time
he recovered, but never since that day had he deigned to speak to
Mackworth a single word.

He was surprised, therefore, at the obtrusive impertinence of these two
fellows, and when next he passed them, he surveyed them from head to
foot with a haughty and indignant stare. The moment after he heard them
burst into a laugh, and begin talking very loudly.

"It was the rummiest vehicle you ever saw," he heard Jones say; "a cart,
I assure you--nothing more or less, and drawn by the very scraggiest
scarecrow of a blind horse."

He caught no more as the distance between them lessened, but he heard
Jones bubbling over with a stupid giggle at some remark of Mackworth's
about _glare-eyes_ being drawn by a _blind_ horse.

"How rude those fellows are, Ken," said Whalley; "what do they mean by
it?"

"Dogs!" said Kenrick, stamping angrily, while his face was scarlet with
rage.

"If they're trying to annoy you, Ken," said Whalley, who was a very
gentle, popular boy, "don't give them the triumph of seeing that they
succeed. They're only Varnish and White-Feather--we all know what
_they're_ like."

"Dogs!" said Kenrick again; "I should like to pitch into them."

"Let's leave them, and go and sit by the river, Ken."

"No, Whalley. I'm sure they mean to insult me, and I want to hear how,
and why."

There was no difficulty in doing this, for Jones and his ally were again
approaching, and Jones was talking purposely loud.

"I never could bear the fellow; gives himself such airs."

"Yes; only fancy going to meet his friends in a hay-waggon! What a
start! He! he! he!"

"It's such impudence in a low fellow like that..." and here Kenrick lost
some words, for, as they passed, Jones lowered his voice; but he heard,
only too plainly, the words "father" and "dishonest parson"--the rest he
could supply with fatal facility.

For half an instant he stood paralysed, his eyes burning with fury, but
his face pale as ashes. The next second he sprang upon Jones, seized
with both hands the collar of his coat, shook him, flung him violently
to the ground, and kicked his hat, which had fallen off in the struggle,
straight into the river.

"What the deuce do you mean by that?" asked Jones, picking himself up.
"I'll just give you--fifth-form, or no fifth-form--the best licking you
ever had."

"You'll just not presume to lay upon him the tip of your finger," said
Whalley, who was quite as big as Jones, and was very fond of Kenri