He had spent days in working out on little slips of paper during school his exact chances of getting a place in the House team. Recently, however, he had almost ceased to hope. He had reckoned on at least eight of the senior study being chosen before him. 'Yes,' said the Bishop, 'you must buck up. Practise fielding every minute of your spare time. Anybody'll hit you up catches if you ask them.' 'Right,' said Wilson, 'I will.' 'All right, then. Go, and tell Lee that I want to see him.' 'Lee,' said the Bishop, when that worthy appeared, 'I wanted to see you, to tell you you're playing for the House against Webster's. Thought you might like to know.' 'By Jove,' said Lee, 'am I really?' 'Yes. Buck up with your fielding.' 'Right,' said Lee. 'That's all. If you're going downstairs, you might tell Adams to come up.' For a quarter of an hour the Bishop interviewed the junior members of his team, and impressed on each of them the absolute necessity of bucking up with his fielding. And each of them protested that the matter should receive his best consideration. 'Well, they're keen enough anyway,' said Marriott, as the door closed behind Carstairs, the last of the new recruits, 'and that's the great thing. Hullo, who's that? I thought you had worked through the lot. Come in!' A small form appeared in the doorway, carrying in its right hand a neatly-folded note. 'Monk told me to give you this, Gethryn.' 'Half a second,' said the Bishop, as the youth made for the door. 'There may be an answer.' 'Monk said there wouldn't be one.' 'Oh. No, it's all right. There isn't an answer.' The door closed. The Bishop laughed, and threw the note over to Reece. 'Recognize it?' Reece examined the paper. 'It's a fair copy. The one Monk showed me was rather smudged. I suppose they thought you might be hurt if you got an inky round-robin. Considerate chap, Monk.' 'Let's have a look,' said Marriott. 'By Jove. I say, listen to this bit. Like Macaulay, isn't it?' He read extracts from the ultimatum. 'Let's have it,' said Gethryn, stretching out a hand. 'Not much. I'm going to keep it, and have it framed.' 'All right. I'm going down now to put up the list.' When he had returned to the study, Monk and Danvers came quietly downstairs to look at the notice-board. It was dark in the passage, and Monk had to strike a light before he could see to read. 'By George,' he said, as the match flared up, 'Reece was right. He has.' 'Well, there's one consolation,' commented Danvers viciously, 'they can't possibly get that cup now. They'll have to put us in again soon, you see if they don't.' ''M, yes,' said Monk doubtfully. [14] NORRIS TAKES A SHORT HOLIDAY 'It's all rot,' observed Pringle, 'to say that they haven't a chance, because they have.'