" said the
boy. "I wouldn't mention your name or Gilk's. I only want to tell him
about myself."

"Have you gone mad, or what?" cried Silk, utterly perplexed, as Gilks
had been, to understand the boy's meaning.

Wyndham explained to him as best he could how the matter stood. How
Riddell appeared to have discovered his delinquencies, and was resolved
to report him. Of the certain result of such an exposure, and of the
one hope he had, by voluntarily confessing all to the doctor, of
averting his expulsion.

Silk listened to it all with a sneer, and when it was done, replied,
"And you mean to say you've got the impudence to come to me to help to
get you out of a scrape?"

"Please, Silk," said the boy, "I would be so grateful."

"Bah!" snarled Silk, "have you forgotten, then, the nice row you kicked
up in my study a week ago? and the way you've treated me all this term?
because if you have, I haven't."

"I know it's a lot to ask," pleaded the boy.

"It's a precious lot too much," said Silk; "and no one who hadn't got
your cheek would do it!"

And he took up his paper and pencil again, and turned his back on the
boy.

"Won't you do it, then?" once more urged Wyndham.

"Not likely!" rejoined Silk. "If you want favours you'd better go to
your precious friend Riddell; and you can go as soon as you like. I
don't want you here!"

"If you'd only do it," said Wyndham, "I'd--"

"Do you hear what I say?"

"I'd never ask you for the money you borrowed," said the boy quickly.

Silk laughed as he turned once more on his victim, and said, "Wouldn't
you really? How awfully considerate! Upon my word, the generosity of
some people is quite touching. Let's see, how much was it?"

"Thirty shillings," said Wyndham, "and the change out of the post-office
order, two pounds."

"Which makes," said Silk, putting the figures down on his paper, "three
pounds ten, doesn't it? and you think what you ask is worth three pounds
ten, do you?"

"It's worth far more to me," said the boy, "because it's the only thing
can save me from being expelled."

Silk mused a bit over his figures, and then replied, "And what would
happen if I didn't pay you back?"

"I wouldn't say a word about it," cried the boy, eagerly, "if only you'd
let me off the promise!"

"And suppose I told you I consider the promise worth just double what
you do?"

Wyndham's face fell for a moment; he had not dared to write home about
the loss of his last po