said Ricketts.

"If he doesn't I fancy we can promise him a pretty hot time of it among
us," said Braddy.

One or two laughed at this, but to most of those present the matter was
past a joke.

For it must be said of the Dominicans--and I think it may be said of a
good many English public schoolboys besides--that, however foolish they
may have been in other respects, however riotous, however jealous of one
another, however well satisfied with themselves, a point of honour was a
point which they all took seriously to heart. They could forgive a
schoolfellow for doing a disobedient act sometimes, or perhaps even a
vicious act, but a cowardly or dishonourable action was a thing which
nothing would excuse, and which they felt not only a disgrace to the boy
perpetrating it, but a disgrace put upon themselves.

Had Oliver been the most popular boy in the school it would have been
all the same. As it was, he was a long way from being the most popular.
He never took any pains to win the good opinion of his fellows. When,
by means of some achievement in which he excelled, he had contrived (as
in the case of the cricket match last term) to bring glory on his school
and to make himself a hero in the eyes of Saint Dominic's, he had been
wont to take the applause bestowed on him with the utmost indifference,
which some might even construe into contempt. And in precisely the same
spirit would he take the displeasure which he now and then managed to
incur.

Boys don't like this. It irritates them to see their praise or blame
made little of; and for this reason, if for no other, Oliver would
hardly have been a favourite.

But there was another reason. Now that the Fifth found their faith in
Greenfield senior rudely dashed to the ground, they were not slow to
recall the unpleasant incidents of last term, when, by refusing to
thrash Loman, he had discredited the whole Form, and laid himself under
the suspicion of cowardice.

Most of the fellows had at the time of the Nightingale examination
either forgotten, or forgiven, or repented of their suspicions, and,
indeed, by his challenge to Loman the previous Saturday Oliver had been
considered quite to have redeemed his reputation in this respect. But
now it all came up again. A fellow who could do a cowardly deed at one
time could do a mean one at another. If one was natural to his
character, so was the other, and in fact one explained the other. He
was mean when he showe