begged to remind the meeting that Grandcourt still lay under the
cloud of the mystery which enveloped the assault which had been made
upon himself last term. For himself, it mattered very little, but for
the honour of the school he considered the matter should not be allowed
to drop until it was properly cleared up. With a view to assisting in
such a result, he might mention that towards the end of last term a
rumour had come to his ears--he was not at liberty to say through what
channel--that the secret was not quite as dead as was generally
supposed. He had heard, on what he considered reliable authority, that
in Mr Railsford's house--the house most interested in this painful
question--the name of the culprit or culprits was generally known, or,
at least, suspected; and he believed he was not going too far in
mentioning a rumour that no one could make a better guess as to that
name than Mr Railsford himself.

Here Mr Grover and Monsieur Lablache both rose to their feet.
Monsieur, of course, gave way, but what he had meant to say was pretty
much what Mr Grover did say. He wished to point out that in his
friend's absence such an insinuation as that just made by the speaker
was quite unjustifiable. For his own part, he thought it a great pity
to revive the unfortunate question at all. At any rate, in Mr
Railsford's absence, he should certainly oppose any further reference
being made to it at this meeting.

"That," echoed monsieur, "is precisely my opinion."

"Very well," said Mr Bickers pleasantly. "What I have to say will keep
perfectly well until Mr Railsford comes back."

Whereupon the meeting passed to the next order of the day.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

FELGATE, THE CHAMPION OF THE OPPRESSED.

It spoke well for Railsford's growing influence with his boys that as
soon as he returned to his post every sign of mutiny disappeared, and
the house seemed to regain that spirit of ambition and self-reliance
which had characterised the last days of the previous term. A few
knotty questions, as the reader knows, were awaiting the Master of the
Shell on his arrival, but he took them one at a time, and not having
been involved in the previous altercations respecting them, disposed of
them a great deal more easily than had been expected.

Things had been coming to a climax rather rapidly between Felgate and
Ainger. Not that Felgate had committed any unusual offence, or that
Ainger had discovered anything new abou