f you happen to be passing near Crackstoke way, me and my
missus'll be proud to see yer. Here's luck!"

The speech was rapturously applauded, not only by the party present, but
by the knot of fellows in the passage, who were taking advantage of the
necessarily open door to join in the proceedings as outsiders.

Wally, however, resented the intrusion, and as soon as the speech of the
evening was ended, ordered one of the tables to be cleared, and placing
his chair upon it, made room for the door to be closed on the intruders,
much to their disappointment.

After the favourable reception of his speech, Mr Rollitt became very
much more at home, and produced a pipe from his pocket, which he
proceeded in the most natural way to light. His hosts gazed in a
somewhat awe-struck way at the proceeding, but Wally gave the right cue.

"That's right, Mr Rollitt; make yourself at home."

"So I are. You see, in my days, schooling worn't what it is. Now this
here school must be a topper."

"It's not bad," said Percy. "You see there was a jolly row on this term
between the Classics and our lot, and they had to be taken down a bit."

"_Did_ they?" retorted Wally, very indignant; "how many pegs did _you_
come down? Who had to get our chaps to come and give them a leg-up
every other day?"

"Who swindled at Elections and got licked on the hands, eh!"

"Who got their football bagged, and couldn't get it back?"

"Who got kicked out of the front row at the Rendlesham match?"

"'Armony, gents, 'armony," said Mr Rollitt, waving his pipe
encouragingly.

The rebuke was opportune. It wasn't fair to the guest to squabble
before him.

"We've stashed all that," said Percy, presently; "they got civil to us,
so we got civil to them, and we're all in the shop together. And we're
all backing up old Rollitt, ain't we, you chaps, and we're going down in
a lump for the clubs; and we all shelled out for this do; so it's all
right now. See?"

Mr Rollitt thought he did, and nodded amiably. "You see, it's not much
larks unless we're all in it. We went up Hawk's Pike, you know."

"No," said Mr Rollitt. "How did that happen?"

"Well, it was this way, you see," began Percy, taking up, as was his
wont, the narrative at a remote period. "After those Classic cads--k-i-
d-s, you know, had--(Shut up, Wally, I said k-i-d-s; can't you spell?)
had caved in."

"Who caved in!" expostulated the Classics.

"Well, after Stratton's, you know, w