ot quite slaves here; and if it doesn't suit you
to go down on your knees to an antiquated rule of this kind, then you're
not the fellow I take you for if you do it. It hasn't suited me often
enough, and I've not been such a muff as to think twice about it."

"What happened to you when you didn't turn up?"

"Nothing, of course. I should have been rather glad if something had,
for the sake of fighting the thing out. It's enough to make some
fellows loathe the very name of cricket, isn't it?"

"Some of the fellows who can't play don't like it, certainly."

"I don't blame them. If only a few of them would stand out, they'd soon
break down the system. But I'm keeping you from your work, old man;
you'll think me as bad as the rule. They say you'll have a jolly hard
fight for your exam, so you're right to waste no time."

The result of this conservation was that Sherriff, one of the steadiest
second-rate bats in the house, was absent from the practice, and a hue-
and-cry was made after him. He was found working hard in his study.

"I really can't come to-day. I'm in for the exam, you know, and it'll
take me a tremendous grind to lick Redgrave."

"But," said Stafford, who was the ambassador, "it's all the same for all
of us. If every fellow said the same, it would be all up with house
cricket; and we wanted to turn out such a hot team this year, too. Come
on. You'll do your work twice as well after it; and the ground's just
in perfect condition for batting to-day."

Sherriff was not proof against this wily appeal. It had been an effort
to him to break the rule. It was no effort now to decide to keep it.
So he jumped into his flannels and took his beloved bat, and made a long
score that morning against Wake's bowling, and was happy. Felgate
mentally abused him for his pusillanimity, but saw no reason, for all
that, for not turning the incident to account. He proclaimed poor
Sherriffs wrongs to a few of the other malcontents.

"It's hard lines," said he, "that just because of this wretched rule,
Sherriff is to lose his scholarship. He can't possibly win it unless
he's able to read every moment of his time; and that our grave and
reverend seniors don't mean to allow."

"Brutal shame," said Munger, "hounding him down like that I've half a
mind to stick out."

"That's what Sherriff said," sneered Felgate, "but he had to knuckle
under."

"Catch me knuckling under!" said Munger.

He stayed away the next