d!" said the Doctor, nodding his head.

"And when it came, sir, to them having such a fuss made over them about
their riding the elephant, and you asking them afterwards to dinner, it
was bound to come."

The boy stopped, and the Doctor turned to the classical master.

"Do you hear this, Mr Rampson?" he said, in his most sarcastic manner,
the one he adopted towards the most stupidly ignorant boys. "I presume
then that I ought to ask Mr Thomas Slegge's permission before asking
the two new pupils to my board."

"Yes, sir," burst out Burney, who had gathered breath and had now got
into the swing of speaking. "It was bound to come, sir. Slegge said he
should do it, and I can't help it if I do seem like a sneak for telling
all."

"Go on, Burney," said the Doctor. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Well, sir, he told all us seniors to be ready for the first chance
there was. He said--"

"Who said?" interrupted the Doctor. "Let us be perfectly correct."

"Slegge, sir. He said we were to be ready, for he was going to begin by
giving the nigger fits."

"By giving the nigger fits?" said the Doctor slowly. "And, pray, what
did he mean by that?"

"Licking Singh, sir; the new boy from India, sir."

"Oh," said the Doctor sarcastically. "But he has not been giving the
nigger fits."

"No, sir; next day he changed his mind, and said he'd let Severn have it
first."

"Have it first?" said the Doctor slowly. "Your language is not very
correct, Burney. But go on."

"Yes, sir. He sent word round this morning to all the boys except those
two that we were to meet down here by the elms; and when we did come,
just as he thought, Severn and Singh fancied there was some new game on,
and came to see. Then, sir, Slegge began at Severn, insulting him,
sir--yes, that he did. I'm not going to say everything he called him;
but he told him to stand up like a man and take his punishment."

"Yes; and what did Severn say?"

"He said, sir, he was not going to degrade himself by fighting like a
street blackguard; and then Slegge jeered and mocked at him and set us
all at him to call him coward and cur; and he ended, sir, by walking
straight up to him, and he asked him three times if he'd fight, and
Severn, sir, said he wouldn't, and then Slegge gave him a coward's
blow--one in the nose, sir, and made it bleed."

"Ah!" said the Doctor. "And what did Severn do?"

"Took out his pocket-handkerchief, sir, and wiped it."

"Exactl