"I didn't catch any boys; I couldn't find any," said Fisher minor.

"You see, Yorke," said D'Arcy, who began to realise that he was "boss of
this show," "these two kids are new kids; they oughtn't to be licked;
it's Wally and me."

"Me?" exclaimed the injured Wally; "I like your style, young D'Arcy;
what did _I_ do?"

"All right, it's me then, if you like!"

"I don't mind being in it, to give you a leg-up," said Wally, touched by
the heroism of his friend, "but you might let a chap bowl himself out,
you know. All right, Yorke, it was me and D'Arcy."

"You should say _I_ and D'Arcy," said Ranger. "What, were _you_ in it?
Good old--"

"No, you young ass; it's bad grammar to say _me_ and D'Arcy were in it."

"I never knew you were. It's the first we've heard of it; isn't it, you
chaps?"

The chaps most emphatically agreed that it was.

"Let them be, Ranger," said the captain. "There'll be time enough for a
grammar lesson after."

"Can't do it to-day, we've got syntax this afternoon," said D'Arcy.

"Now, you youngsters, look here," said the captain. "You may think
you're very clever; but this sort of thing is cheating, and cheating is
what cads do. We don't want any of it inside Fellsgarth. Dangle, here
are the youngsters, and here is the switch; will you lick them, or shall
I?"

"I don't want to lick them. Let them off," growled Dangle.

The hopes of the culprits rose for a moment, but they went down below
zero when Yorke picked up the cane.

"Wheatfield, come here."

Wally held out his case-hardened hand and received half a dozen cats,
for which it is earing a good deal that they made the recipient dance.

D'Arcy followed, and received his six with meek indifference. If he had
come first, he would probably have danced. But as Wally had done that,
he stood firm.

Ashby received three cuts only, which astonished him dreadfully. It was
his first acquaintance with the cane. He had never realised before what
a venomous instrument it can be. Still, he bore it like a man.

Poor Fisher minor had a similar experience. With his brother looking
on, and his messmates to watch how he bore it, he passed through the
ordeal creditably. His three "Ohs" varied in cadence from anguish to
surprise, and from surprise to mild expostulation, "Oh!" "Ehee!" "Ow!"
after which he felt very pleased, on his brother's account, that he had
not shed tears.

"Now cut," said the captain, "and if you're bowled o