, and wished he hadn't come.

"Oh, rot," said Doe, "they haven't put our Rupert, the dark horse,
on yet. I'm afraid all that's rotten in me is wanting him to be a
failure. I can't help it, and I'm _trying_ to hope he'll come off.
If he does, I'll bellow! Over. White's going to bowl now."

The ground apparently favoured the slow bowler, for the first wicket
fell to White's second ball. But the victim, sad to tell, was not
Radley.

Hush--oh, hush. The head master was coming out to partner Radley!
And, considering the silence of respect with which he was greeted, I
think Salome scarcely behaved becomingly. He hit an undignified
boundary for four.

"Ee, bless me, my man!" whispered the wits.

But Salome, ignorant of this mild flippancy, actually undertook to
run a vulgar five for an overthrow: and by like methods succeeded in
amassing a score of runs in a dozen minutes.

Meanwhile, Radley, who from the beginning had taken his life in his
hands, was flogging the bowling. He and Salome quickly added fifty
to the Masters' total.

But Salome's bright young life was destined to be curtailed. A
straight, swift ball from Honion he stopped with his instep, and
promptly obeyed two laws which operate in such circumstances: the
one compelling him to execute a pleasing dance and rub the injured
bone; and the other involving his return to the pavilion (l.b.w.) in
favour of the succeeding batsman.

At this interesting development Penny bobbed up and down in his seat
with glee. "Ee, bless me! Ee, hang me! Ee, curse me!" he chirruped.
"He's bust the bone. He'll never walk again. Probably mortification
will set in, and he'll have his foot off. Next man in, please. Oh, I
never enjoyed anything so much in my life."

The following two wickets were shared by Honion and White, and the
score stood at 90 for four, when the school chaplain approached the
wicket. This reverend gentleman walked to his place with zealous
rapidity, and proceeded to propagate the gospel with some excellent
hits to leg. Three such yielded him nine runs, and at the end of the
over he found himself facing Honion's bowling. The temporary dismay
of the crowd disappeared. Honion, it was conjectured, would soon
send the parson indoors to evensong. But the conjecture was faulty.
Honion instead was sent for a two, a boundary, and a single.

"Curse me!" grumbled Penny. "It's not in the best taste for the
learned divine to play like any godless layman. Has he nothing