agreed with the decision of his
chiefs to have nothing more to do with such a graceless crew till the
injury was atoned for; and meanwhile he felt himself at perfect
liberty--nay, it was his painful duty--to insult, abuse, and maltreat,
as occasion offered, every one unlucky enough to wear the schoolhouse
ribbon on his cap.

This being the case, it may be imagined his friend Telson (who, by the
way, had barely recovered from the shock of Brown's party) found himself
in a very delicate position. For in the whole of his code of honour two
points were paramount with him. One was loyalty to the schoolhouse, the
other was loyalty to Parson. How these two duties could be carried out
now, at one and the same time, was a source of much anxiety to the
perplexed Augustus.

He too was as indignant about the whole affair as his friend. But his
wrath was aimed first of all against those who dared to insinuate that
any schoolhouse boy could have been guilty of the evil deed, and next
against the Parretts' authorities for refusing Riddell's and Fairbairn's
offer of a new race.

He and his friend had a long and painful discussion of the whole
question an evening or two later in the study of the latter.

"It's all very well," said he, "to say it's a schoolhouse chap has done
it--"

"I tell you a schoolhouse chap _must_ have done it," said Parson. "Who
else would do such a dirty trick?"

"I'll fight you, old man, if you go on like that," observed the
schoolhouse fag.

"Oh, beg pardon," said Parson, apologetically. "I mean who else could
have done it, you know?"

"A Welcher might," suggested Telson.

"What would be the good to him? They hadn't a boat. Besides, they all
go against Riddell, don't they?"

"Well, I mean to say," said Telson, falling back on to the next
grievance, "your fellows ought to row us again. We'd have rowed you
again like a shot if our line had smashed. _We_ don't funk you."

"And do you think we funk you? A pack of--I mean," added Parson,
pulling up in time, "do you think we funk you?"

"Why don't you row us again, then?"

"Because there's no honour in the thing while your fellows go in for
beastly low dodges like that," replied Parson.

"I tell you," said Telson, finding it very difficult to keep in with his
friend, "we did not do it. I say we didn't do it; there!"

"What's the use of your saying that when you know no one but a
schoolhouse fellow _could_ have done it?" demanded his f