“Now, hands up for Fisher major.”
Amid dead silence the Classic hands went up. Anxious eyes were cast in Rollitt’s direction. But he, strange to say, was all there, and held up his hand with the rest.
Fisher major himself at the last moment kept his own hand down. He had decided that, if Brinkman voted for himself, he would do the same. Brinkman had voted. But, when it came to following his example, the candidate’s pride went on strike, and, whether it lost the election or not, he declined to vote, Three of the tellers evidently agreed, but the other had to count again before he made the figure right. Then the written paper was handed up to Yorke, “Brinkman 128, Fisher major, 129—Fisher is elected.”
Chapter Nine.
Carried Nem. Con.
It must not be supposed that in the midst of the excitement of School politics the intellectual side of the Fellsgarth juniors, life was being quite neglected.
On the contrary, they complained that so far from being neglected it was rather overdone.
The Classic juniors, for instance, suffered many things at the hands of the cheerful Mr Stratton, who really worked hard to instil into their opening minds some rudiments of those studies from which their side took its name. He took pains to explain not only when a thing was wrong, but why; and, unlike some of his calling, he devoted his chief attention to his most backward boys. This was his great offence in the eyes of D’Arcy and Wally and some of their fraternity, because under the arrangement they came in for the special attention alluded to.