“A precious sight hotter,” said Arthur, wrathfully. “What are we to do at beagle-time to-morrow? Just when the hounds start we’ve got to turn in to dinner. Bah!”
This was the first practical illustration of the inconvenience of the new régime, and it instantly suggested others.
“We’ll be stumped,” said Tilbury, “if this goes on after cricket starts—it’ll be all up with any of us getting into one of the School matches.”
“I suppose,” said Ranger of the Fifth, “this will knock all of us out of the sports, too?”
Fellows looked blank at the suggestion. Yet a moment’s reflection showed that Ranger was right. One o’clock was the daily training hour in the playing-fields, and Saturday afternoon four weeks hence was the date fixed for the School sports.
It took some days for Railsford’s house to accommodate itself to the new order of things imposed upon it. Indeed, it took twenty-four hours for Grandcourt generally to comprehend the calamity which had befallen the disgraced house. When one o’clock arrived on the first afternoon, and neither Ainger, Wake, Wignet, Tilbury, Herapath, nor the other familiar frequenters of the playing-field, put in an appearance, speculation began to pass about as to the cause of their absence. Some of Bickers’s boys knew there had been a “howling shine” about something. But it was not till Smedley, impatient to settle some question relating to the sports, sent his fag to fetch Ainger that it became generally known what had happened. The fag returned with an important face.
“Such a go!” said he, in reply to his chief’s inquiry; “there’s a feast going on at Railsford’s! Smelt fine! I saw them through the door, but couldn’t go in, because Railsford was there. Ainger and all the lot were tucking in. The beef was just going in, so they’ve only just started.”
“Jolly shame!” said someone who overheard this announcement; “we never get feasts in our house! I suppose Railsford thinks he’ll get his chaps in a good-humour by it. It’s not fair unless everybody does it.”
“It’ll be hall-time before they’ve done. We’d better not wait,” said one of the Sixth. “I wonder what it all means?”
“I heard Ponsford had been down rowing them about something this morning—something some of them had been doing to Bickers, I believe.”