Arthur's great hit at the Central Criminal Court was the topic in the
junior circles at Railsford's for some days. It was hardly to be
expected that Sir Digby Oakshott would share in the general admiration
which fell to his friend's lot. That young baronet had a painful sense
of having come off second best at the trial, and the relations between
the friends became considerably strained in consequence. What made it
harder for Dig was that Arthur had suddenly gained quite a prestige
among the lower boys of the house, who, without being too curious,
arrived at the conclusion that he knew a thing or two about Railsford in
connection with the row about Bickers, and was keeping it dark.
Strangely enough, from the same cause, Railsford himself leapt into
sudden popularity with his juniors. For if he, argued they, was the man
who paid out Bickers for them, then, although it put them to a little
inconvenience, they were resolved as one man to back their hero up, and
cover his retreat to the best of their ability. The master himself was
considerably surprised at the sudden outburst of affection towards
himself. He hoped it meant that his influence was beginning to tell
home on the minds of his youthful charges; and he wrote cheerfully to
Daisy about it, and said he had scarcely hoped in so short a time to
have made so many friends among his boys.
"Tell you what," said Arthur one evening, after discussing the virtues
of his future kinsman with some of the Shell, "it wouldn't be a bad
dodge to get up a testimonial for Marky. I know a stunning dodge for
raising the wind."
"Good idea," said Tilbury, "I'm game."
"Let's give it him soon, to get him in a good-humour, next week,"
suggested someone.
"No, we'd better do it just before the Easter holidays," replied Arthur;
"that'll start him well for next term."
That evening the differences between the two friends were patched up.
Dig, under a pledge of secrecy, was initiated into the whole mystery of
the sack, and the wedge of paper, and the wax vestas, promising on his
part to respect his friend's reputation in the matter of the "fifty-six
billion Snowball."
The baronet was fully impressed with the importance of his friend's
disclosures.
"It's a regular case," said he. "I never thought it of him. We must
keep it dark and give him a leg out."
"I fancy so," said Arthur. "It's a sort of family affair, you see.
It's half a pity he can't know that we've bowled him out and are
sticking to him. But I suppose it's best not to let him suspect it."
"No--better keep it all dark. He'll know all about it some day."
And the two confederates went to bed happy that night, in the
consciousness that they were restored to one another's confidence, and
that they were standing between their miscreant "kinsman" and the
punishment which properly belonged to his crime. On the following
morning a notice appeared on the common room door, signed by Ainger,
summoning the house to meet after tea on particular business. The
important business had no connection with the _affaire Bickers_, but was
the captain's first move towards pulling up the house to the proud
position he designed for it.
"Now, you fellows," said he, in the course of a short spirited speech,
"I needn't tell you that our house is down on its luck this term.
(Cheers.) We are in the black books of the doctor, as you know--and we
can't well help it. Somebody in the house thinks fit to tell a lie, and
gets us all into trouble; but we aren't going down on our knees to that
person or any other sneak to help us when we mean to help ourselves.
(Loud cheers.) Now this is one way I propose we help ourselves. We
are, you all know, cut out of the sports, and school cricket, and all
that sort of thing. (Shame!) Very well; but they can't prevent our
getting up house sports of our own, and a house eleven, and showing that
we aren't going to be put down. (Applause.) I mean to train hard
myself, and run the mile if I can in quicker time than Smedley or anyone
else in the School sports; and unless I'm mistaken Barnworth means to
show that Railsford's house can jump an inch higher than any other house
at Grandcourt, even though we don't get a prize for it (tremendous
cheers); and I am not so sure if Wake doesn't press their second man
pretty close. (Bravo, Wake!) You youngsters will have to do your
share. We want a Railsford's fellow to lick the time of every event in
the School sports. (Loud cheers.) We may not be able to do it in all;
but we'll know the reason why, if we don't. (So we will!) You'll have
to sit up, some of you, if you're going to do it. But of course you'll
do that. (Rather!) Railsford's sports will be held this day three
weeks--just a week after the School sports. So we shall know what we've
got to beat. That's one thing I've got to say. Every boy here should
enter for some event or other, and see he wins it. (Applause.) The
next thing is this. Cricket is coming on; it begins the Saturday after
the sports. We aren't going to be done out of our cricket to please
anybody! (Tremendous enthusiasm and waving of caps.) We intend to turn
out as stiff a house eleven as ever played in the fields, and some fine
day you fellows will see Railsford's play the School and win.
(Applause.) Yes, and we'll have a second eleven, too. (Rather! from
the juniors.) Mr Railsford is going to back us up. (Cheers.) He
played in his college eleven at Cambridge, and he's promised to give up
all his Saturdays to the end of the term to coach us. (Three cheers for
Railsford.) Now the last thing--"
"Whatever else can there be?" said the baronet, in a perspiration of
fervour.
"Some of you may open your eyes when I mention it, but I know you won't
funk it. We mean to get hold of all the School prizes at Grandcourt
this term, if we can. (Sensation.) Yes, you may gape, but it's a fact!
Of course, I can't beat Smedley for the gold medal. (Yes, have a try!)
Rather! I mean to try; and Smedley will have to put on steam. (Loud
cheers.) Then Stafford is going to cut out Branscombe--(Boo-hoo!)--for
the Melton Scholarship, and Barnworth will get the vacant Cavendish
Scholarship, and Wake and Ranger and Sherriff and Wignet are going to
walk off with all the Fifth-form prizes; and Herapath will pull off the
Swift Exhibition, and Sir Digby Oakshott, Baronet.--(tremendous
cheers)--will win the Shell History medal."
"I say!" said the baronet, mopping his face vehemently; "that's the
first I've heard about that!"
"Yes, and our Babies are going to show the way, too!" continued the
captain; "and on prize-day we'll crowd up and cheer them when they
toddle up to take their prizes. (Laughter and cheers.) That's all I
want to say. (Laughter and applause.) Some of you will say I'm
cracked. (No!) I'm not! Railsford's is going in and going to win, and
if you all back up--(So we will I)--we shall do it easily. (Cheers.)
Don't let us brag too much. The school will find out what we are up to
soon enough without our blowing trumpets. Oh, there's one thing more,"
continued the captain--"positively the last--(laughter)--about this row
we're all in. It was a caddish thing, whoever did it, to maul a man
about in the dark when he couldn't defend himself--(cheers)--and a low
thing, whoever did it, to tell a lie about it. (Cheers.) But my advice
is, let the beggar alone. He's an enemy to our house, but we aren't
going to make ourselves miserable on his account. Let him alone. Don't
go poking and sniffing about to try to smell him out. (Arthur blushed
violently here.) Think of something better. In spite of him we're
going to make Railsford's the cock house at Grandcourt! That will be
the best way to pay him out, and it will take us all our time to do it,
without dirtying our fingers over him."
Ainger concluded amidst a burst of cheers which quite took him aback,
and the meeting dispersed enthusiastically to talk over the wonderful
programme, and take the first steps towards carrying it out.
The captain's words came upon most of the fellows as a surprise that
there could be any other way out of their present misfortunes than by
submitting to them tamely and giving up the glory of their house as a
bad job. The audacious proposal first took their breath away, and then
took possession of them. They would have their revenge; and here was a
way open to them. It scarcely occurred to any but the experienced
seniors that there would be any difficulty in making Ainger's bold
predictions true. Arthur for instance, having heard it publicly
announced that he was about to win the Swift Exhibition, thought and
behaved as if the prize were already in his hands.
"Twenty pounds a-year for three years," said he complacently, to his
ally. "Not a bad pot. Tell you what, Dig, well get a tandem tricycle,
my boy, with the first year's money. Hope they'll pay it in advance,
don't you? then we can get it after break-up, and have some ripping
spins in the summer holidays. Better fun than fooling about in
Switzerland with Marky and Daisy. We'll either get that, or I know a
jolly little boat Punter has for sale at Teddington, with a towing-line
and double sculls, and a locker under the stern seat for grub. He
wanted £22 for it, but I expect he'll come down the £2 for ready money.
Perhaps it would be better to buy it this summer, and get the tricycle
with next year's money. I've a good mind to write to Punter to-night."
"Hadn't you better get the Exhibition first?" suggested the baronet.
"Of course I mean to get it," said Arthur, rather nettled; "I fancy
Ainger's as good a judge of what a chap can do in that line as you are."
"I don't know," replied Dig; "he said _I_ was going to get the History
Medal, but I'm not so sure if I shall."
"Well, I did think he was letting out a bit when he said that," replied
Arthur, with a chuckle. "Never mind, we'll go halves in the
Exhibition."
It must be admitted that the prospect of his coming academical success
did not appreciably affect Arthur Herapath's studies during the present
term. Four-and-a-half months is a long time to look ahead in a
schoolboy's career; and, as it happened, the captain's speech had
suggested other matters in the immediate future, which for the time
being absorbed not only Arthur's attention but everyone else's.
That evening, a list of events for the House sports was exhibited on the
common room door, with space below each for the names of intending
competitors. It was noticed that the list corresponded in every
particular with the list of the School sports to be held a week earlier,
and that the compiler (who was detected by the handwriting to be
Barnworth) had already written in brackets the names of those who had
entered for each of the events in the School sports. Every one,
therefore, in Railsford's, could see, not only what he was going in for,
but who the competitors were whom he was expected to beat.
A good beginning had already been made before the list came under the
notice of the juniors. For the High Jump, which this year, for some
reason or other, had been looked forward to as one of the principal
events, the signature of Barnworth stood boldly underneath the dreaded
names of Smedley and Clipstone. More than that, Wake, too, had entered
himself in the lists against these great competitors. The entries for
the Mile were scarcely less interesting. Smedley was to run for the
School, and, still more formidable, the long-legged Branscombe. Against
them now appeared the names of Ainger and Stafford, and the plucky
Ranger of the Fifth, and so on down the list, for all the big events,
the prefects and the redoubtable Fifth-form "muggers" of Railsford's had
set their challenge, and the hearts of the juniors swelled big within
them as they crowded round the board to write their names against the
lesser contests.
Arthur and the baronet adopted the simple and modest method of entering
themselves for everything; and it was not till Maple hinted something
about the entrance fees mounting up to about a sovereign a-piece that
they drew in their horns and limited their ambitions to the long jump
under fifteen, the junior hurdle race, and the quarter-mile under
sixteen. The other Shell-fish followed suit. Tilbury, of course, put
himself down for throwing the cricket-ball under fifteen. Indeed, some
of his admirers thought he might even venture to throw against the
seniors; only Felgate already had his name down for that event.
Dimsdale undertook the hundred yards under fifteen against several
strong opponents; and, on the whole, among them, the boys of the Shell
contrived to make a strong show on the list for every event within their
reach. When the turn came for the Babies, they evinced equal spirit,
and divided the list among them with a fierceness which augured ill for
the Babies of the other houses whose claims they challenged.
Ainger and Barnworth strolled down later on to examine the list, and now
suggested a few alterations. The baronet for instance, was called upon
to enter for the second class of kicking the football contest, and
Arthur was moved from the quarter-mile to the half-mile, because a good
man was wanted there to beat Smythe, of the School-House, whereas
Sherriff could very well be trusted to take care of the quarter-mile for
Railsford's house.
Mr Railsford presently arrived on the scene, and went into the whole
programme enthusiastically, and in a way which won him friends among the
boys, more even than his reputed authorship of the Bickers outrage had
lately done. He invited any boys who chose during the next few days to
try over their event in his presence, and suggested that a record of the
times should be carefully kept, with a view to ensure that each trial
should beat the last.
More than that, he offered a prize for the best all-round record in the
house; and proposed that, although they were not rich enough to give
prizes for each event, any boy who beat the School record in his
competition should receive back his entrance fee. This practical
suggestion gave much satisfaction.
"Of course," said he, to one or two of those round him, "it is harder to
run against time than against another fellow. You must make up your
minds for that; and I would advise you to try to get the two best in our
house to enter for each event, so as to get the spur of a close race.
Our times are sure to be the better for it."
Boys liked him for that word "our." It sounded like a common cause, and
they were quick to hail the first symptom of such feeling in a master.
The next fortnight witnessed a smart athletic fever in the house. Of
course, it soon spread abroad what Railsford's was up to, and the School
form generally improved in consequence. In fact, when the day arrived
for the School sports, it was generally felt that Grandcourt had rarely
come on to the ground better up to the mark. Alas! Grandcourt came on
to the ground in two halves, and on two different days. When the boys
of the school-House, Roe's, Bickers's, and Grover's turned out to the
starting-post, Railsford's, chafing like greyhounds in the leash, turned
in to their penitential dinner.
"Never mind," said Ainger, as the distant shouts were wafted from the
playing-fields into the common room, "it will be our turn to-day week!"