"I suppose they thought better of it. That is your basin!" he added, pointing to one washstand. "Mind that they don't take all the water, or you will either have to sneak another fellow's, or go and get some more for yourself. Look sharp, and then we will go and have a turn with the bells, and a spin afterwards, I like to get all I can before breakfast; it seems to set a fellow up for the day." Ralph nodded, and began vigorously sluicing and polishing; and the boys, too busy about their own business, paid no attention to him. He was quite capable of looking after himself, in their opinion. At last, all ready to accompany the monitor, he quietly repeated his action of the previous night--he knelt down in prayer. That staggered even Warren. As a whole, the boys were good lads, but even those who had been accustomed to evening prayers in their homes did not seem to think that morning prayers were quite as important. They wanted to scramble off to play as quickly as possible. The Head always read prayers in school, and that was enough; and here was this new fellow wasting precious time in this way! A few sneered and giggled; some shrugged their shoulders, and ran off; some looked grave; and Warren sat nursing his foot, and pondering; while Charlton turned red. But they made no remarks; and when Ralph rose from his knees, the three went out together. Warren was turning over a decidedly new leaf. If he had not annoyed Charlton before, he had left him pretty much alone, and now he was admitting him to his company. Well, Charlton was Rexworth's chum, and if he wanted Rexworth he must have the chum as well. Charlton hardly expected the monitor to be friendly to him, but he waited for his chum, and Warren waited, too. "Let us get down and have a try at the bells," suggested the monitor, leading the way. And Ralph inquired innocently-- "Ringing bells, do you mean?" Whereat Warren stared, and felt just a little less respect for the new boy. What sort of a fellow could he be if he didn't know what dumb-bells were? "Ringing bells?" he repeated. "No; dumb-bells--exercises, you know! Come on, I will show you." "I never saw bells like those," was Ralph's comment, when a pair was produced. "How do you use them?" Warren went through a set of exercises, and then handed them to Ralph, who laughed, and said-- "Why, they don't weigh anything! I don't see much exercise in this!" "They are six-pounders," was the answer; "quite as heavy as you will want. Now try this exercise--do it a dozen times." Warren showed Ralph the right way, and off he went; Charlton, who had also got a pair of bells, doing the same. And, to Ralph Rexworth's surprise, he found that those weights at which he had laughed soon made him feel tired, and that Charlton could keep on longer than he could. He could not understand that. "I don't see why it should be," he said. And a voice replied--