Two or three of the boys who had
helped to roast Tom came up and begged his pardon, and thanked him for
not telling anything. Morgan sent for him, and was inclined to take the
matter up warmly, but Tom begged him not to do it; to which he agreed,
on Tom's promising to come to him at once in future--a promise which, I
regret to say, he didn't keep. Tom kept Harkaway all to himself, and
won the second prize in the lottery, some thirty shillings, which he and
East contrived to spend in about three days in the purchase of pictures
for their study, two new bats and a cricket-ball--all the best that
could be got--and a supper of sausages, kidneys, and beef-steak pies
to all the rebels. Light come, light go; they wouldn't have been
comfortable with money in their pockets in the middle of the half.
The embers of Flashman's wrath, however, were still smouldering, and
burst out every now and then in sly blows and taunts, and they both
felt that they hadn't quite done with him yet. It wasn't long, however,
before the last act of that drama came, and with it the end of bullying
for Tom and East at Rugby. They now often stole out into the hall at
nights, incited thereto partly by the hope of finding Diggs there and
having a talk with him, partly by the excitement of doing something
which was against rules; for, sad to say, both of our youngsters, since
their loss of character for steadiness in their form, had got into
the habit of doing things which were forbidden, as a matter of
adventure,--just in the same way, I should fancy, as men fall into
smuggling, and for the same sort of reasons--thoughtlessness in the
first place.
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