"I'll go alone."
"You won't."
"I will."
"No."
"Yes; yes; yes."
Jim's obstinacy prevailed. After prayers, the boys waited in the passage. Jim had been swished by the Doctor in the Fourth Form Room, and his sensations before execution reproduced themselves. Mark seemed cool and collected.
"Sit down," said Billy. "Open your books."
Mark laid his Thucydides upon the table.
"Bless my soul!" ejaculated Billy. He had pushed up his spectacles while he was speaking. Now, he polished a pair of pince-nez and popped them on his nose. Nervousness is contagious.
"We have c-c-come here to t-t-tell you, s-sir, s-s-something which you ought to know."