ardent assaults of some
Taylorian juniors, who could not see what Grim wanted with three seats.
The fellows of the two houses were rapidly lining up for the match, and
Dick Worcester had sent to Biffen's making affectionate inquiries for
the dervishes. By-and-by, word was brought to Worcester that the two
were not to be found in the neighbourhood; and a further hurried search
by anxious Biffenites, headed by Rogers and Wilson, had a like result.

"Isn't it awful, Grimmy?" said Rogers. "Where can the idiots be?"

Worcester and Acton had a consultation. "If they don't turn up in time
we'll have to make a start without 'em."

"If we have to go in we may give 'em up. We can't bat substitutes."

"No fear!" said Dick. "Cotton isn't likely to hear of that, and,
besides, it's just like the rotten thing you might expect from those
niggers."

Acton smiled. "All right, old chap. Put in Grim and Rogers in their
place. The little beggars will be as keen as mustard."

So Grim and Rogers had the honour of representing their house, since the
dervishes did not turn up. Rogers, when he shut the door on Todd, did
not guess that he had shut up Biffen's crack bats too. That Biffen's
lost the match, and made no sort of show against Cotton's bowling, may
also, perhaps, be attributed to the inadvertent imprisonment of Mehtah
and "Lamb."

The imprisoned trio had not had a very lively time that afternoon in the
punt-house. The door remained obstinately shut, and neither Todd nor his
two companions relished a swim in the moat as the price of freedom. The
dervishes took matters very calmly; the desire to play for Biffen's was
not strong enough to counterbalance the natural shrinking from a header
into the duckweed and a run home in wet clothes. Singh Ram had a final
try at the door, and then murmured--so Gus said--"Kismet," and relit his
half-smoked cigar. Todd, indeed, shouted lustily; but when he realized
that by contributing to the escape of the dervishes he might contribute
to the downfall of his own house, he stopped himself in the middle of an
unearthly howl. For three hours Gus remained a half-voluntary prisoner;
but, when he judged it safe, he created such a pandemonium that young
Hill hurried out of the farm stable, thinking there must be some weird
tragedy taking place at the punt-house. He had hurried across and let
the trio out.

The dervishes got a mixed reception from Biffen's crowd. Worcester was
almost eloquent in his lan