But the step was not such a very long one after all. What it amountedto was simply this, that open rebellion ceased in Kay's. When Kennedyput up the list on the notice-board for the third time, which he didon the morning following his encounter with Walton, and wrote on itthat the match with Blackburn's would take place that afternoon, histeam turned out like lambs, and were duly defeated by thirty-onepoints. He had to play a substitute for Walton, who was rather toobattered to be of any real use in the scrum; but, with that exception,the team that entered the field was the same that should have enteredit the day before.
But his labours in the Augean stables of Kay's were by no means over.
Practically they had only begun. The state of the house now wasexactly what it had been under Fenn. When Kennedy had taken over thereins, Kay's had become on the instant twice as bad as it had beenbefore. By his summary treatment of the revolution, he had, so tospeak, wiped off this deficit. What he had to do now was to begin toimprove things. Kay's was now in its normal state--slack, rowdy in anunderhand way, and utterly useless to the school. It was "up to"Kennedy, as they say in America, to start in and make somethingpresentable and useful out of these unpromising materials.
What annoyed him more than anything else was the knowledge that ifonly Fenn chose to do the square thing and help him in his work, thecombination would be irresistible. It was impossible to make anyleeway to speak of by himself. If Fenn would only forget hisgrievances and join forces with him, they could electrify the house.
Fenn, however, showed no inclination to do anything of the kind. Heand Kennedy never spoke to one another now except when it wasabsolutely unavoidable, and then they behaved with that painfulpoliteness in which the public schoolman always wraps himself as in agarment when dealing with a friend with whom he has quarrelled.
On the Walton episode Fenn had made no comment, though it is probablethat he thought a good deal.
It was while matters were in this strained condition that Fennreceived a letter from his elder brother. This brother had been atEckleton in his time--School House--and had left five years before togo to Cambridge. Cambridge had not taught him a great deal, possiblybecause he did not meet the well-meant efforts of his tutor half-way.
The net result of his three years at King's was--_imprimis_, acricket blue, including a rather lucky eighty-three at Lord's;secondly, a very poor degree; thirdly and lastly, a taste forliterature and the drama--he had been a prominent member of theFootlights Club. When he came down he looked about him for someoccupation which should combine in happy proportions a small amount ofwork and a large amount of salary, and, finding none, drifted intojournalism, at which calling he had been doing very fairly ever since.
"Dear Bob," the letter began. Fenn's names were Robert Mowbray, thesecond of which he had spent much of his time in concealing. "Just aline."The elder Fenn always began his letters with these words, whether theyran to one sheet or eight. In the present case the screed was notparticularly long.
"Do you remember my reading you a bit of an opera I was writing? Well,I finished it, and, after going the round of most of the managers, whochucked it with wonderful unanimity, it found an admirer in Higgs, theman who took the part of the duke in _The Outsider_. Luckily, hehappened to be thinking of starting on his own in opera instead offarce, and there's a part in mine which fits him like a glove. So he'sgoing to bring it out at the Imperial in the spring, and by way oftesting the piece--trying it on the dog, as it were--he means to tourwith it. Now, here's the point of this letter. We start at Eckletonnext Wednesday. We shall only be there one night, for we go on toSouthampton on Thursday. I suppose you couldn't come and see it? Iremember Peter Brown, who got the last place in the team the year Igot my cricket colours, cutting out of his house (Kay's, by the way)and going down town to see a piece at the theatre. I'm bound to admithe got sacked for it, but still, it shows that it can be done. All thesame, I shouldn't try it on if I were you. You'll be able to read allabout the 'striking success' and 'unrestrained enthusiasm' in the_Eckleton Mirror_ on Thursday. Mind you buy a copy."The rest of the letter was on other subjects. It took Fenn less than aminute to decide to patronise that opening performance. He was neverin the habit of paying very much attention to risks when he wished todo anything, and now he felt as if he cared even less than usual whatmight be the outcome of the adventure. Since he had ceased to be onspeaking terms with Kennedy, he had found life decidedly dull. Kennedyhad been his only intimate friend. He had plenty of acquaintances, asa first eleven and first fifteen man usually has, but none of themwere very entertaining. Consequently he welcomed the idea of a breakin the monotony of affairs. The only thing that had broken it up tothe present had been a burglary at the school house. Some enterprisingmarauder had broken in a week before and gone off with a few articlesof value from the headmaster's drawing-room. But the members of theschool house had talked about this episode to such an extent that therest of the school had dropped off the subject, exhausted, anddeclined to discuss it further. And things had become monotonous oncemore.
Having decided to go, Fenn began to consider how he should do it. Andhere circumstances favoured him. It happened that on the evening onwhich his brother's play was to be produced the headmaster was givinghis once-a-term dinner to the house-prefects. This simplified matterswonderfully. The only time when his absence from the house was at alllikely to be discovered would be at prayers, which took place athalf-past nine. The prefects' dinner solved this difficulty for him.
Kay would not expect him to be at prayers, thinking he was over at theHead's, while the Head, if he noticed his absence at all, wouldimagine that he was staying away from the dinner owing to a headacheor some other malady. It seemed tempting Providence not to takeadvantage of such an excellent piece of luck. For the rest, detectionwas practically impossible. Kennedy's advent to the house had oustedFenn from the dormitory in which he had slept hitherto, and, therebeing no bed available in any of the other dormitories, he had beenput into the spare room usually reserved for invalids whose invalidismwas not of a sufficiently infectious kind to demand their removal tothe infirmary. As for getting back into the house, he would leave thewindow of his study unfastened. He could easily climb on to thewindow-ledge, and so to bed without let or hindrance.
The distance from Kay's to the town was a mile and a half. If hestarted at the hour when he should have been starting for the schoolhouse, he would arrive just in time to see the curtain go up.
Having settled these facts definitely in his mind, he got his bookstogether and went over to school.
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