But neither Telson nor Game were half so amazed at this little outburst as was the speaker himself.
He was half frightened the moment he had uttered it.

Now he was in for it with a vengeance! It would go out to all Willoughby, he knew, that he meant to stand by his guns.

What an awful failure, if, after all, he should not be able to keep his word! Game, with a forced smile which ill accorded with his inward astonishment, left the study without another word, heedless even of the laugh which Telson could no longer repress.
Of course many perverted stories of their adventure immediately got abroad in Willoughby.

Telson's highly-coloured version made it appear that a pitched battle had been fought between Game and the new captain, resulting in the defeat of the former chiefly through Telson's instrumentality and assistance.

As, however, this narrative did not appear in the same dress two hours running, it was soon taken for what it was worth, and most fellows preferred to believe the Parretts' version of the story, which stated that Riddell had announced his intention of keeping order in Willoughby without the help of the monitors, and had had the cheek to tell Bloomfield to mind his own business.
The indignation of Parrett's house on hearing such a story may be imagined.