I know, they all sit near the window, and are squinting out at everybody that passes.

Won't they squirm ?" Next morning therefore at early school, as Percy and Company sat huddled at their desks in the Modern class-room, biting their pens, groaning over their sums, and gazing dismally from the window all at the same time, they had the unspeakable anguish of beholding Wally, D'Arcy, Ashby, and Fisher minor, with _their_ ball, having a ding-dong game of punt-about on the sacred Modern grass, under their very eyes.
How these four enjoyed themselves and kicked about the ball, nodding and kissing their hands all the while at the mortified enemy, who sat like caged beasts glaring at them through their bars, and gnawing their fingers in impotent fury! Sometimes, to add a little relish to the sport, they invited a passing prefect of their own house to give the ball a punt, and once a neat drop-kick from D'Arcy left a muddy splotch on the face of the sundial above border's door.
This was too much; and when, a few minutes later, they caught sight of the marauders waving to them and calling attention by pantomimic gesture to the fact that they were carrying off the ball once more to their own quarters, Percy could contain himself no longer.
"Beasts!" he ejaculated.
"Wheatfield," said Mr Forder, who was in charge of the class, "write me out fifty lines of the _Paradise Lost_ and a letter of apology in Latin for using bad language in class." Percy was conducted home by his friends that morning in a critical state.

He felt it necessary to kick somebody, and therefore kicked them; and they, entirely misunderstanding his motives, kicked back.
Consequently, a good deal of time was occupied in arranging matters all round on a comfortable footing; by the end of which time the fraternity, though marred in visage, felt generally easier in its mind.
It was no use appealing to the Modern prefects.

They had made a mess of it so far, and weren't to be trusted.

Nor did the course of lodging a complaint with Yorke commend itself to the company.