ave been--terrible!"

The little boy did not look very frightened, in spite of the tone in
which the last word was uttered. Kavanagh had never been known wilfully
to hurt anything weaker than himself in his life. As he was tall and
strong, this is saying a great deal.

The two other fags grinned; one of them filled up the tea-pot, and then
Strachan said "Go!" and all three lower boys vanished in a twinkling to
prepare their own teas.

"We shall not have many more teas together," said Forsyth.

"No, but we may dinners," replied Strachan.

"Suppose we all get into the same regiment."

"The job is to get into any regiment at all," said Kavanagh. "There is
that abominable examination to be got over. Awfully clever and hard
reading fellows get beaten in it every time, I can tell you."

"Well, but I believe it is easier through the Militia than direct into
Sandhurst, is it not? And that is the way you and I are going to try.
At any rate, then we can go into the same Militia regiment, and that
will give us two trainings, besides preliminary drills, and so forth, to
have some fun together. And Forsyth must come in too."

"I have not quite made up my mind to go into the army, or rather to try
for it, at all yet," said Forsyth. "It seems such a waste of time to
sap for it, and then be sold after all. I can never do half so well as
I fairly ought in an examination, because I take so long to remember
things I know quite well, even if I have plenty of time to think them
out. I can learn, but I can't cram, so I fear I should never be in it."

"Oh, have a shy, man; it is only going in for something else if you
fail. And there is no life like the army if you succeed."

"If we fail, we fail. `But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
and we'll not fail,'" quoted Kavanagh.

"Well, it is very tempting; perhaps I shall try," said Forsyth.

"Look here, then," said Strachan, "there are two vacancies amongst the
sub-lieutenants in the fourth battalion of the Blankshire, and my father
is a friend of the Colonel. I am to have one, and I have no doubt you,
Kavanagh, will get the other. There is almost sure to be another
vacancy before the next training, and if there is, don't you think your
friends would let you leave Harton at once, and take it? Then you could
serve one training this year, and another next year, and be ready to go
in for the Competitive at the same time that we do."

"Thanks, old fellow," said Fo