The Pothunters

while Welch was deep in a book and refused to be drawn out of it under any pretext. Charteris' banjo was the joy of his fellows and the bane of his House-master.

e saw fit to play the banjo before prep, only, and regarded the hours between seven and eleven as a close time, all should be forgiven, and he might play, if so disposed, till the crack of doom. To this reasonable request Charteris had promptly acceded, and peace had been restored. Charteris and Welch were a curious pair. Welch spoke very little. Charteris was seldom silent. They were both in the Sixth--Welch high up, Charteris rather lo

clever periodical, and rarely failed to bring him in at least ten shillings per number, after deducting the expenses which the College bookseller, who acted as sole agent, did his best to make as big as possible. Only a very few of the elect knew the identity of the editor, and they were bound to strict secrecy. On the day before the publication of each number, a notice was placed

the best. It was a _Punch_ dinner, only more so, for these teas were celebrated with musical honours, and Charteris on the

club!' he chanted, fixing the unconsc

es

c club, it isn't mine. Put down th

id Welch, burrow

s say,' said Charteris

r between them they wrote most of what was left of the magazine when Charteris had done with it. There was only one other contributor, Jack

he table. Welch, you worm, away with melancholy. Take away his book, somebody. That's right. Who says what? Tea already made. Coffee published shortly. If anybody wants cocoa, I've got some, only you'll ha

. Charteris was called the Alderman on account of his figure, which w

off till to

Welch to run, too, if he eats this sort of

goodness, my little entertainment's over. I think

could win the hundred and the quarter on

your right. What is a fifth of a second more or less that it should make a man insult his digestion as Welch does? You'll hardly credit it, but for the last three weeks or more I have been forced

th, and then, just as he thinks he's going to score, a burglar with a sense of humour strolls

example of what comes of training,'

s seem to think I've committed some sort of crime, just bec

ing his chances of the quarter rather rocky, hired on

h knows some jolly low

elf,' said Tony, judicially. 'I wond

his asked me to keep an eye on him.

s to refute this hideous sla

rds at the "Blue Lion" is that gin makes him ill and

sation with a jerk, 'I don't much care if the cups are

going to take the high moral standpoint, and desc

out those pots,' sai

he Pav. a safe place to keep a lot of valuable prizes in should be allowe

. Save them carting the things over to

ould say,' observed Jackson, 'I could bre

hour on the morning of the second of April--that's today--when his eye was attracted by an excavation or incision in one of the windows of that imposing edifice. His narrative appears on another page. Interviewed by a _Glow Worm_ representative, Master Robinson, who is a fine, healthy, bronzed y

on another page,' said Jim

er trust a photo to caricature a perso

ything else was bagged bes

I know of,

son, had left some money in the pocket of his blazer, which he had left in

hole of lunch. He was an abnormally wealthy individual, however, and it was generally fel

ch?' as

pou

amation which Mr Barry Pain calls

dear sir. We blush for you. Might I as

hesi

keep it dark all right.' And Jim entered once again

d, 'this two pound busine

ee why,' s

to a fellow at school. So that I should find it much harder to prove that I didn't

ove anything,' said Tony. 'There's not the

no evidence from us. It is, of course, very distressing, but what is man after all? Are we not as the beast

m from the cit

up in uniform

rom the ceiling, and Merevale came up, and the