But there was that young ass Heathcote, and Coote too, who were certain to do as he did; and the fag of making up his mind for three people was not fair to a fellow.
And yet the Ghost's letter somehow stuck in his mind, and the ballast he had taken on board during the holidays made it harder to play pitch and toss with himself than it had been.

He didn't like the way Mansfield had almost dared them to stay away.

Because, if it came to that, he would just as soon let fellows see he wasn't going to be bullied.

On the other hand, the Captain had as good as said it wanted some pluck to stand out against the rowdies, and that was an argument in favour of showing up at levee.

The worst of it was, when once you showed up, you were committed to the steady lot, and couldn't well back out.