#wron

Hi! Bunny Manders sent the second and final part of "The Wrong House", story that I really love because Bunny is the one with a plan.

“We were bicycling past, and I actually saw one fellow come head-first through your pantry window. I think he got over the wall.” Here a breathless boy returned. “Can’t see anything of him,” he gasped. “It’s true, then,” remarked the crammer. “Look at that door,” said I.

We know that Bunny is not a good actor, but he has improved a lot since his first days as a cracksman. He still has room to improve and reach Raffles' level but there is progress on his abilities.

Come in all, before you get your death. I see lights in the class-room, and more than lights. Can these be signs of a carouse?” “A very innocent one, sir,” said a well set-up youth with more moustache than I have yet. “Well, Olphert, boys will be boys. Suppose you tell me what happened, before we come to recriminations.”

So this teenager has a better moustache than Bunny. I know that it's possible to be an adult with a light moustache, I mean, I just need to see the development of my brother's moustache. At least he finally has a moustache better than mine and probably, a lot more notorious than Bunny. Have you tried to dye your moustache, old chap?

Murphy's law strikes and Raffles and Bunny runned away bicycling up-hill. That should have been so hard! The fact that the kids almost catch them running barefoot says a lot. At least this will help them to have stronger legs.

“You don’t mean anything I did?” said I, self-consciously, for I began to see that this was what he did mean. And now at latest it will also be seen why this story has been told with undue and inexcusable gusto; there is none other like it for me to tell; it is my one ewe-lamb in all these annals. But Raffles had a ruder name for it. “It was the Apotheosis of the Bunny,” said he, but in a tone I never shall forget.

THIS ^

That's a good name!

“I hardly knew what I was doing or saying,” I said. “The whole thing was a fluke.” “Then,” said Raffles, “it was the kind of fluke I always trusted you to make when runs were wanted.” And he held out his dear old hand.

This is a cute way to end so funny story.

You may be wondering what one of these was, so I'll give a quick explanation.

An idea imported from Imperial China, where it had been going since the end of the 6th Century CE, the British at this time had a series of competitive exams you would do if you wanted to join the civil service (either UK or Indian) or become an officer in the British Army. These has been introduced to improve the quality of the men in the organisations and get rid of the problems caused by patronage by selecting on merit.

You would take this exam, covering a wide range of topics from the classics (of course) to modern languages to geography. If you passed, you were eligble for a role, although still needed to undergo the other sorts of checks you still do for employment today - background checks, health checks and also oral testing to make sure you knew your stuff.

Some more stuff here:

I think the "Modern Major-General Song" was influenced by this - officers who had a lot of broad knowledge, but not that much of use in a military context. Although the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanes would make a great password.

You would have various organisations, either tutors or full-time schools, to help young men prepare for these exams.

The exams are largely a thing of the past in the UK, but are still very much around in India, where the UPSC to join their civil service is considered possibly the toughest exam in the world:

Those who got into the Army officer training programme would either go to the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich (for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers) or the Royal Military College in Sandhurst (infantry and cavalry).

However, while these exams were designed to make the Army more merit-based, it still tended to be the richer guys who ended up as "Ruperts". You had to buy a lot of your own kit and maintain it too. You still do have to pay for full ceremonial dress (generally red or black), No. 1 Dress (blue, for ceremonial events) and "mess dress", which is basically the military equivalent of evening wear.

This uniform could be bought from various places, including the Army & Navy Stores, a chain of department stores run by officers from both as a co-operative. Their stores covered a whole range of stuff for soldiers and their families, ranging from groceries to guns. They even expanded to India, although those branches went with independence. In 1973, they were bought out by House of Fraser; a chain that has had a bad last few years, with a large number of its stores closed or closing.

You can get allowances and tax relief on uniform costs today. There is also a big second-hand market.

Also, living the lifestyle associated with being an officer and a gentlemen wasn't cheap. You had to pay your mess bills, ensure that your sword was in good condition, keep up a decent social life etc.

It's "The Wrong House" this time! Special thanks to my dear friend Bunny Manders <3

In this story Raffles got caught by a kid, and it's Bunny who can run away or save him.

Would Raffles leave me held by a hand through a hole in a door? What he would have done in my place was the thing for me to do now.

This. This moment is another proof of Bunny's loyalty. he can't leave alone Raffles and this time his head is cold and fast enough to come with a plan to rescue him. He had to take extreme measure against that kid and still he knows that maybe it was too much for the moment, but again~ this is Bunny Manders and his life goes around AJ Raffles.

Oh, I am not proud of it; the act was as vile as act could be; but I was not going to see Raffles taken, my one desire was to be the saving of him, and I tremble even now to think to what lengths I might have gone for its fulfilment.

One detail that I really love from this story is how Bunny reflects about his own actions and he doesn't hesitate in write them. He knows that what he did was extreme, he knows that is something that he would never do, but Raffles is his priority more than anything else.

Oh, but it was villainous, my part especially, for he must have been far gone to go the rest of the way so readily. I began by saying I was not proud of this deed, but its dastardly character has come home to me more than ever with the penance of writing it out. I see in myself, at least my then self, things that I never saw quite so clearly before. Yet let me be quite sure that I would not do the same again. I had not the smallest desire to throttle this innocent lad (nor did I), but only to extricate Raffles from the most hopeless position he was ever in; and after all it was better than a blow from behind. On the whole, I will not alter a word, nor whine about the thing any more.

(emphasis by me)

that stands for White Racists who are Overly Nice

So the type of racists that don't just tell you to your face they think you're lesser cuz you're not white