'Graham wins,' said the referee, 'look after that man there.'




[2]

THIEVES BREAK IN AND STEAL


It was always the custom for such Austinians as went up to represent
the School at the annual competition to stop the night in the town. It
was not, therefore, till just before breakfast on the following day
that Tony arrived back at his House. The boarding Houses at St Austin's
formed a fringe to the School grounds. The two largest were the School
House and Merevale's. Tony was at Merevale's. He was walking up from
the station with Welch, another member of Merevale's, who had been up
to Aldershot as a fencer, when, at the entrance to the School grounds,
he fell in with Robinson, his fag. Robinson was supposed by many
(including himself) to be a very warm man for the Junior Quarter, which
was a handicap race, especially as an injudicious Sports Committee had
given him ten yards' start on Simpson, whom he would have backed
himself to beat, even if the positions had been reversed. Being a wise
youth, however, and knowing that the best of runners may fail through
under-training, he had for the last week or so been going in for a
steady course of over-training, getting up in the small hours and going
for before-breakfast spins round the track on a glass of milk and a
piece of bread. Master R. Robinson was nothing if not thorough in
matters of this kind.