w that."

"Wally, he's Yorke's fag. Who else was there?"

"Only me and Ashby."

"Who does Ashby fag for?"

"My brother, Fisher major."

"I thought you said just now your brother wasn't in it. You'd better be
careful, youngster."

For the life of him, Fisher minor, in his bewildered state, could not
make out how Ridgway, and Yorke, and Fisher major all seemed to have got
mixed up in the affair.

"You mean to say," said the judge, "you don't know what the orders to
the fags were?"

"No, really--I only heard of it from D'Arcy."

"Your brother never said anything to you direct!"

"Oh no."

"Has he said anything since?"

"Oh no; that is, he only said it was a pity Ranger got beaten."

"Did he say how it happened?"

"He said if the five Modern chaps hadn't turned up at the last moment,
he'd have won."

"Was he angry about it?"

"He was rather in a wax."

"Did he tell you you were an ass?"

"Not that time."

"Another time?"

"Yes, once or twice."

"'Cute chap, your brother," said Percy, aside.

"Shut up, Wheatfield. Now tell me this, young Fisher major," said
Dangle, with an air of importance which intimidated the prisoner; "what
was it your brother said about the election?"

"It wasn't to me, it was to Ranger, my senior. He said it was a regular
sell, and he'd have given a lot to see you beaten, because he knew you
couldn't play fair at anything, even if you tried."

Some of the court were rude enough to laugh at this very candid
confession; but the judge himself failed to see any humour in it.

"Oh, that's what he said? And yet you mean to tell me, after that, that
your brother had nothing to do with trying to get Ranger elected instead
of me?"

"I suppose he had; but I'm sure he didn't mean to do anything fishy, any
more than I did. I thought it was only a joke."

"You've a nice notion of a joke. That'll do, you can cut."

"What!" exclaimed Percy, aghast, "aren't you going to hang him?"

"No, I must go. You can finish the trial yourselves."

As soon as the judge had quitted the bench, Percy mounted it, and
proceeded to sum up.

"You're a nice article, you are," said he, addressing the
prisoner--"what do you mean by sneaking on my young brother, Wally, eh?
You'll get it hot for that, I can tell you. You're to be hanged, drawn,
and quartered; then you're to be kicked all round our side; then you're
to be ducked in the river; then you're to kneel down and lick every
chap's b