in Greek. A schoolmaster's
lot is hard enough without his making it worse, and the Terror sensibly
seized any opportunity of investing his work with an element of real
interest. With the bloods who found higher progress impossible and
remained to clog the Lower Fifth, it was always routine: but Martin had
come with a scholarship and was capable of an ingenious and tasteful
turn in translation. He was obviously a boy in whom an interest could
be taken, and the Terror warmed to him even to the extent of abandoning
the sardonic humour on which he so prided himself. According to all
the best traditions of scholastic fiction, Martin should have been
unpopular for this reason, but as a matter of fact the bloods were far
too bored with the Terror and all his works, and far too contemptuous
of all clever kids and 'sweat-guts,' to take the least notice of what
happened: or, if they did take notice, they were not going to give
themselves away by showing it.

The collar problem had been the hardest to face, and Martin still
longed eagerly for the Etons to arrive. As for the question of Neave,
Cullen, and Sally Savoy, he found that here too his fears had been
exaggerated. Most of the smaller boys did not talk on this subject:
Neave and Cullen turned out to be remote and superior creatures: by
their well-oiled hair and exquisite variety of ties and socks and
handkerchiefs they revealed the majesty of their doggishness. But
Martin was not prepared to run any risks: he became intimate with the
most imposing of the new boys, one Caruth, and plied him with
questions. He saw plainly that it was an ordeal which had to be gone
through if he was ever to attain peace of mind, and consequently he
bravely endured Caruth's surprise at the deficiencies in his knowledge.
Martin had foolishly begun by hinting that he really knew a good deal
and only wanted a few supplementary details, but he soon discovered
that he was giving himself most terribly away. Then he broke down and
confessed his ignorance.

"You are a kid," said Caruth. "You with your stick-ups!"

"Well, it's not my fault," protested Martin.

Thereupon Caruth became very patronising and talked to him at length,
telling him much that was true and more that was false: he also gave
information as to suitable passages in Shakespeare and the Bible for
the confirmation of theory. At first Martin was sickened and disgusted
by his investigations, but his sense of repulsion was s