"The doctor will be down on us." "You stop it, Bloomfield!" said Wibberly; "they'll shut up for _you_." This was all the unfortunate Riddell heard, except that in a few moments the uproar from the Fourth Form room suddenly ceased, and was not renewed.
"What did Bloomfield do this morning when he came into your room ?" asked Riddell that evening of Wyndham junior, a Limpet in whom, for his brother's sake, the new captain felt a special interest, and whom he invited as often as he liked to come and prepare his lessons with him.
"Oh!" said Wyndham, who had been one of the combatants, "he gave Watkins and Cattermole a hiding, and swore he'd allow no removes from the Limpets' eleven to the school second this term if there was any more row." This reply by no means added to Riddell's comfort.
"Gave Cattermole and Watkins a hiding." Fancy _his_ attempting to give Cattermole and Watkins a hiding! And not only that, he had held out some awful threat about Limpets' cricket, which appeared to have a magical effect.
Fancy the effect of _his_ threatening to exclude a Limpet from the second-eleven--when it was all he knew that the school had a second- eleven! The difficulties and perplexities which had loomed before him in the morning were closing around him now in grim earnest! The worst he had feared had happened, and more than the worst.

It was now proved beyond all doubt that he was utterly incompetent.

Would it not be sheer madness in him to attempt this impossible task a day longer?
The reader has no doubt asked the same question long ago.

Of _course_ it's madness of him to attempt it.

A muff like Riddell never _could_ be captain of a school, and it's all bosh to suppose he could be.