The King of the School, or, Who will Win? — page 134: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

128 THE KING OF THE SCHOOL; OR, WHO WILL WIN? CHAPTER XXXIIL. A LOT OF MAGIC. For some time everything went on very quietly at Ballsbury, both as regarded - | and pastimes. , : the town itself and Lexicon College. | Baynes kept out of sight, and his threats came to nothing; though Kate Conway still had a suspicion that the villain was lurking about the neighbour- hood to pounce out and carry her off at the first opportunity. To guard against any such nefarious | designs, she never went out for a walk beyond the town alone at any time, nor would she even trust herself in the streets of Ballsbury after sunset with- out a companion on whom she could sale. | We need hardly say that Frank Eger- ton was the escort she most preferred. The time drew on towards the holi- days. _ | oo co Anxious youngsters‘ consulted al- manacs, and immense calculations were made as to the exact number of weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds that had to pass away ere the happy time would arrive. Freddy Webber especially performed prodigious feats of arithmetic. _ According to his computation, 2,678,400 seconds were wanting to bring them to “Coek-hatSunday,” from which day to that on whieh they were actually to depart for home, 432,000 seconds more must be counted. | Cock-hat Sunday was that imme- diately preceding the holidays, on which day the pupils were accustomed to wear their hats in a very jaunty style. There had, in days past, been a still more offensive custom, but Frank, on hearing of it, had determined that it should not be continued. As the holidays drew nigh, the dis- cipline became more lax, Professor Moeritz, whoin his manners was as much a boy as any of them, en- couraged all sorts of extraordinarysports One evening he gave a grand exhibi- tion of magic. After the usual sleight of hand per- formances, passing coins, burning pocket-handkerchiefs, &c.,he announced that he would transform himself into a giant of monstrous stature. “ Please don’t eat us!” groaned Freddy Webber, pretending to be hor- ribly frightened. “ Dat Ich shall nichts !” rejoined the professor. “Zo do not be afraid.” Freddy promised not to tremble very much, and the professor then com- menced his preparations for the crown- ing feat of the evening. | He procured first of all a thin, trans parent sheet. o _ “Qh! it’s only a magic lantern dodge,” observed Lascelles. | ~“Dere is no magic in dis lantern, ° replied the professor, exhibiting a com- mon policeman’s bull’s-eye, which certainly was all the light he pro- | posed to take behind the scenes with Freddy, being very sceptical, went and had a thorough search amongst the professor’s paraphernalia, but could discover nothing more than the lantern before-mentioned. Having hung his sheet across the room, Herr Moeritz went behind it.. Suddenly a strong ray of light an- nounced to the boys, who remained in front, that the lantern was at work. Then the shadow of the professor was seen upon the screen. } At first it was about life-size, but gradually it grew larger and larger, till the worthy German, if his shadow might, be believed, was fully ten feet high, GOnnlGaoe A) EO mn