"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed." After a little Rig came and peered over his shoulder again. "Hard at it yet?" he said. "Yes," said Magnus, "and like to be. Just look at this! 'If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.' And I don't feel happy, worth a cent. I feel just as cross as two sticks." "But you can't take that as a _command_," said Rig, looking puzzled. "Folks don't feel happy to order." "Not a command, no; it merely states the case. How I should feel if the cause were as dear to me as it ought to be." "Well, I'd like to know what you're cross about," said Rig gloomily. "All the girls at your feet, and never twitted with anything by the Com. If it was me, now! You know how I shone in the blue list the other night." Magnus nodded. "Well, I hadn't really done anything," said Rig; "not worth mentioning, you know; and so I put in an explanation. And it was disallowed." "Naturally." "What do you mean by 'naturally'?" "The way of the world, or the tactical part of it." "But I wasn't going to stand it, if it was, you know; and I polished up my buttons, brushed the top of my head, swept my face, and went to see the Supe." "Submitted your explanation to him?" "Another, Kin, another, with variations. Told him I didn't really know the act was against rules. Which I didn't, except by hearsay; and that's not evidence in law." "Haven't you a copy of the blue book?" demanded Magnus. "Always sleep with it clasped to my heart, so as to know when to wake up," said Rig. "But now, Kin, what do you think the Supe did? Passed right over my innocent face and guileless bearing, my spotless gloves and inky shoes, and went for me like a Bengal tiger." "'Mr. McLean,' he said, 'ignorance in your case is no excuse, sir. You have been reported for breaking almost every rule known to this Institution. That will do, sir.'" "And you came away, as usual, sadder and wiser?" Rig heaved a deep sigh. "Yes," he said, "'sadder and wiser' will be my motto, Kin, as long as I stay here." Magnus laughed and held out his hand. "I mean to make you better that, this year," he said. XXIII THE GRIM GRAY WALLS I'm older'n you,--and I've seen things a many; And my experience,--tell ye what it's ben;-- Folks that worked thorough was the ones that thriv; But bad work follers ye's long's ye live. --_Biglow Papers._ Next day the tents were struck; and the manifold delights of Camp Golightly drifted away beyond recall. But how pretty--and how gay--the scene was, that last morning. A perfect day to begin with; the air crisp enough to herald the coming fall; everything at its best, and the crowd at its largest. Mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and strangers, the whole Post, and half the neighbourhood. The groups are always very varied, often picturesque.