ood night, and went off to his own rooms.

He might have been sitting there for about twenty minutes, when
Drysdale entered.

"I couldn't help coming over, Brown," he said, "I must talk to
some one, and Blake has gone off raging. I don't know what he'll
do--I never was so bothered or savage in my life."

"I am very sorry," said Tom; "he looked very bad in your rooms.
Can I do anything?"

"No, but I must talk to some one. You know--no you don't, by the
way--but, however, Blake got me out of a tremendous scrape in my
first term, and there's nothing that I am not bound to do for
him, and wouldn't do if I could. Yes, by George, whatever fellows
say of me they shall never say I didn't stand by a man who stood
by me. Well, he owes a dirty 300L. or 400L. or something of the
sort--nothing worth talking of, I know--to people in Oxford, and
they have been leading him a dog's life this year and more. Now,
he's just going up for his degree, and two or three of these
creditors--the most rascally of course--are sueing him in the
Vice-Chancellor's Court, thinking now's the time to put the screw
on. He will be ruined if they are not stopped somehow. Just after
I saw you to-day, he came to me about it. You never saw a fellow
in such a state; I could see it was tearing him to pieces,
telling it to me even. However, I soon set him at ease as far as
I was concerned; but, as the devil will have it, I can't lend him
the money, though 60L. would get him over the examination, and
then he can make terms. My guardian advanced me 200L. beyond my
allowance just before Easter, and I haven't 20L. left, and the
bank here has given me notice not to overdraw any more. However,
I thought to settle it easy enough; so I told him to meet me at
the Mitre in half an hour for dinner, and when he was gone I sat
down and wrote two notes--the first to St. Cloud. That fellow was
with us off and on in town, and one night he and I went partners
at _roulette_, I finding ready-money for the time, gains and
losses to be equally shared in the end. I left the table to go
and eat some supper, and he lost 80L., and paid it out of my
money. I didn't much care, and he cursed the luck and
acknowledged that he owed me 40L. at the time. Well, I just
reminded him of this 40L. and said I should be glad of it (I know
he has plenty of money just now), but added, that it might stand
if he would join me and Blake in borrowing 60L.; I was fool
enough to add that Blake was in d