Mike

e heady than success, and if it comes before we are prepared for it, it is apt to throw us off our balance. As a rule, at school, years of wholesome obscurity make us read

m conceited, for his was not a nature at all addicted to conceit. The effect it had on him was to make him excessively pleased with life. And when Mi

rebels automatically against such interference in his concerns; but Bob did not know this. He only knew that he had received a letter from home, in which his mother had assumed without evidence that he was leading Mike by the hand round the pitfalls of life at Wrykyn; and his conscience smo

brothers in the presence of their elders, and stared in silence at the photographs on the walls

ea was the cue f

you getting o

right," s

le

?" ask

s," sa

many

, pl

ak

ank

le

d himself

e Wa

ppi

th to keep an eye

" said

the Gazeka being told to keep

fter you," added Bob

m!! M. Jackson, of

another chunk of cake

said. "I can look after m

or the entry of the

said, "I'm only sayi

o go about the world telling people things solely for the

aid Mike

eye on myself if I were you. There's nothi

mean?" said M

, you've got on so well at cricket, in the third and so on, there's just a chance you might start to side about a b

he jam; while Bob, satisfied that he had delivered his message in a pleasant an

h Wyatt a good deal

" sai

ke

id Mike c

n't--I mean, I should take care

do you

lly good chap, of c

ll w

et, but if you go on breaking rules you're bound to be sooner or later. Thing is, it doesn't matter much for him, because he's leaving at the end of the term. But don't let him drag you int

but tact did not enter gre

ot!" sa

gess has shoved you down for them. You'd better be going and changing. Stick

injury. It was maddening to be treated as an infant wh

ielding in the deep, soothed his ruffled feelings to a large extent;

s and front teeth, met Mi

he said. (Mike disliked being called

-Smith, having deposited his cricket-bag in a corner of the room and examined h

ll about you, young

counts." Mike could not think of anything

s asked me to ke

in. He was just at the age when one is most se

rror again. "You'll get on all right if you behave yourself. Don't make a frightful

asure of flinging a chair at the head of the house. Overcoming this

nd all that sort of thing. He dropped off to sleep full of half-formed plans for asserting himself. He was awakened from a dream in which he was batting against Firby-Smith

aid. "Is that

yatt. "Sorry if I've sp

ou goi

n the wing just now. Mustn't miss a chance like this. S

can't I

ithout an air-pistol, would

r, they're bound to ask if you've ever been out as well as me. Then you'll be able to put your hand

nk you will

e you are. Go to sleep and dream that you're p

ted on the window-sill, wriggled out. M

rk. He turned over on his side and shut his eyes, but he had never felt wider awake. Twice he heard the quarters chime from the school clock; and the second time he gave up the st

garden. He would have given much to be with him, but he realised that he was

had been said about exploring inside the house. It was quite late now. Everybody would be in bed. It would be quite safe. And there must be all sorts of things to interest the

etly out of

to the left, and up a few more stairs at the end. The beauty of the position was that the dining-room had two doors, one leading in

at door; then, turning up the incandesce

from the box, feeling that he was doing himself well. This was Life. There was a little soda-water in the syphon. He finished it. As it swi

more biscuits

ing a new man, he

where the t

all gramophone. And gramophones hap

ave been in a particularly reckless mood, as indeed he was. The fact remains that he

nnounced that Mr. Godfrey Field would sing "The Quaint Old Bird.

Aldershot in a P

d and dra

s (sang Mr. Field

is there?" inquired the voice. Mike recognised it as Mr. Wain's. He was not alarmed. The man who holds the ace of trumps has no need to be alarmed. Hi

g the room, found that the occupant had retired by way of the boys' part of the house, he might possibly obtain a clue to his i

ng as the frontal attack was kept up, there was no ch

as, to date, the most exciting episode of his life; but he must not overdo the thing, and get caught. At any moment the noise might bring reinforcements to the besieging force, though it was not l

this? Suppose he'd been after somebody's jewels, and found that they we

wer was

r out," th

s later he

im, and he sat up, breathless. Suppose Wain took it into his head to make a tour of the dormitories, to see that all was well! W