ffort; the meat quivered and
shook and slid under his attack, and the knife slipped and clashed down
upon the platter.

"Perhaps if you would stand up to it, sir, you would do better,"
suggested Westby, in an insidious voice. "Nobody else does, but if it
would be easier--"

"Thank you, but the suggestion is unnecessary," Irving retorted. He
added to the other boys, while he struggled, "It's the meat, I guess,
not the knife, after all--"

"Why, I shouldn't say it was the meat," interposed Westby. "The meat's
quite tender."

Irving glanced at him in silent fury, clamped his lips together, and
went on sawing. He finally was able to hand to Carroll a plate on which
reposed a mussy-looking heap of beef. Carroll wrinkled his nose over it
as Westby had done.

"If I might venture to suggest, sir," said Westby politely, "you could
send it out and have it carved in the kitchen."

Irving surrendered; he looked up and said to the maid,--

"Please take this out and have it carved outside."

He felt that he could almost cry from the humiliation, but instead he
tried to assume cheerfulness and dignity.

"I'm sorry," he said, "to have to keep you fellows waiting; we'll try to
arrange things so that it won't happen again."

The boys accepted the apology in gloomy silence. At Scarborough's table
their plight was exciting comment; Irving was aware of the curious
glances which had been occasioned by the withdrawal of the roast. It
seemed to him that he was publicly disgraced; there was a peculiar
ignominy in sitting at the head of a table and being unable to perform
the simplest duty of host. Worst of all, in the encounter with Westby he
had lost ground.

The meat was brought on again, sliced in a manner which could not
conceal the unskillfulness of the original attack.

"Stone cold!" exclaimed Blake, the first boy to test it.

Irving's temper flew up. "Don't be childish," he said. "And don't make
any more comments about this matter. It's of no importance--and cold
roast beef is just as good for you as hot."

"If not a great deal better," added Westby with an urbanity that set
every one snickering.

After dinner Irving was again on duty for two hours in the dormitory,
until the time for afternoon chapel. During part of this period the boys
were expected to be in their rooms, preparing the Bible lesson which had
to be recited after chapel to the rector. Irving made the rounds and
saw that each boy was in his proper quart