? Ever?" put in Jack. "That's a big order, Piggy-wig."

"You know what I mean," rejoined Bacon. "They might have had a swan or a
peacock for all we knew about it."

"But, my dear fellow, it's West you must blame. No one mentioned you."

"No, but not one of them had the honesty to stand out and clear us--to
assure him we'd nothing to do with it," said Mason. "Instead of that
they are careful to turn it into a mystery, on purpose that we may all
be suspected."

"Well, well, it's only just a single half that's lost. It'll soon be
over and forgotten."

"Will it?" cried Simmons indignantly. "I fancy it will be remembered
longer than you think by some. We mean to pay them in full for their
mean spite. We're going to unite and fight."

"Oh, challenge them to a cricket match instead! I'll play for you.
Think how much more sportive that will be! Not to say, sensible."

"Come, Brady, we're not babies. We mean to make them sorry by force."

"Take care you're not made sorry by force, Lucy!"

"Oh, never fear! The masters won't know anything at all about it if we
can help it. We shall pick our opportunity. But look here, Brady, you've
got to captain us!"

"Bothered if I do!" said Jack.

"Very well, don't! Go over to the boarders instead, as you want to, and
repeat everything we've told you." Bacon spoke angrily.

"Piggy-wig, don't be a fool! If you want me to quarrel either with your
set or with the other chaps, I say I won't, and that's flat! You must
take me as you find me, and if you're all bent on fighting and making
geese of yourselves, I shall just stay as I am--once for all--Jack of
Both Sides."

CHAPTER VI

THE MARCH HARE'S REVENGE

Cling, clang--creak! Cling, clang--creak! So the discordant bell sounded
forth in the playground, the interval between the strokes being filled
by a harsh, rusty squeak that set one's teeth on edge. The message it
bore to the boys was, "Come in--quick! Come in--quick!" For the time was
ten minutes to nine, and the day that following the incident which was
already known as the Chicken Row.

The monitors this week were Brady, Bacon, and Armitage, and they had
already gone in to their duties. The old bell always went on ringing for
two minutes, and the boys were in the habit of waiting until it was on
the point of ceasing, when they obeyed it with a rush.

But on this particular morning the day-scholars seemed, for some reason
best known to themselves, one and all consume