Touching the old game, Cuper’s fold was a healthy school, owing to the good lead of the head boy, Matey Weyburn, a lad with a heart for games to bring renown, and no thought about girls.  His emulation, the fellows fancied, was for getting the school into a journal of the Sports.  He used to read one sent him by a sporting officer of his name, and talk enviously of public schools, printed whatever they did—­a privilege and dignity of which, they had unrivalled enjoyment in the past, days, when wealth was more jealously exclusive; and he was always prompting for challenges and saving up to pay expenses; and the fellows were to laugh at kicks and learn the art of self-defence—­train to rejoice in whipcord muscles.  The son of a tradesman, if a boy fell under the imputation, was worthy of honour with him, let the fellow but show grip and toughness.  He loathed a skulker, and his face was known for any boy who would own to fatigue or confess himself beaten.  “Go to bed,” was one of his terrible stings.  Matey was good at lessons, too—­liked them; liked Latin and Greek; would help a poor stumbler.

Where he did such good work was in sharpening the fellows to excel.  He kept them to the grindstone, so that they had no time for rusty brooding; and it was fit done by exhortations off a pedestal, like St. Paul at the Athenians, it breathed out of him every day of the week.  He carried a light for followers.  Whatever he demanded of them, he himself did it easily.  He would say to boys, “You’re going to be men,” meaning something better than women.  There was a notion that Matey despised girls.  Consequently, never much esteemed, they were in disfavour.  The old game was mentioned only because of a tradition of an usher and governess leering sick eyes until they slunk away round a corner and married, and set up a school for themselves—­an emasculate ending.  Comment on it came of a design to show that the whole game had been examined dismissed as uninteresting and profitless.

One of the boys alluded in Matey’s presence to their general view upon the part played by womankind on the stage, confident of a backing; and he had it, in a way:  their noble chief whisked the subject, as not worth a discussion; but he turned to a younger chap, who said he detested girls, and asked him how about a sister at home; and the youngster coloured, and Matey took him and spun him round, with a friendly tap on the shoulder.

Odd remarks at intervals caused it to be suspected that he had ideas concerning girls.  They were high as his head above the school; and there they were left, with Algebra and Homer, for they were not of a sort to inflame; until the boys noticed how he gave up speaking, and fell to hard looking, though she was dark enough to get herself named Browny.  In the absence of a fair girl of equal height to set beside her, Browny shone.

She had a nice mouth, ready for a smile at the corners, or so it was before Matey let her see that she was his mark.  Now she kept her mouth asleep and her eyes half down, up to the moment of her nearing to pass, when the girl opened on him, as if lifting her eyelids from sleep to the window, a full side—­look, like a throb, and no disguise—­no slyness or boldness either, not a bit of languishing.  You might think her heart came quietly out.