er good-looking, generally cut by
the better sort, unredeemed by any natural taste or accomplishment,
wholly without influence except among little boys (whom he alternately
bullied and spoilt), and only kept at school by his friends, because
they were rather afraid of him, and did not quite know what to do with
him. They called it "keeping him out of mischief," but the mischief he
did at school was a thousandfold greater than any which he could have
done elsewhere; for, except at school, he would have been comparatively
powerless to do any positive harm.

By the exhaustive process of reasoning, Walter had already concluded
that Harpour must have been his nocturnal disturber; and, accordingly,
after thrusting a foot into a slipper, Harpour began to exclaim, "Hallo!
where's my other slipper? Confound it, I shall be late; I can't dress;
where's my other slipper?"

Wishing to leave him without escape from the necessity of betraying
himself to have been the author of last night's raid, Walter made no
sign, until Harpour, who had not any time to lose, said to him--

"Hi! you new chap, have you got my slipper?"

"I've got _a_ slipper," said Walter, blandly.

"The deuce you have. Then give it here, this minute."

"I captured it off someone's leg, who was under my bed last night," said
Walter, giving it into Harpour's hand.

"The deuce you did!"

"Yes; and I smacked the fellow with it, as I will do again, if he comes
again."

"The deuce you will! Then take that for your impudence," said Harpour,
intending to bring down the slipper on his shoulder; but Walter dodged
down, and parrying the blow with his arm, sent the slipper in a graceful
parabola across the wash-hand-stand into Jones's basin.

"So, so," said Harpour, "_you're_ a pretty cool hand, you are! Well,
I've no time to settle accounts with you now, or I should be late for
chapel. But--"

A significant pantomime explained the remainder of the sentence, and
then Harpour, standing in his one slipper, hastily adjourned to his
toilet. Walter, being dressed in good time, knelt down for a few
moments of hearty prayer, helped poor Eden, who was as helpless as
though he had been always dressed by a servant, to finish dressing, and
ran across the court into the chapel just as the bell stopped. There
were still two minutes before the door was shut, and he occupied them by
watching the boys as they streamed in, many of them with their
waistcoats only half button