fficient to enable them to deal
summarily with all ordinary offenders.

It was by no means the first time that Parson, who was reputed by almost
every one but himself and Telson to be an incorrigible scamp, had been
haled away to this awful tribunal, and he was half regretting that he
had not met his fate over the Caesar after all, and so escaped his
present position, when another monitor appeared down the passage and met
them. It was Ashley.

"Hullo! Coates," said he, "I wish you'd come to my study and help me
choose half a dozen trout-flies, there's a good fellow. I've had a book
up from the town, and I don't know which are the best to use."

"All serene," said Coates, "I'll be there directly. I'm just going to
take this youngster to the captain."

"Who is the captain?" said Ashley. "Wyndham's gone, and no one's been
named yet that I know of. I suppose it's Bloomfield."

"Eh? I never thought of that. No, I expect it'll be a schoolhouse
fellow. Always is, isn't it. Parson, you can go. Bring me twelve
French verbs written out to my study before chapel to-morrow. Come on,
Ashley."

And Parson departed, consoled in spirit, to announce to Telson and the
lower school generally that Willoughby was at present without a captain.

CHAPTER THREE.

THE VACANT CAPTAINCY.

Who was to be the new captain of Willoughby? This was a question it had
occurred to only a very few to ask until Wyndham had finally quitted the
school. Fellows had grown so used to the old order of things, which had
continued now for two years, that the possibility of their bowing to any
other chief than "Old Wynd" had scarcely crossed their minds. But the
question being once asked, it became very interesting indeed.

The captains of Willoughby had been by long tradition what is known as
"all-round men." There was something in the air of the place that
seemed specially favourable to the development of muscle and classical
proficiency at the same time, and the consequence was that the last
three heads of the school had combined in one person the senior classic
and the captains of the clubs. Wyndham had been the best of these;
indeed he was as much ahead of his fellows in the classical school as he
was in the cricket-field and on the river, which was saying not a
little. His predecessors had both also been head boys in classics; and
although neither of them actually the best men of their time in
athletics, they had been sufficient