asking Oliver, "Why didn't you knock him down, I say?"

"Because I did not choose, if you want to know," replied Oliver,
shortly.

"Oh! I beg your pardon," replied Simon, rather taken aback by this
brusque answer.

This was not satisfactory. Had the offender been a Guinea-pig, one
could have understood the thing; but when it was a Sixth Form fellow--a
good match in every respect, as well as a rival--the Fifth were offended
at their man for drawing back as he had done.

"I suppose you _will_ fight him?" said Ricketts, in a voice which
implied that there was no doubt about it.

"Do you?" replied Oliver, briefly.

The boy's manner was certainly not winsome, and, when once put out, it
was evident he took no trouble to conceal the fact. He refused to
answer any further questions on the subject, and presently quitted the
room, leaving more than half his class-fellows convinced that, after
all, he _was_ a coward.

An angry discussion followed his departure.

"He ought to be made to fight, whether he likes or not," said Braddy the
bully.

"Some one ought to pay Loman out," suggested Ricketts, "if Greenfield
doesn't."

"A nice name we shall get, all of us," said Bullinger, "when it gets
abroad all over the school."

"It's a shame, because one fellow funks, for the whole Form to be
disgraced; that's what I say," said some one else.

There were, however, two boys who did not join in this general cry of
indignation against Oliver, and they were Wraysford and Pembury. The
latter was always whimsical in his opinions, and no one was surprised to
see him come out on the wrong side. As for Wraysford, he always backed
his friend up, whether others thought him right or wrong. These two
scouted the idea of Oliver being a coward; the one with his usual weapon
of ridicule, the other with all the warmth of friendship.

"Who calls him a coward?" exclaimed Wraysford, glaring at the last
speaker.

Wraysford was not a coward, and looked so ready to avenge his friend by
hard knocks, that the boy who had insinuated that Greenfield was afraid
withdrew his charge as mildly as he could. "I only meant, it looks as
if he didn't like to fight," he said.

"And what business of yours is it what it looks like?" demanded
Wraysford.

"Come, old man," said Pembury; "don't eat him up! I fancy Greenfield
might screw up courage to pull _his_ nose, whoever else he lets off, eh?
It's my private opinion, though, Oliver knew what he was