The Gold Bat

y have made him unpopular had he not justified it by results. The football of the school had never been in such a flourishing condition as it had attained to

-rubber". At first sight his appearance was not imposing. Paterfamilias, who had heard his son's eulogies on Trevor's performances during the holidays, and came down to watch the school play a match, was generally rather disappointed on seeing five feet six where he had looked for at least six foot one, and ten stone where he had expected thirteen. But then, what there was of Trevor was, as previ

tion, one leg in the study, the other hanging outside over space. The indoor leg lacked a boot, so that it was evident that its owner had at least had the energy to begin to change

id Trevor; "I want you t

do you want ove

to see

re camping out there, aren't the

he holidays, so they shunted all the beds and things acro

box or fence when there was no room to do it in the real gymnasium. Socker and stump-cricket were also largely played ther

e all drowned. And I suppose if he had to choose any one of them for a violent death, he'd pick O'Hara. O'Hara must be a boon to a house-master. I've known chaps break rules when the spirit moved them, but he

ould make any fellow run amuck. And then O'Hara's a

in keeping order. It may be accepted as fact that the juniors of a house will never be orderly of their own free will, but disturbances in the junior day-room do not make the house undisciplined. The prefects are the criterion. If you find them joining in the general "rags", and even starting private ones on their own account, then you may safely say that it is time the master of that hou

l of that match bowled. He was prowling in sequestered lanes and broken-down barns out of bounds on the off-chance that he might catch some member of his house smoking there. As if the whole of the house, from

ing definitely

to see O'Hara ab

gold bat. I lent it

th his blessing to be competed for by the dozen houses that made up the school of Wrykyn, and it was formally established as the house cricket cup. The question now arose: what was to be done with the other cup? The School House, who happened to be the holders at the time, suggested disinterestedly that it should become the property of the house which had won it last. "Not so," replied the Field Sports Committee, "but far otherwise. We will have it melted down in a fiery furnace, and thereafter fashioned into eleven little silver bats. And these little silver bats shall be the guerdon of the eleven members of the winning team, to have and to hold for the space of one year, unless, by winning the cup twice in succession, they gain the right of keeping the bat for yet another year. How

s, referring to the silver ornament on his own watch-chain; "he's

olidays, and we got talking about the bat, because, of course, if we hadn't beaten Dexter's in the final, O'Hara

that he hasn't pawned it yet. You'd better rush off and get it back as so

e's P

son. At least, he s

ll have to go alone.

m his post of vantage, "you'll be able to go with

his energetic way, and ove

, who was a Donaldsonite like himself, was one of the few points on which the two had any real disagreement. Clow

evor," sai

, "I want to see O'Hara about somethi

icular. I never know what to do

uld find term-time dull. For his own part, t

he said, remembering something about

ven. "Thank goo

that he was not allowed to play games he could find nothing t

e. O'Hara, they were informed by a Dexter's fa

I want him to come to tea tomorrow directly a

sed to make a