s?"

No attempt was made to arrange the boys according to merit. On the first
day every one chose a seat to suit himself, and so Keith found himself
number five without knowing how it had happened. Number four was a boy
of his own size and age named George Murray, who seemed to be as
friendless as was Keith.

Instead of one teacher, they had a dozen at least, few of whom gave
instruction in more than a single subject. It smacked of university and
made the boys feel much advanced. The curriculum showed an imposing
array of new subjects--Latin, French, universal history, physics,
chemistry, and so on. Their novelty caught and carried Keith for a
good while.

Latin was still the most important study of all. It was taught by the
Rector himself, who worshipped everything classic with a religious
devotion and who maintained in so many words that a man's culture was
measured by his mastery of the Roman tongue. In the lower grades it had
been spoken of with bated breath. Keith had looked forward to the first
lesson with trembling impatience. He plunged into the declination of
_mensa_ with the fervour of a convert. He translated the text-book's
_colomba est timida_ with a sense of performing a sacred rite. Days went
by before he dared to admit to himself that his interest was waning,

Even then he went on studying without a thought of rebellion. The habit
of application had become deeply rooted. The pride born out of his first
easy successes still had urged him to master any subject offered. But
there was a change in his manner of studying as well as in his general
attitude toward the school. Until then he had been an acolyte in sacred
precincts. Now he turned gradually into a time-server doing his duty out
of vanity and a desire to remain a public school pupil. Until then he
had never felt that he had to study. Now fear of the old Rector and of
his father entered more and more as conscious motives.

He missed the kind guidance of Dally. The Rector never became the soul
and guardian of the class in the manner of Dally. The other teachers
came and went without other interest than to insure a decent showing in
their respective subjects. All had favourites chosen from those pupils
who showed most aptitude for mathematics, natural history or whatever it
happened to be. No one was interested in the class as a whole, and no
one cared for its individual members as human beings in the make. Within
a short time Keith was simply drif