ow be telling of
Harvey, Prince, and Gillingham, who had persuaded him to go up.

"I have nothing to do with that. That is your affair," said the master,
sending the boys back to their seats.

Poor Holt had cause to rue this morning, for long after. He was weary
of the sound of hissing, and of the name "tell-tale;" and the very boys
who had prompted him to go up were at first silent, and then joined
against him. He complained to Hugh of the difficulty of knowing what it
was right to do. He had been angry on Hugh's account chiefly; and he
still thought it _was_ very unjust to hinder their lessons, when they
wished not to be idle: and yet they were all treating him as if he had
done something worse than the boys with the mask. Hugh thought all this
was true: but he believed it was settled among schoolboys (though Holt
had never had the opportunity of knowing it) that it was a braver thing
for boys to bear any teasing from one another than to call in the power
of the master to help. A boy who did that was supposed not to be able
to take care of himself; and for this he was despised, besides being
disliked, for having brought punishment upon his companions.

Holt wished Hugh had not been throwing sponges at the time:--he wished
Hugh had prevented his going up. He would take good care how he told
tales again.

"You had better say so," advised Hugh; "and then they will see that you
had never been at school, and did not know how to manage."

The first Saturday had been partly dreaded, and partly longed for, by
Hugh. He had longed for the afternoon's ramble; but Saturday morning
was the time for saying tables, among other things. Nothing happened as
he had expected. The afternoon was so rainy that there was no going
out; and, as for the tables, he was in a class of five; and "four times
seven" did not come to him in regular course. Eight times seven did,
and he said "fifty-six" with great satisfaction, Mr Carnaby asked him
afterwards the dreaded question, but he was on his guard; and as he
answered it right, and the usher had not found out the joke, he hoped he
should hear no more of the matter.

The next Saturday was fine, and at last he was to have the walk he
longed for. The weekly repetitions were over, dinner was done, Mr
Carnaby appeared with his hat on, the whole throng burst into the open
air, and out of bounds, and the new boys were wild with expectation and
delight. When they had passed the churchya