gh and sneer of his own associates (who were looking on and
took no trouble to hide their scorn from him, though they neither
interfered with his bullying or lived a bit the less intimately with
him,) made him beside himself. Come what might he would make those boys'
lives miserable. So the strife settled down into a personal affair
between Flashman and our youngsters; a war to the knife, to be fought
out in the little cockpit at the end of the bottom passage.

Flashman, be it said, was about seventeen years old, and big and strong
of his age. He played well at all games where pluck wasn't much wanted,
and managed generally to keep up appearances where it was; and having a
bluff off-hand 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 opinions of him whenever a chance offered. But the
wrong sort happened to be in the ascendant just now, 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 towards 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.

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' Penates for the time being were going to the hammer,
East and Tom laid their h