The Loom of Youth | Page 6

raised dais was the Sixth Form table. In the middle, haughty,
self-conscious, with sleepy-looking but watchful eyes, sat the captain of
the House, Lovelace major, in many ways the finest athlete Fernhurst
ever produced, who had already got his County cap and played
"Rugger" for Richmond. Gordon had seen him bat at Lord's for the
Public Schools v. M.C.C., and before he had come to Fernhurst,
Lovelace had been the hero of his imagination; ambition could hardly
attain a higher pedestal.

There were about twelve in all at the Sixth Form table, of whom the
majority were prefects; and no one could leave the hall till one of them
went out. After a few minutes' conversation, in which no one ate
anything, although plates of hot soup were busily provided, someone
got up and went out. Immediately there was a rush towards the door,
and Gordon was borne down the long winding passage to the foot of
the stairs that led to the dormitories. Here, however, for some reason,
everyone stopped and began to talk at the top of their voices. Gordon
saw no reason for the delay, but thought it better to follow the throng,
and waited. As a matter of fact, the last train up from town had just
come in. There are some who always demand the last ounce of flesh;
there are always those who return by the last possible train, although it
stops at every station on the way. Suddenly, however, the House tutor
shouted from the top of the stairs, "Lights out in the upper dormitories
by nine-thirty," and the procession moved upstairs.
The upper dormitories in the School House were, like most other school
dormitories, a dismal spectacle. There was a long passage running
down from the House tutor's room, and on the left were doors leading
into long, bare rooms, with the usual red-quilted beds and the usual
wash-hand basins. On the right-hand side was the bathroom. The upper
dormitories were occupied by the smaller boys of the House. Once a
prefect had been put in charge over each room, but the system did not
work very well, and soon came to an abrupt end, so that there was only
the House tutor to keep them in order till the prefects went to bed in the
lower dormitories an hour later; and then any sound was promptly
dealt with. Gordon had been placed in the largest room, which was
known as "the nursery." It contained ten beds, and only four of its
inhabitants were of more than one term's standing. Among other less
enviable claims to fame, it had the reputation of being the finest
football-playing dormitory, and every night its members would race up
from supper to play their game before the House tutor came to put out
lights at nine-fifteen. The new boys took it in turns to keep "cave," and
it must be owned that for the first few weeks the sentinel rather
preferred the rôle of onlooker to that of player, and found it hard to
sympathise with those who were continually flinging abuse at the huge
football crowds at Stamford Bridge. This night there was, of course,

hardly any ragging. There was so much to talk about, and some faint
interest was even taken in the new boys, for two very important-looking
young people, Turner and Roberts, swaggered into the dormitories
"just to have a squint at the new kids," but after a casual inspection
Turner said in a lordly manner, "Good lord! what a crew," and the pair
sought better things elsewhere. Turner and Roberts were very
insignificant people during the daytime: they were little use at games,
and even a year's spasmodic cribbing had only managed to secure them
a promotion from the Second Form to the Third. But when the evening
came they were indeed great men, and ruled over a small dormitory
that contained, besides themselves, only four new boys who looked up
to them as gods and hung on their every word.
But very soon the wanderings of these two gentlemen ceased, and at the
sound of the House tutor's tread down the passage they fled very
ingloriously to their own abode. Mr Parkinson, the House tutor, was
one of the most popular masters in the school. He had only just missed
his blue at Oxford, and since he had gone down had devoted all his
energies to training on the junior members of the House at football and
cricket. He was in rather a hurry this particular evening, as he had to
make out the list of studies, but he shook hands with everyone, and
asked all the new boys their names before turning out the lights, with
instructions not to kick up too much row.
At last Gordon was at rest. For