"Ow! what are these things? Wow! I'll bet I can't walk at all now."
"They hurt worse than the stone bruise, eh?" asked Bobby, grinning.
"These fellows are always playing jokes on me," grumbled Pee Wee. "And I never do a living thing to hurt them."
The fat boy was a tempting subject for a joke, and he probably was the butt more often than anybody else.
While they were dressing, Fred almost got in a fight with Shiner because the latter called him "Ginger." Bobby took his chum aside.
"Now, Fred, that name's bound to stick," he said. "What's the use of getting mad at it? They all like you; no use in making enemies. Take it laughingly."
"That's because of Smartie Gray," grumbled Fred. "He called me 'Ginger' first."
"That isn't as bad as 'Bricktop'," suggested Bobby, smiling. "You ought to be glad it's no worse. I expect they'll find a nickname for me pretty soon, that will be a corker!"
At seven the bell rang again and they all marched down to breakfast. Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks scowled at Bobby and Fred on the stairs, but the captain was near and they did not say a word to the chums.
Before the boys separated, the first master, Mr. Leith, said: