n?" said Bloomfield. "And I suppose he gets off scot-
free?"

"No; he is expelled too. He had to confess that he suggested the whole
thing, and he is to go this morning."

"That's a comfort! But why on earth did they cut our lines instead of
yours?"

"That was a blunder. Gilks, in his flurry, got hold of the wrong
rudder. I really think that's why it wasn't found out long ago."

"Very likely. But what a nice pair of consciences they must have had
ever since! I suppose the doctor will announce that they've been
expelled?"

"I don't know. But I hope he won't be too hard on Gilks if he does. I
never saw a fellow so broken-down and sorry. He quite broke down just
now at the station as he was starting."

"Poor fellow!" said Bloomfield. "The fellows won't take the trouble to
abuse him much now he's gone."

At this point two Parrett's juniors came past. They were Lawkins and
Pringle, two of the noisiest and most impudent of their respectable
fraternity.

Among their innocent amusements, that of hooting the captain had long
been a favourite, and at the sight of him now, as they concluded, in
altercation with their own hero, they thought they detected a
magnificent opening for a little demonstration.

"Hullo! Booh! Fiddle de Riddell!" cried Pringle, jocosely, from a safe
distance.

"Who cut the rudder-lines? Cheat! Kick him out!" echoed Lawkins.

The captain, who was accustomed to elegant compliments of this kind from
the infant lips of Willoughby, took about as much notice of them now as
he usually did. In other words, he took no notice at all.

But Bloomfield turned wrathfully, and shouted to the two boys, "Come
here, you two!"

"Oh, yes; we'll come to _you_!" cried Lawkins.

"You're our captain; we'll obey _you_!" said Pringle, with a withering
look at Riddell.

"What's that you said just now?" demanded Bloomfield.

"I only said, `Kick him out!'" said Lawkins, somewhat doubtfully, as he
noticed the black looks on the Parrett's captain's face.

Bloomfield made a grab at the two luckless youths, and shook them very
much as a big dog shakes her refractory puppies.

"And what do you mean by it, you young cubs!" demanded he, in a rage.

"Why, we weren't speaking to _you_," whined the juniors.

"No, you weren't; but I'm speaking to you! Take that, for being howling
young cads, both of you!" and he knocked their two ill-starred heads
together with a vigour which made the epithet "howling"