Mr. Chase apparently thought so too. He was watching the defeat of his house with gloomy stoicism from the opposite side of the ground--a chivalrous Chowdler was always a little overwhelming--and, catching sight of the two men in earnest conversation, he nudged Mr. Bent, who was standing beside him, and whispered: “See that? Chowdler’s taking him in hand; same as poor old Gussy. Shouldn’t wonder if some of our friends haven’t been frightened with false fire after all.” “H’m,” replied Mr. Bent. “Appearances are often deceptive. Wait and see. Flaggon’s a dark horse, and there’ll be surprises yet.” And the first of the surprises came about a week later at a housemasters’ meeting. The meeting had been convened, nominally, for the purpose of discussing the scale of tradesmen’s charges, which Mr. Flaggon thought excessive; but, at the close of it, he said in the most matter-of-fact way: “As we are here, I should like to say a few words on another subject. I intend, in the more or less near future, to introduce certain changes into our curriculum with a view to making our teaching more effective. I don’t know exactly yet what form those changes will take; but I have two things in my mind. In the first place, I find that our standard of scholarship is surprisingly low. I notice that last year we did not get a single scholarship of any importance at either university.” “We have always discouraged pot-hunting here,” interrupted Mr. Pounderly. “We have aimed at knowledge--not prizes.” “I know,” said Mr. Flaggon; “but it is the level of knowledge that I find so low here; much lower, for example, than it is in several other schools at which I have examined. And, in the second place, I am convinced that the average boy here (I am not speaking of the scholar) is not getting quite the kind of education which is best suited to his requirements.” Mr. Flaggon paused, and if a pin had fallen it would have been distinctly audible, so tense was the silence. The challenge had been thrown down, but everybody waited for a moment to feel the edge of his weapon before rushing into the fray. “I intend to do nothing rashly,” continued Mr. Flaggon. “I wish the whole subject to be discussed thoroughly before we decide on anything final, so that every point of view may find its expression. And for that reason I think it would be interesting, and perhaps helpful, if we could obtain the views of at least some of our parents on the subject.” There was a gasp; and Mr. Beadle, the authority on Plautus, rapped out: “The parents have already expressed their views by sending their sons to Chiltern.” “Not exactly,” said the headmaster. “It all depends on what alternatives they had.” “Surely,” pleaded Mr. Pounderly, “surely, to call in the parents would be like calling in the patient to advise the specialist.”