“Have you kept the guns, Kennedy? You must let me have a look after hall.”
While this kind of talk was going on, Brogten, who was nearly opposite to Kennedy, sat silent, and watched him.
He did not join in the remarks about the night adventure in Switzerland, but when there was a slight pause in the fire of questions, he turned the conversation to the subject of the May examination.
“Those are not your only triumphs, Kennedy, it appears. You seem to have been doing uncommonly well in the examination, too.”
“Oh aye, you were in the first ten,” said Suton; “Mr Grayson told me so.”
“Who was first?” asked Lillyston.
“Oh, Home of course; except in one paper, and Kennedy was first in that.”
“I believe that was the Aeschylus paper,” said Brogten, throwing the slightest unusual emphasis into his tone; “you were first in that, weren’t you, Kennedy?”
The men were surprised to hear Brogten address him with such careless familiarity, knowing the old quarrel that existed between them; and they were still more surprised to hear Brogten interest himself about a topic usually so indifferent to him as the result of an examination. It seemed particularly strange that he should give himself any trouble to inquire about the present list, because he himself had been posted, in company with Hazlet and Lord Fitzurse, i e, their names had been written up below the eighth class, as “unworthy to be classed.”
“Was I?” said Kennedy in the most careless tone he could assume.