Head of Kay's

Kay's right, feeling thateveryone was looking at him, as indeed they were. He understood forthe first time the me

ith regard to his newhouse-master at this t

a riotous fag atthe other end of the table, that youth having succeeded, by adexterous drive in the ribs, in making a friend of his spill half acup of coffee. Kennedy did not know whether

as he did so, certain diatribes of Fenn's against thefood at Kay's. As he became more intimate with the sausage, headmitted to himself that Fenn had had reason. Mr Kay meanwhile poundedaway in m

xuriously, but he refused to bravethe

ivedsome ten minutes later, when Kennedy had vanquished the sausag

with such unhesitatingrapidity that Mr Kay glared at him as if about to take up the cudgelsfor the rejected viand. Perhaps he remembered that it scarcelybefitted the dignity of a hous

the matter, and, if he had been, would have refusedthe post with horror; but nevertheless the situation might cause acoolness between them. And if Fenn, the

tletable talk at Kay's. Perhaps the quality of the food suggested

nedy followed him,and opened conversation in his dir

now Ididn't want to bag your place as head of the house.""My

oft job that one is keen on sticking

. Still, I'm jolly gladit's happened. I now retire into private life, and look on. I've takenyears off my life sw

t you're still a house prefect, I suppose?""I believe so, Kay couldn't ver

gs? He thinks I can't keep order. Surely you don't want meto go and shatter his pet beliefs? Anyhow, I'm not going to do it. I'mgoing to play 'villagers and retainers' to your 'hero'. If you doanything wonderful with the h

been as close friends as you could wish to see. If he had askedFenn to help him in a tight place then, he knew he could have reliedon

n when he was just going todrink it?" inquire

ee that I'mcalled upon to go out of my way to work for him.""It's rather rough on me--" Kennedy began. Then a sudden indignationru

e looking on,you'd better look on. I'll give you something to look at soon."He went out, leaving Fenn with mixed feelings. He would have liked tohave followed him, taken back what he had said, and formed anoffensive alliance against the black sheep of the house--

that Kay's had been abominably treated, and that the deposition ofFenn must not be tolerated. Unfortunately, a house cannot do very mu

e in for allthe odium. The same fags who had cheered Fenn hooted him on oneoccasion as he passed the junior dayroom. Kennedy stopped short, wentin, and presented each inmate of the room with six cu

e--snub Kennedy and pay a stately compliment to Fenn by applyingto

head ofthe house, and of no other, there was a suggestiveness

ude underhand attempts to sap Kennedy's authority. When Gorrick,of the Lower Fourth, the first of the fags to put the ingenious schemeinto practice, came to him, still smarting from Kennedy's castigation,Fenn promptly gave him six more cuts, worse than the first, and

by jeering Jimmy Silver from the safety of thetouchline when the head of Blackburn's was refereeing in a matchbetween the juniors of his house and those of Ka

t; "there's no false ideaof politeness about them. If they don't like your decisions, they sayso in a shrill tre