ford ought
not to be cheated out of his scholarship."

"It's a lucky thing Wray has got you to set things right for him,"
snarled Pembury, amid a general titter.

Braddy subsided at this, and left his tormentor master of the situation.

"There's no use our saying or doing anything," said that worthy. "We
shall probably only make things worse. It's sure to come out in time,
and till then we must grin and bear it."

"All very well," said some one, "but Greenfield will be grinning too."

"I fancy not," said Pembury. "I'm not a particular angel myself, but
I've a notion if I had cheated a schoolfellow I should be a trifle off
my grinning form; I don't know."

This modest confession caused some amusement, and helped a good deal to
restore the class to a better humour.

"After all, I don't envy the fellow his feelings this minute," continued
Pembury, following up his advantage.

"And I envy his prospects in the Fifth still less," said Ricketts.

"If you take my advice," said Pembury, "you'll leave him pretty much to
himself. Greenfield is a sort of fellow it's not easy to score off; and
some of you would only make fools of yourselves if you tried to do it."

Wraysford had stood by during this conversation, torn by conflicting
emotions. He was undoubtedly bitterly disappointed to have missed the
scholarship; but that was as nothing to the knowledge that it was his
friend, his own familiar friend, who had turned against him and thus
grievously wronged him. Yet with all his sense of injury he could
hardly stand by and listen to all the bitter talk about Oliver in his
absence without a sense of shame. Two days ago he would have flared up
at the first word, and given the rash speaker something to remember.
Now it was his misery to stand by and hear his old chum abused and
despised, and to feel that he deserved every word that was spoken of
him!

If he could only have found one word to say on his behalf!

But he could not, and so left the room as soon as it was possible to
escape, and retired disconsolately to his own study.

As for the Fifth, Pembury's advice prevailed with them. There were a
few who were still disposed to take their revenge on Oliver in a more
marked manner than by merely cutting him; but a dread of the tongue of
the editor of the _Dominican_, as well as a conviction of the
uselessness of such procedure, constrained them to give way and fall in
with the general resolution.

One boy only w