int, and intended to withdraw all opposition to the
advancement of Richard.

Nevers and his friends seemed to be sincere, and the hatchet appeared
to have been actually buried. Richard was so well treated by them, that
he came to the conclusion that the Regulators had been dissolved, or at
least that they had turned their attention to some more promising field
of labor.

On the first of November, when the boys assembled for morning prayers,
the principal announced a new regulation, requiring every member of the
Institute to be in-doors during the off time, from seven till nine in
the evening. Before, they had been permitted to go where they pleased
during these hours, as long as they did not leave the estate. But some
of the boys had been seen in the village of Tunbrook after eight in the
evening; and all efforts to discover who they were had been unavailing.
The prohibition had been made to correct this evil.

When the new regulation was announced, there was a general murmur of
disapprobation among the students, for some of their best sport had
been enjoyed out of doors, after dark. No one ventured to remonstrate,
but the order was exceedingly unpopular.

"I won't stand it," said one and another, during the first recreation
hour in the afternoon. "It's too bad; it will spoil all our fun."

"The fellows are all agreed on this point," said Redman.

"I am willing to observe all reasonable regulations, but we might as
well go into a monastery as submit to this thing," added Nevers. "What
do you say, Grant?"

"I don't like it. We intended to have a first-rate game of foot ball
these moonlight evenings."

"There isn't a fellow in the school that likes it," said Redman.

"That's so," replied Bailey. "I don't see the use of the rule either."

"Nor I."

"Some of the fellows have been down to Tunbrook almost every night."

"What's that to us, as long as we didn't go?" said Bailey. "The
innocent ought not to be punished with the guilty."

"The colonel couldn't find out who they were," said Redman, with a kind
of chuckle. "No fellow would 'blow' on the others."

"It is easy enough to talk," said Bailey, "but what are you going to
do?"

"Do? Why, resist it, of course," replied Redman. "I am ready to do so,
for one. Let us all stay out to-night till nine o'clock."

"Agreed," added some of the larger boys.

"We shall get punished if we do," suggested Bailey.

"No matter. They will have to punish the whole crowd.