Foxholme Hall, and Other TalesKingston, William Henry Giles
General
Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Adventure stories; Boys -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
The masters stood ready. Reginald jumped into the punt, and, with
several others, was carried out into mid-stream. Several were ordered
to plunge overboard before him. Most of them went in with "footers,"
and now two or three were ordered to come out and take further lessons
from old Harry. Reginald waited patiently till his turn came, and then
overboard he went with a fine "rat's header," and downwards he dived.
He did not come up. The masters were alarmed, and shouted to old Harry
to look for him.
"What can have become of the boy?" exclaimed one of them, in real alarm.
Suddenly, not far off, up came Reginald, with a big stone in his hand.
"All right!" he exclaimed. "I wanted to bring a trophy from the
bottom;" and, depositing it on Middle Steps, away he swam in good style
to Lower Steps. Just touching them, away he went--now swimming with one
arm, now with the other, now with both hands like a dog, now turning on
his back and striking out with his feet.
"You'll do, and do famously!" exclaimed the master, who was not famed
for bestowing unnecessary compliments on any one.
Reginald came out with no little feeling of allowable pride, and,
dressing quickly, stepped on board the boat, when, taking the yoke-lines
in a knowing manner, he steered away for Bargemen's Bridge, where the
stream once more joins the river.
Reginald at once threw himself into boating most zealously. He was
always on the water, practising away, and soon became as proficient with
oars as with sculls--his great ambition being to belong to an eight-oar.
He and Power took a lock-up between them, for which they paid five
pounds; and though they liked it very much, they agreed that it was not
half so much fun as their boating in old days at Osberton, with Toby
Tubb as coxswain. Reginald did not neglect cricket, however; but as he
was still numbered among the Lower boys he could only belong to the
Sixpenny Club.
The playing-fields at Eton are divided between different clubs. The
boys subscribe to one or the other according to their position in the
school. Above the Sixpenny, to which the entrance is only one shilling,
is the Lower Club, to which those in the Fifth Form belong who are
considered not to play well enough to belong to the Upper Club. To the
Upper Club the clever and all the first-rate players alone belong. The
grand cricketing time is "after six," when, in the playing-fields, the
balls are flying about as thickly as in a general action, or, at all
events, as at "Lord's" on practising days; while, especially at the
great matches in the Upper Club, the non-players lie on the turf,
indulging largely in Bigaroon cherries and other fruits in season, and
making their remarks on the game.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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