“Bravo, Guinea-pigs!” shouts one small voice up somewhere near the ceiling, whereat there is a mighty laugh and cheer, and Bramble turns crimson in the face, and tells his grandmother gloomily, “That fellow Paul is a beast!”
But the youth’s face brightens when the next name is called: “Third arithmetic—Padger.”
Then doth Bramble the Tadpole stand in his seat and cheer till he is hoarse, and till his grandmother pulleth him by the tail of his jacket. The hero Padger, perspiring very much in the face, but otherwise composed, takes the homage of his chief and the third arithmetic prize with becoming humility, and clears off the arena as fast as he conveniently can.
Surely the Fourth Junior have come to an end now! No! there is one more prize.
“First Latin—Greenfield junior.”
This time there was a louder cheer than ever, for Stephen is a popular boy outside his own class. Oliver joins in the cheer, and Pembury and Wraysford and one or two others, and of course the Guinea-pigs, go in a lump for him. It is quite a minute before the noble Earl can get hold of the words of presentation; and when at last Stephen is dispatched, the Doctor turns round and says, “If you boys will make a little less noise I dare say we shall get through the list quite as satisfactorily, and possibly a little more quickly.”
“Hear, hear!” says one of the governors, and nod, nod goes the noble Earl’s head.
The consequence of this is that the prizes to the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Senior are presented amid something very much like silence, which, however, grows less and less solemn as the proceedings go on. The last Fourth Senior boy to be called is the hero Forrester, who is now fully constituted a member of the first football fifteen. He gets a vehement cheer at all costs, mingled with shouts of “Well kicked, sir!”
“Hack it through!” and the like, which clearly show that the sympathy of Saint Dominic’s is quite as much with the exploits accomplished by the young hero’s feet as by those of his head.
Now for the Fifth! If the Doctor expects the company is to remain solemn during the next quarter of an hour he knows nothing at all about the school over which he presides.