lows'
complaints? I told Taylor he had better come and see the pater himself
about it.'

'Of course,' nodded Florence, 'that would be the proper way, and I
should like to see them do it.' And again the girl laughed.

This seemed to annoy her brother. 'It's all very well for you to
laugh,' he said. 'You don't know what it is to be mixed up with such
an affair, and I want to know what I am to do.'

'What do they want you to do?'

'Haven't I told you? They say I must get the pater to remove Howard
from the school at once. And one of the fellows told me as I came home
that he overheard Taylor and Curtis say that, if it wasn't pretty soon
done, they'd send me to Coventry, and find out some other way to get
rid of Howard.'

'I wouldn't care if I was you.'

'Wouldn't you? If you was a boy, you'd know what it was to be sent to
Coventry, perhaps, and let me tell you, you wouldn't want a second
dose. It's none so pleasant, I can tell you, to have this fellow turn
his back, and begin to whistle if you attempt to speak to him. Why,
they make it so strict at Torrington's that if the master sends a
message to a fellow in Coventry, they fetch a junior to deliver it.
Oh, I know enough to make me hate the thought of it, and so would
you.'

'Girls are not so nasty as that,' said Florence, 'but I tell you what
you could do if they send you to Coventry--chum up with the new boy. I
should think he was a nice fellow.'

But Leonard turned up his nose at the suggestion. 'He isn't much at
games,' he said. 'I don't think he ever saw a fives court until he
came to Torrington's; and I do like a good game at fives.'

'I'd play by myself then,' said his sister.

'Ah! and see every other fellow pick up his ball and walk out of the
court as soon as you appeared. You'd feel like playing then, wouldn't
you?' he added.

His sister sighed. She was very fond of Leonard, although he was not
very brave, she feared. Still, big lads like Taylor and Curtis could
make things very uncomfortable for the younger and weaker lads, like
Leonard.

'Now just see if you can't help me out of this hole, Flo,' said the
boy, after another pause. 'I told the fellows I'd do something
to-night, and I must, you know.'

'Do something!' repeated his sister, 'what do you want to do?'

'I don't want to do anything. The poor beggar might stay at
Torrington's for ever if he liked; but you see the others have set
their faces against it, and they say I must either ma