ngs, beginning
with the chapel, and ending with the School-house, the residence of the
head-master, where the great flag was lazily waving from the highest
round tower. And he began already to be proud of being a Rugby boy, as
he passed the schoolgates, with the oriel window above, and saw the boys
standing there, looking as if the town belonged to them, and nodding in
a familiar manner to the coachman, as if any one of them would be quite
equal to getting on the box, and working the team down street as well as
he.

One of the young heroes, however, ran out from the rest, and scrambled
up behind; where, having righted himself, and nodded to the guard, with
"How do, Jem?" he turned short round to Tom, and after looking him over
for a minute, began,--

"I say, you fellow, is your name Brown?"

"Yes," said Tom, in considerable astonishment, glad, however, to have
lighted on some one already who seemed to know him.

"Ah, I thought so. You know my old aunt, Miss East. She lives somewhere
down your way in Berkshire. She wrote to me that you were coming to-day,
and asked me to give you a lift."

Tom was somewhat inclined to resent the patronizing air of his new
friend, a boy of just about his own height and age, but gifted with
the most transcendent coolness and assurance, which Tom felt to be
aggravating and hard to bear, but couldn't for the life of him help
admiring and envying--especially when young my lord begins hectoring
two or three long loafing fellows, half porter, half stableman, with
a strong touch of the blackguard, and in the end arranges with one of
them, nicknamed Cooey, to carry Tom's luggage up to the School-house for
sixpence.

"And hark 'ee, Cooey; it must be up in ten minutes, or no more jobs from
me. Come along, Brown." And away swaggers the young potentate, with his
hands in his pockets, and Tom at his side.

"All right, sir," says Cooey, touching his hat, with a leer and a wink
at his companions.

"Hullo though," says East, pulling up, and taking another look at Tom;
"this'll never do. Haven't you got a hat? We never wear caps here. Only
the louts wear caps. Bless you, if you were to go into the quadrangle
with that thing on, I don't know what'd happen." The very idea was quite
beyond young Master East, and he looked unutterable things.

Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but confessed that he had
a hat in his hat-box; which was accordingly at once extracted from the
hind-boot, and T