ch hurt. Then the bully lifted up his stick and
struck Ernest on the arm more than once. He was about to repeat the
blow on his victim's head, and the effect would have been very serious,
when he felt his own ears pulled lustily.

"Ah, you big coward--is dat de vay you play your games? I'm ashamed dat
any boy at de school vare I teach should behave so," exclaimed the voice
of Monsieur Malin. "If I do not take you instantly before de Doctor it
is because it is too bad to tell him of, so I will pull your ears
myself. Bah!"

Right heartily did the good-natured French master tug away at the
bully's ears till they were red to the very roots. He knew that he
himself was doing what in spirit was prohibited, for no master was
allowed to strike or punish a boy. He might have argued that pulling
the ears was not striking, and that punishing meant flogging or caning.
Blackall on another occasion might have resisted, but now he felt that
he had been guilty of so cowardly an action that no one would support
him, so he submitted tamely to the infliction.

"Go, get out of de ground, you shall not play--you are not worthy of
it," continued the French master, pulling him away by the
before-spoken-of appendages of his head.

Meantime the games went on. Ernest, though much hurt, tried to exhibit
no symptoms of his suffering. He and his friends strove hard, but the
big fellows resolved not to lose this last game as they had done the
others, and finally by strenuous exertions drove the ball up to the
goal. Never was a game at hockey at our school more hotly contested. A
great deal came out of it.

CHAPTER TEN.

THE BULLY'S PUNISHMENT.

That game of hockey caused a great deal of ill-feeling among the less
generous and most ill-disposed of the big fellows towards the younger
ones who had so thoroughly beaten them. Blackall bullied more than
ever, and several others imitated his example. They had also already
begun to carry out their precious scheme of fagging. Some of the little
fellows thought it very good fun at first to obey a bigger one, provided
he did not order them to do anything very difficult, or likely to bring
punishment down upon themselves. Grown bold by impunity, the faggers
resolved to divide the boys of the classes below them among themselves
as fags by lots. Of course it was the very worst plan that could have
been devised; indeed, tyrants generally do form very clumsy and very bad
schemes for kee