specimens of the animal kingdom, and consequently further astonishing
developments might be looked for.

CHAPTER II.

Mr. HAM, with wise forethought, carefully locked the door and pocketed
the key after disposing of the lads; and this was well, for Dick Haddon,
fully appreciating the possibilities of the situation, was already
plotting--plotting with every faculty of an active and inventive mind.

The master faced his prisoners, and stood musing over them like a pensive
but kindly cormorant. Mr. Joel Ham, B.A., was a small thin man with a
deceitful appearance of weakness. There was a peculiar indecision about
all his joints that made the certainty of his spring and the vigour of
his grip matters of wonder to all those new boys who ventured to presume
upon his seeming infirmities. He had a scraggy red neck, a long beak-like
nose, and queer slate-coloured eyes with pale lashes; his hair was thin
and very fine in colour and texture, strangely like that of a yellow cat;
and face, neck, and nose were mottled with patches of small purple veins.
To-day he was dressed in a long seedy black coat, a short seedy black
vest, and a pair of now moleskins, glaringly white, and much too long and
too large.

'Haddon,' said the master in a reflective tone, 'you are not looking as
neat as usual. You need dusting. I will perform that kind office
presently, and, believe me, I will do it well. Jacker, I intend to leave
you standing here for a few moments to cool. You may have noticed, boys,
that the youthful form when over-heated or possessed with unusual
excitement has not that poignant susceptibility which might be thought
necessary to the adequate appreciation of a judicious lambasting. Has