"Of course. Gus seemed rather waxy that he should be called upon. One might almost fancy he hadn't got the five shillings."
"Todd evidently is a miserable miser," said Jim, with a bitter smile at the thought of Gus's insolvent condition. "He isn't the same fellow he used to be."
"Jove, no!" said Philips; "he's come on no end this term. He's an improvement on the old Gus."
"Yes," said Jim, angrily; "the beaks have got him into their nets. But he ought to subscribe to the Penfold, when he's the biggest smug in Taylor's."
"And you ought too, Jim, since you've the biggest money-bags."
"All right," said Jim, "I'll subscribe. 'Twill look better if we all subscribe."
"You're a funny ass, Cotton. I thought I was going to draw you blank. What's the reason for your sudden change of mind?"
"I don't want to be bracketed equal with Toddy."
"That's settled, then," said Philips, who was puzzled at Jim's sudden change of front. "And now let's see to Merishall's work for the morning."
The subscriptions for a tablet in the great Penfold's honour were not hard to obtain, the upper form fellows in Taylor's dunning the rest of the house without mercy, and, to the great wonder of all, the foremost of the duns was James Cotton, Esq. The way he squeezed half-crowns out of the fags was reckoned little short of marvellous, and before the week was out every Taylor fellow had subscribed bar Gus. Jim's exertions were rewarded by the office of secretary to the Penfold Fund.