"Confess--apologize--quick!" said Stalky.

From the floor Sefton made unconditional surrender, more abjectly even
than Campbell He would never touch any one again. He would go softly
all the days of his life.

"We've got to take it, I suppose?" said Stalky. "All right, Sefton.
You're broke? Very good. Shut up, Beetle! But before we let you up,
you an' Campbell will kindly oblige us with 'Kitty of
Coleraine'--_a'_la_ Clewer."

"That's not fair," said Campbell; "we've surrendered."

"'Course you have. Now you're goin' to do what we tell you--same as
Clewer would. If you hadn't surrendered you'd ha' been really
bullied. Havin' surrendered--do you follow, Seffy?--you sing odes in
honor of the conquerors. Hurry up!"

They dropped into chairs luxuriously. Campbell and Sefton looked at
each other, and, neither taking comfort from that view, struck up
"Kitty of Coleraine."

"Vile bad," said Stalky, as the miserable wailing ended. "If you
hadn't surrendered it would have been our painful duty to buzz books
at you for singin' out o' tune. Now then."

He freed them from their bonds, but for several minutes they could not
rise. Campbell was first on his feet, smiling uneasily. Sefton
staggered to the table, buried his head in his arms, and shook with