dormitory, seems to have fire, and read aloud the caused this counsel of perfection to be rejected. Yet it was carried that a series of euphemisms should be, as far as possible, adopted, so that you might hear a small boy who had been badly shinned at football exclaim "bad words" with great fervour; and for what is perhaps the most common of schoolboy terms of abuse or endearment, you were now supposed to call your friend "a four-letter man.' "1 The fags, however, suffered, during the weakness of the Sixth and the increasing toughness of the Fifth, worse things than shocks to their ears. "Lower" interfered with them in all sorts of ways from morning till night, and some of its worst specimens might be said to have been in almost continuous occupation of the comfortable corners in "Fags," whose members they harried with exquisite torments, such as those employed, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, by the wicked barons of the reign of King Stephen. In these circumstances it was often difficult for the captain of fags to wrestle at his desk with the weekly accounts of the Fund. Some big ruffian from "Lower" would come and look over his shoulder and commence an imaginary audit, or would snatch up the little dirty thumbed account-book, carry it off to his cronies by the contributions of the various members of "Fags" for weeks past. The collection in "Lower" itself (and it must be confessed in other parts of the School also) had been steadily dwindling for several terms past: except in "Fags" it had always been voluntary, and so had been much more irregular. "Lower were a hungrier lot than "Fags"; their table in Hall was not, or they asserted that it was not, so well-fed, so they needed to buy more sausage-rolls to stay their stomachs. They played fives, and some of them even played that very expensive game racquets: whereas "Fags," by long tradition, had always devoted its own fierce energies to but three games-football in the winter term, cross-country runs, called "grinds," in the Lent, and orioket in the summer; and none of these demanded any immediate outlay of money, their expenses being charged in "home-bills." It was, however, not without resentment that "Lower" knew (and "Fags," which had its own share of self-righteousness and original sin, took care that it should continue to know) that the contribution from the youngest dormitory in the House maintained the high and even tenor of its original way. "These young scoundrels had grown most abominably insolent over it," thought (and said with many a blanky blank) Mr Williamson, Captain This was perhaps an adaptation of the well-known Latin euphemism for "fur " (a thief)-namely, "homo trium litterarum." of "Lower" in the Lent Term of 1918, "it was time to read them a good lesson; it made him sick when he took his contribution (without an accountbook) to Snorkins at the end of last term to hear Snorkins praise the fags for their steady regularity," and so on. To out a long story short, it may have been Williamson, or it may have been some other big boy in "Lower," from whom the devilish suggestion emanated, that "Fags" should be compelled by the strong right arm (which could, if necessary, be used to twist the less strong) to contribute a regular weekly sum out of its Comforts Fund collection to make that of "Lower" look more respectable. "There was no question of diverting this contribution away from the Hospital Fund, the wounded soldiers would lose nothing -such was the argument of the leaders in "Lower" Dor. Even in that den of vice this proposal was not carried without some criticism; but it was carried, and a deputation was appointed to march into "Fage" and to translate it into action. It seemed to be a gratuitous addition to this evil mixture of foree and fraud that the sum to be levied was only two shillings a week; so that even the stupidest little fag could see that it was to be done not 80 much to benefit "Lower" as to outrage "Fags." The consternation with which the deputation was received in "Fags" cannot be described in temperate language. But from words the deputation soon proeeeded to acts. Hurd well, captain of fags, elutching the cash-box in his chubby hands, with seventeen of the Old and Young Guard round him (two were in sick-room), stood manfully at bay, and the deputation from "Lower" had to summon reinforcements before before these were overpowered; blows were rained, coats were torn, and blood was shed, concerning which blood several big lies had afterwards to be told to the matron of Schoolhouse by the losers. One small boy, Harker minor, was trampled under feet, went about for several days with his head bound up, and was told by his fagmaster that he would be licked for "fighting" as soon as he was well. The oash-box was broken in the souffle, and its contents (Hurdwell's private fortune in one compartment, and the term's accumulated funds in the other) were scattered on the floor. Williamson & Co., with a lordly assumption of integrity, contented themselves with taking their two shillings and departing. But in departing their leader stated, with great emphasis, that if any word of what had happened should reach Sixth form, even in the most indirect manner, "Lower" would seize the fags one by one and put them successively to death with unheard-of tortures. From the demeanour of the fags during the ensuing week a more wide-awake Sixth might have guessed that something was gravely wrong in the lower strata of the Sohoolhouse. One and all of the little boys were sullen as well as frightened; in what quarter vengeance could be sought for the in- they almost ceased to practise for the athletic sports, which were due in three weeks; they were infamously slack in Wednesday's grind, and three of them were beaten by their masters for this offence. They were less molested by "Lower" than usual; "Lower" was content to enjoy its triumph, of which perhaps its better elements were already half ashamed. Only one motion was proposed in "Fags" parliament that week, and it was carried unanimously-that the contribution to the Comforts Fund be at once suspended. They were going to gather no more shillings for "Lower" to plunder. They need give no reasons for this suspension to any higher authorities. "What will Miss Beatty (the matron at the hospital) think of us? Well, we can't help what she thinks." Gloomy and silent, if undisturbed, the fags sat round the fire on the evening of 21st March, all ignorant of the fact that the fiercest of the German blows had just begun to fall on their fathers at the front. Even their interest in the war seemed almost to have ceased. Harker minor, whose bandage had recently been removed, and whose fagmaster had forgotten to lick him, was sitting in the high window embrasure reading Ivanhoe,' and drumming with his heels to the irritation of Hurdwell, who exolaimed, "Stow it, you ass, can't you?" For the fourand-fortieth time the assembly was considering what, if any, redress could be obtained, year, was a delicate, weedy Braningham as a school is considerably behind the times. There is neither gymnasium nor boxing-school. Games had always been enough, and had indeed been far too exclusively worshipped. The Harkers were undistinguished at these, except that the major was good at oross-country grinds. Neither were they particularly distinguished in school work. They were both Governors' nominees, sons of a "backwoods" sporting parson who hardly ever left Suffolk, and thought, when he thought at all, along early Victorian lines. In all other respects, except their lack of distinction, Harker brothers were as dissimilar 88 could be. The minor, who was in his first little boy, full of fun and spirits and a great devourer of novels; the major, who never opened a book if he could help it, was near the end of his second year; he was short, broad-chested, bumble-faced, with a disproportionate length of arm-the neolithic type of boy, and as habitually silent as if speech had not yet been invented. No one but his minor knew (because at school one never asks about these things) that he was an ardent naturalist, gymnast, and sportsman, with a phenomenally long "wind"; that at home he spent whole nights in the open air, and that, from his ninth year, he had studied, under his father's careful tuition, the noble art of selfdefence. He was one of the two fags who had been in sickroom when the outrage of the previous week occurred, but it had only been because he had out his thigh on some barbed wire in a recent grind, and the wound was new healed. The minor skipped up to the major and shook him. "You'll fight, major, won't you?" And the boy growled out, "Don't know," and after a pause, “Yes, if you fellows want me to." Then in the rapid ungrammatical speech of remanee the fiery minor poured forth his ideas of how it could be done, but it was long before he could communicate his own enthusiasm to his audience. It was all, you see, quite contrary to Schoolhouse tradition. Tyranny they knew, bullying to a oertain extent they were aocustomed to, fair play they didn't expect. There had been no set fights within the memory of man or boy; there was a vague idea that it was "a thing for which you might get the sack." A more weighty objeotion was raised by Hurdwell himself. "Lower' wouldn't agree-it would only carry out its threats of isolated lickings of all fags in turn; and then we should be worse off than ever. Besides, the Sixth would get to hear of it, and then perhaps the whole story would come out"-a result whicb, with true faggish perversity, "Fags" was resolved to avoid at all costs. But Harker minor was equal to the occasion, and developed his arguments with some skill. Briefly they were these: there must be a set field with a ring and ropes (the ropes were at once voted down as "ridiculous fuss"); above all, there must be some one to preside at the combat- bis head was full of the Disinherited Knight and the lists at Templestowe,-"I'll go to Jenky" (Jenkinson his fagmaster, second captain of the house), "and I'll tell him as much as he need know." "What'll you tell him, then?" "I'll tell him we have had a row with 'Lower' and want to settle it fairly-I can make him think it was quite a friendly row-and ask him to preside at the fight." It was not a bad idea on little Harker's part, for Jenkinson, a great lazy, kindly, olever boy, who was notorious for spoiling his fags and laughing at them, was himself a bit of a romantic and a crank to boot; he thought far too contemptuously of School traditions, and the whole thing would appeal to his sense of humour. Also he had acquired by odd reading a smattering of the lore of prize-fighting. He was just going into the Guards' CadetSchool at Bushey, and didn't oare much whether in this, his last term, he got into a row at school or not. Before the bell rang for prayers, Harker minor had wrung a more or less formal permission from "Fags" parliament "to do his dashedest," the person who was to be the protagonist in the hoped-for battle sitting all the time dumb with a face like a plum-pudding. When the Schoolhouse matron went her rounds that night and looked at the boys in their beds, Hurd well was lying awake with a smile on his face. "You look more cheerful to-night, Hurdwell," she said; "you've all looked so glum lately, I couldn't make you out. Has there been anything wrong?" "All right now, thank you, ma'am, good-night," said the boy. Harker minor duly called Jenkinson for early school next morning, and found time to slip in a petition that he might come and do his "swynk" (lessons) in his study after second school. Jenky readily gave him leave to do so, and when the little boy appeared with a Cæsar and a Latin dictionary at 12 o'clock, the great man curled himself up in his arm-chair and prepared for a luxurious midday sleep over the second Eneid, which he was supposed to be getting up for Repetition prize. The little boy sat biting his pencil for a while, and then said, "Please, Jenkinson, I want to consult you—that is, we want you to help us." "What's Jenky looked up. up, young 'un? Something about that broken head of yours last week, I suppose? Any one been bullying you?" "No, no, nothing like that," said Harker; "but it's like this, we've had a row with Lower' and we want to fight them." "Don't be an utterly ridiculous little fool." "Well, Hurd well said I was to consult you for our whole dor." "Oh, you're all in it, are you?" "Yes, we're all in it; quite a friendly row, you know, but it's an insult to 'Fags,' and can only be wiped-wiped out in blood, you know." "Well, of all the silly things I ever heard. . . . You can't fight, you mustn't fight, and you shan't fight. Besides, I must know more about this; some of these fellows in 'Lower' are rather beasts, I think, and you must tell me what's up.... But why don't you go to Clowes if you've got a complaint to make?" "Well, you see, Jenkinson, we thought you'd understand better than Clowes" (the captain of Schoolhouse). "All right, out with itonly mind I don't approve of sneakin' any more than Clowes would." |