[Illustration: ACTON DROPPED TO THE GROUND LIKE A BLUDGEONED DOG.] ACTON'S FEUD A PUBLIC SCHOOL STORY BY FREDERICK SWAINSON 1901 WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON GEORGE NEWNES, LIMITED SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND 1901 AD MATREM CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE FOUL 1 II. THE PENALTY 8 III. THE REGENERATION OF BIFFEN'S HOUSE 15 IV. BIFFEN'S PROGRESS 22 V. COTTON AND HIS JACKAL 27 VI. THE LAST CAP 36 VII. THANKS TO ACTON 49 VIII. BIFFEN'S CONCERT 57 IX. THE END OF TERM 65 X. THE YOUNG BROTHER 75 XI. TODD PAYS THE BILL 88 XII. RAFFLES OF ROTHERHITHE 93 XIII. "EASY IS THE DOWNWARD ROAD" 99 XIV. IN THE STABLE 106 XV. GRIM'S SUSPICIONS 112 XVI. TODD "FINDS HIMSELF" 119 XVII. RAFFLES' BILL 126 XVIII. HODGSON'S QUIETUS 133 XIX. HOW THEY "'ELPED THE PORE FELLER" 138 XX. ACTON'S TRUMP CARD 146 XXI. LONDON AND BACK 156 XXII. THE PENFOLD TABLET FUND 161 XXIII. BOURNE _v._ ACTON 170 XXIV. A RENEWED FRIENDSHIP 179 XXV. A LITTLE ROUGH JUSTICE 187 XXVI. THE MADNESS OF W.E. GRIM 194 XXVII. CONCERNING TODD AND COTTON 204 XXVIII. ACTON'S LAST MOVE 209 XXIX. WHY BIFFEN'S LOST 215 XXX. THE END OF THE FEUD 225 ACTON'S CHRISTMAS I. SNOWED UP 237 II. OVER THE FELLS 248 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ACTON DROPPED TO THE GROUND LIKE A BLUDGEONED DOG Frontispiece PHIL WALKED DOWN THE STEPS WITHOUT A FRIENDLY CHEER 40 ACTON JUST REACHED IT WITH HIS HEAD 50 AS THE TRAIN MOVED, GRIM SAID, "THREE CHEERS!" 74 ACTON THREW HIM INTO THE SNOW-HEAP 78 A LITTLE YELLOW, EAR-TORN DOG BUSTLED OUT OF SOME SHED 94 "I'M GOING TO HAVE THE SEVEN TEN, OR SHOW YOU UP" 128 THE GREEN POWDER UNDERWENT SOME WEIRD EXPERIMENTS 142 HE PUSHED UP HIS WINDOW AND CRAWLED THROUGH 160 "CUT, YOU MISERABLE PUPPY" 172 HE GAVE ME A LONG, STEADY LOOK OF HATRED 204 AS THE HORSES WHIRLED PAST, HE CLUTCHED MADLY AT THE LOOSE REINS 226 CHAPTER I THE FOUL