for a few minutes, and repeated to himself a few
formal words. Had he stayed longer on his knees, he might have given way
to a burst of penitence and supplication--but he heard Bull's footstep,
and getting up, he ran down stairs to breakfast; so Eric did not pray.

Conversations did not generally drop so suddenly in dormitory No. 7. On
the contrary, they generally flashed along in the liveliest way, till
some one said "Good night;" and then the boys turned off to sleep. Eric
knew this, and instantly conjectured that it was only a sort of respect
for him, and ignorance of the manner in which he would consider it, that
prevented Duncan and the rest from taking any further notice of Bull's
remark. It was therefore no good disburdening his mind to any of them;
but he determined to speak about the matter to Russell in their
next walk.

They usually walked together on Sunday. Dr. Rowlands had discontinued
the odious and ridiculous custom of the younger boys taking their
exercise under a master's inspection. Boys are not generally fond of
constitutionals, so that on the half-holidays they almost entirely
confined their open-air exercise to the regular games, and many of them
hardly left the play-ground boundaries once a week. But on Sundays they
often went walks, each with his favorite friend or companion. When Eric
first came as a boarder, he invariably went with Russell on Sunday, and
many a pleasant stroll they had taken together, sometimes accompanied by
Duncan, Montagu, or Owen. The latter, however, had dropped even this
intercourse with Eric, who for the last few weeks had more often gone
with his new friend Upton.

"Come a walk, boy," said Upton, as they left the dining-room.

"O excuse me to-day, Upton," said Eric, "I'm going with your cousin."

"Oh _very_ well," said Upton, in high dudgeon, and, hoping to make Eric
jealous, he went a walk with Graham, whom he had "taken up" before he
knew Williams.

Russell was rather surprised when Eric came to him and said, "Come a
stroll to Fort Island, Edwin--will you?"

"O yes," said Russell cheerfully; "why, we haven't seen each other for
some time lately! I was beginning to fancy that you meant to drop
me, Eric."

He spoke with a smile, and in a rallying tone, but Eric hung his head,
for the charge was true. Proud of his popularity among all the school,
and especially at his friendship with so leading a fellow as Upton, Eric
had _not_ seen much of his friend since thei