That same evening Mark said: "I'm g-going to the Gym" (gymnasium) "every day, till I get hard as nails."
"Not in the summer?" Jim exclaimed.
"Yes; I'll have the place to myself—so much the better."
He worked indefatigably, and Jim was asked to feel his biceps about four times a day.
About the middle of June Jim made a discovery. High up, on one of the inside panels of his bedstead, he found the name of a gallant fellow who had fought gloriously in the Indian Mutiny.
"I'd like to sleep in his bed," said Mark.
"What a rum chap you are!" Jim exclaimed.
"If I sleep in his bed I may d-dream of him," Mark replied.
They changed beds with mutual satisfaction; for Jim's had a trick of collapsing in the middle of the night.
Later on Jim made another discovery: subjective this time. Mark was overdoing himself: working mind and muscle too hard. Never was spirit more willing, nor flesh more weak. One day, a sultry day in the middle of July, he fainted in school. That night Billy detained Jim after prayers.