e once more severed him from his chum, and
deferred the explanation to which both were looking forward.

The matron kidnapped Master Richardson on his way into the house, in
order to call his attention to a serious inconsistency between the
number of his shirts in his portmanteau, and the number on the inventory
accompanying them, an inconsistency which Dick was unable to throw any
light on whatever, except that he supposed it must be a mistake, and it
didn't much matter.

It certainly mattered less than the fact that, owing to this delay, he
had lost his seat next to Heathcote at breakfast, and had to take his
place at the lowest table, where he could not even see his friend.

There was great joking during the meal about the escapade in the lobby
last night, the general opinion being that it had been grand sport all
round, and that it was lucky the monitors weren't at home at the time.

"Beastly grind," said one youngster--"all of them coming back to-day. A
fellow can't turn round but they interfere."

"Are all the Sixth monitors?" asked Dick.

"Rather," replied his neighbour, whom Dick discovered afterwards to be
no other than Raggles, the hero of the "cargo," whose fame he had heard
the day before.

"What's the name of the captain?"

"Oh, Ponty! He doesn't hurt," said the boy. "It's beasts like
Mansfield, and Cresswell, and that lot who come down on you."

Dick would fain have inquired what sort of fellow Cresswell was, but he
was too anxious not to let the affair of the whipper-in leak out, and
refrained. He asked a few vague questions about the Sixth generally,
and gathered from his companion that, with a very few exceptions, they
were all "beasts" in school, that one or two of them were rather good at
cricket, and swimming, and football, and that the monitorial system at
Templeton, and at all other public schools, required revision. From
which Dick argued shrewdly that Master Raggles sometimes got into rows.

By the time he had made this discovery the bell rang for first school,
and there was a general movement to the door.

The two chums foregathered in the hall.

"Pity you weren't up in time for a bathe," said Heathcote, artfully
securing the first word.

"I heard you went. Too much fag getting up so early. I mean to go down
in the afternoon, when most of the fellows turn up."

"Swinstead and Birket were there. I wish you'd been there."

"Not worth the grind. You can come with me this a