e beaten by that
bully Flashman.

Not a word could the housekeeper extract from either of them, and though
the Doctor knew all that she knew that morning, he never knew any more.

I trust and believe that such scenes are not possible now at school,
and that lotteries and betting-books have gone out; but I am writing of
schools as they were in our time, and must give the evil with the good.

CHAPTER IX--A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.

"Wherein I [speak] of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents by flood and field,
Of hair-breadth 'scapes."--SHAKESPEARE.

When Tom came back into school after a couple of days in the sick-room,
he found matters much changed for the better, as East had led him to
expect. Flashman's brutality had disgusted most even of his intimate
friends, and his cowardice had once more been made plain to the house;
for Diggs had encountered him on the morning after the lottery, and
after high words on both sides, had struck him, and the blow was not
returned. However, Flashey was not unused to this sort of thing, and had
lived through as awkward affairs before, and, as Diggs had said, fed and
toadied himself back into favour again. Two or three of the boys who had
helped to roast Tom came up and begged his pardon, and thanked him for
not telling anything. Morgan sent for him, and was inclined to take the
matter up warmly, but Tom begged him not to do it; to which he agreed,
on Tom's promising to come to him at once in future--a promise which, I
regret to say, he didn't keep. Tom kept Harkaway all to himself, and
won the second prize in the lottery, some thirty shillings, which he and
East contrived to spend in about three days in the purchase of pictures
for their study, two new bats and a cricket-ball--all the best that
could be got--and a supper of sausages, kidneys, and beef-steak pies
to all the rebels. Light come, light go; they wouldn't have been
comfortable with money in their pockets in the middle of the half.

The embers of Flashman's wrath, however, were still smouldering, and
burst out every now and then in sly blows and taunts, and they both
felt that they hadn't quite done with him yet. It wasn't long, however,
before the last act of that drama came, and with it the end of bullying
for Tom and East at Rugby. They now often stole out into the hall at
nights, incited thereto partly by the hope of finding Diggs there and
having a talk with him, partly by the excitement of