sat at a number of tables arranged breadth-wise across the hall;
twenty or thirty sat at each table, and either a master or a monitor (as
the sixteen upper boys were called) took his place at the head of it.

"Now, mind you don't begin to smoke," said Henderson, as Walter went in,
and found most of the boys already seated.

"Smoke?" said Walter, taking it for a bit of good advice; "do fellows
smoke in Hall? I never have smoked."

"Why, you're smoking now," said Henderson, as Walter, entering among the
crowd of strange faces and meeting so many pairs of eyes, began to blush
a little.

"Don't teaze him, Flip," said Kenrick. "Smoking is the name fellows
give to blushing, Evson; and if they see you given to blushing, they'll
stare at you for the fun of seeing the colour mount up in your cheeks."

Accordingly, as he sat down, he saw that numerous eyes were turned upon
him and upon Tracy, who happened to sit at the same table. Tracy,
unaccustomed to such very narrow scrutiny, blushed all over; and, as he
in vain looked up and down, this way and that, his cheeks grew hotter
and hotter, and he moved about in the most uneasy way, to the great
amusement of his many tormentors, until at last his eyes subsided
finally into his teacup, from which he did not again venture to raise
them until tea was over. But Walter was at once up to the trick, and
felt thoroughly obliged to Henderson and Kenrick for telling him of it.
So he waited till he saw that a good dozen fellows were all intently
staring at him; and then, looking up very simply and naturally, he met
the gaze of two or three of them steadily in succession, and stared them
out of countenance with a quiet smile. This turned the laugh against
them; and he heard the remark that he was "up to snuff, and no mistake."
No one ever tried to make Walter smoke again, but for some time it used
to be a regular joke to pass round word at tea-time, "Let's make Tracy
smoke," and as Tracy always _did_ smoke till he got thoroughly used to
it, he was generally glad when tea-time was over.

In spite of Henderson, who poked fun at them all tea-time (till he saw
that he really embarrassed them, and then he desisted), Kenrick sat by
Walter, and took him more or less under his protection; for an "old boy"
can always patronise a newcomer at first, even if they are of the same
age.

From Kenrick Walter learnt, rather to his dismay, that he really would
have no place to sit in except the big