l beat me, or it'll be a dead heat," said he.

There was no dealing with frivolity of this kind; and Tempest, ever
since his recovery last term, had been rapidly regaining all his old
frivolity and lightheartedness.

It was a trying ordeal on "Result" day, sitting patiently in hall till
the doctor made up his mind to appear. All the school was there. There
was an unusual spirit of orderliness afoot. The few irresponsible ones,
who, with nothing to lose, tried to get up a disturbance, were promptly
squashed by the grim, anxious competitors to whom the coming results
meant so much. We Philosophers huddled together for comfort, but not a
joke travelled down the line. We sat and drummed our fingers on the
desk before us, and wondered why on earth the doctor, on a day like
this, should take such an unearthly time to put on his cap and gown.

At last he appeared, paper in hand, and glasses on nose. I could see
Dicky just in front of me catch a quick breath, and Tempest up in the
front brush his hair back with his fingers; and there arose before my
mind in horrible review all the palpable blunders of my own examination
papers.

"Lower school," began the doctor in a hard, dry, unemotional voice.
"Aggregate form order--out of a possible 1000 marks, Brown iii., day
boy, and Jones iv., Mr Sharpe's, bracketed first with 853 marks."

What! me? bracketed top with Dicky? Go along with you! But a huge
thump on the back from Warminster, followed by a huger from Langrish;
the vision of Dicky's consciously blushing cheeks, as Flitwick performed
the same office for him; and, above all, a nod across the room from
Redwood, and a grin from Tempest, convinced me that there was something
in it after all. Of course it was a mistake, and when the marks came to
be counted again it would be put right. But while it lasted it wasn't
bad. What was the doctor saying?

"A very good performance, both of you; and the result of honest hard
work."

It was true then? There was no humbug about it? Oh, I must write to my
mother this very afternoon.

"Warminster, Mr Sharpe's second, 836, good also; Corderoy, Mr
Selkirk's, third, 815; Langrish, Mr Sharpe's, fourth, 807; Trimble, Mr
Sharpe's, sixth, 796; Purkis, Mr Sharpe's, seventh, 771; Coxhead, Mr
Sharpe's, eighth, 734--(Mr Sharpe's boys have worked excellently this
term);--Quin, day boy, ninth, 699; Rackstraw, Mr Sharpe's, tenth, 678."

And so the list went on. I was too much lost in t