On either side of the bay was a bold headland, the one stretching out in a series of broken crags, the other terminating in a huge mass of rock, called from its shape the Stack.  To the right lay the town, with its grey old castle, and the mountain stream running through it into the sea; to the left, high above the beach, rose the crumbling fragment of a picturesque fort, behind which towered the lofty buildings of Roslyn School.  Eric learnt the whole landscape by heart, and thought himself a most happy boy to come to such a place.  He fancied that he should be never tired of looking at the sea, and could not take his eyes off the great buoy that rolled about in the centre of the bay, and flashed in the sunlight at every move.  He turned round full of hope and spirits, and, after watching for a few moments the beautiful face of his sleeping brother, he awoke him with a boisterous kiss.

That day Eric was to have his first interview with Dr. Rowlands.  The school had already re-opened, and one of the boys in his college cap passed by the window while they were breakfasting.  He looked very happy and engaging, and was humming a tune as he strolled along.  Eric started up and gazed after him with the most intense curiosity.  At that moment the unconscious schoolboy was to him the most interesting person in the whole world, and he couldn’t realize the fact that, before the day was over, he would be a Roslyn boy himself.  He very much wondered what sort of a fellow the boy was, and whether he should ever recognise him again, and make his acquaintance.  Yes, Eric, the thread of that boy’s destiny is twined a good deal with yours; his name is Montagu, as you will know very soon.

At nine o’clock Mr. Williams started towards the school with his son.  The walk led them by the sea-side, over the sands, and past the ruin, at the foot of which the waves broke at high tide.  At any other time Eric would have been overflowing with life and wonder at the murmur of the ripples, the sight of the ships passing by the rock-bound bay, and the numberless little shells, with their bright colors and sculptured shapes, which lay about the beach.  But now his mind was too full of a single sensation, and when, after crossing a green playground, they stood by the head-master’s door, his heart fluttered, and it required all his energy to keep down the nervous trembling which shook him.

Mr. Williams gave his card, and they were shown into Dr. Rowlands’ study.  He was a kind-looking gentlemanly man, and when he turned to address Eric, after a few minutes’ conversation with his father, the boy felt instantly reassured by the pleasant sincerity and frank courtesy of his manner.  A short examination showed that Eric’s attainments were very slight as yet, and he was to be put in the lowest form of all, under the superintendence of the Rev. Henry Gordon.  Dr. Rowlands wrote a short note in pencil, and giving it to Eric, directed the servant to show him to Mr. Gordon’s school-room.