Master Raddleston, who a moment ago
had nearly broken a blood-vessel in his endeavours to scream in a
whisper.

"Come here, then."

The fag meekly obeyed.

"Oh, and Greenfield junior," said Callonby, as he was turning to depart,
"Loman wants to know when you are going to get his tea; you're to go at
once, he says."

Stephen obeyed, and was very humble in explaining to Loman that he had
forgotten (which was the case) the time. The meeting in the Fourth
class-room lasted most of the afternoon; but as oratory in whispers is
tedious, and constant repetition of the same sentiments, however
patriotic, is monotonous, it flagged considerably in spirit towards the
end, and degenerated into one of the usual wrangles between Guinea-pigs
and Tadpoles, in the midst of which Master Bramble left the chair, and
went off in the meekest manner possible to get Wren to help him with his
sums for next day.

Stephen meanwhile was engaged in doing a little piece of business for
Loman, of which more must be said in a following chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

IN THE TOILS.

The afternoon of the famous "indignation meeting" in the Fourth Junior
was the afternoon of the week which Mr Cripps the younger, putting
aside for a season the anxieties and responsibilities of his "public"
duties in Maltby, usually devoted to the pursuit of the "gentle craft,"
at his worthy father's cottage by Gusset Weir. Loman, who was aware of
this circumstance, and on whose spirit that restless top joint had
continued to prey ever since the evening of the misadventure a week ago,
determined to avail himself of the opportunity of returning the unlucky
fishing-rod into the hands from which he had received it.

He therefore instructed Stephen to take it up to the lock-house with a
note to the effect that having changed his mind in the matter since
speaking to Cripps, he found he should not require the rod, and
therefore returned it, with many thanks for Mr Cripps's trouble.

Stephen, little suspecting the questionable nature of his errand,
undertook the commission, and duly delivered both rod and letter into
the hands of Mr Cripps, who greatly astonished him by swearing very
violently at the contents of the letter. "Well," said he, when he had
exhausted his vocabulary (not a small one) of expletives--"well, of all
the grinning jackanapeses, this is the coolest go! Do you take me for a
fool?"

Stephen, to whom this question appeared to be directly applie