For Mrs Stratton on her way out of the school looked in, and taking in the situation, advanced to the counter and said-- "A bottle of ginger-beer, if you please, Lickford." Lickford, who, to use his own polite phrase, was "bossing the drinks and fruit" for the day, nearly tumbled down with the shock of this sudden challenge, and made a wild grab at the nearest bottle within reach.

The eyes of Fellsgarth were upon him; he lost his head entirely, and made herculean efforts to draw the cork without loosing the wire.

His contortions were terrible.
When he could not hold the bottle firm enough between his knees, he tried gripping it between his feet.

Then in a hot whisper he besought D'Arcy to hang on to the end, and for a time the bottle was invisible under the two.

Then he took another, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the spectators, and was proceeding to release the corkscrew from the refractory vessel, when Mrs Stratton said in her pleasant way-- "I see you keep the new kind of bottles that have the corks wired down.
They are much better than the old, and it's very little trouble undoing the wire." This saved Lickford.