re so astonished that they did
nothing, and Thornton very prudently did not wait to see what would
happen next. Dennison was in a miserable state because he was
violently angry and trying to grin, and before the general hubbub had
stopped, two men out of our eight, who had never forgiven him for
laughing at their rowing, picked him up and carried him out of the
room. In a minute Dennison, with the purple cap on his head, was
sitting on the donkey, and a procession had started to St. Cuthbert's.
When we got back to college we succeeded in taking possession of the
porter who answered our knocks, and in getting both the moke and
Dennison into the quad. I was so engaged with the porter that I did
not see whether Dennison entered in state, but at any rate he had to
ride round the quad two or three times, and crowds of men were there to
see him do it. Finally, the Subby and The Bradder appeared, and gave
orders that the donkey should leave the college; so as soon as Dennison
had dismounted, his steed was handed over to its owner, who was waiting
in the street. Then some of us paid a call on the porter to see if he
could develop a bad memory for faces, but the only thing we found out
from him was that his temper was bad, and that we had known before. As
I went back to my rooms I met Lambert, who drew himself up in front of
me as if he was on parade.

"Don't think," he said, "that you have heard the last of this."

"We shall never hear the last of it," I answered,

"We know that you played this dirty trick."

"You can know what you please," I said.

"I told you about Thornton, and then you prepare this behind our backs."

"The whole college, and nearly the whole 'Varsity knew about Thornton,
so you needn't talk such rot to me. Crowds of out-college men were
here to see him come in to-night."

"You arranged the whole thing."

"You may think whatever you like," I replied; and he strode away with a
warning that I had better look out for myself.

CHAPTER XXI

ONE WORD TOO MANY

The collapse of the Hedonists placed me in a very curious position, for
by some freak of fortune an idea spread through the 'Varsity that I had
been responsible for it, and whenever I went to Vincent's I was always
button-holed by men who asked me to tell them what had happened. It
was almost as bad as Nina falling into the "Cher," for a tale thirty
times told is as flavourless as sauce kept in an uncorked bottle. I
could not say