The Project Gutenberg EBook of Boycotted, by Talbot Baines Reed

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Title: Boycotted
And Other Stories

Author: Talbot Baines Reed

Illustrator: unknown

Release Date: April 12, 2007 [EBook #21039]
Last updated: March 19, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYCOTTED ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Boycotted
and other stories

By Talbot Baines Reed
________________________________________________________________________
Here are fifteen of the most eccentric short stories you can imagine.
To make the job more difficult the hard copy of the book from which I
worked was in very poor condition, with the pages extensively browned.

That said, in the way of my poor workmanship making me blame my tools,
I do not think I have made too much of a mess of it, and you should be
able to gain much enjoyment from reading the book.

The whole ensemble is not really very long, about two-thirds of the
length of a typical book by this author. So go ahead and see how you
get on. NH.
________________________________________________________________________
BOYCOTTED
AND OTHER STORIES

BY TALBOT BAINES REED

CHAPTER ONE.

Sub-Chapter I.

THE SCHOOL CUTS ME.

I hardly know yet what it was all about, and at the time I had not an
idea. I don't think I was more of a fool than most fellows of my age at
Draven's, and I rather hope I wasn't an out-and-out cad.

But when it all happened, I had my doubts on both points, and could
explain the affair in no other way than by supposing I must be like the
lunatic in the asylum, who, when asked how he came to be there, said, "I
said the world was mad, the world said I was mad; the world was bigger
than I was, so it shut me up here!"

It had been a dismal enough term, as it was, quite apart from my
troubles. That affair of Browne had upset us all, and taken the spirit
out of Draven's. We missed him at every turn. What was the good of
getting up the football fifteen when our only "place-kick" was gone?
Where was the fun in the "Saturday nights" when our only comic singer,
our only reciter, our only orator wasn't there? Who c