ischief they've done?"

"Odd, _a priori_; but lots of things always combine to make up a school
opinion, you know the fellows just catch up what they hear first. But
who do you think is foremost champion on the school side--stirring them
up to resist, abusing you, abusing Flip, abusing the monitors, and
making light of Harpour's doings?"

Walter asked "Who?" but he knew beforehand that Power's answer would
be--

"Kenrick!"

After this he said nothing, but put his hand wearily to his head, which
in his weak state, was aching violently with the excitement of the news
which Power had told him.

"Ah, I see, Walter, you're not quite well enough yet to be bothered.
I'll leave you quiet. Good-bye."

"Good-bye. Do come again soon, and tell me how things go on."

Strolling out from the sad sickroom into the court, Power was attracted
into the great schoolroom by the sound of angry voices. Entering, he
found half the school, and all the lower forms, collected round the
large desk at which the headmaster usually sat. A great many were
talking at once, and every tongue was engaged in discussing the
propriety, in this instance, of any monitorial interference.

"Order, order," shouted one or two of the few fifth-form fellows
present; "let's have the thing managed properly. Who'll take the
chair?"

There was a general call for Kenrick, and as he was one of the highest
fellows in the room, he got into the chair, and amid a general silence
delivered his views of the present affair.

"You all know," he said, "that Dimock meant to cane Harpour because he
played off a joke against one of the fellows last night. Harpour
refused to take the caning, and the monitors are holding a meeting this
morning to decide what to do about Harpour. Now _I_ maintain that
they've no right to do anything; and it's very important that we
shouldn't let them have just their own way. The thing was merely a
joke. Who thinks anything of just putting on a mask in fun, to startle
another fellow? One constantly hears of its being done merely to raise
a laugh, and we must all have often seen pictures of it. Of course, in
this case, every one is extremely sorry for the consequences, but it was
impossible to foresee _them_, and nobody has any right to judge of the
act because it has turned out so unluckily. I vote that we put the
question--`Have the monitors any right to interfere?'"

Loud applause greeted the end of Kenrick's speech, and the