, if in Fernhurst only, we shall be
doing something. After the war we shall have a fine Fifteen winning
matches, and the school will feel its feet. We must stop it now--now,
when there is no glamour, when the school is tired of endless 'uppers,'
and sick of the whole business. Now's the time."

"Yes; but how? This sort of thing doesn't happen in a night."

"I know; but we can sow the seeds now. The Stoics is the thing. We can
have a debate on the 'Value of Athletics,' and, heavens! I bet the whole
House will vote against them. The House is sick of it all. We'll carry
the motion. We'll get the best men to speak. We'll give sound arguments.
Then we'll have formed a precedent. It will appear in the school
magazine that the Stoics, the representative society of Fernhurst
thought, has decided that the blind worship of games is harmful. It will
make the school think. It's a start, sir, it's a start."

"You are right, Caruthers, you are right. We'll flutter the Philistine
dovecots."

Gordon had not the slightest doubt about the success of the scheme. He
himself was at the very summit of his power. He had been making scores
for the Eleven out of all proportion to his skill; he was almost certain
for the batting cup. His influence was not to be discounted. He could
get the House to vote as he wanted; he was sure of it. He told
Davenport of the scheme, and he also was enthusiastic.

"By Jove! that's excellent. It's about time the school realised that
caps and pots are not the alpha and omega of our existence."

The air was full of the din of onset.

Nearly the whole House attended the meeting, and the outhouses rolled up
in good numbers, more out of curiosity than anything else. They thought
the whole thing rather silly. There had been a debate more than two
years back on "whether games should be compulsory." Only six had voted
against compulsion. "The Bull" remembered this, and came to the debate,
strong in his faith in the past. He wanted to see this upstart Ferrers
squashed.

Ferrers himself opened the discussion with typical exuberance.

"How much longer," he finished, "are we going to waste our time, our
energy, our force on kicking a football? We have no strength for
anything else. And all the time, while Germany has been plotting against
us, piling up armaments, we have been cheering on Chelsea and West Ham
United. Look at the result. We were not prepared, we are only just
getting ready now. And why? Because we h