They held their breaths, and heard whispering, of which they only made out Flashman's words, “I know the young brutes are in.”

Then came summonses to open, which being unanswered, the assault commenced: luckily the door was a good strong oak one, and resisted the united weight of Flashman's party. A pause followed, and they heard a besieger remark, "They're in safe enough-don't you see how the door holds at top and bottom? so the bolts must be drawn. should have forced the lock long ago." East gave Tom a nudge to call attention to this scientific remark.

We

Then came attacks on particular panels, one of which at last gave way to the repeated kicks, but it broke inwards, and the broken piece got jammed across, the door being lined with green-baize, and couldn't easily be removed from outside; and the besieged, scorning further concealment, strengthened their defences by pressing the end of their sofa against the door. So after one or two more ineffectual efforts, Flashman & Co. retired, vowing vengeance in no mild terms.

The first danger over, it only remained for the besieged to effect a safe retreat, as it was now near bed-time. They listened intently and heard the supper-party resettle themselves, and then gently drew back first one bolt and then the other. Presently the convivial noises began again steadily. "Now then, stand by for a run," said East, throwing the door wide open and rushing into the passage, closely

CONSTITUTIONAL RESISTANCE.

187

followed by Tom. They were too quick to be caught, but Flashman was on the look-out, and sent an empty pickle-jar whizzing after them, which narrowly missed Tom's head, and broke into twenty pieces at the end of the passage. "He wouldn't ⚫ mind killing one if he wasn't caught," said East, as they turned the corner.

There was no pursuit, so the two turned into the hall, where they found a knot of small boys round the fire. Their story was told-the war of independence had broken out-who would join the revolutionary forces? Several others present bound themselves not to fag for the fifth-form at once. One or two only edged off and left the rebels. What else could they do? "I've a good mind to go to the Doctor straight,” said Tom.

"That'll never do-don't you remember the levy of the school last half?" put in another.

In fact that solemn assembly, a levy of the school, had been held, at which the captain of the school had got up, and, after premising 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, had 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.

188

A COUNSELLOR OF THE REBELS.

66

Blabbing won't

"Well, then, let's try the sixth. Try Morgan," suggested another. "No use." 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 round 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," oried 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 the bullies by offering to fag for them, and peaching against the rest of us."

"Why wasn't he cut, then ?" said East.

"Oh, toadies never get cut, they're too useful. Besides he has no end of great hampers from home, with wine and game in them, so he toadied and fed himself into favour."

The quarter-to-ten bell now rang, and the small boys went off up stairs, still consulting together,

and praising their new counsellor, who stretched himself out on the bench before the hall fire again. There he lay, a very queer specimen of boyhood, by name Diggs, and familiarly called "the Mucker.”. He was young for his size, and a very clever fellow, nearly at the top of the fifth. His friends at home, having regard I suppose to his age, and not to his size and place in the school, hadn't put him into tails; and even his jackets were always too small, and he had a talent for destroying clothes, and making himself look shabby. He wasn't on terms with Flashman's set, who sneered at his dress and ways behind his back, which he knew, and revenged himself by asking Flashman the most disagreeable questions, and treating him familiarly whenever a crowd of boys were round them. Neither was he intimate with any of the other bigger boys, who were warned off by his oddnesses, for he was a very queer fellow; besides, amongst other failings, he had that of impecuniosity in a remarkable degree. He brought as much money as other boys to school, but got rid of it in no time, no one knew how. And then, being also reckless, borrowed from any one, and when his debts accumulated and creditors pressed, would have an auction in the hall of every thing he possessed in the world, selling even his school-books, candlestick, and study table. For weeks after one of these auctions, having rendered his study uninhabitable, he would live about in the fifth-form room and hall, doing his verses on old letter-backs and odd scraps of paper, and learning his lessons no one

190

THE MUCKER'S WAY OF LIFE.

knew how. He never meddled with any little boy, and was popular with them, though they all looked on him with a sort of compassion, and called him "poor Diggs," not being able to resist appearances, or to disregard wholly even the sneers of their enemy Flashman. However, he seemed equally indifferent to the sneers of big boys and the pity of small ones, and lived his own queer life with much apparent enjoyment to himself. It is necessary to introduce Diggs thus particularly, as he not only did Tom and East good service in their present warfare, as is about to be told, but soon afterwards, when he got into the sixth, chose them for his fags, and excused them from study-fagging, thereby earning unto himself eternal gratitude from them, and all who are interested in their history.

And seldom had small boys more need of a friend, for the morning after the siege, the storm burst upon the rebels in all its violence. Flashman laid wait, and caught Tom before second lesson, and receiving a point blank "No," when told to fetch his hat, seized him and twisted his arm, and went through the other methods of torture in use. "He couldn't make me cry tho'," as Tom said triumphantly to the rest of the rebels, "and I kicked his shins well I know." And soon it crept out that

a lot of the fags were in league, and Flashman excited his associates to join him in bringing the young vagabonds to their senses; and the house was filled with constant chasings, and sieges, and lickings of all sorts; and in return, the bullies' beds