The Gold Bat

of Donough O'Hara, thelight-hearted descenda

wished to box with him in the gymnasium), and made hisway at a leisurely pace towards Donaldson's. He was feeling particularlypleased with himself today, for several reasons. He had begun the daywell by scoring brilliantly off Mr Dexter across the matutinal rasherand coffee. In morning school he had been put on to translate the onepassage which he happene

admaster, lookingbored, and a small, dapper man, with a very red face, who lookedexcited, and was talking volubly. Trevor and

," said O'Hara, "is Sir Eustace Briggs.""Who's Sir Eustace Briggs?"O'Hara explained, in a rich brogue, that Sir E

udy. Clowes was occupying th

explain in detail themethods he had employed to embitter the existence of the hapless Gallicexile with whom he had come in contact. It was that gentleman's customto sit on a certain desk while conducting the lesson. This desk chancedto be O'Hara's. O

room, and O'Hara, whohad foreseen this emergency, had spent a very pleasant half-hour in thepassage with some mixed

reland, O'Hara?""The man Briggs.""What are you going to do about it? Aren't you going

e tea-pot he was filling, "whaton earth have you been doing?""Wouldn't it be rather a cheery idea," suggested Clowes, "if you beganat the beginning.""Well, ye see," O'Hara began,

spectful way. 'Yes,' said he, 'the Irish members have been makingtheir customary disturbances in the House. Why is it, O'Hara,' he sai

o say, and after that the convers

anBriggs on the subject. 'A very sensible and temperate letter from SirEustace Briggs', they called it, but bedad! if that was a temperate

uld like to tar and feather the man,' he said. 'Wecan't do that,' I said, 'but why not tar a

at the end farthestfrom the door.""Just under the gallery," said Trevor. "I see.""That's it. Well, at half-past ten sharp every night Dexter sees thatwe're all in, locks the door, and goes off to sleep at the Old Man's,and we don't see him again till breakfast. He turns the gas off fromoutside. At half-past seven the next morning, Smith"--Smith was one ofthe school porters--"unlocks the door

a good cause. I droppedfirst, and while I wa

Trevor, for the boat-house was wont to belocked at one in the morning. "Moriarty had a key that fitted,"explained O'Hara, briefly. "We got in, and launched a boat--a bigtub--put in the tar and a couple of brushes--there's always tar inthe boat-house--and rowed across.""Wait a bit," interrupted Trevor, "you said ta

ddle of the place, whe

went up with the other brush, and we began. We did his face first. It

did the rest of him, and after about half an hour, when wethought we'd done about enough, we got into our boat again, and cameback.""And what did you

laughter. O'Hara was

ng, Trevor asked hi

t lost it, I

t once andtransferred it to another pocket. A look of a

orn it was in that

lost it?" queri

somewhere between the baths and thestatue. At the foot of the statue, for choice. It seems to me--correc

I don't see why you should lose either," snapped Trevor. "Why theblazes can't you be more car

Old Man that it's lost. He'll have another made. You won't be askedfor it till just before Sports Day either, so you will have plenty oftime

revor, "but I hope it won'tbe found anywhere