g of the lads; and this was well, for Dick Haddon, fully appreciating the possibilities of th

and the vigour of his grip matters of wonder to all those new boys who ventured to presume upon his seeming infirmities. He had a scraggy red neck, a long beak-like nose, and queer slate-coloured eyes with pale lashes; his hair was thin and very fine in colour and text

it well. Jacker, I intend to leave you standing here for a few moments to cool. You may have noticed, boys, that the youthful form when over-heated or possessed with unusual e

his body, and, knowing that nothing could

dry

nt whatever when he heard himself alluded to as Jo, or Hamlet, or the Beetle, his most frequent appellations in the playground. He kept a black bottle in his desk, at the neck of which he habitually refreshed himself before the whole school; and he addressed the children with an elaborate and caustic levity in a thin shaky voice quite twenty years too old for him. His humour was thrown away upon the risi

h-and a higher and lower branch of each; he managed all, with the assistance of occasional monitors selected from the best pupils. Good order prevailed in the school, for little that went on there escaped the master

er by the two cobwebbed mysteries standing against the wall, but the imperative

ab

bed in the spectacle provided by Haddon and McKnight that he failed to h

s way, my d

ly with shuffling feet towards the master. It was now evident that Gable was not a large boy, but a little old man,

Joel commanded, with an exp

pectancy, and he assumed the shrinking attitude of the very small boy who expects the fall of the cane. The sit

t up, but the cut was not delivered. 'There,' continued the master, 'I forgive you in considerat

ntense zeal; and Joel Ham turned his attention to the prime culprits. Having marched the youngsters from the front de

lly, 'bring your slate and sit he

offence as particularly heinous after all; but his better judgment scouted the idea, and he returned to his scrutiny of the wall. There was a wea

. His legs, being against the seat, which was attached to the desk, were quite useless for defence, so that he was a helpless victim under the chastening rod. It was a degrading attitude, and the presence of the girls made the punishment a disgrace to rankle and burn. Jacker, for pride and the credit of his b

d, when Jacker, unable longer to co

-go on, hit some one y

r McKnight's threats, commands, and warnings were entirely ignored, a

'! You'll suffer for th

at'll show you! Rocks

e thought he had quite accomplished his duty in that parti

oughout the proceedings he had displayed no heat whatever, an

You will think better of my efforts a few years hence; meanwhile I can afford to

l Ham's pale hair, in his eyes, down his cheeks, and all over his white moles. Amazement-blind, round-eyed, dumb amazement-possessed the school, and for a few seconds a dead silence prevailed. The spell was broken by Dick Haddon, who discovered his opportunity, plunged like a diver at the weak spot in the wall, went clean through and disappeared from view. Ted McKn

Cann, Peterson, Jinks, and Slogan, made for the door. Already Dick Haddon was halfway across the flat,

r. 'Two whole days' holiday f

and the sapling scrub along the creek was so thick that the boys would have been perfectly secure under its cover, even i

been signalled by a scout at one of the windows, and he found the classes all in order and suspiciously indu

ing duties I wish to draw your attention to the crass foolishness of which our young frie

ped a dubious voi

a double dose and certain extra pains and penalties, and meanwhile they suffer the poignant pangs of

master seemed much comforted by his apophthegm, and stood for several minutes sur