d as little short of an insult.

Indeed, the effect of the suspense on him was bad all round. For having
somehow picked up the notion from Braider's hints that "spirit" was a
leading qualification for aspiring members of the club, he was very
nearly increasing that qualification notoriously, before the week was
out, by another row with headquarters.

He purposely shirked his work, and behaved disorderly in class, in order
to show his patrons what he was made of; and what was worse, he egged
the unsuspecting Georgie on to similar excesses by his example.
Georgie, as far as "spirit" went, stood better qualified for membership
of the club at the week's end than did the real candidate; for while the
latter escaped punishment, the former was dropped upon to the tune of
three hundred lines of Virgil, for throwing a book across the room
during class.

"Just my luck," said he defiantly to his leader afterwards.
"Everybody's down on me. I'm bound to catch it, so I may as well have
my fling."

"You did have your fling, Georgie, and you caught it, too."

Georgie was too out of humour to notice the jest. "You don't catch me
caring twopence about it, though," said he.

But his tones belied the valiant words, and Dick looked curiously at his
troubled, harried face.

"Why, Georgie," said he, "you're down on your luck, old man."

"Blow my luck!" said Georgie, "perhaps I am down on it. It serves me
worse than yours."

Dick didn't say anything more just then. Perhaps because he had nothing
to say. But he didn't like this new state of things in his friend.
Georgie was being spoiled, and would have to be looked after.

Dick was not the only Templetonian who had made this brilliant
discovery. Ponty had dropped a casual eye on him now and then, so had
Mansfield; and neither the captain that was, nor the captain that was to
be, liked the look of things.

"He's going the way of all--all the Pledgelings," said Ponty. "Can't
you stop it, Mansfield?"

"If I were captain of Templeton, I'd try, old man," replied the other.

"Really, Mansfield, you frighten me when you look so solemn. What can I
do?"

"Do? Take him away from where he is, to begin with."

"On what grounds? Pledge hasn't done anything you or I could take hold
of. And if the kid is going to the dogs, we can't connect it with
Pledge, any more than we can with Winter himself."

And Ponty yawned, and wished Mansfield would not look as if somebody
wanted ha