The Gold Bat

block a day before the date of the fixture. Both first and second fifteens had matches on the Thursday of

that Bryce had left, he thought he might have a chance of getting into the second. His only real rival, he considered, was Crawford, of the School House, who was the other wing three-quarter of the third fifteen. The first name he saw on the l

ther wing three-quarter was Rand-Brown. If Rand-Brown w

ed at t

ing his name on the list of the first fifteen. There it was, however, as large as life. "M. Barry." Separated from the rest by a thin red line, but still there.

" said Ba

h. He turned to Barry, and imparted his discovery to him in the

said, "your name

w. Com

ou're not playing

Well, if you aren'

look h

r a moment's pause, M'Todd followed him.

up?" he

g," sai

out not playing

N

lly. Come and

sorrow that could not be cured by the internal applicati

suggestion. "I can't afford to get mys

u aren't p

ing for the first.

worked very rapidly. "What ab

rstand? You are an idiot. Rand-Brown's playing

you'r

for him to play with success for the first fifteen. He refrained owing to a conviction that the remark would not be wholly judic

passing. It'll do you a lot of good, and I want to practise taking passes at ful

tting along at his ordinary pace--fi

passing back to my centre. Paget used to do it awfully well last term, and I know T

e at all. He proposed a slig

er get somebody

" said Barry. "You want

to devote what time remained before lock-up to practising drop-kicking. It was a painful alternative that faced M'Todd. His allegiance to Barry demanded that he should consent to the scheme. On the other hand, his allegiance to afternoon tea--equally strong--called him back to the house, where there was ca

uck went he had enough for two, and when the whistle blew for no-side he had not let Paget through once, and Trevor felt that his inclusion in the team had been justified. There was another scratch game on the Saturday. Barry played in it, and did much better. Paget had gone away by an early train, and the man he had to mark now was one of the masters, who had been good in his time, but was getting a trifle old for football. Barry scored twice, and on one occasion, by passing back to Trevor after the manner of P

Clowes came chuckling to Trevor's study after pre

heard of the Le

r pon

hink so,"

e you been at

five years at the end

ere a couple of terms longer than you, and t

was th

ans, and could never find out where they came from. At first, as a matter of fact, the thing was quite a philanthropical concern. There used to be a good

it

ot worth living used to go about as nervous as cats, looking over their shoulders every other second. There was one man in particu

the Leagu

house by the way--offended them in some way, and one morning he was found tied up in the bath, up to his neck in cold water. Apparently he'd been there about an hour. He got pneumonia, and almost died, and then the authorities began to get going.

hat were you going to

's been

ot

u know Mill, a pref

by s

y's been wrecked. You never saw such a sight. Everything

in Seymour's," said Trevor. "Any

. He's just the sort of man

it's been revived, all th

is does. Mill found

y visiting card. On it, in neat print, were th

they used to use," said Clowes. "I've see

t. He's bound to get caught some time or other, and then out he goes.

will take jolly good care he isn't ca

nt off to

fast, he found a letter by his plate. It was printed, as the card had been. It was signed "The President of the