all. And now, by an adroit move on the latter's part, he
had been forced to accept or decline a challenge from outside. If he
refused, he would have to eat his own words about the honour of the
school; he would be regarded as a contemptible coward; and the quarrel
between Newall and Moncrief would still remain unsettled. If he
accepted, he would be held in honour by his Form, and, in fighting its
battle, he might be able to settle the quarrel between Moncrief and
Newall. So, coming to a swift decision, he turned to the latter:

"If I fight for the Form, will that settle the quarrel between you and
Moncrief? Will you shake hands with him?"

"Yes," came the prompt answer.

"Very well; then I'll do my best to keep up the honour of the Form at
the sand-pit to-morrow."

"Bravo--bravo; hip, hip, hurrah!" cried Devey, jumping on the box in
which Plunger was concealed, and waving his cap wildly.

The cheers were taken up by most of the Form, but Parfitt, who took no
part in the cheering, remarked, loud enough for all to hear:

"Seems to me we'd better save our shouting till to-morrow afternoon."

"For once I agree with Parfitt," answered Paul calmly. "Keep your
shouting till to-morrow afternoon."

"And even then it may all be on the other side," added Parfitt, with a
sneer.

"Trust Parfitt for throwing cold water on anything," said Devey, jumping
down from the box. "He must have been born in a refrigerator."

He gave the box an indignant kick. Plunger shivered. He was glad that
Devey's foot came on the box instead of on him.

The meeting was over, and the boys went in twos and threes from the shed
discussing the forthcoming battle in the sand-pit. Plunger, greatly
excited at all he had heard, was waiting eagerly the moment he could
emerge from his hiding-place, when he heard Arbery shout:

"Don't all run off without lending a hand. We shall have to get the
boxes back, and the shed ship-shape. Devey and I can't do all the work."

Plunger groaned. He knew what Arbery's appeal meant. One by one the
boxes were shifted back to their places; then it came to the turn of the
box in which Plunger was concealed, and once again he was bumped about
from side to side till he got painfully mixed ideas as to where he began
and where he ended--as to which was his head and which were his feet,
and whether he would ever be able to stand straight again.

At last the box was rolled back to the corner in which it had previously
repo