nd manner, which passed for heartiness,
and considerable powers of being pleasant when he liked, went down
with the school in general for a good fellow enough. Even in the
School-house, by dint of his command of money, the constant supply of
good things which he kept up, and his adroit toadyism, he had managed
to make himself not only tolerated, but rather popular amongst his own
contemporaries; although young Brooke scarcely spoke to him, and one
or two others of the right sort showed their opinion of him whenever a
chance offered. But the wrong sort happened to be in the ascendant
just now, and so Flashman was a formidable enemy for small boys. This
soon became plain enough. Flashman left no slander unspoken, and no
deed undone which could in any way hurt his victims, or isolate them
from the rest of the house. One by one most of the other rebels fell
away from them, while Flashman's cause prospered, and several other
fifth-form boys began to look black at them and ill-treat them as they
passed about the house. By keeping out of bounds, or at all events out
of the house and quadrangle, all day, and carefully barring themselves
in at night, East and Tom managed to hold on without feeling very
miserable; but it was as much as they could do. Greatly were they
drawn then toward old Diggs, who, in an uncouth way, began to take a
good deal of notice of them, and once or twice came to their study
when Flashman was there, who immediately decamped in consequence. The
boys thought that Diggs must have been watching.

DIGGS'S BANKRUPTCY.

When, therefore, about this time, an auction was one night announced
to take place in the Hall, at which, amongst the superfluities of
other boys, all Diggs's Penates[30] for the time being were going to
the hammer, East and Tom laid their heads together, and resolved to
devote their ready cash (some four shillings sterling[31]) to redeem
such articles as that sum would cover. Accordingly, they duly attended
to bid, and Tom became the owner of two lots of Diggs's things: Lot 1,
price one-and-threepence, consisting (as the auctioneer remarked) of a
"valuable assortment of old metals," in the shape of a mouse-trap, a
cheese-toaster without a handle, and a sauce-pan;[32] Lot 2, a
villanous dirty table-cloth and green-baize curtain: while East, for
one-and-sixpence purchased a leather paper-case, with a lock but no
key, once handsome, but now much the worse for wear. But they had
still the poin