The Guinea-pigs, on the other hand, whatever they thought, protested vehemently that Greenfield senior was the most virtuous, heroic, saintly, and jolly fellow in all Saint Dominic's, and denounced the Tadpoles and all the rest of the school as the most brutal ruffians in Christendom. "They ought all to be expelled, every one of them," said one; "all except Greenfield senior, and I hope they will be." "All I know is," said Paul, "I'll let them have a bit of my mind, some of them." "So will I," said another. "You haven't got any to give 'em a bit of," squealed Bramble, "so now!" "All right, I'll give 'em a bit of _you_ then," retorted Paul. "You wouldn't get any of them to touch him with a pair of tongs," added another. This was too much for Bramble, and another brief period of dust ensued. Then, comparative quiet once more prevailing, Paul said, "I tell you what, _I_ mean to stick to Greenfield senior." "So do I," said another youth, with his face all over ink. "I mean _to fag_ for him." "So do I!" shouted another. "So do I!" shouted another. And a general chorus of assent hailed the idea. "We'll all fag for him, I vote, eh, Stee?" said Paul, "the whole lot of us! My eye, that'll be prime! Won't the others just about look black and blue!" It was a magnificent idea! And no sooner conceived than executed. There was a great rush of Guinea-pigs to Oliver's study. He was not there. So much the better. They would give him a delightful surprise! So they proceeded straightway to empty his cupboards and drawers, to polish up his cups, to unfold his clothes and fold them again, to take down his books and put them up again, to upset his ink and mop it up with one of his handkerchiefs, to make his tea and spill it on the floor, to dirty his collars with their inky hands, to clean his boots with his hat-brush, and many other thoughtful and friendly acts calculated to make the heart of their hero glad. In the midst of their orgies, Wraysford and Pembury passed the door, and stopped to look in, wondering what on earth the tumult was about. But they were greeted with such a storm of yells and hisses that they passed on, a little uneasy in their minds as to whether or no hydrophobia had broken out in Saint Dominic's. After them a detachment of Tadpoles, headed by Bramble appeared on the scene, for the purpose of mocking. But, whatever their purpose may have been, it was abandoned for more active opposition when Paul presently emptied a tumblerful of lukewarm tea in the face of Master Bramble. A notable battle was fought on the threshold of Greenfield senior's study, in which many were wounded on both sides, and in the midst of which Oliver arrived on the scene, kicking right and left, and causing a general rout.