Ex Libris
C. K. OGDEN
IN CARRINGTON'S DUTY-WEEK
IN CARRINGTON'S
DUTY-WEEK
A PRIVATE SCHOOL EPISODE
BY
JOHN GAMBRIL NICHOLSON
LONDON
JOHN OUSELEY LTD.
FLEET LANE, FARRINGDON STREET, E.G.
OF W. A. M.
Unmarked by him his days of boyhood pass,
His golden days unvexed of sighs and tears ;
But he shall see them in the coming years
Reflected clearly in my memory's glass :
For him they bloom and wither as the grass ;
Their matchless melody he no more hears
Than he can comprehend my hopes and fears,
Or why I cannot always smile, alas !
But he will like to hear what I can tell
Some day when time has strengthened sympathies
About his misty schoolboy memories ;
And then perchance, enlightened by their spell,
Will understand it all, and say, " How well
You must have loved me to remember this \ !J
J. G. N,
1892
1824732
CONTENTS
PAGE
PROLOGUE . . . . .11
CHAPTER
I. SUNDAY ..... 14
II. MONDAY . . . . .38
III. TUESDAY ..... 63
IV. WEDNESDAY . . . .94
V. THURSDAY . . . . .113
VI. FRIDAY ..... 149
VII. SATURDAY . . . . .171
In Carrington's Duty Week
PROLOGUE
MR CARRINGTON was entirely responsible
for the whole affair, so he may be fitly
allowed to explain in his own words why
he, so to speak, threw Mason and Burrell
into one another's arms.
" Oh, Roper !— just a minute ! "
Mr Roper was in the act of closing the
door behind him as he went out. He turned
back and stood on the threshold, with his
hand on the handle.
" I forgot to tell you something," con-
tinued Carrington.
" Well, come on then ; it'll be Sunday
morning in exactly two minutes," and Roper
consulted his watch.
" Oh, it won't take one to tell. What
do you think I've done to that new boy,
Burrell ? "
In Carrington's Duty Week
"Don't know. Not marked him
already ? "
" Oh, no. I've handed him over to
Mason."
Carrington looked at his colleague in-
quisitively to note how he received the
announcement, but Roper merely lifted
his eyebrows.
"What for?" he asked.
" Experiment ! " replied Carrington,
knocking the ashes out of his pipe. "While
I was talking to the new boy about his
books just before bed-time, Master Coley
turned up, so I asked for fun if they knew
each other."
" Why, of course they do, since Burrell's
gone to Number Thirteen."
"Yes, I'd forgotten that at first.
Burrell said, ' Not very well,' all the same.
So I formally introduced them and said,
with a great affectation of gravity, that
Coley must look after the new chap's in-
terests, now he's lost his old chum."
"Ah, I don't know what'll become of
Coley without Lloyd."
In Carrington's Duty Week
"That's what I thought; I said I'd
ask him in a week's time how he'd carried
out my behests, and sent them up together.
They both took me to be in deadly earnest."
" Well, if you ask me, I say he won't
make another Lloyd of this new boy ;
he's too volatile to suit Coley, from what
I've seen of the young man."
Roper turned to go.
" Oh, Mason's full of life, too ; more
so than you think. Well, good-night, if
you're bent on going."
Then Carrington returned to his book,
and rolled a cigarette, just to finish up
with, soon forgetting these two boys on
whom he had jocularly enjoined the duty
of a week's chumming.
CHAPTER I
SUNDAY
"HAVEN'T we got to get up now, Mason ? "
Burrell was looking at his watch which
hung on the bedstead-rail over his head.
Mason was occupying himself in pulling
up the blind of the window in his corner ;
he could reach the cord without even sitting
up in bed, but the blind came down every
time he pulled it up.
" Oh, don't you disturb yourself just
yet," he answered, giving up his fruitless
efforts, and drawing the sheets over his
shoulders.
" But it's past eight," remonstrated the
new boy.
"Well, never mind; the bell hasn't
rung, or I should have heard it. It takes
more than two mornings to get into the
good old habits."
" What, of being punctual with the bells,
In Carrington's Duty Week
Coley ? " inquired a third boy who had
awoke to the situation.
" So it seems," replied Coley. " I didn't
mean that, all the same ; I meant of
sleeping through the beastly row that bell
makes."
" Pull up the blind, Coley."
" Oh, I can't fag ; it won't stay up :
gone wrong in the holidays like everything
else. Here, Lewis, wake up and draw
that blind of yours."
Mason^accompanied his command with|!a
pillow, which effectually roused the boy
who slept near the other window.
" Shut up, Coley ! " he grumbled, lazily
shoving the missile down on the floor.
" Well, I'll show you it's a fine morning,
anyhow," said Coley, dragging at the cord
once more, and holding on to it a second
or two. " There, you see ! Prime, ain't
it?"
It was a sunny morning, and things
looked very bright outside ; the trees in the
school garden were fresh and green in their
early Spring foliage, and the blue sky was
15
In Carrington's Duty Week
flecked with fleecy white cloudlets, driven
across it at a good pace by the breeze.
Some birds twittered loudly under the eaves.
There was just time to take a peep at all
this before the boy's effort expired, and down
came the blind again.
" Shall I fix it ? "
Burrell asked the question, and, without
waiting for any answer, tumbled out and
went across to the window.
" How beastly energetic ! It's awfully
good of you, really," drawled a big boy,
whose bed stood next to Burrell's.
" Here, I say, mind my Sunday shirt,
will you ? " cried Mason, as Burrell pre-
pared to clamber on the chair at his
bedside.
" All right, I won't stand on it," said the
operator, and he got on the edge of the
chair, and stood on tip-toe to reach the
catch at the top of the blind-cord. Coley
watched the proceeding lazily for a moment;
then sprang up with a cry of :
" Look out, Burrell."
The boy on whom Coley 's pillow had
16
In Carrington's Duty Week
descended had summoned up sufficient
energy to hurl it at Burrell's head ; warned
by the cry he turned and saw it coming,
tried to duck, and slipped off the edge of
the chair, bringing Coley down with him
in his fall, while the refractory blind clat-
tered down also, with more noise than
ever.
The other four boys roared. Burrell
regained his feet and began apologising.
" I'm awfully sorry, Mason ! "
Coley was lying atop of the pillow,
which he had caught just before it reached
his new chum, and taken down beneath him.
Now he raised it up, and stood a moment
in very determined attitude, with his lips
compressed. Lewis was shielding himself
with his arm, and giving expression to his
usual remonstrance, " Shut up ! Shut up,
will you ! " But Coley contented himself
after all with plumping the pillow down in
its proper place at the head of his own
bed, and getting back between the sheets
again. Burrell was left to do the same,
and to settle within his own mind the
B I7
In Carrington's Duty Week
cause of the sudden cessation of hostilities,
which took him by surprise as much as the
commencement of them had done. He
fixed up the blind successfully this time,
and was getting down to the ground before
anyone had spoken another word. Then
it was Coley who broke the silence.
" Look there now ! "
He was examining his precious shirt
as he lay half in, half out of bed, and
ruefully held out a creased cuff for Burrell's
inspection. At that moment the bell rang,
and he turned out in search of his socks
with a melo-dramatic threat of, " I'll murder
you, Lewis ! " One other boy got out at
the same time ; that was Thorn, the
prefect of the room. The prefects, as
Burrell soon discovered, were on the whole
worse than useless. Having punitive
powers, they yet seemed to have mutually
agreed never to exert them ; consequently,
their influence, as Uncle Remus would
have said, " was powerful lacking." In
Number Thirteen, Thorn was not altogether
a failure ; he set an excellent example,
18
In Carrington's Duty Week
though it was seldom backed up by any
show of authority. Burrell was astonished
to see that Lewis was allowed to spend
twenty minutes more in bed, and scramble
into his clothes in the last five — he often
did it himself in after days !
When the second bell rang, Coley and
Burrell went down together.
" Come down and put your boots on,"
suggested the pioneer. " We've loads of
time, and there's such a crush at the boot-
holes after breakfast. Besides, then you're
ready to get off at once if you want to
walk before Church-assembly. I almost
always go out then ; there's nothing else
to do except write home ; lots of chaps
do that, but I shall get my letter done after
tea to-day, as we're not allowed out yet
in the evening."
" But you asked me for before dinner,"
said Burrell.
" Yes, I know; I forgot I shouldn't have
to write my letter first thing. You'd better
corne with me both times. After dinner I'm
planned with Victor Limehouse, so I can't
In Carrington's Duty Week
promise you that period. I've got all my
afternoon periods planned already. Look
here ! "
They had been in undisputed possession
of the boot-room, but as Burrell glanced
over a page of Coley's pocket-book several
more boys came in. One of them said,
" Carrington's gone in ! " Whereat every-
body scuttled upstairs.
" He'll give marks if we're late ; nobody
else would to-day, though," explained Coley.
" But we were called late," said Burrell.
" Ah, yes ; but Carrington rung the
second bell, and that means just five
minutes, and not a second over, with him."
When the two boys entered the school-
room, Mr Carrington was on the dais, and
his eye on the clock. Mason and Burrell
had no time to spare, but were just safe,
and the new boy turned down to the desk
he was occupying for the time being, at
the very bottom of the room. Coley sat
in the third row from the front, and went
to his place with a downward glance at
his feet : had his laces been untied he
20
In Carrington's Duty Week
would have been sent back, and that
would almost certainly mean a mark at
this critical moment. His boots were all
right ; they usually were, but he had
been so busy chatting to his new chum,
that he wasn't sure about them for once.
As he lifted his eyes, in squeezing to his
seat, he saw an amused look flicker over
Mr Carrington's face for half-a-second.
Coley didn't quite know what it meant ;
at any rate, it would be safe to smile ;
so he smiled. Next minute it was, "Shut
the door, Paul!"
The boy sitting nearest the door rose and
shut it reluctantly ; he saw two late-
comers scurrying round the corner of the
corridor, and would fain have given them
a chance. Just as the door closed, they
reached it, and before Paul had sat down
again came in, trying to look as if they'd
never run a step in their lives. But Mr
Carrington's pencil was making cabalistic
marks in his red book which would identify
them when the detention-list was being
made up at dinner-time on Monday. One
In Carrington's Duty Week
of the new-comers was the elder Limehouse ;
he took the trouble to remark in a defer-
ential tone, " Bell rang late, sir ; " but his
face, as he went to his seat, showed that
he knew he had wasted his labour. There
were five or six more to come, and almost
as soon as all were in, the gong sounded,
and " Silence ! " was called. Then they
passed out, form by form, to breakfast.
The master moved down as the rows of
desks emptied, till he stood in the middle
of the room opposite the door, where he
could get a back-view of the boys going in
single-file along the corridor. There was a
prefect stationed outside, but some of the
prefects needed a little support in this
way. Burrell was the very last boy oat,
and as Mr Carrington followed close on
his heels, the master gave him a gentle
recognition of their over-night conversa-
tion, in the shape of a hand laid on the back
of the boy's neck, helping him along with a
mild squeeze. Burrell did not feel called
upon to speak, as he was not addressed ;
besides, it was " silence," and this might
In Carrington's Duty Week
be a trap to catch a greenhorn ! So he
held his voluble tongue for once.
Once in the dining-hall, he made his way
to Mr Shields's table, and took a seat beside
Mason; he had sat at that table, though
not next his new chum, at every meal so
far, and this time the chair had been kept
vacant for him. But it would not be for
long ; the rule was to sit according to age,
and the new boys were daily expecting
enquiries as to the day and year of their
birth.
They were not allowed to talk until
after prayers ; most of them had their
Bibles with them, and were finding the
place. On Sundays there was always a
Psalm, the verses being read by the Head
and the boys alternately ; on other days
the Head had it all to himself. Burrell
had no Bible, but Coley pushed his along
so that they could both look on. Then
Mr Rochester came in, fairly late as was
usual on Sundays, and went to the high-
table. When the reading began, Burrell
discovered that his chum's Bible was the
23
In Carrington's Duty Week
revised version, and the Head's was the
authorised ; so that neither of those two
boys, at any rate, took much part in the
reading. Nor did very many of the others ;
Mr Carrington kept them going or there
would have been nobody to get the alternate
verses started.
Almost before they were up again, after
the prayers, Coley had commenced chatter-
ing, and the two neighbours kept up a
lively conversation during the meal. Boys
went out when they had finished, and on
week-days some of them were in a terrible
hurry, but on Sundays nobody profited
much by getting out, and everybody liked
to wait for the letters. The prefect for
the week fetched them from the Head's
table, and distributed them. This Sunday
the post-bag was not so heavy as usual,
as the fellows had only come back two days
before. Still, Burrell had one from his
mother, and put it in his pocket to read at
his leisure.
After breakfast, " Sunday-books " were
given out in the library, but our two friends
24
In Carrington's Duty Week
decided that they wanted no literature
that day ; and five minutes after coming
out of the hall they were off to the shore.
Here they had a stroll along the margin
of the water till it was time to go back for
Church-assembly ; at least half the fellows
in the Upper School were on the beach, and
the other half, roughly speaking, might have
been found in the woods.
" Look at my shoes," said Burrell rue-
fully, as they came back up the hill.
" Pooh ! it doesn't matter," replied Coley.
" I'm wondering how you're to walk with
me to Church ; I'm in the first division,
and if you sit right down at the bottom
of the schoolroom, you'll get out with the
second. You'd better ask Carrington
which division you're in. Or shall I ? "
Burrell deputed his friend to the knotty
question, but they went to the masters'
room together. Coley asked, and Mr Car-
rington only sent him out with, " Don't
you worry yourself, my son. I'll settle it."
And after the bell had rung for the
assembly, and every boy was in his place,
25
In Carrington's Duty Week
the master walked down the room ; and,
while critically scanning hats, boots, gloves
and the like, said to each of the new boys,
" First division ! " " Second division ! " ac-
cording to the height of the boy. So Burrell
was able to go, when the first division was
ordered off, and Mr Roper made no ob-
jection that morning to his walking with
Mason though the new-comer was half-a-
head shorter than his comrade.
The School sat at the very back of the
Church, occupying about ten rows of chairs
on both sides of the aisle, and there was
nothing to interest them during the service,
except a small boy going to sleep in the
front row, and the Head trotting down the
aisle after taking up his collection-bag. The
little man had a ludicrous habit of pumping
the air with his right arm as he walked,
and Coley nudged and winked till Burrell
observed it and grinned.
They had to march up to School again
in rank, and then there was a general rush
for grub. Boys stood about just inside
the gates with mouths full ; they were
26
In Carrington's Duty Week
forbidden to go out eating. At last the
two chums were fairly filled with a mixture
of their respective tuck, and went to the
woods. They had to scamper back like
hares to be in time for dinner-assembly,
the bell ringing when they were a quarter
of a mile away. But it was done safely,
and if they had no time to go below for a
wash, it didn't much matter ; most of them
were used to doing without it. Coley had,
like many boys, a brush in his desk, and
under cover of the lid uplifted he managed
to smooth his hair without being nabbed by
Carrington. Tf^
After dinner, Burrell stayed in, waiting
until the senior Bible-class came on. Coley
had impressed upon him the great advan-
tage of being in this class ; while the juniors
were in, after breakfast, he had been free
to wander about ; but while the seniors
were in, the unfortunate juniors were under
supervision. Burrell would have liked to
write his letter home before class, but saw
nobody else doing so ; he therefore mouched
about the Fifth class-room trying to make the
27
In Carrington's Duty Week
acquaintance of some of the chaps. Jimmy
Limehouse was showing his holiday photo-
graphs, and later on Blackhurst brought
his out, which were a much superior
set.
At tea Coley and Burr ell had a good
time ; both took in full jampots which
came out empty, and both did a large
amount of excited conversation. At tea,
prefects sat at the top of the tables
instead of masters, the latter being at the
Head's table, for Mr Rochester never came
in to tea. He was supposed to come in to
take prayers, though, before they dispersed,
and on Sundays he rarely missed the duty.
While tea progressed there was a good
deal of noise ; the prefects were very lax
in singling out offenders, and the diffi-
culty of doing it from the high-table was
extraordinary. The boys knew this.
" Do you see ? " Coley explained to
Burrell, who was looking up the hall,
" every one of those masters is ready to
speak to Gerrans if he can spot a boy's
voice, and yet not one of us gets spotted.
28
In Carrington's Duty Week
The only thing Gerrans can do is to
silence the whole lot, and he won't do that
to-night. He's got Pinky, though ! "
A small youth was slowly going up to
the dais from the table nearest it, and
stood beside Mr Gerrans with downcast
eyes, while the master questioned him.
Whatever his answers were, they gave
immense amusement to the whole staff,
and our two friends judged by the appear-
ance of those masters who sat with their
faces to the boys that their efforts to re-
press laughing were costing them something.
But Gerrans was, outwardly, grave as a
judge, and though a tentative smile once
flickered round the corners of " Pinky 's "
mouth, it didn't last long. Between the
intervals of buttering his toast (as his
manner was) the master delivered sentence,
and " Pinky " retired to a corner of the
room with his face to the wall, and re-
mained there until prayer-time.
" See how riled Thorn looks ? " asked
Coley, designating with a motion of his
head the prefect of their bedroom, who
29
In Carrington's Duty Week
presided that evening at the small boys'
table.
" What for ? " asked Burrell.
" Why, he ought to have spoken to that
kid, and saved Gerrans from having to inter-
fere. It would have saved the young 'un two
marks, I'll bet. But they never think of
that."
" Who's the boy ? " Burrell inquired.
" Oh, only F. C. Brown ; he's always in
trouble. And yet he's the most innocent-
looking kid in the school. At any rate,
he's a grand little bat for his size ; he'll
be down for second nets this term if he gets
his rights."
Their conversation drifted into the chan-
nel indicated, till Gerrans rang the bell.
Then they produced their Bibles and stop-
ped talking. The prefects went to their
seats at the first table and the masters
took the places they vacated, except when
the master wasn't staying, when he went out
at the upper door and " his prefect " re-
mained in possession — generally looking
very much injured. At Wright's table
3°
In Carrington's Duty Week
no change was made, Mr Shields going out
when the bell rang. His deputy was trying
not to see his charges, and Coley thought
it quite safe to whisper, " Old Shields
is an awful slacker." It was very skil-
fully done, with an eye fixed on Mr Gerrans
who still stood on the dais, and who
didn't see it this time. Then, Mr Rochester
came in with a tribe of his children ; and
Mr Gerrans, relieved from the possible duty
of chaplain, came down to his table, his
prefect quietly vacating the seat and going
to his own.
In ten minutes, the boys were passing
out, table by table, and Mason andBurrell
retired to their desks in the big school-
room, and wrote their letters till Church-
assembly came on. Then the general cry
was " It's coats ! " and with a great deal
of grumbling and mumbling everybody
went down to fetch up his coat from the
room below, opining that " Carrington was
an ass." As Mr Carrington had received
word on the subject from Mrs Rochester
he didn't care what the fellows thought as
31
In Carrington's Duty Week
he went in, top-hat in hand, to take as-
sembly ; nor what they said, so long as it
didn't reach his ears.
The morning performance was repeated,
and the boys marched off in two long files ;
through the avenue of young saplings,
now wearing their tenderest green, and
out upon the quiet road. There was even-
ing light over the western hills, and the
peaceful stillness was broken only by the
regular tramp-tramp of the boys' feet,
and the monotonous call of the single bell
that the village could boast. Burrell must
have fallen into a dreamy mood ; perhaps
he was contrasting the present calm with
the stir of a Lancashire cot ton -town on a
Sunday evening — its streets thronged with
people, not all church or chapel-goers,
and its twenty steeples rocking with the
clamour of bells. A sharp order of " Bur-
rell, keep step ! " recalled him to his sur-
roundings, and he fell to admiring the
shiny shoes of Phil Lewis, who walked
immediately in front of him. Some boy
in that quarter was talking to his neigh-
s'
In Carrington's Duty Week
bour in a subdued murmur without being
observed, so the new-comer ventured to ask
Coley quietly :
" What time do we get out ? "
His chum only gave him at the time a
side-glance fraught with meaning, but later
on found an opportunity to ejaculate,
"Half-past eight you'll get marked," all
in a breath.
On the return journey, dusk as it had
become, there was almost if not quite
the same silence observed ; the masters
were in the habit of keeping the whole
division in on a Monday for any disorder
in the Sunday night darkness, and nobody
risked anything on this occasion. They
made up for it at supper ; a bell-like chime
was rung upon all the glasses in the hall
until Mr Carrington followed in at the
tail of the long file, and relieved his un-
lucky prefect. And after grace was said
the conversation was " full and high "
for ten minutes ; but each table hushed
up a little as the master passed it in his
patrol of the hall, and his amused affability,
c 33
In Carrington's Duty Week
as he spoke to one and another boy on
his way, showed that he was not in the
least concerned to stop the animated
chatter. They all filed out in excellent
order and perfect silence when he touched
the bell on the high-table and "returned
thanks," and he stood a minute at the door
of the masters' room to watch them fetch
out their hats from the schoolroom, dimly
lighted by one solitary burner at the lower
end. Nobody said " Good-night," as they
were all supposed to be silent till they were
safely inside the bedroom doors, but com-
rades contrived to go upstairs in pairs
as a kind of protest.
Carrington was not on dormitory-duty ;
Roper was, and his voice was heard in the
corridor just as his colleague flung himself in-
to a chair, glad to get the hated Sunday-duty
over. Victor Limehouse, the library monitor,
was poking round the schoolroom collect-
ing the "Sunday books" of certain slackers
who had left them lying on their desks.
" Now, Limehouse, can't you hurry up ? "
cried Mr Roper down the corridor.
34
In Carrington's Duty Week
His voice had an irritated, nasal twang
which showed he was impatient at having
dormitory-duty to do.
The boy went bustling round in the
obscurity with his arms full of books up
to the chin. He was whistling softly to
himself, and had nothing apparently to say.
The master advanced to the door, looked
in, and said snappishly, " Why don't you
speak when you're spoken to ? I'm not
going up till I've seen you out of here.
There's a whole landing neglected while
I look after you."
" I'm just coming, sir ; I'm being as
quick as I can."
Limehouse spoke in rather a nonchalant
tone, and Roper waxed furious. Turning
on his heel, he left the boy behind, saying
angrily, " Well, you'll be marked if you're
not up before me, so there ! "
Limehouse had gathered all the books, but
had to go down to the bottom of the room
to turn out the gas. Mr Carrington stepped
out of his quarters into the schoolroom,
where the boy was muttering, " Well, I
35
In Carrington's Duty Week
shan't be, so there ! " Roper had not
hurried off by any means, but he was
going up the stairs. His colleague said
quickly, " I'll put that light out, Victor ;
you be off," and with a rapid step he passed
the book-laden fellow and put out the
light.
" Shall I look after those books ? " he
suggested.
Victor's smile was lost in the darkness,
but his voice was light as he replied, " Oh,
don't bother, sir ; I've got to be marked
to-night."
Carrington, however, insisted on taking
off the top of the pile, whereupon the boy's
chin came down several inches, and he
really did quicken his steps along the
corridor, but he wouldn't leave the job.
He bundled the books into the cupboard
dexterously, gave a hurried look round,
locked the door of the book-case, and took
his sturdy self off with a cheery, " Good-
night, sir."
Mr Roper gave him the mark as soon as
he reached his dormitory-door, and Victor
36
In Carrington's Duty Week
took it without demur ; some days he might
have objected strenuously, but to-night
he contented himself with declaring, when
the master walked off,
" Carrington tried to save me that mark,
and I wouldn't let him. I shall get one
every Sunday night when Roper's on this
landing ! "
" I'll help you if you like," said Jimmy.
" Well, you can try to get leave," said
his brother.
Mr Carrington's action passed quite with-
out notice ; he was Coley's patron, for
one thing, and Coley got shirty when his
patron was discussed from either point of
view.
Victor was in bed before some of the
others, and Mr Roper was able to get the
light out at 9.15 sharp, so that he went off
punctually to his pressing engagement, what-
ever it was. Then the boys talked till 10,
when Thorn came to bed ; at 10.15 talking
had to cease, and Burrell, at any rate,
didn't transgress the rule ; he was asleep
first of all.
37
CHAPTER II
MONDAY
THE bell rang at half-past seven next
morning, and in Number Thirteen there
was some little jubilation over it. It
had been a matter of speculation the night
before what time it would ring. In the
Summer-term there was school from seven
till eight, but on very few occasions had the
boys been let in for it on the first Monday
morning.
Jimmy Limehouse and Lewis both con-
sulted their watches as soon as the first
tinkle made itself heard. Lewis's was under
his pillow, but the youngster's hung over
his head on the bed-rail, so it was Jimmy's
voice which announced the time.
" Keep you hair on ! " he cried, in a
tone of immense satisfaction ; "it's half-
past seven."
Then he nestled down again, and courted
38
In Carrington's Duty Week
sleep once more, as if he had another hour
to slumber.
" Good biz./' murmured Victor from his
bed, next Burr ell's ; but gave no other
sign of action.
"I told you so, Mason," said Lewis
triumphantly. " Old Tom hasn't got a time-
table out for morning school."
" I suppose it will be the last day of grace,
though," said the new boy.
" Oh, I shouldn't wonder if we get till
next week," answered Lewis drowsily.
" Pull up your blind, Phil," ejaculated
Coley at that juncture ; and Lewis looked
across hastily, perhaps expecting Coley's
pillow as before. Then he lazily stretched
out an arm to the cord, and up went the
blind with a jerk quite sufficient to account
for faulty catches.
It was not so fine a morning as the
previous one, but the garden looked fresh
and bright, and everybody seemed in fair
spirits. The dressing went on in much
the same fashion as on Sunday, but the
assembly-bell found even the two chums
39
In Carrington's Duty Week
unready, and they had to pack up their
Sunday suits in the wrappers at high speed.
But a great deal can be done in five minutes,
as Lewis was engaged in demonstrating,
and Coley and his protege were in the
schoolroom before Mr Carrington. There
was actually nobody late this morning, and
the master on duty looked very comfortable
as he said " Shut the door, Paul ! " with
every seat occupied. Most boys held the
theory that it rejoiced the masters to get
a long mark-list, but boys are not physio-
gnomists.
Before they passed along to the dining-
hall, Mr Carrington announced that Mr
Gerrans wanted all the new boys in Mr
Beach's class-room after breakfast. After
prayers were over Coley interpreted :
" Of course, that's to get your ages ;
this is the last time you'll sit by me. Gerrans
will read out the age-order, I expect, in
dinner-assembly, and you'll be on Carring-
ton's table most likely."
" Can't I give my age so as to keep here ? "
asked Burrell.
4o
In Carrington's Duty Week
Coley opened his eyes wide at the pro-
posal.
" No, it's no good doing that/' said he ;
" you'll have to write your name and birth-
day in the Head's book soon, and you
must put it right there. They wouldn't
agree, you see ! "
" I don't suppose they ever compare,"
suggested Burreil.
But Coley opined that it would never do.
He went on to say that he was concerned
himself in the general movement.
" I hope I don't get shoved up just by
Shields' s elbow ; it's jolly down this end,
right away from him. But so many of the
new chaps are kids, there's bound to be
a good push-up for this table."
"It's no use your hurrying over break-
fast," said Coley, later on, as he noticed
his neighbour trying to keep pace with him.
" You can't get away, as you've to go to
Gerrans ; and he won't be out for ages
yet. You see, there isn't a single master
who's begun so far ! It's an awful swindle
when you have to go to them after break-
41
In Carrington's Duty Week
fast ; it means any time ; you never can
tell exactly."
The new boy found it rather a nuisance :
he went to the class-room appointed, and
watched the fellows on the upper field at
play. There was football still going on at
one end, about a dozen enthusiasts shooting
at a goal not yet taken down. But the
majority were playing cricket with a great
deal of noise ; they had an innings in turn,
going in in the order of their appearances
on the field ; and as batches of threes and
fours came through the gate at once, it
was a question of priority which needed a
great deal of settlement. Burrell cared
little for the footer, but he watched the
cricket with keen glances. It was the
first time the things had been out, and no-
body was shaping much, but he had been
playing during the holidays, and was long-
ing for a smack, even on that truly awful
wicket ! However, he hadn't yet been
down for his boots, fearing to keep Gerrans
waiting, and he resigned himself with a sigh
to the loss of this playtime. At any rate
42
In Carrington's Duty Week
the other new boys were in the same
boat.
At last Gerrans came in, at about ten
minutes to nine, and took names and ages
in a very business-like fashion. Then, while
they were putting their boots on, the bell
rang, and it took Burrell all his time to get
ready for school.
Outside he heard a good many exclama-
tions of " Assembly ! Assembly ! " and
found all the boys going to the schoolroom
instead of to their classrooms. The Head
was coming to read out the new class-lists,
and perhaps to put up a new time-table.
Carrington was stroking the assembly into
order, while the remainder of the staff
were waiting, capped and gowned, for the
Head's appearance. They enjoyed this
little performance as much as the boys ;
who, for their part, rejoiced to see the hand
of the clock leaving nine minute after
minute behind. " Wasting time grandly ! "
they chuckled to one another.
One of the principal topics of interest
was the reading of the rules, which had not
43
In Carrington's Duty Week
yet been done. There had been a promise
of years' standing on the part of " Old
Tom " to give a printed copy to every boy,
and it had become by this time a standing
joke against the Head. They were never
forthcoming, and his stock of excuses for
the delay must be (so thought his masters
and boys) almost exhausted !
At twelve minutes past nine he sailed
along the corridor — his long gown floating
and his right arm pumping the air. The
masters came inside, and formed a little
group just within the door. The class-
lists were read, and Gerrans superintended
while the boys quietly took the order
assigned to them. Nothing was said ;
much was to be divined, however, from
action and look. Cherished window-seats
were given up with reluctance by some and
triumphantly appropriated by their for-
tunate successors. Neighbours parted from
one another with regret or relief, as the
case might be. New-comers came up
timidly from the desks at the back to take
for the first time their proper position in
44
In Carrington's Duty Week
the School. Boys who had expected a
remove and failed to get it showed their
disgust in their faces. No books were
transferred at present : all that had to be
done out of schooltime.
Mason's destiny was nowise remarkable ;
he remained in the same form and in much
the same position in it. He had to move
two places only from his seat of last term,
and there was no bitterness of parting
just then for him. That had been under-
gone in the closing assembly of the previous
term, when his bosom-chum Lloyd had
sat beside him for the last time.
Burrell took a very fair position for his
age and size : he was ten months younger
than Coley, and not nearly of the same
mental calibre ; but he had been well-
taught and had done best of the new boys
in his preliminary examination. He was
placed at the tail-end of his form, which
was fourteen strong under the new arrange-
ment.
Presently it was all settled, and the
Head turned to the subject of rules. No-
45
In Carrington's Duty Week
body expected for a single moment that
there would be anything for them except
an excuse. They were not disappointed.
"I had intended," quoth the Head,
sapiently, " to give a printed copy of the
rules to each boy, but the time-table has
caused unusual trouble this Term, and I
have been obliged to leave other matters,
in order to work it out."
This announcement caused almost unani-
mous mirth, expressed, of course, by glances
and smiles only. The more mischievous
or more confident of the fellows ventured
to endeavour to catch the eye of a respon-
sive master, but the staff were, for the most
part, hiding their faces behind caps or
looking on the ground with twitching
lips. Coley was bold enough to look at
Mr Carrington, but only received a severe
shake of the head — a motion belied by the
master's twinkling eyes.
Meanwhile, the reading of the rules was
progressing ; old stagers knew them by
heart, and some had written out many
thousand times, in the days of the old
46
In Carrington's Duty Week
regime, such examples as "No disorder
of any kind is permitted in the class-rooms,
or corridors, or on the stairs." To Burrell
it all seemed very stupid ; how could he
be expected to comprehend, to say nothing
of remembering, about two dozen restric-
tions, some of which were bound to go in at
one ear and out at the other ? For example,
" On Sundays, bells are rung at the follow-
ing times, etc., etc." It seemed to him
that this much-promised copy in print
would have been of far greater service to
him.
A short talk followed (" Quite a young
jaw to-day," was Victor's comment on it
afterwards), in the course of which the
subject of prefects cropped up, and the
whole of that august body looked supremely
miserable. Ere it all came to a conclusion,
the Head had said five times that he had
been " exceedingly annoyed," and the hands
of the clock had wandered round to nine-
fifty. Then the forms dispersed to begin
with the second period's work, and there
was much discussion of the new time-table
47
In Carrington's Duty Week
in the corridor, the head-boy of each form
being supplied with the only copy which
would be at their disposal till they could
cluster round the notice-board at the side
of the Head's desk.
There was a break in the work at 10.45,
and everybody blundered out for a breath
of air, a bun, and a game of tip-and-run,
all taken together. A baker's boy came
up daily at this time with a basketful of
grub, going back in ten minutes with his
basket empty, and his pocket full of pence.
If " Simple Simon " had no penny, the
" pieman " was not above taking stamps in
payment — a very reprehensible practice of
which the School authorities knew nothing.
Coley was out later than Burrell, and
found his chum on the field, watching the
apology for cricket.
" Aren't you playing ? " he asked, with
a great bite at his bun.
" No fear," mumbled Burrell, whose
mouth was full ; " not at that rot."
" Well, it's poor fun, of course, but I'm
going to try to get a knock."
48
In Carrington's Duty Week
Coley was soon lucky enough to run a
man out, and had his one knock, and no
more. Wickets fell at the rate of four or
five per minute with sixty fellows fielding.
The bell rang all too soon, and as the two
boys walked in together, Coley collared the
new-comer once more.
" How'd you get on ? " he asked ; and
then, almost while Burrell was beginning
an answer, proceeded to talk about some-
thing else.
" You ought to have been here last
term," he declared. " The buns used to
come to the bottom of the field, and we
bought them through the railings. It saved
the boy a long walk up to the back door,
and was jolly convenient for us. The Head
stopped it, though."
" Why ? "
" Oh, some rot or other. He said it
was a wild-beast show, and that the village
people would be coming round every morn-
ing at feeding-time, to see the savage
creatures fed through the bars."
Burrell laughed; it amused him a good bit.
D 49
In Carrington's Duty Week
"Well," he said; "it doesn't much
matter as long as we get them somehow."
" I never used to want any at first,"
said Coley, " but I soon found out that you
can't get through the morning without
some grub."
" You could if you had more breakfast."
" Yes, but a fellow's in a hurry at break-
fast ; it saves the Head's pocket grandly,
doesn't it ? "
" What ? "
" Why, letting us go out of the hall at
breakfast when we like ! "
Burrell smiled again ; he hadn't heard
all this sort of thing before, as he was fresh
from home ; and Mr Carrington thought
the two boys were getting along very well
as he watched them from the window.
Coley's somewhat sober face showed con-
siderable animation ; Burr ell's merrier
physiognomy was all smiles. They parted
in the corridor with a friendly charge,
which drove Burrell into the wall perilously
near the glass-panelled door of the masters'
room.
5°
In Carrington's Duty Week
School was over at twelve-thirty on Mon-
days, Wednesdays and Fridays ; on the
other three days it began at nine-fifteen
and continued till a quarter to one. This
morning Coley was detained in Mr Beach's
class-room — the place par excellence for
getting detained in — and Burrell went to
the field to make his debut at cricket. In
these matters a new-comer always had a
fair show, and Lance Rochester at once
asked him to bowl at the lower end. There
were three balls going ; a batsman at either
end ; no runs were being scored, but
when you were out (caught or bowled)
you came out. By this time, some of the
smaller boys had set up their wickets near
the wall ; there were not more than a
dozen boys at the senior pitch (if " pitch "
it could be called), and the " field " con-
sisted of one man on the on side and two
on the off. Had there been even one
bowler to each ball there would have been
three at each end, but as several boys were
" going shags," there was a little group of
at least five behind each wicket. Burrell
51
In Carrington's Duty Week
did not lack perception, but it was very
difficult for him to know when he was
expected to deliver his ball and when to
refrain ; to say nothing of the difficulty
of confining his attention to the one which
had been thrown to him by Lance. He
only bowled three balls in five minutes,
and then gave the ball back to its owner,
preferring to go and field at cover-point
and mid-on, where he soon found some work
to do, and did it as well as the rough ground
permitted.
Before it came to his turn to go in, he had
made a catch, and had nearly brought off
another really difficult one by a capital
effort. His batting came at the lower end,
and he did not care to take off his coat as
he received the bat, for he felt it very
unlikely that he could stop little Graiseley
long. This small boy (who was not, it is
true, so juvenile as he appeared) was
slinging them down the hill with disastrous
results, but the new boy had two or three
very much over-pitched to begin with, and
soon felt at home. He was in fair practice
52
In Carrington's Duty Week
already, for he had played almost every
day for the past fortnight, so that when
his chum came running through the gate
it was to see Burrell make a very neat
low off-drive which he had the privilege of
fielding. Before that ball was returned,
however, the innings came to an end,
and Burrell had his right thumb in his
mouth. He had been caught off it behind
the wicket.
Coley joined him as he returned to his
former position, and condoled.
" Rotten wicket, isn't it ? There hasn't
been a blade of grass in the middle here
ever since I can remember."
"I shouldn't mind that," Burrell re-
torted, "if it was level ; but look at
that ! "
He pointed with his left hand to a spot
near one end, where a stone of quite fair
size was protruding from the earth.
" You must get put down for nets," said
Coley ; " there's always a decent pitch on
the upper field, and some good bowling
to play. I'm sure to be down for second
53
In Carrington's Duty Week
eleven practice ; I was in the second all
last season/'
Then he held forth on the two elevens
and their prospects, and when they were
not actively fielding they talked constantly
till it was Coley 's turn to bat. Mr Gerrans
had turned up by that time, and was
bowling easy-looking lobs from the lower
end, one of which Coley very soon spooned
back to the bowler in playing forward
with stiff arms — the fatal stiff arms that
had long kept him out of the first
eleven
In dinner-assembly Mr Gerrans appeared,
and read out the new order for sitting in
hall. Coley was disgusted ; fate placed
him precisely where he had not wished to
go, and he turned round in his seat after
grace and made a grimace as he caught
Burr ell's eye. His quondam neighbour had
fared better, and was about as far from
his master (Mr Carrington) as the length
of the tables permitted. There was one
boy between himself and the window,
a boy called Johnson,^ in his own form.
54
In Carrington's Duty Week
On his right was Brand, a merry fellow
in the Fifth Commercial, who lent him an
illustrated paper at dinner.
There was a free hour after dinner, except
for the boys on the mark-list. A fair
number of names graced the page ; Monday's
list was a record of forty-eight hours, and
Sunday, moreover, was always prolific of
marks. F. C. Brown headed the day's
list with three ; he had beaten record the
previous term with one hundred and thirty-
nine. His great fault was that he was
always found out ; his ill-luck was pro-
verbial ; nobody had ever known Pinky
to escape anything. He looked very peni-
tent as Burrell saw him during the reading
of the list — his head bent, his long lashes
drooping over his splendid eyes ; but one
minute later he was barging round the de-
tention-room pending Carrington's arrival,
and, of course, was spotted and awarded
" extra time."
Burrell wanted to play cricket again,
and had three innings in less than an hour.
About a quarter past three Coley lounged
55
In Carrington's Duty Week
into the field, and leaned back on the wire
railings. His chum was made aware of his
presence by hearing a voice from the masters'
room window, crying out :
" Mason. Get off that wire ! "
So he joined him at the top of the field,
and they lolled against the gate, eating
apples which Coley produced from his
pocket. Just then Mr Carrington came
out and joined them.
" Just out of marks, sir ? " asked
Coley.
" Yes, only just ; plenty of extra time
to-day."
" How long can you keep in ? " inquired
Burrell. The query was not fitted for
Coley, but the look which accompanied
it was, so he saved the master the trouble of
replying.
" Only thirty minutes for marks ; fifteen
extra for extra time."
Burrell wanted to ask if Victor had in-
curred any additional penalty, as he had
arrived on the field only just before Mr
Carrington, but he refrained.
56
In Carrington's Duty Week
" I see you're on my table, Burrell,"
the master remarked.
" Yes, sir."
" Rather out of my reach, though."
" Yes, sir."
" You managed to amuse yourself to-
day."
" Yes, sir."
"If you care about books, you'll get
through a good deal of reading at dinner."
" Yes, sir."
Carrington turned his attention to the
other boy.
" What are you reading, Coley ? "
" One of Stevenson's, sir ; ' Catriona/
a sequel to ' Kidnapped.' '
" Yes, I know. You like Stevenson ? "
" I didn't care for ' The Master of Ballan-
trae,' sir."
" Well, it's not meant primarily for boys.
What did you get through in the holidays ? "
" Nothing, sir."
" Nothing at aU ? "
" No, sir ; there's plenty to do without
reading. If it wasn't for the School lib-
57
In Carrington's Duty Week
rary I shouldn't know much about
books."
" And the waiting for the second helpings
at dinner ? "
" Yes, sir."
" Well, there's some consolation in that,
then."
Coley kicked the turf into a hole with his
heel. The long periods of waiting at dinner
were a sore point with everybody. Masters
did the carving, and had to eat their own
food between the serving of the first and
second portions ; they made all possible
haste, but dinner lasted a full hour as a
rule. Carrington turned to cricket.
" Lance has asked me for the election
after prep."
" Oh, yes, sir ; and we're not going to let
new boys vote in future."
"Quite right, too. Who's to be cap-
tain ? "
" Thorn, I expect, sir. Some fellows
want Graiseley."
" Oh, no. He's too small. Lance ought
to be nominated."
58
In Carrington's Duty Week
" He won't be, sir. And he wouldn't
get two votes it he were."
" Well, it's too bad, Mason ! I shall be
disgusted if he's left off all the committees.
Our senior prefect, and a good sportsman."
" He's not popular, sir."
Carrington was about to reply, " Because
he's his father's son ; it's a shame,"
but he kept his thought unspoken and
went off somewhat wearily to ring the bell ;
he had had just five minutes to himself
since nine o'clock.
The elections after prep, were very in-
teresting to Burrell, though a new ordi-
nance debarred his participation in the
ballot. The prefects came in at twenty
minutes to nine and brought the necessary
strips of paper ; these had been prepared
presumably during their prep. Mr Car-
rington explained, while they distributed the
papers, that the three pieces each boy
received were for the reception of names
for the committees of cricket, tennis and
library. Six boys were required for each,
and every voter put down hi? selected six.
59
In Carrington's Duty Week
In the case of the cricket paper one was to
be designated as captain. There were no
nominations ; Mr Carrington had wished
to have some, but it never had been so,
and he succumbed to the general feeling
against it. Thus small kids in the lowest
form were at liberty to put down the names
of their bosom comrades among the lower
boys. Some of them did it, invariably.
The whole proceeding only occupied seven
minutes, and three prefects went round to
collect the papers in their separate batches ;
Thorn was honoured with Carrington's cap
as a receptacle for the cricket papers,
which he had to take up. Then the prefects
bore the whole cargo away, and the counting
was delayed until after supper. Results
were not out before twenty to ten, but
every boy in the bedroom probably knew
them all ere he sank to rest. Carrington
went down to the prefects' room for his
cap while bed-room duty was going on, and
smiled to see its business-like disposition.
When the masters, in a noisy group, came
out from their supper (which they took
60
In Carrington's Duty Week
with the house-party) Roper and Carrington
went to the notice-board in the lobby to
see how things had gone. Thorn was the
unanimous choice as captain, and on the
whole the committees were well chosen.
Lance Rochester was on the Library Com-
mittee in a respectable position, but was
the last successful man on the Tennis,
and did not appear at all on the Cricket
list. Carrington held forth on it in the
masters' room, explaining that the elder
son of the Head — the ablest boy the school
had ever turned out — had been similarly,
or worse treated in days gone by. He
swore he would " hortate " the School on
the subject in morning assembly. Gerrans
advised him to do nothing of the kind.
In Number Thirteen there had been a
small rag. Lewis and young Limehouse
had played footer with a ball made of
Jimmy's stockings — Lancashire v. North
Wales. Mr Roper had given them two
marks each. Still they were not vastly
subdued, and the whole room raised a
carefully repressed cheer when Thorn came
61
In Carrington's Duty Week
to tell them in the dark how the voting had
gone. He was by no means shy of publish-
ing his own captaincy ; it was somewhat
balanced by Victor's being on every com-
mittee and Mason on that for cricket.
But the last topic of conversation, after
all, was the early school next day.
"Beastly rot," grumbled Lewis, " it's
just the worst thing about this term —
getting up at half-past six."
He spoke as if he really did it !
62
CHAPTER III
TUESDAY
THE bell rang at half-past six next morning,
and in all the bedrooms there was a con-
sensus of opinion on the subject ; everybody
thought it was " rotten." Things were
either " rotten " or " decent ; " there was
no higher praise than the latter, and no
medium between the two extremes.
Phil Lewis sleepily declared his one
consoling thought to be that he wouldn't
do a single scrap of work.
"Mental arithmetic! Why, I sha'n't
be properly awake till I hear the breakfast
gong," he said.
Then an idea struck him, and he called
out to young Limehouse —
" Jim ! you said you'd finish that game
this morning."
Jimmy was not keen on it.
"Oh, be blowed! The ball's burst.
63
In Carrington's Duty Week
Besides Thorn will mark us again. How
many, Stan ? Two ? "
He asked as if he were considering whether
the fun would be worth the price, and
Victor cried :
" Don't be a young ass ! You've got
quite enough already for to-day."
" Don't excite yourself. I'm too sleepy
to turn out till the last minute."
" Roper will come round this morning,"
observed Coley mischievously, getting his
trousers on.
" Not he ! " replied Jimmy scornfully.
" We'll have a slack time," said Victor ;
" we go to the Head for Mechanics ; he
won't be down this morning, you bet."
" Oh, yes, he will," contradicted Coley,
" he always starts off with a good
spurt."
" Well, look out for Prevent us, 0 Lord,
then," said Jimmy. " That's the only
collect he knows."
" Shut up ! " said Thorn. " And get
up, too."
64
In CarringtorTs Duty Week
" Going to, directly."
Coley and Burrell went down when the
second bell rang. It was a grand morning,
and they stood at the big window, behind
the Head's desk, and looked out over the
field to the sea. Then Carrington came in
and said, " Every boy sit down ! " That
was his formula. Roper had another, " Sit
down in your places ! " And Howitt always
said, " Sit down there ! " Howitt never
wasted words and was inordinately fond
of "there!"; "bell there!" "mark you,
there ! " were his orders. When the clock
struck seven Carrington's mark-book came
into play ; several boys were late. There
was no noise ; " silence " had not been
called, but early morning assemblies seldom
needed the order to be given. Almost
every boy had an illustrated paper in his
desk ; the literary pabulum of the majority
was " Scraps," " Comic Cuts," et hoc genus
omne. It drove Mr Beach wild ; the Head
seemed unconcerned, however.
Phil Lewis came in while the clock was
E 65
In Carrington's Duty Week
striking ; Carrington didn't mark for that.
A tall handsome boy in the Fifth Commerical
came five seconds after, just as Paul was
closing the door. His name went down.
He looked at the clock as he saw himself
marked, and said in affected astonishment,
" It isn't time, yet." Burrell was noting
everything from his seat about the middle
of the room, having nothing else to do.
He was surprised to hear, " I'll put you
down two, Adams ! "
The clock really seemed scarcely to point
to seven, so Burrell sought enlightenment
from his neighbour, Graiseley.
" What's that for ? "
" Oh, Adams is such a fool ; he always
says that when he's late. The clock jumps
back, you know."
" Jumps back ? "
" Yes, you watch it. When it strikes, the
hand goes back half a minute."
" Perhaps he didn't know."
Graiseley leered.
" He's had extra marks for saying the
66
In Carrington's Duty Week
same thing plenty of times ; he ought to
know/'
" I should have said it, though."
" Oh, yes ! You wouldn't be marked if
you did, I should, though. We know
you have to go by the striking. Carrington
isn't bad ; he lets you through if you're
in before the last stroke."
" Don't the other masters ? "
" No, Gerrans don't. Why don't you get
your chum to put you up to these things ? "
" What chum ? " asked Burrell. He had
a pretty fair idea, though, to whom Graise-
ley alluded.
" Why, Coley, of course ; you're as thick
as thieves, aren't you ? "
" He's in my room," explained the new
boy.
" You're in his, you mean ! " corrected
his neighbour.
About seven minutes after the hour
the Head appeared. The master on duty
always waited ten minutes after seven on
the chance of his Chief's coming down.
67
In Carrington's Duty Week
If he wasn't there by that time, he himself
said a collect and dismissed forms to their
respective rooms.
The fellows put their books away ; there
was soon perfect quietude ; then the Head
said : " Let us pray," with his usual
unctuous ponderosity. Some of the chaps
merely leaned over their desks, but most
of them knelt up on the seats to bend over.
Sure enough, they had the stereotyped
collect this morning ; and then off they
filed to their different masters, some of
whom had only just come down upon the
scene.
Burrell enjoyed the first hour of the day
very fairly : they had dictation in Shields's
class-room. It was downstairs ; a cold,
dingy room, with a little area and a grass
bank outside its windows. Shields pre-
tended to like it ; his colleagues secretly
admired him for making the best of things.
This morning he selected a piece from a
political " leader " ; it was very usual
for him to make use of the newspaper.
68
In Carrington's Duty Week
A question about Parliamentary procedure
came up ; Burrell was the only boy out of
the fourteen who could answer it. Shields
beamed upon him, and gave him a word of
praise, which made him very uncomfort-
able. Later on, Graiseley was sent to the
masters' room for a volume of the cyclo-
paedia. Shields prided himself on being
broadly instructive, and his cyclopaedia was
a standing joke. He digressed from any
lesson into reading extracts therefrom, under
very slight provocation. One day a boy
had said to Roper, after he had informed
the Matric. class of the nature of Saxon
coinage, " Please, sir, isn't that out of
Mr Shields's cyclopaedia?"
At the end of the lesson, they changed
books and corrected. Again Burrell came
in for kudos — he was one of the two
best. After that, they spelt some words
they had learnt in prep., and gave the
meanings. There was good fun often to be
got out of the^examples of their use. Shields
on this morning asked a dull boy for a
69
In Carrington's Duty Week
sentence embodying the word " dactyl "
whose meaning was given in the book as
"a poetic foot/' The sentence, offered
amid considerable laughter, was " Shake-
speare had a dactyl." Most of the fellows
had sense enough to see the joke ; some
few wanted to know where it lay.
Better still, however, was little Brown's
effort to use " transient : passing quickly "
He gave his sentence thus : " That engine
is transient.'' And another boy caused
further amusement by trying to beg the
question in this way, when asked to illus-
trate the use of " furtive : stealthy " —
" The word furtive means stealthy ! "
Despite this sort of thing, Shields kept
excellent order, and managed his work very
well. Burrell enjoyed it ; he'd been used
to a class of thirty-six, and to a much
stricter regime, combined with far less real
order and attention on the part of the
boys.
Breakfast went down well this morning,
but rapidly withal. Burrell polished off
70
In Carrington's Duty Week
his porridge and a cup of coffee in five min-
utes from the end of prayers, and was
playing cricket at half-past eight, so that
he put in nearly three-quarters of an hour
on the field before school. It was a joy to
be alive on such a morning ; the sky was
very blue and so was the sea ; the leaves
on the young trees down the sides of the
field were superbly and radiantly green ;
and the woods up the hillside behind the
School gave a great charm to the inland
prospect. Jimmy Limehouse passed along
outside the bottom railings with his pal Bob
Thorn, both carrying hand-cameras. Jimmy
called to Burrell, who was fielding in the
" country."
" Take this up to Roper, will you ? I
want to go down to the shore."
So Burrell received through the railings
a newspaper for which the youngster had
been to the railway bookstall, and took it to
the masters' room. Roper was not there,
but three other men, who had finished their
breakfast before its lawful owner, pounced
71
In Carrington's Duty Week
on the paper and immersed themselves
immediately in county cricket, while the
boy went back to his game.
During the morning " break " Burr ell
found that the photographer whom he had
befriended was in high glee at having caught
some snaps at a " crocodile " on the beach.
This sounded very extraordinary, but Bur-
rell was not so green as to be unaware that
Jimmy had in reality taken a procession
of school-girls on their morning parade.
Some upper-school boys, who ought not to
have shown such interest in a small kid's
work, were asking him already for prints off
the plate, which was to be developed before
dinner. This kind of thing had, however,
to be " kept dark " in other senses than the
photographic.
Coley walked through the village with
Burrell at one o'clock and informed him that
Jimmy was a little fool, and Victor a big one.
" They both go after girls ; it's such rot,
I think ! " was his dictum.
Burrell was much of the same opinion
72
In Carrington's Duty Week
just then ; particularly when Coley ex-
plained himself further.
"If the Head gets to know, he'll stop
us going on the shore, or lock up the dark-
room, or confiscate cameras. It isn't good
enough."
Neither of the two chums was a photo-
grapher, though Burrell was destined to be
bitten with the hand-camera epidemic before
many weeks were over.
They messed about on the railway station,
which was a very favourite resort of the
boys, till it was late. Going home by the
shore they saw nobody about, and Coley
came to the conclusion that his watch was
slow and the bell had rung. This con-
jecture received ample confirmation as they
went up the avenue ; the gong was actually
sounding for dinner. Mr Carrington saw
them pass the side-windows of the school-
room as he sent the forms out of assembly.
" You're done for," said Coley, ruefully.
" So are you, aren't you ? " asked Burrell,
nowise concerned.
73
In Carrington's Duty Week
" Yes, but I don't want to be getting you
marks."
" Oh, rot ; I'm bound to get some.
Never mind that ! "
Carrington spoke to them in the passage.
" I shall have to mark you. Get in to the
hall quick ! "
So when the day's list was read out
Burrell's name figured in it, but not in very
close proximity to his friend's. He thought
nothing about it, and Coley thought Mr
Carrington had done it on purpose ; but
really it was merely the exigencies of space
at the last minute which caused the separa-
tion.
Immediately after dinner, Burrell had,
of course, to go to " marks," in Mr Beach's
class-room. Carrington was already there
waiting with the book for which he had
been up to the Head. Some of the fellows
were a long time coming, and several
pleading cries of " Can't we begin, sir ? "
had been put up before the door could be
finally shut. Then it was " All hands be-
74
In Carrington's Duty Week
hind ! "• (another individual formula) and
every boy stood up straight and stared
at the wall. There were twenty-six there
on this afternoon — a fair average number ;
some of them stood between the two rows
of desks, because not more than twenty
could conveniently stand round the walls.
The window side was not used, to begin
with ; Carrington stood there, and surveyed
the rows of backs before him. On one side
of the room were shelves ; some fellows
liked standing there best ; they could at
any rate read the titles on the backs of the
lesson books. Two stood with their faces
to the door ; it had glass panels like all
the doors in that corridor, but the glass
was of a fluted description and there was
no seeing anything through it. The best
place was in the angle formed by the pro-
jecting fire-place ; a boy could scarcely
be seen at all who got well in that corner.
There was dead silence all round. No-
thing was done ; boys had merely to stand
up straight with hands behind — ten minutes
75
In Carrington's Duty Week
for every mark. Extra time was given for
leaning against the wall, laughing, fidgetting ;
as for talking, nobody tried that with Car-
ington. His extra time for small 'offences
was always ten minutes ; some men only
gave five.
Burrell stood beside Coley, facing the
shelves ; he could see out of the nearer
window from the corner of his right eye,
and he gazed meditatively at the sunny
road, bordered by young rustling saplings.
Carrington gave Adams some extra time;
he had pushed his neighbour's foot. Almost
directly after, a boy was trying to look
furtively at his watch and was similarly
penalised. The master spoke very quietly
and merely said, " Extra time, so-and-so " ;
the other boys seldom knew what it was
for. This tended to repress them very
effectually. Before the first ten minutes
were over six boys had extra time, and two
of them had come with three marks, so
that Carrington was letting himself in for
another long detention. But it was always
In Carrington's Duty Week
in the first ten minutes that boys were
inclined to fool ; it was a rare thing for
extra time to be given after the first batch
had cleared out. Their conge came when
Carrington said,
" These boys have longer to stay : —
Adams, Lee, etc."
He found it preferable not to read the
names of those who had done their time ;
they were apt to start going before he
reached the end of the list. Neither Bur-
rell's name nor Coley's was read, and they
went out to the back together.
" Isn't it rot ? " asked the old stager.
"Rather stale," assented Burrell.
" Wastes time so, doing nothing."
" We seemed to have more than ten
minutes," said Burrell.
" No, I expect it was right ; Carrington's
very particular. Didn't you see how busy
he was all the time ? "
"No. Doing what?"
" Oh, lots of things. Putting down the
time in the book ; and checking off the
77
In Carrington's Duty Week
boys ; and marking down the extra time ;
and getting ready to read out those who have
more than one."
" He can't watch us much."
" Oh yes, he does ; all the time. Some-
times you can do him, but not unless you
get in a good place. I've had my watch
out on the shelf, or hanging down in front
before now."
" Didn't he catch you ? "
" No, but he's caught plenty of other
chaps."
" What do you get ? "
" Oh, extra time, and he takes your watch.
I hardly ever get extra time with any of
the masters. Roper reads the paper; he
don't catch anybody."
" What were those chaps doing to-
day?"
" Graiseley was breathing on the glass
of the door ; I looked to see. I don't
know about the others. Gerrans is the
worst boss ; you have to mind yourself
with him."
78
In Carrington's Duty Week
" What's he do ? "
"Oh, comes down on you like bricks.
I don't know why we mind him so. He
never keeps on ' Stand up ! ' ' Stand
still ! ' ' Stop laughing ! ' like some of them
do. I suppose we don't do it with him.
He's the best master ; he gets order without
any punishments hardly. He did me neatly
once. I had my watch on the top of the
books in the lower shelf all the first mark.
When it was time for us, I just squinted
behind before picking it up, and he was
staring at me hard. So I pretended to
tie up my lace and then I looked again,
and he'd got his eye fairly on me still. So
I had to go and leave it."
" He'd have given you extra time if you'd
picked it up ? "
" Rather, and had the ticker too. So
I did the best thing. I came back to look
for it after marks, but, of course, it was
gone. He gave it to me the next Saturday."
The two chums then went to the field
and played cricket till the bell rang for
79
In Carrington's Duty Week
afternoon school. It was light enough for
a little game after tea, too, and three
masters joined in. This time they picked
sides and counted runs ; Gerrans bowled
crowds of boys out with his lobs, and
Roper drove a ball on to the roof of the
North House, where it broke a slate and
then rolled down into the field again.
It was a grand time — so peaceful and
balmy ; the sea like glass, and not a sail
to be seen ; the quiet woods so very restful
to look at, and the sky palely blue with
rosy cloudlets drifting over from the west.
Burrell was not on Coley's side, but both
sides had to field right through, and they
were near each other. Once Burrell re-
marked, " Isn't it prime out here ? "
"Yes," said Coley, "but that beastly
prep, bell will soon spoil it all. We ought
to have prep, later in summer."
He got an innings, and Burrell, who
didn't, had more right to grumble. But
Coley's batting only lasted two minutes
at the outside. The new boy caught Mr
80
In Carrington's Duty Week
Carrington at cover-slip, and felt sorry ;
though it didn't make much difference,
as the master on duty had to go about
twenty past seven to see the lessons put
up on the boards and ring the bell. When
Mr Carrington went, Coley also donned
his coat, and so did several others who were
not altogether ready for prep. Carrington
waited for Mason and they went off to-
gether ; the master trying to expound
wrist-play, which was what his eromenos
sadly lacked. Then Coley offered to ring
the bell at the proper time and his patron
got the schoolroom gases going. Two poor
little forgotten wretches were poring over
" avoir " at the bottom of the schoolroom,
and he sent them out to say it to Mr Gerrans
on the field. The head boy of each form
was supposed to write up the lessons on
one of the three boards ; Carrington, how-
ever, always wrote his own. What the
boys wrote was generally pretty illegible
to those who sat nearest, and was quite
lost upon those at any distance. In fact*
F 8l
In Carrington's Duty Week
the boards presented a truly fearful and
wonderful appearance when filled with the
prep. work.
The bell rang, and in five bare minutes
boys got in from the field, took off their
boots, washed (or did not wash) them-
selves, fetched their books, ascertained
their work, and settled into their places.
How it was all done was a puzzle, but
hardly any boy was ever late.
For the first four minutes the schoolroom
was humming like a hive ; a seething
mob jostled, pushed and screamed between
the desks. It was a babel of " Lend me a
pen ! " " What's the work ? " " Get out of
the way!" "Who's got my Virgil?''
" Where's the Lower Fourth lesson ? "
Boys came pelting along the corridor
like mad things ; not so rowdy to-night as
usual, for Gerrans stood perspiring outside
the masters' door, holding a coat and a
collar on his arm, and weeding out his big
fair moustache while he heard the two luck-
less kids stumble through " J'aurai, I shall
82
In Carrington's Duty Week
have . ' ' Inside the masters' room Carrin gton
was putting on his cap and gown in the
fading light and gathering a pile of books
under his arm ; while a small boy was
rummaging in a far corner for the composi-
tion-books of his form, asking vainly,
" Please, sir, which is Mr Shields's shelf ? "
Then the master on duty sallied forth
into the schoolroom, and, dazzled with
excess of light from the ghostly incan-
descent burners, roared " Every boy sit
down ! " Those who were nearest did so,
and many who could not have heard a
thunder-clap in that hubbub of voices
saw the movement and thus obtained
their cue. It was then twenty-nine minutes
past seven, and when Carrington said
" Silence ! " (at half-past exactly) every
boy was in his seat, and had to open his
books and shut his desk forthwith. Then
till half-time there was a great calm, broken
only by the going out of six boys to their
baths, and the occasional voice of the
master, hardly raised above a whisper,
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In Carrington's Duty Week
as he tramped up and down the long room
between the rows of desks, giving what
little attention was required to the boys'
requests. The new-comers caused most
trouble, not having yet received their own
books and not possessing sense enough
to borrow any before prep, commenced.
On the previous evening Carrington had
declared they must provide for themselves,
but there was a certain amount of difficulty
in arranging it. Each form had two lessons
to do, and when one was a popular lesson
the whole form seemed to conspire to work
at that one first, leaving no spare books
for would-be borrowers. It was rough on
the master, whose prep, would have been
completely spoiled by all the shifts and
devices he had to invent unless he had
shown great tact and resource. There
never were any books forthcoming for
new boys the first fortnight or so ; a
great piece of mismanagement on the
Head's part.
Coley had provided his friend with the
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In Carrington's Duty Week
necessaries this night, but BurreU had a
bad time all the same. He had some
Algebra to do of which he knew nothing,
and though Graiseley tried to help him
with signs and nods and gesticulations,
it was of very little use. He essayed to
read up the book- work, having too much
sense to expect (as some boys did) that,
with eighty boys to control, Carrington
would be able to come and teach him.
At seven minutes past eight it was " Change
your work ! " Then desks were opened,
and books changed, and after two minutes
of a certain degree of turmoil, things settled
down again till a quarter to nine, when it
was " Stop work ! " Then a hubbub arose
similar to that which preceded prep., but
not quite so bad, because Carrington re-
mained up at the Head's desk to stop
horseplay and bawling. He tolerated a
certain amount of noise ; after the strain
of prep, it was necessary to blow off steam,
and he didn't want it blown off in supper.
Howitt always went out of the room and
85
In Carrington's Duty Week
left it to chaos, but it wasn't wise ; the
row, on one such occasion, had brought
the Head along from his distant quarters.
Burrell was parleying with a person of
some importance — Clements, the head boy
of his form, who was collecting the prep.-
work to take into the masters' room.
" Chuck your book over, you Burrell,"
roared Clements, distracted by his difficulties
and hampered by two sets of exercise books,
which he was endeavouring to keep separate.
" I've done no Algebra," said Burrell.
" Never mind, man ; pass it over, con-
found you."
" But I want to ..."
He proceeded so far, when Graiseley
snatched it out of his unwilling hands
and sent it spinning at Clements. He
very cleverly butted it down with his he ad
upon the desk, and was stooping to add it
to his unwieldy load of books, when a
small kid shoved about a dozen of them
from under his arm. Clements turned with
a smothered exclamation ; but it was Price,
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In Carrington's Duty Week
his First-form pet, who had done the damage
and was now putting out his tongue cheekily
from the safe distance of the doorway.
" All right, young Price ; I'll murder
you ! " shouted his erastes, his savage
expression changing to one of amused
tolerance.
" Stop that bawling, Clements," cried Car-
rington, coming pretty near bawling himself.
" Please, sir, he's giving cheek," ex-
plained Clements, thus beset on all sides.
Burrell looked round for Mason ; he,
however, was just then standing outside
the door of the masters' room, worse
laden than Clements, and asking two or
three boys to knock and open for him before
he found a small chap to accomplish it.
Burrell thought he'd go up and ask Mr
Carrington if he couldn't have his Algebra
book back till the next morning. But
there was no gaining the master's ear ;
he had four or five boys round him trying to
get off the marks he'd given for being late
from baths.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" It's no use," he was saying, " you went
at half-time, and you came in after I said
' Stop work/ "
" But, please, sir/' argued Richards,
" we thought at first there wasn't any
hot water, and then just when we were
coming back "
He had said all this before ; the others
had already turned away and left him to
make his last effort alone. But it was
ten to nine, and, with a wave of his hand,
Carrington shouted " Every boy sit down ! "
Richards was much aggrieved ; he was
a decent fellow, in the Upper Fifth, and he
didn't want a mark at all. Besides, he
either had, or persuaded himself that he had,
a fair excuse, and yet he couldn't make
Carrington listen. So he went away in a
rage, consoling himself by saying, " I shall
go to the Head ! " His speech, however,
was quite inaudible ; he meant it to be,
for he really had no intention of an appeal
to a higher court.
" Silence ! " cried Carrington, and a hush
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In Carrington's Duty Week
fell on the room. " Sixth ! " and the top
boys filed quietly out to supper. When the
room was half-empty out came the mark-
book, which he had hoped to use no more
that evening, and he said, " F. C. Brown,
I shall mark you ! " Pinky, who sat next
to the bottom blackboard, threw down
a chalky duster with a comical look of
despair. He had been beating it vigorously,
out of sight under his desk, and a cloud
of white dust was rising from his vicinity.
The pad of felt, or something of that
kind, was tied to the board, but the string
was necessarily long enough for the boy to
get hold of it.
As the forms filed out Carrington moved
down to command a view of the passage,
despite the fact that five prefects were
ranged up outside the dining-hall door.
When it came to the last form, he divested
himself of his cap and gown, and placed
them in the open arms of Rivers, whose
duty (or pleasure) it was to put down the
gases, and take the masters' impedimenta
89
In Carrington's Duty Week
into their room. He himself followed up
his boys closely, and relieved his deputy
in the hall, who had not made up his mind
yet as to whom he should punish for the
tune on the glasses. Considering that about
a dozen chaps were at it, it was rather a
serious question !
It was Carrington's misfortune (for so
he felt it) to notice just as he came in that
Master Burrell was chucking, or pretending
to chuck, a pellet of bread at his vis-d-vis.
So our friend got his second mark, and
felt so glum during supper that he could
hardly speak a word. The mark was useful
in the room ; nobody needed further re-
proof for a considerable time after it was
given. When Carrington said grace before
meals it was his (peculiar) custom* to knock
on the high -table with the handle of a
knife ; the three or four kids nearest
him made a point of offering their knives
simultaneously as he reached the top of the
room. On this occasion he accepted Price's,
and the " Burnley slogger " was triumphant
90
In Carrington's Duty Week
over his fair-haired neighbour. Price was
a left-hand bat of considerable reputation,
aged ten.
Number Thirteen was somewhat sparsely
populated at nine o'clock, for Victor and
Coley were attending a cricket committee.
It was the custom to hold committee
meetings at bedtime, and the result was
disastrous to order in the bedrooms. Just
after lights were put out — or put down,
instead, in certain rooms — up came the
non-prefectorial members of a committee
to get to bed without supervision. On
this night the business was somewhat
lengthy, and the two Thirteeners were not
up till half-past nine.
" Business done : — Nothing ! " quoth
Phil as they came in. He then proceeded
to get out of bed, where Mr Roper had
left him looking most demure, and began
to brush his plentiful hair by the light of
the gas, which Victor turned up.
" Well, you're not down for nets, if that's
what you mean," suggested Coley drily.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" Pooh ! who cares for nets ? " cried
Phil disdainfully. " Except goal-nets," he
added.
Lewis didn't play cricket, and wanted to
talk now about the iniquity of locking up
the football with which he and about six
of his persuasion had terrified the cricketers
after breakfast. But the rest were keen
on knowing what twenty-two boys had
been chosen to go to net-practice on the
top field. The two committee-men re-
called, between them, the whole list, while
Jimmy checked off the numbers on his
fingers. (It is open to question whether,
even jointly, they could have reproduced
the twenty-second prop, of Euclid's First
Book). Burrell heard his own name
mentioned with some surprise, and at his
faint exclamation his chum stopped to
comment.
" Oh, you got on easily ; Carrington
was the first to mention you. But it
doesn't mean yet, that you've got colours,
you know ! "
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In Carrington's Duty Week
One master was always supposed to
attend every meeting of all committees.
It was always Roper or Carrington for the
sports committees, and, as Roper was on
bedroom duty, the latter had finished his
day's work with this additional duty.
He had felt it to be rather an imposition
when he went down, but some fun with
Coley, whom he had attempted to squeeze
flat behind the door of Shields's class-room,
had enlivened proceedings considerably for
him.
93
CHAPTER IV
WEDNESDAY
BURRELL woke in the middle of a dream
of cricket. He was just making frantic
snatches at a ball composed of bread,
which crumbled into nothing, and slipped
through his fingers, when the bell broke
off the dream abruptly.
At most schools in England a boy wakes
on Wednesdays with a comfortable feeling
of something pleasant in store. But these
boys had their mid-week half on Thursday,
in Continental fashion.
" I think it's a very good tip," said
Thorn, as Burrell expressed his disgust at
the arrangement.
" Why ? It doesn't break up the week
fairly. Look what a beastly long first half ! "
"Well, then; look what a jolly short
last half ! "
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" But we need it more in the middle,"
urged Burrell.
Thorn smiled as he left Victor to take
up the discussion from his bed, where he
lay with his arms behind his head. The
prefect was the only fellow who had turned
out.
" My objection is that .other schools
have Wednesdays, and so it's beastly awk-
ward for fixing matches."
This was Victor's view of the matter.
" Yes, rather ! " agreed Burrell ; " how
do you manage it ? "
" Why, we make other schools change
their holiday when they want to play us."
" I wonder they do. I suppose we change
ours sometimes ? "
" No, never in my time. It's Dr Patti-
son's day for music ; we couldn't change."
"Well," remarked the new boy, "it's
good cheek to make other schools do it
every time."
" Bless you, the Head's got cheek enough
for anything ! " interposed Jimmy.
95
In Carrington's Duty Week
" Like some of his kids ! " added Thorn.
Jimmy presently remembered his nega-
tives, and leaped out of bed as he asked
excitedly :
" Where did you put those negs., Stan. ? "
Thorn had undertaken to see them safely
out of the basin in the dark-room the
previous night. A boy who developed
after tea (and Jimmy had not developed
until that time, after all) would leave his
negatives to wash during prep, and rush
out after prep, to take them out if he could
get leave. If he couldn't — well, he went
all the same ! But Jimmy had forgotten
his snapshots until he was going in to
supper, and had begged his brother to go
out to them. Victor had passed the com-
mission on to Thorn, and his young brother
had been so perturbed at this piece of news,
which transpired just before talking ceased
the night before, that he wondered now
how he could have thought of anything
else upon awaking !
" Are they all right ? " he inquired,
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In Carrington's Duty Week
slily, putting on his stockings with in-
credible speed.
" Yes, I think so."
" Didn't you look at them, then ? "
" Scarcely ; I only just lifted them out.
What are they ? "
" Oh, nothing much."
Young Limehouse now breathed freely
until a new thought crossed his mind.
" You didn't lay them film side down ? "
he inquired sharply.
" No, of course not ; I stood them up on
their edges in the window, like Victor told
me to,"
"Oh, that's all right. Thanks!"
Burrell had too much sense to pursue
the subject of these negatives at the time,
though he wanted to ask how they had
turned out. Thorn would have thought it
a matter to report had he known the
nature of them. Jimmy went out first,
for once in a way, this morning ; he wanted
to get over to the South House and secure
his property before early school. It
G 97
In Carrington's Duty Week
was Coley who recurred to the subject as
he and his chum went down at second
bell.
" Those photos will cause a row ; you
mark my words."
" Are they any good ? " asked Burrell.
" Yes ; Jimmy told me one of them was
a really good snap. And lots of the chaps
are after prints off them. It will soon leak
out."
" Oh, I daresay they'll keep them pretty
dark."
" No, these affairs with Miss Briggs's
girls always leak out ; somebody will be
ass enough to send one to a girl there, and
she'll show it round or something."
" What'll the Head do ? "
" Oh, something jolly nasty. We're
always having rows about those girls, and
losing holidays and things. I believe we
have our holiday on Thursday because they
have Wednesday."
"Well," reflected Burrell ; " it's only
fun!"
98
In Carrington's Duty Week
" I daresay ; but when you have to pay
too dear for it, it becomes very soft to try
it on. Jimmy is a grand little chap, and
yet he's awfully silly. Victor ought to
lick him, and instead of that he encourages
him."
The Head's class had to teach themselves
this morning ; Carrington said the collect
at ten past seven, and sent the boys off to
their masters.
Burrell had a placid morning until a
quarter to twelve, when his form went to
Mr Beach for Latin. Here he was utterly
discomfited over the numerals ; he had
prepared them the night before, but only
in the slipshod style which wouldn't do
at all under this master. So he found him-
self imprisoned till the bell rang at 1.25
.for dinner-assembly. Not that it took him
the additional hour to master his lesson ;
when he tried he could get up things of that
sort as soon as most fellows : but the
class-room was crowded with boys who
came in from other forms at half-past
99
In Carrington's Duty Week
twelve, having been "turned" in some
previous lesson that morning. Thus Mr
Beach had his hands so full that many
boys, like our young friend, couldn't go
up even when they were ready. Burrell
went without saying the work, and was told
to say it across at Mr Beach's room after
tea. If the grey-bearded old master, who
was admitted on all sides to be the best
teacher in the school, could have done so,
he would have continued to teach until the
crack of doom, but the dinner-bell had been
fixed as the limit.
After dinner, Burrell renewed his ac-
quaintance with the same class - room,
where the marks were worked off as on
the previous day. Again he behaved
himself well enough to go after ten
minutes of standing, and got in a good
innings on the field for the first time in
the day.
During afternoon school he went out
to his music-lesson. As he had not sat
down to a piano since the previous term,
100
In Carrington's Duty Week
he was nervous at first, but Dr Pattison
was not the man to inspire dread. His
cheery, fussy greeting of the new boy
was characteristic of him. Johnson, Bur-
rell's immediate predecessor on the music
list, had fetched him out of his class, and
piloted him into the music-room, which he
entered for the first time.
" Ah, here we are ! " exclaimed the
Doctor ; " well, Burrell, and how are
you ? "
Burrell said he was quite well.
" That's right ! Learned before, I see,
and brought your music too. Good boy !
Now, Johnson, you be off, young man ;
and mind you practise that exercise like
a black before next Wednesday ! "
So saying he conducted the grinning boy
to the door by the ear, dismissed him with a
friendly nod, and proceeded to put his new
pupil through his paces. Burrell enjoyed
the forty minutes' lesson thoroughly, and
with it the list for the day terminated. Not
so the teacher's work ; there was singing on
In Carrington's Duty Week
Wednesdays after tea. When the boy
got back to his form (and he hunted it down
after a search which took him into two
wrong class-rooms) it was ten past five,
and I'm afraid he didn't do a great lot of
work during that period. His form was
let out punctually, but, coming up from
below, where he had gone to prepare for
tea, he met Mason in the corridor, who with
his comrades had only just escaped. The
gong sounded as Burrell entered the school-
room, but it didn't look much like a tea-
assembly ! Mr Carrington was there, cer-
tainly, but he stood in the middle of the
room, the top being well occupied. On
one side the Head had two boys up at his
board working something in Mechanics,
while the rest of the form were anxiously
waiting to give in their marks. On the
other side Mr Gerrans was bawling loudly
enough to wake the dead in an attempt to
get through a chapter of German trans-
lation before dismissing his form. At the
bottom of the room Carrington was keeping
In Carrington's Duty Week
what order was possible in the circumstances.
Every boy who was ready for tea had to sit
down, so Burrell and Johnson chatted about
music-practice.
" Half-an-hour a day," explained the
latter, " and always in your playtime."
" What time ? " inquired Burrell.
" Oh, different times and different
places. The list won't be up just yet, I
hope ; when it is, you'll have to look and
see. You might as well get a practice-book
to-night ; Carrington gives out stationery
on Wednesdays after tea."
" What's it for ? "
" Oh, you have to enter every day how
much you do, and the time, and the piano-
Then in prep, the master signs them all."
" What a fag ! " the new boy observed.
" Yes, but you'll be able to take it easy
some weeks. Shields only comes round
about twice in his duty week, and Roper
sometimes not at all. The deuce of it is,
masters swap nights sometimes, and you
have Gerrans or Carrington dropping on
103
In Carrington's Duty Week
you with two marks, or fixing you up for
the next half."
" Can't we swap ? "
" Oh, rather. I swapped my Mondays
and Fridays with my brother all last term.
It was a great score ! "
" Why ? "
" Well, you see, his practice is before
dinner in Beach's class-room those days,
and there's always work going on, so I
got off. My time is after tea in the South
House those days, where there's no getting
out of it."
" Didn't your brother mind ? "
" Bless you, no ; he likes playing the
piano. I like playing chess in the read-
ing-room at night and footer before
dinner ! "
" Well, we get our lesson in school-
time, anyhow," said Burrell.
" Yes, most of us ; and you needn't
practise the day you have your lesson.
That's prime ! "
By this time it was about twenty to six ;
104
In Carrington's Duty Week
tea was supposed to be at half-past five —
the time for stopping afternoon school.
Of course, it was ridiculous ! The Head
was just locking up his desk and sailing out,
rattling his keys loudly. His boys began to
crowd round Carrington with " Go and
wash, sir ? " Impatiently he said " Yes,"
or nodded his head, a dozen times in a
minute, endeavouring to fix his attention
on the rest of the room. Then he was able
to roar " Silence ! " which he could not do
before while the Head was teaching (though
Howitt invariably did it and passed the
classes out too !). The seats were now
fairly well filled, especially at the lower
end, but Gerrans's boys were just coming in
after their ablutions. This " getting ready
for tea " resolved itself, in many cases,
into rushing out to the box-room to get pots
of jam and other luxuries, which boys were
allowed to take in every night. On this
present night there would be, perhaps,
every third boy thus encumbered as he
came back to the assembly. In spite of the
IOS
In Carrington's Duty Week
opposition stream, Mr Carrington began
to pass the forms out. The temptation to
scuffle was great as those going met those
coming, particularly as it was quite im-
possible for two boys to pass one another
in the doorway, one half of the door being
seldom, if ever, folded back. Two or three
chaps got marks ; it was unavoidable
with such a rotten arrangement. At last
the room was empty, and, without bother-
ing himself about those boys not yet re-
turned, the master on duty retreated into
the adjoining room, flung himself into
an easy-chair without taking off his cap and
gown, and held forth on the annoyances
of his lot for the seven hundredth time,
while he lolled with his arms hanging
down to the floor — a picture of limpness.
Most of the staff were still in the room ;
only one was forced to be present from
the very commencement of tea, and he
frequently came out when somebody else
condescended to turn up in the hall and
relieve him. It was often six o'clock before
106
In Carrington's Duty Week
the whole six were sitting down. Mr
Beach had tea in his own room.
Carrington had to give out books, etc.,
after tea, and before going into the hall he
went to inspect the stationery cupboard.
There was a great demand upon him this
evening, later on, for materials, and it was
seven before he was able to lock up. The
list of names in the account-book was in
alphabetical order, and Carrington read it
up and down on alternate occasions. Thus
a boy knew — if he cared to know — about
the time to go near and make his demands.
The cupboard was on the floor, with
sliding doors ; Carrington stood in a corner
granting or refusing requests, and while
he plied his pencil and looked round upon
all things, a volunteer gave out the goods.
To-night it was little Price who officiated ;
it very often was, for he was the most
obliging kid imaginable, and loved dearly
to be of use. Gerrans delighted to tell
how his stockings fell about his boots in a
football practice, and how Price came on
107
In Carrington's Duty Week
the field with an offer of his garters ! Very
deftly the youngster dispensed the pens and
pencils, books and blotting-paper, while
his master recorded them in the book.
Some boys were notorious for large
stationery bills ; some had next to nothing
all the term. F. C. Brown asked for a
penholder and a new nib twice a week
regularly. Richards represented the upper
school almost as frequently, frankly con-
fessing that he ate two penholders a week !
Even when at last Adams was reached,
the names going backwards to-night, there
were six or seven who had come late, and
Carrington was too good-natured to send
them away empty. Price stoutly refused
to accept his cong6, and remained to lock
up for his master, perfectly satisfied with
the " Thank you very much, Price," which
he received at the end.
Burrell was not seasoned enough to know
his turn wouldn't come in the first twenty
minutes, or to get his order executed by
proxy, so he lost all his after-tea play until
108
In Carrington's Duty Week
seven. Then Carrington rang the bell for
the first batch of singers. On Wednesdays
prep, commenced at eight, and every boy
had half-an-hour's singing in one of the
two classes. The division was made thus :
boys who had voices, first ; boys who had no
voices, second.
" Which division do I belong to, sir ? "
asked Burrell of Carrington, as he rang the
bell.
" Well, you can go in the first to-night ;
you shall have the benefit of the doubt ! "
was the reply.
All the new boys had the same benefit,
but in less than two minutes some of them
were coming back again. Burrell was
among these, and was rejoicing in the
thought of some cricket while the light
lasted, when he remembered his appoint-
ment with Mr Beach. He was passing his
door at the time, and he knocked and went
in. The master was alone, and heard the
numerals while he continued smoking his
pipe. It was soon over, and Burrell was
109
In Carrington's Duty Week
dismissed with a commendation for his
conduct.
" Always come when I tell you to,
Burrell," said Mr Beach. " I often forget,
but you don't ; and when I remember and
you don't come, I punish pretty smartly."
At last our friend was free to join his
chum on the field ; Coley also " had no
voice " ; a most untrue statement, taken
literally! All too soon came the second
bell, but as a matter of fact only one-fourth
of the hour had been reserved for the second
division. Again Burrell enjoyed the lesson ;
the Doctor was a magnificent conductor,
even of boys without voices.
" You ought to see him on speech-days,"
said Coley, as they went across afterwards to
prep. " Such a spanking hood ; it makes
all the others look sober. And he has
medals, too, lots of them."
" What are they for ? "
" Oh, for conducting choirs who win
competitions, or something of that sort ! "
replied Coley.
no
In Carrington's Duty Week
When Burrell began to undress at nine
o'clock, he was able to demonstrate that he
hadn't played cricket without result ; two
of his brace-buttons were missing.
" Ask Roper for leave for the linen-
room," said Coley.
He did, next time Mr Roper appeared.
" Very well ; do you know where to
go ? " he inquired.
Burrell said he did, and Jimmy's offer to
pilot him was of no avail. So when the
boy had divested himself of his knicker-
bockers, and arrayed himself in his dressing-
gown (which was bright blue outside, lined
with scarlet, and of his own selection ! )
he proceeded along the corridor to the linen-
room. Several other chaps were there on
the same or similar errands ; Miss Rock
was promising a multitude of repairs before
the morning, and assured Burrell of the
return of his knickers before he went to
sleep.
" How are you getting on, dear ? " she
asked. And though Burrell thought it
In Carrington's Duty Week
queer, the form of address was very home-
like, and forged the first link of a bond of
sympathy which was destined to become
a very happy and enduring one. He told
Coley with a grin when he got back to his
room.
" Yes ; she always calls you that,"
said Coley ; " she calls Victor ' dear.' "
" That's nothing ! " laughed Victor, who
was not easily abashed. " I heard her say
it to Barr."
" Oh, I say ! " exclaimed two boys at
once. Barr was scarcely bigger than Victor
Limehouse, who was one of the most solid
customers in the school ; the great differ-
ence lay in their characters. Barr was a
cross-grained, uncouth bully.
112
CHAPTER V
THURSDAY
BURRELL and his pioneer found themselves
both chosen for the scratch match on the
upper field. The teams were on the notice
board, and a lovely scrum was going on
around the spot at five minutes to seven,
when our two friends went out to look. They
knew they were down without looking ;
Thorn had told them he would put them
both in. But they enjoyed the shoving
first-rate, and Coley took part in an ani-
mated discussion which was proceeding
noisily. Burrell was bewildered ; what he
heard was something like this :
" Look there ; three masters on Thorn's
side ! "
" Well, you ass ; there's Gerrans and
Carrington on the other side."
" Oh, I say ! Gerrans and Graiseley
both the same side ! "
H 113
In Carrington's Duty Week
" Thorn's got all the batting, though."
" Yes, he's taken jolly good care to have
Limehouse and Rochester."
" There's only one new boy ; that's
Burrell."
" Ah, he's in Thorn's bedroom, don't
you see/'
" What a swindle ; I'm only about
fourth change with all those bowlers on
my side ! "
" Pinky will have to go in last."
But, after all, the discussion was much
less coherent than this ; the remarks being
made simultaneously and interspersed with
cries of " Mind where you're coming to ! "
and " Look out, will you ? "
When Mr Carrington went into assembly
a small boy notified the fact by shouting
"All in ! " through the swing-door. Then
they bundled in and sat down, making
rather more noise than was common in
morning assembly. Carrington had to say
" Too much noise ! " before the talking fell
to the customary whispers.
114
In Carrington's Duty Week
" You're playing/' said Graiseley to
BorreH.
" Yes, I know ; I wanted to."
" I didn't ; I wanted to go out with
Rivers. It's an awful nuisance ; every
blessed half taken up for cricket."
" But," said Burrell, with wide-open
eyes, " you're in the first eleven, aren't
you ? "
" Well, I don't mind matches, but these
practice-games are a bit too thick. There's
net- practice every day."
The new boy was enthusiastic, and could
scarcely believe that the young grumbler
meant what he said. If Burrell could get
cricket he was always happy. Graiseley,
however, was one of those perverse creatures
who are invariably injured whatever is
done ! His small stature, pale face, and
slender little legs hardly betokened the
sportsman that he was. He came of a
family who played cricket and footer by
instinct, taking no trouble over games, and
yet being shining lights at everything. His
"5
In Carrington's Duty Week
demure little mouth could grow very hard
at times, and altogether he was too para-
doxical to be easily understood by anybody.
Certainly Burrell had not yet fathomed
him, though he liked him a good deal.
When the boys came in to breakfast-
assembly at eight, Victor went up to Mr
Carrington, who immediately announced
to the room that the players in the after-
noon game were requested to roll the pitch
after breakfast and at eleven o'clock.
So Burrell dutifully went up as soon as he
came out of the hall, and assisted at the
shafts of the big roller instead of playing
on the lower field. There were very few
chaps there ; Thorn was bossing the busi-
ness, but not another big boy was up when
Burrell got there ; later on Lance Rochester
came. Jimmy was there as cricket-curator.
Lewis languidly lent a hand, though he
was not expected to do so ; he seized the
opportunity of preaching " footer all the
year round/' as his habit was. The small
fry turned up well ; Pinky Brown and Lee
116
In Carrington's Duty Week
being most energetic. At a quarter to
nine Mr Roper appeared, smoking his after-
breakfast pipe, and later on Mr Gerrans,
hauling a string of lower-school boys who
were to roll instead of saying their French
verb.
The bell didn't ring till ten past nine on
Thursdays, and the wicket had a capital
rolling. Burrell enjoyed it, working really
hard, and not merely pretending to shove,
as several others did. Lewis ceased to
hortate when the masters came, and was
soon dismissed by Gerrans for throwing
fellows' caps down just in front of the
roller. Mr Roper was sarcastic on the
subject of the committee : they certainly
set a poor example, for four of them never
came near. Burrell knew that Coley was
swatting, but he didn't guess that Victor
and Wright were playing on the lower
field.
It was a lovely morning, sunny and
breezy. Some of the atmosphere of en-
joyment seemed to follow them even into
117
In Carrington's Duty Week
the class-rooms. There was the indefinable
feeling of the half-holiday, which made
Thursday and Saturday mornings pass
quickly, both to masters and boys. Bur-
rell's form went to the Head for the first
hour, for their weekly examination. They
had a splendid time. Mr Rochester's re-
putation as a highly successful teacher was
certainly not made by this sort of work. He
pitched upon Mental Arithmetic, and in five
minutes found that Rivers was the most
incapable boy in the form. Then he
badgered the poor unfortunate fellow for
twenty minutes with a good old stock
question : " If I go to the Station, and buy
eleven return-tickets at a fare and a quarter,"
etc. Rivers easily had six - pounds - ten
left out of a five-pound note ; Mental
Arithmetic was allied with magic in his
mind. The Head was excruciatingly funny.
Two other classes working in the school-
room were much amused ; and Carrington,
who was teaching one of them, was much
disgusted. He took Rivers's form in the
118
In Carrington's Duty Week
subject, and it was supremely galling to
him to witness the boy's discomfiture.
At the recess there was a fair muster of
bun-eating players at the roller, but six or
seven minutes was all that could be given
to the pitch before they were rung in again.
Victor was being slanged by Mr Roper for
slackness as they came in, when he had the
temerity to pick a daisy and to offer it to
his mentor. Roper angrily knocked his
hand away, and turned to Carrington with
an offended air.
" Why didn't you take it and stick it in
your coat ? " asked Carrington in a rallying
tone.
" Beastly cheek ! " growled Roper, clean-
ing his spectacles.
"Well, I wish he'd offer me a flower.
I'd show you how it ought to be received ! "
After recess, Burrell finished up the morn-
ing with drawing, going up to the drawing
class-room with about twenty others for an
hour and three-quarters. Mr O'Brien left
him pretty much to himself, as he was busy
119
In Carrington's Duty Week
with numbers of minutiae on this, the first
drawing day of Term. It was a very free-
and-easy lesson ; talking was tolerated up
to a certain point, and everybody enjoyed it.
Coley was doing geometrical drawings (with
a view, presumably, to his future engineer-
ing) ; he sat at a little table near one of the
windows. The room looked North, and
there was a splendid view seawards, but
the boys didn't look out of the windows
much, not caring greatly for the beauties
of nature. Burr ell was unable to get an
easel, so sat down with his freehand copy
at the other end of Coley 's table. Mr
O'Brien managed them very well, and
without giving marks too. This morning
he had given one, in the preceding class,
to Phil Lewis, and it was quite a topic of
conversation.
" Phil's got a mark from O'Brien," was
Coley's first contribution to a conversation
carried on between himself and his vis-d-
vis.
" What for ? "
In Carrington's Duty Week
" Chucking bread about ; he often does
it ; I'm glad he got one. Gerrans will put
it down two in the book, I daresay."
" Why ? "
" Oh, I don't know. He did once before.
O'Brien gives his marks to Gerrans after
school, you see."
" Do you get marks for this work ? "
" Rather ; everybody gets ten — that's
maximum — if he behaves properly. It's
such fun : O'Brien writes all the names
down on a long strip of drawing-paper
every day, and takes it down to Gerrans,
and everybody has ten ! I can't see why he
takes the trouble to do it. I'll bet they laugh
every drawing day in the masters' room."
" I suppose they count ? " said Burrell.
" I don't believe they do ; that makes it
funnier still. But his bad marks do, so mind
you don't chuckbread unless he isn't looking."
" I'm not going to ; I use india-rubber ;
I never saw bread used before ! "
" Well, we always have it here. Got any
marks for to-day ? "
In Carrington's Duty Week
" No, have you ? "
" Of course not ! " replied Coley, in-
dignantly ; " why, I only had twenty-one
last term ! "
" Does anybody get none ? "
" Yes, one or two chaps. Palmer never
gets any. It's funny about marks : you
always get them if you try not to ; haven't
you noticed it ? "
" I haven't had time to try yet," said
Burrell, smiling.
" No, of course not : but it is so. Now
there's young Bob Thorn : his pater gives
him a shilling when he goes home for every
mark he gets below the average in his
form. It goes on the reports."
" How do you mean ? "
" Why, the average, perhaps, is thirty ;
well, if he only gets twenty he has ten
bob. It used to be sixpence a mark, but
that was when Bob was in the Lower Fourth,
where the average is about fifty. When he
got into the Upper Fourth, last term,
where the average is only about thirty
In Carrington's Duty Week
(I don't believe it's as much as thirty,
though !) he said he must have a fresh
understanding with his pater, so it's been
a shilling since then."
" Does he ever get anything ? "
" Not he ! That's just what I was going
to say. He tries like bricks, and yet he's
generally top-scorer in his form. It isn't
always the most disorderly chaps who get
most, though."
" I expect it is generally," observed
Burrell.
" Well, — I don't know." Coley seemed in-
clined for a moment to consider it philoso-
phically, but eventually gave it up with
an air of " Too much fag ! " Then he took
up another side of this prominent mark-
question, which was really the most fre-
quently discussed of any subject among
the boys, especially in the bedrooms at the
end of the day.
" I'll tell you this, anyhow," he volun-
teered ; "if once you get a bad name
among the masters, you're done for. Palmer
123
In Carrington's Duty Week
might do a dozen things and not get a mark,
and Pinky would be marked for every one
of the dozen."
" Hard lines ! "
" Rather ! Carrington marked Beau-
champ six times in one week for looking
at him while he said grace at dinner ! "
" Nonsense."
" It's right ! He said Beauchamp looked
at him in a cheeky manner."
" Well, did he ? "
" How do I know ? I don't suppose he
meant to at first, but I guess he did after
the first day or two. I should have done."
" How did it end, then ? " asked Burrell.
" Oh, Carrington's week only comes
once in six, and before it came round again
they understood each other better, I suppose.
It never happened again. It's often quite
a misunderstanding."
"Well, that's too bad: they let you
explain, though ? "
" Pooh ! you can't explain. Besides,
they often won't let you. And when they
124
In Carrington's Duty Week
do, it's no good ; you can see all the time,
while you're making it as clear as daylight,
that they don't mean to take off the marks
whatever you say. Then you get waxy,
and give cheek, and get them doubled.
That's what young Thorn does generally.
What I object to is having half -holidays
stopped for bad mark-lists."
" Do they do that ? "
" The Head does, sometimes. He's the
only one that thinks it fair. I know the
other masters don't ; Beach thinks it's rot,
I'm sure. Why shouldn't the boys who get
them be punished, without the others and
all the masters ? "
" Yes, it's not fair," agreed Burrell.
" No, it's beastly rot. So it is rot for a
mark to stop you from a match."
" Does it ? "
" Yes, of course. If it's an out-match
it does. You must stand your blooming
mark after dinner with the others, and the
very day you get it too. So if you only
get one mark a week, and it happens to
125
In Carrington's Duty Week
come between Friday and Saturday's dinner,
you're as badly off as those who get seven,
and are gated on half -holidays. It's lost
us many a match at cricket and footer, I
can tell you. Why should a mark be more
heavily punished one day than another ? "
"Why don't they have some other ar-
rangement ? "
" Bless you! the Head thinks it's splendid;
he won't alter for anybody. He don't
care twopence for the games, but he's an
ass not to see that they do more for his old
school than all his teaching, and the open
schols. we get. Once a master — he's left
now — kept a mark from Saturday till Mon-
day, so as to let Victor go to a footer match,
and the Head was in a wax about it. And
Roper last term went to see if he could get
leave to have marks before dinner one
Thursday, so as not to spoil our best match
of the season, and he said he'd never venture
to ask again."
" I wonder the masters mark the chaps in
the teams, then," observed Burrell.
126
In Carrington's Duty Week
" So do I ; I've often thought I wouldn't.
It would pay to let us off in such cases ;
they must see it would. Nobody would
take advantage of a let-off like that, I'm
sure. Or they could give a task just for
once."
" Perhaps they think it wouldn't be
fair."
" Oh, crikey, you must think they're
mighty conscientious ! I'm sure they don't
stop long to consider that ! Still, I don't
know." Coley's face puckered up in thought,
as he measured out an angle on his paper.
" It must be hard for a chap like Roper.
He fags at the ground and the practices ;
goes out with the teams ; does all he can
for the games ; and then he goes and marks
Victor or Graiseley or Lewis just before a
match, and won't take it off ! He and
Carrington are the best two for the games.
Carrington is permanent secretary, and he
has awful tussles with the Head before he
can get matches on, if there's any going
away early or coming back late. I believe
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In Carrington's Duty Week
the Head bullies him awfully because he
sticks up for the footer and cricket."
" What a shame ! " said Burrell.
" Yes, and he lets the masters pay all
their own ex'es, too, when they take us to
play away."
" Well, they do that at most schools."
" Then it's a rotten state of things,"
cried Coley.
His indignation had caused him to raise
his voice, and the master looked across
with a warning word. He quieted down,
and plied his compass and rule in silence.
His chum wondered whether this outburst
was to be accounted for by the patronage
Carrington was popularly supposed to bestow
on Coley.
Presently he resumed his conversation.
He had not done with marks yet.
"A long time ago the Head promised a
half if ever there was a day without marks,
and we got one once."
" Jolly good ! "
" Yes, it took some getting, I can tell
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In Carrington's Duty Week
you. But last term we got a blank mark-
sheet again, and expected another holi-
day, and he wouldn't give it, — stingy old
wretch ! "
" Why not ? "
" Oh, he said it wasn't an understood
thing that we were always to have one :
he only promised it once."
" What a sell for you ! "
" So it was, but you ought to have heard
the row it kicked up. For twenty-four
hours it had been " Don't get marks ! "
" Don't get marks ! " Everybody was re-
minding everybody else : we kept a sharp
look-out on wretched kids like F. C. Brown ;
and you saw it scribbled in chalk all over the
place, " Don't get marks ! " Well, as soon
as ever we came out of hall, after he'd
sold us that day, everyone was saying,
"Get marks," "Get marks!" "Get as
many as you can." The inscriptions were
altered ; we rubbed out all the " Don't "s.
Next day we had the record : a hundred and
thirty-one, I think it was. I know fifty-
i 129
In Carrington's Duty Week
five out of ninety boys in the school were
on the book."
" What happened ? "
" Oh, we had to work all the next
Thursday afternoon. But we didn't care :
it was splendid ! "
" Hard lines on the masters, wasn't it ? "
" Well, yes, it was ! " Coley admitted ;
" because, of course, they helped us to get
the blank page ; we couldn't possibly do it
if they didn't. But, of course, they knew
why we were so naughty after it ; they'd
put that down to the stingy old Head's
account, not ours."
Before dinner, Jimmy and Mr Roper,
assisted by some small fry who loved to
dabble in anything, marked out the wicket.
On this Thursday there were no gated
boys ; the previous week had only con-
sisted of two days, — a period too short
to enable anybody to qualify for the
necessary number. Mr Carrington was only
too glad.
In the afternoon Burrell enjoyed himself
130
In Carrington's Duty Week
hugely until near tea-time when his head
began to ache. It often did after a cricket-
match ; perhaps the excitement caused it,
or the strain on the eyes. He and Coley
were both on Wright's side, that is, with
Mr Gerrans and Mr Carrington. Their
side went in first, and made ninety-four
(Gerrans 37, Graiseley 24, and Burrell 12
not out). Coley made two ; Mr Carring-
ton an unenviable duck, much to the disgust
of himself and his side. Coley chaffed him
terribly as he lolled under the tree beside
the scoring-box ; and Burrell came to the
conclusion that — though at times like these
there was a delightful rapport between all
masters and boys — Mr Carrington would
not have tolerated quite so much presump-
tion from any other boy on the field.
Burrell went in eighth wicket down, so the
first hour and a half of the afternoon was a
time of nervous ease for him. Had it
not been for his anxiety to do well, he would
have enjoyed it perfectly ; his flannels and
his shoes were new ; he wore a nobby
13*
In Carrington's Duty Week
canvas shirt laced up the front, and
he could sport a blazer, which was more
than most of the boys could do, as there
were only five of last Summer's team left
to wear the school colours.
The wicket crumbled badly despite the
rolling : there had been no rain for weeks ;
the grass was long, too, and spoilt boundary-
strokes and out-fielding alike. But nobody
(except, perhaps, the masters) cared much
for these drawbacks. Shields disposed of
most of BurrelTs side with his fast bumpy
left-hand deliveries ; in his first over he
bowled Carrington, who was very sick,
because he was about the one • man who
could hit Shields. Thorn and Mr Roper
took a wicket or two each, but most of the
runs came from them. Mr Howitt kept
wicket.
Burrell batted very steadily, and, unlike
most of his predecessors, made some useful
strokes on the off-side. Mr Gerrans part-
nered him for a time, and the boy was very
much pleased with the commendations
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In Carrington's Duty Week
that came along the wicket as he made a
good stroke, or refused to play at a rising
ball outside the off-stump.
When Thorn's side went in, runs came
very slowly, and it was five o'clock before
the seventh wicket fell at sixty odd, and the
game came to an undecided conclusion.
Mr Howitt and Mr Roper made most of
the runs, Thorn's ten being the only other
double-figures. Gerrans bowled remark-
ably well at one end (not the wily lobs,
however, which got wickets so often on the
practice-field), and Graiseley, though he
only took one wicket, kept up the other
end very steadily. Victor Limehouse made
the longest hit of the day — a square-leg
smack into the South House garden, but
came out next ball. Burrell was honoured
with the position of cover-point to both
bowlers, and did very well, though he
grew tired towards the close.
Despite the afternoon's cricket there
was a pick-up side on the lower field after
tea. Burrell didn't play ; his head was
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In Carrington's Duty Week
bad, and he lounged by the tennis-courts,
watching some of the committee-men gal-
lantly dragging the small roller over one of
the courts, while the rest mowed the grass
on the other court with a tiny lawn-mower,
supplemented by an old scythe, borrowed
from Daniel, the man-of -all-work.
After prep, everybody was thoroughly
tired, and nobody had energy enough to
make a row in supper. There was an
excellent opportunity ; for the milk, instead
of being put as usual in the places of the
boys who took it, was in two big pitchers
on the high-table. Carrington, to avoid a
fuss, took it round himself, and poured it
out, going along from table to table. It was
a job he didn't much relish, but nobody
could have done it more justly or more
expeditiously. By the time it was finished,
it was on the stroke of nine, and Carrington
touched the bell. F. C. Brown, who had
only just received his allowance of milk (and
that a short one, as it happened) tried to
drink it during the " returning of thanks."
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Of course, the temptation was too much for
his yellow-haired little neighbour, and the
milk went all over Pinky 's waistcoat. So
that the next word to " Amen " was " F. C.
Brown, I shall mark you ! " And the small
originator of the disturbance had to go and
confess, " Please, sir, I made him ! "
Then the mark was transferred to Croydon,
and the honourable little chap (goodness
knows what else he could have anticipated !)
went out, when his turn came, with such
a rueful pout that Carrington was highly
amused.
In Number Thirteen there was a chat-
tering which sorely tried poor BurrelTs
nerves. His head was aching fit to split,
and he had it on the cool pillow in less than
five minutes. . .
" Seedy, Burrell ? " asked Mr Roper,
surprised to find anybody in bed at his first
visit.
" Yes, sir, I've got a beastly headache."
" Hard lines ! Well, you played a very
good innings this afternoon."
In Carrington's Duty Week
This didn't cure the throbbing in Barren's
head, however pleasant it was to hear-
It had been a trifle better during supper,
but running upstairs and hurrying into bed
had started it off again ten times worse than
before. Every speech, every laugh, made
him wince.
" Poor old chap ! " said Coley, looking at
the white lace very sympathetically, and
kicking off his slippers at the same time with
a great noise.
" Thorn's got some ' Eno,' " suggested
Lewis. He would have opened the prefect's
drawer, and taken it out, but Burrell
murmured,
" Oh, don't take it without asking ; he'll
be up presently."
It was a relief to get the light out, but
after Mr Roper had gone there was a good
deal of animated discussion raging round
such points of interest as the afternoon's
cricket, milk at supper, and Jimmy's photos,
which were on view in their untoned state
during the undressing.
136
In Carrington's Duty Week
At ten, when Thorn came up, nobody
remembered to ask for the medicine except
Burrell himself, and he couldn't raise suffi-
cient energy to bother about it. He was
feeling very cold, but he had lain perfectly
still for nearly an hour, hoping the turmoil
inside his head would settle down into
quiescence. It had not done so, however ;
the lighting of the gas, and Thorn's move-
ments (though they were anything but
noisy) tortured the poor fellow afresh.
Nobody spoke to him, fortunately ; perhaps
the other chaps thought he was asleep.
The light went out for the last time ;
talking ceased ; five boys were soon asleep,
but Burrell never came near it. He felt
horribly wakeful, and could not attain that
delightful incoherence of thought which
is the precursor of sleep, and which is so
hard to come at when one is trying for it.
The pain was in his left temple, and that
was a good thing, for he could only lie on
his right side like so many other people.
He put his hand out of bed, and, cooling it on
137
In Car ringtail's Duty Week
the rail at his head, applied it to the throb-
bing temple. This didn't do it a scrap of
good ; the moving had made him worse.
The deep regular breathing of the other
boys was most irritating ; here was he
losing the best of the night and yet needing
sleep most of all. And Coley had said he'd
never had a headache in his life ! Well,
Coley must be better made than he was,
or took more care of himself, perhaps.
What a row Victor was making in the bed
next to him, snoring away like a pig !
How the deuce had he got this cruel head-
ache ? Of course he'd often had them
before at home, but then there was his
mother to coddle him up and do things for
him. The last time he was like this, she had
come in when she went to bed, and he had
asked for a bandage for his head. She
tied a clean white handkerchief round it.
At first he was sorry because it wasn't
wetted with cold water or vinegar, but
he had gone to sleep soon after. He
would tie his handkerchief round now.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Oh dear ! Oh dear ! What a fag it was
to get it out of his jacket, lying on the chair
beside him. There ! perhaps that would
do it good. How long must you give a
thing like that to act ? Well, not less
than half-an-hour perhaps. Why wasn't
there was something to cure headache
instantaneously ? He believed there was ;
he'd seen it advertised in a paper only the
other day. Now, what was the stuff called?
Oh, dear, how stupid ! It was making
him worse, trying to remember like that !
He wouldn't think about it. He wouldn't
think about anything. What a stupid old
head, to go on thinking when he didn't
want it to ! What a time he was lying
awake ! Everybody in the room was asleep,
most likely everybody in the house. Per-
haps he'd have to go on like this till the
morning ! He wished he knew what time
it was ; he couldn't see if he were to open
his eyes. And what a row his watch
made over his head. Darn the thing ! he
would wrap it in his handkerchief, which
139
In Carrington's Duty Week
might just as well come off his head — it
wasn't doing a morsel of good. He could
get out and wet it. No, it was too much
fag. There, now he couldn't hear that
beastly ticking. Why, it wasn't very dark
after all ! Of course not ; there was the gas
on the landing, and the faint light came in
through the fan-light over the door. Then
Mr Carrington hadn't gone to bed yet :
it couldn't be more than about eleven.
Beastly cricket ! these matches always gave
him a headache. He wouldn't play again.
It was hard lines — other boys didn't get
headaches. He believed there was some-
thing wrong with his constitution ; he'd
never be a strong man. But Father was
strong and hearty enough. Dear Father !
It was a week ago to-day he said good-bye
to him at the station. He'd be just going
to bed now, and Mother too. Lilian and
little Walter would be fast asleep hours
ago. How would his bedroom look with
only Walter in it ? He wondered whether
his own bed was taken down, or was stand-
ee
In Carrington's Duty Week
ing dismantled in • its corner. Confound
it ! if only his head would be quiet for five
minutes he could go to sleep. At home
he'd have been asleep before now. The
pain was worse and worse. What was
the use of lying so still when he never got
a bit better ? It was just like a beastly
machine beating at the inside of his brain.
What was it really, he wondered ? If you
could see into your head when it was like
this, what would it look like ? Just the
same as at any other time, he supposed.
What was pain, anyhow ? People talked
about forgetting your pain. Rot ! how
could anybody forget a brutal machine
banging the inside of your head right over
your eye ? What nonsense people talked !
What was that verse ? With Thee con-
versing I forget all pain and toil and care ?
Ah, that was only in a hymn. Now, here
was Mr Carrington coming along the cor-
ridor. Now he would open his eyes and
see the gas go out. What a grand sleep
Victor was having ! And his mouth open,
141
In Carrington's Duty Week
too ! It would be good fun to shove some
soap in it. Ha ! ha ! Oh, shut up ! that
made his head worse. There went the gas.
How quietly Carrington went to bed ; you
couldn't hear his door shut ! It must be
twelve now, quite. Three mortal hours
of it already, and — how many ? — well,
say six and a half more. Nice and fit he
would be for getting up to morning school,
wouldn't he ? Perhaps he could stay in
bed, though ? But, no, he wouldn't do
that unless he was horribly bad. Just
let him fancy ; could he do Mental Arith-
metic like he was now ? If he went to the
station and bought .... Oh bother ! it
hurt him to try. Silly old Head, setting
such rotten sums. What was it first period
tomorrow ? Well, never mind ; there was
drill in the afternoon. He wondered if it
would be like the old drill : he used to enjoy
that. Graiseley said it was stupid. But
Graiseley said that about everything. How
steadily he had bowled, over after over !
Dash it ; he wouldn't think about cricket
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In Carrington's Duty Week
any more. Perhaps he could stop thinking
altogether now. If only he could ! Grey
matter — yes, that's what the brain was made
of. What was the matter with his grey
matter ? Oh, how silly ; making jokes
with a splitting head ! No, he wouldn't
play so much cricket ; he'd swear he
wouldn't ! What was the use of going to a
school at the seaside, and then spending
all the blooming time playing cricket?
He'd go to the shore oftener ; and to the
woods sometimes. That wouldn't give him
a headache ! What good did it do you,
after you'd left school, to have played
such a lot of cricket ? Now, by the sea
you could learn heaps of useful things,
and in the woods, too ! What good was
nearly everything they did at school ?
Oh, but that wouldn't do ! Mother told
him it was silly to talk like that, and
showed him why. Only a week since he
came ; good heavens ! it seemed a month !
Twelve more weeks like that ! But, after
all, it had gone quick ! Had he really slept
In Carrington's Duty Week
in this bed seven times ? Yes, eight. No,
not eight, he hadn't done any sleeping
to-night as yet. What rot ! To lie in bed
thinking, thinking, thinking all night !
Beastly old grey matter ; it must be seeth-
ing about like mad. Why wouldn't it
be quiet ! That must be Jimmy, tossing
round on his bed. What a lively chap
he was ! And what a brown skin he had !
When he blushed just now, the blood
rushed all over his face and he seemed to
steam. No wonder boys called it " smok-
ing " ! It must be one o'clock now. Oh,
dear ! five and a half more hours. It was
no use lying still like that ! He was warmer,
now, though ! He supposed he'd better
lie still. Perhaps, if he thought of the
sheep jumping through the hedge . . . No,
of course not ! you didn't do that when
your headache was keeping you awake.
There, now he was thinking about those
sheep ! Oh, he would stop it. It was very
quiet outside ; the trees would rustle if
there was any wind ; there couldn't be any.
144
In Carrington's Duty Week
It wasn't really pitch-dark now ! Why
not ? Perhaps the moon — no, not on that
side of the house. What did it matter ? If
only his head would stop aching ! How
could people do anything with a bad head-
ache ? He supposed they had to, some-
times. He'd read somewhere about many
a soldier going into battle with a splitting
headache. Well, it was cruel, anyhow.
It was bad enough to lie still. Could he
have stopped that hard smack of Thorn's
if his head had been as bad as it was now ?
He wished he'd been put in earlier ; he only
had about six overs ; six or seven — well,
perhaps eight, or even nine. Dash it !
cricket again ! Oh, dear, oh dear ! how
bad his head was ! the grey matter didn't
seem to be settling down. It was too bad ;
all the night lying there suffering, and no-
body to pity him ! Stop a bit, though ;
no good getting in a wax : that wouldn't
improve his chance of dropping off. How
still he had lain all that long time ! Surely
he'd stop thinking soon ! He must have
K MS
In Carrington's Duty Week
eaten too much. Not at supper, certainly.
Well, at tea, then ? No, not anything
out of the way. Dinner ? that was non-
sense ; food digests in six hours (or was it
five ?) How long was it since dinner ?
Just about twelve hours ; more, now,
he expected ! How did they divide the
twenty-four hours ? About fifteen for wak-
ing ; that left nine for sleeping. He should
only get — how many, to-night ? Perhaps
four and a half — that was just half the
proper number. But some men did with
six ! Ah, yes — men, not boys. Well, he'd
be a man before long ; how long ? He
was nearly fourteen. Well, say five years !
Why, how soon ! And he hadn't begun
to be one yet. He wondered if he'd have
headaches like this when he was a man.
Oh, dear ! how hard it was not to get in a
wax. It was so abominably aggravating.
Perhaps he was really getting rested. Could
your body get rest while your brain kept on
thinking and throbbing like that ? He
must ask Father; he would know. Most
146
In Carrington's Duty Week
likely, you could get rest like that ; your
brain worked, anyhow, when you dreamed,
and yet you got rest. Some people said,
though, that it wasn't rest if you dreamed.
Well, he didn't often dream, at any rate.
Now, wasn't he any better ? Well, perhaps,
a tiny bit— the least trifle. No, he didn't
believe he really was ; he was only trying
to pretend to himself. That was it. And
he'd just forgotten for a minute. With
Thee conversing I forget . . . Good-night !
there was that hymn again. Talking to
God it meant. Saying your prayers, he
supposed. Well, he'd said his. Had he,
though ? Yes, of course : he remembered
now. Not very properly to be sure ! Per-
haps he'd better say them again. God
could make his head better, he supposed.
He wondered if he would. Oh, would
God please make his head stop aching, and
let him go to sleep ? His feet seemed
asleep ! What a wonder they didn't get
tired of being in the same position all those
hours. The left one was crossed over the
147
In Carrington's Duty Week
other. He would move them. Well, they
were warm, anyhow ! Pes, pedis, a foot,
masculine ; lex, legis, a law, feminine . . .
What a stupid photo ! a lot of girls —
fielding a square-leg hit, too ! . . . Victor ,
victoris, a conqueror . . . 1066 to 1087 . .
Jubilee year, 1887 ... 63 for seven wickets.
. . . The match was thus drawn, in favour
of Mr Burrell's XL ... Well left alone,
Burrell ! Well, you played a very good
innings this afternoon. . . Good-night, sir !
What a vile row ! all in, was it ? ... Oh !
that bell ! Why, dash it all, it was next
morning !
I48
CHAPTER VI
FRIDAY
I woke up well, and it was morning \ The
man who wrote that [God rest your sym-
pathetic soul, dear friend!] knew what it
was to wake up in the morning very far
from well. Burrell didn't ; so the fact that
his headache was completely gone didn't
strike him as being in the least noteworthy.
" Better, old man ? " asked Coley from
his corner as soon as the bell had ceased.
" Oh, yes ; I'm all right, thanks " ;
and Burrell tumbled out of bed quite
cheerfully. He had been getting rather
slack lately ; but, without his knowing
it, his vigil was having the effect of making
him more conscientious. It wasn't des-
tined to last long — this improvement in
turning out.
" Drill to-day ! " remarked Jimmy, put-
149
In Carrington's Duty Week
ting his hand into his jacket-pocket to make
sure that the dangerous prints had not
mysteriously disappeared in the night.
" Sergeant won't come, perhaps," sug-
gested Victor. " First time, he sometimes
forgets."
Coley soon disposed of this vain hope.
" I met him in the village yesterday, and
he said he was coming. He said he came
up last Friday as far as the gate, and then
somebody told him it was no use ; we
weren't all back."
" Grand ! " exclaimed Jimmy. " I won-
der who it was. Do you know?"
" No ; I asked him. He said it was a
small boy — Pinky, perhaps."
" No, I'll bet it wasn't ! " objected Victor.
" Pinky hasn't wit enough for that ! "
" Oh, hasn't he though ! " retorted Coley.
" Now I'U bet you it was Pinky! "
" Perhaps you do know, then ? "
" No ; I'll swear I don't. Only it sounds
just like him."
"Well," declared Victor, "it was jolly
150
In Carrington's Duty Week
decent of him, whoever it was. And it
was quite true, too : we aren't all back
yet/'
When they were going downstairs, Burrell
asked his chum if drill was as bad as Graise-
ley said.
" Oh, it's fairly rotten ! " said Coley ;
" Sergeant isn't much good, and he gives
us a lot too much ' doubling.' I believe he
thinks it tames us down. You can have a
pretty good lark as far as he's concerned."
" Doesn't he mark you ? "
" No, but a master is always out there,
too ; he does ! Carrington will be there
to-day : he won't let you talk even ! "
Graiseley had chapped hands, and showed
them to Burrell, as soon as the latter sat
down in the first assembly.
" How funny they look ! " exclaimed
Burrell, examining their backs, which bore
a kind of little war map, lined out in
red.
" They hurt jolly well, I can tell you ! "
said Graiseley, looking at them most com-
In Carrington's Duty Week
placently. "If I could wash in warm
water, they wouldn't bleed like that ! "
Burrell smiled.
" I hate washing in warm water ! " he
said. " You ought to put some vaseline on
them."
" Well, give us some, then ! "
"AU right; I will : only it's upstairs."
" Well, you can ask Carrington for leave
to get it."
" What, now ? "
" Yes."
So Burrell walked out of his place, and
asked leave to go back to his room. Car-
rington said, however, that he might go
after breakfast ; he thought that would
be quite soon enough.
" Old donkey ! " ejaculated Graiseley,
as his neighbour came back again to his
seat. " I knew he wouldn't let you ! "
" Why not ? "
" Oh, he don't like me ."
" But I didn't tell him it was for you ! "
remonstrated Burrell.
In Carrington's Duty Week
" You didn't ! why ever not ? "
Without waiting for an answer to what
Burrell considered a very ridiculous ques-
tion, Graiseley got a paper out of his desk
and began to read it.
Burrell turned to Johnson, who sat on
his left.
" What 's our work ? " he inquired.
" Don't know. Clements will tell you,"
was the reply.
So Burrell leaned over, and, after some
little difficulty in attracting the attention
of Clements, the head-boy of the form,
managed to borrow the time-table from him,
and busied himself making a copy of it in
his pocket-book until the collect was said.
Before Carrington called " Silence ! " he
drew their attention to the fact that the
music time-table was up, and announced
that he should sign books in evening prep.
Burrell could not manage a peep at it until
breakfast-assembly, when several other boys
went up like himself to see how their
practice-times suited their convenience.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Price was making a great row.
" Jolly decent ! not down once for the
old piano ! " he vociferated.
To Burrell all pianos were as yet equal ;
but he soon learned which was the one to
which the Burnley Slogger alluded. It had
no pedals, and was in a class-room where
the practice was never impracticable ; two
very serious drawbacks.
" I can't think how the dickens Gerrans
arranges it," growled Johnson, as they
sat waiting to be sent in to breakfast.
" It isn't alphabetical ; nor according to
forms ; nor by ages ! "
" Which is No. 4 piano ? " asked Burrell.
"North House," replied Johnson, "it's
a decent one, too ! "
" I'm there after breakfast ! " remarked
the new boy, trying not to speak queru-
lously.
" Hard luck ! I hate that time ; it isn't
good enough. I always stay as late as I
can in hall on my after-breakfast morning."
" What for ? "
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" Weil, you can only do about twenty
minutes then, if it's a nine o'clock day.
You can say you didn't come out of break-
fast till half-past eight, and you went as
soon as you could and practised till five
to nine. See ? "
" I'm going to change mine," said Bur-
rell confidently, as he consulted the notes
he had made in his pocket-book. " I shall
want to play cricket that time."
" Well, don't you wish you may get
anybody to be so soft, that's all ! "
" I'm going to try," said Burrell.
" Bet you won't manage it ! " retorted
Johnson.
He didn't that morning, at any rate ;
and he practised religiously on the North
House piano from 8.25 till 8.55, only
occasionally looking out through the win-
dow for a glimpse of cricket, caught between
the swaying branches of the trees in the
garden. Mr. Carrington came in while he
was at it ; this being the first morning of
practice, he was so tremendously energetic
In Carrington's Duty Week
as to go the round of the pianos — a thing
seldom done by him or any other masters.
"Well, Burrell; you're at it, then?"
he said.
The boy could think of no reply save to
state that he was at it.
" Better to-day ? " the master went on,
coming up close, and pinching his ear.
" Yes, thank you, sir ! "
" Too much cricket ? "
" I daresay it was, sir. I often have
bad headaches/
" Do you ? "
Then Carrington looked down at him with
a glance that the boy thought remarkably
searching, and after that went away with,
" Well, get on with your playing."
Burrell wondered how he knew about the
headache ; perhaps, Mr. Roper had men-
tioned it last night, or Coley might have
just told him. As he ran up and down his
scales, he chafed a little at having to give
up this precious time to them. But that
didn't prevent him doing his best to play
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In Carrington's Duty Week
them correctly, and going over the hard
ones again and again in a praiseworthy
endeavour to get them right.
He got out punctually at half -past twelve ;
that was something to be thankful for, as
he had been to Mr Beach for Latin during
the morning. Despite the good resolutions
of last night he went straight to the field ;
and played cricket energetically till the
bell rang for dinner-assembly. Coming up
from below, he had his hair unmercifully
ruffled by somebody who passed him on the
stairs. It was Jimmy Limehouse, and
Burrell pursued him hotly along the corri-
dor. Jimmy dodged nimbly through the
fellows, uttering a despairing yell as he
found he would be collared before he could
get into the comparative safety of the
schoolroom. He was going to bolt out of
the swing-door, but caught a glimpse of
Carrington, who was already in assembly,
and who was coming to the schoolroom
door to see what the row in the corridor
meant. So he pulled up short, and was
In Carrington's Duty Week
walking in as sedately as if he'd never run
or screamed in all his born days. But
Burrell hadn't so keen a perception of
circumstances, and fell upon him from
behind, bending him back over his knee
and trying to put him down on the floor.
" 1 shall mark you two boys," said the
master, under whose very nose this was going
on ; and they rose, looking extremely silly.
Burrell felt that he was very red, partly
from exertion, but more perhaps from shame
and vexation. Jimmy was also the colour
of a turkey-cock ; but he generously tried
to shield his antagonist.
" It was my fault, sir," he said, as
their names went down in the pocket-
book.
" Oh, nonsense ! Go to your places ! "
was all the reply this piece of information
elicited.
" I began it, sir ! " he continued, as he
reluctantly passed into the room.
" That will do \ " cried Carrington, with
a voice somewhat louder than before. And
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Jimmy, who was afraid the one mark
might become two, gave it up. He said
" Sorry ! " though, to Burrell, and quite
audibly, too. It was said in what might
have fairly been considered a cheeky tone,
but Carrington did not, or would not, take
any notice of it, and crying " Silence ! "
passed them out to dinner.
"I've got a mark," said Burrell to Brand
at table ; " when shall I have to stand it ? "
" Oh, not till after tea, I suppose. It all
depends on the Sergeant's coming."
" Well, he's coming then ! "
" Hope he isn't ! I wonder which div.
goes first. Seniors, I suppose."
Burrell couldn't enlighten him here, so
he turned to his other neighbours for in-
formation.
When he read the mark list, the Head
warned any boy against going off the pre-
mises until the question of drill was settled.
When they got outside, Carrington was
besieged with requests for information.
He waved everybody away, and merely
In Carrington's Duty Week
saying " Marks in Mr Beach's classroom/'
went into the masters' room. He left the
door open, and Burrell heard him ask
anxiously,
" Will this blooming Sergeant come ? "
Three or four of the other men hastened
maliciously to inform him that drill was
inevitable. It was good for the men who
were not on duty, because they scored an
extra half -hour. School commenced at four
on drill days, each division having forty-
five minutes.
" I'll begin marks, anyhow. I never
get a let-off ! "
And with this, Carrington came out
again, and ignoring a number of unnecessary
observations, such as " Marks, sir ? " went
to get at any rate a bit of the detention
over.
With assumed complacence and affability
he bustled the mark-boys round, and com-
menced unusually quickly. Before three
minutes had gone he saw the Sergeant
coming up the side of the field — " the thin
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In Carrington's Duty Week
red line," as the staff jocularly called
him. But he was determined to stand off
the first ten minutes, so he took no notice
of the instructor's appearance. Nor, when
Victor appeared and knocked at the door,
sent by the delighted masters' -room to
apprise Carrington, did the duty-master
yield up his victims till the first mark was
stood. It was so humbugging to have to
reckon odd minutes, and the Sergeant was
able to renew his acquaintance with the
boys in the meantime, while Pinky and Price
once more fondled his malacca with due
gravity. At last Carrington said, " All
with more than one mark come again after
tea ! " Then there was a general rush,
and many enquiries of " Which division
first, sir ? "
They took it in alternation, and Carrington
decided " Seniors first ! " to the disgust
of several seniors. Victor remonstrated,
pretending to remember distinctly that the
seniors went first on the last drill of last
Term. But a semi-jocular, semi-peevish
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In Carrington's Duty Week
retort of " Shut up, Victor, you donkey ! "
put discussion at an end. Then, sending his
aggressor to ring the bell — a lovely piece
of diplomacy lost upon Limehouse ! — Car-
rington carried his book into the masters'
room, and came out again with his cap on,
resigned to his fate. Outside, he returned
the Sergeant's salute, and ordered Coley to
pull up the wickets from the middle of the
field, and pitch them to the side under the
wall.
" Fall in ! " cried the instructor, and some
of the more energetic ones proceeded to
divest themselves of cuffs, or coats, or
even waistcoats ; some, like Jack Adams,
turned their sleeves up above their elbows.
It was quite warm enough for this disrobing,
and no objection was raised. Then, for
more than forty-five minutes, the squad
went through its evolutions. Lewis affected
to be overcome with fatigue, and made
himself so obnoxious that Carrington had to
mark him. He came near being told to fall
out, which would have meant going to the
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Chief. After that, all went fairly well,
except when in the doubling round the field
they ran along by the wall over the junior
pitch. Here some wickets were standing
up, and those Coley had slung across from
the other pitch were lying down. Of course,
everybody went bang over these stumps ;
they presented a tremendous obstacle, which
made great sturdy chaps reel and totter,
and the charge wavered like that of the
English at Bannockburn. But Carrington
wasn't going to mark anybody just because
the Sergeant was an ass, so he rather enjoyed
this episode than otherwise. He didn't
like the Sergeant over-much ; it had been
reported in the masters' room that he had
been heard to say there was only one
master at the school who could keep order !
This galled everybody, including Gerrans,
who might have been flattered thereby
had he not been a fine fellow. It was bad
enough to have to come and keep order
for a drill-sergeant ! But to be so stupidly
misunderstood and maligned was worse.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
The dismissal of the division rested with
the master ; till he rang the bell they
had to go on. The first division nearly
always got an unfair share of the ninety
minutes. They did on this day, but at
last Carrington cried to one of the juniors —
a good many of whom were already on the
scene of future action — to ring the bell.
" Oh, sir, what a time ! " cried Jimmy,
as they broke off, and he held up his watch.
" I'm going to try some snaps at the
second div. and the light's getting worse
every minute ! "
Richards and Wright also brought out their
cameras, and, what with this and the short
time that remained, it did not seem long to
Carrington before the end came, and the
bell was again rung for school.
After tea, the rest of the detention was
stood off, and it wasn't over till quite ten
past seven. Johnson was enchanted ; it
went on during his practice-time, which
should have been done in that room.
Burr ell was abstemious at tea and supper,
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In Carrington's Duty Week
and wisely refused to mix sardines with
strawberry jam. He had some horrid Alge-
bra again in prep., and, though he was
rather more competent by this time to tackle
it, he came to the conclusion that the book
was a catchy one, and that the expressions
he was told to factorise had no factors.
He had expected to have his bath long before
now, but the hot water was so deficient
that even to-night only one or two at the
top of his form had their turn.
There was an out-match arranged for
the first eleven on the morrow ; Mr Car-
rington had managed to get all the May
fixtures away to give the pitch a chance.
After prep. Victor went to ask leave to stay
up for the committee-meeting. Mr Car-
rington acceded, but not very willingly.
" It ought to have been held before,"
he said ; " why couldn't you have had it
after tea ? Then the team would have been
up before prep, and the fellows would have
been steady."
" Please, sir ! " cried Victor in alarm ;
In Carrington's Duty Week
" you haven't marked any first eleven
chap, have you ? "
The master smiled as he answered,
" Well, considering that you haven't
picked the first eleven yet, I don't know
but what I have ! "
He had not, though ; there had only been
three marks given since tea-time up till
then.
The Committee met at nine, and Carring-
ton attended it. To him the day appeared
interminable, and he was so cross and
worried when they dispersed at half-past
nine, that he refused to go in to supper.
The other men had gone in, and he sent
word by a servant that he wasn't coming.
He sat down straight away to a pile of
exercises that awaited him, but after ten
minutes the maggot seized him to go
upstairs, and see if any extraneous duty
might still be found ! There was a pretty
fair din going on in the rooms on his landing,
but on Shields's landing up above a tin-
whistle was discoursing popular airs, and
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In Carrington's Duty Week
very well they were rendered. Carrington
went up and relieved Adams of the instru-
ment ; he didn't punish him any further,
except in disregarding utterly the piteous
appeal, " Oh, sir, you'll take care of
it?"
Then he descended to his own corridor, and
thought of going to see Number Thirteen.
There were several excuses ; the gas was
still on, showing that Coley and Victor were
not making any great haste into bed ;
he could enquire after the new boy's
headache ; the fellows might like to discuss
cricket and the coming match, as they had
often done before with him after he'd
turned out their gas ; he could enquire
into the state of the companionship he had
enjoined. But despite all these excuses,
he hesitated, and finally turned off to see
who was talking to Miss Rock in the linen-
room.
He found Coley there, minus his jacket
which was undergoing repair. The master's
first care was to pass the time of day with
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In Carrington's Duty Week
the matron ; his second to order the boy
to be off.
" Please, sir, I'm waiting for the coat ! "
he remonstrated.
" No, no ! Go to bed and get that light
out : you're not to wait."
He backed up this command by taking
hold of Coley's arm, and walking him along
the corridor.
" And who gave you leave, I should like
to know ? " said Carrington.
" A prefect ! " replied Coley, smiling
demurely : " you didn't think I'd risk
a mark, did you, sir ? "
The boy was picked for the first eleven,
and was keen on making his debut without
let or hindrance. It was doubtful if he
were worth his place, but it was a rare thing
to find a committee-man who didn't get
in ; they were voted for on account of their
playing powers as a rule.
" Well, I wish I could come and see you
play," said his master, as Coley went into
his room.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" Who's going, sir ? Mr Roper ? "
" Yes, I believe so."
Then Mr Carrington went in and got the
two fellows to bed, and turned out the
light, disregarding Victor's remark that
Thorn would want it alight again almost
directly. Going out, Carrington went along
to the linen-room again, and stayed talking
to Miss Rock longer than he intended.
He wished he'd gone sooner, when Mrs.
Rochester came bristling in and spoke his
name with a distinct trace of displeasure
in her tone. Still, why the deuce shouldn't
he talk to the matron ?
In Number Thirteen there was congratu-
lation going on that the bedroom should
have three first eleven men. Burrell took
very little part in the conversation ; of
course he wasn't chosen — he had not
expected to be. But he certainly had
expected equally little that Coley would
be. He had meant to ask his chum to go
for a long walk to the caves round the
headland the next afternoon, and now
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In Carrington's Duty Week
there would be nobody for him to go with,
unless he took somebody about whom he
cared very little. It must not, however,
be supposed that he envied or grudged
Coley his place in the team ; he was the
last boy in the world to do that sort of
thing.
170
CHAPTER VII
SATURDAY
IF there had been excitement over the teams
for Thursday's game, there was much more
over the composition of the first eleven in
the opening match of the season. The
choice made by the committee formed
the chief subject of conversation during the
morning. Burrell was obliged to hear a
good many criticisms on the inclusion of
Coley, but he did not see the use of cham-
pioning his chum, so he kept out of discus-
sions.
After breakfast, he was just rushing out
to play cricket when Jimmy accosted him.
" Would you like to help me pack the
bags ? " he enquired.
Burrell hesitated a moment before re-
plying, and answered the question indirectly
when he made up his mind to go.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" I'll come/' he said. He wanted to
decline, but his refusal might be construed
into the result of the unfortunate affray of
the previous morning. So he took on the
honour — charity — privilege — whatever it
might be, and accompanied Jimmy over to
the " bicycle-shed." Here was kept all
the cricket-material, and Jimmy unlocked
the big box to get out what was necessary
for the afternoon's match.
" What do you get for this job ? "
asked Burrell, strapping a pair of pads
round each bat which the curator selected
from the rack.
" A bob a week," answered Jimmy.
" It's hardly worth it, is it ? " inquired
Burrell sarcastically.
"No, hardly. But I don't really care
about the money so much. It's useful,
but I like to be able to stay up at
night."
" What for ? "
" Oh, to oil the bats, and tidy up, and put
things away."
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" But you haven't stayed up yet," ob-
served Burrell.
" No, because there's hardly anything in
use at present, and it's all bundled into the
prefects' room at night. But next week I
shall have the nets to look after, and
everything will be done ship-shape, or
Carrington won't pay me."
" Are you going for your pay this week ? "
' " I don't know if I shall," said Jimmy,
holding two odd batting gloves in his hand,
and trying to reconcile his conscience to
sending them as a pair. " If Victor goes
for His reading-room pay, I shall go for
mine."
" You and he seem to like these jobs,"
Burrell remarked.
" Well, we get chosen from a lot of
applicants. You see, we do them properly
— that's where it is. Victor's had his
berth for several terms now, and knows
all about the work."
" But you haven't been cricket-curator
before ? "
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In Carrington's Duty Week
" No, but Lloyd was, last summer, and I
used to help him. He was in our room ;
Coley and he were awfully thick."
" Yes, I've heard about him. So you can
have assistance, can you ? "
" Lloyd used to have leave for somebody
to help him. It takes two chaps to get nets
in at night, I can tell you. Often there's
a master to give you a hand, but you can't
reckon on that. Last summer Shields was
almost always round here at nine, but I
believe it was only because he wanted to
talk to Lloyd. He used to sit on the box
and chaff him all the time we were rubbing
in the oil."
The things were packed in two bags —
the property of the club. Few, if any, of
the fellows possessed cricket-bags of their
own. On the present occasion they would
go to the match in their flannels ; it was
only a drive of something like five miles.
" What are you going to do ? " asked
Burrell, as, each carrying a bulging bag,
they went across the garden.
In Carrington's Duty Week
" What, now ! "
" No, this afternoon."
"Oh, I don't know yet. I thought I
might get in as scorer, but you see Jacobs
is a pref. so I suppose he'll go every out
match. I went sometimes last season.
Carrington gets me the job."
" Well, what are you going to do, then ? "
" I'll walk over to see the match with you
if you like."
" Can we ? "
" Oh, yes ; it's only about an hour's
fast walk, and we could see an hour's
cricket."
" No, I don't think I want to ! " said
Burrell, reflectively.
" I'll take my camera," suggested Jimmy.
He though that would be an inducement,
but it was no great one to Burrell. He
proposed as an amendment that Jimmy
should go with him to the caves in the
headland. But Limehouse wouldn't do that,
so until the middle of the morning Burrell
was without plans for the afternoon.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
Just after recess, at a quarter past eleven,
the day was clouded sadly for both him and
Coley. Burrell's form had to go to Mr
Beach's room for Latin, and just as he was
entering the door Coley passed along the
corridor on his way to the schoolroom.
In his hand was a piece of bun, and he
chucked it at Burrell's head. The latter
ducked, and then they both made a rush
for the fragment. Coley 's foot slipped
on the tiles of the floor, and he fell full-
length, while his chum triumphantly secured
the missile, and stood over him trying to
get a shot at his head which he protected
with his arm as he scrambled up again.
Unluckily, Mr Beach was in his class-room,
and moreover, it was a trifle after time.
Disturbed and irritated, he came to the
door, and saw the two boys in the middle
of their contest.
" Now you two boys will be marked ! "
he said, testily. " Mason, I shall give you
two ! I'm surprised to find you so dis-
orderly ! "
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In Carrington's Duty Week
The thunderbolt had fallen indeed !
There was nothing for Burrell to do but to
go inside with a flaming face, while Coley
walked slowly along to the schoolroom,
very pale, with a great lump in his throat.
Neither of the boys could concentrate
his attention on his lessons after that, and
Burrell was kept in at a quarter to one.
His chum fared a trifle better, and was able
to go straight to Mr Roper at that time
and tell him to cross off his name. Roper
was exceedingly short with him.
" You ass, Coley 1 " he said, but the
boy's quivering lip checked any further
remarks, and he went away at once to
alter the list, and hunt up the first reserve.
There were two reserves picked, such a
contingency as the present one being thus
provided for. The boy was Brand, and
he was in Mr Beach's classroom. Roper
had to go . and fetch him out, Mr Beach
yielding him up reluctantly, and Brand
flying out to change with delighted alacrity.
Roper was hurrying the team into the
M 177
In Carrington's Duty Week
changing-room ; they were to have their
dinner at one, and start at half-past.
When Burrell was releasd, which was not
until nearly bell-time, he did not care to go
outside and watch the waggonette start,
as many of the fellows were doing. It
was gloriously sunshiny outside, but he
felt most unhappy as he took his books along
to the schoolroom. The first person he
saw there was Coley, sitting moodily at his
desk. Burrell went up to him diffidently,
but Coley turned away, and lifting up the
lid put his head under it in a pretended
search for something. So Burrell went
away, and wandered downstairs to get
ready for dinner, feeling more lugubrious
than before.
The team drove off with a clatter ; the
bell rang the remainder of the boys in, and
Burrell did not see any opportunity for a
word with his injured friend. But, after
dinner, while the Head was reading out
the marks, he looked round when their
two names came out together. Coley sum-
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In Carrington's Duty Week
moned up a faint smile, which was quite
enough to take much of the load off the
younger boy's heart.
" Marks in the schoolroom ! " was the
order, as they came out of dinner. When
Burrell went in there, Coley was leaning
against the wall by the .top-window. He
still looked somewhat dejected, but not so
much so as before. Burrell went up and
stood beside him with his back to the wall,
too. Carrington was just coming in ; there
was no time for much explanation. They
said " Beastly sorry ! " simultaneously.
This seemed funny to both of them, and they
nearly laughed. At the same time their
hands chanced to meet, and prompted by a
common impulse, they gripped one another
for a second before Carrington moved them
all away from the windows and end walls.
Coley and Burrell stood together ; there
were two long rows all down the middle of
the room. Carrington had considered
thirty-seven boys too many for the class-
room. He himself stood in front for the
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In Carrington's Duty Week
first ten minutes, and Burrell saw then how
busy he had to be with eyes and fingers to
get the thing into working order. He also
saw his glance rest on Coley and himself
with an unmistakable look of annoyance,
which he thought he understood. They
could all watch the hands of the clock ;
that was something to do, and most of them
did it. To have faced the other way
would have been to look straight out of
all the side- windows. Some of the boys
in the corridor outside wanted to come in ;
there would be an opportunity, perhaps,
when the first mark boys came out. In the
meantime they flattened their noses up
against the crinkled glass and made Price
laugh. Carrington gave him extra-time,
and then, perceiving the cause, turned to
open the door behind him, the delinquents
skedaddling instantly out of the swing-
door.
Burrell got off after ten minutes. Then
he lounged about, waiting for Coley. They
would be able to do the caves after all.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
At last Coley got his conge likewise. Not
an allusion was made then to the marks.
" What are we going to do ? " asked
Coley.
" Go to those caves ? " suggested Burrell.
" I thought perhaps you'd like to go over
to the match/' said Coley.
" No, it's too far ; I never meant to.
Unless you want to go ? " he added, doubt-
fully.
"No, I don't. It's all right for those
fellows with their machines. I would if
I had one here."
"But I don't ride," said Burrell.
So they started off to the caves. They
were on the far side of the headland which
was so conspicuous a feature of the view
from the school windows. It was, perhaps,
five miles off by the road, but they didn't
keep to the road ; a short cut saved them
quite a mile, if not more. Had the tide been
low they could have walked by the shore,
and gone into the lower cave. But it was
too high for that, so after a great deal of
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In Carrington's Duty Week
uphill work, they came to the top of the
cliff, and looked down its quarried side
from an overhanging ledge.
" It's a wonder/' remarked the pioneer,
" that we haven't met any of the other
chaps. This is a favourite place any time
of the year."
But to-day it seemed to be deserted by
every living creature, except dirty-looking
wiry sheep, which nibbled the short grass
and gazed stolidly at the two boys.
" How do we get down ? " asked Burrell.
"Oh, down that path," said Coley,
pointing to a scarcely discernible track on
their left. His companion followed him,
as he began to descend with the carelessness
born of experience. Soon he had to wait
for Burrell, who was progressing very slowly
with his heart in his mouth. Coley thought
he was stopping to look about him, so he
put in a word for the scenery.
" Grand up here, isn't it ? "
It was, certainly. A splendid expanse of
open sea stretched before them, the little
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In Carrington's Duty Week
wind-raised caps of foam gleaming snowy-
white in the sunshine. A long way out was
the dark smoke-trail of a big liner whose
identity Coley was not able to discover,
as her funnels were indistinguishable at
that distance, even to his long-sighted eyes.
The coast-line that ran westward from their
point of view was abruptly terminated not
many miles away by a far more imposing
promontory than the one on which they
stood. On their right ran a longer extent
of coast, but this also culminated in a
headland, beyond which the line, when it
again trended out seawards, looked to the
boys a mere hazy streak of bluish-grey.
The gorse was putting out its yellow
blossoms all about them. Overhead a
few wisps of white cloud were rapidly
flying. The breeze was blowing stiffly off
the shore ; it was inconveniently strong here,
though they would have called it a mere
breath at the foot of the hill.
Before they reached the opening of the
cave Burrell had begun to feel the strain
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In Carrington's Duty Week
oil the back-muscles of his legs ; he was
sturdy enough for anything in his build,
but not in such fine training as Coley,
who was always as hard as nails. More-
over, one was town-bred, the other country-
bred.
" Fagged ? " cried the pioneer incredu-
lously, as Burrell flung himself down on a
ledge and took out his pocket-handker-
chief.
" Rather," admitted Burrell.
So they rested a bit before going into the
cave. They couldn't get very far in, when
they did proceed ; it was nothing like the
lower cave for size and only penetrated the
cliff a short distance.
" I wish we could have had a low tide/'
said Burrell, ruefully, craning his neck to
look at the foot of the cliff, whence the
booming of the water rose up to their
ears.
At that moment, whether from giddiness
or from a slip of the foot it was hard to say,
he stumbled, and, before Coley could make a
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In Carrington's Duty Week
move, was slipping down an almost per-
pendicular piece of the cliff in a sitting
posture. At first Coley was inclined to
laugh, and it certainly had a smack of the
ludicrous to see Burrell making frantic
clutches at the short turf as he slipped along.
It was only a slide of some fifteen feet, and
a projecting ledge brought him up safely ;
but the getting back again was quite another
thing from the descent.
" Are you hurt ? " enquired Coley,
anxiously.
" No, I'm all right," said Burrell, standing
up on his feet, and brushing his knickers
vigorously.
Then he essayed to get back, but all at
once it dawned upon them simultaneously
that there wasn't the slightest possibility
of his doing so. Then they both grew
rather frightened — especially Burrell.
" I say, Coley, how the dickens shall I
get back ? " he asked querulously.
" I'm darned if I know, old chap," was
all Coley could say in reply.
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In Carrington's Duty Week
It was excessively awkward, and so was
the long pause that ensued. The older
boy saw that his chum was horribly nervous,
and to keep up his pecker he made several
suggestions, which he knew to be imprac-
ticable. After a bit, he went to have
a look round, hoping he might see some
solution of the problem. But as soon as he
was out of sight, Burrell called him back.
" Have you found a place ? " cried Coley
hopefully, re-appearing up above.
" No. I say, don't go away. I don't
like staying here alone."
" Well, it's no use coming down to you,
is it ? " said Coley.
" Of course not."
" If only it was any other day there
would be men in the quarry ! " Coley
remarked.
" Are you sure there aren't any ? "
" Yes ; you know we didn't see any.
They don't work Saturday afternoons."
" Don't they leave any ropes about, or
anything ? "
186
In Carrington's Duty Week
" I don't know ; there's a hut, of course.
There might be some in there ; only it's
sure to be locked."
Coley began to think it would be worth
while to go and see, despite BurrelTs
anxiety for his presence on the spot. Of
course, in such predicaments, story-tellers re-
late that some extraordinary things have
been done, such as the cutting of steps with a
knife, etc., but if the feat had been performed
on the cliff-side above Burr ell's head, noth-
ing less than an Alpine goat could have
ascended such a place !
Then the quicker of the two wits began to
work for the first time, and Burr ell cried,
" Why, I could get nearly up to your
hand if you leaned over, I believe ! "
If Coley 's arm had been about five times
as long as it was, he might have touched
Burrell's finger-tips, but it was a suggestion
in the right direction.
" Can't you let down your coat ? " said
Burrell.
Coley took off his jacket and leaned
187
In Carrington's Duty Week
over with it in his hand. The boy below
could get within, perhaps, four feet of it.
" Tie mine to it ! " Burrell suggested.
He divested himself of it, but durst not
attempt to throw it up to Coley, lest it
should be blown out of reach. So Coley
tied first his braces, and to eke them out a
bit of string he had in his pocket, to the
sleeve, but even then the impromptu rope
was not long enough. Burrell, however
had plenty of string, and he threw it up
fastened round his knife. Then the neces-
sary length was attained for Burrell to attach
his jacket, and Coley drew it up.
The two jackets tied together, unluckily,
only just reached Burr ell's outstretched
finger-tips, and that with Coley 's arms at
full extent as he lay and leaned over.
So much precious sleeve was wasted in
fastening them together. Obviously braces
and string, however useful as a mode of
communication, would not be of much use
if the rope was to bear any weight. So
another garment became imperatively ne-
188
In Carrington's Duty Week
cessary, and Coley hesitated a moment
between his shirt and his trousers. He
appealed to his chum, who at once decided
that the upper garment would give greater
length if it were only strong enough. It
was a linen shirt, and they both had their
doubts. Burrell didn't wear white shirts,
and his, being of flannel, might be a trifle
more reliable. But finally they decided
to try Coley 's, and he spent what seemed
to Burrell an interminable time in tying
knots. It was not the simplest thing
in the world ; he was surprised to find
how ill-adapted wearing apparel is for rope-
making ; by the time the knots were well
made the whole thing resembled a bundle
of clothes almost as much as a line ! While
he was doing it, Burrell took off his boots,
and threw them up, and that brought his
stockings prominently before his eyes and
his mind. They were strong and long, and
he pulled them off and tied them together.
It was safer than the shirt, the sleeves of
which would have assuredly given way at
189
In Carrington's Duty Week
the first heavy strain. So the rope had to be
reconstructed, and a very much better rope
it looked with this alteration.
At last everything was ready ; and after
much planting of his heels against stones
and getting a fair grip on the sleeves of
the uppermost jacket, Coleygave the order
to climb. Up came Burrell, with some little
difficulty and a very scared face ; clinging
with his hands to the rope which had a
brutal desire to sway, and with his toes to
the most salient points of the perpendicular
cliff.
When he had clambered into safety the
two boys could for the first time afford to
laugh. They did it. Then they felt much
better. Hastily they fumbled at the knots,
and assumed once more the garments
which had done such gallant service.
" It's like one day when we were bathing,"
said Coley ; " and Lloyd tied all my things
into knots."
There seemed to be no end of things to
collect, but at last they made for home,
190
In Carrington's Duty Week
running a good bit of the way. Coley's
watch said half-past four when they started
on the homeward journey, and they heard
the bell for tea-assembly as they made
a last burst up the avenue. I am afraid if
they had stayed to wash-up they would
not have been into assembly in time.
They certainly did get into the schoolroom
just before Mr Carrington passed the forms
out!
The fellows who had been over — on foot
or on cycles — to see the match, had brought
home a rather disheartening report. Their
opponents had made just upon 100, and the
latest score put the school total at 36 for
five wickets. There was so much discussion
at tea about the cricket that neither of our
friends was encouraged to recount his
exploits to his neighbours.
The Head came in to prayers, for a won-
der, and while they were all kneeling down
Burrell almost, if not quite, dozed off into
slumber with his head on his arms. He
was tired, and there was a dreamy feeling
191
In Carrington's Duty Week
abroad. The window near him was open,
and the evening sun was sending long
slanting rays of gold across the garden,
where a thrush fluted melodiously in a tree
at the gate. The pure scented air con-
trasted quite curiously with the atmosphere
of the tea-room, impregnated with half-a-
dozen odours, all more or less disagreeable.
The Head's voice was deep and soothing,
and when the usual thunder of moving chairs
followed the benediction, Burrell did not
realise for quite a little time where he was.
He went for some more stationery after
tea, and then played a bit on the field. He
was feeling a trifle headachy again, but
grew better ere long. Then the eleven
drove up, with considerable row for a van-
quished team ! They had only made 77,
but Thorn had come off grandly with a not
out innings of 41, going in second wicket
down. Coley discussed it all without a
trace of resentment, and Burrell was never
very far from him. After they had changed
(they had their tea before returning) the
192
In Carrington's Duty Week
members of the team held a sort of levee
in different parts of the premises.
During prep, there was a small diversion.
Upon coming in Carrington had shut all
the lower openings of the windows, but had
been unable to find the pole to shut the upper
parts. The gases in the chandeliers nickered
in the cross-draughts from three sides of the
room, and at last a small boy, upon whose
head the cold air came down like water,
ventured to ask for less ventilation.
At this, indignant looks were cast upon
him by others, and Carrington waxed
wroth. These open windows were his b£te
noire, and one or two boys always made
themselves very objectionable in resenting
the shutting of them. He knew pretty
well who they were, and guessed why he
couldn't find the window-pole. However,
he sent Paul to look for it in the masters'
room, but the boy came back empty-handed.
Then Carrington made a shot at a venture.
" Now, Lewis," he cried, " if you don't
find that window-pole in a minute-and-
N 193
In Carrington's Duty Week
a-half, I'll give you two or three
marks ! "
Lewis began as usual, " Please, sir ! "
in a most injured tone.
" Now, come on ! " said Carrington, quite
angry and determined.
So Lewis had to go to the side of the room,
and fish it out from its hiding-place on the
floor, where it had been carefully laid
before prep, began. The boy looked rather
silly, creeping out from under the desks
with the pole in his hand. Then, when the
windows were shut to Carrington's satis-
faction, and several victims had been able
to turn their coat-collars down, McPharlane
was stupid enough to open his waistcoat
wide, and make noises suggestive of being
suffocated. Carrington promptly ejected
him from the room with three marks as a
journeying-mercy ! At the end of prep,
when he had simmered down a little, he
" hortated " them a bit.
" Stuffy air won't kill you," he declared ;
" but draughts will. Do you think I'm
194
In Carrington's Duty Week
going to have delicate little boys who dare
to shiver frowned down by great lusty
chaps who are too thick-skinned to feel
a hurricane ? (Laughter). I can't stand
draughts myself. I'm delicate (more guf-
faws). So is McPharlane ; he's come here
because he's got no lungs to speak of !
(Oh ! Oh /) After my duty-week I often
have neuralgia : it's all through these open
windows. If I stay here long enough I
shall lose every tooth I've got in my head.
I've got three upstairs now, which I'm
keeping in memory of Lewis, Adams &
Co. (Laughter). Put your books away !
(Babel).
Burrell heard this speech, but missed
the incident which caused it. He was at
last favoured with a bath ! But as he had
to go second-turn it was almost a cold
one. Some of his class-mates went back
to wait till the next time, but Johnson and
Graiseley were, like himself, of opinion that
there's no time like the present. So
those three despised a retreat, and made such
195
In Carrington's Duty Week
a din over their ablutions that Mr Gerrans
had to go in and threaten marks.
At nine o'clock Carrington heaved a
deep, deep sigh of relief. His duty-week
was over, not to recur for another five
weeks. As the boys went out of supper,
Jimmy came up with a hand half -raised in
token of question, and a laconic request of
" Stay up, sir ? Cricket things ? "
" Yes," said the master. " And Jimmy,
send Coley to me ! Ask Mr Roper first,
mind I "
So Coley came back, having got half-way
up-stairs, and they two helped the curator
by going round collecting materials in the
moonlight from the field and other places.
Of course, in return for this, Jimmy left
them as much ttte-a-tete as was possible,
and Coley had a long tale to tell his erastes.
Carrington was quite content to listen,
and smoke his cigarette. He had nothing to
say, to begin with, and Coley — once started
— gave that day's history in particular, and
an account of the whole week in general.
196
In Carrington's Duty Week
The stowing away of the bats and other
things took young Limehouse an uncon-
scionable time, in spite of his two coadjutors.
When Carrington sent them up to bed,
Roper met them on his descent from bed-
room-duty, and he was later than usual
that evening.
" Croydon tells me," said Roper ; " that
you declare you have a tooth out after every
duty-week ! "
Then the two pedagogues took a stroll
in the garden before going into supper,
and resumed the conversation of the previous
Saturday night with which this record
opened.
" Those boys will be chums for more than
a week, I prophesy," were Carrington's
concluding words. " But I sha'n't take
much credit for it ; circumstances have
aided and abetted me considerably ! "
FELICITER
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