When Gus saw the staring red abomination for the first time it made him feel that he would like to pour a little boiling oil over the secretary of the fund, for to a fellow of Gus’s temperament the chaffing remarks of his acquaintances and the knowing looks of the juniors made him shiver with righteous anger.  He did not like being pilloried.  He had desperate thoughts of going and publicly kicking Cotton, but he remembered, fortunately, that Jim would probably only make one mouthful of him.  But he paced his room angrily, and except that he really meant to keep himself to his resolution of honourable poverty to the term’s end he would have written home.  Not to do so cost him a struggle.

There was some one else who eyed this plain manifesto of Gus’s position with anger, and that was the Rev. E. Taylor himself.  The house-master had not been a house-master for years for nothing, and he guessed pretty shrewdly that some one was writing off a debt with interest against Gus.  The house-master made a still shrewder guess as to who this might be, for he had watched the dissolution of the partnership of Cotton and Todd with great interest.

Thus it was that Philips was called into Taylor’s room for a quiet little chat on house matters.  “Your idea of a memento to Penfold was an excellent one, Philips, and the house seems to have taken it up very heartily.”

“Oh yes!” said Philips, naively.  “The fellows have taken any amount of interest, especially Cotton.”

“Cotton’s is rather a case of Saul among the prophets, isn’t it, Philips?”

“This sort of thing didn’t quite seem his line before, sir.”

“No; I never thought so myself; but it is very pleasant to make a mistake, too.  I see Todd, who is the best chemist in the house, does not subscribe at all.”

“Most of the fellows thought it rather strange.”

“And said so, no doubt?” said the master, looking abstractedly at his finger-nails.

“H’m!” said Philips, feeling uncomfortable at this thrust.  “They may have.”

“You see, Philips,” said Taylor, gently, “there ought to have been no quizzing of Todd, for a contribution to a matter like this ought to be entirely voluntary—­most emphatically so, I think.  And if Todd does not see his way to subscribe—­and he is the sole judge—­there ought to be no remarks whatever.”

“I see, sir,” said Philips, dubiously.

“I was much annoyed to see that Todd’s name has been prominently before the house for the last day or so.”

“You mean on the notice-board, sir?”

“Yes; I can quite see why it is.  The honorary secretary has not had much experience in this clerical work before, so he has fallen into a great mistake.  In fact,” said the house-master, bluntly, “the secretary’s taste is not to be depended on.”

“I don’t think Cotton meant anything——­” began Philips.

“Well, perhaps not,” said the Rev. E. Taylor, doubtfully; “but, in any case, will you take down the present list, and draw up a fresh one—­if you think one at all necessary—­with only the names of subscribers upon it?  A house list should not have been used at all.  Please tell Cotton I said so, and I hope he will see the fairness of it.”