he read approval or disapproval,
according as each boy betrayed the feeling in his heart.

"You, Desmond?"

"Yes, sir."

The Caterpillar rose slowly. He was cool enough now.

"I was the fifth."

But Lovell's two particular friends sat tight, as they put it. Let us
not blame them.

"You, Egerton?"

"Yes, sir."

For a moment the Head Master hesitated. Into his mind there flashed the
image of two notable figures--the fathers whom he had entreated to send
sons to the Manor. If--if by so doing he had compassed the boys' ruin,
could he ever have forgiven himself? But now, the boys themselves had
justified his action; they had proved worthy of their breeding and the
traditions of the Hill.

"Come here," he said.

When they stood opposite to him, he continued--

"You give yourselves up to receive the punishment I am about to inflict
upon Scaife?"

The boys did not answer, save with their eyes. The silence in the great
room was so profound that John made sure that the beating of his heart
must be heard by everybody.

"I shall not punish you. This voluntary confession has done much to
redeem your fault. Meet me in my study at nine this evening, and I will
talk to you. When I came here I hardly hoped to find saints, but I did
expect to find--gentlemen. And I have not been disappointed." He
addressed the others. "You will return to your boarding-houses, and
quietly, if you please."

* * * * *

The immediate and most noticeable effect of Lovell's expulsion was the
loss of the next House match. Damer's defeated the Manor easily. Some of
the fags whispered to each other that the injuries inflicted by the Head
Master on Scaife had been so severe as to incapacitate the star-player
of the House. Two boys had concealed themselves in the Armoury (which is
just below the Fourth Form Room) upon the morning when Scaife was
flogged. But they reported--nothing. However severe the punishment might
have been, Scaife received it without a whimper.

In truth, Scaife received but one cut, and that a light one. The Head
Master wished to lay stripes upon the boy's heart, not his body. When he
saw him prepared to receive punishment, he said gravely--

"I have never flogged a member of the Eleven. And now, at the last
moment, I offer you the choice between a flogging and expulsion."

"I prefer to be flogged."

_And then--one cut._

But Scaife never forgot the walk from the Yard to the Manor, aft