Acton's Feud: A Public School Story

tly accurate, perhaps, two topics of interest in the school-who wo

n't the door-mat upon which any one might wipe his feet before proceeding into the inner circles of the house

Corker's house in the final. This was a resurrected house with a vengeance! Corker's had had a bye in the first round and had been drawn against rather rickety houses since, but they were generally fanc

e Perry Exhibition was to be announced on the evening of the same day, so t

superlative in the housers' final-and that five minutes from time the score was "one all." Then Acton showed the school a stroke of genius. He brought Raven out from centre-forward, where he was quite unable to cope with Bourne, whispered him to go "back" with Worcester, and before any one could realize what was h

eached It Wi

r to Chalmers, who was hungrily waiting for the pass out on the touch-line. Chalmers waltzed beautifully for the short run almost to the corner flag. He steadied himself for one instant after his run, and then lifted the b

won by three

rly scared Dame Biffen out of her wits by the "whisp

e hospital, for there was no end of excitement. Was this to be another Biffen's triumph? Was Raven of the Fifth to beat Hodgson, the chosen of the Sixth, for the Perry? It was not

serried ranks, the whole fifty of them, fr

ire mass of fellows kept a death-like silence. "The result

ur Raven,

re Hodgson,

ernon Robert To

e all cheered for Raven, who scored a popular and unexpected victory, for why should a Fifth

Todd"-we all yelled with laughter as Dr. Moore scrambled in hot haste through Todd's awful list of names, but were again quiet when he dropped his eye-glasses from his eagle's beak, a sure si

pale to the lips, but his voice was clear and unh

Corker. "Say a wo

on if I had not had Acton's help. I owe the winning of the Exhibition entirely to him, for he has read the whole of the classics with me

und and beamed on Biffen, whose good-nature

s fortunate in having Acton, and St. Amory such a good

d with delight, carried Raven and Acton s

but loafed about with Cotton as usual, and piffled with the work for the Exhibition. As a last-lap spurt, he had, in the last week or so, desperately stuffed himself with cunning tips leading twistingly to nowhere. Never had any one faced a serious examination with such a rag-bag of

orry and miserable wretch. Cotton had, being rather riled at his chum's temper for the last month, hinted, in unmistakable terms, that the debt was to be paid on return after holidays. Tod

or knocked at the door once, twice, thrice, and Todd heard him not. The house master came in and surveyed the bowed form of poor Gus with a good-

suppose you were thinkin

etting the master a chair, "and, as

es

ful ass I'v

epitome of all that's wise this term. It was on that very subject th

blankly int

il he felt very much like a damp, damaged gamp, and about as helpless. One by one he took him through the catalogue of the aimless, stupid, footling performances in the term, and Gus blankly wondered how the dickens Taylor knew quite so much of his doings, He felt that the house master was not a bad imitation of Corker on

urple at this

e I am; I am not quit

Moore, however, is somewhat out of patienc

d Todd, with gl

coming back next term, when you will have the chance of showing that that awfu

itterly, "I

Taylor, "and I believe y

night,

shirts were his deadly enemies. But there was a square, determined thrust-out of hi