et myself up
against Cicero even to please Murray, so I took no notice of his
remark, and went on with my grievance very slowly, for a grievance does
not get proper treatment if you spring it upon people; they just say
"What a confounded swindle," and go on talking about their own affairs.
I had been badly treated, and I intended to make the most of it, so I
did not mind being a bore if I could extract a little surprise and
sympathy from Fred and Murray.

"I took a lot of trouble over this essay, I changed my style----"

"The first sentence was fairly magnificent; it reminded me of Lambert
walking across the quad," Murray interrupted me by saying.

"I wrote that sentence on purpose so that Edwardes might enjoy the
contrast afterwards."

"There aren't many men who would have thought of that," Fred said, and,
as he was trying to rot me, I agreed with him quite seriously, and
added that I thought it was very kind of me to think so much about
Edwardes.

"But didn't he like the contrast?" Murray asked, and I thought the way
he looked at Fred, as if something was amusing him, was fairly hard
upon me.

"He would have liked it," I said emphatically, "if I had ever given him
a chance. I mean if he had ever given me one."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, and I could see that it was time for me
to come to the point of my tale.

"After I had read a sentence and a half, Edwardes hopped out of his
chair, glared at me and said he wanted to hear no more. He then kicked
me out of the room, and what I want to know is the reason why he did
it; and if you two fellows can tell me that instead of grinning like
two Chinese idols, you will be of some use." The recital of my
ill-treatment had made me annoyed with both Fred and Murray.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, but both of them were, I
regret to say, amused. They missed the serious injustice of my story
altogether, and though there was some excuse for Fred, who must have
found it difficult to think of anything except his blue, there was no
reason why Murray should not do or say something to show how sorry he
was for me.

"He couldn't have turned you out of the room for that," was all he said.

"I tell you he did, and he was angry, very angry. The man has gone
utterly and hopelessly cracked; it is just my luck to get a lunatic for
a tutor," I replied, forgetting for the instant that Murray also had a
share in Edwardes.

"He was sane enough yesterday," Murra