Webb and Wilcox, who were both about twelve and a half, were in the fourth form. They were not particularly bright, and were rather inclined to be quarrelsome. On one thing they prided themselves; that was their intimate knowledge of faggism in all its branches. Every information on the fag, and how to treat him, was to be obtained gratis from Messrs. Webb and Wilcox. Their fathers were wealthy men, and held high rank among the magistracy of the colony.
Garnett and Service were in the third form. They were both twelve years old. One was the son of a retired merchant captain, the other's father was a well-to-do colonist living on the North Shore, on the upper coast of Waitemata Harbour. The families were very intimate, and Service and Garnett were almost inseparable. They were good-hearted boys, not over fond of work, and if they had been given the key of the fields, they would not have let it rest idle in their pockets. Garnett had an over-mastering passion — he loved an accordion! And he took it with him on board the yacht, to occupy his spare time in a way befitting a sailor's son. Service was the school wag, the liveliest and noisiest of the lot, a devourer of traveller's tales, and a worshipper of Robinson Crusoe and the Swiss Family Robinson, which he knew by heart.
Among the boys were two of nine years old. The first of these was Jenkins, the son of the secretary of the New Zealand Royal Society; the other was Iverson, whose father was the minister of the church of St. Paul. Jenkins was in the third form, Iverson in the second; but both were good boys. Dole and Costar were each a year younger than Iverson, and were the sons of military officers at Onehunga, six miles from Auckland, in Manukau Harbour. They were both little fellows. Dole was very obstinate, and Costar very greedy. Both were in the first form, and both knew how to read and write, and that is all we need say about them.
Of the three we have left to the last, Gordon, the
