quite baseless. He made
the best of his solitary dinner, and then sallied out in the dark to try
to find the porter's lodge once more and rescue his luggage. That
functionary was still absent, and Mark was compelled himself to haul his
belongings in under cover, and leave word with the little girl that they
were to be taken over to Mr Railsford's rooms as soon as her father
came in. Then taking with him a bag which contained what he wanted for
the night, he returned to the head-master's house and made a point of
retiring to rest before his host reappeared on the scene.

Once more luck was against him.

"You vanished early last night," said the doctor, blandly, at breakfast
next morning. "I brought Mr Roe in to supper, thinking you and he
might like a chat about the work in the Shell, about which he could have
given you some useful hints. However, early hours are very
commendable."

"I am extremely sorry," faltered Railsford. "I had no idea you would be
home so early. I should have liked to meet Mr Roe so much."

"Take some more coffee?" said the doctor.

After breakfast Mark was conducted in state to his house. The floors
were all damp and the carpets up; beds and washstands were piled up in
the passages, and nowhere was a fire to be seen.

"There are your rooms," said the doctor, pointing out a suite of three
apartments opening one into the other, at the present time reeking of
soft-soap and absolutely destitute of furniture. "You will find them
comfortable and central. The inner room is the bedroom, the middle your
private sitting-room, and this larger one the house-parlour. Now we
will go to the dormitories and studies. You understand your head boys--
those in the Sixth and Fifth--have a study to themselves; the Shell have
studies in pairs, and the junior school-work in the common room. But
all these points you will make yourself familiar with very shortly. As
a house-master, you will of course be responsible for everything that
takes place in the house--the morals, work and play of the boys are
under your supervision. You have four Sixth-form boys in the house, who
are prefects under you, and in certain matters exercise an authority of
their own without appeal to you. But you quite understand that you must
watch that this is not abused. The house dame, Mrs Farthing,
superintends everything connected with the boy's wardrobes, but is under
your direction in other matters. I shall introduce you