The second term gave even better results. The whole school seemed infected with the spirit. There was more esprit de corps, the physical condition of the boys was decidedly on the improve, while the Midsummer Examination percentage of passes caused the Rev. Septimus to beam with satisfaction and the governors to bestow lavish praise upon their headmaster and his staff of assistants. Even Monsieur Fardafet, the second French master, noticed the change in the boys' behaviour, and weeks went by without his having to complain to the Head about the conduct of certain irreconcilables who had hitherto been the worry and despair of his existence. The fact was that the whole College was imbued with the principles of scoutcraft. Every boy realised that it was incumbent upon him to develop his individual character, and that it was impossible for his masters to confide in him if he failed to confide in them. It had always been a strong point with the Rev. Septimus to impress upon his assistants the necessity of appealing to a boy's honour, but hitherto there had been a flaw in the working of the Head's scheme. The boys regarded any advance on their masters' part with suspicion. It was their firm belief that masters existed simply and solely for the purpose of driving in the dreary elements of knowledge. But when Mr Leslie Trematon arrived upon the scene matters began to improve, till, at the time our story opens, a state of harmony existed betwixt the masters and scholars of Collingwood College. The number of patrols had now increased to ten. Of these the "Otters" and the "Wolves" were composed solely of boarder who, through various circumstances, were unable to spend their holidays in the home circle. Mr Trematon looked upon it as a pleasurable duty to give up a portion of his summer vacation to these two patrols, and, with this object in view, had approached Sir Silas Gwinnear to obtain his permission to have the use of Seal Island for a fortnight in August. Sir Silas was a city magnate whose name was generally to the fore in every large commercial transaction that would bear close investigation. With the exception of a comparatively brief holiday, invariably spent on his large Cornish estate near Padstow, Sir Silas stuck closely to his business. He was a self-made man, whose wealth had been accumulated by sheer hard work and indomitable determination. In his earlier days he knew Mr Trematon's father intimately, and the young Scoutmaster took decorous advantage of this friendship to ask a boon for his Scouts.