t
finding himself shut out of his own house. Had he been alone he
would have treated it as a matter of course, and would have strolled
contentedly up and down his gravel walk until some one came home; but he
was hurt at the stain on his character of host, especially as the guest
was a pupil. However, the guest seemed to think it a great joke, and
presently, as they poked about round the house, mounted a wall, from
which he could reach a passage window. The window, as it turned out, was
not bolted, so in another minute Tom was in the house and down at the
front door, which he opened from inside. The master chuckled grimly at
this burglarious entry, and insisted on leaving the hall-door and two
of the front windows open, to frighten the truants on their return; and
then the two set about foraging for tea, in which operation the master
was much at fault, having the faintest possible idea of where to find
anything, and being, moreover, wondrously short-sighted; but Tom, by a
sort of instinct, knew the right cupboards in the kitchen and pantry,
and soon managed to place on the snuggery table better materials for a
meal than had appeared there probably during the reign of his tutor, who
was then and there initiated, amongst other things, into the excellence
of that mysterious condiment, a dripping-cake. The cake was newly baked,
and all rich and flaky; Tom had found it reposing in the cook's private
cupboard, awaiting her return; and as a warning to her they finished
it to the last crumb. The kettle sang away merrily on the hob of the
snuggery, for, notwithstanding the time of year, they lighted a fire,
throwing both the windows wide open at the same time; the heaps of books
and papers were pushed away to the other end of the table, and the great
solitary engraving of King's College Chapel over the mantelpiece looked
less stiff than usual, as they settled themselves down in the twilight
to the serious drinking of tea.

After some talk on the match, and other indifferent subjects, the
conversation came naturally back to Tom's approaching departure, over
which he began again to make his moan.

"Well, we shall all miss you quite as much as you will miss us," said
the master. "You are the Nestor of the School now, are you not?"

"Yes, ever since East left," answered Tom. "By-the-bye, have you heard
from him?"

"Yes, I had a letter in February, just before he started for India to
join his regiment."

"He will make a capital