“What do you do in that case?” asked Irving.
“Jump hard on some one,” answered Wythe. “Try to get the leader of it, but if you can’t get him, get somebody. Report him,—give him three sheets.”
“That means writing Latin lines for three hours on half-holidays?”
“Yes, and six marks off in Decorum for the week. Of course they’ll come wheedling round you, wanting to be excused; you have to use your own discretion about that.”
“Do you have any Sixth Form classes?” asked Marcy.
“Yes,” Irving answered. “In Geometry.”
“That means you’ll have to take the upper hand and hold it, right from the start. If you have one crowd in dormitory to look after and another crowd in class, you can afford to relax a little now and then; but when it’s the same boys in both—they watch for any sign of weakening.”
“There will be only two of them at your table, any way, Mr. Upton,” said Randolph. He passed over a list. “The others are all Fourth and Fifth Formers—only Westby and Carroll from the Sixth!”
“Westby!” Wythe sighed. “Maybe we were premature in congratulating you. I’d forgotten about Westby.”
“What is the matter with him?” asked Irving.