"Oh, that's all rubbish! It's simply because they're waxy with us for getting above them in class. I don't see why I should take my orders from Rosher and Teal, and only do what they like; and I don't intend to either."
"All right, my boy," answered Jack, carelessly. "Do what you like, only look out for squalls."
The latter piece of advice was not at all unnecessary; for soon after this, as the giver was strolling across the gravel playground, he heard his name called, and looking round saw his cousin hurrying after him with a scrap of paper in his hand.
"Look," he said; "I found this in my desk just now, and there was one just like it in Hollis's."
Jack took the paper. It was an anonymous note, printed in capitals to disguise the handwriting; and it ran as follows:—
"This is to give you fair warning, that if you will persist in doing more work than what is set, you'll get a thrashing. The rest of the class don't intend to get more work on your account, and so have decided not to put up with your nonsense any longer."
"It was Rosher or one of those chaps wrote it," said Jack. "You'd better look out; any one of them could give you a licking."
"They'd have to try first," answered Valentine, hotly.
His cousin laughed; the reply rather tickled his fancy.
Those concerned had not long to wait before matters came to a head. That same afternoon Mr. Rowlands set a history lesson for the following day. "Take the reign of Elizabeth," he said. "By-the-bye, there's a genealogical tree at the end of the chapter; get that up if you can."