our
prefects; had me to tea in his room the other day. He and Marky don't
hit it. He was lazy, and didn't bother himself. Fellows said he could
easily have licked the School record if he'd tried; but he didn't; and
Stafford missed it by a few inches. So that event we lost. Jolly sell,
_joli vendre_.

"Never mind, we got the mile, and that was the crackest thing of all.
We had to beat Smedley and Branscombe, both--only Branscombe--he's
Bickers's prefect--didn't run it out last week. Smedley's time was
4.50. Ainger and Stafford ran for us; and Ranger was put on the track
with 200 yards start to force the pace.

"Stafford was out of it easily; but Ranger stuck to it like a Trojan.
The first lap he was still a hundred yards to the good, and going like
steam. Ainger ran finely, and overhauled him gradually. Still he had
about twenty yards to the good at the beginning of the last lap. Then
it was fine to see Ainger tuck in his elbows and let himself out. A
quarter of a mile from home Ranger was clean out of it, regularly
doubled up; but Ainger kept on steadily for a couple of hundred yards.

"Then, my word, he spurted right away to the finish! You never saw such
a rush up as it was! The fellows _yelled_, I can let you know. Every
one knew that it was our event the second the spurt began, and when he
got up to the tape and `4.42' was shouted out, it was a sight to see the
state we were in. It's the best mile we ever did at Grandcourt, and
even Smedley, though he was a bit riled, I fancy, at his licking, said
he couldn't have done it in the time if he'd tried.

"I send you Dig's programme, with the times all marked. You'll see we
won them all except the senior cricket-ball, half-mile, and senior
hundred. It's a rattling good score for us, I can tell you; and we
cheered Marky like one o'clock. It was an awful sell Violet couldn't
give away our prizes; but she shied at it. I suppose old Pony would
have gruffed at her. She is the most beautiful girl in the world.

"You needn't go telling the _mater_, but I was off my feed a whole day
after the sports. How soon do fellows get money enough to marry? If I
get the Swift Scholarship I shall have L20 a-year for three years--
something to start with. I wish you'd come down and give me a leg-up.
I'm afraid that cad Smedley's got his eye on her. His father's only a
doctor. We're better off than that, besides being chummy with a
baronet. Hullo! there's the bel