He's as
close as an owl. Hawkesbury says Hashford told him he came here
straight from another school. By the way--keep your handkerchief up,
man!--by the way, when I said he's afraid of no one, he _is_ afraid of
Hawkesbury, I fancy. I don't know why--"

"I don't think I like Hawkesbury, either. He's got such an everlasting
grin."

"So will you have if you don't talk lower, you young idiot," said
Flanagan. "Yes, it's the grin that fetches Smith, I fancy. I grinned
at him one day, meaning to be friendly, but he didn't half like it."

I laughed at this, greatly to Flanagan's wrath. Luckily, however, no
evil consequences happened, and we reached church without any more bad
marks.

Of all days, Sunday at Stonebridge House was the most miserable and
desperate. We had not even the occupation of lessons, still less the
escape to the playground. After church, we were marched back to the
school, and there set to read some dry task book till dinner.

And after dinner we were set to copy out a chapter of Jeremiah or some
other equally suitable passage from beginning to end on ruled paper,
getting bad marks as on week days for all faults. After this came tea,
and after tea another dreary march forth to church. But the culminating
horror of the day was yet to come. After evening church--and there
really was a sense of escape and peace in the old church, even though we
could not make out the sermon--after evening church, we were all taken
up to Miss Henniker's parlour, and there doomed to sit perfectly still
for a whole hour, while she read aloud something by one of the very old
masters. Oh, the agony of those Sunday evenings!

I have sat fascinated by that awful voice, with a cramp in my leg that I
dared not stir to relieve, or a tickling in the small of my back from
which there was no escape, or a cobweb on my face I had not the courage
to brush away. I have felt sleep taking possession of me, yet daring
neither to yawn, nor nod my head, nor wink my eyes. I have stared
fixedly at the gas, or the old china ornament on the mantelpiece, till
my eyes became watery with the effort and I have suffered all the
tortures of a cold in the head without the possibility either of
sniffing or clearing my throat!

It made no difference to Miss Henniker that she was reading aloud. She
had her eye on every one of us the whole time, nay, more than ever; and
many a bad mark was sprinkled up with her readings.

"Once more, dea