ite curtain of the one
nearest him. "Who-o-op," he roared, pulling away at the leg of a small
boy, who held on tight to the leg of the bed, and sung out lustily for
mercy.

"Here, lend a hand, one of you, and help me pull out this young
howling brute. Hold your tongue, sir, or I'll kill you!"

"Oh, please, Flashman, please, Walker, don't toss me! I'll fag for
you, I'll do anything, only don't toss me."

"You be hanged," said Flashman, lugging the wretched boy along,
"'twon't hurt you,----you! Come along! boys, here he is."

"I say Flashey," sung out another one of the big boys, "drop that; you
heard what old Pater Brooke said to-night. I'll be hanged if we'll
toss any one against his will--no more bullying. Let him go, I say."

Flashman, with an oath and a kick, released his prey, who rushed
headlong under his bed again, for fear they should change their minds,
and crept along underneath the other beds, till he got under that of
the sixth-form boy, which he knew they daren't disturb.

EAST AND TOM DEVOTE THEMSELVES.

"There's plenty of youngsters don't care about it," said Walker.
"Here, here's Scud East--you'll be tossed, won't you, young un?" Scud
was East's nickname, or "black," as we called it, gained by his
fleetness of foot.

"Yes," said East, "if you like, only mind my foot."

"And here's another who didn't hide. Hullo! new boy; what's your name,
sir?"

"Brown."

"Well, Whitey Brown, you don't mind being tossed?"

"No," said Tom, setting his teeth.

"Come along, then, boys," sung out Walker, and away they all went,
carrying along Tom and East, to the intense relief of four or five
other small boys, who crept out from under the beds and behind them.

"What a trump Scud is!" said one. "They won't come back here now."

"And that new boy, too; he must be a good plucky one."

"Ah, wait until he has been tossed on to the floor; see how he'll like
it then!"

Meantime the procession went down the passage to No. 7, the largest
room, and the scene of the tossing, in the middle of which was a great
open space. Here they joined other parties of the bigger boys, each
with a captive or two, some willing to be tossed, some sullen, and
some frightened to death. At Walker's suggestion, all who were afraid
were let off, in honor of Pater Brooke's speech.

Then a dozen big boys seized hold of a blanket, dragged from one of
the beds. "In with Scud, quick! there's no time to lose." East was
chucked into the