"All serene. Anything you like. I don't care a hang."
Every sentence of this brilliant oration was cheered to the echo, and
Heathcote was installed into his new dignity with loud enthusiasm.
He had not a ghost of an idea who the "Sociables" were, what they did,
or what they wanted; but he had a rough idea they were a select assembly
not favoured by the monitors or the masters, in which a fellow was
popular in proportion to his record of "rows."
And Heathcote, whose one ambition it was at present, under Pledge's
influence, not to figure as a prig or a hypocrite, cast his lot in with
them, and chanced the rest.
It did occur to him to enquire if Dick was a member.
"Yes, he's a member, rather," said Spokes, the president. "He was
elected this evening, wasn't he, you fellows?"
"Rather," echoed the high-souled club, winking at one another.
Whereupon Heathcote asked no more questions, and proceeded to enjoy
himself.
As the Club was breaking up, Twiss, one of its leading spirits, came up
to the new member and said--
"Look here, youngster, don't you forget you're on your honour not to say
a word about the Club outside to anybody. Not to Pledge, or your chum,
or anybody."
"But Dick's a member too," said Heathcote.
"That does not matter. You mayn't even speak about it to me, or pretend
you belong to my set. Do you twig?"
"All right," said Heathcote, "it's a good job you told me, though, for I
was going to tell Dick about my election."
"Well, you know now. You're on your honour, so are we all."
Noble society! Organised dishonour held together in bonds of honour!
If boys were only to cast round what is right the same shield of honour
which they so often cast round what is wrong, what a world this would
be!
When Heathcote and Dick met that evening in the dormitory, they had
something more important to talk about or to be silent about than the
select "Sociables."
"Look here, old man," said Dick, thrusting a piece of newspaper into his
friend's hand. "They wrapped up the notepaper I got in town to-day in
this. It's a bit of last week's _Templeton Observer_."