Parrett's house on hearing such a story may be
imagined. It was even past a joke. Bloomfield seriously offered to
resign all pretensions to authority and let things take their course.

"It makes me seem," he said, "as if I wanted to stick myself up. If
he's so sure of keeping order by himself, I don't see what use it is my
pretending to do it too."

"It would serve him right if you did so," said Game. "But it would be
so awfully like giving in now, after you have once begun."

This view of the matter decided the question. But Bloomfield all the
same was considerably impressed by what had happened.

He knew in his heart that his only title to the position he assumed was
the whim of his schoolfellows. He was a usurper, in fact, and however
much he tried to persuade himself he was acting solely for the good of
Willoughby, he knew those motives were only half sincere. And in spite
of all his efforts, the school was as rowdy as ever. If he did thrash a
batch of juniors one day, or stop some disorderly Limpets of their play,
it never seemed to make much impression. Whereas the one or two rioters
whom Riddell had ventured to tackle had somehow distinctly reformed
their habits. How was it?

Bloomfield, as he thought the thing over, was not quite happy. He had
been happier far last term when, under old Wyndham, he had exerted
himself loyally for the good of the school. Was he not exerting himself
now? Why should he be unhappy? It was not because he felt himself
beaten--he scorned the idea--or that he felt unequal to the task before
him. That too was preposterous. And yet, he felt, he certainly needed
something. If only now he were first classic as well as captain of the
clubs, what a pull he would have!

And as this thought occurred to him, he also recalled Crossfield's
famous speech at the last Parliament and the laughter which had greeted
it. Could he translate "Balbus hopped over a wall" without the
dictionary? Ah! He thought sometimes he would try, just to prove how
slanderous Crossfield's insinuation had been. The result of all these
cogitations was that Bloomfield began to discover he was not quite such
an "all-round" man as his friends had told him. And that being so, had
not he better qualify himself like an honest man for his post?

He did not like to confide the idea to his friends for fear of their
laughter, but for a week or two at least he actually read rather hard on
the sly. The wors