outh shut about his people, and so the fellows took up the notion
that Torrington's would soon go to the dogs if we let that sort of
cattle stay there, and so we said he must go. Well, we thought the
Coventry game had done the trick for us just at first, for you never
saw such an awful ass as he made of himself one morning at all the
classes. "Howard, are you ill?" said Skeats at last, in his sharp way.
And we thought the beggar would get off for the rest of the lessons.
But, if you'll believe it, he was game enough to say, "No, sir, I'm
quite well," which was as good as telling Skeats he was a fool for
asking such a question.'

Florence nodded. 'I like plucky boys,' she said approvingly.

'Well, it was a plucky thing to do, I daresay, but it didn't help him
much with Skeats that day, for he never spared him a bit, as he did
not take the excuse that had been offered him, and he blundered and
floundered worse than ever, so that Curtis, the biggest dunce in the
class, answered for him, and took his place in the class.'

'What a shame!' said Florence, pityingly.

'Well, I felt sorry for the poor little beggar at last, for we knew he
had swatted well over the lesson, and yet he seemed to have lost his
wits. "That's done the trick," Taylor whispered to me, when Skeats
frowned at him once for being such an ass. "We shan't see that
scholarship swatter here any more."'

'Swatter,' repeated Florence. 'But I thought you said he didn't know
his lessons.'

'Ah! that once. But it wasn't for the want of swatting, for it was
just that that put the fellows' backs up. He comes into the school
looking as meek as a rabbit. "I've been to the board school," he says
to Taylor, when he put him through the usual mill. Not a word did he
say about French and Latin, and so Taylor thought he would have him
for a fag, as he was a junior; but we soon found out that we should
have to swat over our lessons, and no mistake, if we were to keep out
of rows with the masters. He set the pace, don't you see, till Taylor
got as mad as a hatter when he lost his place at the top of the
class, and then he said this new boy would have to go.'

'Because he learned his lessons better than the rest!' exclaimed his
sister.

'Well, not that exactly--of course not,' replied her brother; 'but you
see he was only a board school boy, and his mother couldn't be a lady,
and his brother is only a common carpenter, they say; and so for a
fellow like that to come to