these "pull-ups" by way of extending his biceps. We looked
along the walls and under the forms. Penny created a little
excitement by declaring that "he thought he saw it then." And Doe
opened the door and looked up and down the corridor.

"It's not anywhere in the corridor," said he. The whole class felt
he might be mistaken, and went to the door to satisfy themselves.

Mr. Caesar affected a little sarcasm.

"Is not that it at the other end of the room?"

We turned round and gazed down the direction in which he was
looking. Yes, there was surely something there. Penny flung up his
hand and cried:

"Please, teacher, I've found it."

"Well," began Mr. Caesar, "if one or two of you would bring the desk
up here--"

If one or two of us would! Why, we all would--all twenty of us. We
took off our coats and, folding them carefully, laid them on the
desks. We rolled up our shirt-sleeves above the elbows, disclosing a
lot of white, childish forearms. We spat on our hands and rubbed
them together. We did a little spitting on one another's hands.
Then we hustled and crowded round the desk. We lifted it off the
ground, brought it a foot or two, and dropped it heavily. Phew! it
was hard work. We took out our handkerchiefs, and wiped the sweat
from our brows. Anyone who had no handkerchief borrowed from someone
who had finished with his. Returning to our task, we carried the
desk a little nearer and dropped it. Doe got a serious splinter in
his hand, and we all pulled it out for him. Puffing and groaning as
we dragged the unwieldy desk, we approached the dais on which it
must be placed. We all stepped upon the dais (slightly incommoding
Mr. Caesar, who was standing there), and lifted up one end of the
desk so that the pens and pencils rattled inside. One pull, my lads,
and the desk was half on the platform and half on the floor. Leaving
it in this inclined position, we stepped down to the floor again,
and three of us placed our shoulders against the lower end, while
the rest scrummed down, Rugby fashion, in row upon row behind one
another. A good co-operative shove, accompanied by murmurs of
"Coming on your right, forwards; heel it out, whites; break away,
forwards!" and up she went, a diagonal route into the air.
Unfortunately, we all raised our heads at the same time to see how
much further she had to go, and back she tobogganed again on to the
shins of the boys in the front row. They declared they were
henceforth incapaci