ence of
a town and gown row, and with a nasty taste in his mouth. But he
felt much pleased at having drawn out the Captain so completely.
For "the stroke" was in general a man of marvellous few words,
having many better uses than talking to put his breath to.

Next morning he attended at the proctor's rooms at the appointed
time, not without some feeling of shame at having to do so;
which, however, wore off when he found some dozen men of other
colleges waiting about on the same errand as himself. In his turn
he was ushered in, and as he stood by the door, had time to look
the great man over as he sat making a note of the case he had
just disposed of. The inspection was reassuring. The proctor was
a gentlemanly, straight-forward looking man of about thirty, not
at all donnish, and his address answered to his appearance.

"Mr. Brown, of St. Ambrose's, I think," he said.

"Yes, sir."

"I sent you to your college yesterday evening; did you go
straight home?"

"No, sir."

"How was that, Mr. Brown?"

Tom made no answer, and the proctor looked at him steadily for a
few seconds, and then repeated.

"How was that?"

"Well, sir," said Tom, "I don't mean to say I was going straight
to college, but I should have been in long before you sent, only
I fell in with the mob again, and then there was a cry that you
were coming. And so-" He paused.

"Well," said the proctor, with a grim sort of curl about the
corners of his mouth.

"Why, I ran away, and turned into the first place which was open,
and stopped till the streets were quiet."

"A public house, I suppose."

"Yes, sir; 'The Choughs.'"

The proctor considered a minute, and again scrutinized Tom's look
and manner, which certainly were straightforward, and without any
tinge of cringing or insolence.

"How long have you been up?"

"This is my second term, sir."

"You have never been sent to me before, I think?"

"Never, sir."

"Well, I can't overlook this, as you yourself confess to a direct
act of disobedience. You must write me out 200 lines of Virgil.
And now, Mr. Brown, let me advise you to keep out of disreputable
street quarrels in future. Good morning."

Tom hurried away, wondering what it would feel like to be writing
out Virgil again as a punishment at his time of life, but glad
above measure that the proctor had asked him no questions about
his companion. The hero was of course, mightily tickled at the
result, and seized the occasion to lect