There, too, stood a master in flannels, with the Oxford Blue on his straw, talking to a group of boys.

I wish I could have overheard what they were saying.
Perhaps they were discussing the merits of some of the new boys.
I strolled on, passing on the way inquisitive stragglers who stared hard at me, till I came to where the road skirts the cricket field.

Here, at a broken paling, I stood a moment and glanced in.

Fellows were bowling and batting at the nets, others were strolling arm-in-arm up and down, hailing new arrivals; others were enjoying a little horseplay; others were critically examining the last season's pitch; others, impatient of the seasons, were punting about a brand-new football.
How out of it I was! and yet how sure I felt that if some of those fellows only guessed who was on the other side of the palings they would feel interested! I strolled on farther, and began now to pass the outbuildings.

There was a lecture room, empty at present.