le lady who stood by the window.

"Good-bye, Georgia. Give me a kiss, my dear boy."

Georgie didn't like kissing in public, especially when the public
consisted of Dick. And, yet, he couldn't well get out of it. So he
hurried through the operation as quickly as possible, and stood with his
duty towards his relative and his interest towards the razor, wondering
why the train didn't start.

It started at last, and after a few random flickings of his handkerchief
out of the window, he was able to devote his entire attention to his
friend's cutlery.

One exhibition provoked another. Heathcote's "pot" was produced and
critically compared with Dick's. He had no dressing-case, certainly,
but he had a silver watch and a steel chain, also a pocket inkpot, and a
railway key. And by the way, he thought, the sooner that railway key
was brought into play the better.

By its aid they successfully resisted invasion at the different stations
as they went along, until at length Heathcote's watch told them that the
next station would be Templeton. Whereat they became grave and packed
up their bags, and looked rather wistfully out of the window.

"Father says," remarked Dick, "only the new boys go up to-day. The rest
come to-morrow."

"Rather a good job," said Heathcote.

A long silence followed.

"Think there'll be any one to meet us?" said Dick. "Don't know. I wish
Coote was to be there too."

Another pause.

"I expect they'll be jolly enough fellows," said Dick.

"Oh yes. They don't bully now in schools, I believe."

"No; they say it's going out. Perhaps it's as well."

"We shall be pretty well used to the place by to-morrow, I fancy."

"Yes. It'll be rather nice to see them all turn up."

"I expect, you know, they'll have such a lot to do, they won't bother
about new fellows. I know I shouldn't."

"They might about the awful green ones, perhaps. Ha, ha! Wouldn't it
be fun if old Coote was here!"

"Yes, poor old Coote! You know I'm half sorry to leave Mountjoy. It
was a jolly old school, wasn't it?"

The shrieking of the whistle and the grinding of the brake put an end to
further conversation for the present.

As they alighted, each with his hat-box and bag and umbrella, and stood
on the platform, they felt moved by a sincere affection for the carriage
they were leaving. Indeed, there is no saying what little encouragement
would not have sufficed to send them back into its hospitable shelter.