"That'll never do—don't you remember the levy[19] of the School last half?" put in another.
In fact, the solemn assembly, a levy of the School, had been held, at which the captain of the School had got up, and, after premising[20] that several instances had occurred of matters having been reported to the masters, that this was against public morality and school tradition; that a levy of the sixth had been held on the subject, and they had resolved that the practice must be stopped at once; and given out that any boy, in whatever form, who should thenceforth appeal to a master, without having first gone to some præpostor and laid the case before him, should be thrashed publicly and sent to Coventry.[21]
A COUNSELLOR OF THE REBELS
"Well, then, let's try the sixth. Try Morgan," suggested another. "No use"—"Babbling won't do," was the general feeling.
"I'll give you fellows a piece of advice," said a voice from the end of the hall. They all turned with a start, and the speaker got up from a bench on which he had been lying unobserved, and gave himself a shake; he was a big, loose-made fellow, with huge limbs which had grown too far through his jacket and trousers. "Don't you go to anybody at all—you just stand out; say you won't fag—they'll soon get tired of licking you. I've tried it on years ago with their forerunners."
"No! did you? tell us how it was," cried a chorus of voices, as they clustered round him.
"Well, just as it is with you. The fifth form would fag us, and I and some more struck, and we beat 'em. The good fellows left off directly, and the bullies who kept on soon got afraid."
"Was Flashman here then?"
"Yes! and a dirty little snivelling, sneaking fellow he was too. He never dared join us, and used to toady[22] the bullies by offering to fag for them, and peaching[23] against the rest of us."