hey suffered was
mental rather than physical, and required only rest and quiet to cure
it. Whereat the doctor grinned, and said, "Very well." They had leave
to stay as they were till the morning; then, if they were not recovered,
he would try the mustard poultices. To their consternation and horror,
after he had gone, they suddenly remembered that to-night was the night
appointed for the first grand rehearsal of a performance proposed to be
given by the Comedians of the house on the eve of speech-day at the end
of the term.

The Comedians were a time-honoured institution at Grandcourt. Any
casual visitor to the school from about the middle of April onwards
might at any time have been startled and horrified by finding himself
suddenly face to face in a retired corner with some youthful form
undergoing the most extraordinary contortions of voice and countenance.

Railsford himself used to be fond of recounting his first experience of
this phenomenon. He was going down early one morning to the fields,
when on the shady side of the quadrangle he encountered a boy, whom he
recognised after a little scrutiny to be Sir Digby Oakshott, Baronet.
The reason why he did not immediately grasp the identity of so familiar
a personage was because Sir Digby's body was thrown back, his arms were
behind his back, his legs were spread out, and his head was thrown into
the air, with an expression which the Master of the Shell had never seen
there before, and never saw again. There was but one conclusion to come
to: the baronet had gone mad, or he would never be standing thus in the
public quadrangle at seven o'clock in the morning.

The supposition was immediately confirmed by beholding the patient's
face break slowly into a horrible leer, and his mouth assume a diagonal
slant, as he brought one hand in front, the index finger close to his
nose, and addressed a lamp-post as follows:--

"When Abednego Jinks says a thing, Tommy, my boy, you may take your
Alfred David there's more in it than there is in your head."

Railsford, in alarm, was about to hasten for professional assistance for
what he considered a very bad case, when Dig, catching sight of him,
relieved him inexpressibly by dropping at once into his ordinary sane
manner, and saying, with a blush of confusion,--

"Oh, Mr Railsford, I didn't know you were there. I was mugging up my
part for the Comedians, you know. I'm Abednego Jinks, not much of a
part, only you can get