sure to go wrong. I can't do anything to
keep him from them. And yet, I promised old Wynd--I must try; I might
help to keep him straight. God help me!"

Is the reader astonished that the captain of a great public school
should so far forget himself as to utter a secret prayer in his own
study about such a matter as the correction of a young scapegrace? It
_was_ an unusual thing to do, certainly; and probably if Wyndham had
known what was passing in the captain's mind he would have thought more
poorly of his brother's friend than he did. But I am not quite sure,
reader, whether Riddell was committing such an absurdity as some persons
might think; or whether you or I, or any other fellow in a similar
position, would be any the worse for forgetting ourselves in the same
way. What do you think? It is worth thinking over, when you have time.

"God help me," said Riddell to himself, and he felt his mind wonderfully
cleared already as he said it.

Clearer, that is, as to what he ought to do, but still rather
embarrassed as to how to do it. But he meant to try.

"I say, Wyndham," he said, in his quiet way. "I want to ask your
advice."

"What about?" asked Wyndham, looking up in surprise. "About those
fellows?"

"Not exactly. It's more about myself," said the captain.

"What about you?" asked Wyndham.

"Why, there's a fellow in the school I'm awfully anxious to do some good
to," began Riddell.

"Rather a common failing of yours," said Wyndham.

"Wanting to do it is more common than doing it," said Riddell; "but I
don't know how to tackle this fellow, Wyndham."

"Who is he? Do I know him?" asked the boy.

"I'm not sure that you know him particularly well," said the captain.
"He's not a bad fellow; in fact he has a lot of good in him."

"Is he a Limpet?" asked Wyndham.

"But," continued Riddell, not noticing the question, "he's got a horrid
fault. He won't stand up for himself, Wyndham."

"Oh," observed Wyndham, "there's a lot of them like that--regular
cowards they are."

"Exactly, this fellow's one of them. He's always funking it."

Wyndham laughed.

"I know who you mean--Tedbury, isn't it?"

"No, that's not his name," said Riddell. "He's a nicer sort of fellow
than Tedbury. There are one or two fellows that are always down on him,
too. They see he's no pluck, and so they think they can do what they
like with him."

"Meekins gets a good deal mauled about by some of the others," said
W