er, Culver did not do. He seemed,
as indeed his experience in business justified him in being, a good
judge of a good bargain; and stuck very faithfully to his new pin, in
spite of a considerable number of offers.

After joining in a few songs the airs of which were somewhat vague, the
Den adjourned. As its proceedings had consisted in an uninterrupted
uproar for two consecutive hours, the new boys, none of whom were
seasoned to it, were all more or less tired.

Poor young Aspinall, in particular, was very tired. He had had a rough
time of it; and had tremblingly complied with every demand any one chose
to make of him. He had parted with all his available "swoppable" goods;
he had stood on a form and sung little hymns to a derisive audience; he
had answered questions as to his mother, his sister, and other members
of his family; he had endured buffeting and kicks, till he was fairly
worn out, and till it ceased to be amusing to torment him.

When finally he was released, and found himself on his way to the
dormitory, under Dick's sheltering wing, he broke down.

"I wish I was dead," he said, miserably, "it's awful here."

"Don't talk like that," said Dick, a trifle impatiently, for with all
his good heart he got tired of the boy's perpetual tears. "You'll get
used to it soon. Haven't you got any pluck in you?"

"It's all very well for you," said the boy; "fellows seem to let you
alone, and not care to touch you; but they see I can't stand up for
myself."

"More shame if they do," said Dick bluntly; "I don't believe you when
you say so. I call it cant. How do you know? You can't tell till you
try."

"Oh, don't be angry, please," said the boy. "I know you are right; I
really will try, if you stick up for me."

"Never mind me," said Dick, getting into bed.

Aspinall did not pursue the topic; but as he lay awake that night,
feeling his heart jump at every footstep and word in the room, he made
the most desperate and heroic resolves to become a perfect griffin to
all Templeton. For all that, he also nearly made up his mind to steal
out of bed and peep from the window, to see if there were any
possibility of escaping home, while Templeton slept, to Devonshire.

The new boys all obeyed the summons of the half-past-six bell next
morning with nervous alacrity. For it was something more than a mere
call to shake off "dull sloth"--it was a reminder that they were fags,
and that their masters lay in bed dep