but he determined to speak about the matter to Russell in their
next walk.

They usually walked together on Sunday. Dr. Rowlands had discontinued
the odious and ridiculous custom of the younger boys taking their
exercise under a master's inspection. Boys are not generally fond of
constitutionals, so that on the half-holidays they almost entirely
confined their open-air exercise to the regular games, and many of them
hardly left the play-ground boundaries once a week. But on Sundays they
often went walks, each with his favorite friend or companion. When Eric
first came as a boarder, he invariably went with Russell on Sunday, and
many a pleasant stroll they had taken together, sometimes accompanied by
Duncan, Montagu, or Owen. The latter, however, had dropped even this
intercourse with Eric, who for the last few weeks had more often gone
with his new friend Upton.

"Come a walk, boy," said Upton, as they left the dining-room.

"O excuse me to-day, Upton," said Eric, "I'm going with your cousin."

"Oh _very_ well," said Upton, in high dudgeon, and, hoping to make Eric
jealous, he went a walk with Graham, whom he had "taken up" before he
knew Williams.

Russell was rather surprised when Eric came to him and said, "Come a
stroll to Fort Island, Edwin--will you?"

"O yes," said Russell cheerfully; "why, we haven't seen each other for
some time lately! I was beginning to fancy that you meant to drop
me, Eric."