g crowd waiting to be
served, the Hazlitt brethren would take knives and beat on the zinc
counter, shouting out: "Nellie, come here!" They were a thoroughly
objectionable pair. Whenever Mansell saw them, he kicked them hard, and
they got rather frightened of the School House after a bit.

It is not to be thought, however, that the behaviour of the School House
was exemplary. Mansell usually kicked up an almighty row, but he left
"Nellie" alone. He was not going to lower himself to the Hazlitt level.

It is an amazing thing that the half-blood very rarely gets into a row;
and yet he always talks as if expulsion hung over his head. Probably he
thinks it draws attention to himself. Mansell would always enter the
shop in exactly the same way; he banged his books on the counter and,
sighting Hunter, fired off at once.

"I say, look here, give me a con. I am in the hell of a hole. I prepared
the wrong stuff for old Claremont, and the man's getting awfully sick
with me; he may report me to the Chief. Do help me out!"

"Sorry, old cock," said Hunter, "but I specialise in stinks!"

"Oh, do you! Well, I suppose I shall have to chance it; that's all. He
may not shove me on."

The small boys thought Mansell's daring very fine. But strangely
enough, although he was always in a state of fearful agitation, he had
so far singularly managed to avoid getting reported. But still it kept
up appearances to talk a lot.

Gordon, of course, had to be fairly quiet in the tuck-shop. He was not
yet known among the school in general; and it was only in Buller's that
small boys gave tongue in the tuck-shop. But then Buller's were, in
their own opinion, to the rest of the School as Rome was to Italy.
Fernhurst was merely a province of Buller's. They kept this view to
themselves, however. "The Bull" would have dealt very summarily with
such assumptions.

And so, when Lovelace and Tester and Mansell were there Gordon was
generally to be found contributing his share to the general disorder,
but when alone, he sat quite quietly with Collins and Foster. He rather
longed for the day when he could start a row all on his own. A strange
ambition for any candidate for immortality!

* * * * *

About the middle of the term was the field day at Salisbury Plain. Most
of the Public Schools were present; it was a noble affair from the
general's point of view. The school, however, considered it a putrid
sweat. For hours the