ed and patiently listened to. As our time is
nearly up I adjourn the hearing till a future occasion."

"Jolly hard luck," said Arthur to his senior. "I'd got plenty more to
come out."

"You've done quite enough for one evening," said Felgate, grinning, "the
rest will keep."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET.

Arthur's great hit at the Central Criminal Court was the topic in the
junior circles at Railsford's for some days. It was hardly to be
expected that Sir Digby Oakshott would share in the general admiration
which fell to his friend's lot. That young baronet had a painful sense
of having come off second best at the trial, and the relations between
the friends became considerably strained in consequence. What made it
harder for Dig was that Arthur had suddenly gained quite a prestige
among the lower boys of the house, who, without being too curious,
arrived at the conclusion that he knew a thing or two about Railsford in
connection with the row about Bickers, and was keeping it dark.

Strangely enough, from the same cause, Railsford himself leapt into
sudden popularity with his juniors. For if he, argued they, was the man
who paid out Bickers for them, then, although it put them to a little
inconvenience, they were resolved as one man to back their hero up, and
cover his retreat to the best of their ability. The master himself was
considerably surprised at the sudden outburst of affection towards
himself. He hoped it meant that his influence was beginning to tell
home on the minds of his youthful charges; and he wrote cheerfully to
Daisy about it, and said he had scarcely hoped in so short a time to
have made so many friends among his boys.

"Tell you what," said Arthur one evening, after discussing the virtues
of his future kinsman with some of the Shell, "it wouldn't be a bad
dodge to get up a testimonial for Marky. I know a stunning dodge for
raising the wind."

"Good idea," said Tilbury, "I'm game."

"Let's give it him soon, to get him in a good-humour, next week,"
suggested someone.

"No, we'd better do it just before the Easter holidays," replied Arthur;
"that'll start him well for next term."

That evening the differences between the two friends were patched up.
Dig, under a pledge of secrecy, was initiated into the whole mystery of
the sack, and the wedge of paper, and the wax vestas, promising on his
part to respect his friend's reputation in the matter of the "fifty-six