CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
"AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER ?" The evening of the Rockshire match was one of strangely conflicting emotions in Willoughby.
In the schoolhouse the jubilation was beyond bounds, and the victory of the school was swallowed up in the glorious exploits of the five schoolhouse heroes, who had, so their admirers declared, as good as won the match among them, and had vindicated themselves from the reproach of degeneracy, and once for all wiped away the hateful stigma of the boat- race.

The night was spent till bedtime in one prolonged cheer in honour of their heroes, who were glad enough to hide anywhere to escape the mobbing they came in for whenever they showed their faces.
In Parrett's house the festivities were of a far more subdued order.

As Willoughbites they were, of course, bound to rejoice in the victory of the old school.

But at what cost did they do it?
For had not that very victory meant also the overthrow of their reign in Willoughby.

No reasoning or excusing could do away with the fact that after all their boasting, and all their assumed superiority, they had taken considerably less than half the wickets, secured considerably less than a third of the catches, and scored considerably less than a quarter of the runs by which the match had been won.