s you so sure of the exact time?" asked one of his
inquisitors.

"Oh, because, you know, I wanted to get off a letter by the post, and
thought I was in time till I saw the clock opposite the Doctor's study
said five minutes past."

"Did Greenfield say anything to you when he saw you?" some one else
asked.

"Oh, yes, he asked me if I knew where the Doctor was."

"Did you tell him?"

"Oh, yes, I said he'd gone down to the hall or somewhere."

"And did Greenfield go after him?"

"Oh, no, you know, he went off the other way as quick as he could," said
Simon, in a voice as though he would say, "How can you ask such an
absurd question?"

"Did you ask him what he wanted in the study?"

"Oh, yes; but of course he didn't tell me--not likely. But I say, I
suppose we're sure to win the Nightingale now, aren't we? Mind, I'm not
going to tell anybody, because, of course, it's a secret."

"Shut up, you miserable blockhead, unless you want to be kicked!"
shouted Bullinger. "No one wants to know what you're going to do.
You've done mischief enough already."

"Oh, well, I didn't mean, you know," said the poet; "all I said was I
met him coming--"

"Shut up, do you hear? or you'll catch it!" once more exclaimed
Bullinger.

The wretched Simon gave up further attempts to explain himself. Still
what he had said, in his blundering way, had been quite enough.

The thing was beyond a doubt; and as the Fifth sat there in judgment, a
sense of shame and humiliation came over them, to which many of them
were unused.

"I know this," said Ricketts, giving utterance to what was passing in
the minds of nearly all his class-fellows, "I'd sooner have lost the
scholarship twenty times over than win it like this."

"Precious fine glory it will be if we do get it!" said Braddy.

"Unless Wray wins," suggested Ricketts.

"No such luck as that, I'm afraid," said Bullinger. "That's just the
worst of it. He's not only disgraced us, but he's swindled his best
friend. It's a blackguard shame!" added he, fiercely.

"At any rate, Loman is out of it, from what I hear; he got regularly
stuck in the exam."

"I tell you," said Ricketts, "I'd sooner have had Loman take the
scholarship and our two men nowhere at all, than this."

There was nothing more than this to be said, assuredly, to prove the
disgust of the Fifth at the conduct of their class-fellow.

"I suppose Greenfield will have the grace to confess it, now it's all
come out,"