hardy men of war they had been five minutes ago. Munger,
however, tried to carry the thing off with a bluster.

"We don't see the fun of being compelled to go every time. We don't
care about cricket; besides--we don't mean to go. Felgate doesn't go;
why don't you make him?"

The captain put down his bat.

"Munger, go and put on your flannels at once."

"What if I don't?" asked Munger.

Ainger replied by giving him a thrashing there and then, despite his
howls and protests that he had just been going, and would never do it
again. The captain replied that he didn't fancy he _would_ do it again
in a hurry; and as the remainder of the company expressed positive
impatience to go to the cricket-field, he let them of! with a caution,
and, after seeing them started, walked moodily up to Felgate's study.

Felgate was comfortably stretched on two chairs, reading a novel. But
as he held the book upside down, Ainger concluded that he could not be
very deeply engrossed in its contents.

"You're working, I hear?" said the captain.

"Is that all you've come to tell me?" replied Felgate.

"No, only most fellows when they're reading--even if it's novels, read
the right way up. It's bad for the eyes to do it upside down."

Felgate looked a little disconcerted and shut up his book.

"You've missed the last two weeks at cricket," said the captain. "We
have managed to get on without you, though, and one of the things I
looked in to say now was that if you choose to stay away always you are
welcome. Don't think it will put us out."

This was unexpected. Felgate was prepared to hear a peremptory order to
go to the field, and had laid his plans for resisting it.

"I've just been seeing one or two other louts down below who hadn't
turned up. I'm glad to hear you advised them to go when I sent Wake to
fetch them. It's a pity they didn't take your advice, for I've had to
thrash Hunger. And if you happen to know where I can find the coward
who put him and the rest up to breaking the rule, and didn't dare to
show face himself, I'll thrash him too."

Felgate was completely disconcerted by this speech, and gnashed his
teeth to find himself made a fool of after all.

"Why on earth can't you get out of my study and go down to your cricket?
I don't want you here," he snarled.

"I dare say not. But I thought you ought to know what I have been doing
to enforce the rule, and what I mean to do. I hope you will tell that
cow