ed at Horace House, Jack Vance
would have received a good licking as soon as the classes were
dismissed; but a few very plain and forcible words spoken by Rowlands
on the subject of knocking small boys about caused Noaks to postpone his
retaliation.

"Look here," he said, meeting Jack Vance in the quadrangle during the
interval: "just you keep your mouth shut about me and my father.
I've got two or three accounts to settle with you chaps already; just
mind what you're up to." He clinched his fist as though about to
strike, then, with an ugly scowl, turned on his heel and walked away.

It must have been about three days after this encounter with Noaks that
our three friends were called upon to attend a mass meeting of the Third
Form, to consider the advisability of starting a periodical in
opposition to the school magazine. Important events connected with a
later period of their life at Ronleigh render it necessary that we
should not linger too long over the account of their first term; but
some mention, however brief, should certainly be made of the memorable
gathering to which we have referred. A notice pinned on to the
black-board, and pulled down as soon as Mr. Watford entered the
classroom, announced the project in the following words:--

"NOTICE."
"A meeting will be held in the 'old lab' directly
after dinner to-day, to make plans for starting a
magazine in opposition to _The Ronleian_.
All members of the Third Form are specially requested
to attend."

"FLETCHER II."
"J. A. BIBBS."

"You must come," said "Rats" to Diggory; "it'll be an awful lark."

"But what's it all about?"

"Oh, you'll hear when you get there. It's Fletcher's idea; he wants to
start a new magazine. Eastfield, who edits _The Ronleian_, is Maxton's
cousin; so Maxton's going to interrupt and get some other fellows to do
the same. I'm going to be part of the opposition," added the youthful
"Rats," beaming with delight, "and I have got a whole heap of paper bags
I'm going to burst while Fletcher's speaking."

The "old lab," as it was called, was a small brick building which stood
on one side of the asphalt playground. A new laboratory having recently
been fitted up elsewhere, the former one was, for the time being,
unused. It was not more than about fifteen feet long by seven or eight
feet