"All—except Moncrief," answered Leveson.
The absence of Moncrief had been noticed with some surprise by the Form, by none more than Newall.
"Is he coming, does any one know? If so, we'll wait a little longer."
"No; he isn't coming," answered Paul. "He wanted to; but I persuaded him to stop away."
"You persuaded him to stop away," cried Newall. "Why, it's because of him we've come here."
"Excuse me," answered Paul politely. "It's because of me. At any rate, it's for the Form to decide."
"Percival called the Form together. It's for Percival to explain," said Hasluck.
"I'll explain as well as I can," said Paul, taking a step forward, and glancing round at the faces bent eagerly forward to hear him. "There was a slight shindy, as you all know, on the first day of term, between Newall and Stanley Moncrief."
"Shindy!" interrupted Newall with a scornful sniff. "Is that all you call it?"
"Call it by what name you please; I don't mind," proceeded Paul calmly. "Newall baited Moncrief's cousin unmercifully, and Moncrief did what any other fellow in the Form worth his salt would have done—interfered. I tried to get between him and Newall to stop the quarrel. You know what happened—Newall was struck."