THE KNIGHTS. 33

as, any one of us got something nice ready for the old
gentleman, he would lay hands on it and give it to
him. Why, this very morning I had made some
Spartan pudding,! and he comes in the most rascally
way and carries it off, and serves it tip as his own.
Yes, the pudding that I had made. He won’t let one
of us go near the old gentleman, but stands behind
him with a great flap of his own leather, and keeps
us all off like so many flies. Then he tells lies about
us and we get flogged. Or he goes round among us
and blackmails us. ‘You know,’ he says, ‘what a
beating Barker got the other day. It was all through
me; and if you don’t make it worth my while you'll
catch it ten times worse.’ If we say no, then old
Demos knocks us down and tramples on us till we
haven’t any breath left in us. That’s about the
state of things —isn’t it?” he went on, turning to
Victor. ‘The question is— what are we to do?”

V. “TI see nothing so good as the runaway trick.”

ff, “Run away! It is impossible. The fellow
has his eyes everywhere.”

V. “Then there is nothing left for it but to die.
Only we must die like men.”

HT, “Well, what is your idea?”

V. “JT think that we should drink bull’s blood.
We can’t do better than follow Themistocles.”

#7, “Bull’s blood indeed! the blood of the grape,
I say! Then we might have some happy inspiration.”

1 See Introduction.