in the eyes of the world by
making him appear as a weakling seeking protection behind a despised
petticoat. He reviled Kitty for that action in such overwhelming language
that the poor girl fled in tears, and next day it was only with the
greatest difficulty that she persuaded him to accept two pears and a
blood-alley as a peace offering.

Dolf Belman came later with a little comfort.

'Gotter junk o' rosum,' he said, fumbling in his school-bag.

'Hoo! have you though?' said Parrot Cann. 'Rosum's great. Put some on my
hand oust when I went to ole Pepper's school at Yarraman, an' near died
laughin' when he gave me twenty cuts fer copy-in' me sums.'

The boys clustered about Dolf, who produced a piece of resin about the
size of a hen's egg, and waved it triumphantly.

'You pound it up wif a rock,' said he confidently, 'an' rub it on yer
hands.'

The pounding process was begun at once, amidst a babel of opinions. It
was a fond illusion amongst the boys that resin so applied deadened the
effects of the cane. It had been tried scores of times without in the
least mitigating the agony of Ham's cuts, but the faith of youth is not
easily shaken; so Ted's spirits revived wonderfully, and Dick developed a
keen interest in the pounding. Dolf pulverised the 'rosum,' declaring
that it should be powdered in one particular way which was a great secret
known only to a happy few. If it were powdered in any other way, the
resin lost its efficacy as a protection, and might even aggravate the
pain. Several boys volunteered testimony in support of Dolf's claim,
telling of the strange immunity they had enjoyed on various occasions
after applying the resin, and Peter Queen distinctly remembered 'a feller
up to Clunes' who, by a judicious use of the powder, was enabled to defy
all authority and preserve an attitude of hilarious derision under the
most awful tortures.

'This here cove he useter have hisself rubbed all over wif rosum every
mornin', then he'd go to school an' kick up ole boots. What'd he care? My
word, he was a terror!'

Dolf took up the theme, and enlarged upon the virtues of resin,
particularly that resin of his, which was the very best kind of resin for
the purpose and had been specially commended by an old swaggie with one
eye, who gave it to him for a four-bladed knife and a clay pipe. So great
was the effect of these representations that before Dick and Ted had
transferred the powder to their pockets they had becom