " Fact is," said Telson, cutting another slice of bread* 
 " Willoughby's going to the dogs as hard as it can. The 
 seniors in our house are down on you if you do anything. 
 I even got pulled up the other day for having a duel with 
 young Payne with elastics. Awful spree it was J We gave 
 one another six yards, and six shots each. I got on to his 
 face four times, and once on his ear, and he only hit me 
 twice. One of mine was right in his eye, and there was a 
 shindy made, and I got sixty lines from Fairbairn." 
 
 " What a frightful shame 1 " cried the company. 
 
 " Yes," said King ; " and it's just as bad here. The 
 new monitors pull you up for everything. You can't even 
 chuck boots about in the passage but they are down on 
 you. It was bad enough when Game and that lot were 
 monitors, but ever since they've been turned out and the 
 new chaps stuck in it's worse." 
 
 " And they My it's just aa bad in Welch's," said Wake- 
 field. 
 
 " You know," said Parson, profoundly, pouring himself 
 out a fresh cup" you know, if Riddell and Bloomfield 
 ever took it into their heads to pull together, we'd have an 
 awful time of it" 
 
 The bare possibility of such a calamity was enough to 
 sober even the wildest spirit present. 
 
 "These seniors are a nuisance," said Tebon, after a
 
 320 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets. ' 
 
 pause ; " and the worst of it is, ire can't well pay thei* 
 out." 
 
 " Not in school, or in the Big either," said King. 
 
 "We might stick nettles in their beds, you know,** 
 suggested Bosher, " or something of that sort." 
 
 " Rather low, that," said Parson, " and not much fan." 
 
 "Would leeches be better?" said Bosher, who had 
 lately been giving himself to scientific investigation. 
 
 It was considered leeches might not be bad, but there 
 was rather too much uncertainty about their mode of action. 
 That was a sort of thing more in Cusack's and the Welchers* 
 line than the present company's. 
 
 " I tell you what," said Telson, struck with an idea, " we 
 might get at them in Parliament ; they're always so jolly fond 
 of talking about fair play there, and every one being equal. 
 Do you know, I think we might have a little fling there ! " 
 
 " Not at all a bad idea," said Parson, admiringly "jolly 
 fine idea ! We can do what those cads do in the news- 
 papers obstruct the business ! Rattling idea ! " 
 
 "Yes; and fancy Messrs. Telson, Parson, Bosher, and 
 Co. being suspended," said King. 
 
 " They couldn't do it, I tell you," said Bosher ; " we'd 
 kick up a shine about freedom of speech, and all that. 
 Anyhow, it would be rather a spree, whether we were 
 kicked out or not. We'd be a ' party ' you know ! " 
 
 The idea took, and an animated consultation took place. 
 Parson, for a junior, was very well up in the "rules of the 
 House," and at his suggestion the notice-paper for to- 
 morrow's assembly was got hold of and filled with " amend- 
 ments." 
 
 " Call them amendments," said he, " and they can't say 
 anything." 
 
 "Oh, all serene," said Telson, who had implicit con- 
 fidence in his friend.
 
 A few Amendtnents. 321 
 
 "For instance, here you are," said Parson, "'Mr. 
 
 Coates to move that Classics is a nobler study than Mathe- 
 matics.' Amendment proposed : ' Instead of " nobler " 
 say "viler."' Proposed by Bosher, further amendment: 
 ' Instead of " nobler " say " beastlier." ' Proposed by 
 Telson (" Hear, hear," from Telson) further amendment: 
 ' Instead of " nobler " say " more idiotic." ' You see it can 
 easily be worked, and when we've done with ' nobler ' we 
 can start on the ' is ' and amend it to ' are,' do you twig ? 
 There'll have to be a division over each. I say it'll be an 
 awful lark ! " 
 
 Little dreaming of the delightful treat in store for it, 
 Willoughby assembled next afternoon, expecting nothing 
 better than a dull debate on the well-worn question of 
 classics versus mathematics. They were destined to 
 experience more than one surprise before the meeting was 
 over. 
 
 Riddell, who had spent a dismal day, not knowing what 
 to do or think, and vainly hoping that Wyndham might by 
 his own free confession solve the bitter problem, came to 
 the meeting. It was the least wretched thing he could do. 
 Anything was better than sitting alone and brooding over 
 his secret. 
 
 For the first time he received a cheer as he entered and 
 took his accustomed place. Willoughby was grateful to him 
 for that catch in the Rockshire match. How, at any other 
 time, the captain would have rejoiced over that cheer I But 
 now he hardly heard it 
 
 All the other heroes of the match received a similar 
 ovation in proportion to the service they had done, and 
 when, just at the last moment, Fairbairn, Coates, and 
 Crossfield came in together, the " House " rose at them and 
 cheered tremendously. 
 
 The business was preceded by the usual questions, none 
 
 II
 
 322 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets." 
 
 of which, however, were very important. After the 
 captain's performance last week, and perhaps still more 
 after his speech in the House a week or two ago, honour- 
 able men had shown themselves less active in " baiting " him 
 and asking him offensive questions, and on this occasion he 
 was only interrogated once, and that was by Cusack, who 
 wanted to know whether they were not going to get a whole 
 holiday in honour of the Rockshire match ? The captain 
 replied that he had heard nothing about it. 
 
 Bosher was put up to ask Bloomfield whether he con- 
 sidered Eutropius fit reading for young boys ? Loud cheers 
 from all the small boys in question greeted the inquiry, in 
 the midst of which Bloomfield cunningly replied that the 
 honourable member had better give notice of the question 
 for next time. 
 
 Then rose Telson, with all the dignity of office, and 
 solemnly inquired of Mr. Stutter, the Premier, whether he 
 was aware that a new party had lately been formed in the 
 House, consisting of Messrs. Telson, Parson, Bosher, King, 
 and Wakefield, called the " Sky-rockets," whose object was 
 to look after the interests of the juniors all over the school, 
 and who would be glad to receive fresh members at one 
 shilling a head ? 
 
 Stutter, who was scarcely heard in the uproar which 
 followed this sensational announcement, meekly replied that 
 he had not heard a word about it, an answer which, for 
 some reason or other, provoked almost as much laughter as 
 the question. 
 
 " All very well for them to grin," growled Telson, who 
 had expected a somewhat different reception to his im- 
 portant question : " wait till we start on the amendments." 
 
 The opportunity soon arrived. Coates being called upon 
 to open the debate, let off the speech he had prepared, an4 
 if he did not convince the House that classics was a noblei
 
 Parson has the Steam up. 323 
 
 study than mathematics, he at least showed that he had 
 convinced himself. 
 
 The " Sky-rockets " had barely the patience to hear him 
 out, and the moment he had done, Parson started to his 
 feet, and shouted, 
 
 " Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I beg to move an 
 amendment " 
 
 Here Bloomfield, whom the sight of the notice paper had 
 prepared for what was coming, interposed, 
 
 " When I am ready for the honourable member I will 
 call on him. The motion is not yet seconded." 
 
 "No, no! That won't wash, will it, you fellows?" cried 
 Parson, excitedly, planting himself firmly in his place, and 
 evidently seeing through the deep designs of the enemy. 
 " Bother seconding ! I mean to move my amendment, if 
 I stick here all night ! (Terrific Sky-rocket cheers.) We 
 kids have been snubbed long enough, and we're going to 
 make a stand 1 ("Question," "Order.") All very well for 
 you to sing out ' Order ' " 
 
 The CHAIRMAN : " Will the honourable member " 
 
 " No, he won't 1 " screamed Parson, with the steam well 
 up ; " and he's not going to ! I've got a right to be heard 
 we've all got a right to be heard, and we're going to be 
 heard, what's more 1 (Tremendous cheers from the club.) 
 We're all equal here, aren't we, you chaps ? " (" Rather ! ") 
 
 Here Fairbairn rose to order, but Parson was too quick 
 for him. 
 
 " No, no ! " he cried, " we don't want any of your jaw ! 
 We're not going to be shut up by you ! We're a party, I tell 
 you, and we're bound to stick out ! (" Hear, hear," from 
 Bosher.) We expected you'd be trying to sit on us, but 
 we made up our minds we won't be sat on 1 (Prolonged 
 cheers.) I've not begun my speech yet (laughter) and I 
 don't mean to till you hold your rows 1 "
 
 324 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets:' 
 
 Here there were loud cries of " Order " from various 
 parts of the House, which, however, only served to inspirit 
 the speaker, who proceeded at the top of his voice, 
 
 " It's no use your going on like that. (I say, you chaps," 
 added he, turning round to his companions, " back me up, 
 I'm getting husky.) You think we're a lot of fools " 
 
 (" We're a lot of fools ! " chimed in the chorus, by way 
 of backing up their orator.) 
 
 " But we're not as green as we look 1 " 
 
 (" Green as we look ! ") 
 
 " You all seem to think it funny ! * 
 
 ('Think it funny!") 
 
 " But you needn't think you'll shut us up I" 
 
 (" Shut us up ! ") 
 
 Here another attempt was made on the part of the chair- 
 man to reduce the meeting to order. Above the laughter 
 and cheering and hooting he cried at the top of his voice, 
 " Unless you stop your foolery, Parson, I'll have you turned 
 out!" 
 
 "Will you? Who's going to stop my foolery?" yelled 
 Parson. 
 
 (" Stop my foolery ? ") howled the chorus. 
 
 " Try it on, that's all 1 You don't think we funk you I " 
 
 (" We funk you ! ") 
 
 14 Do you suppose we don't know what we're doing ? " 
 
 (" We don't know what we're doing ? ") 
 
 " Look out, you fellows ! Hold on ! " 
 
 This last remark was caused by a rush upon the devoted 
 band, with a view to carry out the edict of the chairman. 
 
 Parson went on with his oration till he was secured, hand 
 and foot, and carried forcibly to the door, and even then 
 continued to address the house, struggling and kicking 
 between every syllable. His backers, equally determined, 
 clung on to the forms and desks, and continued to shout
 
 After the Fray. 325 
 
 and scream and caterwaul till they were one by one 
 ejected. 
 
 Even then they maintained their noble stand for freedom 
 of speech by howling through the keyhole and kicking at 
 the door, till finally a select band of volunteers was dis- 
 patched " to clear the approaches to the House " and drive 
 the Sky-rockets to their own distant studies, where they 
 organised a few brawls on their own account, and ended 
 the afternoon very hoarse, very tired, but by no means cast 
 down. 
 
 " Jolly spree, wasn't it ? " said Parson, when it was all 
 over, fanning himself with a copybook and readjusting his 
 collar. 
 
 " Stunning I " said Telson ; " never thought they'd stand 
 it so long. No end of a speech, that of yours 1 " 
 
 " Yes," said Parson, complacently ; " most of it im- 
 promptu, too 1 Managed to spin it out, I fancy 1 " 
 
 " Rather," said King, admiringly. " I began to make 
 mine after you'd got kicked out, but couldn't get out much 
 of it" 
 
 " Well, all I can say is it was a jolly lark. I feel quite 
 hungry after it," said Telson. " Any of that jam left, old 
 man ?" 
 
 And so these heroes appropriately celebrated their 
 glorious field-day with a no less glorious banquet, which 
 amply compensated for all the little inconveniences they 
 had had to endure in the course of the afternoon's enter- 
 tainment 
 
 Meanwhile, rather more serious work was going on in the 
 Great Hall. 
 
 The Sky-rockets being ejected, the house proceeded in a 
 somewhat humdrum fashion to discuss the relative merits of 
 classics and mathematics. Several of the seniors and a f cw 
 Limpets had prepared speeches, which they duly delivered
 
 326 An Explosion of " Sky-rockets? 
 
 Contrary to the expectation of most present, Riddell took 
 no part in the discussion. As head classic, a speech from 
 him had been quite counted on ; but not even the calls of 
 the one side or the taunts of the other could get him on 
 to his feet 
 
 The fact was, he only half heard what was going on. His 
 thoughts were far away, busied with a far more serious 
 inward debate than that on the notice-paper. 
 
 At length he could remain idle no longer. He must go 
 and find out Wyndham, or see the doctor, or pay another 
 visit to Tom the boat-boy anything rather than this suspense 
 and misery and inaction. 
 
 He took advantage or a more than ordinarily dreary 
 speech from Tedbury to rise and make his retreat quietly 
 from the room. 
 
 But before he had reached the door Tedbury's voice 
 abruptly ceased and Wibberly's was heard saying, 
 
 " Mr. Chairman, I see Mr. Riddell is leaving the meeting. 
 Will you allow me to ask him a question before he goes ? " 
 
 There was something strange about this interruption, and 
 also in the manner in which the question was asked, which 
 drew the sudden attention of the house, and all eyes were 
 turned on the captain. 
 
 He stopped and turned in his usual nervous, half-inquiring 
 way, apparently not quite sure what had been said or who 
 had spoken. 
 
 "Mr. Wibberly," said Bloomfield, "wishes to ask a 
 question of Mr. Riddell." 
 
 " It is merely this," said Wibberly, rapidly, and giving no 
 time for any objection to be raised on the point of order. 
 ' I wish to ask Mr. Riddell whether he has found out yet 
 wno cut the rudder-line of Parrett's boat at the boat-race, or 
 vhether he suspects anybody, and, if so, whom ? " 
 
 At this unlooked-for question a hubbub immediately
 
 A critical Question. 327 
 
 arose. Several schoolhouse fellows protested against the 
 proceedings being interrupted in this way, and even Bloom* 
 field exclaimed across the table, 
 
 "For goodness' sake, Wibberly, don't bring up that 
 wretched subject again." 
 
 But those who had watched Riddell had seen him turn 
 suddenly pale at the question, and for a moment make as 
 though he would rush from the room. But he stopped 
 himself, and turned like a hunted deer on the questioner. 
 
 A dead silence fell on the assembly, as Wibberly coolly 
 said, 
 
 " I will repeat the questions. Has Mr. Riddell found 
 out who cut the rudder- lines ? or does he suspect any one? 
 and, if so, who is it ? " 
 
 Every eye turned on Riddell. The brief pause had given 
 him time to collect himself and fight out the inward battle ; 
 and now he answered steadily, 
 
 " I do suspect some one. But until I am perfectly sure 
 I shall not say who it is." 
 
 So saying, he quietly left the room.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 EVERYTHING GONE WRONG. 
 
 IDDELL was fairly committed to his task now. Like 
 the good old general who burned his ships when he 
 landed on the enemy's shores, he had cut off from himself 
 the slightest possibility of a retreat, and must now either go 
 right through with the matter or confess himself a miserable 
 failure. 
 
 The consciousness of this nerved him with unlooked-for 
 courage, and he walked from the Parliament that afternoon 
 a very different being from the boy who had entered it. 
 He had entered it cowed, irresolute, wretched; he left it 
 indeed still wretched, but with his spirit roused and his mind 
 made up. His duty lay clear before him, and whatever it 
 cost he must do it 
 
 Whether Wibberly was himself the writer of the mysterious 
 letter, or whether some one had prompted him to ask the 
 question, or whether his asking it just at this time was a 
 mere coincidence, he did not trouble to decide. 
 
 He felt rather grateful to him than otherwise for having 
 asked it, just as one is occasionally grateful to the thunder- 
 clap for clearing the air. 
 
 The first thing without doubt was to find Wyndham, and 
 come to a clear understanding as to whether or not he was 
 the culprit ; and the captain lost no time in attempting to 
 put this resolve into practice. 
 
 It would not do, he knew, immediately after the scene in
 
 Cusack' s report. 329 
 
 the Parliament, when everybody would be on the tip-toe of 
 curiosity, to be seen holding a secret interview with any 
 particular boy. He therefore decided wisely to wait till 
 the usual time when Wyndham was in the habit of coming 
 to his study to do his lessons. Meanwhile, to make sure of 
 his coming, he sent him a message by Cusack to tell him to 
 be sure and turn up. 
 
 Cusack, little suspecting the importance of this simple 
 message, delivered it glibly, and being of course brimful of 
 the excitement of the hour, he remained a little to regale 
 Wyndham with a history of the afternoon's events. 
 
 " Oh, I say," said he, " you weren't at Parliament this 
 afternoon. There was no end of a shine on." 
 
 " Was there ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 " Rather. What do you think ? those young Parrett's 
 cads came down in a body and kicked up the biggest row 
 you ever saw said they were a club, and made no end of 
 beasts of themselves, and got kicked out at last, and serve 
 them right too." 
 
 "They're always fooling about at something," said 
 Wyndham. 
 
 " That they are. They want a good taking down, and 
 we mean to do it next week in the junior house match." 
 
 " Ah," said Wyndham, who amid all his recent troubles 
 could never forget that he was a second-eleven man. "Ah, 
 I heard the juniors' match was to come off. What day is it 
 to be?" 
 
 " Thursday." 
 
 " Oh, I must come and have a look at you. Is Welch's 
 going to win ? " 
 
 " Going to try, and I fancy we're pretty fair. They've 
 been lazy, you know, in Parrett's, and so we get a pull there. 
 Oh, but I was saying that row with the kids wasn't all this 
 tftemoon. Just at the end that cad Wibberly got up and
 
 330 Everything gone Wrong. 
 
 asked Riddell some more about the boat-race they're 
 always hammering away at that, and what do you think 
 Riddell said guess 1 " 
 
 " I can't," said Wyndham. 
 
 " Why he said he knew who the chap was who had cut 
 the strings, or fancied he did 1 " 
 
 "Who is it?" exclaimed Wyndham, excitedly. 
 
 "That's what he won't say. And of course there's an 
 awful row on. They say they'll make him tell, or kick him 
 out of the school or something. They're in no end of a 
 rage." 
 
 Why doesn't he tell who it is ? " asked Wyndham. 
 
 " Oh, he says he's not sure, or something like that. But 
 I dare say he'll tell you all about it this evening. You're 
 to be sure and turn up, he says, at preparation time." 
 
 And off went this vivacious messenger, leaving Wyndham 
 in a considerable state of astonishment and perturbation. 
 
 What did Riddell want him for ? He had not seen him 
 since that evening, a week ago, when he had so nearly con- 
 fessed to him about Beamish's. He hardly liked not to go 
 now, although he knew it would be hard to avoid letting out 
 the wretched secret which he had promised Gilks and Silk 
 to keep. 
 
 Besides, uneasy as he was about this, he could not help 
 feeling excited about what Cusack had just told him of the 
 boat-race affair. And most likely, when he came to con- 
 sider, Riddell would be so full of that that he might perhaps 
 not say any more about Beamish's. 
 
 So Wyndham decided to go, and in due time presented 
 himself with his books at the captain's study. 
 
 He could see at once that Riddell was in one of his 
 serious moods, and his heart sank, for he had no doubt 
 what was coming, and felt that, unless he were to break his 
 promise, matters were sure to be made worse.
 
 Wyndhams appeal. 331 
 
 " I'm glad you've come," said Riddell ; " you went off so 
 suddenly the other evening." 
 
 "Yes," said Wyndham; "the lock-up bell rang, and I 
 was bound to be in my house before it stopped." 
 
 "You know what I want to see you about now, 
 Wyndham ? " said the captain, nervously. 
 
 "Yes," replied the boy, doggedly; " I suppose I da" 
 
 There was a long, uncomfortable pause, at the end of 
 which Riddell said," " Surely, Wyndham, you are not going 
 to leave it to me to clear up this matter ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the boy, burying his face 
 in his hands, and utterly unnerved by the tones of his 
 friend's voice. 
 
 " I mean this," said Riddeli, as firmly as he could, " that 
 there are only two courses open. Either you must confess 
 what you have done, of your own accord, or it will be my 
 duty to do it for you." 
 
 " I don't see how it's your duty to tell everybody," said 
 the boy. " I should get expelled to a dead certainty ! " 
 
 " It must either be one or the other," said the captain. 
 
 " Oh, Riddell ! " exclaimed the boy, springing to his feet, 
 " don't say that I I know I've been a cad, and let myself be 
 led into it ; but surely it's not so bad as all that 1 You've 
 always been a brick to me, I know, and I've not been half 
 grateful enough. But do let us off this time ! please do ! 
 I can't tell you anything; I would gladly, only I've 
 promised. You wouldn't have me break my promise ? If 
 you tell of me I shall be expelled I know I shall ! Do 
 help me out this time ! " 
 
 " Poor fellow 1 " said Riddell, who was not proof against 
 this sort of appeal from any one, least of all from one he 
 loved. 
 
 The boy was quick in the energy of his despair to follow 
 up his advantage.
 
 332 Everything gone Wrong. 
 
 " I'd make it good any other way any way you like 
 but don't have me expelled, Riddell. Think of them all at 
 home, what a state they would be in 1 I know I deserve 
 it ; but can't you get me out of it ? " 
 
 " If you were to go to the doctor and tell him every- 
 thing " began RiddelL 
 
 " Oh, that's just what I can't do ! " exclaimed Wyndham. 
 " I'd do it like a shot if it was only myself in it. I don't 
 know how you found it all out, I'm sure ; but I can't go 
 and tell the doctor, even if it was to get me off being 
 expelled." 
 
 It was no use going on like this. Riddell was getting 
 unmanned every moment, and Wyndham by these wild 
 appeals was only prolonging the agony. 
 
 " Wyndham, old fellow," said the captain, in tones full of 
 sympathy and pity, " if I had dreamt all this was to happen 
 I would never have come to Willoughby at all. I know 
 what troubles you have had this term, and how bravely you 
 have been trying to turn over a new leaf. I'd give any- 
 thing to be able to help you out of this, but I tell you 
 plainly I don't see how to do it If you like, I'll go with 
 you to the doctor, and " 
 
 " No, no I " exclaimed Wyndham, wildly, " I can't do 
 that ! I can't do that ! " 
 
 "Then," said Riddell, gravely, "I must go to him by 
 myself." 
 
 Wyndham looked up and tried to speak, and then fairly 
 broke down. 
 
 " If the honour of the whole school were not involved " 
 
 Wyndham looked up in a startled way. "The honour 
 of the school? What has it got to do with my going 
 
 What strange fatality was there about Riddell's study 
 door that it always opened at the most inopportune times ?
 
 Ttie two Captains. 333 
 
 Just as Wyndham began to speak it opened again, and 
 Bloomfield, of all persons, appeared. 
 
 " I want to speak to you, Riddell," he said. 
 
 The words were uttered before he had noticed that the 
 captain was not alone, or that his visitor was young 
 Wyndham, in a state of great distress hardly greater than 
 that of Riddell himself. 
 
 As soon as he did perceive it he drew back, and said, " I 
 beg your pardon ; I didn't know any one was here." 
 
 " 111 go," said Wyndham, hurriedly, going to the door, 
 and hardly lifting his eyes from the ground as he passed. 
 
 Bloomfield could hardly help noticing his strange ap- 
 pearance, or wondering at it. 
 
 " Anything wrong with young Wyndham ? " said he, not 
 sorry to have some way of breaking the ice. 
 
 "He's in trouble," said the captain. "Won't you sit 
 down ? " 
 
 It was a very long time since the head of Parrett's and 
 the captain of the school had met in this polite way. But 
 Bloomfield for some time past had shown signs of coming 
 round to see that the position which had been forced upon 
 him, and which he had been very ready at first to accept, 
 was not a satisfactory one. And, greatly to the disgust of 
 some of his fellow-monitors, he had shown this more than 
 once by friendly advances towards his rival. But, so far, he 
 had never got to the length of calling upon him in his 
 study. 
 
 Riddell was scarcely surprised to see him, although he 
 was quite unprepared for the very amicable way in which 
 he began. 
 
 " I'm sorry to interrupt you," said Bloomfield, " but I've 
 been intending to come over the last day or two." 
 
 " It's very good of you," said Riddell. 
 
 11 The fact is," said Bloomfield, a little nervously, " evei
 
 334 Everything gone Wrong. 
 
 since that debate in Parliament some weeks ago, when you 
 spoke about all pulling together, I've felt that our feHows 
 haven't done as much as they ought in that way I know 
 I haven't" 
 
 Riddell did not exactly know what to say. He could 
 not say that the Parrett's fellows had " pulled together " for 
 the good of the School, so he said nothing. 
 
 " I'm getting rather sick of it," continued Bloomfield, 
 digging his hands in his pockets. 
 
 " So am I," said the captain. 
 
 "You know," said Bloomfield, "it was that wretched 
 boat-race affair which made things as bad as they were. 
 Our fellows wouldn't have kept it up so long if that hadn't 
 happened." 
 
 Riddell began to get more and more uneasy. He had 
 expected this was coming, and there was no escaping it. 
 
 " It was an awfully ugly business, of course," continued 
 Bloomfield ; " and though no one suspected fellows like 
 you and Fairbairn of such a thing, our fellows, you know, 
 were pretty sure some one was at the bottom of it." 
 
 Riddell could not help thinking, in the midst of his 
 uneasiness, how very sagacious the Parrett's fellows had 
 been to make the discovery ! 
 
 " And now," said Bloomfield, looking up, and feeling 
 relieved to have his speech nearly done " now that you've 
 found out who it is, and it's all going to be cleared up, I 
 think things ought to come all right." 
 
 It was a painful situation for the captain of Willoughby. 
 The bribe which Bloomfield offered for his secret was what 
 had been the wish of his heart the whole term. If he 
 accepted it now there would be an end to all the wretched 
 squabbles which had worked such mischief in the school 
 the last few months, and the one object of his ambition as 
 head of the school would be realised
 
 Who is it? 335 
 
 Surely, now, he could hold back no longer. His duty, 
 his interest, the honour of the school, all demanded his 
 secret of him ; whereas if he held it back things would be 
 worse than ever before. 
 
 And yet he hesitated. 
 
 That last wild half-finished exclamation of Wyndham's 
 lingered in his mind and perplexed him.' Suppose there 
 should be some mistake? With that knife in his pocket, 
 and the poor boy's whole conduct and demeanour to corro- 
 borate its story, he could scarcely hope it. But suppose 
 there was a doubt, or even the shadow of a doubt, what 
 right had he to accuse him, or even to breathe his name ? 
 
 " I hope it will be cleared up before long," said he. 
 
 " Why, you said you knew who it was 1 " said Bloomfield. 
 
 " I said I suspected somebody." 
 
 " Who is it ? " asked Bloomfield. 
 
 "I can't tell you," replied Riddell. "I'm not sure; I 
 may be wrong." 
 
 " But surely you're not going to keep a thing like this 
 to yourself ! " exclaimed Bloomfield, warmly ; " it concerns 
 everybody in the school. I've a right, at any rate, as stroke 
 of the Parrett's boat, to know who it is." 
 
 " Of course, you have ; and if I was quite sure I was 
 right I would tell you." 
 
 " But you can tell me whom you suspect," said Bloom- 
 field, who had not anticipated this difficulty. 
 
 " No, I cannot," replied the captain. 
 
 "In confidence, at any rate," said Bloomfield. 
 
 " No, not till I am sure. I really cannot." 
 
 Bloomfield's manner changed. This rebuff was not 
 what he had expected. He had come here partly out of 
 curiosity partly from a desire to be friendly, and partly 
 owing to the eagerness of his companions to have an ex- 
 planation. He had never doubted but that he would
 
 33$ Everything gone Wrong. 
 
 succeed; nay, even that Riddell would be glad to meet 
 him more than half way. But now it seemed this was not 
 to be, and Bloomfield lost his temper. 
 
 "You mean to say," said he, angrily, "you're going to 
 keep it to yourself? " 
 
 "Yes, till I am sure." 
 
 Till you are sure ! What are you going to do to make 
 it sure, I'd like to know ? 
 
 " Everything I can." 
 
 " You know, I suppose, what everybody says about you 
 and the whole concern ? " said Bloomfield. 
 
 " I can't help what they say," said the captain. 
 
 " They say that if you chose you could tell straight out 
 like an honest man who it is." 
 
 Riddell looked quickly up at the speaker, and Bloomfield 
 felt half ashamed of the taunt directly it escaped his lips. 
 
 "I say that's what the fellows think," said he, "and it's 
 in your own interest to clear yourself. They think you are 
 shielding some one." 
 
 The captain's face changed colour rapidly, and Bloom- 
 field was quick enough to see it. 
 
 " It's hardly what fellows had been led to expect of you," 
 said he, with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. " Anyhow 
 it knocks on the head any idea of our pulling together as I 
 had hoped. I certainly shall do nothing towards it as long 
 as this ugly business is going on." 
 
 " Bloomfield, I've told you " began Riddell. 
 
 "You've told me a great deal," said Bloomfield, "but 
 you can't deny that you are sheltering the cad, whoever he 
 is, under the pretext of not being quite sure," 
 
 Riddell said nothing, and Bloomfield, seeing nothing 
 could come of this altercation, left the room. 
 
 At the door, however, a thought struck him. Could that 
 agitated scene between Riddell and young Wynda*m,
 
 A Strait. 337 
 
 which he had interrupted by his arrival, have had anything 
 to do with this mystery ? 
 
 He recollected now what a state of distress both had 
 been in ; and, now he thought of it, surely he had heard 
 Wyndham's voice saying something in tones of very eager 
 appeal at the moment the door was open. Besides 
 Wyndham had been very "down" for a week past. 
 Bloomfield had noticed it at the cricket practices; and 
 more than one fellow had spoken of it in his hearing. He 
 knew too how thick the boy was with the captain, and with 
 what almost brotherly concern Riddell watched over all his 
 interests ; every one in Willoughby knew it. 
 
 Bloomfield was only a moderately clever youth, but he 
 knew enough to put two and two together ; and, as he 
 stood there at the door, the state of the case flashed across 
 his mind. He might get at the secret after all ! 
 
 "You forget that other people can suspect besides you, 
 Riddell," he said, turning back. " Suppose I was to 
 suspect that precious young friend of yours who stood 
 blubbering here just now ? " 
 
 It was well for the captain that his back was turned as 
 Bloomfield said this, otherwise the least doubt as to the 
 correctness of his guess would have been instantly dis- 
 pelled. 
 
 The last strait in which Riddell found himself was worse 
 than any that had gone before. For he could not deny, 
 and to say nothing would be the same as assenting. The 
 secret was out, and what could he do? The only thing 
 seemed to be to appeal to Bloomfield's generosity, to ex- 
 plain all to him, and to implore him, for a day or two at 
 least, to keep sacred the confidence. 
 
 And yet it was the old question suppose he were 
 wrong, and suppose after all Wyndham were not the 
 culprit, what grievous wrong would he be doing him by
 
 338 Everything gone Wrong. 
 
 admitting even his suspicion ! He composed himself with 
 an effort, and turning, replied, 
 
 " Excuse me, Bloomfield, I've told you I can say nothing 
 at present, and it is really useless to say any more about 
 it" 
 
 Bloomfield departed, perplexed and angry. His anger 
 was partly because he could not help feeling that Riddell 
 was in the right; and his perplexity was to know what 
 to think of it all, and whether his guess about young 
 Wyndham was near the mark or not 
 
 "Well," inquired Game, who with one or two of the 
 most ardent Parretts was eagerly waiting his return. 
 " Have you got it out of him ? " 
 
 "No," said Bloomfield, "he won't tell me." 
 
 " The cad ! " exclaimed Game. " Why ever not ? " 
 
 "He says he's not sure, that's why," said Bloomfield; 
 f< but it's my private opinion he's shielding some one or 
 other." 
 
 "Of course he is," said Ashley. "I shouldn't wonder 
 if he's known who it is all along." 
 
 " Anyhow," said Tipper, " he ought to be made to clear 
 it up, or else pay up for it. I know I'll cut him dead next 
 time I see him." 
 
 " So shall we," replied one or two others. 
 
 " He won't afflict himself much about that," said Bloom- 
 field; "if I were sure he didn't want to shirk it I'd be 
 inclined to give him a day or two before doing anything." 
 
 " What's the use ? Of course he wants to shirk it," said 
 Game, " and thinks it will blow over if it goes long enough. 
 I'll take precious good care it doesn't, though." 
 
 "Upon my honour," said Ashley, "I never expected 
 Willoughby would come to this pass. It was bad enough 
 to have a coward and a fool as captain, but it's rather too 
 much when he turns out to be a cheat too ! " 
 
 " And to think that he ever got stuck in the first eleven,"
 
 The Captain is Summed up. 339 
 
 said Tipper. " I told you, Bloomfield, he'd be no credit to 
 you." 
 
 "He caught out that best man of theirs," said Bloom- 
 field. 
 
 " Bah ! I'd sooner have lost the match twice over,** 
 exclaimed Game, " than win it with his help ! " 
 
 And so these estimable young gentlemen, satisfied that 
 they alone were the glory and support of Willoughby, dis- 
 posed in their own minds of their wicked captain, and 
 thanked their lucky stars they were made of nobler stuff 
 and loftier principle.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 WYDNHAM MAKES A FINAL VENTURE. 
 
 IF any proof had been needed that young Wyndham was 
 " down," as the Parrett's fellows termed it, the fact that 
 he did not put in appearance at the second-eleven practice 
 next day supplied it. 
 
 Bloomfield, who in ordinary course had strolled round to 
 watch the play, noticed his absence, and drew his own con- 
 clusions from it 
 
 To Bloomfield's credit be it said that, whatever his own 
 suspicions may have been, he had been as reluctant as 
 Riddell himself, as long as any doubt existed, to name 
 Wyndham publicly as the culprit for whom all Willoughby 
 was on the look-out. He had been very angry with Riddell 
 for his reserve, but when it came to the point of publishing 
 his own suspicions or not, his better feeling prevented him, 
 and led him to copy the captain's example. 
 
 For Riddell's reply to the suggestion of Wyndham's name 
 had neither confirmed or denied its correctness. He had 
 merely declined to say anything about the matter, so that 
 as far as Bloomfield was concerned it was no more than a 
 guess, and that being so, he too was wise enough to keep it 
 to himself. 
 
 However, now that he noticed Wyndham's unwonted 
 absence from the cricket practice, he felt more than ever 
 convinced something was wrong in that quarter. 
 
 And so there was.
 
 To Gilks First. 341 
 
 Wyndham, with a drawn sword, so to speak, over his 
 head, was fit for nothing. 
 
 He dared not go back to RiddelL As long as his tongue 
 was tied any explanation was impossible, and unless he 
 could explain, it was worse than useless to talk to the 
 captain. 
 
 Equally out of the question was a confession to the 
 doctor, or a letter explaining all to his brother. The only 
 thing was either to make up his mind to his fate, or else, by 
 getting Silk and Gilks to release him from his promise, to 
 get his tongue free to make a full confession of his own de- 
 linquencies, and throw himself entirely on the doctor's mercy. 
 
 This last chance seemed feeble enough. But a drowning 
 man will clutch at a straw, and so Wyndham, as his last 
 hope, faced the unpromising task of working on the 
 generosity of his two old patrons. 
 
 He began with Gilks. Gilks was in his own house, and 
 had always seemed to be the least vicious, as he was also 
 the least clever of the two. Besides, of late it was notorious 
 .Gilks and Silk were no longer the friends they had been. 
 There was a mystery about their recent quarrel ; but as 
 Gilks had been down in the mouth ever since, while Silk 
 showed no signs of dejection, it was safe to assume the 
 former had come off second best. 
 
 Wyndham therefore selected Gilks for his first attempt as 
 being on the whole the less formidable of the two. 
 
 He found him in his study listlessly turning over the 
 pages of a novel, which evidently must either have been 
 a very stupid one or else not nearly as engrossing as the 
 reader's own reflections. 
 
 He looked up with some surprise to see Wyndham, who 
 since he had somewhat ostentatiously cut his and Silk's 
 acquaintance some weeks ago, had never been near him. 
 
 "What do you want here?" he demanded, not very 
 encouragingly.
 
 342 WyndJiam makes a Final Venture. 
 
 M I know you've not much reason to be friendly with me," 
 began the boy, " but I want to speak to you, if I may." 
 
 " What about ? " said Gilks, roughly. 
 
 The poor boy seemed suddenly to realise the hopeless 
 nature of the task he had undertaken, and he nearly broke 
 down completely as he answered, 
 
 " I'm in awful trouble, Gilks." 
 
 " What's that to do with me ? " asked Gilks. 
 
 Wyndham struggled hard to shake off the weakness that 
 had come over him, and replied, 
 
 " It's about those visits to to Beamish's. They that is, 
 Riddell I don't know how or who told him but he seems 
 to have found out about it" 
 
 " Riddell 1 " cried Gilks, scornfully ; " who cares for 
 him?" 
 
 " Oh, but," continued Wyndham, tremulously, " he means 
 to report me for it." 
 
 " What ? report you ? I thought you and he were such 
 dear pious friends," sneered Gilks. 
 
 " We are friends ; but he says it is his duty to do it." 
 
 Gilks laughed scornfully. 
 
 " Of course, it is ! It only needs for a thing to be mean 
 and low, and it will always be his duty to do it. Bah 1 the 
 hypocrite ! " 
 
 Wyndham was proof against this invective. Nay, bitterly 
 as the captain's sense of duty affected him, he could not 
 help a passing feeling of indignation on his friend's behalf 
 at Gilk's words. 
 
 But he was prudent enough to keep his feelings to himself.j 
 
 " Of course," said he, " if he does report me for it, I shall 
 be expelled." 
 
 " You may be sure of that," replied Gilks, "but what's all 
 this got to do with me ? " 
 
 Wyndham looked up in surprise.
 
 Wyndham and Gilks. 343 
 
 "Why," said he rather nervously. "Of course you 
 know, we, that is you and I and Silk, are all sort of in the 
 same boat over this affair. That is, if it all came out. But 
 I fancy Riddell only suspects me." 
 
 " Well, if he does," said Gilks, " it's all the less any con- 
 cern of mine." 
 
 "I promised, you know," said Wyndham, "to you and 
 Silk to say nothing about it." 
 
 " Of course you did," said Gilks, " and you'd better stick 
 to it, or it'll be the worse for you ! " 
 
 " I think," continued the boy, " and Riddell says so if I 
 were to go and tell the Doctor about it, only about myself, 
 you know, he might perhaps not expel me." 
 
 "Well?" said Gilks. 
 
 " Well," said Wyndham, "of course I couldn't do it after 
 promising you and Silk. But I thought if I promised not 
 to say anything about you and make out that it was all my 
 fault, you wouldn't mind my telling Paddy." 
 
 Gilks looked at the boy in perplexity. This was a code 
 of morality decidedly beyond him, and for a moment he 
 looked as if he half doubted whether it was not a jest. 
 
 " What on earth do you mean, you young muff ? " he 
 exclaimed. 
 
 " I mean, may I go and tell him that I went those two 
 times to Beamish's ? I promise to say nothing about you." 
 
 Gilks laughed once more. 
 
 "What do I care what you go and tell him?" he said. 
 " If you want to get expelled as badly as all that 1 don't 
 want to prevent you, I'm sure." 
 
 " Then I really may ? " exclaimed poor Wyndham, 
 scarcely believing his own ears. 
 
 " Of course, if you keep me out of it, what on earth do 
 I care what you tell him ? You may tell him you murdered 
 somebody there for all I care."
 
 344 Wyndham makes a Final Venture. 
 
 " Oh, thanks, thanks," cried Wyndham with a positively 
 beaming face. " I give you my word I won't even mention 
 you or Silk." 
 
 " As long as you don't mention me, that's all /care for," 
 said Gilks; "and upon my word," added he, with a sigh 
 half to himself, " I don't much care whether you do or not !" 
 
 Wyndham was too delighted and relieved to pay any 
 heed to this last dreary remark, and gratefully took his 
 leave, feeling that though the battle was anything but won 
 yet he was at least a good deal nearer hope than he had 
 been an hour ago. 
 
 But he very soon checked the reviving flow of his spirits 
 as the prospect of an interview with Silk began to loom out 
 ahead. 
 
 He had not seen Silk since the evening of the Rockshire 
 match, when, as the reader will remember the meeting was 
 anything but a pleasant one, and, but for the timely arrival 
 of a third party, might have ended severely for the younger 
 boy. 
 
 The recollection of this did not certainly add to the 
 hopefulness of his present undertaking; but young Wynd- 
 ham was a boy of such a sanguine temper, and such elastic 
 spirits, that he could not help hoping something would 
 turn up in his favour even now. He had got on far better 
 than he had dared to hope with Gilks, why not also with 
 Silk? 
 
 Besides, when all was said, it was his only chance, and 
 therefore, whether he hoped anything or nothing, he must 
 try it. 
 
 He wandered about during the hour between first and 
 second school with the idea of coming across his man in 
 the quadrangle or the playground. He could not make up 
 his mind to beard the lion in his den ; indeed at present he 
 had every reason to fight shy of Welch's.
 
 Uncomfortable Civility. 345 
 
 Second and third school passed before he was able to 
 renew his search, and this time he was successful. 
 
 Just as he was beginning to give up hope, and was 
 meditating a show-up for appearance's sake at the cricket 
 practice, he caught sight of Silk lolling on a bench in a dis- 
 tant corner of the Big. 
 
 His heart sunk as he made the discovery, but it was no 
 time for consulting his inclinations. 
 
 He moved timidly over in the direction of the bench, 
 taking care to approach it from behind, so as to be spared 
 the discomfort of a long inspection on the way. 
 
 Silk blissfully unconscious of the visit in store, was peace- 
 fully performing a few simple addition sums on the back of 
 an envelope, and calculating how with six shillings he 
 should be able to pay debts amounting to twenty-six, when 
 Wyndham's shadow suddenly presented itself between him 
 and his figures and gave him quite a start 
 
 "Ah!" said he, in his usual friendly style, and to all 
 appearances quite forgetful of the incidents of his last inter- 
 riew with this visitor. " Ah, Wyndham, so you've come 
 back?" 
 
 " I wanted to see you very particularly," said the boy. 
 
 " Plenty of room on the seat," said Silk. 
 
 Wyndham, feeling far more uncomfortable at this civility 
 than he had done at Gilk's roughness, sat down. 
 
 "Nice weather," said Silk, mockingly, after the pause 
 had lasted some little time. 
 
 " I want to ask you a favour a great favour," said 
 Wyndham, feeling that a beginning must be made. 
 
 " Very kind of you," replied Silk, going on with his sums, 
 and whistling softly to himself. 
 
 Wyndham did not feel encouraged. He had half a 
 mind to back out of the venture even now, but desperation 
 urged him on.
 
 346 WyndJiam makes a Final Venture. 
 
 " You know I promised you never to say a word about 
 Beamish V he faltered, at length. 
 
 " So you did," replied Silk, drily. 
 
 " Would you mind letting me off that promise ? " 
 
 "What?" exclaimed Silk, putting down his paper and 
 pencil and staring at the boy. 
 
 " I mean only as far as I'm concerned," said Wyndham, 
 hurriedly, trying to avert a storm. 
 
 " As far as you are concerned ! What on earth are you 
 talking about ? " exclaimed the other. 
 
 " I want to confess to the doctor that I went those two 
 times," said the boy. " I wouldn't mention your name or 
 Gilk's. I only want to tell him about myself." 
 
 " Have you gone mad, or what ? " cried Silk, utterly 
 perplexed, as Gilk's had been, to understand the boy's 
 meaning. 
 
 Wyndham explained to him as best he could how the 
 matter stood. How Riddell appeared to have discovered 
 his delinquencies, and was resolved to report him. Of the 
 certain result of such an exposure, and of the one hope he 
 had, by voluntarily confessing all to the doctor, of averting 
 his expulsion. 
 
 Silk listened to it all with a sneer, and when it was done, 
 replied, 
 
 " And you mean to say you've got the impudence to 
 come to me to help to get you out of a scrape ? " 
 
 " Please, Silk," said the boy, " I would be so grateful." 
 
 " Bah ! " snarled Silk, " have you forgotten, then, the 
 nice row you kicked up in my study a week ago ? and the 
 way you've treated me all this term ? because if you have, I 
 haven't" 
 
 " I know it's a lot to ask," pleaded the boy. 
 
 " It's a precious lot too much," said Silk ; " and no one 
 who hadn't got your cheek would do it ! "
 
 An Expensive Promise. 347 
 
 And he took up his paper and pencil again, and turned 
 his back on the boy. 
 
 " Won't you do it, then ? " once more urged Wyndhara. 
 
 "Not likely!" rejoined Silk. "If you want favours 
 you'd better go to your precious friend Riddell ; and you 
 can go as soon as you like. I don't want you here 1 " 
 
 " If you'd only do it," said Wyndham, " I'd " 
 
 " Do you hear what I say ? " 
 
 " I'd never ask you for the money you borrowed," said 
 the boy quickly. 
 
 Silk laughed as he turned once more on his victim, and said, 
 
 " Wouldn't you really ? How awfully considerate ! Upon 
 my word, the generosity of some people is quite touching. 
 Let's see, how much was it ? " 
 
 " Thirty shillings," said Wyndham, " and the change out 
 of the post-office order, two pounds." 
 
 "Which makes," said Silk, putting the figures down on 
 his paper, "three pounds ten, doesn't it? and you think 
 what you ask is worth three pounds ten, do you ? " 
 
 " It's worth far more to me," said the boy, " because it's 
 the only thing can save me from being expelled." 
 
 Silk mused a bit over his figures, and then replied, " And 
 what would happen if I didn't pay you back ? " 
 
 " I wouldn't say a word about it," cried the boy, eagerly, 
 " if only you'd let me off the promise 1 " 
 
 " And suppose I told you I consider the promise worth 
 ust double what you do ? " 
 
 Wyndham's face fell for a moment ; he had not dared to 
 write home about the loss of his last pocket-money, and 
 saw very little chance of raising the wind for so large an 
 amount again. Yet it seemed his only hope. 
 
 " Would that make it all right ? " he asked. 
 
 M I might think about it," said Silk, with a sweet smile 
 " under conditions."
 
 348 WyndJiam makes a Final Venture. 
 
 " I don't know how I can manage it," said Wyndham ; 
 " but I'll try. And you won't mind, then, my going to the 
 doctor ? " 
 
 " What 1 do you suppose I'm fool enough to let you do it 
 before I have the money?" exclaimed Silk. "You must 
 have a nice opinion of me ! " 
 
 It was no use urging further ; Wyndham saw he had got 
 all he could hope for. It was little better than nothing, for 
 before he could get the money if he got it at all the 
 explosion might have come, and he would be expelled. If 
 only Riddell, now, would wait a little longer I 
 
 As the thought crossed his mind he became aware that 
 the captain was slowly approaching the bench on which he 
 and Silk were sitting. It was anything but pleasant for the 
 boy, after all that had happened, to be discovered thus, in 
 close companionship with the very fellow he had promised 
 to avoid, and whom he had all along acknowledged to be 
 the cause of his troubles. 
 
 His instinct was to spring from his place and either 
 escape or meet Riddell. But Silk saw the intention in time 
 and forbade it. 
 
 " No," said he, with a laugh; " don't run away as if you 
 were ashamed of it. Stay where you are ; let him see you 
 keep good company now and then." 
 
 " Oh, I must go ! " exclaimed the boy ; " he'll think all 
 sorts of things. Hell think I'm such a hypocrite after what 
 I promised him. Oh, do let me go ! " 
 
 His agitation only increased the amusement of his tor- 
 mentor, who, with a view to give the captain as vivid an 
 impression as possible, laid his hand affectionately on the 
 boy's arm and beamed most benignantly upon him. It was 
 no use for Wyndham to resist. After all, suspicious as it 
 might appear, he was doing nothing wrong. 
 
 And yet, what would Riddell think ?
 
 A Rencontre. 349 
 
 The captain was pacing the Big in a moody, abstracted 
 manner, and at first appeared not to notice either the 
 bench or its occupants. Wyndham, as he sat and 
 trembled in Silk's clutches, wildly hoped something might 
 cause him to turn aside or back. But no, he came 
 straight on, and in doing so suddenly caught sight of the 
 two boys. 
 
 He started and flushed quickly, and for a moment it 
 looked as if he were inclined to make a wild dash to rescue 
 the younger boy from the companionship in which he found 
 him. But another glance changed that intention, if inten- 
 tion it had been. 
 
 His face fell, and he walked past with averted eyes, 
 apparently recognising neither boy, and paying no heed to 
 Wyndham's feebly attempted salute. 
 
 Before he was out of hearing Silk broke into a loud laugh. 
 " Upon my word, it's as good as a play ! " cried he. " You 
 did it splendidly, young 'un ! Looked as guilty as a dog, 
 every bit! He'll give you up for lost now, with a ven- 
 geance ! " 
 
 Wyndham's misery would have moved the pity of any 
 one but Silk. The new hopes which had risen within him 
 had been cruelly dashed by this unhappy accident, and he 
 felt no further care as to what happened to him. Riddell 
 would have lost all faith in him now ; he would appear little 
 better than an ungrateful hypocrite and impostor. The last 
 motive for sparing him would be swept away, and so the 
 boy thought the duty of reporting him would now become 
 a satisfaction. 
 
 He tore himself from the seat, and exclaimed, " Let me 
 go, you brute ! " 
 
 Silk looked at him in astonishment ; then, relapsing into 
 a smile, said, " Oh, indeed ! a brute, am I ? " 
 
 " Yes, you are 1 "
 
 35 Wyndham makes a Final Venture. 
 
 " And, let's see ; I forget what the little favour was you 
 wanted the brute to do for you ? " 
 
 " I want you to do no favour ! " cried Wyndham, pas- 
 sionately. 
 
 " No ? Not even to allow you to go to the doctor and 
 lell him about Beamish's ? " 
 
 " No ; not even that ! I wouldn't do it now. He may 
 now find out what he likes." 
 
 "It might interest him if I went and told him a few 
 things about you ? " said Silk. 
 
 ** Go ! as soon as you like and tell him anything you 
 like," cried Wyndham. " I don't care." 
 
 " You wouldn't even care to have back your three pound 
 ten ? " 
 
 " No," said the boy, " not even if you ever thought of 
 paying it back." 
 
 Silk all this time had been growing furious. The last 
 thing he had expected was that this boy, whom he supposed 
 to be utterly in his power, should thus rise in revolt and 
 shake off every shred of his old allegiance. But he found 
 he had gone too far for once, and this last defiant taunt of 
 his late victim cut him to the quick. 
 
 He sprang from the seat and made a wild dash at the 
 boy, but Wyndham was too quick for him, and escaped, 
 leaving his adversary baffled as he had never been before, 
 and almost doubting whether he had not been and still was 
 dreaming. 
 
 Wyndham ran as fast as he could in the direction of the 
 school, and would have probably gone on running till he 
 reached his own study, had not the sight of Riddell slowly 
 going the same way ahead of him suddenly checked 
 his progress. 
 
 As it was, he almost ran over him before he perceived 
 who it was. For Riddell just at that moment had halted in
 
 Miserable and Hopeless. 351 
 
 his walk, and stooped to pick up a book that lay on the 
 path. 
 
 However, when Wyndham saw who it was, he swerved 
 hurriedly in another direction, and got to his destination by 
 a roundabout way, feeling as he reached it about as 
 miserable and hopeless as it was possible for a boy to be.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 A SELECT PARTY AT THE DOCTOR'S. 
 
 T/'OUNG Wyndham, had he only known what was in the 
 
 X captain's mind as he walked that afternoon across the 
 Big, would probably have thought twice before he went 
 such a long way round to avoid him. 
 
 Silk's little piece of pantomime had not had the effect 
 the author intended. In the quick glance which Riddell 
 had given towards the bench and its occupants he had 
 taken in pretty accurately the real state of the case. 
 
 " Poor fellow 1 " said he to himself ; " he's surely in 
 trouble enough without being laid hold of by that cad. 
 Silk thinks I shall fancy he has captured my old favourite. 
 Let him I But if he has captured him he doesn't seem 
 very sure of him, or he wouldn't hold him down on the 
 seat like that I wonder what brings them together here ? 
 and I wonder if I had better go and interfere? No, I 
 think I won't just now." 
 
 And so he walked on, troubled enough to be sure, but 
 not concluding quite as much from what he saw as 
 Wyndham feared or Silk hoped. 
 
 As he walked on fellows glared at him from a distance, 
 and others passing closer cut him dead. A few of the 
 most ardent Parrett's juniors took the liberty of hissing him 
 and one ventured to call out, pointedly, " Who cut thf 
 rudder-lines ? " 
 
 Riddell, however, though he winced under these insults,
 
 An Invitation. 353 
 
 took little notice of them. He was as determined as ever 
 to wait the confirmation of his suspicions before he un- 
 masked the culprit, and equally convinced that duty and 
 honour both demanded that he should lose not a moment 
 in coming to a conclusion. 
 
 It was in the midst of these reflections that the small 
 book which Wyndham had seen him pick up caught his 
 eye. He picked it up mechanically, and after noticing that 
 it appeared to be a notebook, and had no owner's name in 
 the beginning, carried it with him, and forgot all about it 
 till he reached his study. 
 
 Even here it was some time before it again attracted his 
 attention, as its importance was wholly eclipsed by the 
 contents of a note which he found lying on his table, and 
 which ran as follows : 
 
 "Dear Riddell, Will you join us at tea this evening at 
 seven ? I expect Fairbairn and Bloomfield. 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 " R. PATRICK." 
 
 Riddell groaned. Had he not had trouble, and humil- 
 iation, and misery enough ? What had he done to deserve 
 this crowning torture ? Tea with the Griffins I 
 
 He sat down and wrote, as in politeness bound, that he 
 would have much pleasure in accepting the doctor's kind 
 invitation, and, sending the note off by Cusack, resigned 
 himself to the awful prospect, which for a time shut out 
 everything else. 
 
 However, he had no right, he felt, to be idle. He must 
 finish his work now, so as to be free for the evening's 
 " entertainment," and for the other equally grave duties 
 which lay before him. 
 
 But somehow he could not work ; his mind was too full 
 
 12
 
 354 ^ select Party at the Doctor's 
 
 to be able to settle steadily on any one thing, and finally 
 he pushed away the books and gave up the attempt 
 
 It was at that moment that the small black book he had 
 found caught his eye. 
 
 He took it up, intending, if possible, to ascertain whose 
 property it was, and, failing that, to send Cusack to " cry " 
 k round the school. 
 
 But the first thing that met his eye on the front page 
 roused his curiosity. It was evidently a quotation : 
 
 " Pass me not, oh I reader, by, 
 
 Read my pages tenderly (" tenderly" altered to 
 
 " on the sly ") ; 
 
 All that's writ is writ for thee, 
 Open now and you shall see." 
 
 After such a cordial invitation, even Riddell could hardly 
 feel much qualm about dipping farther into this mysterious 
 manuscript. 
 
 It appeared to be a diary, which, but for the announce- 
 ment at the beginning, one would have been inclined to 
 regard as a private document. And the first entry Riddell 
 encountered was certainly of that character : 
 
 " Friday, the fifth day of the week. My birthday. Rose 
 at 6.59!- I am old. I am 24 (and ten off) some one had 
 taken my soap. Meditations As I dressed me. The world 
 is very large I am small in the world I will aspire as I go to 
 chapel I view Riddell who toucheth his hat. Gross conduct 
 of my father sending me only half a crown breakfast at 7.33. 
 Disturbance with the evil Telson whereby I obtained lines." 
 
 This was quite enough for one day, and Riddell, greatly 
 mystified, turned a few pages farther on to see if the narra- 
 tive became more lucid as it progressed. 
 
 " I am now a skyrocket Meditations on being a sky- 
 rocket. The world is very large, etc. Gross meeting of
 
 A Bosher come to Judgment. 355 
 
 Parliament Riddell the little captain sitteth on his seat. 
 I made a noble speech gross conduct of Parson, who is 
 kicked out Eloquence of Bloomfield who crieth Order 
 under the form I see Telson hanging on. I hang too and 
 am removed speaking nobly. Large tea at Parson's the 
 cake being beastly. Riddell it seems hath cut the rudder- 
 lines. I indignate and cut him with a razor I remove two 
 corns from my nether foot." 
 
 More in this strain followed, and lower down the diary 
 proceeded : 
 
 " Wyndham the junior thinketh much of himself he is 
 ugly in the face and in the second eleven. I have writ a 
 poem on Wyndham. 
 
 4 1 do Dot like thee, Dr. Fell (altered to " Wyndham junior ") 
 The reason why I cannot tell (altered to " say ") ; 
 But this I know, and know full well (altered to "ill" 
 I do not like thee, Dr. Fell (altered to " Wyndham junior")." 
 
 I over hear much of Wyndham the gross Telson and the 
 evil Parson not knowing I am by the little boys say they 
 have seen the ugly Wyndham come from Beamish's. Oh 
 evil Wyndham being taken by Silk and Gilks. No one 
 knows and Wyndham is to be expelled. I joy much 
 Riddell knoweth it. Telson telleth Parson that Riddell 
 is gross expelling for Beamish's and Wyndham weepeth in 
 private. I smile at the practice Mr. Parrett bowleth me 
 balls I taketh them and am out." 
 
 If Bosher could have seen the effect of this elegant 
 extract upon the captain he would probably have " joyed " 
 with infinite self-satisfaction. Riddell's colour changed as 
 he read and re-read and re-read again these few lines of 
 idiotic jargon. 
 
 He lay down the book half a dozen times, and as often 
 took it up again and scrutinised the entry, and as he did
 
 356 A select Party at the Doctors. 
 
 so quick looks of perplexity, or joy, or shame, even of 
 humour, chased one another across his face. 
 
 The truth with all its new meaning slowly dawned upon 
 him. It had been reserved to Bosher's diary, of all 
 agencies in the world, to explain everything, and cast a 
 flood of light upon what had hitherto been incompre- 
 hensible 1 
 
 Of course he could see it all now. If this diary was to 
 be believed but was it ? Might it not be a hoax purposely 
 put in his way to delude him ? 
 
 Yet he could not believe that this laboriously written 
 record could have been compiled for his sole benefit ; and 
 this one entry which he had lit upon by mere chance was 
 only one of hundreds of stupid, absurd entries, most of 
 which meant nothing at all, and which seemed more like 
 the symptoms of a disease than the healthy productions of 
 a sane boy. 
 
 In this one case, however, there seemed to be some 
 method in the author's madness, and he had given a clue 
 so important that Riddell, in pondering over it that evening 
 and calculating its true value, was very nearly being late 
 for the doctor's tea at seven o'clock. 
 
 However, he came to himself just in time to decorate his 
 person, and hurry across the quadrangle before the clock 
 struck. 
 
 On his way over he met Parson and Telson, walking arm- 
 in-arm. Although the same spectacle had met his eyes on 
 an average twice every day that term, and was about the 
 commonest " show " in Willoughby, the sight of the faithful 
 pair at this particular time when the revelations of Bosher's 
 diary were tingling in his ears impressed the captain. 
 Indeed, it impressed him so much that, at the imminent 
 risk of being late for the doctor's tea, he pulled up to speak 
 to them.
 
 Another Invitation. 357 
 
 Parson, as became a loyal Parrett, made as though he 
 would pass on, but Telson held him back. 
 
 " I say, you two," said Riddell, " will you come to break- 
 fast with me to-morrow morning after chapel ? " 
 
 And without so much as waiting for a reply, he bolted 
 off, leaving his two would-be guests a trifle concerned as to 
 his sanity. 
 
 The clock was beginning to strike as Riddell knocked at 
 the doctor's door, and began at length to realise what he 
 was in for. 
 
 He did not know whether to be thankful or not that 
 Bloomfield and Fairbairn would be there to share his 
 misery. They would be but two extra witnesses to his 
 sufferings, and their tribulations were hardly likely to relieve 
 his. 
 
 However, there was one comfort. He might have a 
 chance before the evening was over of telling Bloomfield 
 that he now had every reason to believe his suspicions 
 about the culprit had been wrong. 
 
 How thankful he was he had held out against the 
 temptation to name poor Wyndham two days ago ! 
 
 "Well, Riddell, how are you?" said the doctor, in his 
 usual genial fashion. " I think you have met these ladies 
 before. Mr. Riddell my dear Miss Stringer. These 
 gentlemen you have probably seen before also. Ha ! 
 ha!" 
 
 Riddell saluted the ladies very much as he would have 
 saluted two mad dogs, and nodded the usual Willoughby 
 nod to his two fellow-monitors, who having already got 
 over the introductions had retreated to a safe distance. 
 
 A common suffering is the surest bond of sympathy, and 
 Riddell positively beamed on his rival in recognition of his 
 salute. 
 
 "I trust your mother," said Mrs. Patrick, " whose indis-
 
 A select Party at the Doctors. 
 
 position we were regretting on the last occasion when you 
 were here, is now better ? " 
 
 " Very well indeed, I hope," replied the captain, hardly 
 knowing what he said. " Thank you." 
 
 "And I trust, Mr. Riddell," chimed in Miss Stringer, 
 " that you were gratified by the result of the election." 
 
 " No, thank you," replied Riddell, beginning to shake in 
 his shoes. 
 
 " Indeed ? If I remember right you professed yourself to 
 be a Liberal?" 
 
 Yes that is the Radical got in," faltered Riddell, 
 wondering why in common charity no one came to his 
 rescue. 
 
 "And pray, Mr. Riddell," continued Miss Stringer, 
 ruthlessly, " can you tell us the difference between a Liberal 
 and a Radical ? I have often longed to know and you I 
 have no doubt are an authority ? " 
 
 Riddell at this point seriously meditated a forced retreat, 
 and there is no saying what desperate act he might have 
 committed had not the doctor providentially come to the 
 rescue. 
 
 " The election altogether," said he, laughing, " is rather a 
 sore point in the school. I told you, my dear, about the 
 manner in which Mr. Cheeseman's letter was received ? " 
 
 "You did," replied Mrs. Patrick, who for some few 
 moments had had her eyes upon Bloomfield, with a view 
 to draw him out. 
 
 " Now do you really suppose, Mr. Bloomfield, that the 
 boys in your house, for instance, attached any true im- 
 portance at all to the issue of the contest ? " 
 
 Bloomfield, who had not been aware till this question was 
 half over that it had been addressed to him, started and 
 eaid the most fatal observation he could have made 
 
 " Eh ? I beg your pardon, that is."
 
 Turned Inside Out. 359 
 
 " I inquired," said Mrs. Patrick, fixing him with her eye, 
 " whether you really supposed that the boys in your house, 
 for instance, attached any true importance at all to the issue 
 of the contest?" 
 
 Bloomfield received this ponderous question meekly, and 
 made a feeble effort to turn it over in his mind, and then 
 dreading to hear it repeated once more, answered, 
 
 " Oh, decidedly, ma'am." 
 
 "In what respect?" inquired the lady, settling herself 
 down on the settee, and awaiting, with raised eyebrows, her 
 victim's answer. 
 
 Poor Bloomfield was no match for this deliberate style of 
 tactics. 
 
 " They were all yellow," he replied, feebly. 
 
 " All what, sir ? " demanded Mrs. Patrick. 
 
 "All Whig, I mean," he said. 
 
 " Exactly. What I want to know is, do they any of them 
 appreciate the distinction between a Whig (or, as Mr. Riddell 
 terms it, a Liberal) " 
 
 Riddell winced. 
 
 " Between a Whig and a Radical ? " 
 
 " Oh, certainly not," replied Bloomfield, wildly. 
 
 " And yet you say that the^ decidedly attached a true im- 
 portance to the issue of the contest ? That is very extra- 
 ordinary ! " 
 
 And Mrs. Patrick rose majestically to take her seat at 
 the table, leaving Bloomfield writhing and turned mentally 
 inside out, to recover as best he could from this interesting 
 political discussion ! 
 
 " The Rockshire match was a great triumph," said the 
 doctor, cheerily, as the company established itself at the 
 festive board " and a surprise too, surely was it rot ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Fairbairn, who, seeing that BloomheM 
 was not yet in a condition to discourse, felt it incumbent
 
 360 A select Party at the Doctor's. 
 
 on him to reply "we never expected to win by so 
 much." 
 
 " It was quite an event," said the doctor " the heads of 
 the~three houses all playing together in the same eleven." 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied Fairbairn, " Bloomfield here was most 
 impartial." 
 
 Bloomfield said something which sounded like "Not at all" 
 
 " I was especially glad to see the Welchers coming out 
 again," said the doctor, with a friendly nod to Riddell. 
 
 "Yes," said Fairbairn, who appeared to be alarmingly at 
 his ease ; " and Welch's did good service too ; that catch of 
 Riddell's saved us a wicket or two, didn't it, Bloomfield ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Bloomfield. 
 
 " Was Rockshire a specially weak team this year ? " asked 
 the doctor. 
 
 " I don't think so, sir," replied Fairbairn, politely handing 
 the toast to Miss Stringer as he spoke ; 'but they evidently 
 weren't so well together as our men." 
 
 " And what, Mr. Fairbairn," asked Miss Stringer at this 
 point, in her most stately tones " what, pray, is the exact 
 meaning of the expression ' well together,' as applied to a 
 company of youths ? " 
 
 Bloomfield and Riddell groaned inwardly for their 
 comrade. They had seen what was coming, and had marked 
 his rash approach to the mouth of the volcano with growing 
 apprehension. They had been helpless to hold him back, 
 and now his turn was come he had met his fate* 
 
 So, at least, they imagined. What, then, was their amaze- 
 ment when he turned not a hair at the question, but replied, 
 stirring his tea complacently as he did so, " You see, each 
 of the Rockshire men may have been a good cricketer, and 
 vet if they had not been used to playing together, as our 
 fellows have been, we should have a decided pull on them." 
 
 Miss Stringer regarded the speaker critically. She had
 
 Thawing Rapidly. 361 
 
 not been used to have her problems so readily answered, 
 and appeared to discover a suspicion of rudeness in the 
 boy's speech which called for a set-down. 
 
 " I do not understand what you mean by a ' pull,' Mr. 
 Fairbairn," said she, sternly. 
 
 "Why," replied Fairbairn, who was really interested in 
 the subject, and quite pleased to be drawn out on so 
 congenial a topic, " it's almost as important to get to know 
 the play of your own men as to know the play of your 
 opponents. For instance, when we all know Bloomfield's 
 balls break a bit to the off, we generally know whereabouts 
 in the field to expect them if they are taken ; and when 
 Porter goes on with slows every one knows to stand in close 
 and look out for catches." 
 
 "Yes," said Bloomfield, gaining sudden courage by the 
 example of his comrade, " that's just where Rockshire was 
 weak. They were always shifting about their field and 
 bowlers. I'm certain they had scarcely played together once." 
 
 " And," added Riddell, also taking heart of grace, and 
 entering into the humour of the situation " and they 
 seemed to save up their good bowlers for the end, instead 
 of beginning with them. All our hitting men got the easy 
 bowling, and the others, who were never expected to score 
 in any case, were put out by the good." 
 
 " In this respect, you see," continued Fairbairn, address- 
 ing Miss Stringer, " a school eleven always get the pull of 
 a scratch team." 
 
 Miss Stringer, who during this conversation had been 
 growing manifestly uncomfortable, vouchsafed no reply, but, 
 turning to her sister, said, with marked formality, " My 
 dear, were the Browns at home when you called this after- 
 noon ? " 
 
 " I regret to say they were out," replied Mrs. Patrick, 
 with a withering glance round the table.
 
 362 A select Party at the Doctors. 
 
 " Of course, it depends, too," said Bloorafield, replying 
 to Fairbairn's last question and giving him an imperceptible 
 sly kick under the table, " on whether it's early or late in 
 the season. If we were to play them in August they would 
 know their own play as well as we know ours." 
 
 " Only," chimed in Riddell, " these county teams don't 
 stick to the same elevens as regularly as a school docs." 
 
 " My dear, have you done your tea ? " inquired Mrs. 
 Patrick's voice across the table. 
 
 " Yes. Shall I ring ? " said the doctor. 
 
 "Allow me," said Fairbairn, rising hastily, and nearly 
 knocking over Miss Stringer in his eagerness. 
 
 The spinster, who had already received in her own 
 opinion sufficient affront for one evening, put the worst 
 construction possible on this accident, and answered with 
 evident ill-temper, " You are very clumsy, sir ! " 
 
 " I beg your pardon, indeed 1 " said Fairbairn. " I hope 
 you are not hurt ? " 
 
 " Be silent, sir ! " 
 
 Fairbairn, quite taken aback by this unexpected exclama- 
 tion, did not know what to say, and looked round 
 inquiringly at the doctor, as much as to ask if the lady was 
 often taken this way. 
 
 The doctor, however, volunteered no explanation, but 
 looked uncomfortable and coughed. 
 
 " If you will excuse me," said Miss Stringer to her sister, 
 with a forced severity of tone, " I will go to my room." 
 
 " You are not well, I fear," said Mrs. Patrick. " I will 
 go with you; " and next moment the enemy was gone, and 
 the doctor and his boys were together. 
 
 Dr. Patrick, who, to tell the truth, seemed scarcely less 
 relieved than his visitors, made no attempt to apologise for 
 Miss Stringer's sudden indisposition, and embarked at once 
 on a friendly talk about school affairs.
 
 A Pleasant Evening. 363 
 
 This had been his only object in inviting the boys. He 
 had nothing momentous to say, and no important change 
 to propose. Indeed, his object appeared to be more to get 
 them to talk among themselves on matters of common in- 
 terest to the school, and to let them see that his sympathy 
 was with them in their efforts for the public good. 
 
 No reference was made to the state of affairs in Parrett's, 
 or to the rivalries of the two captains. That the doctor 
 knew all about these matters no one doubted, but he took 
 the wise course of leaving them to right themselves, and at 
 the same time of making it very clear what his opinions 
 were of the effect of disunion and divided interest in a great 
 public school. 
 
 Altogether the evening was profitably and pleasantly 
 spent, and when at length the boys took their leave it was 
 with increased respect for the head master and one 
 another. 
 
 The ladies, greatly to their relief, did not return to the 
 scene. 
 
 " Miss Stringer," said Fairbairn, as the three walked to- 
 gether across the quadrangle, " doesn't seem to appreciate 
 cricket." 
 
 The others laughed. 
 
 " I say," said Bloomfield, " you put your foot into it 
 awfully 1 She thought you were chaffing her all the time." 
 
 " Did she ? What a pity I " replied Fairbairn. 
 
 " Of course, we were bound to help you out when you 
 were once in," continued Bloomfield. " But I don't fancy 
 we three will be asked up there again in a hurry." 
 
 They came to the schoolhouse gate, and Fairbairn said 
 good-night. Riddell and Bloomfield walked on together 
 towards Parrett's. 
 
 " Oh, Bloomfield 1 " said the captain, nervously, " I just 
 wanted to tell you that I believe I have been all wrong in
 
 364 A select Party at the Doctor's. 
 
 my guess about the boat-race affair. The boy I suspected, 
 I now fancy, had nothing to do with it" 
 
 "You are still determined to keep it all to yourself, 
 then?" asked Bloomfield, somewhat coldly. 
 
 " Of course," replied the captain. 
 
 At this point they reached Parrett's. Neither boy had 
 any inclination to pursue the unpleasant topic all the more 
 unpleasant because it was the one bar to a friendship which 
 both desired. 
 
 "Good-night," said Bloomfield, stiffly. 
 
 "Good-night," replied the captain.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 NEW LIGHTS Off OLD QUESTIONS. 
 
 T~^AIRBAIRN was startled next morning while engaged 
 .T over his toilet by a sudden visit from the captain. 
 
 What could be wrong to bring him there at this hour, 
 with a face full of anxiety and a voice full of concern, as he 
 inquired, 
 
 " Will you do me a favour, old man ? * 
 
 Fairbairn knew his friend had been in trouble for some 
 time past, and was sore beset on many hands. He had 
 not attempted to intrude into his secrets or to volunteer any 
 aid. For he knew Riddell would ask him if he wanted it. 
 In proof of which here he was. 
 
 "Of course, I will," replied he, "if I can." 
 
 " Do you happen to have a pot of jam you could lend 
 me?" 
 
 Fairbairn fairly staggered at this unexpected request. He 
 had imagined he was to be asked at the very least to 
 accompany his friend on some matter of moment to the 
 doctor's study, or to share some tremendous secret affecting 
 the honour of Willoughby. And to be asked now for the 
 loan of a pot of jam was too great a shock for his gravity, 
 and he burst out laughing. 
 
 "A pot of jam I" he exclaimed. "Whatever do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " Oh, any sort *ou've got," said the captain, eagerly ;
 
 366 New Lights on Old Questions. 
 
 " and I suppose you haven't got a pie of any sort, or some 
 muffins ? " 
 
 Fairbairn gaped at his visitor with something like appre- 
 hension as he came out with this extraordinary request. 
 The captain's voice was grave, and no suspicion of a jest 
 lurked in his face. Could he possibly have succumbed to 
 the mental strain of the past term, and taken leave of his 
 wits? 
 
 " What are you talking about, Riddell," asked Fairbairn, 
 in tones almost of pity. " Has anything happened to 
 you ? " 
 
 Riddell looked at the speaker inquisitively for a moment, 
 then broke out into a laugh. 
 
 " What an ass I am 1 I forgot to tell you what I wanted 
 them for. The fact is, I asked two kids to breakfast this 
 morning, and I just remembered I had nothing but tea and 
 toast to offer them ; and it's too early to get anything in. 
 I'd be awfully obliged if you could help me out with it." 
 
 Fairbairn's merriment broke out afresh as the truth 
 revealed itself, and it was some time before he could attend 
 to business. He then offered Riddell anything he could 
 find in his cupboard, and the captain thereupon gratefully 
 availed himself of the offer to secure a pot of red-currant 
 jam, a small pot of potted meat, two or three apples, and a 
 considerable section of a plum cake. All these he promised 
 to replace without delay, and triumphantly hurried back 
 with them in his pockets and under his jacket, in time to 
 deposit them on his table before the bell began to ring for 
 chapel. He also sent Cusack round to the school larder to 
 order three new laid eggs and some extra butter to be 
 delivered at once. 
 
 These grand preparations being duly made, he breathed 
 again, and went hopefully to chapel. 
 
 As it happened, he had been very near reckoning without
 
 Smelling a Rat. 367 
 
 his host, or I should say his guests. For Parson and 
 Telson had been some time before they could make up their 
 minds to accept the hurried invitation of the previous 
 evening. 
 
 "It's a row," Telson had said, as the captain dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 " Of course, it is. I'm not going," said Parson. 
 
 " Wonder what about ? " 
 
 " Oh, that Skyrocket affair, I suppose." 
 
 " Do you think he'll give us impots if we don't go ?" 
 
 " Don't know most likely." 
 
 " Rum, his asking us to breakfast, though," said Telson. 
 
 " All a dodge, I expect," said Parson. " By the way, 
 what sort of breakfasts does he go in for ? " 
 
 "Not bad when he likes," said Telson, with the authority 
 of an old fag. 
 
 " Bacon ? " asked Parson. 
 
 " Sometimes," said Telson. 
 
 " Jam ? " inquired Parson. 
 
 " Generally," replied Telson. 
 
 There was a pause. Then Parson said, 
 
 " Fancy we'd better turn up. It's only civil, when he 
 asked us." 
 
 "All serene," said Telson; "if it is a row, of course it 
 will come off in any case. And we may as well get our 
 breakfast somewhere." 
 
 With which philosophical resolve the matter had been 
 settled, and the amiable pair parted to meet next morning 
 after chapel. 
 
 Riddell spared himself the embarrassment of waiting to 
 escort his guests to the festive board, and hurried off in 
 advance to see that the preparations were duly made in 
 their honour. 
 
 He caught Cusack wistfully eyeing the unwonted array
 
 368 New Lights on Old Questions. 
 
 of good things on the table, and evidently speculating 
 as to who the favoured guests were to be. It was with 
 some difficulty that the captain got him sent off to his own 
 breakfast in the big hall, half bribed thereto by the promise 
 of a reversion of the coming feast. 
 
 Then, feeling quite exhausted by his morning's excite-' 
 ment, he sat down and awaited his visitors. 
 
 They arrived in due time ; still, to judge of their leisurely 
 approach and their languid knock, a little suspicious of the 
 whole affair. But the moment the door opened, and their 
 eyes fell on the table, their manner changed to one of the 
 most amiable briskness. 
 
 " Good morning," said Riddell, who, in the presence of 
 the greater attractions on the table, ran considerable risk of 
 being overlooked altogether. 
 
 " Good morning," cried the boys, suddenly roused by his 
 voice to a sense of their social duty. 
 
 " Awfully brickish of you to ask us round," said Telson. 
 
 " Rather," chimed in Parson. 
 
 " I'm glad you came," said the captain. " We may as 
 well have breakfast Telson, have you forgotten how to 
 boil eggs ? " 
 
 Telson said emphatically he had not, and proceeded 
 forthwith to give practical proof of his cunning, while 
 Parson volunteered his aid in cutting up the bread, and 
 buttering the toast 
 
 In due time the preliminaries were all got through, and 
 the trio sat down to partake of the reward of their toil. 
 
 Riddell could not thank his stars sufficiently that he had 
 thought of embellishing his feast with the few luxuries from 
 Fairbairn's cupboard. Nothing could exceed the good 
 humour of the two juniors as one delicacy after another 
 unfolded its charms and invited their attentioa They 
 accompanied their exertions with a running fire of chat and
 
 Steering the Talk Round. 369 
 
 chaff, which left Riddell very little to do except gently to 
 ateer the conversation round towards the point for which 
 this merry meeting was designed. 
 
 " Frightful job to get old Parson to turn up," said Telson, 
 taking his fourth go-in of potted meat ; " he thought you 
 were going to row him about that shindy in the Parlia- 
 ment ! " 
 
 " No, I didn't," rejoined Parson, pushing up his cup for 
 more tea. " It was you said that about blowing up us 
 Skyrockets." 
 
 " What a howling cram," said Telson. " I never make 
 bad jokes. You know, Riddell, it was Parson stuck us up 
 to that business. He's always at the bottom of the rows." 
 
 Parson laughed at this compliment. 
 
 " You mean I always get into the rows," said he. 
 
 " Anyhow, I don't suppose the Skyrockets will show up 
 again this term," said Telsoa 
 
 "They certainly did not get much encouragement last 
 time," said Riddell, laughing. "You know I don't think 
 you fellows do yourselves justice in things like that. 
 Fellows get to think the only thing you're good at is a row." 
 
 "Fact is," said Parson, "Telson thought we'd been so 
 frightfully snubbed this term, we kids, that he said we ought 
 to stick up for ourselves." 
 
 11 1 said that ? " cried Telson. ' Why, you know it was 
 you said it 1 " 
 
 " By the way," said Parson, " wasn't there to be a special 
 meeting of the House to-day, for something or other ? " 
 
 Telson looked rather uncomfortable, and then said, 
 
 " Yes, I heard so. I fancy it's about you, somehow," 
 added he, addressing Riddell. 
 
 " About me ? " asked the captain. 
 
 "Yes to kick you out, or something," said Telson; 
 but Parson and I mean to go and vote against it."
 
 370 New Lights on Old Questions. 
 
 This was news to Riddell, and rather astonishing news 
 too. 
 
 To kick me out ? " he asked. What for ? " 
 
 " Oh, you know," said Parson. " It's some bosh about 
 that boat-race affair. Some of the chaps think you are mixed 
 up in it, but of course it's all a cram. I've told them so 
 more than once." 
 
 " It's all those Parrett's cads," said Telson, taking up the 
 matter from a schoolhouse point of view. " They're riled 
 about the race, and about the cricket-match, and everything 
 else, and try to make out every one's cheating." 
 
 " Well, some one must have been cheating," said Parson, 
 a trifle warmly, " when he cut my rudder-lines ; and he's not 
 likely to be one of our fellows much more likely to be a 
 schoolhouse cad ! " 
 
 " 111 fifl[ht you, you know, Parson ! " put in Telson. 
 
 Riddell saw it was time to interfere. The conversation 
 was drifting into an unprofitable channel, from which it 
 would scarcely work its way out unassisted. 
 
 What he wanted was to find out whether there was any 
 truth in the explanation which the diary afforded of young 
 Wyndham's conduct, and he was a long way from that yet. 
 
 "Have some more cake, Telson," said he, by way of 
 changing the subject. 
 
 Telson cheerfully accepted the invitation, while Parson, 
 to spare his host the trouble of pressing him to take an 
 apple, helped himself. 
 
 Then when they were well started once more the captain 
 said, "Who's going to win the juniors' match, Parson? 
 Our fellows quite think they are." 
 
 " Yes," said Parson, contemptuously ; " I heard they had 
 theek enough to say so. But they'll be disappointed for 
 once." 
 
 Well," said Riddell, "they've been practising pretty
 
 Will the Fish Bite ?. 371 
 
 steadily of late. They're not to be despised. Whatever 
 has become of the juniors' eleven in the schoolhouse, 
 Telson?" 
 
 " Can't make out," replied Telson ; " they're an awful set 
 of louts this year ; only one or two good men in the lot 
 I don't think they can scrape up an eleven." 
 
 " Ah 1 " said the captain, seeing his chance ; " you've lost 
 a good many good fellows. Wyndham, for one, has got up 
 into the second eleven, I hear." 
 
 " Yes," said Parson ; " and jolly cocky he is about it, 
 too!" 
 
 " He's not been down at the practices lately, though," 
 said Telson, colouring slightly, and for no apparent reason. 
 
 " Why ? Is he seedy ? " said the captain. 
 
 " Eh ? No ; I don't think so. Wyndham's not seedy, is 
 he, should you think, Parson ? " 
 
 "No," said Parson, exchanging uncomfortable glances 
 with his ally ; " not exactly seedy." 
 
 " It'll be a pity if he doesn't get playing in the Templeton 
 match," said RiddelL 
 
 Would the fish bite ? If the diary had spoken true, these 
 two boys were at present very full of Wyndham's affair, and 
 a trifle indignant with the captain himself for his supposed 
 intention of reporting that youth's transgression at head- 
 quarters. If that were so, Riddell considered it possible 
 that, after their honest fashion, they might take upon them- 
 selves to give him a piece of their mind, which was exactly 
 what he wanted. 
 
 "The fact is," said Telson, "Parson and I both think 
 he's down in the mouth." 
 
 " Indeed ? " asked the captain, busily buttering a fresh 
 slice of toast. 
 
 " Yes. Haven't you seen it?" asked Parson. 
 
 " He's in a funk about something or other," said Telson.
 
 372 New Lights on Old Questions 
 
 It was getting near now I 
 
 " What about, do you know ? " asked the captain. 
 
 "Why, you know," said Telson. "About being ex- 
 pelled, you know." 
 
 " Expelled I What for ? " asked Riddell j and the boy's 
 reply gave him a satisfaction quite out of proportion to its 
 merits. 
 
 " About Beamish's, you know," said Telson, confiden- 
 tially ; " he thinks you're going to report him." 
 
 " And he's bound to get expelled if you do," said Parson. 
 
 " And how do you know about it ? " asked the captain, 
 quietly. 
 
 "Oh I you know, Parson and I spotted them that is, 
 Gilks and Silk and him that night of Brown's party. But 
 we never told anybody, and don't mean to, so I don't know 
 how it came out." 
 
 "Anyhow," said Parson, "if he's to be expelled, Silk and 
 Gilks ought to catch it too. I bet anything they took him 
 there. Thanks I a little piece." 
 
 This last sentence was in reply to an invitation to take 
 some more cake. 
 
 Under cover of this diversion, Riddell, with thankful 
 heart, continued to steer the talk out again into the main 
 channel of school affairs, of which the affair of Wyndham 
 junior was but one of many. 
 
 Before the meal was over it had got as far as Eutropius, 
 and he fairly won his guests' hearts by announcing that he 
 did not consider that historian's Latin nearly as good as 
 Caesar's, an opinion which they endorsed with consider- 
 able heat. 
 
 All good things come to an end at last, and so did this 
 breakfast, the end of which found the boys in as great 
 good-humour as at the beginning. They thanked the 
 captain most profusely for his hospitality, which they never
 
 Returned, with Thanks. 373 
 
 doubted was meant as a recognition of their own sterling 
 merits, and of the few attempts they had lately made to 
 behave themselves; and, after inviting him to come to a 
 concert they were about to give on the evening of the 
 juniors' match, took their departure. 
 
 " By the way," said Riddell, as they were going, " do 
 either of you know to whom this book belongs ? I found 
 it in the playground yesterday." 
 
 A merry laugh greeted the appearance of Bosher's diary, 
 which the pair recognised as a very old friend. 
 
 "It's old Bosher's diary," said Telson. "He's always 
 dropping it about I believe he does it on purpose. I 
 say, isn't it frightful bosh ? " 
 
 " It isn't very clear in parts," said the captain. 
 
 " Did he call you ' evil,' or ' gross/ or ' ugly in the face,' 
 in the part you looked at ? " asked Telson ; " because, if so, 
 we may as well lick him for you." 
 
 " No, don't do that," said Riddell ; " you had better 
 give it him back, though, and advise him from me not to 
 drop it about more than he can help. Good-bye." 
 
 With a great weight off his mind, Riddell went down to 
 first school that day a thankful though a humbled man. 
 
 What a narrow escape he had had of doing the boy he 
 cared for most in Willoughby a grievous injustice. Indeed, 
 by suspecting him privately he had done him injustice 
 enough as it was, for which he could not too soon atone. 
 
 In the midst of his relief about the boat-race he could 
 scarcely bring himself to regard seriously the boy's real 
 offence, bad as that had been ; and, indeed, it was not 
 until Wyndham himself referred to it that afternoon that its 
 gravity occurred to him. 
 
 Just as the special meeting of the Parliament (convened 
 by private invitation of Game and Ashley to a select few of 
 their own way of thinking) was assembling, Wyndham, in
 
 374 -A&w Lights on Old Questions. 
 
 compliance with a message from the captain, strolled out 
 into the Big towards the very bench where yesterday he 
 had had his memorable talk with Silk. 
 
 Riddell was waiting there for him, and as the boy ap- 
 proached, his wretched, haggard looks smote the captain's 
 heart with remorse. 
 
 He had scarcely the spirit to return Riddell's salute as he 
 seated himself beside him on the bench and waited for what 
 was come. 
 
 "Old fellow," said Riddell, "don't look so wretched. 
 Things mayn't be so bad as you think." 
 
 " How could they be anything else ? " said Wyndham, 
 dolefully. 
 
 " If you'll listen to me, and not look so frightfully down," 
 said the captain, " I'll tell you." 
 
 Wyndham made a feeble attempt to rouse himself, and 
 turned to hear what the captain had to say. 
 
 "You wonder," said Riddell, "how I came to know 
 about that visit to Beamish's. Would it astonish you to hear 
 that till this time yesterday I never knew about it at all ? " 
 
 " What I " exclaimed Wyndham, incredulously ; " you 
 were talking to me about it two or three days before." 
 
 " So you thought You thought when I said it was my 
 duty to report it, and that the honour of the school was 
 involved in it, and all that, that I was talking about that 
 scrape at Beamish's." 
 
 "Of course, you were," said Wyndham. "What else 
 could you have been talking about? I confessed it to you 
 myself." 
 
 "And you couldn't see what the honour of the school 
 had to do with your going to Beamish's, could you ? " asked 
 Riddell. 
 
 "Well, no. Perhaps it has, but I didn't see it at the 
 lime."
 
 Like a Story. 375 
 
 " Of course not," said the captain, " and if I had been 
 thinking of Beamish's I should never have said such a 
 stupid thing." 
 
 "Why, what do you mean ?" said Wyndham, puzzled. 
 
 " Why, this. In all our talks you never once mentioned 
 Beamish's. You concluded what I suspected you of was 
 this, and I concluded that the scrape you were confessing 
 was the one I suspected you of." 
 
 " What do you suspect me of, then ? " inquired Wyndham 
 " if it wasn't that ? " 
 
 "I'm ashamed to say," said the captain, "I suspected 
 you of having cut the lines of Parrett's rudder at the boat- 
 race." 
 
 Wyndham, in the shock of this announcement, broke out 
 into an almost hysterical laugh. 
 
 " Suspected me of cutting the rudder-lines ! " he gasped. 
 
 " Yes," said Riddell, sorrowfully. " I'm ashamed to say 
 it" 
 
 "Why, however could you?" exclaimed the boy, in 
 strange bewilderment. 
 
 Riddell quietly told him the whole story. Of the mys- 
 terious letter, of his visit to Tom the boat-boy, of the knife, 
 of the recollection of Wyndham's movements on the night 
 in question, and then of his supposed admission of his guilt. 
 
 Wyndham listened to it all with breathless attention ,and 
 wonder, and when it was all done sighed as he replied, 
 
 4< Why, Riddell, it's like a story, isn't it ? " 
 
 " It is," said the captain, " and rather a pitiful story as 
 far as I am concerned." 
 
 " Not a bit," replied the boy, as sympathetically as if 
 Riddell was the person to be pitied and he was the person 
 who had wronged him. " It was all a misunderstanding. 
 How on earth could you have helped suspecting me ? Any 
 one would have done the sam* "
 
 376 New Lights on Old Questions. 
 
 " But," added he, after a pause, " what ought I to do 
 about Beamish's ? Of course that was no end of a scrape, 
 and the mischief is, I promised those two cads never to say 
 a word about it. By the way, you saw me with Silk on this 
 yesterday afternoon ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Riddell ; " you didn't seem to be enjoying 
 yourself." 
 
 " I should think I wasn't. I'd been trying to get him to 
 let me off that promise, and he had offered to do it for seven 
 pounds, under conditions. I might have closed with him if 
 you hadn't come past just then. He held me down to rile 
 you, and I got so wild I rounded on him and made him in 
 a frightful rage, and it's very likely now he may tell Paddy if 
 you don't." 
 
 " Not he," said Riddell. " You're well out of his clutches, 
 old man, and it strikes me the best way you can atone for 
 that affair is by keeping out of it for the future, and having 
 no more to do with fellows like that." 
 
 " What on earth should I have done," said the boy, " with- 
 out you to look after me ? I'd have gone to the dogs, to a 
 dead certainty." 
 
 " It seems I can look after you rather too much some- 
 times," said the captain. " Ah, there's Silk coming this way. 
 We needn't stop here to give him a return match. Come 
 on." 
 
 And the two friends rose and strolled off happily arm-in-
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 WELCH'S v. PARRETTS JUNIORS. 
 
 course " sai(i Riddell, as he and Wyndham strolled 
 down by the river that afternoon, <( now that your 
 mystery is all cleared up we are as far off as ever finding 
 out who really cut the rudder lines." 
 
 " Yes. My knife is the only clue, and that proves 
 nothing, for I was always leaving it about, or lending it, or 
 losing it. I don't suppose I kept it one entire week in my 
 pocket all the time I had it And, for the matter of that, 
 it's not at all impossible I may have dropped it in the boat- 
 house myself some time. I often used to change my jacket 
 there." 
 
 Riddell had half expected Wyndham would be able to 
 afford some clue as to who had borrowed or taken the 
 knife at that particular time. He was rather relieved to 
 find that he could not 
 
 "Tom the boat-boy," said he, "distinctly says that the 
 fellow who was getting out of the window dropped the 
 knife as he did so. Of course that may be his fancy. 
 Anyhow, I don't want the knife any more, so you may as 
 well take it." 
 
 So saying he produced the knife from his pocket, and 
 handed it to his companion. 
 
 " I don't want the beastly thing," cried Wyndham, taking 
 it and pitching it into the middle of the river. " Goodness 
 knows it's done mischief enough I But, I say, whoever 
 wrote that note must have known something about it"
 
 378 WelcJis v. Parrettt Juniors. 
 
 "Of cou-w," said the captain, "but he evidently intend* 
 the thing to be found out without his help." 
 
 " Never mind," said Wyndham, cheerily, " give yourself a 
 little rest, old man, and come down and see the second 
 eleven practise. I've been too much up a tree to turn up 
 lately, but I mtan to do so this evening. I say, won't it be 
 jolly if my brother can come down to umpire in the match." 
 
 " It a////," said Riddell, and the pair forthwith launched 
 out into a discussion of the virtues of Wyndham senior, in 
 which one was scarcely more enthusiastic than the other. 
 
 On their way back to the Big they met Parson and 
 Telson, trotting down to the bathing sheds. 
 
 The faces of these two young gentlemen looked consider- 
 ably perplexed as they saw the captain and his supposed 
 victim walking affectionately arm in-arm. However, with the 
 delightful simplicity of youth they thought it must be all 
 right somehow, and having important news of some sort 
 to relate, they made no scruple about intruding on the 
 interview. 
 
 " Oh, I say, Riddell," began Telson, " we've just come 
 from the Parliament. No end of a row. Last time was 
 nothing to it ! " 
 
 " What happened ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " Why, you know," said Parson, " it was Game and 
 Ashley's affair summoning this meeting. They sent round 
 a private note or something telling the fellows there 
 would be a special meeting, signed by Game, First Lord of 
 the Admiralty, and Ashley, Home Secretary. A lot of the 
 fellows were taken in by it and turned up, and of course 
 they had taken good care not to summon anybody that was 
 sweet on you. So it was a packed meeting. At least they 
 thought so. But Telson and I showed up, and the whole 
 lot of the Skyrockets, and gave them a lively time of it." 
 
 " You see," said Telson, eagerly taking up the narrative,
 
 Hole in the Corner! 379 
 
 " they didn't guess we'd cut up rough, because we've been 
 in rows of that sort once or twice before." 
 
 Wyndham broke out laughing at this point. 
 
 " Have you, really? " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Well," continued Telson, too full of his story to heed 
 the interruption, " they stuck Game in the chair, and he 
 made a frightfully rambling speech about you and that 
 boat-race business. He said you knew who the chap was, 
 and were sheltering him and all that, and that you were as 
 bad every bit as if you'd done it yourself, and didn't care 
 a hang about the honour of the school, and a whole lot of 
 bosh of that sort. We sung out ' Oh, oh,' and ' Question,' 
 once or twice, but, you know, we were saving ourselves 
 up. So Ashley got up and said he was awfully astonished 
 to hear about it howling cram, of course, for he knew 
 about it as much as any one did and he considered it a 
 disgrace to the school, and the only thing to do was to kick 
 you out, and he proposed it." 
 
 " Then the shindy began," said Parson. " We sent young 
 Lawkins off to tell Crossfield what was going on, and 
 directly Ashley sat down old Telson got up and moved an 
 amendment. They tried to cry him down, but they couldn't 
 do it, could they ? " 
 
 " Rather not," said Telson, proudly. " I stuck there like 
 a leech, and the fellows all yelled too, so that nobody could 
 hear any one speak. We kept on singing out ' Hole in the 
 corner ! Hole in the corner ! ' for about twenty minutes, 
 and there weren't enough of them to turn us out Then 
 they tried to get round us by being civil, but we were up to 
 that dodge. Parson went on after me, and then old Bosher, 
 and then King, and then Wakefield, and when he'd done 
 I started again." 
 
 " You should have seen how jolly wild they got I " cried 
 Parson. "A lot of the fellows laughed, and joined us
 
 380 Welch's v. Parretfs Juniors. 
 
 too. Old Game and Ashley were regularly mad! They 
 came round and bawled in our ears that they gave us a 
 thousand lines each, and we'd be detained all the rest of 
 the term. But we didn't hear it ; and when they tried to 
 get at us we hit out with rulers, and they couldn't do it 
 You never saw such a lark ! " 
 
 " And presently Crossfield turned up," said Telson. 
 " My eye 1 you should have seen how yellow and green they 
 looked when he dropped in and walked up to his usual 
 place 1 We shut up for a bit as soon as he came and, you 
 know, I fancy they'd have sooner we kept it up. They 
 were bound to say something when the row stopped. So 
 Game tried to rush the thing through, and get the fellows 
 to vote before Crossfield knew what was up. But he wasn't 
 to be done that way." 
 
 " ' I didn't quite hear what the motion was ? ' says he, as 
 solemn as a judge. 
 
 " ' Oh 1 it's about the honour of the school. Riddell 
 
 " ' Excuse me, Mr. Deputy-Chairman and ex-monitor, 
 says Crossfield, and there was a regular laugh at that hit, 
 because, of course, Game had no more right in the chair, 
 now he's not a monitor, than I had. ' If it's anything to do 
 with the honour of the school, of course it couldn't be in 
 better hands than yours, who have summoned the meeting 
 on the sly, and taken such care to select a nice little party ! ' 
 "They tried to stop him at that. 
 
 " ' You can't stop the business now. We were just going 
 to take the vote when you came in,' said Game. 
 
 "'Exactly!' says Crossfield, propping himself up com- 
 fortably against the back of the form as if he was going to 
 stay all night ; ' that's just why I came, and that's just why 
 Bloomfield, and Porter, and Coates, and Fairbairn, and a few 
 other gentlemen who have a sort of mild interest in the 
 honour of the school although it's nothing, of course, to
 
 Adjourned. 381 
 
 yours are coming on too. They'll be here before I've 
 done my speech. By the way, one of you kids,' said he, 
 with a wink our way, 'might go and fetch Riddeil; he'd 
 like to be here too.' 
 
 " We shoved young Wakefield out of the door to make 
 believe to go and fetch you. But they'd had quite enough 
 of it, and shut up the meeting all of a sudden. 
 
 "'I adjourn the meeting 1' cried Game, as red as a 
 turkey-cock. 
 
 " ' All right I that will suit me just as well,' says Crossfield, 
 grinning. ' Is it to any particular day, or shall we get notice 
 as before ? ' 
 
 " Of course they didn't stop to answer, and so we gave 
 no end of a cheer for old Crossfield, and then came on 
 here." 
 
 And having delivered themselves of this full, true, and 
 particular account of the afternoon's adventures, these two 
 small heroes continued their trot down to the river to 
 refresh their honest limbs after the day's labours. 
 
 Their version of the proceedings was very little exag- 
 gerated, and, as Crossfield and several others who were 
 present each entertained his own particular circle of friends 
 with the same story, the whole affair became a joke against 
 the luckless Game and Ashley. 
 
 Even their own house did not spare them, and as for 
 Bloomfield, he evinced his displeasure in a way which 
 surprised the two heroes. 
 
 "What's all this foolery you've been up to, you two?" 
 said he, coming into the preparation-room after tea, where 
 most of the senior Parretts were assembled. 
 
 It was not flattering certainly to the two in question to 
 have their noble protest for the honour of the school thus 
 designated, and Game answered, rather sheepishly, " We've 
 been up to no foolery I *
 
 382 Welch's v. Parretfs Juniors. 
 
 " You may not call it foolery," said Bloomfield, who was 
 in anything but a good temper, " but I do I Making the 
 whole house ridiculous ! Goodness knows there's been 
 quite enough done in that way without wanting your help to 
 do more ! " 
 
 " What's the use of going on like that ? " said Ashley. 
 " You don't suppose we did it to amuse ourselves, do you ? " 
 
 ** If you didn't amuse yourselves you amused every one 
 else," growled Bloomfield. " Everybody's laughing at us." 
 
 " We felt something ought to be done about Riddell " 
 
 began Game. 
 
 " Felt ! You'd no business to feel, if that's the best you 
 can show for it," said Bloomfield. " You'll never set things 
 right ! " 
 
 "Look here," said Game, quickly, losing his temper; 
 " you know well enough it was meant for the best, and you 
 needn't come and kick up a row like this before everybody ! 
 If you don't care to have Riddell shown up, it is no reason 
 why we shouldn't ! " 
 
 " A precious lot you've shown him up ! If you'd wanted 
 to get every one on his side, you couldn't have done better. 
 You don't suppose any one would be frightened out of his 
 skin by anything a couple of asses who'd been kicked out of 
 the monitorship had to say ? " 
 
 Bloomfield certainly had the habit of expressing himself 
 warmly at times, and on the present occasion he may have 
 done so rather more warmly than the case deserved. But 
 he was put out and angry at the ridiculous performance of 
 the Parrett's boys, in which he felt the entire house was 
 more or less compromised. 
 
 As to Riddell, Bloomfield still kept his own private 
 opinion of him, but the difference between him and his 
 more ardent comrades was that he had the sense to keep 
 what he thought to himself.
 
 Waking up at the Eleventh Hour. 383 
 
 At any rate, he gave deep offence now to Game and 
 Ashley, who retired in high dudgeon and greatly crestfallen 
 to proclaim their wrongs to a small and sympathetic knot of 
 admirers. 
 
 Perhaps the most serious blow these officious young 
 gentlemen had received hardly second to their snubbing 
 by the Parretts' captain had been the mutiny of their own 
 juniors, on whose co-operation they had calculated to a 
 dead certainty. 
 
 To find Parson, Bosher, King, and Co. standing up in 
 defence of Riddell against them was a phenomenon so 
 wonderful, when they came to think of it, that they were 
 inclined to imagine they themselves were the only sane 
 boys left out of a house of lunatics. And this was the only 
 consolation that mixed with the affair at all 
 
 As to these juniors, they had far more to think about. 
 In three days the match with Welch's would be upon them, 
 and a panic ensued on the discovery. 
 
 They had been contemptuously confident of their 
 superior prowess, and it was not until one or two of them 
 had actual'*' been down to inspect the play of the rival 
 team, and Bloomfield had come down to one of their own 
 practices and declared publicly that they were safe to be 
 beaten hollow, that they regarded the coming contest 
 seriously. 
 
 Then they went to work in grim earnest Having 
 broken with Game, on whom they had usually depended 
 for " instruction and reproof," they boldly claimed the 
 services of Bloomfield, and even pressed the willing Mr. 
 Parrett into the sendee. 
 
 Mr. Parrett pulled a very long face the first afternoon he 
 came down to look at them. He had been coaching the 
 Welchers for a week or two past, and therefore knew pretty 
 well what their opponents ought to be. And he was bound
 
 384 Welch's v. Parretts Juniors. 
 
 to admit that the young Parretts were very much below the 
 mark. 
 
 They had a few good men. Parson was a fair bat, and 
 King bowled moderately ; but the " tail " of the eleven was 
 in a shocking condition. 
 
 Everything that could be done during the next few days 
 was done. But cricket is not a study which can be 
 " crammed " up, like Virgil or Euclid ; and, despite the 
 united efforts of Bloomfield and Mr. Parrett, and a few 
 other authorities, the team was pronounced to be a "shady" 
 one at best as it took its place on the field of battle. 
 
 Riddell had kept his men steadily at it to the last. 
 With a generosity very few appreciated, he forebore to 
 claim Mr. Parrett's assistance at all during the last few 
 days of practice, but he got Fairbairn and one or two of the 
 schoolhouse seniors instead, and with their help kept up 
 the courage and hopes of the young Welchers, wisely taking 
 care, however, by a little occasional judicious snubbing, to 
 prevent them from becoming too cocky or sure of the result 
 
 It was quite an event to see the Welchers flag hoisted 
 once more on the cricket-ground. Indeed, it was such an 
 event that the doctor himself came down to watch the 
 play, while the muster of schoolboys was almost as large as 
 at a senior house match. 
 
 Among all the spectators, none were more interested in 
 the event than the seniors, who had taken upon themselves 
 the responsibility of coaching " their respective teams. 
 
 Riddell was quite excited and nervous as he watched 
 his men go out to field, while Bloomfield, though he would 
 have been the last to own it, felt decidedly fidgety for the 
 fate of his young champions. 
 
 However, Parretts, who went in first, began better than 
 any one expected. Parson and King went boldly not to 
 say rashly to work from the autset, and knocked the
 
 The Collapse of ParretCs 385 
 
 bowling about considerably before a lucky ball from 
 Philpot got round the bat of the former and demolished his 
 wicket. 
 
 Wakefield followed, and he too managed to put a few 
 runs together ; but as soon as his wicket fell a dismal 
 quarter of an hour followed for the Parretts. Boy after 
 boy, in all the finery of spotless flannel and pads and 
 gloves, swaggered up to the wicket, and, after taking 
 " middle " in magnificent style, and giving a lordly glance 
 round the field, as though to select the best point for 
 placing their strokes, lifted their bats miserably at the first 
 ball that came, and had no chance of lifting it at another. 
 
 It was a melancholy spectacle, and far more calculated 
 to excite pity than amusement. Bloomfield chafed and 
 growled for some time, and then, unable to stand it any 
 longer, went off in disgust, leaving the young reprobates to 
 their fate. 
 
 Scarcely less remarkable than the collapse of Parrett's 
 was the steadiness of Welch's in the field. Although they 
 had little to do, they did what there was to do neatly and 
 well, and, unlike many junior elevens, did it quietly. The 
 junior matches at Willoughby had usually been more 
 famous for noise than cricket, but on this occasion the 
 order of things was reversed, and Riddell, as he looked on 
 and heard the compliments from all quarters bestowed on 
 his young heroes, might be excused if he felt rewarded for 
 all the labour and patience of the past month. 
 
 It offended him not at all to hear this good result attri- 
 buted generally to Mr. Parrett's instructions. He knew it 
 was true. Mr. Parrett himself took care to disclaim any 
 but a small amount of merit in the matter. 
 
 " It's a wonder to me," said he to Fairbairn, in the hear- 
 ing of a good many seniors, who were wont to treat any- 
 thing he had to say on athletic matters as authoritative 
 
 13
 
 386 iVelcfis v. Parretts Juniors. 
 
 " it's a wonder to me how Riddell, who is only a moderate 
 player himself, has turned out such a first-rate eleven. 
 He's about the best cricket coach we have had, and I have 
 seen several in my time. He has worked on their enthu- 
 siasm without stint, and next best to that, he has not so 
 much hammered into them what they ought to do, as he 
 has hammered out of them what they ought not to do. 
 Three fellows out of five never think of that" 
 
 " I'm sure they don't," said Fairbairn. 
 
 " See how steady they were all the innings, too ! " con- 
 tinued Mr. Parrett. " Three coaches out of five wouldn't 
 lay that down as the first rule of cricket ; but it is, espe- 
 cially with youngsters. Be steady first, and be expert next. 
 That's the right order, and Riddell has discovered it. I 
 would even back a steady eleven of moderate players 
 against a rickety eleven of good ones. In fact, a boy can't 
 be a cricketer at all, or anything else, unless he's steady. 
 Now, you see, unless I am mistaken, they will give quite 
 as good an account of themselves at the wickets as they 
 did on the field." 
 
 And off strolled the honest Mr. Parrett, bat in hand, to 
 umpire, leaving his hearers not a little impressed with the 
 force of his views on the first principles of cricket. 
 
 The master's prophecy was correct. The Welchers, not- 
 withstanding the fact that they had only twenty-five runs to 
 get to equal their rivals' first innings, played a steady and 
 careful innings, in which they just trebled the Parretts' 
 score. The bowling against them was not strong certainly, 
 but they took no liberties with it Indeed, both the captain 
 and Mr. Parrett had so ruthlessly denounced and snubbed 
 anything like " fancy hitting," that their batting was in- 
 clined to err on the side of the over-cautious, and more 
 runs might doubtless have been made by a little freer swing 
 of the bats. However, the authorities were well satisfied.
 
 Welch's Victorious. 387 
 
 Cusack carried his bat for eighteen, much to his own 
 gratification ; and of his companions, Pilbury, Philpot, and 
 Walker each made double figures. 
 
 It required all Riddell's authority, in the face of this 
 splendid achievement, to keep his men from jeopardising 
 their second innings in the field by yielding prematurely to 
 elation. 
 
 " For goodness' sake don't holloa till you're out of the 
 wood 1 " he said ; " they may catch up on you yet 
 Seventy-five isn't such a big score after all If you don't 
 look out you'll muddle your chance away, and then how 
 small you'll look ! " 
 
 With such advice to hold them in check, they went out 
 as soberly as before to field, and devoted their whole 
 energies to the task of disposing of their enemies' wickets 
 for the fewest possible runs. 
 
 And they succeeded quite as well as before. Indeed, 
 the second innings of the Parretts was a feeble imitation 
 of their first melancholy performance. Parson, King, and 
 Wakefield were the only three who made any stand, and 
 even they fared worse than before. All the side could put 
 together was twenty-one runs, and about this, even, they 
 had great trouble. 
 
 When it became known that the Welchers had won the 
 match by an innings and twenty-nine runs, great was the 
 amazement of all Willoughby, and greater still was the 
 mortification of the unlucky Parretts. No more was said 
 about the grand concert in which they intended to celebrate 
 their triumph. They evidently felt they had not much to 
 be proud of, and, consequently, avoiding a public entry into 
 their house, they slunk in quietly, and, shutting out the 
 distant sounds of revelry and rejoicing in the victorious 
 house, mingled their tears over a sympathetic pot of tea, 
 to which even Telson was not invited-
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 A CLIMAX TO EVERYTHING. 
 
 AMONG the few Willoughbites who took no interest at 
 all in the juniors' match was Gilks. 
 
 It was hardly to be wondered at that he, a schoolhouse 
 boy, should not concern himself much about a contest 
 between the fags of Welch's and Parrett's. And yet, if 
 truth were known, it would have been just the same had the 
 match been the greatest event of the season, for Gilks, from 
 some cause or other, was in no condition to care about any- 
 thing. 
 
 He wandered about listlessly that afternoon, avoiding the 
 crowded Big, and bending his steps rather to the un- 
 frequented meadows by the river. What he was thinking 
 about as he paced along none of the very few boys who met 
 him that afternoon could guess, but that it was nothing 
 pleasant was very evident 
 
 At the beginning of this very term Gilks had been one of 
 the noisiest and liveliest fellows in Willoughby. Although 
 his principles had never been lofty, his spirits always used 
 to be excellent, and those who knew him best could scarcely 
 recognise now in the anxious, spiritless monitor the com- 
 panion whose shout and laugh had been so familiar only a 
 few months ago. 
 
 Among those who met him this afternoon was Wibberly. 
 Wibberly, like Gilks, felt very little interest in the juniors' 
 He was one of the small party who yesterday had
 
 Gilks and Wibberly. 389 
 
 come in for such a smart snubbing from Bloomfield, and the 
 only way to show his sense of the ingratitude of such 
 treatment, especially towards an old toady like himself, was 
 to profess no interest in an event which was notoriously in- 
 teresting the Parretts' captain. 
 
 So Wibberly strolled down that afternoon to the river, 
 and naturally met Gilks. 
 
 The two were not by any means chums indeed, they 
 were scarcely to be called friends. But they had one 
 considerable bond of sympathy in a common dislike for 
 the schoolhouse, and still more for Riddell. Gilks, as the 
 reader knows, was anything but a loyal schoolhouse man, 
 and ever since he became a monitor had cast in his lot with 
 the rival house. So that he was generally consideied, and 
 considered himself to be, quite as much of a Parrett as a 
 " schoolhouser." 
 
 " So you are not down looking at the little boys ? " said 
 Wibberly. 
 
 " No," said Gilks. 
 
 " Awful rot," said Wibberly, " making all that fuss about 
 them !" 
 
 " Pleases them and doesn't hurt us," replied Gilks. 
 
 "In my opinion it's all a bit of vanity on the part of 
 Riddell. He'd like to make every one think he has been 
 coaching his kids, and this is just a show off." 
 
 " Well, let him show off; who cares ? " growled Gilks. 
 
 "All very well. He ought to be hooted round the 
 school instead of flashing it there in the Big, the hypo- 
 critical cad ! " 
 
 "Well, why don't you go and do it?" said Gilks; 
 " you'd get plenty to join you." 
 
 " Would I ? No, I wouldn't. Even Bloomfield's taking 
 his part he's gammoned him somehow." 
 
 " Well, that doesn't prevent your going and hooting bin,
 
 390 A. Climax to Everything. 
 
 does it?" said Gilks, with a sneer. "You've a right to 
 enjoy yourself as well as any one else." 
 
 "What! have you come round to worship his holiness 
 too ? " asked Wibberly, who had at least expected some 
 sympathy from Gilks. 
 
 " Not exactly ! " said Gilks, bitterly ; "but I've come 
 round to letting the cad alone. What's the good of bother- 
 ing?" 
 
 " And you mean to say you'd let him go on knowing who 
 the fellow is who cut the rudder-lines of our boat, and not 
 make him say who it is ? " 
 
 " I expect that's all stuff about his knowing at all," said 
 Gilks. 
 
 " Not it I Between you and me, I fancy he's had a tip 
 from somewhere." 
 
 " He has ? Bah 1 don't you believe it. He'd like to 
 make believe he knows all about it It would pay, you 
 know." 
 
 " But every one thinks he knows." 
 
 " Not he ! He would have told the fellow's name long 
 ago. Whatever object would he have in keeping it back ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I don't know. He says some gammon about not 
 being quite sure. But he's had time enough to be sure by 
 now." 
 
 Gilks walked on in silence for a little, and then inquired, 
 " And suppose you did get to know who it was, what would 
 be the use ? " 
 
 " The use ! " exclaimed Wibberly, in amazement. " Why, 
 what do you mean ? By Jove, I'm sorry for the fellow 
 when he turns up. He'll soon find out the use of it." 
 
 Gilks said nothing, but walked on evidently out of 
 humour, and Wibberly having nothing better to do accom- 
 panied him. 
 
 " By the way," said the latter, presently, seeing his com-
 
 Gilks is Miserable. 391 
 
 panion was not disposed to continue the former conversation, 
 ' what's up between you and Silk ? Is it true you've had a 
 row?" 
 
 Gilks growled out something which sounded very like an 
 oath, and replied, 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " What about ? " inquired the inquisitive Wibberly, who 
 seemed to have the knack of hitting upon unwelcome 
 topics. 
 
 " It wouldn't do you any good to know," growled Gilks. 
 
 " I heard it was some betting row, or something of that 
 sort," said Wibberly. 
 
 " Eh ? yes something of that sort," said Gilks. 
 
 "Well," said Wibberly, "I never cared much for Silk. 
 He always seemed to know a little too much for me. 1 
 wouldn't break my heart if I were you." 
 
 " I don't mean to," said Gilks, but in a tone which belied 
 the words, and even struck Wibberly by its wretchedness. 
 
 "I say," said he, "you're awfully down in the mouth 
 these times. What's wrong ? " 
 
 "What makes you think anything's wrong? I'm all 
 right, I tell you," said Gilks, half angrily. 
 
 Wibberly was half inclined to say that he would not have 
 thought it if he had not been told so, but judging from his 
 companion's looks that this little pleasantry would not be 
 appreciated, he forbore and walked on in silence. 
 
 It was a relief when Wibberly at length discovered that it 
 was time for him to be going back. Gilks wanted nobody's 
 company, and was glad to be left alone. 
 
 And yet he would gladly have escaped even from his own 
 company, which to judge by his miserable looks as he 
 walked on alone was less pleasant than any. 
 
 He was sorry now he had not gone to watch the juniors, 
 where at least he would have heard something less hateful
 
 392 A Climax to Everything. 
 
 than his own thoughts, and seen something less hateful 
 than the dreary creations of his own troubled imagination. 
 
 " What's the use of keeping it up ? " said he, bitterly, to 
 himself. " I don't care ! Things can't be worse than they 
 are. Down in the mouth ! He'd be down in the mouth if 
 
 he were I the fool ! I've a good mind to And yet I 
 
 daren't face it What's the use of trusting to a fellow like 
 Silk ! Bah ! how I hate him. He'll betray me as soon as 
 ever it suits him, and and oh, I don't care. Let him ! " 
 
 Gilks had reached this dismal climax in his reflections, 
 when he suddenly became aware that the object of his 
 meditations was approaching him. 
 
 Silk had his own reasons for not joining the throng that 
 was looking on at the juniors' match. It may have been 
 mere lack of interest, or it may have been a special desire 
 to take this walk. Which ever it was, his presence now 
 was about as unwelcome an apparition as Gilks could 
 have encountered, and the smile on the intruder's face 
 showed pretty clearly that he was aware of the fact. 
 
 " What are you prowling about here for ? " said he as he 
 came up, with all the insolence of a warder addressing a 
 convict. 
 
 "I've a right to walk here if I choose," replied Gilks, 
 sulkily ; " what are you here for ? " 
 
 " To find you. I want to speak to you," replied Silk. 
 
 " I don't want to speak to you," replied Gilks, moving 
 on. 
 
 " Don't you ? " replied Silk, with a sneer. " You'll have 
 to do it whether you want or not, my boy." 
 
 There was something about the Welcher which had the 
 effect of cowing his companion, and Gilks, fuming inwardly, 
 and with *,face as black as thunder, said, 
 
 11 Well say what you've got to say, and be done with it " 
 
 Silk laughed.
 
 A Snarling Match. 393 
 
 "Thank you. I'll take my time, not youri. Which 
 way are you going ? " 
 
 " No way at all," said Gilks, standing still. 
 
 " Very well. I'm going this way. Come with me." 
 
 And he began to walk on, Gilks sullenly following. 
 
 " You saw Wyndham the other day?" said Silk. 
 
 "Suppose I did?" 
 
 "What did he want?" 
 
 "I don't know some foolery or other. I didn't listen 
 to him." 
 
 " You needn't tell lies. What did he want, I say ?' 
 
 " How should I know ? " retorted Gilks. 
 
 " What did he want ? do you hear ? " repeated the other. 
 
 " He wanted me to let him blab about something about 
 Beamish's it was." 
 
 " And did you tell him he might ? " 
 
 " Yes. I said he might blab about me too for all I 
 cared. And so he may. I wish to goodness he would." 
 
 "And whatever business had you to tell him he might 
 say a word about it ? " demanded Silk, angrily. 
 
 "What business? A good deal more business than 
 you've got to ask me questions." 
 
 " Do you know what he's done ? " 
 
 "No, I don't; and I don't care." 
 
 " Don't you care ? " snarled Silk, fast losing his temper ; 
 " that foolery of yours has spoiled everything." 
 
 " So much the better. / don't care." 
 
 " But / care 1 " exclaimed Silk, furiously, " and I'll see 
 you care too, you fool ! " 
 
 " What's happened, then," asked Gilks. 
 
 " Why, Riddell " 
 
 " For goodness' sake don't start on him ! " cried Gilks, 
 viciously ; " he's nothing to do with it." 
 
 "Wasn't he? That's all you know, vou blockhead I
 
 394 A Climax to Everything. 
 
 He suspected Wyndham of that boat-race business. I can't 
 make out how, but he did. And the young fool all along 
 thought it was Beamish's he was in a row about. But 
 Riddell wouldn't have known it to this day if you hadn't 
 given the young idiot leave to go and blab, and so clear it 
 up." 
 
 " Let him blab. I wish he'd clear up everything," 
 growled, or rather groaned, Gilks. 
 
 "Look here!" said Silk, stopping short in his walk 
 and rounding on his victim. " I've had quite enough of 
 this, and you'd better shut up. You know I could make 
 you sorry for it if I chose." 
 
 Gilks said nothing, but walked on sullenly. 
 
 " And the worse thing about it," continued Silk, " is that 
 now Wyndham and Riddell are as thick as brothers, and 
 the young toady's sure to tell him everything." 
 
 " And suppose he does ? " 
 
 " There's no suppose about it. I don't choose to have it, 
 I tell you." 
 
 " How can you help it ? " said Gilks. 
 
 " We must get hold of the young 'un again," said Silk, 
 " and you'll have to manage it." 
 
 " Who ? I ? " said Gilks, with a bitter laugh. 
 
 " Yes, you. And don't talk so loud, do you hear ? 
 You'll have to manage it, and I think I can put you up to 
 a way for getting hold of him." 
 
 " You can spare yourself the trouble," said Gilks, stopping 
 short and folding his arms doggedly. " I won't do it" 
 
 " What 1 " cried Silk, in a passion. 
 
 It was the second time in one week that Silk had been 
 thus defied each time by a boy whom he had imagined 
 to be completely in his power. Wyndham's mutiny had 
 not wholly surprised him, but from Gilks he had never 
 expected it.
 
 A Fight. 395 
 
 " I won't do it, there ! " said Gilks, now fairly at bay and 
 determined enough. 
 
 Silk glared at him for a moment, then laughed scornfully. 
 
 " You won't? You know what you are saying ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know," said Gilks. 
 
 " And you know what I shall do ? " 
 
 " Yes, you'll tell " 
 
 Silk's face fell. He was beginning to discover, that once 
 more he had overdone his part, and that the ground was 
 taken from under him. But he made one last effort to 
 recover himself. 
 
 " I say, Gilks," said he, half coaxing, half warning, 
 " don't be a fool. Don't ruin yourself. I didn't mean to 
 be offensive. You know it's as much in your interest as 
 mine. If we can get hold of young Wyndham again " 
 
 " If you want him, get him yourself, I'm not going to do 
 it," once more said Gilks, with pale face and clenched 
 teeth. 
 
 Silk's manner changed once more. His face became 
 livid, and his eyes flashed, as he sprang at Gilks, and with 
 a sudden blow, exclaimed, 
 
 "Take that, then!" 
 
 It was as good as proclaiming that the game was over 
 As Gilks's guilty confidant he had retained to the last some 
 sort of influence; but now, with that blow, the last shred 
 of his superiority had gone, and he stood there beaten 
 before ever the fight began. 
 
 Gilks had expected the blow, but had not been prepared 
 for its suddenness. It struck him full on the cheek, and 
 for a moment staggered him but only for a moment. 
 Wasting no words, he returned it vehemently, and next 
 moment the fight had begun. 
 
 That fight was not the growth of a day or a week. For 
 many weeks it had been getting nearer and nearer, some-
 
 396 A Climax to Everything. 
 
 times by rapid strides, sometimes by imperceptible steps ; 
 but always getting nearer, until now it had suddenly reached 
 its climax ; and the cry, " A fight Gilks and Silk I " spread 
 like wildfire over Willoughby. 
 
 The Welchers, in the heyday of their triumph, heard it 
 above even the chorus of the glorious Bouncer ; and hearing 
 it, forsook their revelry and hurried towards it. The 
 Parretts quitted their melancholy teapot, and rushed with 
 one accord to the spot. And ere they reached it Telson 
 was there, and many a schoolhouse Limpet, and Game, 
 and Ashley, and Wibberly, from Parrett's; and Tucker 
 and I know not what crowds from Welch's. And they 
 crowded round, and took sides, and speculated on the 
 result, and cheered impartially every hit 
 
 Far be it from me to describe that fight. It was no 
 different from twenty other fights that same term, except 
 from the one fact that the combatants were seniors. No 
 one cared an atom about the quarrel or its merits. It was 
 quite enough that it was an even match that there was 
 plenty of straight hitting and smart parrying, and that it 
 lasted over a quarter of an hour. 
 
 It was a wonder it lasted so long. Not that the men 
 could not stay, but because no monitor with power to stop 
 it appeared on the scene. Indeed, the only monitor present 
 was Gilks himself, and he took no steps to end the conflict. 
 
 At length, however, while the result was still undecided, 
 a cry of " Cave / " was raised. 
 
 " Look out, here's Riddell ! " cried some small boy. 
 
 A round was just beginning, and neither combatant 
 evinced any desire to desist on account of the captain's 
 approach. 
 
 Riddell was not alone, Fairbairn was with him, and, bein^ 
 naturally attracted by the crowd and shouting, they both 
 hurried up in time to see the end of the round.
 
 The Captain Interferes. 397 
 
 As soon as it was over they pushed their way in among 
 the crowd and entered the ring. 
 
 " Stop the fight I " said Riddell. 
 
 The two combatants glared at him angrily, and Gilks 
 replied, " Who says so ? " 
 
 " I say so," said Riddell, quietly. 
 
 The days were long gone by when the captain issued his 
 orders in an apologetic voice and a diffident manner. He 
 had learned enough during this term to discover the value 
 of a little self-confidence, and had profited by the discovery. 
 Willoughby was far more docile to an order than to a 
 request, and on the present occasion neither Gilks nor Silk 
 seemed disposed to argue the matter. 
 
 They put on their jackets sulkily, and, without further 
 vords to one another or to the monitors, betook their 
 battered selves to their several quarters. 
 
 Willoughby, perceiving that the matter was at an end, 
 also dispersed and returned to its several quarters. The 
 Welchers resumed their interrupted revel with unabated 
 rejoicing; the melancholy Parretts called for more hot 
 water to eke out the consolations of their teapot ; the 
 Limpets turned in again to their preparation, and the 
 seniors to their studies every one criticising the fight^ 
 and wondering how it would have ended, but scarcely one 
 troubling himself much about its merit, and less still about 
 its consequences. 
 
 One of these consequences the principals in the engage- 
 ment were not long in learning. A message arrived for each, 
 before the evening was over, that they were reported to the 
 doctor, and were to go to his room at nine next morning. 
 
 Silk did not get the message till late, as he had been 
 Absent most of the evening in Tucker's study, who was an 
 expert at repairing the damage incurred in a pugilistic 
 encounter.
 
 398 A Climax to Everything. 
 
 When about bedtime he returned to his own study and 
 found the captain's note lying on the table, he broke out into 
 a state of fury which, to say the least of it, it was well there 
 was no one at hand to witness. 
 
 Late as the hour was, he went at once to Riddell's 
 study. 
 
 Riddell was half undressed as his visitor entered. " What 
 do you want ? " he inquired. 
 
 " I want you ! Do you mean to say you've reported me 
 to the doctor?" 
 
 " Of course. It was a fight. I'm bound to report it." 
 
 " Bound to report it You snivelling humbug ! Have 
 you sent the name up yet ? " 
 
 " Why do you want to know," said Riddell, who had 
 ceased to be in bodily fear of Silk for some time past 
 
 " Because I want to know. Have you sent it up ? " 
 
 " I have." 
 
 " All right, you'll be sorry for it," said Silk. 
 
 " I am sorry for it," replied the captain. 
 
 Silk saw at a glance that the captain was not to be bullied, 
 and changed his tone. 
 
 " I suppose you know," said he, " we shall both be 
 expelled?" 
 
 " The doctor doesn't usually expel for fighting," said the 
 captain. 
 
 " Of course not. But you remember getting a note from 
 me a little time ago." 
 
 " From you ? No ; I never had a note from you." 
 
 " What, not one telling you to go down and see Tom the 
 boat-boy ? " 
 
 " Was that from you ? " exclaimed Riddell, in astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 " Of course, it was. And of course you know now what I 
 mean "
 
 The Secret Out. 399 
 
 " I don't. I could discover nothing," said the captain. 
 " You mean to say you don't know who cut the rudder- 
 lines?" 
 
 " No ; who ? " 
 "Gilks!"
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 A TREATY OF PEACE. 
 
 THE captain's first impulse on receiving from Silk this 
 astounding piece of information was to go at once to 
 the schoolhouse and confront Gilks with his accuser. 
 
 But his second impulse was to doubt the whole story and 
 look upon it as a mere fabrication got up in the vague hope 
 of preventing him from reporting the fight to the doctor. 
 
 It was absurd to suppose Gilks had cut the rudder-lines. 
 Not that it was an action of which he would be incapable. 
 On that score the accusation was likely enough. But then, 
 Riddell remembered, Gilks, though a schoolhouse boy, 
 had all along been a strong partisan of the Parretts' boat, 
 and, ever since he had been turned out of his own boat, 
 had made no secret of his hope that Parrett's might win. 
 He had even, if rumours spoke truly, lost money on the 
 race. How was it likely, then, he would do such an absurd 
 thing as cut the rudder-lines of the very boat he wanted to 
 win, and on whose success he had even made a bet ? 
 
 It was much more likely that Silk had made this wild 
 charge for the sake of embarrassing the captain, and leading 
 him to reconsider his determination to report the fight. 
 
 And what followed partly confirmed this idea. 
 
 " You don't want to get both Gilks and me expelled ? " 
 said Silk, with a half whine very different from his late 
 bullying tones. 
 
 " The doctor never expels fellows for fighting."
 
 Silk Overdoes it. 401 
 
 14 But he will when he finds out all this other business," 
 said Silk. 
 
 " I really can't help that," said the captain, not quite 
 seeing how the two offences were involved one with 
 another. 
 
 " It's bound to come out," continued Silk, " and Gilks 
 will bring me into it too. I say, can't you get back the 
 names ? " 
 
 " Certainly not," said the captain. 
 
 " You were glad enough to hush it all up when you 
 thought it was young Wyndham had done it," said Silk. 
 
 The captain winced, and Silk was quick enough to see it. 
 
 " You profess to be fair and honest Do you call it fair 
 to shelter one fellow because he's your friend, and tell about 
 another because he isn't ? Eh, Riddell ? " 
 
 It was not a bad move on Silk's part. The question 
 thrust home, and had he been content to leave the matter 
 there, it might have been some time before the captain, with 
 his own scrupulous way of regarding things, would have 
 detected its fallacies. 
 
 But, not for the first time, Silk overdid it 
 
 " Besides," said he, seeing he had made an impression, 
 and foolishly thinking to follow it up "besides, young 
 Wyndham's a long way from being out of the wood himself 
 yet. Of course I don't want to do it, but I could make it 
 rather awkward for him if I chose." 
 
 The captain fired up scornfully, but Silk did not notice it, 
 and continued, 
 
 "You wouldn't like to see him expelled, would you? If 
 I were to tell all I know about him, he would be, to a 
 certainty." 
 
 Riddell, on whom these incautious words had acted with 
 a result wholly different from what was intended, could 
 scarcely contain himself to talk coolly as he replied,
 
 402 A Treaty of Peace. 
 
 " Please leave my room. I don't want you here." 
 
 Silk looked round in a startled way at the words, and his 
 face changed colour. 
 
 "What? "he demanded. 
 
 " Please leave my room," replied the captain. 
 
 " Not till you promise to get back the names." 
 
 " I shall do nothing of the sort." 
 
 " You won't ? You know the consequence ? * 
 
 Riddell said nothing. 
 
 " I shall tell of Wyndham," said Silk. 
 
 " Please leave my room," once more said the captain. 
 
 Silk glared at him, and took a step forward as though he 
 meant to try one last method for extorting the promise. 
 
 But Riddell stood his ground boldly, and the spirit of the 
 bully faltered. 
 
 " You'll be sorry for it," snarled the latter. 
 
 Riddell said nothing, but waited patiently for him to go. 
 
 Seeing that nothing more was to be gained, and baffled 
 on all points even on the point where he made sure of 
 having his enemy, Silk turned on his heel and went, 
 slamming the door viciously behind him. 
 
 Riddell had rarely felt such a sense of relief as he ex- 
 perienced on being thus left to himself. 
 
 The suddenness of Silk's disclosure and the strange way 
 in which it had been followed up had disconcerted him. 
 But now he had time to think calmly over the whole affair. 
 
 And two things seemed pretty clear. One was that, 
 strange as it seemed, there must be something in Silk's 
 story. He could hardly have invented it arid stuck to it in 
 the way he had for no other purpose than embarrassing the 
 captain ; and the pressure he had applied to get Riddell to 
 withdraw the names before the doctor saw them, confirmed 
 this idea. 
 
 The other point made clear was that his duty, at what-
 
 An Early Riser. 403 
 
 ever cost, even at the cost of young Wyndham himself, was 
 to report the fight and make no terms with the offenders. 
 If the result was what Silk threatened, he could only hope 
 the doctor would deal leniently with the boy. 
 
 One other thing was clear too. He must see both 
 Wyndham and Bloomfield in the morning. 
 
 With which resolve, and not without a prayer for wisdom 
 better than his own to act in this crisis, he retired to bed. 
 
 Early next morning, before almost any sign of life showed 
 itself in Willoughby, the captain was up and dressed. 
 
 The magic that so often attends on a night's sleep had 
 done its work on him, and as he walked across the quad- 
 rangle that fresh summer morning his head was clear and 
 his mind made up. 
 
 The outer door of the schoolhouse was still unopened, 
 and he paced outside, as it seemed to him, for half an hour 
 before he could get in. 
 
 He went at once to Wyndham's study, and found that 
 young athlete arraying himself in his cricket flannels. 
 
 "Hullo, Riddelll" cried he, as the captain entered; 
 " have you come to see the practice ? We're going to play 
 a scratch match with some of the seniors. You play too, 
 will you?" 
 
 The captain did not reply to this invitation, and his 
 serious face convinced Wyndham something must be wrong. 
 
 " What's up, I say ? " he inquired, looking concerned. 
 
 " Nothing very pleasant," said Riddell. " You heard of 
 the fight last night ? " 
 
 " Eh? between Silk and Gilks. Yes. I half guessed it 
 would come to that. They've been quarrelling a lot lately." 
 
 "I reported them, and they are to go to the doctor's 
 after breakfast," said Riddell. 
 
 " They'll catch it, I expect," said Wyndham. " Paddy's 
 sure to be down on them because they're seniors."
 
 404 A Treaty of Peace. 
 
 " They expect to catch it. At least, Silk says so. He 
 came to me last night and tried to get me to withdraw the 
 names. And when I said I couldn't he threatened to tell 
 about you, and get you into a row." 
 
 Wyndham's face changed colour. 
 
 " What ? I say, do you think he really will ? " he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 " I think it's very likely," said the captain. 
 
 " Of course, you can't withdraw the names ? " said the boy. 
 
 " I've no right to do it no, I can't," replied the captain. 
 
 " Oh, of course. But I say, what had I better do ? " 
 faltered the boy. " I hoped that bother was all over." 
 
 " I would advise you to go to the doctor before chapel 
 and tell him yourself." 
 
 The boy's face fell. 
 
 " How can I ? I promised I wouldn't, and Silk wouldn't 
 let me off when I asked him." 
 
 " But he is going to tell of you, he says. You had much 
 better let the doctor hear it from you than from him." 
 
 " If only I could ! " exclaimed the boy ; * but how can 
 I?" 
 
 " I don't want to persuade you to break a promise," said 
 the captain, " but I'm sorry for it." 
 
 " I suppose I'm sure to get expelled," said the boy, 
 dismally ; " they're sure to make it as bad against me as 
 they can." 
 
 Riddell reflected a little, and then said, 
 
 " Perhaps it's only a threat, and no more. At any rate, 
 if the doctor is told he is sure to give you a chance of 
 telling him everything, so don't give up hope, old man." 
 
 Poor Wyndham did not look or feel very hopeful 
 certainly as he thought over the situation. 
 
 "Thanks for telling me about it, anyhow," said he. " I 
 say, shall you be there to hear what they say ? "
 
 " Hold my Towel: 1 405 
 
 "I don't know. I don't think so. But if you are sent 
 for let me know, and I'll go with you." 
 
 With this grain of comfort the captain went, leaving 
 Wyndham anything but disposed to show up at the cricket 
 practice. Indeed, for a little while he gave up all thought 
 of going out, and it was not till a messenger arrived to tell 
 him he was keeping everybody waiting that he screwed 
 himself up to the effort and went. 
 
 Riddell meanwhile, with the other half of his mission 
 still to execute, went over to Parrett's. Parson was loung- 
 ing about at the door, with a towel over his arm, waiting, 
 as any one might have guessed, for Telson. 
 
 " Has Bloomfield gone out ? " asked the captain of this 
 youthful hero. 
 
 Parson, who ever since the famous breakfast in Riddell's 
 room had looked upon the captain with eyes of favour, re- 
 plied, 
 
 " No, I don't think so. I'll go and see if you like." 
 
 " Thanks. If he's in, tell him I want to speak to him." 
 
 "All serene. Hold my towel, do you mind? It's 
 Bosher's, and he may try to collar it if he sees me. And 
 tell Telson I'll be back in a second." 
 
 And off he went, leaving the captain in charge of 
 Bosher's towel. 
 
 He soon returned with a message that Bloomfield was 
 getting up, and would be out in a minute or two. 
 
 "I say," said he, after the two had waited impatiently 
 some time, each for his own expected schoolfellow, "did 
 you see much of the fight last night ? " 
 
 " No," said Riddell, " I didn't see it at all" 
 
 " Oh, hard lines. I got there late, as I went to tell 
 Telson. Gilks used his right too much, you know. We 
 
 both thought so. He keeps no guard to speak of, and 
 
 Hullo ! where on earth have you been all this time ? "
 
 406 A Treaty of Peace. 
 
 This last exclamation was in honour of Telson, who 
 appeared on the scene at that moment, and with whom the 
 speaker joyfully departed, leaving Riddell only half in- 
 formed as to the scientific defects in Gilks's style of boxing. 
 
 In due time Bloomfield appeared, not a little curious to 
 know the object of this early interview. 
 
 Riddell, too, was embarrassed, for the last time they 
 met they had parted on anything but cordial terms. How- 
 ever, that had nothing to do with his duty now. 
 
 "Good-morning," he said, in reply to Bloomfield's 
 nod. " Do you mind taking a turn ? I want to tell you 
 something." 
 
 Bloomfield obeyed, and that morning any one who looked 
 out might have witnessed the unusual spectacle of the 
 Willoughby captains walking together round the quadrangle 
 in eager conversation. 
 
 " You heard of the fight ? " said Riddell. 
 
 " Yes ; what about it ? " inquired Bloomfield. 
 
 " I've reported it. And last night Silk came to me and 
 asked me to get back the names." 
 
 " You won't do it, will you ? " asked Bloomfield. 
 
 " No. But the reason why Silk wanted it was because 
 he was afraid of something else coming out. He says it 
 was Gilks who cut the rudder-lines." 
 
 " What ! Gilks ? " exclaimed Bloomfield, standing still in 
 astonishment. " It can't be ! Gilks was one of us. He 
 backed our boat all along ! " 
 
 " That's just what I can't make out," said the captain ; 
 " and I wanted to see what you think had better be done." 
 
 ''Have you asked Gilks?" inquired Bloomfield. 
 
 ' No. I thought perhaps the best thing was to wait till 
 they had been up to the doctor. They may let out about 
 it to him, if there's anything in it. If they don't, we should 
 see what Gilks says."
 
 The two Captains. 407 
 
 " If it had been your lines that were cut," said Bloomfield, 
 " I could have believed it. He had a spite against all your 
 fellows, and especially you, since he was kicked out of 
 the boat But he had betted over a sovereign on us, I 
 know." 
 
 " I shouldn't have believed it at all," said Riddell, u if 
 Silk hadn't sent me an anonymous note a week or two ago. 
 Here it is, by the way." 
 
 Bloomfield read the note. 
 
 " Did you go and see the boat-boy ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes ; and all I could get out of him was that some one 
 had got into the boat-house that night, and scrambled ouf 
 of the window just in time to avoid being seen. But the 
 fellow, whoever he was, dropped a knife, which I managed 
 to get from Tom, and which turned out to be one young 
 Wyndham had lost." 
 
 " Young Wyndham ! Then it was true you suspected 
 him ? " 
 
 " It was true." 
 
 And then the captain told his companion the story of the 
 complication of misunderstandings which had led him 
 almost to the point of denouncing the boy as the culprit ; 
 at the end of which Bloomfield said, in a more friendly tone 
 than he had yet assumed, 
 
 " It was a shave, certainly. Young Wyndham ought to 
 be grateful to you. He'd have found it not so easy to clear 
 himself if you'd reported him at once." 
 
 " I dare say it would have been hard," said Riddell. 
 
 11 I'm rather ashamed of myself now for trying to make 
 you do it," said Bloomfield. 
 
 " Oh, not at all," said Riddell, dreading as he always did 
 this sort of talk. " But, I say, what do you think ought to 
 be done ? " 
 
 " I think we'd better wait, as you say, till they've been to
 
 408 A Treaty of Peace. 
 
 Paddy. Then if nothing has come out, you ought to see 
 Gilks." 
 
 " I think so, but I wish you'd be there too. As captain 
 of the clubs, you've really more to do with it than I have." 
 
 " You're captain of the school, though," said Bloomfield, 
 " but I'll be there too, if you like." 
 
 " Thanks," said Riddell. 
 
 And the two walked on discussing the situation, and 
 drifting from it into other topics in so natural a way that it 
 occurred to neither of them at the time to wonder how they 
 two, of all boys, should have so much in common. 
 
 " I shall be awfully glad when it's all cleared up," said 
 Riddell. 
 
 11 So shall I. If it is cleared up the credit of it will belong 
 to you, I say." 
 
 "Not much credit in getting a fellow expelled," said 
 Riddell. 
 
 " Anyhow, it was to your credit sticking by young Wynd- 
 ham as you did." 
 
 " I was going to report him for it, though, the very day 
 the matter was explained." 
 
 " Well, all the more credit for making up your mind to an 
 unpleasant duty like that when you might have shirked it." 
 
 The bell for chapel began to ring at this point. 
 
 "There goes the bell," said Bloomfield. "I say, how 
 should you like to ask me to breakfast with you? I'd ask 
 you to my room, only our fellows would be so inquisitive." 
 
 Riddell jumped at the hint with the utmost delight, and 
 to all the marvels of that wonderful term was added this 
 other, of the two Willoughby captains breakfasting tttc-&-tete, 
 partaking of coffee out of the same pot and toast cut off the 
 same loaf. 
 
 They talked far more than they ate or drank. It was 
 more like the talk of two friends who had just met after a
 
 A Wonderful Meal. 409 
 
 long separation, than of two schoolfellows who had sat 
 shoulder to shoulder in the same class-room for weeks. 
 Bloomfield confided all his troubles, and failures, and dis- 
 appointments, and Riddell confessed his mistakes, and dis- 
 couragements, and anxieties. And the Parrett's captain 
 marvelled to think how he could have gone on all this term 
 without finding out what a much finer fellow the captain of 
 the school was than himself. And Riddell reproached him- 
 self inwardly for never having made more serious efforts to 
 secure the friendship of this honest, kind-hearted athlete, 
 and gradually these secret thoughts oozed out in words, and 
 a lively five minutes of self-abuse followed, ending in not a 
 little shame at the discovery of how different a term this 
 might have been. 
 
 Bloomfield, as was only natural and only right, took to 
 himself most of the blame, although Riddell chivalrously 
 insisted on claiming as much as ever he could. And when 
 at last this wonderful meal ended, a revolution had taken 
 place in Willoughby which the unsuspecting school, as it 
 breakfasted elsewhere, little dreamed of. 
 
 " Upon my honour we have been fools," said Bloomfield 
 " that is, I have. But we'll astonish the fellows soon, I fancy. 
 Do you know I've a good mind to break bounds or have a 
 fight with some one just to make you give me an impot. ! " 
 
 "As long as you don't do anything which calls for 
 personal chastisement," said the captain, laughing, " I'll 
 promise to oblige you." 
 
 " I say," said Bloomfield, as the bell for first school was 
 beginning to ring, " I'm glad we that is I have come to 
 our senses before old Wyndham comes down. His young 
 brother has persuaded him to come and umpire for the 
 school in the Templeton match." 
 
 Riddell's face became troubled. 
 
 " I hope young Wyndham may be here himself. You
 
 4io A Treaty of Peace. 
 
 know, Silk threatened that unless I withdrew the names he 
 would tell the doctor about that affair of Beamish's and get 
 Wyndham expelled to spite me." 
 
 Bloomfield laughed. 
 
 "Not he. It's all brag, depend on it. But why on 
 earth doesn't the young 'un go and make a clean breast to 
 the doctor, before he gets to know of it any other way ? " 
 
 " That's just the worst of it. They made him promise he 
 wouldn't say a word about it to any one, and he's such an 
 honest young beggar that even though Silk tells of him, he 
 won't tell of Silk." 
 
 "That's awkward," said Bloomfield, musing. "Did he 
 tell you about it, then ? " 
 
 " No. His mouth was shut, you see. If I hadn't found 
 out about it from Parson and Telson, who saw the three of 
 them coming out, I shouldn't have known it till now." 
 
 Bloomfield's face brightened. 
 
 " Then you found it out quite independently? " asked he. 
 
 "To be sure." 
 
 "All right. Then the best thing you can do is to report 
 him for it at once." 
 
 " What ? " exclaimed Riddell, aghast, " report him ? " 
 
 " Yes. And then you can go to Paddy and tell him all 
 about it, and explain how he was led into it, and he's sure 
 not to be very down on it." 
 
 " Upon my word," said Riddell, struck with the idea, " I 
 do believe you are right It's the very best thing I could 
 do. What a donkey I was never to think of it before." 
 
 So it was decided that young Wyndham was forthwith to 
 be reported for his transgression, and as the time had now 
 arrived when all the school but Gilks and Silk were due in 
 class, the two captains hurried off to their places, each feeling 
 that he had discovered a friend ; and in that friend a hope for 
 Willoughby, of which he had scarcely even dreamed till now.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 A BUSY DAY FOR THE DOCTOR. 
 
 T} IDDELL had not been many minutes in class before 
 _L\. a message came from the doctor summoning him to 
 the library. 
 
 On his arrival there he found, to his surprise, Silk 
 standing alone in the middle of the room, while the doctor 
 was quietly writing at his table. 
 
 " Riddell," said the doctor, as the captain entered, " you 
 reported two boys to me. Only one is here." 
 
 " I told Gilks he was to be here at nine o'clock, sir," 
 said the captain. 
 
 " You had better go and see why he is not here." 
 
 Riddell obeyed, and found on inquiry at the school- 
 house that Gilks was on the sick-list, and had obtained 
 leave from the matron to remain in bed till after dinner. 
 
 The captain had his private doubts as to the seriousness 
 of the invalid's case, especially as, of the two, he was the less 
 damaged in yesterday's fight. However, he had no right 
 to question the matron's decision, and returned accordingly 
 to report the matter to the doctor. 
 
 " Humph ! " said the doctor, who also evidently considered 
 it a curious coincidence that Gilks should be taken unwell 
 the very morning when his presence was required in the 
 library ; " he had better have come. You say he is to be up 
 after dinner ? " 
 1 Yes, sir."
 
 412 A Busy Day for the Doctor. 
 
 " Then let him know he is to come here at four o'clock, 
 and you, Silk, come too at that hour." 
 
 Silk, who had evidently screwed himself up for the 
 present interview, looked disappointed. 
 
 " I should like just to say, sir " began he, with a 
 
 glance at Riddell. 
 
 But the doctor interrupted. 
 
 " Not now, Silk. Go to your class now, and come here 
 at four o'clock." 
 
 " But it's not about " 
 
 " Do you hear me, sir ? " said the doctor, sternly. 
 
 Silk went. 
 
 The captain was about to follow his example, when it 
 occurred to him he might not have so favourable an op- 
 portunity again that day for acting on Bloomfield's advice 
 respecting Wyndham. 
 
 " Can you spare a few minutes, sir ? " said he, turning 
 back. 
 
 " Yes, what is it ? " said the doctor. 
 
 " It's about young Wyndham, sir." 
 
 " Ah ! Nothing wrong, I hope. He has seemed a good 
 deal steadier than he was, of late." 
 
 " So he is, sir. But this is about something he did some 
 time ago." 
 
 The doctor settled himself judicially in his chair, and 
 waited for the captain's report. 
 
 " He got into bad company early in the term, sir, and 
 was tempted down into the town without leave, and once 
 let himself be taken to Beamish's Aquarium." 
 
 The doctor gave a grunt of displeasure, which sounded 
 rather ominous. 
 
 " How long ago was this ? " 
 
 "A few days before the boat-race, sir. It has been 
 weighing on his mind ever since,"
 
 Wyndham sent for. 413 
 
 " Did he tell you of it ? " asked the doctor. 
 
 11 No, I found it out accidentally. When I spoke to him 
 about it he admitted it and seemed very sorry." 
 
 " And why did he not come to me himself at once ? " 
 
 " That's just it, sir," said the captain. " I advised him to 
 do it, and he told me he had promised the the companions 
 with whom he went never to mention the matter to anybody, 
 and this prevented his coming. He even went to them, and 
 begged them to let him off the promise so that he might 
 come and confess to you, but he did not succeed." 
 
 " Did he ask you, then, to come and tell me ? " 
 
 " No, sir. But he is in constant dread of your hearing 
 about it from any one else, so that I thought it would be 
 the best thing to tell you of it myself." 
 
 The doctor nodded his head. 
 
 " He does not know, of course, of your doing this ? " 
 
 " Oh no, sir." 
 
 " And who were the companions who you say took him 
 to this place ? " 
 
 Riddell coloured up and felt very uncomfortable. 
 
 " Do you mind me not telling you, sir ? " he said. 
 " Wyndham only wanted you to know about his part in it. 
 I'll tell you if you wish," added he, " but I'd rather not if 
 you do not mind." 
 
 " You need not do so at present," said the doctor, greatly 
 to the captain's relief, " but you had better send Wynd- 
 ham to me." 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Eiddell, turning to go, but lingering for 
 one final word. " I hope, sir you that is, if you can 
 you will take a lenient view of it Young Wyndham's very 
 steady now." 
 
 "I must see Wyndham before I can decide," said the 
 doctor, "but you have acted quite right in the matter/ 
 quite right"
 
 414 A Busy Day for ike Doctor. 
 
 The captain went to find Wyndham, hoping for the best, 
 but decidedly anxious. 
 
 That young gentleman was engaged in the agonies of 
 Euclid when the school messenger entered, and announced 
 that the doctor wanted to see him at once. His face fell, 
 and his heart beat fast as he heard the summons. It 
 needed not much effort to guess what it all meant Gilks 
 and Silk had of course been up before the doctor, and the 
 latter had carried out the threat of which Riddell had told 
 him ; and now he was summoned to hear his fate ! 
 
 At the schoolhouse door he found Riddell waiting for him. 
 
 " Oh, Riddell, I say ! " exclaimed he, in tones of misery, 
 " I've to go to the doctor at once. Silk has told about me. 
 I say, do come with me," 
 
 " Silk hasn't told about you at all," said the captain ; 
 " I've reported you myself." 
 
 " Yon ! " cried Wyndham, in tones of mingled amazement 
 and reproach ; " oh, why ? " 
 
 " Wouldn't you sooner have had me do it than Silk ? " 
 asked Riddell. 
 
 The boy saw his meaning at once, and as usual flew 
 from one extreme to the other. 
 
 *' Oh, of course ! What a brute I was not to see it 
 Thanks awfully, old man. What awful grief I should have 
 come to if it hadn't been for you ! " 
 
 " I don't know at all what view the doctor takes of the 
 matter," said the captain, gravely; "you had better not 
 expect too much." 
 
 Wyndham groaned 
 
 " If only I'm not expelled ! " said he. "I suppose you 
 can't come too ? * 
 
 "No. The doctor wants to see you alone, I think." 
 
 "Well, here goes. By the way, of course, you didn't 
 mention the other fellows' names?" he added
 
 Suspense. 415 
 
 The manner in which he said this made Riddell feel 
 doubly glad that the doctor had not insisted on his telling. 
 
 No I didn't," he said. 
 
 And off went Wyndham, dismally, to the doctor's study. 
 
 It was an anxious morning for the captain. Wyndham 
 had not returned before first school was over, and Riddell 
 felt he could not rest till he knew his fate. 
 
 He told Bloomfield of his morning's proceedings, but 
 even this new friend's encouragement failed to shake off 
 the suspense that weighed upon him 
 
 Presently when he could wait patiently no longer, it 
 occurred to him Wyndham might possibly have gone back 
 to his study unobserved, and be waiting there for him. So 
 he went across to the schoolhouse to find out 
 
 But nearly all the studies in the schoolhouse, Wynd- 
 ham's included, were empty, as they almost always were at 
 this hour of the day during summer ; and the captain was 
 about to return, more uncomfortable than ever, to the Big, 
 when a door at the end of the passage opened, and some 
 one called his name. 
 
 It was Gilks, who, as he was dressed, had evidently re- 
 covered from his indisposition earlier than was expected. 
 
 He beckoned as the captain looked round j and Riddell, 
 inwardly wondering when his work as a police-officer would 
 cease, and he would be able to retire again into private life, 
 turned and entered his study. 
 
 Gilks shut the door carefully behind him. He had a 
 haggard look about him which may have been the result of 
 his ailment, or may have been caused by mental trouble, 
 but which certainly was not the expression to which the 
 captain had been used. 
 
 " I'm to go to the doctor at four ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes. He put it off, as you were reported on the sick 
 list,"
 
 416 A Busy Day f^r the Doctor. 
 
 " Of course he thinks I was shamming ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " I was and I wasn't. I couldn't make out what to do, 
 that was it, so I stayed in bed. Was Silk there ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Did he say anything ? " 
 
 "No; the doctor told him to come again at four." 
 
 Gilks took one or two uncomfortable turns up and down 
 the room, and then said, 
 
 " I may as well tell you, it's no use keeping it back any 
 longer, for it's sure to come out I was the fellow who cut 
 the rudder-line. Did you know that?" 
 
 I had heard it." 
 
 "Who told you Silk?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "I thought so. I knew he would. And hell tell 
 Paddy this afternoon. I don't care if he does." 
 
 " I scarcely believed it when he said so," said RiddelL 
 
 4 Eh ? I suppose you thought it was rather too low 
 even for me. So it would have been once," he said, 
 bitterly. 
 
 "But you backed the Parrett's boat all along," sale 
 RiddelL 
 
 " Oh, that If that's all that puzzled you it's easily ex- 
 plained. Perhaps if you were doing a thing like that in 
 the dark, expecting to be caught out every moment, you 
 might make a mistake too." 
 
 " Then you meant to cut our lines ? " asked the captain, 
 seeing the whole mystery explained at last. 
 
 " Of course I did ; and so I should have done if the 
 rudders hadn't been shifted, and Parretts' put into the 
 schoolhouse boat" 
 
 He took a few more turns, and then continued, 
 
 " You may fancy what a pleasant state of mind I've been
 
 An Unhappy History. 417 
 
 in since. I daresay you'll be glad to hear I've been 
 miserable day and night." 
 
 "I'm very sorry for you," said Riddell, so sympathetic- 
 ally that the unhappy boy started. 
 
 " You wouldn't be if you knew it was all to spite you. 
 I was as bad as Silk in that, though it was his idea about 
 cutting the lines. The accident turned out well for us in 
 one way nobody suspected either of us. But Silk has led 
 me the life of a dog ever since. I've not known what 
 minute it might all come out. He was always holding it 
 over my head, and I had to do anything he told me. I 
 can tell you I've thought of bolting more than once, or 
 telling Paddy." 
 
 " It must have been a dreadful time for you," said 
 RiddelL 
 
 "So it was. But I'm glad it's all over now. I shall be 
 glad to be expelled. I've been ashamed to look any one in 
 the face for weeks. I used to be happy enough before I 
 knew Silk, but I don't expect ever to be happy again now." 
 
 There was a tremble in his voice as he said this, which 
 went to the captain's heart 
 
 " I hope it's not so bad as that," said he, quietly. 
 
 " Everybody here hates me, and they'll hate me all the 
 more now," said Gilks. "You and young Wyndham are 
 the only fellows that have been good to me, and I've done 
 both of you nothing but mischief." 
 
 " I think," said Riddell, " the fellows will soon forgive. 
 They would, I know, if they guessed how you have suffered 
 already." 
 
 " You are right. I have suffered," said Gilks. 
 
 Another long pause followed, during which the minds <.,( 
 both were full. 
 
 The one sensation in the captain's heart was pity. He 
 forgot all about the crime in commiseration of the wretched- 
 
 14
 
 418 A Busy Day for the Doctor. 
 
 ness of the criminal. Yet he knew it was useless to hold 
 out any hope of a reprieve, even if that had been to be 
 desired. All he could do was to let the poor fellow know 
 at least that he was not friendless ; and this sign of sympathy 
 Gilks gratefully appreciated. 
 
 " I don't know why you should trouble yourself about 
 me," he said, after some further talk. " You owe me less 
 than anybody. I've been nothing less than a brute to you." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Riddell ; " but, do you know, I think it 
 would be well to go to the doctor at once ? " 
 
 " I mean to go at once. Do you think he'll let me go off 
 this afternoon, I say ? I wouldn't dare to face the fellows. 
 I've got most of my things packed up." 
 
 " I expect he would. But you stay till the morning. 
 You can have my study. It's quieter than this." 
 
 Perhaps no more hospitable invitation had been issued in 
 Willoughby, and Gilks knew it. And it was too welcome 
 not to be accepted gratefully. 
 
 The captain soon afterwards departed, leaving the penitent 
 behind him, subdued and softened, not by any sermon or 
 moral lecture, which at such a time Riddell felt would be 
 only out of place, but by sheer force of kindness that virtue 
 which costs so little, yet achieves so much. 
 
 In this new excitement the captain had for the moment 
 forgotten young Wyndham, but he was soon reminded of 
 that afflicted youth's existence on reaching the Big. 
 
 He was there, waiting impatiently. A glance sufficed to 
 show tlut at any rate the worst had not happened, but 
 Wyndharn'a face was such a mixture of relief and woe that 
 the captain felt some misgivings as he inquired eagerly what 
 was the news. 
 
 c " He was frigfc tfully kind," said Wyndham, " and talked 
 
 N to me like a father. I never felt so ashamed of myself. 
 
 I'm certain it's what you said made him let me off so easy
 
 All up with the Second Eleven. 419 
 
 that is, so what he means for easy. He said nothing 
 about expelling, even when I couldn't tell him the names 
 of those two fellows. But he's gated me till the end of the 
 term ! I may only go out for the half-hour after first school, 
 and half an hour after half-past five. And you know what 
 that means," he added, with a groan. 
 
 " What ?" asked Riddell, too rejoiced that his friend was 
 safe to be over-curious as to the exact consequence of his 
 sentence. 
 
 " Why ! " exclaimed Wyndham, " it's all up with the 
 second eleven ! " 
 
 It was a blow undoubtedly perhaps the next hardest 
 blow to expulsion but so much less hard that not even the 
 boy himself could for long regard it as a crushing in- 
 fliction. 
 
 He had had his lesson, and after the suspense of the last 
 few weeks he was ready to expiate his transgression manfully, 
 if sorrowfully. 
 
 " Anyhow," said he, after pouring out all his disappoint- 
 ment into the captain's sympathetic ear, "it's not as bad 
 as being sent off home. And if it hadn't been for you that's 
 what might have happened. I say, and think of my brother 
 coming down to umpire, too ! What a fool I shall look ! 
 Never mind ; it can't be helped. I'm sure to get into the 
 eleven next season. I say, by the way, I've no right to be 
 standing out here. I shall have to go in." 
 
 And so ended the story of young Wyndham's trans- 
 gressions. 
 
 Riddell had to officiate at yet one more investigation that 
 eventful day. 
 
 Scarcely had Wyndham disappeared when a message 
 reached him that the doctor wished to see him again. 
 
 With no doubt this time as to the purport of the summons, 
 he obeyed.
 
 42O A Busy Day for the Doctor. 
 
 He found Gilks standing in the doctor's presence, whew 
 Silk had stood an hour or so earlier. 
 
 "Riddell," said the doctor, whose face was grave, and 
 whose voice was more than unusually solemn, " Gilks here 
 has just been making a very serious statement about an acci- 
 dent that happened early in the term the breaking of the 
 line at the boat-race, which he confesses was his doing. I 
 wish you to hear it." 
 
 " Gilks told me of it just before he came to you, sir," said 
 the captain. 
 
 " I never expected to hear such a confession from a Wil- 
 loughby boy," said the doctor. " The honour of the whole 
 school has suffered by this disgraceful action, and if I were 
 to allow it to pass without the severest possible punishment 
 I should not be doing my duty. Gilks has done the one 
 thing possible to him to show his remorse for what has oc- 
 curred. He has confessed it voluntarily, but I have told 
 him he must leave the school to-morrow morning." 
 
 Gilks remained where he was, with his eyes on the 
 ground, while the doctor was speaking, and attempted no 
 plea to mitigate the sentence against him 
 
 " I find," continued the doctor, " that if he tells the truth 
 he has not been the only, and perhaps not the principal, cul- 
 prit. He says he did what he did at the suggestion of Silk. 
 Perhaps you will send for Silk now, Riddell." 
 
 Riddell went off to discharge the errand. When he re- 
 turned Gilks looked up and said, nervously, 
 
 " Need I stay, sir? I don't want to see Silk." 
 
 The doctor looked at him doubtfully, and replied, 
 
 " Yes, you must stay." 
 
 A long, uncomfortable pause followed, during which no 
 one spoke or stirred. At length the silence was broken by a 
 knock on the door, and Silk entered. 
 
 He glanced hurriedly round, and seemed to take in the
 
 Self-Accused. 421 
 
 position of affairs with moderate readiness, though he was 
 evidently not quite sure whether Gilks or the captain wai 
 his accuser. 
 
 The doctor, however, soon made that clear. 
 
 " Silk," he said, " Gilks accuses you of being a party to 
 the cutting of the rudder-lines of one of the boats in the race 
 last May. Repeat your story, Gilks." 
 
 "He needn't do it," said Silk, " I've heard it already." 
 
 " He says you suggested it," said the doctor. 
 
 " That's a lie," said Silk sullenly ; ' I never heard of it 
 till afterwards." 
 
 " You know you did," said Gilks. " When I was turned 
 out of the boat, and couldn't baulk the race that way, it was 
 you suggested cutting the lines, and I was glad enough to 
 do it" 
 
 " So you were," snarled Silk, incautiously " precious 
 glad." 
 
 " Then you did suggest it ? " said the doctor, sharply. 
 
 Silk saw his mistake, and tried to cover it, but his con- 
 fusion only made the case against him worse. 
 
 " No, I didn't he told me about it afterwards that is, I 
 heard about it I never suggested it. He said he knew how 
 to get at the boats, and I said " 
 
 " Then you did speak about it beforehand ? " said the 
 doctor. 
 
 No that is we only said " 
 
 " Silk," said the doctor, sternly, " you're not speaking the 
 truth. Let me implore you not to make your fault greater 
 by this denial" 
 
 Silk gave in. He knew that his case was hopeless, and 
 that when Gilks had said all, Riddell could corroborate it 
 with what had been said last night. 
 
 4 Well yes, I did know of it," said he, doggedly. 
 
 " Yes," said the doctor ; " I'm glad at least you do not
 
 422 A Busy Day for the Doctor 
 
 persist in denying it. You must quit Willoughby, Silk ; I 
 shall telegraph to your father this afternoon. You must be 
 ready to leave by this time to-morrow." 
 
 Silk hesitated for a moment, then with a look round at 
 Riddell, he said, 
 
 " Before I go, sir, I think you ought to know that Wynd- 
 ham junior " 
 
 "What about him ?" asked the doctor, coldly. 
 
 " He is in the habit, as Riddell here knows, of frequenting 
 low places of amusement in Shellport. I have not mentioned 
 it before ; but now I am leaving, and Riddell is not likely to 
 tell you of it, I think you ought to know of it, sir." 
 
 " The matter has already been reported," said the doctor, 
 almost contemptuously. " You can go, Silk." 
 
 The game was fairly played out at last, and Silk slunk off, 
 followed shortly afterwards by the captain and Gilks.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 A TRANSFORMATION SCENE, 
 
 WILLOUGHBY little dreamed that night, as it went 
 to bed, of the revolutions and changes of the day 
 which had just passed. 
 
 It knew that Silk and Gilks had been reported for 
 fighting, and naturally concluded that they had also been 
 punished. It had heard, too, a rumour of young 
 Wyndham's having been " gated " for breaking bounds. 
 
 But beyond that it knew nothing. Nothing of the treaty 
 of peace between the two captains, of the discovery of the 
 boat-race mystery, of the double expulsion that was im- 
 pending. 
 
 And still less did it dream of the unwonted scene which 
 was taking place that evening in the captain's study. 
 
 Riddell and Gilks sat and talked far into the night. 
 
 I am not going to describe that talk. Let the readei 
 imagine it. 
 
 Let him imagine all that a sympathetic and honest 
 fellow like Riddell could say to cheer and encourage a 
 broken-down penitent like Gilks. And let him imagine all 
 that that forlorn, expelled boy, who had only just dis- 
 covered that he had a friend in Willoughby, would have to 
 say on this last night at the old school. 
 
 It was a relief to him to unburden his mind, and Riddell 
 encouraged him to do it He told all the sad history of 
 the failures, and follies, and sins which had reached their
 
 424 A Transformation Scene. 
 
 catastrophe that day ; and the captain, on his side, in his 
 quiet manly way, strove all he could to infuse some hope 
 for the future, and courage to bear his present punishment. 
 
 Whether he succeeded or not he could hardly tell ; but 
 when the evening ended, and the two finally betook them- 
 selves to bed in anticipation of Gilks's early start in the 
 morning, it was with a feeling of comfort and relief on both 
 sides. 
 
 " If only I had known you before ! " said Gilks. ' I don't 
 know why you should be so kind to me. And now it's too 
 late to be friends." 
 
 " I hope not," said Riddell, cheerily. " We needn't stop 
 being friends because you're going away." 
 
 "Needn't we I will you write to me now and then?" 
 asked Gilks, eagerly. 
 
 " Of course I will, and you must do the same. I'll let 
 you know all the news here." 
 
 Gilks sighed. 
 
 "I'm afraid the news here won't be very pleasant for 
 me to hear," said he. "What a fury the fellows will be 
 in when they hear about it. I say, Riddell, if you get a 
 chance tell them how ashamed and miserable I was, will 
 you?" 
 
 " I will, I promise you," replied Riddell. 
 
 "And, I say, will you say something to young 
 Wyndham? Tell him how I hate myself for all the 
 mischief I did to him, and how thankful I am he had you 
 to keep him straight when I was trying to lead him all 
 wrong. Will you tell him that ? " 
 
 "I'll try," said the captain, with a smile, "part of it. 
 But we ought to be turning in now, or we shall not be up 
 in time." 
 
 ' All right," said Gilks. " Good-night, Riddell." 
 
 " Good-nignt, old fellow."
 
 "Dorit be too Down on Him" 425 
 
 Bloomfield was up early next morning. He had only 
 received the evening before the melancholy notification of 
 the fact that young Wyndham, owing to circumstances over 
 which he had no control, would be unable to play in the 
 second-eleven match next week ; and he had it on his mind 
 consequently to find a successor without delay. 
 
 Probably, on the principle that th<* early bird gets the 
 worm, he determined to be out in good time this morning. 
 But for once in a way the bird was too early for the worm, 
 and Bloomfield prowled about for a good quarter of an 
 hour before the aspiring youth of Willoughby mustered at 
 the wickets. 
 
 It was during this early prowl, while the hands of the 
 clock were between half-past six and seven, that he 
 received something like a shock from seeing the captain 
 alight at the school gate from the town omnibus. 
 
 " Why, whatever's up ? Where have you been ? " in- 
 quired Bloomfield. 
 
 " I have just been to see poor Gilks off," said the captain. 
 
 11 What ! then it was true ? " 
 
 "Yes I hadn't time to tell you yesterday. He's been 
 expelled." 
 
 " The cad I " cried Bloomfield. " It's lucky for him he 
 was able to slink off unnoticed." 
 
 " Oh ! don't be too down on him," said the captain. 
 "You'd have been sorry for him if you'd have seen how cut 
 up and ashamed he was. After all, he was little better than 
 a tool in somebody else's hands." 
 
 "Silk's you mean? "said Bloomfield. "And I suppose 
 he gets off scot-free ? " 
 
 " No ; he is expelled too. He had to confess that he 
 suggested the whole thing, and he is to go this morning." 
 
 " That's a comfort ! But why on earth did they cut our 
 lines instead of yours ? "
 
 426 A Transformation Scene. 
 
 "That was a blunder. Gilks, in his flurry, got hold of 
 the wrong rudder. I really think that's why it was'nt found 
 out long ago." 
 
 " Very likely. But what a nice pair of consciences they 
 must have had ever since ! I suppose the doctor will 
 announce that they've been expelled ? " 
 
 "I don't know. But I hope he won't be too hard on 
 Gilks if he does. I never saw a fellow so broken down and 
 sorry. He quite broke down just now at the station as he 
 was starting." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " said Bloomfield. " The fellows won't 
 take the trouble to abuse him much now he's gone." 
 
 At this point two Parrett's juniors came past. They were 
 Lawkins and Pringle, two of the noisiest and most impudent 
 of their respectable fraternity. 
 
 Among their innocent amusements, that of hooting the 
 captain had long been a favourite, and at the sight of him 
 now, as they concluded, in altercation with their own hero, 
 they thought they detected a magnificent opening for a little 
 demonstration. 
 
 Hullo ! Booh ! Fiddle de Riddell I " cried Pringle, 
 jocosely, from a safe distance. 
 
 " Who cut the rudder-lines ? Cheat ! Kick him out ! " 
 echoed Lawkins. 
 
 The captain, who was accustomed to elegant compliments 
 of this kind from the infant lips of Willoughby, took about 
 as much notice of them now as he usually did. In other 
 words, he took no notice at all. 
 
 But Bloomfield turned wrathfully, and shouted to the two 
 boys, " Come here, you two ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes ; we'll come to you I " cried Lawkins 
 
 "You're our captain; we'll obey you ! " said Pringle, with 
 a withering look at RiddelL 
 
 " What's that you said just now ? " demanded Bloomfield.
 
 Two Heads Better than One. 427 
 
 " I only said, ' Kick him out ! ' " said Lawkins, somewhat 
 doubtfully, as he noticed the black looks on the Parrett's 
 captain's face. 
 
 Bloomfield made a grab at the two luckless youths, and 
 shook them very much as a big dog shakes her refractory 
 puppies. 
 
 " And what do you mean by it, you young cubs ! " de- 
 manded he, in a rage. 
 
 11 Why, we weren't speaking to you" whined the juniors. 
 
 " No, you weren't ; but I'm speaking to you ! Take that, 
 for being howling young cads, both of you ! " and he 
 knocked their two ill-starred heads together with a vigour 
 which made the epithet " howling " painfully accurate. 
 " Now beg Riddell's pardon at once ! " said he. 
 
 They obeyed with most abject eagerness. 
 
 " Mind I don't catch you calling my friends names like that 
 any more," said Bloomfield. " Riddell's captain here, and if 
 you don't look out for yourselves you'll find yourselves in 
 the wrong box, I can tell you ! And you can tell the rest 
 of your pack, unless they want a hiding from me, they'd 
 better not cheek the captain ! " 
 
 So saying, he allowed the two terrified youngsters to 
 depart ; which they did, shaking in their shoes and marvell- 
 ing inwardly what wonder was to happen next. 
 
 The morning passed, and before it was over, while all 
 the school was busy in class, Silk left Willoughby. His 
 father had arrived by an early train, and after a long inter- 
 view with the doctor had returned taking his boy with him. 
 No one saw him before he went, and for none of those 
 whom he had wronged and misled did he leave behind any 
 message of regret or contrition. He simply dropped out of 
 Willoughby life, lamented by none, and missed only by a 
 few who had suffered under his influence and were now far 
 better without hint
 
 428 A Transformation Scene. 
 
 After morning classes the doctor summoned the school 
 to the great hall, and there briefly announced the changes 
 that had taken place. 
 
 " Two boys," said he, " are absent to-day absent because 
 they have left Willoughby for good. Now that they are 
 gone, I need not dwell on the harm they have done, except 
 to warn any boys present, who may be tempted to follow in 
 their steps, of the disgrace and shame which always follow 
 vice and dishonesty." 
 
 There was a general stir and looking round as the doctor 
 reached this point He had not yet announced the names, 
 though most present were able to guess them. 
 
 "It's not you two, then?" whispered Telson across the 
 bench to where Cusack and Pilbury sat in mutual perplexity. 
 
 " Two things at least are comforting in what has passed," 
 continued the doctor. " One is that by the confession of 
 these two boys a very unpleasant mystery, which affected 
 the honour of the whole school, has been cleared up ; I mean, 
 of course, the accident at the boat-race early in the term." 
 
 It was that, then ! Willoughby bristled up with startled 
 eagerness to hear the rest, and even Telson found no joke 
 ready to hand. 
 
 " The other consolation is that one of the boys, Gilks " 
 
 There was a sudden half-suppressed exclamation as the 
 name was announced, which disconcerted the doctor for a 
 moment. 
 
 "Gilks," pursued he, "expressed deep contrition for what 
 he had done, and wished, when leaving, that the school 
 should know of his shame and sorrow. He left here a 
 softened and, I hope, a changed boy ; and I feel sure this 
 appeal to the generosity of his old schoolfellows will secure 
 for him what he most desires your forgiveness." 
 
 There was a silence, and every face was grave, as the 
 doctor concluded,
 
 What the Doctor said. 429 
 
 11 1 wish I could say as much of his companion, and I 
 fear, leader in wrong Silk." 
 
 There was another start, but less of surprise than assent 
 this time. For when Gilks had been named as one culprit 
 every one knew the name of the other. 
 
 " I have no message for you from him," said the doctor, 
 with a voice in which a faint tremble was descernible ; " but 
 on his behalf we may at least hope that in new scenes, 
 and under more favourable conditions, he may be able 
 to recover the character he lost here. An event like this 
 carries its own lesson. Do not be too ready to blame them, 
 but let their example be humbly taken by each one of you 
 as a warning against the first approach of temptation, from 
 which none of us is free, and which by God's help only can 
 any of us hope ever to resist or overcome." 
 
 The doctor's words did not fail to make a deep impression 
 on those present. There were not a few whose conscience 
 told them that after all the difference between them and the 
 expelled boys was not very great, and it had needed a warn- 
 ing like this to arouse them. 
 
 The rest of that day a subdued atmosphere hung over 
 Willoughby. A good many boys thought more than was 
 their wont, and even the noisiest shrunk from indulging 
 their high spirits to their customary extent. 
 
 But the chief feeling that day was one of relief. Not 
 that two bad boys had been expelled, but because the 
 hateful boat-race mystery had been finally cleared up, and 
 with it the reproach on the honour of Willoughby had been 
 removed. As long as it had hung like a black cloud over 
 the term, boys had lacked spirit and encouragement to rally 
 for the good of the school House had been divided 
 against house, set against set, captain against captain, and 
 the order and discipline of the school had gone down to a 
 miserable pitch.
 
 430 A Transformation Scene. 
 
 Against all these opposing influences the new captain, as 
 we have seen, had struggled gallantly, and not wholly with- 
 out success ; but even his influence could not disperse all 
 the suspicions, and heart-burnings,and jealousies that centred 
 round that unlucky race. Now, however, the clearing up 
 of that mystery, and, still more, the new alliance, rumours 
 of which were spreading fast, between the two captains, 
 opened new hopes for the old school. 
 
 There were not a few who at first treated the ru- 
 mours of the new alliance with sceptical derision, but 
 they had soon cause to discover that it was more than a 
 joke. 
 
 Stutter and Wibberly, two of the sceptics, happened to 
 be caught that very afternoon by Bloomfield in the act of 
 " skulking " dinner that is, of answering to their names at 
 the call-over, and then slipping off unobserved to enjoy a 
 rather more elaborate clandestine meal in their own study. 
 It was not a very uncommon offence, or perhaps a very 
 terrible one, but it was an offence which monitors were 
 bound to report 
 
 "Where are you off to?" demanded Bloomfield, en- 
 countering these two deserters. 
 
 11 Oh, it's all right," said Wibberly, " we've been called 
 over. We're only going to Stutter's study." 
 
 "Go back at once," said Bloomfield, "and go to the 
 captain after six." 
 
 Wibberly laughed. 
 
 " You're joking surely," said he ; " you usen't to mind 
 the extra feeds now and then." 
 
 " If I shirked my duty once it's no reason I should do it 
 for ever. Go back, do you hear ? at once." 
 
 " What, won't you let us go this time ? " said Wibberly, 
 quite bewildered by this unexpected sternness on the part 
 of his old patron.
 
 A Caution. 431 
 
 "Do you hear what I say?" thundered Bloomfield. 
 " Do you want to be licked into the bargain ? " 
 
 " Oh, very well," said Wibberly, with a last fond thought 
 of Stutter's good bill of fare. " But, I say, you needn't 
 give us lines, Bloomfield" 
 
 " I've nothing to do with giving you lines. That's the 
 captain's affair." 
 
 " What do you mean ? Do you mean to say you'll report 
 us to Riddell ? " 
 
 " Of course. He's the captain." 
 
 " Oh, look here ! " cried Wibberly, quite convinced now 
 that the rumours were no joke. " We'll go back, and we'll 
 do lines for you, but for goodness' sake don't send us up to 
 him." 
 
 " We had no warning, you see," said Stutter, " that 
 things were changed." 
 
 " Go back, then," said Bloomfield, " and make up your 
 minds unless you keep rules you'll get treated just the same 
 as any other rowdies. I won't report you this time, but 
 you'd better take care what you do." 
 
 This little incident made a remarkable impression, not 
 only on the two boys immediately concerned, but on the 
 school generally. For it soon got noised about, and no 
 public proclamation could have made the state of Bloom - 
 field's mind clearer. 
 
 But a day or two later the last glimmer of doubt was 
 removed by the proceedings which took place in that august 
 assembly, the Willoughby Parliament. 
 
 Honourable members assembled in large numbers, as they 
 always did after any special school excitement, and even had 
 this inducement been lacking, the significant sentence, 
 " Resignation of Mr. Bloomfield Election of President," 
 on the notice-board would have sufficed to pack the house. 
 
 Riddell had implored Bloomfield not to take this step, or
 
 43* A Transformation Scene. 
 
 at least to defer it to the beginning of the next term. But he 
 might as well have pleaded with a lamp-post. The Parrett's 
 captain was inexorable. 
 
 " No," said he ; " if it was the last day of the term I'd do 
 it. It would serve me right if I was kicked round the school 
 for sticking there so long." 
 
 Before the business began Crossfield rose and asked to be 
 allowed to put a question. This was the signal for a general 
 buzz of anticipation which was not lessened by the sight of 
 Messrs. Game and Ashley looking very uncomfortable 
 where they sat. 
 
 " I should like to ask Mr. Game, whom I see present, if 
 he will kindly report to the House the proceedings of the 
 last special meeting, which he summoned in the interests of 
 the honour of the school. I hope the gentleman will speak 
 out, as we are all anxious to hear him." 
 
 Game blushed up to the roots of his hair, and dug his 
 hands in his pocket, and tried to look as unconcerned as 
 possible at the laughter which greeted this innocent questioa 
 
 As he made no offer to reply, Crossfield thereupon regaled 
 the House with a highly facetious report of that famous 
 meeting, amid much laughter and cheers, not a few of which 
 were directed to the heroic " Skyrockets." This little diver- 
 sion being at an end, it was suggested by the Chair that per- 
 haps the matter might now drop, which, greatly to the relief of 
 the discomfited ex-monitors, it accordingly did, and after a 
 few other questions the orders of the day were reached 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Bloomfield, rising and speaking 
 nervously, but resolutely, " you will see by the notice-paper 
 that I am going to resign the office of President of the 
 Willoughby Parliament. (No, no.) Gentlemen, there's a 
 proverb which says, ' It's never too late to mend.' That's 
 the principle on which I am doing this now. I've been in 
 this chair under false pretences. (No, no.) I was elected
 
 A Stirring Appeal. 433 
 
 here uader false pretences. (No, no.) I was a fool to let 
 myself be elected, and I'm ashamed of myself now. Gentle- 
 men, I ara net the captain of Willoughby I I never was ; 
 and I had no more right to be than any fag present. (Loud 
 cheers from Parson, Telson, Cusack, and others.) The only 
 thing I can do now, gentlemen, to show how ashamed I am, 
 is to resign. And I do resign. For goodness' sake, gen- 
 tlemen, let's be done with the folly that's been working the 
 very mischief in Willoughby all this term. I know I've been 
 as bad as any one, so I've no right to abuse any one. But 
 we've time to pull ourselves right yet It wants three clear 
 weeks to the holidays. (Groans from Bosher.) In three 
 weeks, if we choose, we can make the old school what it 
 was the day old Wyndham left. (Cheers.) We've had more 
 than folly among us this term. We've had foul play thank 
 goodness no one here was concerned in that. We don't 
 want to kick fellows that are down, but now they've gone 
 our chance of pulling up is all the better, and we'll do it. 
 (Cheers.) I said the only thing I could do to atone for my 
 folly was to resign. No, gentlemen, there is something 
 else I can do, and will do. I propose that the captain of 
 Willoughby be elected our President! (Cheers.) He's a 
 jolly good fellow, gentlemen (cheers) and I can tell you 
 this (and I'm not given to romancing), if it hadn't bean 
 for him, gentlemen, there would have been scarcely anything 
 of Willoughby left to pick up." 
 
 Bloomfield, whose spirited address had carried his audi- 
 ence by storm, as only a genuine, hearty outburst can, sat 
 down amid tremendous cheers. The school had fast been 
 coming round to his way of thinking, but it had wanted 
 some one to giv it utterance. Riddell, in his speech a week 
 or two ago, had hit the right nail on the head, and now 
 Bloomfield had driven it home. 
 
 When presently the applause subsided, young Wyndhara
 
 434 A Transjormation Scene. 
 
 was discovered, all excitement and eagerness, trying to be 
 heard. 
 
 " I want to second that ! " he cried, in a voice that posi- 
 tively trembled. " I'm only a Limpet, and I've been in lots 
 of rows, but you none of you know what a brick he is. 
 Gentlemen, he's worth the lot of us put together I I mean it. 
 If you only knew what he's done for me, you'd say so. I'm 
 in a row now. (" Hear I hear ! " from Cusack.) I'm de- 
 tained all the rest of the term. (Cheers from Bosher.) I 
 can't play in the second eleven next week (loud laughter) 
 but, gentlemen, I don't care a hang now old Riddell's put 
 where he ought to be, at the head of the school (applause) 
 and I'm proud to be allowed to second it." 
 
 This was no ordinary meeting truly. No sooner was 
 Wyndham done, but Telson leapt on his form, and shouted, 
 
 " On behalf of the kids (laughter) I third that. (Laugh- 
 ter.) I don't know what you're grinning at (laughter) 
 but, I can tell you, we all mean to back him up. (Loud 
 cheers.) That's all I've got to say ! " 
 
 Other speeches followed, equally cordial, from Fairbairn 
 and the captain's old schoolhouse friends, and even from 
 some unexpected quarters where every one supposed the old 
 partisanship still lurked 
 
 Amid much enthusiasm Riddell was elected President, 
 and duly installed by his old rival. 
 
 Then there were loud calls for " A speech I " from the 
 captain. It was long before he could sufficiently overcome 
 his nervousness to attempt it, but at last he said or rather 
 stammered amidst the enthusiasm of the meeting, " I am 
 much obliged, gentlemen. I wish Bloomfield had kept the 
 post. I'm afraid I sha'n't make a good President. Gentle- 
 men, if we go on as we have begun to-day the captain of 
 Willoughby will have nothing to do. The old school is 
 looking up fast. (Cheers.) Now we are all pulling one
 
 Turning a Corner. 435 
 
 way, I should like to see what can stop us ! But I really 
 can't make a speech now. If you knew all I feel but 
 there, I shall only break down if I try to go on, so I'd better 
 stop." 
 
 And thus Willoughby returned once more to her right 
 mind.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. (AND LAST). 
 WILLOUGHBY HERSELF AGAIN. 
 
 IT was the day of the Templeton match, and all 
 Willoughby had once more turned out into the Big to 
 watch the achievements of its heroos. 
 
 Yet it was not so much the cricket that fellows crowded 
 out to see. Of course, the contest between the second 
 eleven and Templeton was moderately interesting. But it 
 was not of the first importance, and Willoughby might have 
 survived had it been deprived of the pleasure of witness- 
 ing it. 
 
 But the pleasure of witnessing old Wyndham, bat in hand, 
 umpiring for the old school in the very Big where his own 
 mighty victories had been achieved, was quite another 
 matter ; and in honour of this event it was that Willoughby 
 turned out in a body and watched the Templeton match. 
 
 The old captain had not much altered in the few weeks 
 since he had left Willoughby. His whiskers had not had 
 time to grow, and he even wore the same flannel jacket ne 
 had on at the athletic sports in May. But in the eyes of 
 the boys he might have been no longer a man, but a demi- 
 god, with such awe and reverence did they behold him. 
 
 He had lately scored one hundred and five for the Colts 
 of his county, and had even been selected to play in the 
 eleven against M.C.C. next week. What he might not 
 achieve when he went up to Oxford in the autumn no one 
 could say, but that he would be stroke of the eight and
 
 " Well umpired, Sir I " 437 
 
 captain of the fifteen, and carry off all the events in the next 
 University athletics, no one at the school ventured to doubt 
 for a moment. 
 
 The Templeton boys hardly knew what to make of all 
 this demonstration in favour of their opponents' umpire, and 
 it added considerably to their nervousness to hear loud cries 
 of " Well umpired, sir I " when any one was given out 
 
 Parsons and Telson, having taken the precaution to send 
 Bosher and Lawkins early in the day to keep seats for them 
 on the round bench under the schoolhouse elms, viewed the 
 match luxuriously, and not a little to the envy of other 
 juniors, who had to stand or sit on the ground where they 
 could. 
 
 " Boshy play, you know," says Telson, helping himself tc 
 monkey-nuts out of Parson's hospitable pocket j "but it's 
 stunning to see the way old Wynd. gives middle. Any one 
 else would take double the time over it" 
 
 " Right you are ! And he's awfully fair too. See the 
 neat way he gave Forbes out leg before, just now 1 " 
 
 "There's another two for Tedbury. We'll cheer him 
 next time. Hullo, Bosher, old man I you needn't be com- 
 ing here. There's no room ; we're full up." 
 
 " You might let us sit down a bit," says Bosher ; " I kept 
 the seat from half-past ten to twelve for you." 
 
 " Jolly muff not to sit down, then, when you had the 
 chance. Jolly gross conduct of the evil Bosher, eh, 
 Telson?" 
 
 " Rather ! He's small in the world, but he'd better get 
 out of the light, my boy, or he'll catch it 1 " 
 
 Bosher subsides at this point, and the two friends resume 
 their divided interest in the match, and old Wyndham, and 
 the monkey-nuts. 
 
 Presently two familiar forms saunter past, arm-in-arm. 
 
 "There go Riddell and Bloorafield," says Parson*.
 
 43 8 Willoughby herself again. 
 
 "Awfully chummy they've got, haven't they? Different 
 from what it used to be ! " 
 
 " So it is," says Parsons. " Not nearly as much chance of 
 a lark. But perhaps it's no harm ; it keeps those Welcher 
 kids quiet." 
 
 " More than it's doing just now ! Look at the way young 
 Cusack is bellowing over there! He's as mad on this 
 match as if he was in the eleven." 
 
 " So he expects to be, some day. But they're not going 
 to have it all their own way in Welch's again. Our club's 
 going ahead like blazes now, and we've challenged them 
 for a return match the day before break-up." 
 
 "There's Tedbury out," says Telson. "Twenty runs 
 he's made not a bad score. We'd better cheer him, I 
 say." 
 
 And the two grandees suit the action to the word, and 
 rejoice the heart of Tedbury as he retires to the tent, by 
 their lusty applause. 
 
 The Willoughbites do not do badly as a whole. A few 
 of them, either through incompetence or terror at the 
 presence of old Wyndham, fail to break their duck's-eggs, 
 but the others among them put together the respectable 
 score of one hundred and five the identical figures, by the 
 way, which Wyndhara scored off his own bat the other day 
 in the Colts' match of his county. 
 
 During the interval there is a general incursion of spec- 
 tators into the ground, and a stampede by the more 
 enthusiastic to the tent where the great umpire is known 
 to be "on show" for a short time. 
 
 Amongst others, Parsons and Telson incautiously quit 
 their seats, which are promptly "bagged" by Bosher and 
 Lawkins, who have had their eyes on them all the morning, 
 and are determined now, at any rate, to take the reward of 
 their patience, and hold them against all comers.
 
 A Follow-on. 439 
 
 The crowd in the tent has not a long time wherein to 
 feast its eyes on the old captain, for Willoughby goes out 
 to field almost at once, and Templeton's innings begins. 
 Whatever may have been the case with the school, Temple- 
 ton seems quite unable to perform under the eyes of the 
 great " M.C.C." man, and wicket after wicket falls in rapid 
 succession, until with the miserable total of fifty-one they 
 finally retire for this innings. 
 
 "A follow-on," says Game, who from near the tent is 
 patronisingly looking on, in company with Ashley, Tipper, 
 and Wibberly. " I suppose they ought to do them in one 
 innings now ? " 
 
 "Ought to try," says Tipper. "Some of these kids 
 play fairly well." 
 
 " They get well coached, that's what it is. What with 
 Bloomfield, and Fairbairn, and Mr. Parrett, they've been 
 drilled, and no mistake." 
 
 " Let's see," says Wibberly, " there are five Parretts in 
 the eleven, aren't there." 
 
 Ashley laughs. 
 
 " I don't fancy any one thought of counting," says he. 
 " Perhaps we'd better not, or it may turn out as bad for us 
 as in the Rockshire match." 
 
 " After all," says Tipper, " I'm just as glad those rows 
 are over. We're none the worse off now." 
 
 " No, I suppose not," says Game, a little doubtfully ; 
 " and Bloomfield and he are such friends. It's just as well 
 to keep in with the captain." 
 
 " Not very difficult either," says Ashley. 
 
 " He's friendly enough, and doesn't seem to have any 
 grudge. He told me he hoped I'd be on the monitors' list 
 again next term." 
 
 " Ah, I'm having a shot at that too," says Game. " Ah, 
 it is a follow-on, then. There go our fellows to field again."
 
 440 Willoughby herself again. 
 
 Just as the second innings of Templeton is half over, 
 a melancholy figure crosses the Big from the school and 
 makes its way to the tent. It is young Wyndham, whose 
 half- hour's liberty has come round at last, and who now 
 has come to witness the achievements of that second eleven 
 in which, alas 1 he may not play. 
 
 However, he does not waste his time in growling, but 
 cheers vociferously every piece of good fielding, and his 
 voice becomes an inspiriting feature of the innings. But 
 you can see, by the way he is constantly looking at his 
 watch, that his liberty is limited, and that soon, like 
 Cinderella at midnight, he must vanish once more into 
 obscurity. He knows to half a second how long it takes 
 him to run from the tent to the schoolhouse, and at one 
 minute and twelve seconds to six, whatever he is doing, 
 he will bolt like mad to his quarters. 
 
 Before, however, his time is half over the captain joins him, 
 
 "Well, old man," says the latter,'"! wish you were 
 playing. It's hard lines for you." 
 
 " Not a bit (Well thrown up, Gamble !) not a bit hard 
 lines," says the boy. " Lucky for me I'm here at all to see 
 the match." 
 
 11 Well, it'll be all right next term," says the captain. " I 
 say, it would have done you good to see the cheer your 
 brother got when he turned up." 
 
 " Oh, I heard it," said the boy. " Fairbairn lets me stick 
 in his study that window there, that looks right through 
 the gap in the elms, so I can see most of what's going on 
 (Now then, sir, pick it up there ; fielded indeed 1 ") 
 
 The match is nearly over, and it looks as if Wyndham 
 will be able to see the end of it. Nine wickets are down 
 for forty-nine, and five runs must yet be scored to save 
 Templeton from a single-innings defeat. 
 
 The last man begins ominously, for he makes two off his
 
 A Last Glimpse. 441 
 
 first ball. Willoughby presses round, breathless, to watch 
 the next. It whizzes over the wicket, but does no harm. 
 The next ball one of Forbes's shootersstrikes on the 
 batsman's pad. 
 
 " How's that, umpire ? " yells every one. 
 
 " Not out ! " says old Wyndham. 
 
 The next ball comes but before it has left the bowler's 
 hand young Wyndham has begun to run. Loud shouts 
 and laughter follow his headlong progress. 
 
 "Well run, sir ; put it on ! " scream Parsons and Telson. 
 
 " Stop thief I " howl Bosher and his friends. 
 
 " He's gaining, there ! Pull yourself together 1 " cry 
 Cusack and Pilbury. 
 
 Heedless of these familiar cheers for lately this has 
 been a daily performance Wyndham saves his honour at 
 two seconds to six, the identical moment when Forbes's 
 last ball sends the Templeton bails flying high over long- 
 stop's head, and Willoughby is proclaimed winner of the 
 match by one innings and three runs to spare. 
 
 A jovial party assembles an hour later for " high tea " 
 in the captain's study. 
 
 Fairbairn, Coates, Porter, and Crossfieid are there, and 
 Bloomfield and Riddell, and the two Wyndhams, and 
 assuredly a cheerier party never sat down in Willoughby. 
 
 " I never expected to find you a Welcher," says old 
 Wyndham to the captain. 
 
 "No? A fellow's sure to find his level, you see, some 
 day," replies Riddell, laughing. 
 
 " Yes, but the thing is, Welch's is coming up to his 
 level," says Bloomfield, "instead of his going down to 
 Welch's." 
 
 " I ihould say," says young Wyndhana, blushing a little 
 to hear his own voice before this imposing assembly, " all 
 Willoujjhby's coming up to his level."
 
 44* Willoughby herself again. 
 
 "The young 'un's right, though he is a Limpet," says 
 Crossfield. "I had my doubts of old Riddell once, but 
 I've more doubts about myself than him now." 
 
 " You know, Wynd.," says Porter, "we're such a happy 
 family, I shouldn't wonder if I forget before long what 
 house I belong to." 
 
 " I'll see you're reminded of that, my boy, before the 
 house football matches next term," says Fairbairn, laugh- 
 ing. 
 
 " Yes," says the old captain, " you'll be a poor show if 
 you don't stick up for your own house." 
 
 " Well, I don't know," says Porter, " we've had such a lot 
 of sticking up for our own houses this term, that I'm rather 
 sick of it." 
 
 " Sticking up for ourselves, you mean," says Bloomfield, 
 " that's where one or two I could name went wrong." 
 
 " It seems to me," says Coates, " that sticking up for 
 your house, and sticking up for your school, and sticking 
 up for yourself, are none of them bad things." 
 
 " But," says old Wyndham, "unless you put them in the 
 right order they may do more harm than good." 
 
 " And what do you say the right order is ? " asks Cross- 
 field. 
 
 " Why, of course, Willoughby first, your house next, and 
 yourself last" 
 
 " In other words," says the captain, " if you stick up foi 
 Willoughby you can save yourself any trouble about the 
 other two, for they are both included in the good of the old 
 school. At least, that's my notion ! " 
 
 And with what better notion could we say good-bye to 
 the Willoughby Captains? 
 
 TJM *ND.
 
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