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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:33:45 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:33:45 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10027-0.txt b/10027-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d0f385 --- /dev/null +++ b/10027-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8642 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10027 *** + +THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE + +ITS TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS + +By HAROLD AVERY + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Chapter. + + I. A NEW BOY, + + II. THE PHILISTINES, + + III. DISCOMFITURE OF THE PHILISTINES, + + IV. THE SUPPER CLUB, + + V. CATCHING A TARTAR, + + VI. GUNPOWDER PLOT, + + VII. RONLEIGH COLLEGE, + + VIII. THIRD FORM ORATORY, + + IX. A HOLIDAY ADVENTURE, + + X. A SCREW LOOSE IN THE SIXTH, + + XI. SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS, + + XII. THE WRAXBY MATCH, + + XIII. THE ELECTIONS, + + XIV. A PASSAGE OF ARMS, + + XV. THE READING-ROOM RIOT, + + XVI. THE CIPHER LETTER, + + XVII. DIGGORY READS THE CIPHER, + +XVIII. A SECRET SOCIETY, + + XIX. A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS, + + XX. SOWING THE WIND, + + XXI. REAPING THE WHIRLWIND, + + XXII. WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +A NEW BOY. + +"What's your name?" + +"Diggory Trevanock." + +The whole class exploded. + +"Now, then," said Mr. Blake, looking up from his mark-book with a broad +grin on his own face--"now, then, there's nothing to laugh at.--Look +here," he added, turning to the new boy, "how d'you spell it?" + +Instead of being at all annoyed or disconcerted at the mirth of his +class-mates, the youngster seemed rather to enjoy the joke, and +immediately rattled out a semi-humorous reply to the master's +question,-- + +"D I G, dig; G O R Y, gory--Diggory: T R E, tre; VAN, van; O C K, +ock--Trevanock." Then turning round, he smiled complacently at the +occupants of the desks behind, as much as to say: "There, I've done +all I can to amuse you, and I hope you're satisfied." + +This incident, one of the little pleasantries occasionally permitted by +a class master, and which, like a judge's jokes in court, are always +welcomed as a momentary relief from the depressing monotony of the +serious business in hand--this little incident, I say, happened in the +second class of a small preparatory school, situated on the outskirts of +the market town of Chatford, and intended, according to the wording of a +standing advertisement in the _Denfordshire Chronicle_, "for the sons of +gentlemen." + +This establishment, which bore the somewhat suggestive name of "The +Birches," was owned and presided over by Mr. Welsby, who, with an +unmarried daughter, Miss Eleanor, acting as housekeeper, and his +nephew, Mr. Blake, performing the duties of assistant-master, undertook +the preliminary education of about a dozen juveniles whose ages ranged +between ten and fourteen. + +On the previous evening, returning from the Christmas holidays, exactly +twelve had mustered round the big table in the dining-room; no new +faces had appeared, and Fred Acton, a big, strong youngster of fourteen +and a half, was undisputed cock of the walk. + +The school was divided into two classes. The first, containing the five +elder scholars, went to sit at the feet of Mr. Welsby himself; while the +second remained behind in what was known as the schoolroom, and received +instruction from Mr. Blake. + +It was while thus occupied on the first morning of the term that the +lower division were surprised by the sudden appearance of a new boy. +Miss Eleanor brought him into the room, and after a few moments' +whispered conversation with her cousin, smiled round the class and then +withdrew. Every one worshipped Miss Eleanor; but that's neither here +nor there. A moment later Mr. Blake put the question which stands +at the commencement of this chapter. + +The new-comer's answer made a favourable impression on the minds of his +companions, and as soon as the morning's work was over, they set about +the task of mutual introduction in a far more friendly manner than was +customary on these occasions. He was a wiry little chap, with bright +eyes, for ever on the twinkle, and black hair pasted down upon his head, +so as not to show the slightest vestige of curl, while the sharp, +mischievous look on his face, and the quick, comical movements of his +body, suggested something between a terrier and a monkey. + +There was never very much going on in the way of regular sports or +pastimes at The Birches; the smallness of numbers made it difficult to +attempt proper games of cricket or football, and the boys were forced to +content themselves with such substitutes as prisoner's base, cross tag, +etc., or in carrying out the projects of Fred Acton, who was constantly +making suggestions for the employment of their time, and compelling +everybody to conform to his wishes. + +Mr. Welsby had been a widower for many years; he was a grave, scholarly +man, who spent most of his spare time in his own library. Mr. Blake was +supposed to take charge out of school hours; he was, as every one said, +"a jolly fellow," and the fact that his popularity extended far and wide +among a large circle of friends and acquaintances, caused him to have a +good many irons in the fire of one sort and another. During their hours +of leisure, therefore, the Birchites were left pretty much to their own +devices, or more often to those of Master Fred Acton, who liked, as has +already been stated, to assume the office of bellwether to the little +flock. + +At the time when our story commences the ground was covered with snow; +but Acton was equal to the occasion, and as soon as dinner was over, +ordered all hands to come outside and make a slide. + +The garden was on a steep slope, along the bottom of which ran the brick +wall bounding one side of the playground; a straight, steep path lay +between this and the house, and the youthful dux, with his usual +disregard of life and limb, insisted on choosing this as the scene of +operations. + +"What!" he cried, in answer to a feeble protest on the part of Mugford, +"make it on level ground? Of course not, when we've got this jolly hill +to go down; not if I know it. We'll open the door at the bottom, and go +right on into the playground." + +"But how if any one goes a bit crooked, and runs up against the bricks?" + +"Well, they'll get pretty well smashed, or he will. You must go +straight; that's half the fun of the thing--it'll make it all the more +exciting. Come on and begin to tread down the snow." + +Without daring to show any outward signs of reluctance, but with +feelings very much akin to those of men digging their own graves before +being shot, the company set about putting this fearful project into +execution. In about half an hour the slide was in good working order, +and then the fun began. + +Mugford, and one or two others whose prudence exceeded their valour, +made a point of sitting down before they had gone many yards, preferring +to take the fall in a milder form than it would have assumed at a later +period in the journey. To the bolder spirits, however, every trip was +like leading a forlorn hope, none expecting to return from the +enterprise unscathed. The pace was terrific: on nearing the playground +wall, all the events of a lifetime might have flashed across the memory +as at the last gasp of a drowning man; and if fortunate enough to whiz +through the doorway, and pull up "all standing" on the level stretch +beyond, it was to draw a deep breath, and regard the successful +performance of the feat as an escape from catastrophe which was nothing +short of miraculous. The unevenness of the ground made it almost +impossible to steer a straight course. A boy might be half-way down the +path, when suddenly he felt himself beginning to turn round; an agonized +look spread over his face; he made one frantic attempt to keep, as it +were, "head to the sea;" there was an awful moment when house, garden, +sky, and playground wall spun round and round; and then the little group +of onlookers, their hearts hardened by their own sufferings, burst into +a roar of laughter; while Acton slapped his leg, crying, "He's over! +What a stunning lark! Who's next?" + +At the end of an hour and a half most of the company were temporarily +disabled, and even their chief had not escaped scot free. + +"Now then for a regular spanker!" he cried, rushing at the slide. +A "spanker" it certainly was: six yards from the commencement his legs +flew from under him, he soared into the air like a bird, and did not +touch the ground again until he sat down heavily within twenty paces of +the bottom of the slope. + +One might have supposed that this catastrophe would have somewhat damped +the sufferer's ardour; but instead of that he only seemed fired with a +fresh desire to break his neck. + +He hobbled up the hill, and pausing for a moment at the top to take +breath, suddenly exclaimed, "Look here, I'm going down it on skates." + +Every one stood aghast at this rash determination; but Acton hurried off +into the house, and soon returned with the skates. He sat down on a +bank, and was proceeding to put them on, when he discovered that, +by some oversight, he had brought out the wrong pair. "Bother it! these +aren't mine, they're too short; whose are they?" + +"I think they're mine," faltered Mugford. + +"Well, put 'em on." + +"But I don't want to." + +"But I say you must!" + +"Oh! please, Acton, I really can't, I--" + +"Shut up! Look here, some one's got to go down that slide on skates, so +just put 'em on." + +It was at this moment that Diggory Trevanock stepped forward, and +remarked in a casual manner that if Mugford didn't wish to do it, but +would lend him the skates, he himself would go down the slide. + +His companions stared at him in astonishment, coupled with which was a +feeling of regret: he was a nice little chap, and they had already begun +to like him, and did not wish to see him dashed to pieces against the +playground wall before their very eyes. Acton, however, had decreed +that "some one had got to go down that slide on skates," and it seemed +only meet and right that if a victim had to be sacrificed it should be a +new boy rather than an old stager. + +"Bravo!" cried the dux; "here's one chap at least who's no funk. +Put 'em on sharp; the bell 'll ring in a minute." + +Several willing hands were stretched out to assist in arming Diggory for +the enterprise, and in a few moments he was assisted to the top of the +slide. + +"All right," he said; "let go!" + +The spectators held their breath, hardly daring to watch what would +happen. But fortune favours the brave. The adventurous juvenile rushed +down the path, shot like an arrow through the doorway, and the next +instant was seen ploughing up the snow in the playground, and eventually +disappearing head first into the middle of a big drift. + +His companions all rushed down in a body to haul him out of the snow. +Acton smacked him on the back, and called him a trump; while Jack Vance +presented him on the spot with a mince-pie, which had been slightly +damaged in one of the donor's many tumbles, but was, as he remarked, +"just as good as new for eating." + +From that moment until the day he left there was never a more popular +boy at The Birches than Diggory Trevanock. + +"I say," remarked Mugford, as they met a short time later in the +cloak-room, "that was awfully good of you to go down the slide instead +of me; what ever made you do it?" + +"Well," answered the other calmly, "I thought it would save me a lot of +bother if I showed you fellows at once that I wasn't a muff. I don't +mind telling you I was in rather a funk when it came to the start; but +I'd said I'd do it, and of course I couldn't draw back." + +The numerous stirring events which happened at The Birches during the +next three terms, and which it will be my pleasing duty to chronicle in +subsequent chapters, gave the boys plenty of opportunity of testing the +character of their new companion, or, in plainer English, of finding out +the stuff he was made of; and whatever his other faults may have been, +this at least is certain, that no one ever found occasion to charge +Diggory Trevanock with being either a muff or a coward. + +One might have thought that the slide episode would have afforded +excitement enough for a new boy's first day at school; yet before it +closed he was destined to be mixed up in an adventure of a still +more thrilling character. + +The Birches was an old house, and though its outward appearance was +modern enough, the interior impressed even youthful minds with a feeling +of reverence for its age. The heavy timbers, the queer shape of some of +the bedrooms and attics, the narrow, crooked passages, and the little +unexpected flights of stairs, were all things belonging to a bygone age, +of which the pupils were secretly proud, and which caused them to +remember the place, and think of it at the time, as being in some way +different from an ordinary school. + +"I say, Diggy," exclaimed Jack Vance, addressing the new boy by the +friendly abbreviation, which seemed by mutual consent to have been +bestowed upon him in recognition of his daring exploit--"I say, Diggy, +you're in my bedroom: there's you, and me, and Mugford. Mug's an awful +chump, but he's a good-natured old duffer, and you and I'll do the +fighting." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Why, sometimes when Blake is out spending the evening, and old Welsby +is shut up in his library, the different rooms make raids on one +another. It began the term before last. Blake had been teaching us all +about how the Crusaders used to go out every now and then and make war +in Palestine, and so the fellows on the west side of the house called +themselves the Crusaders, and we were Infidels, and they'd come over and +rag us, and we should drive them back. Miss Eleanor came up one night, +and caught us in the middle of a battle. O Diggy, she is a trump! +Blake asked her next day before us all which boys had been out on the +landing, because he meant to punish them; and she laughed, and said: +'I'm sure I can't tell you. Why, when I saw they were all in their +night-shirts, I shut my eyes at once!' Of course it was all an excuse +for not giving us away. She doesn't mind seeing chaps in their +night-shirts when they're ill, we all know that; and once or twice +when for some reason or other she told us on the quiet that there +mustn't be any disturbance that evening, no one ever went crusading-- +Acton would have licked them if they had. Acton's going to propose to +Miss Eleanor some day, he told us so, and--" + +"But what about the bedrooms?" interrupted Diggory; "have you given up +having crusades?" + +"Yes, but we have other things instead. We call our rooms by different +names, and it's all against all; one lot come and make a raid on you, +and then you go and pay them out. This term Kennedy and Jacobs sleep in +the room above ours, and next to the big attic. They're always reading +sea stories, and they call their room the 'Main-top,' because it's so +high up. Then at the end of the passage are Acton, Shaw, and Morris, +and they're the 'House of Lords;' and next to them is the 'Dogs' Home,' +where all the other fellows are put." + +A few hours later Diggory and his two room-mates were standing at the +foot of their beds and discussing the formation of a few simple rules +for conducting a race in undressing, the last man to put the candle out. + +"You needn't bother to race," said Mugford; "I'll do it--I'm sure to be +the last." + +"No, you aren't," answered Vance. "We'll give you coat and waistcoat +start; it'll be good fun--" + +At this moment the door was suddenly flung open, two half-dressed +figures sprang into the room, and discharged a couple of snowballs +point-blank at its occupants. One of the missiles struck Diggory on the +shoulder, and the other struck Mugford fair and square on the side of +the head, the fragments flying all over the floor. There was a subdued +yell of triumph, the door was slammed to with a bang, and the muffled +sound of stockinged feet thudding up the neighbouring staircase showed +that the enemy were in full retreat. + +"It's those confounded Main-top men!" cried Jack Vance; "I will pay them +out. I wonder where the fellows got the snow from?" + +"Oh, I expect they opened the window and took it off the ledge," +answered Diggory. "Look here--let's sweep it up into this piece of +paper before it melts." + +This having been done, the three friends hastily threw off their clothes +and scrambled into bed, forgetting all about the proposed race in their +eagerness to form some plan for an immediate retaliation on the +occupants of the "Main-top." + +"I wonder if they'll hear anything of the ghost again this term?" said +Mugford, + +"What ghost?" asked Diggory. + +"Oh, it's nothing really," answered Vance; "only somebody said once +that the house is haunted, and Kennedy and Jacobs say the ghost must be +in the big attic next their room. They hear such queer noises sometimes +that they both go under the bed-clothes." + +"Do they always do that?" + +"Yes, so they say, whenever there is a row." + +"Well, then," said Diggory, "I'll tell you what we'll do: we'll go very +quietly up into that attic, and groan and knock on the wall until you +think they've both got their heads well under the clothes, and then +we'll rush in and bag their pillows, or drag them out of bed, or +something of that sort. You aren't afraid to go into the attic, are +you?" he continued, seeing that the others hesitated. "Why, of course +there are no such things as ghosts. Or, look here, I'll go in, and +you can wait outside." + +"N--no, I don't mind," answered Vance; "and it'll be an awful lark +catching them with their heads under the clothes." + +"All right, then, let's do it; though I suppose we'd better wait till +every one's in bed." + +The last suggestion was agreed upon, and the three friends lay talking +in an undertone until the sound of footsteps and the gleam of a candle +above the door announced the fact that Mr. Blake was retiring to rest. + +"He's always last," said Vance; "we must give him time to undress, and +then we'll start." + +A quarter of an hour later the three boys, in semi-undress, were +creeping in single file up the narrow staircase. + +"Be careful," whispered Vance; "there are several loose boards, and they +crack like anything." + +The small landing was reached in safety, and the moon, shining faintly +through a little skylight formed of a single pane of glass, enabled them +to distinguish the outline of two doors. + +Now it was a very different matter, when lying warm and snug in bed, to +talk about acting the ghost, from what it was, when standing shivering +in the cold and darkness, to put the project into execution. During the +period of waiting the conversation had turned on haunted houses, and no +one seemed particularly anxious to claim as it were the post of honour, +and be the first to enter the big attic. + +"Go on!" whispered Mugford, nudging Vance. + +"Go on!" repeated the latter, giving Diggory's arm a gentle push. + +The new boy had certainly undertaken to play the part of the ghost, and +there was no excuse for his backing out of it at the last moment. + +"All right," he muttered, "I'll go." + +Just then a terrible thing happened. Diggory clutched the door-knob as +though it were the handle of a galvanic battery, while Mugford and Vance +seized each other by the arm and literally gasped for breath. + +The stillness had been broken by a slight sound, as of something falling +inside the attic, and this was followed a moment later by a shrill, +unearthly scream. + +For five seconds the three companions stood petrified with horror, not +daring to move; then followed another scream, if anything more horrible +than the last, and accompanied this time by the clanking rattle of a +chain being dragged across the floor. + +That was enough. Talk about a _sauve qui peut_! the wonder is that any +one survived the stampede which followed. The youngsters turned and +flew down the stairs at break-neck speed, and hardly had they started +when the door of the "Main-top" was flung open, and its two occupants +rushed down after them. As though to ensure the retreat being nothing +less than a regular rout, Mugford, who was leading, missed his footing +on the last step, causing every one to fall over him in turn, until all +five boys were sprawling together in a mixed heap upon the floor. + +Freeing themselves with some little difficulty from the general +entanglement, they rose to their feet, and after surveying each other +for a moment in silence, gave vent to a simultaneous ejaculation of +"_The ghost_!" + +"What were you fellows doing up there?" asked Kennedy. + +"Why, we came up to have a joke with you," answered Vance; "but just +when we got up to the landing, it--it made that noise!" + +There was the sound of the key turning in the lock of Mr. Blake's door. + +"_Cave_!" whispered Mugford. + +"Tell him about it," added Vance; and giving Diggory a push, they all +three darted into their room just as the master emerged from his, +arrayed in dressing-gown and slippers. + +"Now, then," exclaimed the latter, holding his candle above his head, +and peering down the passage, "what's the meaning of this disturbance? +I thought the whole house was falling down.--Come here, you two, and +explain yourselves!" + +"Please, sir," answered Kennedy and Jacobs in one breath, "it's the +ghost!" + +"The ghost! What ghost? What d'you mean?" + +The two "Main-top" men began a hasty account of the cause of their +sudden fright, taking care, however, to make no mention of the three +hostile visitors who had shared in the surprise. + +Mr. Blake listened to their story in silence, then all at once he burst +out laughing, and without a word turned on his heel and went quickly +upstairs. He entered the attic, and in about half a minute they heard +him coming back. + +"Ha, ha! I've got your ghost; I've been trying to lay him for some time +past." + +The jingle of a chain was distinctly audible; Mr. Blake was evidently +bringing the spectre down in his arms! Diggory and Vance could no +longer restrain their curiosity; they hopped out of bed and glanced +round the corner of the door. The master held in his hand a rusty old +gin, the iron jaws of which were tightly closed upon the body of an +enormous rat. + +"There's a monster for you!" he said; "I think it's the biggest I ever +saw. He'd carried the trap, chain and all, right across the room, but +that finished him; he was as dead as a stone when I picked him up. +Now get back to bed; I should think you're both nearly frozen." + +Diggory and Jack Vance followed the advice given to Kennedy and Jacobs, +and did so rather sheepishly. They felt they had been making tools of +themselves; yet it would never have done to own to such a thing. + +"What a lark!" said the new boy, after a few moments' silence. + +"Wasn't it!" returned Jack Vance; "it's the best joke I've had for a +long time. But we didn't pay those fellows out for throwing those +snowballs; we must do it some other night. And now we three must swear +to be friends, and stand by each other against all the world, and +whatever happens. What shall we call our room?" + +"I know," answered Diggory: "we'll call it 'The Triple Alliance!'" + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +THE PHILISTINES. + +The Triple Alliance, the formation of which has just been described, was +destined to be no mere form of speech or empty display of friendship. +The members had solemnly sworn to stand by one another whatever +happened, and the manner in which they carried out their resolve, and +the important consequences which resulted from their concerted actions, +will be made known to the reader as our story progresses. + +Poor Mugford certainly seemed likely to be a heavy drag on the +association; he was constantly tumbling into trouble, and needing to be +pulled out again by those who had promised to be his friends. + +An instance of this occurred on the day following Diggory's arrival at +The Birches. He and Vance had gone down after morning school into what +was called the playroom, to partake of two more of the latter's +mince-pies, and on their return to the schoolroom found a crowd +assembled round Acton, who, seated on the top of a small cupboard which +always served as a judicial bench, was hearing a case in which Mugford +was the defendant, while Jacobs and another boy named Cross appeared as +plaintiffs. + +The charge was that the former was indebted to the latter for the sum of +half a crown, which he had borrowed towards the end of the previous +term, in separate amounts of one shilling and eighteen pence, promising +to repay them, with interest, immediately after the holidays. The money +had been expended in the purchase of a disreputable old canary bird, for +which Noaks, the manservant, had agreed to find board and lodging during +the Christmas vacation. Now, when the creditors reminded Mugford of his +obligations, they found him totally unable to meet their demands for +payment. + +"Now, look here," said Acton, addressing the defendant with great +severity, "no humbug--how much money did you bring back with you?" + +"Well, I had to pay my brother before I came away for my share in a +telescope we bought last summer, and then--" + +"Bother your brother and the telescope! Why can't you answer my +question? How much money did you bring back with you?" + +"Only five bob." + +"Then why in the name of Fortune don't you pay up?" + +"Because I had to pay all that to Noaks for bird-seed." + +"D'you mean to say that that bird ate five shillings' worth of seed in +four weeks?" + +"Well, so Noaks says; he told me he'd kept scores of birds in his time, +but he'd 'never seen one so hearty at its grub before.' Those were the +very words he used, and he said it was eating nearly all the day, and +that's one reason why it looks such a dowdy colour, and never sings." + +"Well, all I can say is, if you believe all Noaks tells you, you're a +fool. But that's no reason why these two chaps should be done out of +their money; so now, how are you going to pay them?" + +"If they only wait till pocket-money's given out--" began Mugford. + +"Oh no, we shan't!" interrupted Cross. "He only gets sixpence a week, +and he's always breaking windows and other things, and having it +stopped." + +There seemed only one way out of the difficulty, and that was to put as +it were an execution into Mugford's desk, and realize a certain amount +of his private property. + +"Look here," said Acton, "he must sell something.--Now, then," he added, +turning to the defendant, "just shell out something and bring it here at +once, and we'll have an auction." + +The boy walked off to his desk, and after rummaging about in it for some +little time, returned with a miscellaneous collection of small articles +in his arms, which he proceeded to hand up one by one for the judge's +inspection. + +"What's this?" + +"Oh, its a book that was given me on my birthday, called 'Lofty Thoughts +for Little Thinkers.'" + +"Lofty grandmother!" said Acton impatiently. + +"What else have you got ?" + +"Well, here's a wire puzzle, only I think a bit of it's lost, and the +clasp of a cricket belt, and old Dick Rodman's chessboard and some of +the men, and some stuff for chilblains, and--" + +"Oh, dry up!" interrupted Acton; "what bosh! Who d'you expect would buy +any of that rubbish? Look here, we'll give you till after dinner, and +unless you find something sensible by then, we shall come and hunt for +ourselves." + +"That's just like Mug," said Jack Vance to Diggory, as the group of boys +slowly dispersed; "he's always doing something stupid. But I suppose as +we made that alliance, we ought to try to help the beggar somehow." + +They followed their unfortunate comrade to his desk, which when opened +displayed a perfect chaos of ragged books, loose sheets of paper, broken +pen-holders, pieces of string, battered cardboard boxes, and other +rubbish. + +"Look here, Mug, what have you got to sell? you'll have to fork out +something." + +"I don't know," returned the other mournfully, stirring up the contents +of the desk as though he were making a Christmas pudding. "I've got +nothing, except--well, there's this book of Poe's, 'Tales of Adventure, +Mystery, and Imagination,' and my clasp-knife; and perhaps some one +would buy these fret-saw patterns or this dog-chain." + +He turned out two or three more small articles and laid them on the +form. + +"Are there any of these things you particularly wish to keep?" asked +Diggory; "because, if so, Vance and I'll bid for them, and then you can +buy them back from us again when you've got some more money." + +"That's awfully kind of you," answered Mugford, brightening up. "I'll +tell you what I should like to keep, and that's my clasp-knife and the +book; they're such jolly stories. 'The Pit and the Pendulum' always +gives me bad dreams, and 'The Premature Burial' makes you feel certain +you'll be buried alive." + +"All right; and did you bring a cake back with you?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, then, sell that first, and you can share our grub." + +The auction was held directly after dinner. The cake fetched a +shilling, and Diggory and Vance bid ninepence each for the book and +pocket-knife; so Mugford came out of his difficulty without suffering +any further loss than what was afterwards made good again by the +generosity of his two comrades. They, for their part, made no fuss over +this little act of kindness, but handed the book and clasp-knife over +to Mugford without waiting for the money, and little thinking what an +important part these trifling possessions would play in the subsequent +history of the Triple Alliance. + +The sale had not long been concluded, and the little community were +preparing to obey Acton's order to "Come outside," when the latter +rushed into the room finning with rage. + +"I say," he exclaimed, "what do you think that beast of a Noaks has +done? Why, he's gone and put ashes all over our slide!" + +In their heart of hearts every one felt decidedly relieved at this +announcement; still it was necessary, at all events, to simulate some of +their leader's wrath, and accordingly there was a general outcry against +the offender. + +"Oh, the cad!"--"What an awful shame!"--"Let's tell Blake!" etc., etc. + +"Who is Noaks?" asked Diggory. "Is he that sour-looking man who brings +the boots in every morning?" + +"Yes, that's so," answered Vance. "He hates us all--partly, I believe, +because his son's a Philistine. I wonder old Welsby doesn't get another +man." + +"His son's a _what?_" asked Diggory; but at that moment Acton came +marching round the room ordering every one out into the playground, and +Jack Vance hurried off to get his cap and muffler without replying to +the question. + +Sliding was out of the question, and the "House of Lords" having amused +themselves for a time by capturing small boys and throwing them into the +snow-drift, some one remarked that it would be good fun to build a snow +man; which proposition was received with acclamation, and all hands were +soon hard at work rolling the big balls which were to form the base of +the statue. As the work progressed the interest in it increased, the +more so when Diggory suggested that the figure should be supposed to +represent the obnoxious Noaks, and that the company could then relieve +their feelings by pelting his effigy as soon as it was completed. +Every one was pleased with the project, and even Acton, who as a rule +would never follow up any plan which was not of his own making, took +special pains to cause the snow man to bear some likeness to the +original. He had just, by way of a finishing touch, expended nearly +half a penny bottle of red ink in a somewhat exaggerated reproduction of +the fiery hue of Noaks's nose, when the bell rang for afternoon school, +and the bombardment had to be postponed until the following day. + +It was no small trial of patience being thus obliged to wait nearly +twenty-four hours before wreaking their vengeance on the effigy; still +there was no help for it. The boys bottled down their feelings, and +when at last the classes were dismissed, and the dux cried, "Come on, +you fellows!" every one obeyed the summons willingly enough. There had +been a slight thaw in the night, and the statue stood in need of some +trifling repairs. Acton suggested, therefore, that the half-hour +before dinner should be devoted to putting things to rights, and to +making some small additions in the shape of pebbles for waistcoat +buttons, and other trifling adornments. + +Mr. Welsby kept the boys at the table for nearly a quarter of an hour +after the meal was finished, talking over his plans for the coming term, +and when at last he finished there was a regular stampede for the +playground. Acton was leading the rush; he dashed through the garden +doorway, and then stopped dead with an exclamation of dismay. All those +who followed, as they arrived on the spot, did the same. Every vestige +of the snow man, which had been left barely an hour ago standing such a +work of art, had disappeared. Certainly a portion of the pedestal still +remained, looking like the stump of an old, decayed tooth; but the +figure itself had been thrown down, trodden flat, and literally stamped +out of existence! + +The little crowd stood for a moment speechless, gazing with woebegone +expressions on their faces at the wreck of their hopes and handiwork; +then the silence was broken by a subdued chuckle coming from the other +side of the wall on their left, and every one, with a start and a sudden +clinching of fists, cried simultaneously: "The Philistines!" + +The words had hardly been uttered when above the brickwork appeared the +head and shoulders of a boy a size or so bigger than Acton; +a dirty-looking brown bowler hat was stuck on the very back of his head, +and rammed down until the brim rested on the top of his ears; and it +will be quite sufficient to remark that his face was in exact keeping +with the manner in which he wore his hat. Once more everybody gave vent +to their feelings by another involuntary ejaculation--"Young Noaks!" + +The stranger laughed, pulled a face which, as far as ugliness went, was +hardly an improvement on the one Nature had already bestowed upon him, +and then pointed mockingly at the remains of the masterpiece. + +His triumph, however, was short-lived. Jack Vance, as he left the +house, had caught up a double handful of snow, which he had been +pressing into a hard ball as he ran down the path, determining in his +own, mind to be the first to open fire on the snow man. Without a +moment's hesitation he flung the missile at the intruder's head, and, to +the intense delight of his companions, it struck the latter fairly on +the mouth, causing him to lose his precarious foothold on the wall and +fall back into the road. + +It needed no further warning to inform the Birchites that the +Philistines were upon them, and every one set to work to lay in a stock +of snowballs as fast as hands could make them. "Look out!" cried +Kennedy. Young Noaks's face rose once more above the top of the wall, +and the next moment a big stone, the size of hen's egg, whizzed past +Diggory's head, and struck the garden door with a sounding bang. + +"Oh, the cad!" cried Acton; "let's go for him." + +The whole garrison combined in making a vigorous sortie into the road; +but it was only to find the enemy in full retreat, and a few dropping +shots at long range ended the skirmish. + +"I say, Vance," exclaimed Diggory, "who are they? Who are these +fellows?" + +Now, as the aforesaid Philistines play rather an Important part in the +opening chapters of our story, I propose to answer the question myself, +in such a way that the reader may be enabled to take a more intelligent +interest in the chain of events which commenced with the destruction of +the snow man; and in order that this may be done in a satisfactory +manner, I will in a few words map out the ground on which this memorable +campaign was afterwards conducted. + +Take the well-known drawing of two right angles In Euclid's definition, +and imagine the horizontal line to be the main road to Chatford, while +the perpendicular one standing on it is a by-way called Locker's lane. +In the right angle stood The Birches; the house itself faced the +Chatford road, while behind it, in regular succession, came first the +sloping garden, then the walled-in playground, and then the small field +in which were attempted such games of cricket and football as the +limited number of pupils would permit. There were three doors in the +playground--one the entrance from the garden, another opening into the +lane, and a third into the field, the two latter being usually kept +locked. + +Locker's Lane was a short cut to Chatford, yet Rule 21 in The Birches +Statute-Book ordained that no boy should either go or return by this +route when visiting the town; the whole road was practically put out of +bounds, and the reason for this regulation was as follows: + +At the corner of the playing field the lane took a sharp turn, and about +a quarter of a mile beyond this stood a large red-brick house, shut in +on three sides by a high wall, whereon, close to the heavy double doors +which formed the entrance, appeared a board bearing in big letters the +legend-- + + HORACE HOUSE, + Middle-Class School for Boys. + A. PHILLIPS, B.A., Head-master. + +The pupils of Mr. Phillips had been formerly called by Mr. Welsby's boys +the Phillipians, which title had in time given place to the present +nickname of the Philistines. + +I have no doubt that the average boy turned out by Horace House was as +good a fellow, taking him all round, as the average boy produced by The +Birches; and that, if they had been thrown together in one school, they +would, for the most part, have made very good friends and comrades. +However, in fairness both to them and to their rivals, it must be said +that at the period of our story Mr. Phillips seemed for some time past +to have been unusually unfortunate in his elder boys: they were +undoubtedly "cads," and the character of the whole establishment, as far +as the scholars were concerned, naturally yielded to the influence of +its leaders. + +It had been customary every term for the Birchites to play a match +against them either at cricket or football; but their conduct during a +visit paid to the ground of the latter, back in the previous summer, had +been so very ungentlemanly and unsportsmanlike that, when the next +challenge arrived for an encounter at football, Mr. Welsby wrote back a +polite note expressing regret that he did not see his way clear to +permit a continuation of the matches. This was the signal for an +outbreak of open hostilities between the two schools: the Philistines +charged the Birchites in the open street with being afraid to meet them +in the field. These base insinuations led to frequent exchanges of +taunts and uncomplimentary remarks; and, last of all, matters were +brought to a climax by a stand-up fight between Tom Mason, Acton's +predecessor as dux, and young Noaks. The encounter took place just +outside the stronghold of the enemy, the Birchite so far getting the +best of it that at the end of a five minutes' engagement he proclaimed +his victory by dragging his adversary along by the collar and bumping +his head a number of times against the very gates of Horace House. +Unfortunately a rumour of what had happened got to the ears of +Mr. Welsby. Mason was severely reprimanded, and his companions were +forbidden, under pain of heavy punishment, to walk in Locker's Lane +further than the corner of their own playing field. + +"But who is young Noaks?" asked Diggory, as Jack Vance finished a hasty +account of this warfare with the Philistines. + +"Why, that's just the funny part of it," returned the other. "This Sam +Noaks is the son of our Noaks, but he's got an uncle, called Simpson, +who lives at Todderton, where I come from. This man Simpson made a lot +of money out in Australia, and when he came back to England he adopted +young Noaks, and sends him here to Phillips's school." + +By this time the home forces had all struggled back into the playground. +In one corner stood a wooden shed containing a carpenter's bench, a +chest for bats and stumps, and various other things belonging to +different boys. Acton, as head of the school, kept the key, and having +unfastened the door, summoned his followers inside to hold an impromptu +council of war and discuss the situation. There was a grave expression +on each face, for every one felt that things were beginning to look +serious. Mason, the only one of their number who had been physically +equal to the leaders of their opponents, was no longer among them, and +the enemy, evidently aware of their helpless condition, had dared for +the first time to actually come and beard them in their own den. + +"What I want to know first is this," began Acton. "You can see by the +footmarks that they came in through that door; of course it's always +kept locked, and here's the key hanging up inside the shed. Now who +opened it for them, and how was it done?" + +"Perhaps it wasn't fastened," suggested Morris. + +"Yes, it was," answered Kennedy excitedly. "I noticed that this +morning, when we were picking up stones for the snow man's buttons." + +"Then I tell you what it is," continued Acton solemnly: "some one here's +playing us false, and my belief is it's old Noaks. D'you remember last +term when Mason and Jack Vance and I made a plot for going down and +throwing crackers into their yard? Well, they must have heard of it +from some one; for they were all lying in wait for us behind the wall, +and as soon as we got near to it they threw cans of water over us and +pelted us with stones." + +There was a murmur of suppressed wrath at the memory of the fate of this +gallant expedition. + +"Yes," added Shaw, "and I believe some one told them about this snow +man." + +"Well, one thing's certain," said Acton--"we must serve 'em out somehow +for knocking it down. They evidently think now Mason's gone they can do +what they like, and that we shall be afraid of them. Now what can we +do?" + +There was a silence; every one felt that a serious crisis had arrived in +the history of the Birchites, and that unless some immediate steps were +taken to avenge this insult they would no longer be free men, but live +in constant terror of the Philistines;--every one, I say, felt that some +bold action must be taken, yet nobody had a suggestion to make. + +"Well, look here," said Acton, "something's got to be done. We must all +think it over, and we'll have another meeting in a week's time; then if +any one's made a plan, we'll talk it over and decide what's to be done." + +"Jack," said Diggory two evenings later, "you know what Acton said about +the Philistines; well, I've got part of a plan in my head, but I shan't +tell you what it is till Wednesday." + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +DISCOMFITURE OF THE PHILISTINES. + +On Wednesday afternoon, as soon as dinner was over, Acton summoned his +followers to attend the council of war which was to decide what +reprisals should be taken on the Philistines for the destruction of the +snow man. Every one felt the importance of a counter-attack, for unless +something of the kind were attempted, as Acton remarked in his opening +speech, "they'll think we're funky of them, and they'll simply come down +here as often as they like, and worry us to death." + +"Couldn't we tell Mr. Welsby?" suggested Butler, a timid small boy +belonging to the "Dogs' Home." + +"Tell Mr. Welsby!" cried half a dozen voices in withering tones; +"of course not!" + +It was well known by both parties that whenever the real state of +affairs became known to their respective head-masters, the war would +come to an abrupt termination; and the great reason why each side +forbore to make any open complaint against the other was undoubtedly +because every one secretly enjoyed the excitement of the campaign, and +felt that a peace would make life rather dull and uninteresting. + +"The thing that licks us," said Acton, "is what I was speaking about +last week: somehow or other, they always seem to know just what we're up +to, and it's no use our doing anything, because they're always prepared. +Some one's acting the spy. I can't think it's any of you fellows, but I +believe it's old Noaks. You see his son's there, and for some reason or +other he seems to hate every one here like poison. Now, what are we to +do?" + +There was a silence, broken at length by Diggory Trevanock. + +"I don't know what you think," he began, "but it seems to me it's no use +making any plans until we find out who tells 'em to the Philistines. +I should say that Noaks is the fellow who does it, but we ought to +make certain." + +"Yes, but how are we to do it?" asked Acton, laughing; "that's just what +I want to know." + +"Well, I've got a bit of a plan," returned the other, "only I should +like to tell it you in private." + +"All right," answered the dux; "come on outside. Now, then, what is +it?" + +"Why," said Diggory, "it's this (I didn't want the other chaps to hear, +because then it'll prove who's the spy). You say the last time you went +down to throw some crackers over the wall they were all lying in wait +for you. Well, let you and me go into the boot-room when Noaks is at +work there, and pretend to make a plan as though we were going to do it +again to-morrow night; then two of us might go down and see if they're +prepared. If so, it must have been Noaks who told them, because no one +else knows about it. I'll go for one, and Jack Vance'll go for another. +I'll tell him to keep it dark, and you can let us in and out of the +door." + +"Oh--ah!" said Acton, "that isn't a bad idea; at all events we'll try +it." + +The project was put into immediate execution. That same afternoon, just +before tea, Acton and Diggory discussed the bogus plan in Noaks's +hearing, while Jack Vance, having been admitted into their confidence +and sworn to secrecy, willingly agreed to go out with Diggory and form +the reconnoitering party which was to report on the movements of the +enemy. + +"I knew you'd come," said the latter; "and we'll show them what sort of +stuff the Triple Alliance is made of." + +On the following evening, as soon as tea was over, the two friends +slipped off down into the playground, where they were joined a minute +later by Acton, who, unlocking the shed, took down from the peg on which +it hung the key of the door in the outer wall. + +"You'll have plenty of time," he said, glancing at his watch, "and with +this moonlight you'll soon be able to see if they're about. I'll keep +the door, and let you in when you come back." + +The next moment the two members of the Alliance were trotting down +Locker's Lane. It was a bright, frosty night, and the hard ground rang +beneath their feet like stone. They turned off on to the grass, lest +the noise should give the enemy warning of their approach; and when +within about a hundred yards of Horace House, pulled up to consider for +a moment what their plan of action should be, before proceeding any +further. + +"I don't see any one," said Jack Vance. + +"Perhaps they are hiding," answered Diggory. "Look here! let's get into +this field and run down on the other side of the hedge until we get +opposite the gate." + +The stronghold of the Philistines was silent as the grave. The two +chums crouched behind a thick bush, and peering through its leafless +branches could see nothing but the closed double doors, and a stretch of +blank wall on either side. + +"There's no one about," whispered Vance; "I don't believe old Noaks has +told them." + +"Wait a minute," answered Diggory. "I'll see if I can stir any of +them;" and so saying, he knelt up, and cried in an audible voice, +"Now, then, are you all ready?" + +Diggory and Jack Vance dropped flat on their stomachs, for the words had +hardly been uttered when the doors were flung open, and at least ten of +the Philistines rushed out into the road with a yell of defiance. +Many of them were bigger than Acton, and what would have been the fate +of the two Birchites had they kept to the road instead of acting on +Diggory's suggestion of advancing under cover of the hedge, one hardly +dares to imagine. + +"Hullo!" cried young Noaks, who had headed the sortie. "There's nobody +here, and yet I'll swear I heard them somewhere." + +"So did I," answered another voice; "they must have cut and run." + +"There's no place for them to run to," returned Noaks; "they must be +behind that hedge.--Come out of it, you skunks!" + +A big stone came crashing through the twigs within a yard of Diggory's +head. The two boys crouched close to the low earth bank and held their +breath. + +"They must be about somewhere," cried Noaks. "I knew they were coming, +and I'm sure I heard some one say, 'Are you ready?' They're behind that +hedge. We can't get through, it's too thick; but you fellows stop +here, and I and Hogson and Bernard'll run down to the gate and cut off +their retreat." + +"What shall we do?" whispered Jack; "this field's so large they'll run +us down before we get to the other hedge. Shall we make a bolt and +chance it?" + +Diggory was just about to reply in the affirmative, when help came from +an unexpected quarter. + +"What are you boys doing out here at this time?" cried a loud, stern +voice.--"Noaks, what are you about down the road there?--Come in this +moment, every one of you!" + +"Saved!" whispered Jack Vance, in an ecstasy of delight as the +Philistines trooped back through the double doors. "That was old +Phillips. I hope he gives Noaks a jolly good 'impot.' That chap is a +cad," continued the speaker, as they hurried back towards The Birches: +"when he can't do anything else, he chucks stones like he did to-night. +The wonder is he hasn't killed some one before now. I don't see how +it's possible for the Philistines to show up well when they've got a +chap like him bossing the show." + +The bell for evening preparation was ringing as they reached The +Birches, and only a very few hasty replies could be given to Acton's +eager inquiries as they rushed together up the garden path. In the +little interval before supper, however, the subject was resumed in a +quiet corner of the passage. + +"So it must have been old Noaks who told them," said Acton; "that's +proved without a doubt. I vote we go and have a jolly row with him +to-morrow morning." + +"No, I shouldn't do that," answered Diggory; "don't let him know that +we've found him out." + +"Well, look here," answered Acton, thumping the wall with his fist and +frowning heavily, "what are we going to do to get even with the +Philistines? We can't go out and fight them in Locker's Lane; we're too +small, and they know it. Young Noaks would never have dared to act as +he did after they'd knocked our snow man down if Mason had been here. +They think now they're going to ride rough-shod over us; but they +aren't, and we must show them we aren't going to be trampled on." + +"So we will," cried Jack Vance excitedly, "and that jolly quick!" + +"But how?" + +There was a moment's pause. "I'm sure I don't know," answered Jack +sadly, and so the meeting terminated. + +The fact of the insult, which had been put upon them by the destruction +of their snow man, remaining unavenged, caused a sense of gloom to rest +upon the Birchites, as though they already felt themselves suffering +beneath the yoke of the conquering Philistines. Even the bedroom feuds +were forgotten: night after night the "House of Lords" left the +"Dogs' Home" in undisturbed tranquillity, and the occupants of the +"Main-top" retired to rest without even putting a washstand against +their door. One thought occupied the minds of all, and even Mugford, +when asked on one occasion by Mr. Blake who were the conspirators in the +Gunpowder Plot, answered absent-mindedly, "The Philistines!" + +"Look here, you two," said Diggory one evening, as he scrambled into +bed, "we three must think of some way of paying those fellows out for +knocking down our snow man. It would be splendid if we could say that +the Triple Alliance had done it, and without telling any one +beforehand." + +"So we will," answered Jack Vance; "that is if you'll think of the plan. +I'm not able to make one, and I'm jolly sure Mugford can't." + +The speaker turned over and went to sleep; but after what seemed half +the night had passed, he was suddenly aroused by several violent tugs at +his bed-clothes. Thinking it nothing less than a midnight raid, Jack +sprang up and grasped his pillow. + +"No, no, it's not that," said Diggory, "but I wanted to help you; +I've got an idea." + +"W--what about?" asked the other, in a sleepy voice. + +"Why, how we can pay out the Philistines!" + +"Oh, bother the Philistines!" grumbled Jack, and promptly returned to +the land of dreams. + +"I wonder where those fellows Vance and Trevanock are?" said Acton the +following afternoon, as the boys were picking up for a game at +prisoner's base. "And there's that dummy of a Mugford--where's he +sneaked off to? he never will play games if he can possibly help it." + +They set to work, and at the end of about twenty minutes were engaged in +a most exciting rally. Acton had started out to rescue one of the +prisoners, while Shaw had rushed forth to capture Acton. Morris left +the base with similar designs on Shaw, and every one, with the exception +of the den-keepers, seemed suddenly seized with an irresistible desire +to do something. The playground was full of boys rushing and dodging +all over the place, when suddenly everybody stood still and listened. +Some one was pounding with his clinched fist at the door opening into +Locker's Lane, and at the same time Jack Vance was heard shouting, +"Let us in quick, or the Philistines'll have us!" + +Acton ran to fetch the key, and the next moment the three members of the +Triple Alliance dashed through the open door, which was hastily secured +behind them, while a shout of baffled rage some little distance down the +road showed that they had only narrowly escaped falling into the hands +of the enemy. The pursuit, however, was evidently abandoned, and +Morris, climbing on the roof of the shed, saw young Noaks and Hogson +slowly retreating round the corner of the road. + +The three friends certainly presented a striking appearance. Mugford's +nose was bleeding, Jack Vance's collar seemed to have been nearly torn +off his neck, while Diggory's cap was in his hand, and his hair in a +state of wild disorder. Their faces, flushed with running, were radiant +with a look of triumph, while all three, the unfortunate Mugford +included, leaned up against the wall, and laughed until the tears ran +down their cheeks. + +"What have you fellows been up to?" cried Acton; "why don't you tell +us?" + +"Oh my!" gasped Diggory, "we've taken a fine rise out of the +Philistines; they can't say we're not quits with them now!" and he went +off into a fresh fit of merriment. + +Shaw and Morris seized hold of Jack Vance, and at length succeeded in +shaking him into a sufficient state of sobriety to be able to answer +their questions. + +"Oh dear," he said faintly, "I never laughed so much in my life before! +Diggory ought to tell you, because he planned it all. We went very +quietly down to Horace House, and found the double doors were shut. +You know just what they're like, how the wall curves in a bit, and +there's a scraper close to the gate-post, on either side, about a foot +from the ground. We'd got an old play-box cord with us, and we tied it +to each of the scrapers. The doors have a sort of iron ring for a +handle, and through this we stuck a broken cricket-stump, and Mug and I +held the two ends so that you couldn't possibly lift the latch on the +inside. Then--but you go on, Diggy." + +"Well, then," continued the other, "I scrambled on to these two chaps' +shoulders, and looked over the top of the door. We could hear some of +the Philistines knocking about on the gravel, and I saw there were +about half a dozen of them playing footer with a tennis-ball. I shouted +out, 'Hullo! Good-afternoon!' They all stood still in a moment, and +young Noaks cried, 'Why, it's a Birchite!--What do you want here, you +young dog?' I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I said, +'I want to know if this is the bear-pit or the monkey-house.' My eye, +you should have seen them! I dropped down in a trice, and they all +rushed to the doors; but they couldn't lift the latch, because Mug and +Jack were holding fast to the stump. We waited a moment, and then let +go and ran for it. You may judge what happened next. It's a regular +sea of mud outside those gates. They all came rushing out together, and +I saw Noaks and Hogson go head first over the rope, and two or three +others fall flat on the top of them. It was a sight, I can tell you!" + +"Yes, but that wasn't all," interrupted Jack Vance. "Bernard, one of +their big chaps, hopped over the rest and came after us. We ran for all +we were worth, but he collared me. Mugford went for him, and hung +on to his coat like a young bull-terrier, and got a smack on the nose; +and just then Diggory turned, and came prancing back, and ran his head +into the beggar's stomach, and that doubled him up, and so we all got +away. But," concluded the speaker, turning towards his wounded comrade, +"I never thought old Mug had so much grit in him before; he stuck to it +like a Briton!" + +A demonstration of the most genuine enthusiasm followed this warlike +speech. Acton folded Diggory to his breast in a loving embrace, Shaw +and Morris stuffed the door-key down Mugford's back, while the remainder +of the company executed a war-dance round Jack Vance. + +"My eye," cried the dux, "won't the Philistines be wild! +Fancy upsetting them in the mud, and knocking Bernard's wind out! +They won't be in a hurry to meddle with us again. Well done, Diggy!" + +"It wasn't I alone," said the author of the enterprise; "we did it +between us--the Triple Alliance." + +"Then three cheers for the Triple Alliance!" cried Acton. + +The company shouted themselves hoarse, for every one felt that the +honour of The Birches had been retrieved, and that the day was still far +distant when they would be crushed beneath the iron heel of young Noaks, +or be exposed as an unresisting prey to the ravages of the wild hordes +of Horace House. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +THE SUPPER CLUB. + +As this story is to be a history of the Triple Alliance, and not of The +Birches, it will be necessary to pass over many things which happened +at the preparatory school, in order that full justice may be done to the +important parts played by our three friends in an epoch of strange and +stirring events at Ronleigh College. + +Diggory, by the daring exploit described in the previous chapter, won +all hearts; and instead of being looked upon as a new boy, was regarded +quite as an old and trusty comrade. Acton displayed marked favour +towards the Triple Alliance, and was even more friendly with Diggory and +Jack Vance than with his room and class mates, Shaw and Morris. + +The Philistines seemed, for the time being, paralyzed by the humiliation +of their mud bath, and for many months there was a complete cessation +from hostilities. + +It was perhaps only natural that in time of peace a brave knight like +Acton should turn his thoughts from war to love-making, and therefore I +shall make no excuse for relating a little experience of his which +must be introduced as a prelude to the account of the formation of the +famous supper club. + +At the very commencement of the summer term it was plain to everybody +that something was wrong with the dux; he seemed to take no interest in +the doings of his companions in the playground, and only once roused +himself sufficiently to bang Cross with a leg-guard for bowling awful +wides at cricket. + +At length, one afternoon, Diggory and Jack Vance on entering the shed +found him sitting on the carpenter's bench, with his chin resting in his +hand, and a most ferocious expression on his face. + +"Hullo! what's up?" + +Acton stared blankly at the new-comers until the question had been +repeated; then he sat up and straightened his back with the air of one +who has made a great resolve. + +"I don't mind telling you two," he said. "You know I've said before that +I meant some day to propose to Miss Eleanor. Well," he added, stabbing +the bench with the gimlet, "I'm going to do it." + +"I've saved five and ninepence," continued the speaker, "to buy a ring +with, but I can't make up my mind whether I'd better speak or write to +her. What do you think?" + +"I should say," answered Diggory, after a moment's thought, "that the +best thing would be to toss up for it." + +"All right; have you got a coin?" + +"No, but I think I've got a brass button. Yes, here it is. Now, then, +front you speak, and back you write. There you are--it's a letter!" + +"Well, now," said Acton, getting off the bench and sticking his hands +deep in his trousers pockets, "what had I better say? I shall be +fifteen in August; I thought I'd tell her my age, and say I didn't mind +waiting." + +"I believe it's the girl who always says that," answered Jack Vance, +kicking a bit of wood into a corner. + +"Then, again, I don't know how to begin. Would you say 'Dear Miss +Eleanor,' or 'Dear Miss Welsby'? I think 'Dear Eleanor' sounds rather +cheeky." + +"I'll tell you what I should do," answered Diggory, who seemed to have a +great idea of letting the fates decide these matters: "I should write +'em all three on slips of paper and then draw one." + +"Well, I'm going to write the letter in 'prep' this evening, and let her +have it to-morrow. Did you notice I gave her a flower this morning, and +she stuck it in her dress?" + +"Yes; but fellows are often doing that," answered Jack Vance, "and she +always wears them, either in her dress or stuck up somehow under her +brooch." + +"Oh, but this was a white rose, and a white rose means something, though +I don't know what. At all events, she'll have the letter to-morrow, and +I'll tell you fellows when I give it her, only of course you mustn't +breathe a word to any one else." + +"All right: we won't," answered Diggory, "except to old Mugford, because +he's one of the Alliance, and we've sworn not to have any secrets from +each other, and he won't split." + +That evening the Triple Alliance lay awake until a late hour discussing +the situation. Mugford's opening comment was certainly worth +recording,-- + +"I hope she'll accept him." + +"Why?" + +"Why, because if she does, I should think old Welsby'll give us a +half-holiday." + +It was evident at breakfast, to those who were in the know, that Acton +was prepared for the venture. He was wearing a clean collar and new +necktie, and ate only four pieces of bread and butter, besides his +bacon. + +"He's shown me the letter," whispered Diggory to Jack Vance; "only I +promised I wouldn't say what was in it, but it ends up with a piece of +poetry as long as this table!" + +After morning school was the time agreed upon for the dux to cast the +die which was to decide his future; and as soon as the classes were +dismissed, Jack Vance and Diggory met him by appointment in one corner +of the garden. + +"I've done it," he said, looking awfully solemn. "She was in the hall, +and I gave it to her as I came out. I say, how many _t's_ are there in +'attachment'?" + +Jack Vance thought one, Diggory said two; and the company then relapsed +into silence, and stood with gloomy looks upon their faces, as though +they were waiting to take part in a funeral procession. + +At length a voice from the house was heard calling, "Fred--Fred Acton!" +The dux turned a trifle pale, but pulling himself together, marched off +with a firm step to learn his fate. + +"She called him Fred," murmured Diggory; "that sounds hopeful." + +"Oh, that's nothing," answered Jack Vance; "Miss Eleanor always calls +fellows by their Christian names. There's one thing," he added, after a +few moments' thought--"if she'd cut up rough over the letter, she might +have called him Mr. Acton. Hullo, here he comes!" As he spoke Acton +emerged from the house, and came down the path towards them; his straw +hat was tilted forward over his eyes, and his cheeks were glowing like +the red glass of a dark-room lamp. He sauntered along, kicking up the +gravel with the toe of his boot. + +"Well, what happened?" inquired Jack Vance. + +No answer. + +"What's the matter ?" cried Diggory; "what did she say?" + +"Why, this!" answered the other, in a voice trembling with suppressed +emotion: "she said I was a silly boy, and--and--_gave me a lump of +cake!_" + +If any one else had done it, the probability is Acton would have slain +them on the spot. Diggory opened his eyes and mouth wide, and then +exploded with laughter. "Oh my!" he gasped, "I shall die, I know I +shall! Ha, ha, ha!" + +Acton eyed him for a moment with a look of indignant astonishment; then +he began to smile, Jack Vance commenced to chuckle, and very soon all +three were laughing in concert. + +"Well, I think it's rather unfeeling of you fellows," said the rejected +suitor; "I can tell you I'm jolly cut up about it." + +"I'm awfully sorry," answered Diggory, "but I couldn't help laughing. +Cheer up; why, think, you won't have to get the ring now, so you can do +what you like with that five and ninepence you saved. Why, it's worth +being refused to have five and ninepence to spend in grub!" + +"Ah, Diggy !" said the other, shaking his head in a mournful manner, +"wait till you're as old as I am: when you're close on fifteen you'll +think differently about love and all that sort of thing." + +As has already been hinted, it was the failure of this attempt on the +part of the dux to win the heart and hand of Miss Eleanor that +indirectly brought about the formation of the famous supper club. +About a week after the events happened which have just been described, +Acton invited the Triple Alliance to meet the "House of Lords" in the +work-shed, to discuss an important scheme which he said had been in his +mind for some days past; and the door having been locked to exclude +outsiders, he commenced to unfold his project as follows:-- + +"I've been thinking that during the summer term, and while the weather's +warm, our two rooms might form a supper club. We'd hold it, say, once a +week, when pocket-money is given out, and have a feed together; one time +in your room, and the next in ours, after every one's gone to bed. +You know I saved some money at the beginning of the term to buy an +engagement ring with; but I don't want it now, so I'm going to spend the +tin in grub, and if you like I'll stand the first feed." + +There was a murmur expressive of approbation at this generous offer, +mingled with sympathy for the unhappy circumstance which gave rise to +it, and which was now an open secret. + +"Oh," said Shaw, "that's a grand idea! I know my brother Bob, who's at +a big school at Lingmouth, told me that he and some other chaps formed a +supper club and held it in his study. It's by the sea, and they used to +go out and catch shrimps; and they only had one old coffee-pot, that +they used to boil over the gas; so they cooked the shrimps in it first, +and made the coffee after. One night they only had time to heat it up +once, and so they boiled the shrimps in the coffee; and Bob says they +didn't taste half bad, and that they always used to do it after, to save +time." + +"Well, I propose that we have one," cried Morris. + +The resolution was carried unanimously. Acton was elected president, +and by way of recognizing the mutual interest of the Triple Alliance, +Jack Vance was appointed to act as secretary, and it was decided to hold +the first banquet on the following night. + +"We can buy the grub to-morrow," said Acton; "but there's one thing we +ought to fetch to-day, and that is, I thought we might have, say, six +bottles of ginger-beer. Then each man must take his own up to bed with +him this evening, and hide it away in his box or in one of his drawers." + +This was accordingly done, and, as it happened, was the cause of the +only disaster which attended the formation of the club. For the first +week in June the weather was unusually hot: a candle left all day +in the "Main-top" was found drooping out of the perpendicular, and when +the Triple Alliance retired to rest their bedroom felt like an oven. +They were just dozing off to sleep, when all three were suddenly +startled by a muffled bang somewhere close to them. In an instant they +were sitting up in bed, rubbing their eyes with one hand and grasping +their pillows with the other. + +"Look out, they're coming!" whispered Jack Vance; "wasn't that something +hit the door?" + +"It sounded as if something fell on the floor," answered Diggory. +"I wonder if anything's rolled off either of the washstands." + +Jack Vance reconnoitred the passage, while Diggory and Mugford examined +the room; but nothing could be found to account for the disturbance. + +"It must have been the fellows in the 'Main-top.' I expect they dropped +a book or upset a chair. Don't let's bother about it any more." + +The following morning, however, the mystery was explained. The boys +were hastily putting on their clothes, when Mugford, who had just thrown +aside a dirty collar, gave vent to an exclamation of dismay, which +attracted the attention of his two companions. + +"Hullo! what's up?" + +"Why, look here! If this beastly bottle of ginger-beer hasn't gone and +burst in the middle of my box!" + +The first meeting of the supper club was a great success. How ever +Acton and his noble friends had managed to smuggle upstairs, under their +jackets, a pork-pie, a plum-cake, a bag of tarts, and a pound of +biscuits, was a feat which, as Jack Vance remarked, "beat conjuring." + +Shortly after midnight the Triple Alliance wended their way to the +"House of Lords," where they found the three other members quite ready +to commence operations. The good things were spread out on the top of a +chest of drawers, and the company ranged themselves round on the +available chairs and two adjacent beds, and commenced to enjoy the +repast. + +"Ah, well," sighed Acton, with his mouth full of pork-pie, "I'm rather +glad for some things that I didn't get engaged. It must be rather a +bore having to spend all your money in rings and that sort of thing, +instead of in grub; though I really think I'd have given up grub for +Miss Eleanor." + +"I wonder," said Morris, who was of a more prosaic disposition, "how it +is that it's always much jollier having a feed when you ought not to +than at the proper time. For instance, eating this pork-pie at a table, +with knife and fork and a plate, wouldn't be a quarter the fun it is +having it like we're doing now--cutting it with a razor out of Acton's +dressing-case, and knowing that if we were cobbed we should get into a +jolly row." + +"Talking about rows over feeds," said Acton, "my brother John is at +Ronleigh College, and I remember, soon after he went there, he said they +had a great spree in his dormitory. One of the chaps had had a hamper +sent him, and they smuggled the grub upstairs; and when they thought the +coast was clear, they spread a sheet on the floor, and laid out the grub +as if it were on a table-cloth. The fellow who was standing treat was +rather a swell in his way, and among other things he'd got his jam put +out in a flat glass dish. It was a fine feed, and they'd just begun, +when they heard some one coming. They'd only just got time to turn out +the gas and jump into bed before the door opened, and in came one of the +masters called Weston. Well, of course, they all pretended to be +asleep. But the master had heard them scrambling about, and he walked +in the dark up the aisle between the beds, saying, 'Who's been out of +bed here?' Then all of a sudden he stuck his foot into the glass +jam-dish, and it slid along the floor, and down he came bang in the +middle of all the spread. John said that when the gas was lit they +couldn't help laughing at old Weston: he'd rammed one elbow into a box +of sardines, and there was a cheese-cake stuck in the middle of his +back. But oh, there was a row, I can tell you!" + +This yarn produced others, and the time passed pleasantly enough, until +full justice had been done to the provisions, and hardly a crumb +remained. + +"Phew! isn't it hot?" said Diggory; "let's open the window a bit. +The moon must be full," he continued, as he raised the sash; "it's +nearly as light as day. I can see all down the garden, and--hullo! +quick, put the candle out!" + +Every one started to his feet, and the light was extinguished in a +moment. + +"What is it--what's the matter?" they all asked. "There's some one in +the playground," whispered Diggory, as the others crowded round him. +"You see the door at the bottom of the garden; well, just when I spoke +some one opened it and looked up at the house, and then shut it again. +It must have been Blake, and he's seen our light." + +"It can't be Blake," answered Acton; "he's gone to Fenley to play in a +cricket match, and isn't coming back till to-morrow morning. Old Welsby +went to bed hours ago; and, besides, what should either of them want to +be doing down there at this time of night? You must have been dreaming, +Diggy." + +"No, I wasn't; I saw it distinctly. It must be old Blake. He's come +home sooner than he expected, and I shouldn't wonder if he's going +round by the road to take us by surprise." + +"He can't do that," answered Acton, "because I've got the key of the +shed, and the door-key's hung up inside." + +Acton remained watching at the window while the others hastily cleared +away all traces of the feast; the Triple Alliance retired to their own +room, and nothing further was heard or seen of the mysterious visitor. + +The next morning it was discovered that Mr. Blake had not returned from +Fenley, and the five other members of the supper club were inclined to +regard Diggory's vision of the midnight intruder as a sort of waking +nightmare, resulting from an overdose of cake and pork-pie. Two days +later Cross came into the schoolroom in a great state of excitement. + +"Look here, you fellows," he exclaimed: "some one keeps taking away my +things out of the shed, and not putting them back. Last week I missed a +saw and two chisels, and now that brace and nearly all the bits are +gone. It's a jolly shame!" + +Carpentering was Cross's great hobby, and his collection of tools was an +exceptionally good one, both as regards quantity and quality. Every +one, however, denied having touched the things mentioned. A general +search was made; but the missing articles could not be found, and at +length the matter was reported to Mr. Welsby. + +The latter was evidently greatly displeased on hearing the facts of the +case. As soon as dinner was over he called the school together, and +after standing for some moments in silence, frowning at the book he +carried in his hand, said briefly,-- + +"With regard to these tools, there is a word which has never been used +before in connection with any pupil at The Birches, and which I hope I +may never have occasion to use again. I can hardly think it possible +that we have a _thief_ in the house. I am rather inclined to imagine +that some one has removed the things and hidden them away in joke; if +so, let me tell him that the joke has been allowed to go too far, and +that, unless they are returned at once, a shadow of doubt will be cast +upon the honour and integrity of all here present. It is impossible for +such large articles as a saw and a brace to be mislaid or lost on such +small premises as these, and I trust that before this evening you will +report to me that the things have been found. I have purposely allowed +the key of the shed to remain in your own possession, feeling certain +that your behaviour as regards each other's property would be in +accordance with the treatment which one gentleman expects to receive +from another. You may go." + +There was little in the nature of a scolding in this address, and yet +something in it caused every one to leave the room in a state of great +excitement. Acton and Jack Vance especially fairly boiled with wrath. + +"What old Welsby says is quite right," remarked the latter; "and until +those things are found, we may all be looked upon as thieves." + +The search, however, proved fruitless; and, what was worse, in turning +over the contents of the shed, Acton discovered that a bull's-eye +lantern belonging to himself had disappeared from the shelf on which it +usually stood; while Mugford declared that a box of compasses, which he +had brought down a few days before to draw a pattern on a piece of +board, was also missing. + +Directly after tea Acton button-holed Diggory, and taking him aside +said, "Look here, I'm in an awful rage about these thing's being +prigged, because, of course, I've got the key of the shed; and didn't +you hear what old Welsby said about it? It looks uncommonly as if I +were the thief. You remember what you said the other night when we had +that feed, about seeing that man? D'you think there _is_ any one who +comes here at night and steals things?" + +"Well, I'm certain I saw some one in the playground when I told you. +It was a man; but whether he comes regularly and goes into the shed I +don't know, but I think we ought to be able to find out." + +"How?" + +"Oh, some way or other; I'll tell you to-morrow." That night, long +after the rest of the house were asleep, the Triple Alliance lay awake +engaged in earnest conversation; and in the morning, as the boys were +assembling for breakfast, Diggory touched Acton on the shoulder and +whispered,-- + +"I say, we've thought of a plan to find out if any one goes into the +shed at night." + +"Who's 'we'?" + +"Why, the Triple Alliance; we thought it out between us. Sneak out of +the house directly after evening 'prep,' and meet me in the playground, +and I'll show you what it is." + +At the time appointed Acton ran down the path, and found Diggory waiting +for him by the shed. + +"Look," said the latter, "I've cut a little tiny slit with my knife in +each door-post, about three feet from the ground, and I'm going to +stretch this piece of black cotton between them. No one will see it, +and if they go through the door, the thread will simply draw out of one +of the slits without their noticing it, and we shall see that it's been +disturbed. Jack Vance says that when he's been out shooting with his +guv'nor he's seen the keeper put them across the paths in a wood to find +out if poachers have been up them. Now unlock the door, and let's go +inside." + +In front of the bench, where the ground had been much trodden, there was +a great deal of loose dust. Diggory went down on his hands and knees, +and producing an old clothes-brush from his pocket, swept about a square +yard of the ground until the dust lay in a perfectly smooth surface. + +"There," he said, rising to his feet again; "we'll do this the last +thing every night, and any morning if we find the cotton gone we must +look here for footprints, and then we ought to be able to tell if it's +a man or a boy." + +"Don't you think we ought to tell Blake about that man you saw?" asked +Acton, as they walked back to the schoolroom. + +"Well, I don't see how we can," answered Diggory. "The first thing +he'll ask will be,' Who saw him?' I shall say, 'I did;' and then he'll +want to know how I saw the playground door from my bedroom window, which +looks out on the road; and then the fat'll be in the fire, and it'll all +come out about that supper." + +Regularly every evening, as soon as supper was over, the two boys stole +down into the playground to set their trap; but when morning came there +was no sign of the shed having been entered. This went on for nearly a +month, but still no result. + +"I don't think it's any good bothering about it any more," said Acton; +"the thief doesn't mean to come again." + +"Well, we'll set it to-night," answered Diggory, "and that shall be the +last time." + +The following morning Acton was sauntering towards the playground, when +Diggory came running up the path in a state of great excitement. +"I say, the cotton's gone!" + +Acton rushed down, unlocked the door of the shed, and went inside. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed, as Diggory followed; "_it is_ some man. Look at +these footprints, and hobnailed boots into the bargain!" + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +CATCHING A TARTAR. + +It was impossible for two boys to keep such an important discovery to +themselves, and the shed was soon filled with an eager crowd, all +anxious to view the mysterious footprints. The Triple Alliance +gained fresh renown as the originators of the scheme by which the +disclosure had been made, and it was unanimously decided that the matter +should be reported to Mr. Blake. + +The master cross-questioned Acton and Diggory, but seemed rather +inclined to doubt their story. + +"I think," he said, "you must be mistaken. I expect the piece of +cotton blew away, and the foot-marks must have been there before. +I don't see what there is in the shed that should make it worth any +one's while to break into it; besides, if the door was locked, the thief +must have broken it open, and you'd have seen the marks." + +Certainly nothing seemed to have been touched, and as no boy complained +of any of his property having been stolen, the subject was allowed to +drop, and the usual excitement connected with the end of term and the +near approach of the holidays soon caused it to be driven from every +one's thoughts and wellnigh forgotten. + +With the commencement of the winter term a fresh matter filled the minds +of the Triple Alliance, and gave them plenty of food for discussion and +plan-making. On returning to Chatford after the summer holidays, they +discovered that all three were destined to leave at Christmas and +proceed to Ronleigh College, a large school in the neighbourhood, to +which a good number of Mr. Welsby's former pupils had been transferred +after undergoing a preliminary course of education at The Birches. +Letters from these departed heroes, containing disjointed descriptions +of their new surroundings, awakened a feeling of interest in the doings +of the Ronleigh College boys. The records of their big scores at +cricket, or their victories at football, which appeared in local papers, +were always read with admiration; and the name of an old Birchite +appearing in either of the teams was a thing of which every one felt +justly proud. + +"I wish I was going too," said Acton, addressing the three friends; +"but my people are going to send me to a school in Germany. My brother +John is there; he's one of the big chaps, and is captain of the football +team this season. I'm going to get the _Denfordshire Chronicle_ every +week, to see how they get on in the matches." + +Early in October the goal-posts were put up in the field, and the +Birchites commenced their football practice. Mr. Blake was a leading +member of the Chatford Town Club, and although six a side was +comparatively a poor business, yet under his instruction they gained a +good grounding in the rudiments of the "soccer" of the period. The old +system of dribbling and headlong rushes was being abandoned in favour of +the passing game, and forwards were learning to keep their places, and +to play as a whole instead of as individuals. + +"Come here, you fellows," said the master, walking into the playground +one morning, with a piece of paper in his hand; "I've got something to +speak about." + +The boys crowded round, wondering what was up. + +"I've got here a challenge from Horace House to play a match against +them, either on our ground or on theirs. I think it's a pity that you +shouldn't have an opportunity of playing against strangers. Of course +they are bigger and heavier than we are, and we should probably get +licked; but that isn't the question: any sportsman would sooner play a +losing game than no game at all, and it'll be good practice. We always +used to have a match with them every term; but some little time ago +there seemed to be a lack--well, I'll say of good sportsmen among them, +and the meetings had to be abandoned. I've talked the matter over with +Mr. Welsby, and he seems willing to give the thing another trial." + +An excited murmur ran through the crowd. + +"Wait a minute," interrupted the speaker, holding up his hand. +"Mr. Welsby has left it with me to make arrangements for the match, and +I shall only do so on one condition. I know that since the event +happened to which I referred a moment ago a decidedly unfriendly spirit +has existed between you and the boys at Mr. Phillips's. Now an +exhibition of this feeling on a football field would be a disgrace to +the school. You must play like gentlemen, and there must be no +wrangling or disputing. They are agreeable for a master to play on each +side, so I shall act as captain. Anything that has to be said must be +left to me, and I shall see you get fair play. Do you clearly +understand?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Very well, then, I'll write and say we shall be pleased to play them +here on Saturday week." + +The prospect of mooting the Philistines in the open field filled the +mind of every boy with one thought, and the whole establishment went +football mad. It was played in the schoolroom and passages with empty +ink-pots and balls of paper, in the bedrooms with slippers and sponges, +and even in their dreams fellows kicked the bed-clothes off, and woke up +with cries of "Goal!" on their lips. + +Mr. Blake arranged the order of the team, and remarking that they would +need a good defence, put himself and Shaw as full backs. Acton took +centre forward, with Jack Vance on his right, while Diggory was told off +to keep goal. + +At length the eventful morning arrived. Class 2 came utterly to grief +in their work; but Mr. Blake understood the cause, and set the same +lessons over again for Monday. + +It was the first real match most of the players had taken part in, and +as they stood on the ground waiting for their opponents to arrive, every +one was trembling with excitement. The only exception was the +goal-keeper, who leaned with his back against the wall, cracking nuts, +and remarking that he "wished they'd hurry up and not keep us waiting +all day." At length there was a sound of voices in the lane, and +the next moment the enemy entered the field, headed by their +under-master, Mr. Fox. Young Noaks and Hogson pounced down at once upon +the practice ball, and began kicking it about with great energy, +shouting at the top of their voices, and evidently wishing to make an +impression on the spectators before the game began. + +"I say," muttered Jacobs, "they're awfully big." + +"Well, what does that matter?" answered Diggory, cracking another nut +and spitting out the shell. "They aren't going to eat us; and as for +that chap Noaks, he's all noise--look how he muffed that kick." + +Mr. Blake tossed up. "Now, you fellows," he said, coming up to his +followers, "we play towards the road; get to your places, and remember +what I told you." + +With young Noaks as centre forward, Hogson and Bernard on his right and +left, and other big fellows to complete the line of hostile forwards, +the home team seemed to stand no chance against their opponents. +The visitors bowled them over like ninepins, and rushed through their +first line of defence as though it never existed. But Mr. Blake stood +firm, and kept his ground like the English squares at Waterloo. +Attack after attack swept down upon him only to break up like waves on a +rock, and the ball came flying back with a shout of "Now, then! Get +away, Birches!" Twice the Horace House wing men got round Shaw, and put +in good shots; but Diggory saved them both, and was seen a moment later +calmly rewarding himself with another nut. Gradually, as the time +slipped away and no score was made, the Birchites began to realize that +being able to charge wasn't everything, and that their opponents could +do more with their shoulders than with their feet, and soon lost control +of the ball when bothered by the "halves." The play of the home eleven +became bolder--the forwards managed a run or two; and though the +Philistines had certainly the upper hand, yet it soon became obvious to +them that it was no mere "walk over," and that victory would have to be +struggled for. + +Noaks and the two inside forwards evidently did not relish this state of +things; they had expected an easy win, and began to show their +disappointment in the increased roughness of their play. + +At length, just before half-time, a thing happened which very nearly +caused Mr. Blake's followers to break their promise. + +Cross was badly kicked while attempting to take the ball from Hogson, +and had to retire from the game. + +There were some black looks and a murmur of indignation among the home +team, but Mr. Blake hushed it up in a moment. + +"I think," he said pleasantly, "that the play is a trifle rough. Our +men," he added, laughing, "are rather under size." + +Noaks muttered something about not funking; but Mr. Fox said,-- + +"Yes, just so. Come, play the game, boys, and think less about +charging." + +The loss of their right half-back was distinctly felt by the Birchites +during the commencement of the second half, and Diggory was called upon +three times in quick succession to save his charge. He acquitted +himself like a brick, and the last time did a thing which afforded his +side an immense amount of secret satisfaction. He caught the ball in +his hands, and at the same moment Noaks made a fierce rush, meaning +to knock him through the goal. Diggory, with an engaging smile, hopped +on one side, and the Philistine flung himself against the post, and +bumped his head with a violence which might have cracked any ordinary +skull. He came back scowling. A moment later Jack Vance ran into him, +and took the ball from between his feet. Noaks charged viciously, and +in a blind fit of temper deliberately raised his fist and struck the +other player in the face. + +"_Stop!_" + +It was Mr. Blake's voice, and he came striding up the ground looking as +black as thunder. + +"I protest against that deliberate piece of foul play. I have played +against all the chief clubs in the district, and in any of those +matches, if such a thing had happened, this man would have been ordered +off the ground." + +There was a buzz of approval, in which several of the Philistines +joined. + +"You are quite right, Mr. Blake," answered Mr. Fox. "I deeply regret +that the game should have been spoiled by a member of my team.--Noaks," +he added, turning to the culprit, "put on your coat and go home; you +have disgraced yourself and your Comrades. I shall see that you send a +written apology to the boy you struck." + +"Bravo!" whispered Acton; "old Fox is a good sort." + +"Oh, they're most of them all right," answered Morris; "it's only two or +three that are such beasts." + +The game was continued. The loss of one man on each side made the teams +equal in numbers, but the sudden calamity which had overtaken their +centre forward seemed to have exerted a very demoralizing effect on the +Philistines. + +Their attacks were not nearly so spirited, and several times the +Birchite forwards appeared in front of their goal. + +Neither side had scored, and it seemed as though the game would end in a +draw--a result which the home team would have considered highly +satisfactory. + +The umpire looked at his watch, and in answer to a query from Mr. Fox +said, "Five minutes more." + +"Look here, Acton," said Mr. Blake: "let me take your place, and you go +back. Do all you can to stop them if they come." + +The ball was thrown out of touch; Mr. Blake got it, and in a few seconds +the fight was raging in the very mouth of the enemy's goal. Morris put +in a capital shot; but the ball glanced off one of the players, and went +behind. + +"Corner!" cried Mr. Blake. "I'll take it. Now you fellows get it +through somehow or other!" + +"Mark your men, Horace House!" cried Mr. Fox. The next moment every one +was shoving and elbowing with their eyes fixed on the ball as it flew +through the air. It dropped in exactly the right place, and Jack Vance, +by some happy fluke, kicked it just as it touched the ground. Like a +big round shot it whizzed through the posts, and there was a rapturous +yell of "_Goal!_" + +The delight of the Birchites at having beaten their opponents was +unbounded, and when, a short time later, the latter retired with a score +against them of one to nil. Jack Vance was seized by a band of +applauding comrades, who, with his head about a couple of feet lower +than his heels, carried him in triumph across the playground, and +staggered half-way up the steep garden path, when Acton happening to +tread on a loose pebble brought the whole procession to grief, and +caused the noble band of conquering heroes to be seen all grovelling in +a mixed heap upon the gravel. + +But it is not for the simple purpose of recording the victory over +Horace House that a description of the match has been introduced into +our story; and although the important part played by Diggory in +goal and Jack Vance in the "fighting line" caused it to be an occasion +when the Triple Alliance was decidedly in evidence and won fresh +laurels, yet there are other reasons which make an account of it +necessary, as the reader will discover in following the course of +subsequent events. If Jack Vance had kicked the ball a yard over the +bar instead of under it, the probability is that the following chapter +would never have been written; while the public disgrace of young Noaks +was destined to cause our three comrades more trouble than they ever +expected to encounter, at all events on this side of their leaving +school. + +If the result of the match made such a great impression on the minds of +the victors, it is only natural that it should have had a similar effect +on the hearts of their opponents. Most of the Philistines would have +been content to take their defeat as a sportsman should, but neither +Noaks nor his two cronies, Hogson and Bernard, had any of this manly +spirit about them; and smarting under the disappointment of not having +won, and the knowledge that at least one of them had reaped shame and +contempt instead of glory, they determined to seek a speedy revenge. +As the three biggest boys in the school, they had little difficulty in +inducing their companions to join in the crusade which they preached +against The Birches, and the consequence was that the two schools were +soon exchanging open hostilities with greater vigour than ever. + +Now, although the Birchites had proved themselves equal to their +opponents at football, they would have stood no chance against them in +anything like a personal encounter. The other party were, of course, +perfectly well aware of this fact, and waxed bold in consequence. +Again and again, when Mr. Welsby's pupils were at football practice, and +Mr. Blake happened not to be present, the enemy's sharp-shooter crept +into ambush behind the hedge and discharged stones from their catapults +at the legs of the players, while the latter replied by inquiring when +they meant to "come over and take another licking." At other times +these Horace House Cossacks swooped down on single members of the rival +establishment, harrying them in the very streets of Chatford, and on one +occasion had the audacity to lay violent hands on Jacobs, beat his +bowler hat down over his eyes, and push him through the folding doors of +a drapery establishment, where he upset an umbrella-stand and three +chairs, had his ears boxed by the shop-walker, and was threatened with +the police court if ever he did such a thing again! At length it became +positively perilous for the weaker party to go beyond the precincts of +their own citadel except in bodies of three or four together. All kinds +of plans for retaliation were suggested, but still the Philistines +continued to score heavily. At length, about the last week in October, +a thing happened which raised the wrath of the Birchites to +boiling-point. + +Cross having received five shillings from home on the morning of his +birthday, determined to celebrate the occasion by the purchase of a +pork-pie, of which he had previously invited all his companions to +partake. The latter were standing in the playground waiting for his +return from Chatford, when they became conscious of certain "alarms +without;" whoops and war-cries sounded somewhere down Locker's Lane, +and ceased as suddenly as they had begun. The boys stood for some +moments wondering what this could mean, and were just thinking of +starting a fresh game of "catch smugglers," when there came a banging at +the door. It was flung open, and Cross rushed into their midst, +flushed, dishevelled, and empty-handed! + +What words of mine can tell that tale of woe or describe the burst of +indignation which followed its recital? Cross had unwisely decided to +shorten his return journey by risking the dangers of Locker's +Lane. He had been captured by a party of Philistines, who, under the +leadership of Hogson, had not only robbed him of his pie, but had held +him prisoner while they devoured it before his very eyes! + +What this terrible outrage would have excited those who had suffered +this cruel wrong to do in return--whether they would have started off +there and then, burnt Horace House to the ground, and hung its +inhabitants on the surrounding trees--it would be hard to say; as it +was, at this very moment a counter-attraction was forced upon their +attention by Morris, who came shouldering his way into their midst, +saying,-- + +"Look here, you fellows, some one's stolen my watch and chain!" + +It seemed as if a perfect shower of thunderbolts had commenced to +descend from a clear sky upon the devoted heads of Mr. Welsby's pupils. +Every one stared at his neighbour in mute amazement, and only Fred Acton +remained in sufficient possession of his faculties to gasp out,-- + +"_What?_" + +"It's true," continued Morris excitedly. "I didn't change for football +yesterday afternoon, but before going into the field I hung my watch up +on a nail in the shed, and stupidly forgot all about it until I came +to wind it up last night. Then it was too late to fetch it, and now +it's gone!" + +"Look here !" cried Acton, glaring round the group with an unusually +ferocious look, "who knows anything about this? speak up, can't you! +We've had enough of this prigging business, and I'm sick of it!" + +No one attempted to reply. + +"Well," continued the dux, "I'm going straight off to old Welsby to tell +him, and I won't keep the key of that place. Of course it makes me look +as if I were the thief, and I won't stand it any longer." + +The speaker turned on his heel and strode off in the direction of the +house. + +"Oh, I say," muttered Jack Vance, "now there'll be a row!" + +Jack's prophecy was soon fulfilled. The watch and chain could not be +found, and there was but little doubt that they had been stolen. +Mr. Welsby called the boys together, and though he spoke in a calm and +collected manner, with no trace of passion in his voice, yet his words +made them all tremble. Miss Eleanor sat silent at the tea-table, with a +shocked expression on her face; and Mr. Blake, when told of the +occurrence, said sharply, "Well, we'd better have locks put on +everything, and the sooner the better." + +Acton produced his bunch of keys, and insisted that all his possessions +should be searched, and every one else followed his example. The whole +of the next afternoon was spent in a careful examination of desks and +boxes, but with no result beyond the discovery that Mugford owned a cord +waistcoat which he had 'never had the moral courage to wear. + +There is one feature in the administration of justice by an English +court which is unhappily too often overlooked in the lynch law of +schoolboys, and that is the principle that a man shall be considered +innocent until he has been clearly proved guilty. Smarting under a +sense of shame which was entirely unmerited, every boy sought eagerly +for some object on which to vent his indignation; it became necessary, +to use the words of the comic opera, that "a victim should be found," +and suspicion fell on Kennedy and Jacobs. The result of Diggory's trap +seemed to show that the various thefts had been committed at night. +It was agreed that the two occupants of the "Main-top" had special +opportunity for getting out of the house if so minded; every other room +had one or more fellows in it who had suffered the loss of some +property; and lastly, Kennedy was known to possess a pair of hob-nailed +fishing-boots, which he usually kept under his bed. The two boys +indignantly denied the accusation when it was first brought against +them, but the very vehemence with which they protested their innocence +was regarded as "put on," and accepted as an additional proof of their +guilt. The evidence, however, was not thought sufficient to warrant +bringing a charge against them before the head-master, and accordingly +it was decided to send them both to Coventry until some fresh light +should be brought to bear upon the case. + +To do full justice to the memory of Diggory Trevanock, he alone stood +out against this decision, and incurred the wrath both of Acton and Jack +Vance in so doing. He continued to affirm that it must be the man he +had seen in the playground on the occasion of the first meeting of the +supper club; and that the footprint in the dust had been a man's, and +much larger than Kennedy's boot could have produced. + +This outlawing of the "Main-top" and difference of opinion with Diggory +spoiled all chance of games and good fellowship. Even the association +of the Triple Alliance seemed likely to end in an open rupture, and +very possibly might have done so if it had not been for an event which +caused the members to reunite against the common enemy. + +One half-holiday afternoon Mugford and Diggory had gone down to +Chatford. It was nearly dark when they started to come back, and the +latter proposed the short cut by Locker's Lane. + +"I'm not afraid of the Philistines; besides, they won't see us now." + +As they drew near to Horace House, a solitary figure was discovered +standing in the shadow of the brick wall. + +"It's young Noaks," whispered Diggory. "It's too late to turn back, but +most likely he won't notice us in this light if we walk straight on." + +They passed him successfully, and were just opposite the entrance, when +three more boys sauntered through the doorway. A gleam of light from +the house happened to fall on Diggory's cap and broad white collar, and +immediately the shout was raised, "_Birchites!_" + +There was a rush of feet, a wild moment of grabbing and dodging, and +Mugford, who had managed somehow to shake himself free from the grasp of +his assailants, dashed off at full speed down the road. After running +for about two hundred yards, and finding he was not followed, he pulled +up, waited and listened, and then began cautiously to retrace his steps. +There was no sign either of his companion or the enemy; and though he +ventured back as far as the double doors, which were now closed, not a +soul was to be seen. He knew in a moment that his class-mate had been +captured, but all hope of attempting anything in the shape of a rescue +was out of the question. It was impossible for him single-handed to +storm the fortress, and so, after lingering about for some minutes in +the hope that his friend would reappear, he ran home as fast as he +could, and bursting into the schoolroom, where most of his schoolfellows +sat reading round the fire, threw them into a great state of +consternation and dismay by proclaiming in a loud voice the alarming +intelligence that Diggory had been taken prisoner, and was at that +moment in the hands of the Philistines! + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +GUNPOWDER PLOT. + +The news caused a profound sensation, the like of which had probably +never been witnessed at The Birches before--no, not even on that +memorable occasion when the intelligence arrived that Scourer, one of +the past seniors, had ridden his bicycle through the plate-glass window +of Brown's big crockery-shop, and was being brought home on a shutter. + +All the boys threw down their books, and started to their feet. +Acton and Vance banished from their minds all thought of the +disagreement which had lately estranged them from their unfortunate +school-fellow, and joined heartily in the general outburst of wrath and +consternation. + +The thought that Diggory, their well-beloved, was at that very moment +languishing, a prisoner of war, in the hands of the Philistines was +almost unbearable. + +"What will they do with him?"--"Where have they put him?"--"How can we +rescue the fellow?" were questions which everybody was asking, but no +one could answer. It seemed altogether beyond their power to do +anything, and yet there was not a boy who would not have given his +dearest possession, were it a white rat or a stamp collection, if by +parting with it he could have rendered some assistance to his ill-fated +comrade. + +"There's only half an hour before tea," said Vance, looking up at the +clock; "if anything can be done, we must do it at once." + +The precious moments sped away, but in vain did the assembly rack their +brains for some plan of action which might in any way be likely to serve +the purpose they had in view. The first wild suggestion, that they +should go in a body and carry Horace House by storm, was abandoned as +impracticable; in hopeless inactivity they stood watching the long +hand of the clock creep up from six till twelve. + +The first tea-bell had just finished ringing, when there was a sound of +footsteps hurrying along the passage, the door burst open, and in rushed +no other person than Diggory himself! + +"Hullo! how did you get away?"--"What have they been doing?"--"How did +you escape?" + +"Oh, such a lark!" cried the boy. "They'll wish they'd never caught me! +I'll tell you all about it after tea." + +As soon as the meal was over, Diggory was seized, hurried up into the +schoolroom, and there forced to relate his adventures. + +"Well," he began, "they collared me, and dragged me through the gates +and along into their playground. Noaks looked at me and said, 'Hullo, +here's luck! This is the young beggar who tied that rope to the +scrapers; I vote we give him a jolly good licking.' I told them that my +father was a lawyer, and if any of them touched me he'd take a summons +out against them for assault. That frightened Noaks, for you can see +he's a regular coward, so he asked the others what they thought had +better be done with me. + +"'I know,' said Hogson. 'There's an old cow-shed in the field next to +ours; let's shut him in and keep him there till after tea. He'll get a +jolly row for being late when he gets back, and he won't dare to say +where he's been; because I know it's against their rules to come +anywhere near us, and Locker's Lane is out of bounds. If he does tell, +we'll swear he was in the road chucking stones at the windows.' + +"Some one said there was only a staple on the door of the shed, but +Noaks said he'd fetch the padlock off his play-box, and so he did. + +"Well, they took me across their playing field, and over the hedge into +the next, and shut me up in this beastly old hovel. 'It's no use your +making a row,' said Hogson, 'because no one'll hear you; and if you +do, summons or no summons we'll come down and give you a licking.' +After that they left me, and went back to the house; and as soon as +they'd gone, I began to try to find some way of escape, but it was so +dark inside the shed I couldn't see anything. Presently I heard a +knocking on the boards. There was a wide crack between them in one +place, and looking through it I could just make out that there was some +boy standing there with what looked like a dirty apron over his +trousers. I said, 'Hullo!' and he said, 'Hullo! what's up? who are you? +and what have they been a-sticking of you in there for?' + +"I told him, and asked him who he was, and it turned out his name was +Joe Crump, and he's the boy who cleans the knives at Philips's. +He happened to be knocking about when they took me prisoner, and he +couldn't see who it was in the dark, and thought it might be his younger +brother who comes on errands from the grocer's; the Philistines are +always playing tricks on him. + +"I said, 'Look here, Joe Crump, you let me out, there's a good chap.' +But he wouldn't; he was afraid of what young Noaks would do to him. +At last I gave him a shilling through the crack of the boards, and vowed +I wouldn't say who'd done it, and then he undid the door. I fastened +the padlock again, and threw the key into the hedge, for Noaks had left +it in the keyhole; so now he won't be able to get his lock again unless +he either breaks it or the staple, and they're both pretty tough. +After that I got round through two other fields into the lane, and here +I am." + +The conclusion of Diggory's story was hailed with shouts of triumph. +To imagine the disappointment of the Philistines when they discovered +that the bird had flown, and the chagrin of young Noaks when he found +that his play-box padlock was fastened to the door of the shed, was +simply delightful; and Acton was so carried away that he once more fell +on Diggory's neck, and pretended to shed tears of joy upon the latter's +broad turn-down collar. + +"But that's not all," cried the youngster, shaking himself free from his +leader's embrace. "The best is this. I had a bit of a talk with Joe +Crump before I came away, and he says that young Noaks is going to leave +at the end of this term, and he's been telling the Philistines that +before he goes he means to do something that'll pay us out for his being +sent off the field in that football match. Crump doesn't know what he +means to do, but I made him promise, if he finds out, to come and tell +me, and I'll give him another shilling. Then we shall be prepared." + +"I say, Diggy," exclaimed Jack Vance, "you are a _corker!_" and the bell +now commencing to ring for evening preparation, the meeting terminated. + +It was an annual custom at The Birches for the boys to subscribe towards +getting a display of fireworks, which were let off in the playground +under the superintendence of Mr. Blake. The head-master himself gave a +donation towards the fund, and allowed the boys to prepare the next +day's work in the afternoon instead of in the evening. + +This year, however, when Acton went, as usual, to the library to +formally ask permission that the celebration should take place, he met +with a terrible rebuff. + +"No, Acton," answered Mr. Welsby; "as long as the school continues to be +disgraced by these repeated thefts--as, for example, this recent +instance of Morris's watch and chain--I do not feel inclined to allow +the same privileges as before. There will be no fireworks this term." + +As may be imagined, when the dux reported the result of his visit to +head-quarters, the news created great excitement. The unfortunate +occupants of the "Main-top," who were still in the position of +scapegoats, were hunted round the place by an indignant mob, and fled, +vainly protesting their innocence, from one shelter to another, until +they finally escaped from the playing field into the open country, where +they hid behind hedges for the remainder of the afternoon. + +"Look here," exclaimed Jack Vance, as the Triple Alliance were wending +their way from the playground to the house, "there's only one thing to +be done, and that is, we must set Miss Eleanor on old Welsby's track. +She'll make him alter his mind. Some one must go and ask her.--Acton, +you're the man; you must do it!" + +"I'm shot if I do!" answered the dux, turning round to face the trio, +and walking backwards up the path; "why should I go more than any other +fellow?" + +"Why, because you've got such a way with you," returned Diggory. +"She'd be sure to do it for you; why, the last time you spoke to her she +gave you a lump of cake." + +Acton seized the speaker by the neck and shook him like a rat. +"You're the cheekiest little imp I ever came across," he said. "I've a +jolly good mind to give you a good licking, only I don't believe you'd +care tu'pence if I did!" + +"Well, anyhow you've got to go," answered Diggory, calmly picking up his +cap, which had fallen to the ground; "and if you're afraid to go alone +for fear she should think it's another proposal, I'll come with you." + +After some further discussion it was agreed that the thing should be +attempted. The two boys found Miss Eleanor making cake, and the +conference began by Diggory's having his ears boxed for picking plums +out of the dough. But no one ever appealed to Miss Eleanor without +being sure, at all events, of a patient hearing, and the following +morning Mr. Welsby informed the school that he had been led to +reconsider his decision regarding the fifth of November, and that they +might have their display as usual. + +Accordingly, the fireworks were ordered, and arrived soon after +breakfast on the morning of the fourth. Miss Eleanor had a dread of +gunpowder, and Mr. Blake sent Jack Vance to tell Noaks to carry the +box as usual down into the shed. + +"Humph!" growled the man, as the boy gave him the message. "It's a nice +thing that I should have to fetch and carry all your fooling playthings +for you; it's a pity you young gen'lemen can't do something for +yourselves, instead of bothering me." + +"Well, it isn't my orders," answered Jack; "it's Mr. Blake's." + +"Mr. Blake's, is it? All right, I'll do it when I can spare the time." + +When the boys came out at interval, the box was still lying about in the +yard, although there were heavy clouds overhead threatening rain. +Mr. Blake sent for Noaks, and a rather sharp passage of arms took place +between them, which ended in the man's being told to leave what he was +doing and carry the fireworks down to the shed. + +"I believe he left them on purpose, in the hope they'd get wet," said +Shaw. "He hates us all like poison, and I believe it's all because his +son's at the other school. D'you remember what a row he kicked up when +he heard Acton say that the Philistines were cads for shooting at us +with catapults?" + +"Yes," answered Morris; "and if he hates us, he hates Blake a jolly +sight worse. He's been like it ever since that football match; and +he'll get sacked if he doesn't mind, for Blake won't stand his cheek +much longer." + +The purchase of fireworks had this year been more extensive than on any +previous occasion, and every one was looking forward with great +anticipation to the business of the following evening. + +"I say, Diggy," cried Acton at the close of afternoon school, "I wish +you'd run down into the playground and bring up that football flag +that's got to be mended; I left it in the corner by the shed. +I'd go myself, but I want to finish this letter before tea." + +Diggory trotted off to fetch the flag, and Jack Vance, who was loitering +about one of the passages, accompanied him down into the playground. +It was very dark, the stars being hidden by heavy clouds. + +"I say," exclaimed Diggory, "it'll be a splendid night for the fireworks +if it's like this to-morrow. We must get--Hark! what's that?" + +"I didn't hear anything." + +"Yes, there was a sort of a rapping sound. Hush! there it is again." + +Jack heard it this time. "It's some one knocking very gently against +that door leading into Locker's Lane," he whispered. + +They groped their way across the playground until they reached the wall. +There was no mistake about it--some one was gently tapping with his +knuckles on the other side of the door. + +"Who's there?" asked Jack Vance. + +"I want to speak to the young gen'leman who was locked up t'other day in +the cow-shed," was the answer, given in a low voice which Diggory +instantly recognized. + +"I know him," he said; "it's Joe Crump. Here, give me a leg up, and +I'll talk to him over the wall.--All right, Joe; I'm the chap." + +"Well, if you are," answered the voice, "you'll remember you offered me +a bob if I could find out and tell you when somebody was going to do +something." + +"Well, what's the news?" + +"Give me the money first, and then I'll tell you." + +Jack Vance fortunately had the required coin in his pocket, and Diggory +dropped it into Joe Crump's cap. + +"Well, the news is this," said the latter, speaking in the same low +tone--"that there Noaks and Hogson are coming up here to-night just +afore nine o'clock, and they're a-going to drown your fireworks." + +"Drown our fireworks! why, what ever d'you mean? How do they know we've +got any fireworks? and how can they get at them when they're all locked +up?" + +"I can't say," returned Crump, "so it's no use asking me. I only knows +that Noaks is a-going to do it; 'drown 'em all in a bucket of water,' +was what he said. Remember you promised to tell nothink about me, +that's all. Good-night, mister!" + +The stranger vanished in the darkness, and Diggory dropped down from the +wall. + +"Here's a pretty go!" he remarked. "What are we to do? there's no time +to lose. Come on, Jack, let's go and tell Acton." + +The latter was engaged on the closing sentence of his letter; but on +hearing the intelligence which Diggory had to impart, he threw the +unfinished epistle into his desk, and rose to his feet with an +exclamation of astonishment. + +"D'you think it's really true? or is this fellow, Lump or Bump or +whatever you call him, trying to take a rise out of us, or telling lies +to earn the shilling?" + +"I don't think so," answered Diggory, "and I'll tell you why. For some +reason or other, he's at daggers drawn with young Noaks and Hogson. +I think they've knocked him about, and he's doing it to pay them out." + +"But how did they get to know about our fireworks? and how do they +reckon they're going to get them out of the shed? Look here, hadn't we +better tell Blake?" + +"We can't do that," answered Jack Vance, "or it'll get Diggy in a row. +If he says anything about Joe Crump, it'll all come out about his having +been in Locker's Lane when the Philistines caught him, and of course +that's against rules." + +"What time did he say they meant to come?" + +"About a quarter to nine." + +There was a silence which lasted for over a minute; then Diggory spoke. + +"This is what I think we'd better do. If they come at all, they are +certain to be here soon after half-past eight, because I heard Fox +telling Blake on the day of the match that they go to bed at nine. +We won't tell any one, but as soon as 'prep' is over we'll cut down into +the playground, and when they come we'll kick up a row. They'll soon +make tracks if they find they're discovered, and it'll be better than +saying anything to Blake about it, and we shall have defeated them +ourselves." + +"All right," answered Acton. "But it'll look queer if we all three stop +out from supper; two's enough. I'll go for one, and you and Vance toss +up." + +This suggestion was accepted with some reluctance, as both boys were +anxious to take part in the adventure. Acton's word, however, was law, +and eventually Diggory was chosen by fate to be his companion. + +Directly after tea all the boys paid a visit to the shed; the door was +securely locked, as also was the one leading into Locker's Lane, and it +seemed impossible for the Philistines to carry out their evil designs +upon the fireworks. + +"I believe it's all bunkum," said Acton, as they strolled back towards +the house. "However, we'll come down as we said, and just see if +anything happens." + +Three boys, at all events, did very little work that evening, for it was +impossible to concentrate one's mind on Caesar or on French verbs with +such an adventure looming in the near future. How would the Philistines +get at the fireworks? Would they change their minds, and instead of +drowning them apply a slow match and blow up the shed? or would it, +after all, turn out to be only a false alarm, raised by the boy Crump +for the sake of the promised shilling? + +These and other thoughts filled the minds of the trio as they sat +frowning at the books in front of them. The clock seemed to go slower +and slower, until they really began to wonder whether it had stopped. +At length the long hand reached the half-past. Mr. Blake yawned, put +down his paper, and said, "Put away your work, and pass on to supper." + +Acton and Diggory, both tingling with excitement, lingered behind until +the rest had left the room; then, when the coast was clear, they slipped +out into the garden, and hurried down the sloping path. It was +considerably lighter than it had been before tea; the clouds had cleared +away, and there were plenty of stars. + +"Locked," muttered Acton, examining the shed. "Locked," he repeated, +trying the door leading into Locker's Lane. "I don't believe there's +anything in it. They might get over the wall if one gave the other a +leg up, but then how's the last man to get back again?" + +"Well, if there's nothing in it," answered Diggory, "how should Joe +Crump have got to know we had any fireworks in the place? There must-- +Hush! what's that?" + +There was a sound of footsteps coming down the path from the house. +"_Cave!_" cried Acton. "It's Blake; let's hide!" + +Several shrubs growing in the garden and overhanging the boarded +partition threw one corner of the playground into deep shadow. The boys +rushed into the angle, and, crouching down in the inky darkness, were at +once hidden from the view of any one who might advance even to within a +few feet of their hiding-place. + +They had hardly time to conceal themselves, when a man, the outline of +whose figure they could just make out in the gloom, came through the +garden door, and, advancing a few yards, stood still, turning his head +from side to side as though looking to make sure that the quadrangle was +empty. + +"He heard us talking," whispered Acton. + +The new-comer having apparently come to the conclusion that he was +alone, walked slowly across to the shed, halted in front of the door, +and the next moment there was the sound of a key being fitted into the +lock. At that instant Diggory, who had been craning his neck forward to +get a better view of the intruder, suddenly gripped Acton's arm, and, +putting his mouth close to the latter's ear, whispered,-- + +"_It isn't Blake; it's old Noaks!_ Now keep quiet," he added, as his +companion made a movement as though he meant to rush out of their +hiding-place; "let's see what he does." + +"He's the thief who stole all those things!" answered Acton excitedly. +"He must have another key, and he's going to bag something now." + +Noaks (for certainly it was he) disappeared inside the shed; but in a +few seconds he was out again, and once more stood waiting as though +undecided what to do next. + +Before the boys could have counted ten, there was a low whistle in the +lane. + +"They've come," whispered Diggory. "He's got the key of the door, and +is going to let them in." + +His words were speedily verified, and the next moment two more figures +entered the playground, the object of their visit being at once made +evident by the fact that one of them was carrying a bucket. It was too +dark to distinguish their faces, but the short conversation which took +place on their entry soon made them known to the two watchers. + +"Now, then," said old Noaks, "if you're going to do it, just look +sharp." + +"Awful joke, isn't it, dad?" answered one of the new-comers. "Lend us a +hand, and we'll dip 'em all in this bucket and put 'em back again." + +"No, I shan't," returned the man. "I don't know nothink about it. +It's your game, and all I promised was I'd open the door." + +"Well, show us where the box is.--Come on, Hogson; don't make more row +than you can help." + +After a moment's hesitation and some muttered remarks about "that there +Blake" and "them uppish young dogs," Noaks senior led the way across the +gravel, and followed by the two Philistines entered the shed. Hardly +had they crossed the threshold when Diggory started up, kicked off his +slippers, crept swiftly and noiselessly as a shadow across the ground, +and before his companion had time to realize what was happening, the +door of the shed was slammed to and locked on the outside. + +To describe exactly what followed would be well-nigh impossible, as even +the principal actors themselves seemed to have but a confused +recollection of the part they played. Those concerned, however, will +probably never forget Diggory's bursting into the room as they sat +finishing supper, and striking every one dumb with amazement by saying +to Mr. Blake, "Please, sir, some fellows are stealing our fireworks, and +I've locked them up in the shed." And there will still remain in their +minds memories of a wild rush to the playground; of old Noaks being +peremptorily ordered to "clear out," and on attempting to bandy words +with Mr. Blake, being taken by the scruff of the neck and "chucked out;" +of the two Philistines being conducted, under a strong escort, to +Mr. Welsby's study; of a polite note being dispatched by the latter to +Mr. Philips; and of the unmitigated delight of the Birchites when Hogson +and Noaks junior were delivered over into the hands of Mr. Fox, +and marched off by that gentleman to take their trial at Horace House. +Every one was in high spirits. Acton and Diggory were made to tell +their story over twenty times. Kennedy and Jacobs were at once declared +innocent, and instead of being looked upon as outcasts, came to be +regarded as martyrs who had suffered in a good cause. Old Noaks was +clearly the culprit. He volunteered no explanation as regarded his +possession of a duplicate key to the shed door, and though no attempt +was made to bring the charge home against him, there was little doubt as +to his guilt, and he was dismissed the next morning. + +The firework display came off the following evening, and was a great +success. Every rocket or Roman candle that shot into the air seemed to +attest the final triumph of the Birchites over the Philistines, and +was cheered accordingly. I say final triumph, for the removal of young +Noaks and Hogson from the rival school caused a great change for the +better among the ranks of Horace House. The old feud died out, giving +place to a far better spirit, which was manifested each term in the +friendly manner in which the teams met for matches at cricket and +football. + +This sounds very much like the end of a story; but it is not, and for a +connecting-link to join this chapter to those that follow, we will go +forward for one moment into the future. + +Nearly a year later Diggory and Jack Vance were sauntering arm in arm +across one of the fives-courts at Ronleigh College. + +"D'you remember," remarked the former, "how, that night we caught the +Philistines bagging our fireworks, you said, 'Well, I should think now +we've just about finished with young Noaks'?" + +"Did I?" answered Jack, shrugging his shoulders. "My eye, I ought to +have said we'd just begun!" + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +RONLEIGH COLLEGE. + +The first two or three weeks of a new boy's life at a big school are, as +a rule, a dull and uneventful period, which does not furnish many +incidents that are of sufficient interest to be worth recording. + +The Triple Alliance passed through the principal entrance to Ronleigh +College one afternoon towards the end of January, with no flourish of +trumpets or beat of drums to announce the fact of their arrival to their +one hundred and eighty odd schoolfellows. They were simply "new kids." +But though, after the fame they had won at The Birches, it was rather +humiliating at first to find themselves regarded as three nobodies, yet +there was some compensation in the thought that, just as the smallest +drummer-boy can point to a flag covered with "honours," and say +"My regiment," so, in looking round at the many things of which +Ronleians past and present had just reason to be proud, they could claim +it as "our school," and feel that they themselves formed a part, however +small and insignificant, of the institution. + +The crowd of boys, and the maze of passages, rooms, and staircases, were +very confusing after the quiet, old-fashioned house at Chatford; but +though in this world there is no lack either of lame dogs or of stiles, +there is also a good supply of kindly-disposed persons who are ever +ready to help the former over the latter, and our three friends were +fortunate enough to fall in with one of these philanthropic individuals +soon after their arrival. + +The stranger, who was a youngster of about their own age, with a +pleasant, good-natured-looking face, patted Diggory on the back in a +fatherly manner, and addressing the group said,-- + +"Well, my boys, we're a large family at Ronleigh, but fresh additions +are always welcome. How did you leave them all at home? Quite well, +I hope? Um, ah! Just so. That's what Dr. Denson always says," +continued the speaker, without waiting for any reply to his numerous +questions. "You'll have to go and see him after tea. My name's Carton; +what's yours?" + +The three comrades introduced themselves. + +"What bedroom are you in?" + +"Number 16." + +"Then you're in the same one as I and young Hart. Come for a stroll, +and I'll show you round the place." + +With Carton acting as conductor, the party set out on a tour of +inspection. It was some time before the new-comers could find their way +about alone without turning down wrong passages, or encroaching on +forbidden ground, and getting shouted at by irate seniors, and ordered +to "Come out of that!" But by the time they had finished their round, +and the clanging of a big bell summoned them to assemble in the +dining-hall for tea, they had been able to form a general idea as to the +geography of Ronleigh College, and a brief account of their discoveries +will be of interest to the reader. + +Passing through the central archway in the block of buildings which +faced the road, the boys found themselves in a large gravelled +quadrangle surrounded on all sides by high walls, broken by what +appeared at first sight to be an almost countless number of windows, +while the red brick was relieved in many places by a thick growth of +ivy. + +"That's the gymnasium on the left," said Carton, "and above it are +studies; and that row of big windows on the right, with the coloured +glass in the top, is the big schoolroom." + +Crossing the gravel they passed through another archway, in which were +two folding-doors, and emerged upon an open space covered with asphalt, +upon which stood a giant-stride and two double fives-courts. + +This formed but a small corner of a large level field, in which a number +of boys were to be seen wandering about arm in arm, or standing chatting +together in small groups, pausing every now and then in their +conversation to give chase to a football which was being kicked about in +an aimless fashion by a number of their more energetic companions. + +"The goal-posts aren't up yet," said Carton, "and this is only what's +called the junior field; the one beyond is where the big fellows play. +The pavilion is over the hedge there, with the flagstaff by the side +of it. That's the match ground, and there's room for another game +besides." + +"Where do all the fellows go when they aren't out of doors?" asked +Diggory. + +"Well, the Sixth all have studies; then comes Remove, and those chaps +have a room to themselves; all the rest have desks in the big school, +and you hang about there, though of course, if you like, there's the +gymnasium, or the box-room--that's where a lot of fellows spend most of +their time." + +"What sort of a place is that?" + +"Oh, it's where the play-boxes are kept. Come along; we'll go there +next." + +They passed once more through the double doors, and were crossing the +quadrangle, when a certain incident attracted their notice, unimportant +in itself, but indicating a strong contrast in the manner of life at +Ronleigh to what they had always been accustomed to at The Birches. +A youngster was tearing up a piece of paper and scattering the fragments +about on the gravel. + +"Hi, you there!" cried a voice; "pick that up. What d'you mean by +making that mess here?" + +The small boy grabbed up the bits of paper, stuffed them in his pocket, +and hurried away towards the schoolroom. + +"Is that one of the masters?" asked Mugford. + +"No," answered Carton, "that's Oaks; he's one of the prefects. +Don't you see he's got a blue tassel to his mortar-board?" + +"But what's a prefect?" + +"Whew!" laughed the other, "you'll soon find out if you play the fool, +and don't mind what you're about. Why, there are fourteen of them, all +fellows in the Sixth, and they keep order and give you lines, and all +that sort of thing." + +"Why, I thought it was only masters did that," said Jack Vance. + +"Well, you'll find the prefects do it here," answered Carton; "and when +they tell you to do a thing, I'd advise you to look alive and do it, for +they don't reckon to speak twice." + +The evening passed quickly enough. After tea came an interview with the +head-master in his study, and then what was perhaps a still more trying +ordeal--a long spell of sitting in the big schoolroom answering an +incessant fire of questions such as, "What's your name?"--"Where d'you +come from?" etc., etc. + +At length the signal was given for passing on to bed, and the Triple +Alliance were not sorry to gain the shelter of No. 16 dormitory. + +The room contained seven other beds besides their own, two of which were +as yet still vacant, waiting the arrival of boys who had not turned up +on the first day. The remainder were occupied by a couple of other +new-comers, and three oldsters, Carton, Hart, and Bayley. + +It was very different from the cosy little bedrooms at The Birches; but +the three friends were glad to be allowed to undress in peace and quiet, +and had scrambled safely into bed some time before the prefect put in an +appearance to turn out the light. + +"I tell you what," said Hart, a few moments later: "you new kids may +think yourselves lucky that you're in a quiet room for a start. I know +when I came first there used to be christenings and all kinds of +humbug." + +"What was that?" asked Diggory. + +"Why, fellows used always to christen you with a nickname: they stuck +your head in a basin and poured water over you, and if you struggled you +got it all down your back." + +"Yes," continued Carton, "and they hid your clothes, and had bull-fights +and all sorts of foolery. That was in _Nineteen_: old 'Thirsty' was the +prefect for that passage, and he doesn't care tu'pence what fellows do. +But Allingford's put a stop to almost all that kind of thing: he's +captain of the school, and he's always awfully down on anything of that +sort." + +By the time breakfast was over on the following morning, Diggory and his +two companions were beginning to recover a little from their first state +of bewilderment amid their strange surroundings. They donned the school +cap of black flannel, with the crest worked in silk upon the front, and +went out to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine in the playground. + +It was a bright, frosty day, and the whole place seemed full of life and +activity. There was plenty to engage their attention, and much that was +new and singular after their comparatively quiet playground at The +Birches. But whatever there was to awaken their interest out of doors, +a thing was destined to happen during their first morning school which +would be a still greater surprise than anything they had yet encountered +during their short residence at Ronleigh. + +At nine o'clock the clanging of the big bell summoned them to the +general assembly in the big schoolroom. They took their places at a +back desk pointed out to them by the master on duty, and sat watching +the stream of boys that poured in through the open doors, wondering how +long it would take them to become acquainted with the names of such a +multitude. + +The forms passed on in their usual order, and the new boys were +conducted to a vacant classroom, where they received a set of +examination papers which were intended to test the amount of their +knowledge, and determine the position in which they were to start work +on the following day. + +Jack Vance, Diggory, and Mugford sat together at the first desk, just in +front of the master's table, and were soon busy in proving their +previous acquaintance with the Latin grammar. Presently the door +opened, and a voice, which they at once recognized as Dr. Denson's, +said, "Mr. Ellesby, may I trouble you to step here for a moment?" +None of the trio raised their eyes from their work. There was a +muttered conversation in the passage, and then the door was once more +closed. + +The master returned to his desk, dipped his pen in the ink, and +addressing some one at the back of the room, inquired,-- + +"What did Dr. Denson say your name was?" + +"Noaks, sir." + +The Triple Alliance gave a simultaneous start as though they had +received an electric shock, and their heads turned round like three +weathercocks. + +There, sure enough, at the back desk of all, sat the late leader of the +Philistines, with a rather sheepish expression on his face, somewhat +similar to the one it had worn when the marauders from Horace House had +been ushered into Mr. Welsby's study. + +Jack Vance looked at Mugford, and Mugford looked at Diggory. "Well, I'm +jiggered!" whispered the latter, and once more returned to his +examination paper. + +At eleven o'clock there was a quarter of an hour's interval. Being +still, as it were, strangers in a strange land, the three friends kept +pretty close together. They were walking arm in arm about the +quadrangle, giving expression to their astonishment at this latest +arrival at Ronleigh, when Diggory suddenly exclaimed, "Look out! here +he comes!" + +After so many encounters of a decidedly hostile nature, it was difficult +to meet their old enemy on neutral ground without some feeling of +embarrassment. Young Noaks, however, walked up cool as a cucumber, and +holding out his hand said,-- + +"Hullo, you fellows, who'd have thought of seeing you here! How are +you?" + +The three boys returned the salutation in a manner which, to say the +least, was not very cordial, and made some attempt to pass on their way; +but the new-comer refused to see that he was not wanted, and insisted on +taking Mugford's arm and accompanying them on their stroll. + +"I say," he continued, addressing Jack Vance, "were you at Todderton +these holidays? I don't think I saw you once." + +"The last time I saw you," returned Jack, in rather a bitter tone, "was +when you came to spoil our fireworks, and we collared you in the shed." + +Noaks clinched his fist, and for a moment his brow darkened; the next +instant, however, he laughed as though the recollection of the incident +afforded him an immense amount of amusement. + +"Ha, ha! Yes, awful joke that, wasn't it? almost as good as the time +when that fool of a master of yours, Lake, or Blake, or whatever you +call him, had me sent off the field so that you could win the match." + +"It was no such thing," answered Jack. "You know very well why it was +Blake interfered; and he's not a fool, but a jolly good sort." + +"Oh, don't get angry," returned the other. "I'm sure I shouldn't fly +into a wax if you called Fox or old Phillips a fool. I got sick of that +beastly little school, as I expect you did of yours, and so I made my +uncle send me here.--Hullo! I suppose that's the bell for going back to +work; see you again later on." + +"I say," whispered Diggory, as soon as they had regained their seat in +the examination-room, "I vote we give that chap the cold shoulder." + +The following morning the three friends heard their names read out as +forming part of the Third Form, to which their friend Carton already +belonged. Young Noaks was placed in the Upper Fourth, and they were +not destined therefore to have him as a class-mate. + +The Third Form at Ronleigh had, for some reason or other, received the +title of "The Happy Family." They certainly were an amusing lot of +little animals, and Diggory and his companions coming into the classroom +rather late, and before the entrance of the master, saw them for the +first time to full advantage. Out of the two-and-twenty juveniles +present, only about six seemed to be in their proper places. + +One young gentleman sitting close to the blackboard cried, "Powder, +sir!" and straightway scrubbed his neighbour's face with a very chalky +duster. The latter, by way of retaliation, smote the former's pile +of books from the desk on to the ground--a little attention which was +immediately returned by boy number one; while as they bent down to pick +up their scattered possessions, a third party, sitting on the form +behind, made playful attempts to tread upon their fingers. Two rival +factions in the rear of the room were waging war with paper darts; while +a small, sandy-haired boy, whose tangled hair and disordered attire gave +him the appearance, as the saying goes, of having been dragged through a +furze-bush backwards, rapped vigorously with his knuckles upon the +master's table, and inquired loudly how many more times he was to say +"Silence!" + +The entrance of the three new-comers caused a false alarm, and in a +moment every one was in his proper seat. + +"Bother it!" cried the small, sandy-haired boy, who had bumped his knee +rushing from the table to his place; "why didn't you make more noise +when you came in?" + +"But I thought you were asking for silence," answered Diggory. + +"Shut up, and don't answer back when you are spoken to by a prefect," +retorted the small boy. "Look here, you haven't written your name on +Watford's slate.--They must, mustn't they, Maxton?" he added, turning to +a boy who sat at the end of one of the back seats. + +"Of course they must," answered Maxton, who, with both elbows on the +desk, was blowing subdued railway whistles through his hands; "every new +fellow has to write his name on that little slate on Mr. Watford's +table, and he enters them from there into his mark-book. I'm head boy, +and I've got to see you do it. Look sharp, or he'll be here in a +minute, and there'll be a row." + +Diggory, Vance, and Mugford hastily signed their names, one under the +other, upon the slate. There was a good deal of tittering while they +did so; but as a new boy is laughed at for nearly everything he does, +they took no notice of it, and had hardly got back to their places when +the master entered the room, and the work began in earnest. + +About a quarter of an hour later the boys were busy with a Latin +exercise, when silence was broken by a shuffle and an exclamation from +the back desk. "You again, Maxton," said the master, looking up +with a frown. "I suppose you are determined to idle away your time and +remain bottom of the class this term as you were last. I shall put your +name down for some extra work. Let's see," he continued, taking up the +slate: "I appear to have three boys' names down already--'Vance,' +'Mugford,' and 'Trevanock.' What's the meaning of this? This is not +my writing. How came these names here?" + +"Please, sir," faltered Mugford, "we put them there ourselves." + +"Put them there yourselves! What d'you want to put your names down on +my punishment slate for? I suppose some one told you to, didn't they?" + +"Please, sir," answered Diggory warily, "we thought we had to, so that +you might have our names to enter in your mark-book." + +There was a burst of laughter, but that answer went a long way towards +setting the Alliance on a good footing with their class-mates. + +"That young Trevanock's the right sort," said Maxton, "and so are the +others. I thought they'd sneak about that slate, but they didn't." + +Mr. Noaks, junior, on the other hand, was destined to find that he was +not going to carry everything before him at Ronleigh as he had done +among the small fry at Horace House, The Upper Fourth voted him a +"bounder," and nicknamed him "Moke." After morning school he repeated +his attempt to ally himself with his former foes, but the result was +decidedly unsatisfactory. + +Down in the box-room, a good-sized apartment boarded off from the +gymnasium, Jack Vance was serving out a ration of plum-cake to a select +party, consisting of his two chums and Carton, when the ex-Philistine +strolled up and joined himself to the group. + +"Hullo!" he said, "are you chaps having a feed? D'you remember that +pork-pie we bagged from one of your kids at Chatford? Ha, ha! it was a +lark." + +"I don't see it's much of a lark to bag what doesn't belong to you," +muttered Diggory. + +"What's that you say?" + +"Nothing for you to hear," returned the other. "I don't know if you're +waiting about here to get some cake, but I'm sure I never invited you to +come." + +"Look here, don't be cheeky," answered Noaks. "If you think I want to +make friends with a lot of impudent young monkeys like you, all I can +say is you're jolly well mistaken," and so saying he turned on his heel +and walked away. + +"I say, Trevanock," said Carton, two days later, "that fellow Noaks has +found a friend at last: he's picked up with Mouler. They'll make a nice +pair, I should say. Mouler was nearly expelled last term for telling +lies to Ellesby about some cribs." + +Noaks certainly seemed to have discovered a chum in the black sheep of +the Upper Fourth, and the Triple Alliance began to congratulate +themselves that he would trouble them no further. In a big school +like Ronleigh College there was plenty of room for everybody to go his +own way without fear of running his head into people whom he wished to +avoid. Our three friends, however, seemed fated to find in the person +of Noaks junior a perpetual stumbling-block and cause of disquietude and +annoyance. They had no sooner succeeded in setting him at a distance +when an incident occurred which brought them once more into violent +collision with the enemy. + +The pavilion, which has already been mentioned as standing on the match +ground, was a handsome wooden structure, surrounded by some low palings, +in front of which was a small oblong patch of gravel. On the second +Saturday morning of the term Noaks and Mouler were lounging across this +open space, when Oaks, the prefect, emerged from the pavilion, carrying +in his hand a pot of paint he had been mixing for the goal-posts, which +were just being put up. On reaching the paling he suddenly ejaculated, +"Bother! I've forgotten the brush;" and resting the can on the top of +the little gate-post, hurried back up the short flight of steps, and +disappeared through the open door. + +"I say, there's a good cock-shy," said Noaks, nodding his head in the +direction of the paint. + +"Umph! shouldn't like to try," answered Mouler. + +"Why not?" + +"Because Oaks would jolly well punch both our heads." + +"Well, here's a new kid coming; let's set him on to do it. You speak to +him; he knows me. His name's Mugford." + +The two cronies both picked up a handful of stones, and began throwing +at the can, taking good care that their shots should fly wide of the +mark. + +Mugford, who, as we have already seen, was not blessed with the sharpest +of wits, paused for a moment to watch the contest. The paint had been +mixed in an old fruit-tin, and at first sight it certainly seemed to +have been put on the post for the sole purpose of being knocked off +again. + +"Hullo, you new kid!" exclaimed Mouler. "Look here, we want a chap for +the third eleven next season--a fellow who can throw straight. Come +along, and let's see if you can hit that old can." + +It certainly looked easy enough, and Mugford, pleased at being taken +some notice of by a boy in the Upper Fourth, picked up some pebbles, and +joined in the bombardment. The second shot brought the tin down with a +great clatter, and a flood of white paint spread all over the trim +little pathway. At the same instant Oaks dashed down the steps boiling +with rage. + +"Confound you!" he cried; "who did that ?" + +"I did," answered Mugford, half crying; "I thought it was empty." + +"Thought it was empty! why didn't you look, you young blockhead?" cried +the prefect, catching the small boy by the arm, while Noaks and Mouler +burst into a roar of laughter. + +Things would probably have gone hard with the unfortunate Mugford if at +that moment a fifth party had not arrived on the scene. The new-comer, +who, from the show of whisker at the side of his face and the tone of +authority in which he spoke, seemed to be one of the masters, was tall +and muscular, with the bronze of a season's cricketing still upon his +cheeks and neck. + +"Stop a minute, Oaks," he said. "I happened to see this little game; +let's hear what the kid's got to say for himself." + +In faltering tones Mugford told his story. Without a word the stranger +stepped up to Mouler and dealt him a sounding box on the ear. + +"There!" he said, "take that for your trouble; and now cut off down town +and buy a fresh pot of paint out of your own pocket, and do it jolly +quick, too.--As for you," he added, turning to Noaks, "get a spade out +of that place under the pavilion and clean up this path. If you weren't +a new fellow I'd serve you the same. Look out in future." + +"And you look out too," muttered Noaks, glancing at Mugford with a +fierce expression on his face as the two seniors moved off, "you beastly +young sneak. The first chance I get I'll give you the best licking +you ever had in your life." + +"Old Mug is rather a fool," remarked Jack Vance to Diggory a few hours +later; "he ought to have seen through that. But we must stand by him +because of the Triple Alliance. Noaks is sure to try to set on him the +first chance he gets." + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "look out for squalls." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +THIRD FORM ORATORY. + +At the end of the first fortnight our three friends had begun to find +their feet at Ronleigh, and the sense of being "outsiders" in everything +was gradually wearing off as they grew more intimate with their +schoolfellows. + +Jack Vance and Diggory soon became popular members of "The Happy +Family," and their loyalty to Mugford caused the latter's path to be +much smoother than it probably would have been had he been compelled to +tread it alone. + +Carton turned out a capital fellow; Rathson, the small, sandy-haired boy +mentioned in the previous chapter, and who generally went by the name of +"Rats," took a great fancy to Jack; while Maxton repeated his assertion +that young Trevanock was "the right sort," and as a further mark of his +favour presented the new-comer with a moleskin of his own curing, which +looked very nice, but, as "Rats" put it, "smelt rather fruity." + +But it was not in the Third Form only that Diggory began to find +friends; for by a lucky chance he was fortunate enough to make a good +impression on the minds of the great men, who, as a rule, took no +further notice of the small fry than to exact from them a certain amount +of obedience, or in default a certain number of lines or other "impots." + +One morning, soon after breakfast, a little group was gathered round +Carton's desk in the big school-room, discussing the value of some +foreign stamps, when a small boy came up to them, saying,-- + +"Is Trevanock here? Well, Acton wants you now at once in his study." + +"Hullo," said Carton, looking up from the sheet of specimens in front of +him--"hullo, Diggy! What have you been up to?" + +"I haven't been doing anything," answered the other. "What do you think +he wants me for?" + +"I don't know, but it sounds rather like getting a licking. At all +events, you'd better hurry up; prefects don't thank you for keeping them +waiting. His is the third door on the right as you go down the +passage." + +Diggory hastened to obey the summons, wondering what it could mean. +He found the door, and in answer to the loud "Come in!" which greeted +his knock turned the handle, and found himself for the first time inside +one of the Sixth Form studies. + +It was a small, square room, and looked very cosy and comfortable with +its red window-curtains, well-filled bookshelf, and many little +knick-knacks that adorned the walls and mantelpiece. An array of silver +cups, several photographs of cricket and football teams, and a +miscellaneous pile of bats, fencing-sticks, Indian clubs, etc., standing +in one corner, all spoke of the athlete; while carelessly thrown down +on the top of a cupboard was an article for the possession of which many +a, boy would have bartered the whole of his worldly wealth--a bit of +worn blue velvet and the tarnished remnant of what had once been a gold +tassel--the "footer cap" of Ronleigh College. + +But it was not so much the furniture as the occupants of the study that +attracted Diggory's attention. John Acton, a tall, wiry fellow, who +looked as though his whole body was as hard and tough as whip-cord, was +standing leaning on the end of the mantelpiece talking to another of the +seniors, who sat sprawling in a folding-chair on the other side of the +fire; while seated at the table, turning over the leaves of what +appeared to be a big manuscript book, was no less a personage than +Allingford, the school captain. + +"I don't understand a bit what's coming to 'Thirsty,'" the football +leader was saying. "I was rather chummy with him when we were in the +Fifth, and he was all right then, but now he seems to be running to seed +as fast as he can; and I believe it's a great deal that fellow +Fletcher.--Hullo, youngster! what d'you want?" + +"I was told you wanted to see me," said Diggory nervously. + +"Oh yes. You were at The Birches, that school near Chatford, weren't +you? Well, I want to hear about that love affair my young brother had +with the old chap's daughter.--It was an awful joke," added the speaker, +addressing his companions. "He was about fourteen, and she's a grown-up +woman; and he was awfully gone, I can tell you.--How did he pop the +question?" + +"He wrote," answered Diggory. "We tossed up whether he should do that +or speak." + +There was a burst of laughter. + +"Did you see the letter?" + +"Yes." + +"What did he say?" + +"I can't tell you." + +"Why not? don't you remember?" + +"Yes; but he only showed me the letter on condition I wouldn't ever tell +any one what was in it." + +"Oh, that's all rot! you can tell me; I'm his brother. Come, out with +it." + +It was an awful thing to beard the lion in his den--for a new boy to +face so great a personage as the football captain, and refuse +point-blank to do as he was told. Diggory shifted uneasily from one +foot to another, and then glancing up he became aware of the fact that +Allingford was gazing at him across the table with a curious expression, +which somehow gave him fresh encouragement to persist in his refusal to +disclose the contents of his former friend's love-letter. + +"I can't tell you," he repeated; "it was a promise, you know." + +The Ronleigh captain laughed. "Well done," he said. "I wish some other +fellows were a bit more careful to keep their promises.--Acton, you +beggar, you swore you'd keep up this register for me, and there's +nothing entered for last term." + +"Oh, bother you, Ally!" exclaimed the other; "what a nigger-driver you +are!--Hullo, there's the bell!--Here, kid, stick those two oranges in +your pocket; go 'long!" + +Diggory left the room, having gained something else besides the two +oranges; for as he closed the door Allingford laughed again, and rising +from his chair said, "He's a stanch little beggar; I think I'll keep +an eye on him." + +The subject of this remark hurried away, and had just joined the crowd +of boys who were thronging into the big school for assembly, when some +one took hold of his arm, and glancing round he was startled to see Jack +Vance, looking very excited and dishevelled, and mopping his mouth with +a blood-stained handkerchief. + +"I say," exclaimed the latter, "have you seen Mugford?" + +"No. What's the matter? what have you done to your mouth?" + +"Why, I've had a beastly row with Noaks. I'll 'tell you after school." + +"No, tell me now," cried Diggory, pulling his companion aside into a +corner by the door. "Quick--what was it?" + +"Why, he pounced down on Mugford, out there by the fives-court, and +began twisting his arm and saying he'd pay him out for that paint-pot +business. I went to the rescue, and the beast hit me with the +back of his hand here on the mouth. I told him he was a cad, and said +something about his father being only a man-servant, and having stolen +our things. I'm sorry now, for it was rather a low thing to do, but I +was in such a wax I didn't think what I was saying. Mouler was standing +by, and he heard it, and laughed; and Noaks looked as if he'd have +killed me. I believe he would have knocked me down, only Rowlands, the +prefect, came up and stopped the row." + +There was no time for any further details, and the two boys had to rush +away to their seats in order to escape being marked as late. + +One thing was certain--that the Triple Alliance were once more embroiled +in a quarrel with their ancient foe the former leader of the +Philistines, and they knew enough of their adversary's character to +feel sure that he would not pass over an event of this kind without some +attempt at revenge. + +It is probable that, if this had happened at Horace House, Jack Vance +would have received a good licking as soon as the classes were +dismissed; but a few very plain and forcible words spoken by Rowlands +on the subject of knocking small boys about caused Noaks to postpone his +retaliation. + +"Look here," he said, meeting Jack Vance in the quadrangle during the +interval: "just you keep your mouth shut about me and my father. +I've got two or three accounts to settle with you chaps already; just +mind what you're up to." He clinched his fist as though about to +strike, then, with an ugly scowl, turned on his heel and walked away. + +It must have been about three days after this encounter with Noaks that +our three friends were called upon to attend a mass meeting of the Third +Form, to consider the advisability of starting a periodical in +opposition to the school magazine. Important events connected with a +later period of their life at Ronleigh render it necessary that we +should not linger too long over the account of their first term; but +some mention, however brief, should certainly be made of the memorable +gathering to which we have referred. A notice pinned on to the +black-board, and pulled down as soon as Mr. Watford entered the +classroom, announced the project in the following words:-- + + "NOTICE." + "A meeting will be held in the 'old lab' directly + after dinner to-day, to make plans for starting a + magazine in opposition to _The Ronleian_. + All members of the Third Form are specially requested + to attend." + + "FLETCHER II." + "J. A. BIBBS." + +"You must come," said "Rats" to Diggory; "it'll be an awful lark." + +"But what's it all about?" + +"Oh, you'll hear when you get there. It's Fletcher's idea; he wants to +start a new magazine. Eastfield, who edits _The Ronleian_, is Maxton's +cousin; so Maxton's going to interrupt and get some other fellows to do +the same. I'm going to be part of the opposition," added the youthful +"Rats," beaming with delight, "and I have got a whole heap of paper bags +I'm going to burst while Fletcher's speaking." + +The "old lab," as it was called, was a small brick building which stood +on one side of the asphalt playground. A new laboratory having recently +been fitted up elsewhere, the former one was, for the time being, +unused. It was not more than about fifteen feet long by seven or eight +feet wide; and as "The Happy Family" mustered in force, the place was +crowded to overflowing. The door having been closed, Fletcher Two +mounted a low stone sink which ran along the end wall, and from this +ready-made platform commenced to address the assembly :-- + +"Gentlemen,--We've met here, as you know, to talk over starting a fresh +magazine. _The Ronleian_ is a beastly swindle, and it's high time we +had something different." (A voice, "No, 'tisn't," and the bursting of +a paper bag.) "You shut up there! I say it is a swindle: they didn't +give any account of that fourth eleven match against Robertson's second, +and they made fun of us in the 'Quad Gossip,' and said that in +'The Happy Family' there was a preponderance of monkey." ("So there is, +and you're it!" Laughter and another explosion.) + +"What I propose is that we start a manuscript magazine for the Third +Form, and that every fellow promise to take that, and never to buy a +copy of the other. We might pass it round, and charge a penny each to +look at it. Will you all subscribe?" + +No one spoke, the silence only being broken by the sound of "Rats" +blowing up another bag, which caused a fresh burst of laughter. + +"Will you all subscribe?" once more demanded the speaker. + +There were mingled cries of "Yes!" and "No!" and a stentorian yell of +"No, you cuckoo! of course we won't," from Maxton, and another +explosion. + +"Look here, young 'Rats,' if you burst any more of those bags I'll come +down and burst your head.--I forgot to say, gentlemen, that Mr. Bibbs +has promised to assist in editing the paper; and I will now call upon +him to give you an account of what it will contain." + +Bibbs, the Third Form genius, was regarded by every one as a huge joke, +and the very mention of his name caused a fresh burst of merriment. +He was a sad-faced, untidy-looking boy, quick and clever enough in some +things, and equally dull and stupid in others. The announcement that he +would address the meeting had no sooner been made than half a dozen +willing pairs of hands seized and hoisted him on to the platform; though +no sooner had he attained this exalted position than two or three voices +ordered him in a peremptory manner to "Come down!" + +The greater part of the audience not caring the toss of a button whether +Fletcher started his magazine or not, but thinking that it was rather +good fun to interrupt the proceedings, now joined the opposition, and +the unfortunate Bibbs was subjected to a brisk fire of chaff. +One facetious class-mate, standing close to the sink, offered to sell +him by auction; and hammering on the stones with the fragment of a bat +handle, knocked him down for threepence to another joker, who said he'd +do for a pen-wiper. + +"Sing a song, Bibbs!" cried one voice; "Where's your neck-tie?" asked +another; "What are you grinning at?" demanded a third; while the object +of these pleasantries stood, with a vacant smile upon his face, +nervously fumbling with his watch-chain. + +"Go on!" cried Fletcher, who had descended from the platform to make +room for his colleague; "say something, you fool!" + +"The magazine is to be written on exercise-book paper," began Bibbs, and +had only got thus far when he was interrupted by a perfect salvo of +paper bags which little "Rats" discharged in quick succession. + +With an exclamation of wrath Fletcher made a dive in the direction of +the offender, and in a moment the whole gathering was in a state of +confusion. The majority of those present siding with "Rats," began to +hustle Fletcher, while two gentlemen having dragged Bibbs from his +perch, jumped up in his stead, and began to execute a clog-dance. + +In the midst of this commotion Maxton elbowed his way through the crush, +and having pushed the two boys off the sink, mounted it himself, +crying,-- + +"Look here, I'm going to speak; just you listen a minute. The reason +why Bibbs wants to start a new magazine is because he wrote a novel +once, and sent it to _The Ronleian_ to come out so much each month, +and they wouldn't have it." + +"Shut up, Maxton!" cried Fletcher, rushing to the spot; "you've only +come here on purpose to interrupt. Let's turn him out!" + +"Yes, turn him out!" echoed the audience, who by this time were just in +the spirit for "ragging," and would have ejected friend or foe alike for +the sport of the thing--"turn him out!" + +The two clog-dancers being quite ready to avenge the interruption of +their performance, formed themselves into a storming-party, and carried +the platform by assault. Maxton, struggling all the way, was dragged to +the door, and cast out into the playground. Most of the restless +spirits in the audience requiring a short breathing-space to recover +their wind after the tussle, there followed a few moments' quiet, which +Fletcher immediately took advantage of to mount the sink and resume the +business of the meeting. + +"The magazine," he began, "is going to be written on exercise-book +paper. Any one who likes can contribute, and it's going to be more +especially a paper for the Third Form." + +The speaker went on to show that the periodical was destined to supply a +long-felt want. _The Ronleian_ ignored the doings of boys in the lower +half of the school, and returned their contributions with insulting +suggestions, pencilled on the margins, that the authors should devote +some of their spare time and energy to the study of their English +grammars and spelling-books. _The Third Form Chronicle_, as it was to +be called, would recognize the fact that junior boys had as much right +to be heard as seniors, and would afford them the opportunity of airing +their views on any subject they chose to bring forward. + +Fletcher had barely time to proceed thus far with his speech when an +alarming interruption occurred, which put an immediate stop to his +further utterance. Nearly at the top of the end wall there had formerly +been a ventilator; this, for one reason or another, had been removed, +and in the brickwork an open space about a foot square had been left. +A hissing noise was suddenly heard outside, and the next moment a stream +of water shot through the aperture, and descended in a perfect deluge on +the heads of the company. + +The fact was that Maxton, ever a reckless young villain, had discovered +a hose fixed to one of the mains close to the building, and had +immediately seized upon it as an instrument wherewith to wreak vengeance +on his companions for having turned him out of the meeting. + +Words cannot describe the uproar and confusion which followed. As one +man the whole assembly made for the door, but only to find it fastened +on the outside. The water flew all over the small building, drenching +every one in turn. Some howled, some laughed, and only Bibbs had +sufficient presence of mind to creep under the sink, which afforded a +certain amount of shelter from the falling flood. + +The deluge ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and an instant later the +door was flung open, and the figure of a Sixth Form boy was seen barring +the exit. + +"Now, then," he demanded, "what are you youngsters making this awful +row for? I've a jolly good mind to take all your names." + +There was a moment's silence. Then Fletcher's voice was heard +exclaiming,-- + +"Oh! it's only old 'Thirsty;' he's all right." + +"Here, not so fast," answered the prefect, blocking up the doorway as +some boys tried to escape; "what are you chaps doing in here? I thought +you'd been told to keep out." + +The originator of the meeting pushed his way through the crowd, and +taking hold of the big fellow's arm in a familiar manner, said,-- + +"Oh, it's all right, 'Thirsty,' old chap. We just came inside, and some +one squirted water all over us, and that's why we shouted. But we won't +do it again." + +"Oh, but it isn't all right," returned the other. "If I find any of you +in here again, I'll help you out with the toe of my boot. Go on! I'll +let you off this once." + +The crowd rushed forth and quickly dispersed. + +"That Thurston seems an awful decent chap," said Diggory; "I didn't +think he'd let us off so easily." + +"He's all right as long as you don't cross him," answered Carton. +"He used to be pretty strict, but he doesn't seem to care now what +fellows do. He's very thick with Fletcher's brother--that's one reason +why he didn't do anything just now; but I can tell you he's a nasty chap +to deal with when he's in a wax." + +The prefect locked the empty building, and turning on his heel caught +sight of our three friends, who were standing close by waiting for +"Rats." + +"Hullo, you new kids! what are you called?" + +The usual answer was given, and Thurston passed on, little thinking what +good cause he would have before the end of the year for remembering the +names of the trio, and altogether unaware of the prominent part which +the Triple Alliance was destined to play in his own private affairs as +well as in the fortunes of Ronleigh College. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +A HOLIDAY ADVENTURE. + +The weeks slipped away, and the Triple Alliance soon got over their +new-boy trials, and began to enjoy all the rights and privileges of +Ronleigh College boys. They wrote letters to Miss Eleanor and to their +former schoolfellows, and received in reply the latest news from The +Birches. + +"The Philistines are quite friendly now," wrote Acton. "We had a match +against them last week on their ground, and they gave us tea after. +It's awfully slow; I almost wish that chap Noaks was back." + +"So do I," added Diggory, as he finished the sentence; "we could very +well spare him." + +"Oh, he's all right," answered Jack Vance; "that row's blown over now. +As long as we leave him alone he won't interfere with us." + +"Won't he!" returned the other; "you take my word for it, he hasn't +forgotten what you said about his father, and he's only waiting for a +chance to pay us out. Whenever I go near him he looks as black as ink." + +It was customary at Ronleigh to have what was called a half-term +holiday. This was usually given on a Monday, to enable those boys who +lived within a short distance of the school to spend the week end +at home; while, in the winter or spring terms, the boarders who remained +at the school usually devoted the greater portion of the day to a +paper-chase. + +"I shall go home," said Jack Vance to his two chums; "Todderton's only +about half an hour's ride from here on the railway. And, I say, I've +got a grand idea: I'm going to write and get my mater to invite you +fellows to come too! It would be jolly to have a meeting there of the +Triple Alliance, and I'm sure old Denson would let you go if we came +back on Monday night." + +Both Mugford and Diggory were charmed with the idea. "But d'you really +think your mater would have us?" they asked. + +"Of course she will, if I ask her," answered Jack, and straightway sat +down to write the letter. + +By Wednesday evening everything, including the formal invitation and the +doctors permission to accept the same, had been obtained, and for the +two following days the Triple Alliance could talk or think of little +else besides their projected excursion. At length Saturday came, and as +soon as morning school was over they rushed upstairs to change into +their best clothes; and having crammed their night-shirts, brushes and +combs, etc., into a hand-bag, hurried off to the railway station, in +order that they might, as Jack put it, "be home in time for dinner." + +Just as they were getting into the train, who should come out of the +booking-office but young Noaks. + +"Hullo!" said Jack. "He must be going home too; I hope he won't come in +here." + +The new-comer, however, had no intention of making another attempt to +force his society on the Triple Alliance; he passed them with a surly +nod, and entered a compartment at the other end of the train. + +Jack Vance lived in the suburbs of Todderton, about twenty minutes' walk +from the railway; but for all that he managed to carry out his intention +of being home in time for dinner; and the three boys, after receiving a +hearty welcome, were soon seated down to a repast which came very +acceptable after seven weeks of school fare. + +"Jack," said Mr. Vance, "you know that house that was to let just on the +other side of The Hermitage? Who d'you think's taken it?" + +"I don't know, father." + +"Why, that man Simpson, the uncle of your friend what's-his-name." + +"He isn't my friend," answered Jack. "You mean Noaks. Fancy his coming +to live so near to us as that! We saw him in the train just now. +He's here for the holiday." + +"I ought to tell you," continued Mr. Vance, turning to Diggory, "that +our next-door neighbour is called 'The Hermit.' He's a queer old +fellow, who lives by himself, and never makes friends or speaks to any +one. He's supposed to be very clever, and I've heard it said that he's +got a very valuable collection of coins, and is quite an authority on +the subject; it's one of his hobbies." + +"I suppose," said Mugford thoughtfully, "that as he's a hermit that's +why his place is called The Hermitage." + +"Well done, Mug!" said Jack, speaking with his mouth pretty full; +"you're getting quite sharp." + +"Yes, that's it," continued Mr. Vance, laughing. "The old man's away +from home just now; he was suffering from rheumatism very badly, and the +doctor ordered him to a course of treatment at some baths." + +The conversation turned on other topics, and when at length they rose +from the table, Jack proposed a stroll round the garden. + +There were many things to see--some pet rabbits, a swing, and an old +summer-house, which Jack, being, we should say, of a decidedly nautical +turn of mind, had turned into a sort of miniature shipbuilding yard +for the construction of model vessels; though at present the chief use +to which the place seemed to have been put was the production of a great +amount of chips and shavings. + +"I say," exclaimed the owner, after he and his friends had amused +themselves for some time boring holes in the door with a brace, "I know +what we'll do: let's go over and explore The Hermitage!" + +Anything with a spice of excitement in it was meat and drink to Diggory. +He immediately seconded the proposition, and Mugford, after a moment's +hesitation, agreed to join his companions in the enterprise. + +They strolled off down the path, and soon reached a long stretch of +brick wall, the top of which was thickly covered with fragments of +broken bottles. + +"There's a place down at the other end where we can get over," said +Jack. "I smashed the glass with a hammer, because I lost a ball and had +to climb over and get it, one day last holidays." + +The Hermitage was surrounded on all sides by a thick mass of shrubs and +trees, through which a moment later the Triple Alliance were cautiously +threading their way. Emerging from the bushes, they found themselves +standing on a gravel path, green with moss and weeds, which ran round +the house--a queer, dilapidated-looking building, which seemed sadly in +want of repair: the plaster was cracked and discoloured, while the doors +and windows had long stood in need of a fresh coating of paint. + +"I say," whispered Mugford, "hadn't we better go back? what if the old +chap's at home!" + +"Oh, it's all right; there's nobody about," answered Jack. "Let's go on +and see what the place is really like." + +They tip-toed round the building. It was evidently unoccupied, though +the delightful sense of uncertainty that at any moment some one might +pounce out upon them or walk down the drive made the questionable +adventure very charming. + +"Have you ever been inside?" asked Diggory. + +"No, rather not; I don't think any one has except the doctor, and an old +woman who comes in to do the house-work." + +"Well, then, I'm going in," answered Diggory, with a twinkle in his eye. + +"Go on! Why, you might be had up for house-breaking!" + +"Rubbish! I'm not going to steal anything.--Here, Mug, lend me your +knife a minute." + +"I don't believe this one's fastened," he continued, walking up to one +of the windows. "No, it isn't. Bother! I'm awfully sorry, Mugford." + +Using the big blade of the clasp-knife as a lever, Diggory had just +succeeded in raising the sash the fraction of an inch, when the steel +suddenly snapped off short at the handle. + +"Oh, never mind," said the owner; "let's go back now. What if we're +seen!" + +"Oh, there's no fear of that," answered Jack, who was always infected +with the adventurous spirit of his chum.--"Go on, Diggy; I'll come +too." + +By inserting their fingers in the aperture, the boys soon raised the +sash, and a few seconds later Diggory mounted the ledge and scrambled +through the window "Come on," he said; "the coast's all clear." + +Jack Vance joined him immediately, and Mugford, not wishing to be left +alone outside, was not long in making up his mind to follow his +companions. + +The room in which the three boys found themselves was evidently a +library or study. Book-shelves, and cupboards with glass doors, +containing geological and other specimens, occupied much of the wall +space; while in the centre of the floor stood a large writing-table, +covered with a miscellaneous collection of pens, ink-pots, bundles of +papers, and a polished mahogany box which could easily be recognized as +a microscope-case. + +The intruders stood for a few moments gazing round in silence. +The place did not look very interesting, and smelt rather damp and +mouldy. + +"I say," exclaimed Jack Vance, "look there: he don't seem very careful +how he leaves his things when he goes away." + +As he spoke he pointed across to the opposite side of the room, where, +between two bookcases, an iron safe had been let into the wall. +The heavy door was standing half open, while the floor beneath was +strewn with a quantity of shallow wooden trays lined with green baize. + +"Old bachelors are always untidy," remarked Diggory. "Let's see where +this door leads to." He turned the handle as he spoke, and walked out +into a gloomy little hall paved with cold, bare flagstones, which caused +their footsteps to waken mournful echoes in the empty house. + +"I say, you fellows, don't let's go any further," murmured Mugford;" +we've seen enough now. Suppose the old chap came back and--" + +He never reached the end of the sentence, for Diggory suddenly raised +his hand, exclaiming in a whisper, "Hark! what was that?" + +The loud ticking of Mugford's old turnip of a watch was distinctly +audible in the silence which followed. + +"What is it, Diggy? what--" + +"Hark! there it is again; listen." + +The suspense became awful. At length Diggory dropped his hand. +"Didn't you hear footsteps?" he asked. "I'm certain there's some one +walking about on the gravel path." + +"We shall be caught," whimpered Mugford; "I knew we should. What can we +do?" + +"Bolt!" answered Diggory, and began tip-toeing back towards the library +door. "Stay here half a 'jiffy,'" he added; "I'll go and reconnoitre." + +Ages seemed to pass while Jack Vance and Mugford stood in the dark +passage awaiting their companion's return. At length the door was +pushed softly open. + +"It's all right; there's no one there. I must have been mistaken. +Come along." + +In a very short time the Triple Alliance were once more outside The +Hermitage. Diggory lingered for a moment to close the window, and then +followed his companions through the shrubs and over the wall. + +"You are a great ass, Diggy, to go giving us a start like that," said +Jack, as they paused for a moment to take breath before returning to the +house. + +"Well, I could have sworn I heard the gravel crunch as if some one was +walking on it," returned the other. "I should think the place must be +haunted." + +A good tea, with all kinds of nice things on the table, soon revived the +boys from the trifling shock which their nerves had sustained, and by +the end of the evening their adventure was wellnigh forgotten. +They were destined, however, to remember it for many a long day to come, +and before many hours had passed they were heartily wishing that they +had never set foot inside The Hermitage, but kept on their own side of +the wall. + +The party were seated at supper on Sunday evening, when a servant +entered the room, and addressing her master said, "If you please, sir, +there's a policeman called to see you." + +Jack's father rose from his chair, remarking, in a jocular manner, +"I expect it's one of you young gentlemen he's come after." + +The meal was nearly over when Mr. Vance returned and reseated himself at +the table. + +"Did either of you hear the dog bark last night?" he asked. + +"No; why?" + +"Why, because old Fossberry's house has been broken into, and they think +the thieves must have come through our garden; there were some footmarks +in the shrubbery just on the other side of the wall." + +The hearts of the Triple Alliance seemed to jump into their throats, and +their mouths grew dry and parched. Jack stared at Mugford, and Mugford +stared at Diggory, but none of them spoke. + +"It seems," continued Mr. Vance, not noticing the effect which his first +announcement had produced on at least three of his hearers, "that the +old woman who looks after the house went there this morning, and found +that the iron safe in which the old chap keeps his coins had been opened +and the whole collection removed. The only trace of the thieves that +the police have been able to discover is the broken blade of a +clasp-knife, which was on a flower-bed near the window." + +"What will they get if they are caught?" asked Jack faintly. + +"Oh, penal servitude, I suppose; it's a serious business housebreaking." + +"How quiet you boys are!" said Mrs. Vance a short time later. +"I think you must be tired. Wouldn't you like to go to bed?" + +The three friends were only too glad to avail themselves of this excuse +for getting away into some place where they could indulge in a little +private conversation. Diggory and Mugford slept together in the same +room; Jack followed them in and closed the door. + +"Well," he exclaimed, "we're in a nice mess." + +"But we didn't steal the coins," said Mugford. + +"Of course we didn't--the safe had been robbed before we went there--but +it looks as if we'd done it; and if they find out we got into the house, +I don't see how we're going to prove that we're innocent." + +There was a short silence; then Diggory spoke. + +"Look here, Jack: I was the one who proposed going inside the place; +shall I tell your guv'nor?" + +"Well, I was thinking of doing that myself, only I don't see what good +it can do. If we tell him, he'll be bound to tell the police, to +explain about those footmarks; and when it comes out that we got into +the house, I should think we are pretty certain to be charged with +having stolen the coins. I think the best thing will be to keep it +dark: we didn't crib the things, and the thieves are sure to be caught +in time." + +Even after Jack had retired to his own room, Diggory and Mugford lay +awake for hours discussing the situation; and when at length they did +fall asleep, it was only to dream of being chased by "The Hermit" +and a swarm of long-legged policemen, who forced their way into the +Third Form classroom at Ronleigh, and handcuffed the unfortunate trio in +the very bosom of "The Happy Family." + +The following morning was spent in visiting such parts of the town of +Todderton as were worth seeing. + +"Upon my word," said Jack, "I feel funky to show my nose outside our +gate, just as if I really had prigged those wretched coins. I shan't be +at all sorry this evening to get back to Ronleigh. It's all in the +paper this morning; it mentions the footmarks and the knife-blade, and +says that as yet the police have not been able to discover any further +traces of the robbers." + +The conditions on which the half-term holiday was granted required every +boy to return to school on the Monday evening, and accordingly, about +seven o'clock, the Triple Alliance found themselves once more on their +way to the railway station. They took their seats, and had hardly done +so when young Noaks entered the compartment. + +"Hullo, you fellows!" he exclaimed; "didn't you hear me whistle? +I was standing over there by the book-stall." + +Regarding this as an overture of friendship after their recent +encounter, Jack Vance replied in an equally amicable manner, and after a +few common-place remarks the party relapsed into silence. At Chatton, +the station before Ronleigh, a man who had so far travelled with them +got out, and the four boys were left alone. Hardly had the train +started again when Noaks put down his paper, and turning to his +companions said,-- + +"That's a rum business about that old chap's house being robbed, isn't +it?" + +Something in the speaker's look and in the tone of his voice caused the +three listeners to experience an unpleasant quickening of their pulses. + +"Yes," answered Diggory, with a well-assumed air of indifference. +"I suppose they'll catch the thieves in time." + +"I suppose so," returned the other, "especially if they find the chap +who owns that knife with the broken blade." + +The malignant look with which these words was accompanied showed at once +that the speaker meant mischief. The three friends looked at one +another in horrified amazement. Could it be possible that their visit +to The Hermitage had already been discovered? + +Noaks watched their faces for a moment, evidently well pleased with the +effect which his remark had produced; then he burst out laughing. + +"Look here," he continued, producing from his pocket a buck-handled +clasp-knife: "I wonder if that's anything like it; I see the big blade's +broken." + +The Triple Alliance recognized it in a moment as one of the articles +that had been rescued from Mugford's sale at The Birches; in fact, the +owner's name appeared plainly engraved on the small brass plate. + +Diggory was the first to find his tongue. + +"What d'you mean? We didn't steal the coins!" + +"My dear fellow, I never said you did. I only know that on Saturday I +was looking over our wall, through an opening there happens to be in the +shrubs, and saw you fellows climbing out of the old chap's window; and +after you'd gone I noticed something lying in the path, and I hopped +over, and picked up this knife." + +"Give it here; it's mine," said Mugford, holding out his hand. + +"No fear," answered the other, calmly returning the piece of lost +property to his own pocket. "In this case finding's keeping; besides, +I'm not sure if I couldn't get a reward for this if I sent it to the +right place." + +The train began to slacken speed as it approached Ronleigh station. + +"Look here, Noaks," cried Jack Vance, in a fit of desperation, "what are +you going to do? You know very well we are not thieves." + +"I don't know anything of the sort," returned the tormentor, standing up +to take his bag off the rack; "all I know is just what I've told you. +See here, Mr. Vance," he continued, rounding on Jack with a sudden +snarl, "you were good enough some little time ago to make some very +caddish remarks about my father; in the future you'd better keep your +mouth shut. I owe all three of you a dressing down for things that +happened at Chatford, and now you'd better mind your P's and Q's if you +don't want to be hauled up for housebreaking." + +With this parting threat the ex-Philistine left the carriage. Mugford, +Jack, and Diggory gazed at one another for a moment with anything but a +happy look on their faces. One after another they slowly gathered up +their things and stepped out on to the platform. Hardly had they done +so when they heard their names called, and turning round beheld the +small figure of "Rats" rushing forward to meet them. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "Old Ally sent me down to get a paper, and I +thought you'd come by this train. I say, there's a fine row on up at +the school--such a lark; I'll tell you about it as we go along." + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A SCREW LOOSE IN THE SIXTH. + +For the time being the three friends forgot their own troubles in their +eagerness to hear "Rat's" description of certain events which had +happened during their absence from Ronleigh. + +"Look sharp; out with it!" they exclaimed. "What's happened?" + +"Well," began Rathson, "it all came out through young Bayley acting the +fool and spraining his ankle. You know we had the paper-chase this +morning, and the hares ran out to Arrow Hill, and back again round by +the canal and Birksam Church. Just after we'd rounded the hill, young +Bayley jumped off the top of a high hedge, and twisted his foot so badly +that he couldn't stand up. As it happened, there was a check just then, +and Carton ran forward and told Allingford what had happened. He and +Oaks came back, and said the only thing would be to get him +to Chatton station, and so home by train. It was awfully decent of +those chaps. They carried Bayley all the way, and then Oaks went home +with him, and Allingford walked back, and so, of course, they missed +half the run. Awfully brickish of them I call it, considering that it +was only a kid like Bayley." + +The Triple Alliance gave a murmur of assent. + +"Was that what the row's about?" asked Diggory. + +"Oh, bless you, no; I haven't come to that yet. After he'd seen Oaks +and Bayley into the train, old Ally started to walk home. There's a +little 'pub' about half a mile out of Chatton called the Black Swan, and +he thought he'd call and ask if they'd seen the fellows pass. You know +Thurston the prefect, that chap who came to the door when we were having +that meeting in the 'old lab.' Well, now, if he and Mouler, and two or +three more of that sort, weren't sitting in the taproom, smoking, and +drinking beer, and having a regular high old time. They'd lagged behind +on purpose. Of course Allingford kicked them all out, and he and +'Thirsty' had a frightful row. They say the big chaps want to hush the +matter up as far as they can, and not report it to old Denson, for fear +he'd make it an excuse to put a stop to paper-chasing. Ally slanged +Thurston right and left, and told him that if he chose to drink beer in +a low 'pub' with the biggest blackguards in the school, he needn't +expect that the fellows in the Sixth would have anything to do with him, +and that he ought to send in his resignation as a prefect." + +On entering the school buildings, our three friends were convinced of +the truth of their comrade's story, and on their way to the schoolroom +the question was repeated at least half a dozen times--"Have you heard +about old 'Thirsty' being cobbed in the Black Swan?" Diggory thought of +the conversation he had overheard in Acton's study, and mentioned it to +Carton. + +"Yes," answered the latter. "Big Fletcher's a beast. I know Thurston's +very chummy with him, but I don't see that's got much to do with it. +My brother, who left last term, said that 'Thirsty' used to be rather a +jolly chap, only he's got a fearful temper when he's crossed. Most of +the chaps like him as a prefect, because as long as you don't interfere +with him he doesn't seem to care much what any one does. The real thing +is he's going to the dogs, and, as Allingford says, he ought to resign." + +Away in one of the Sixth Form studies the subject of their conversation +was sitting with his hands in his pockets, frowning at the fire. He was +roused from his reverie by some one putting his head round the corner of +the door and exclaiming,-- + +"Hullo, 'Thirsty!'" + +"Hullo, Fletcher! where on earth have you been all the evening?" + +The new-comer was tall and lanky; he had a sharp, foxy-looking face, +with thin, straight lips, and two deep lines which looked almost like +scars between the eyebrows. He shut the door, and dragging forward a +chair, sat down with his feet on the fender, and commenced warming his +hands at the fire. + +"Oh, I've been nowhere in particular," he answered, laughing. "But I +say, young man, you seem to have raised a pretty good hornets' nest +about your ears along this corridor." + +"Yes, I know; they've had the cheek to send me that!" + +He leaned back as he spoke, and taking a piece of paper from the table, +tossed it across to his friend. It was a letter signed by most of the +prefects, suggesting that he should send in his resignation. + +"Humph!" said Fletcher; "that's a nice sort of a round robin, don't you +call it? Well, what are you going to do?" + +"Oh, I shall resign and have done with it. I'm sick of having to +masquerade about as a good boy. I mean to do what I like." + +"Pooh!" returned the other. "Now that you are a prefect, I wouldn't +give up all the privileges and the right to go out and come in when you +like just because a strait-laced chap like Allingford chooses to take +offence at something you do. They can't force you to resign unless they +go to the doctor, and they won't do that. I know what I'd do: I'd tell +them pretty straight to go and be hanged, and keep their sermonizing to +themselves." + +Thurston turned on the speaker with a sudden burst of anger. + +"Oh yes!" he exclaimed; "you're always saying you'd do this and do that, +but when the time comes you turn tail and sneak away. Look here: you +were the one who proposed going into the Black Swan this morning, and +when young Mouler said Allingford was coming, you slipped out of the +back door and left us to face the shindy." + +"Well," returned the other, laughing, "I thought you chaps were going to +bolt too. I hopped over the wall at the back into the field, and waited +there for about a quarter of an hour, and then, as no one came, I made +tracks home." + +"That's all very fine. You took precious good care to save your own +bacon; you always do." + +"Oh, go on!" answered Fletcher, rising from his chair; "you're in a wax +to-night. Well, ta, ta! Don't you resign." + +This little passage of arms was not the first of the kind that had taken +place between Fletcher and Thurston, and it did not prevent a renewal of +their friendship on the morrow. + +The latter, following either his own inclination or the advice of his +chum, decided not to resign his position as a prefect, and in a few +days' time the majority of the school had wellnigh forgotten the +fracas at the Black Swan. + +Among those in high places, however, the affair was not so easily +overlooked. The big fellows kept their own counsel, but it soon became +evident that Thurston was being "cut" and cold-shouldered by the other +members of the Sixth; while he, for his part, as though by way of +retaliation, began to hob-nob more freely than ever with boys lower down +in the school and of decidedly questionable character. + +"It's awfully bad form of a chap who's a prefect chumming up with a +fellow like Mouler in the Upper Fourth," said Carton one afternoon. +"I wonder old 'Thirsty' isn't ashamed to do it. And now he's hand +and glove with those chaps Hawley and Gull in the Fifth; they've both +got heaps of money, but they're frightful cads." + +From the morning following their return to Ronleigh the Triple Alliance +had been kept in a continual state of uneasiness and suspense, wondering +what action Noaks would take regarding his discovery of their visit to +The Hermitage. + +The days passed by, and still he made no further reference to the +matter, and took no notice of any of the three friends when he happened +to pass them in the passages. The fact was that for the time being his +attention was turned in another direction. Like most fellows of his +kind, Noaks was a regular toady, ready to do anything in return for the +privilege of being able to rub shoulders occasionally with some one in a +higher position than himself, and he eagerly seized the opportunity +which his friendship with Mouler afforded him of becoming intimate with +Thurston. It was rather a fine thing for a boy in the Upper Fourth to +be accosted in a familiar manner by a prefect, and asked sometimes to +visit the latter in his study; and when such things were possible, it +was hardly worth while to spend time and attention in carrying on a feud +with youngsters in the Third Form. But Noaks had never forgotten the +double humiliation he had suffered at Chatford--first in being sent off +the football field, and again in the disastrous ending to the attempted +raid on the Birchites' fireworks; nor had he forgiven the Triple +Alliance for the part which they had played, especially on the latter +occasion, in bringing shame and confusion on the heads of the +Philistines. + +One morning, nearly a month after the half-term holiday, the three +friends were strolling arm in arm through the archway leading from the +quadrangle to the paved playground, when they came face to face with +their old enemy. He was about to push past them without speaking; then, +seeming suddenly to change his mind, he pulled up, took something from +his pocket, and handing it to Jack Vance, said shortly,-- + +"There! I thought you'd like to see that; it seems a good chance to +earn some pocket-money." + +The packet turned out to be a copy of the Todderton weekly paper. + +"I've marked the place," added Noaks, turning on his heel with a +sneering laugh; "you needn't give it me back." + +A cross of blue chalk had been placed against a short paragraph +appearing under the heading "Local Notes." Jack read it out loud for the +edification of his two companions. + +"We notice that Mr. Fossberry has offered a reward of 50 pounds for any +information which shall lead to the arrest of the thieves who entered +his house some few weeks ago, and stole a valuable collection of coins. +As yet the police have been unable to discover any further traces of the +missing property, but it is to be hoped that before long the offenders +will be discovered and brought to justice." + +There was a moment's silence. + +"I wish I'd told my guv'nor," muttered Jack Vance. + +"Well, tell him now," said Diggory. + +"Oh no, I can't now; he'd wonder why I hadn't done it sooner. Besides, +I believe Noaks is only doing this to frighten us; he can't prove that +we stole the coins, because we didn't. All the same, it would be very +awkward if he sent the police that jack-knife, and told them he'd seen +us climbing out of the old chap's window." + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "I suppose it would look rather fishy. +Bother him! why can't he leave us alone?" + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS. + +The Easter holidays came and went as rapidly as Easter holidays always +do, and before the Alliance had recovered from the excitement connected +with their first experience of breaking up at Ronleigh, they were back +again, greeting their friends, asking new boys their names, and, in +short, commencing their second term as regular old stagers. Up to the +present they had been content to "lie low," and had remained satisfied +with making the acquaintance of their class-mates in "The Happy Family;" +but now they began to take more interest in school matters in general, +and to notice what was going on in other circles besides their own. + +In answer to the eager inquiries of his two companions, Jack Vance said +that he had seen nothing of Noaks during the holidays, except having +passed him on one or two occasions in the street. The notice of the +fifty pounds reward still appeared in the windows of the police station; +but the robbery itself was beginning to be looked upon as a thing of the +past, and was already wellnigh forgotten. + +"I wonder if Noaks has still got my knife?" said Mugford. + +"Oh, I don't know," answered Jack. "He's too much taken up with Mouler +and Gull and all that lot to think about us. I shouldn't bother my head +about it any further; he only showed us that paper out of spite, to put +us in a funk." + +It was pretty evident, to the most casual observer, that the quarrel +which the Black Swan incident had occasioned between Thurston and his +brother prefects had not yet been dismissed from the minds of either +party. The former became more lax than ever in the discharge of his +duties, and avoiding the society of his school equals, sought the +companionship of such boys as Hawley, Gull, and Mouler, who at +length came to be known throughout the College as "Thirsty's Lot." +With the exception of Fletcher, the prefects left him severely alone. +Allingford occasionally came down on him for allowing all kinds of +misconduct to pass unchecked, but it was hardly to be expected that a +fellow who was hand and glove with some of the principal offenders +should have much influence or power in maintaining law and order; and +these interviews with the captain usually ended in an exchange of black +looks and angry words. + +The consequences which resulted from this lack of harmony among those in +authority may be easily imagined. "Old Thirsty never makes a row when +he sees a chap doing so-and-so," was the cry. "Why should Oaks and +Rowlands and those other fellows kick up bothers, and give lines for the +same thing?" To all these murmurers the prefects turned a deaf ear. +"I don't care what Thurston does," would be their answer; "you know the +rule, and that's sufficient." Any further remonstrance on the part of +the offender was met with a summary "Shut up, or you'll get your head +punched," and so for a time the matter ended. + +It was hardly to be expected that the light-hearted juveniles of the +Third Form should trouble their heads to take much notice of this +disagreement among the seniors. For one thing, they knew nothing of +what was said and done in the Sixth Form studies, and even the prefects +themselves never thought for a moment that this little bit of friction +in the machinery of Ronleigh College would, figuratively speaking, lead +to "hot bearings" and a narrow shave of a general breakdown. + +So the members of "The Happy Family" pursued the even tenor of their +way, getting into scrapes and scrambling out of them, feasting on pastry +and ginger-beer, turning up in force on Saturday afternoon to witness +the cricket matches, and coming to the conclusion that though Oaks and +Rowlands might be a trifle strict, and rather freehanded with lines and +"impots," yet all this could be overlooked and forgiven for the sake +of the punishment which they inflicted on the enemy's bowling. + +As it has been all along the intention of this story to follow the +fortunes of the Triple Alliance, the record of their second term at +Ronleigh would not be complete without some mention of their memorable +adventure with the "coffee-mill." + +Wednesday, the fourteenth of June, was Jack Vance's birthday, and just +before morning school he expressed his intention of keeping it up in a +novel manner. + +"Look here!" he remarked to his two companions. "You know that little +bootmaker's shop just down the road, before you come to the church. +There's a notice in the window, 'Double Tricycle on Hire.' Well, the +mater's sent me some money this year instead of a hamper, so I thought +I'd hire the machine; and we'll go out for a ride, and take it in turns +for one to walk or trot behind." + +"Oh, I'd advise you not to!" cried "Rats," who was standing by and +overheard the project. + +"Why not?" + +"Why, it's a rotten old _sociable_, one of the first, I should think, +that was ever made. It's like working a tread-mill, and it rattles and +bangs about until you think every minute it must all be coming to +pieces. It's got a sort of box-seat instead of a saddle. Maxton hired +it out one day the term before last, and he and I and Collis rode to +Chatton. It isn't meant to carry three; but the seat's very wide, and +they squeezed me in between them. There's something wrong with the +steering-gear, and it makes a beastly grinding noise as it goes along, +so Maxton christened it the 'coffee-mill.' Fellows are always chaffing +old Jobling about it, when they go into his shop to buy bits of leather, +and asking him how much he'll take for his coffee-mill, and the old chap +gets into an awful wax." + +"Oh, I don't care!" answered Jack. "It'll be a lark, and we needn't go +far.--What d'you say, Diggy?" + +Diggory and Mugford both expressed their willingness to join in the +expedition, and arrangements were accordingly made for it to take place +that afternoon. + +"You'd better not let old Jobling see three of you get on at once," said +"Rats." "I should send Mugford on in front and pick him up when you get +round the corner." + +Rathson's description of the "coffee-mill" was certainly not +exaggerated. It was a rusty, rattle-bag concern--a relic of the dark +ages of cycling--and .looked as if it had not been used for a +twelvemonth. Jobling squirted some oil into the bearings, knocked +the dust off the cushioned seat, and remarked that a shilling an hour +was the proper charge; but that, as he always favoured the Ronleigh +gentlemen, he would say two shillings, and they might keep it the whole +afternoon. + +Jack, as we have said before, was of rather a nautical turn of mind, and +occasionally, when the fit was on him, loved to interlard his +conversation with seafaring expressions. + +"She isn't much of a craft to look at," he remarked, as they drew up and +dismounted at the spot where Mugford stood waiting for them; "but we'll +imagine this is my steam-yacht, and that we're going for a cruise. +Now then, Diggy, you're the mate, and you shall sit on the starboard +side and steer. Mugford's the passenger, so he'll go in the middle. +I'm captain, and I'll work the port treadles. Now, then, all aboard!" + +The boys scrambled on to the seat, and with some little amount of +crushing and squeezing got settled in their places, and at the captain's +word, "Half-speed ahead!" the voyage commenced. They went lumbering and +clattering through the outskirts of the town, and at length, after +having roused the dormant wit of one shop-boy, who shouted "Knives to +grind!" after them, they gained the highroad. For half a mile the +voyage was prosperous enough; then the adventures began. + +They were going at a good pace down a gentle slope, and on turning a +corner saw immediately in front of them a narrow piece of road with a +duck-pond on one side and a high bank on the other. Some one had +carelessly left a wheelbarrow standing very nearly in the centre of the +highway, and there was only just room to pass it on the water side. + +"Starboard a little!" + +The steering gear worked rather stiffly. Diggory gave the handle a hard +twist, and it went round further than he intended. + +"Port!" cried the captain, "hard a-port!" But it was too late, and the +next moment the "coffee-mill" ran down the sloping bank and plunged +into the duck-pond. It gave a violent lurch, but fortunately its +breadth of beam kept it from overturning, and the water, being not more +than a few inches deep, only wet the boots of the mariners. + +"You great ass, Diggy! why didn't you _port?_" demanded the captain. + +The mate, who as a matter of fact could not have told the difference +between the nautical "port" and home-made ginger-beer, answered +promptly, "So I did;" and the two officers commenced to punch each +other with their disengaged hands. This combat, which was conducted +with the utmost good feeling on both sides, had been continued for +nearly a minute, when the passenger, on whose unoffending back a large +proportion of the blows were falling, remarked,-- + +"Well, if we aren't going to stop here all day, when you've quite done +we'd better think about getting out." + +They were at least four yards from the shore, and it was impossible to +reach it dry-shod. + +"Some one must take off his boots and socks and haul her out," said +Diggory. + +"Well, I can't," answered Jack; "the captain never ought to leave the +ship." + +"Oh, I'll go," answered Mugford, laughing; and accordingly, after +performing some complicated gymnastic feats in getting off his boots, he +slid from the seat into the water, and so hauled the "coffee-mill" +back to _terra firma_. + +It would be impossible to describe in detail all the alarming incidents +which happened during the outward passage. + +They had not gone a quarter of a mile further when something went wrong +with the brake. They flew down a long hill, holding on for dear life, +nothing but the grand way in which the mate managed this time to steer a +straight course down the middle of the road saving them from +destruction. Nevertheless, mounting the last slope was such hard labour +that Mugford had to turn to and "work his passage," by every now and +again taking a spell at the treadles. + +"Look here!" said Diggory at length: "don't you think we've gone far +enough? we shan't be back in time for tea." + +"Oh, I forgot," answered the captain. "We'll see. Stand by your +anchor! Let go-o-o!" + +The "coffee-mill" stopped, and Jack Vance pulled out his watch. + +"By me it's half-past twelve, and I'm four hours slow: twelve to one, +one to two, two to three, three to four--half-past four. Yes, it's time +we turned round. Now, then, 'bout ship!" + +The tricycle clanked and rattled away merrily enough on the return +journey until it came to the long hill, which this time had to be +climbed instead of descended. + +"Don't let's get off," said Jack; "we ought to rush her up this if we +set our minds to it." + +With a great deal of panting and struggling they succeeded in getting +about half-way; then suddenly there was a crack, and the machine, +instead of going forward, began to run back. Faster and faster it +went, the pedals remaining motionless under their feet. + +"The chain's gone," gasped the captain. "There's a cart behind! Quick, +run her aground!" + +Of course the mate turned the handle the wrong way. On one side of the +road was an ordinary hedge, while on the other lay a deep ditch, and +into this a moment later the "coffee-mill" disappeared with every soul +on board! + +There was an awful moment, when earth, sky, arms, legs, wheels, and +bushes seemed all mixed together, and then Jack Vance found himself +resting on his hands and knees in a puddle of dirty water. Diggory and +Mugford had been driven with considerable violence into the thickest +part of a thorn hedge, and proceeded to extricate themselves +therefrom with many groans and lamentations. + +"Well," said the mate, as they proceeded to drag the machine out of the +ditch, "I should think, Jack, you've celebrated your birthday about +enough; now you'd better give over, or we shall all be sent home in a +sack." + +"Me!" cried the captain, with great indignation. "It was _your_ fault, +you dummy! you put the helm over wrong again, you--" + +"Hullo, you kids!" interrupted a voice behind them, and turning round +the three friends saw the burly form of John Acton pushing a bicycle up +the hill. "Hullo!" he continued; "it's young Trevanock. What's up? +Have you had a spill?" + +"Yes; the chain broke, and we ran into the ditch." + +"Umph! bad business. Now you'll have to foot it, I suppose." + +"Yes," answered Jack ruefully; "and we're bound to be back late pushing +this old thing all the way. I wish old Jobling would try a ride on it +himself." + +"Oh! is that the 'coffee-mill'?" exclaimed the prefect, laughing. +"Well, look here! If you're late, I'll see whoever's on duty, and tell +him about the breakdown, and see if I can get you off." + +"Oh, thanks awfully!" chorused the small boys. + +"I've half a mind to say I wouldn't," continued Acton, looking round as +he put his foot on the step of his machine, and nodding his head at +Diggory. "I owe you a grudge for not telling me what I wanted to know +about my young brother's love-letter." + +The football captain was as good as his word: he got the Triple Alliance +excused the "impot" which would otherwise have been awarded them for +arriving at the school half an hour late, and the only misfortune which +resulted from their eventful excursion was that Jack Vance had to expend +a further portion of his postal order in paying Jobling for repairing +the broken chain. The day, however, did not close without another +incident happening to one of the voyagers, which, though trifling in +itself, proved, as it were, the shadow of coming events which were +destined to seriously affect the well-being and happiness of all the +Ronleigh boys. + +Crossing the quadrangle soon after tea, Diggory saw something bright +lying on the gravel; it proved to be a silver match-box with the letters +C. T. engraved on the front. He took it with him into the school-room, +and holding it up as the boys were assembling at their desks for +preparation, asked if any one knew who was the owner. + +"Yes, I do," answered young Fletcher: "it's Thirsty's; I've seen it +often." + +Preparation of the next day's work having ended, Diggory's attention was +occupied for a time in discussing with Carton the merits of some foreign +stamps. Just before supper, however, he remembered the match-box, and +hurried away to restore it to its rightful owner. + +Thurston was evidently at home, for a prolonged shout of laughter and +the clamour of several voices reached Diggory's ears as he approached +the study. As he knocked at the door the noise suddenly ceased, there +was a moment's silence, and then a murmur in a low tone, followed by a +scuffling of feet and the overturning of a chair. + +"Who's there? you can't come in!" shouted the owner of the den. + +"I don't want to," answered Diggory, through the keyhole. "I've brought +your match-box that I picked up in the 'quad.'" + +"Oh, it's only a kid," said the voice of Fletcher senior; and the next +instant the door was unlocked by Thurston, who opened it about six +inches, and immediately thrust his body into the aperture, as though to +prevent the possibility of the visitor getting any sight of the interior +of the room. + +"Oh, thanks; you're a brick," he said, taking the box, and immediately +closed the door and turned the key. + +Diggory was retracing his steps along the passage, wondering what could +be the object of all this secrecy, when he nearly ran into the school +captain. + +"Hullo, young man!" said the latter, "where have you been?" + +"To Thurston's study." + +"What have you been there for?" demanded Allingford sharply, with a +sudden change in his tone and manner. + +"Only to give him his match-box that I picked up in the 'quad.'" + +The captain eyed the speaker narrowly, as though half inclined to doubt +the truth of this explanation; then, apparently satisfied with the +honest expression of the small boy's face, told him to get down to +supper. + +The latter wandered off, wondering more than ever what could have been +the object of the private gathering in Thurston's study which he had +just interrupted. + +"It's what I told you before," remarked Carton, when Diggory chanced to +mention what had happened. "Thirsty's going to the dogs, and I believe +big Fletcher's got a lot to do with it. Allingford can't interfere with +them as long as they keep to themselves. I don't know what they do, but +I shouldn't be surprised if there is a rare old kick-up one of these +fine days." + +Mischief certainly was brewing, and the "kick-up" came sooner than even +Carton himself expected. + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +THE WRAXBY MATCH. + +Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of July, saw the whole of Ronleigh College +in a state of bustle and excitement. The near approach of the holidays +was sufficient in itself to put every one in high spirits, while, in +addition to this, the afternoon was to witness the chief cricket contest +of the season--the annual match against Wraxby Grammar School. During +the hour before dinner the ground itself was a scene of brisk activity: +the school colours flew at the summit of the flagstaff; the boundary +flags fluttered in the breeze; a number of willing hands, under the +direction of Allingford, put a finishing touch to the pitch with the big +roller, while others assisted in rigging up the two screens of white +canvas in line with the wickets. + +"I do hope we lick them," said little "Rats" to Jack Vance as they stood +by the pavilion, watching Oaks mixing some whiting for the creases; +"we _must_ somehow or other." + +"Why?" + +"Why? because they've beaten us now three times running; and the last +time when our chaps went over to Wraxby and got licked at footer their +captain asked Ally if in future we should like to play a master! +Such rot!" continued the youthful "Rats," boiling with wrath; "as if we +couldn't smash them without! Look here, I'd give--I'd give sixpence if +we could win!" and with this burst of patriotic enthusiasm the speaker +hurried away to join Maxton, who, with an old sprung racquet in one hand +and the inside of an exploded cricket-ball in the other, was calling to +him from the adjoining playing field to "Come and play tip and run, and +bring something that'll do for a wicket." + +The feelings expressed by "Rats" as regards the result of the match were +shared by the whole school, and by none more so than the members of the +Third Form. + +"The Happy Family" turned up to a man, and encamped _en masse_ upon the +turf within twenty yards of the pavilion. Bibbs was the last to arrive +on the scene of action, and did so with a bag of sweets in one hand, a +book in the other, and a piece of paper, pinned by some joker to the +tail of his coat, bearing the legend, "Please to kick me"--a request +which was immediately responded to in a most hearty and generous fashion +by all present. + +Kicking the unfortunate Bibbs afforded every one such exquisite +enjoyment that an effort was made to prolong the pastime by forcible +attempts to fasten the placard on to other members of the company, and +a general _melee_, would have followed if the attention of the +combatants had not been attracted in another direction. Ronleigh having +won the toss and elected to go in first, the Wraxby men strolled out of +the pavilion to take the field. + +They were a likely-looking lot of fellows--the faded flannel caps and +careless way in which they sauntered towards the pitch proclaiming the +fact that each one was a veteran player. + +"That chap with the wicket-keeping gloves in his hand is Partridge, +their captain," said Carton; "and that fellow who's putting out the +single stump to bowl at is Austin. He does put them in to some +tune; you can hardly see the ball, it's so swift." + +There was a faint _clang_ from the pitch. + +"See that!" cried Fletcher junior: "that chap Austin's knocked that +single stump out of the ground first ball. My eye, he'll make our +fellows sit up, I'll bet." + +"No, he won't," cried "Rats" excitedly. "Old Ally'll knock him into a +cocked hat. He'll soon break his back," added the speaker +complaisantly. "Hullo! men in--Parkes and Rowland." + +There is something in the short space of time preceding the first +_clack_ of the bat at a cricket match which rivals in interest even that +exciting moment at football when the centre forward stands hovering over +the ball waiting for the whistle to give the signal for the contest to +commence. + +The noisy clatter of "The Happy Family" ceases as the crowd of boys, +ranged all down the sides of the field, turn to watch the opening of the +game. + +It is an ideal day for cricket, with a fresh breeze blowing, just +sufficient to temper the hot afternoon sunshine and cause a flutter of +cricket-shirts and boundary flags. Rowland takes centre, twists the +handle of his bat round and round in his hands, and is heard amid the +general hush to say, "No, no trial." Austin glances round at the +motionless figures of his comrades, signals to _long-on_ to stand a +little deeper, and then delivers the ball. With an easy and graceful +forward stroke, the batsman returns it sharply in the direction of the +opposite wicket, and an almost imperceptible movement, like the +releasing of a spring, takes place among the fielders. So begins +the battle. + +"Twenty up!" had just been called from the pavilion when a sharp catch +in the slips disposed of Parkes. + +"Never mind!" cried "Rats." "Here comes old Ally; he'll make them trot +round a bit!" + +The captain commenced his innings with a heart-warming leg hit, which +sent the ball to the boundary, a wave of legs and arms marking its track +as the spectators, with a joyous yell, rolled over one another to escape +being hit. + +For some time cheer followed cheer, and "The Happy Family" clapped until +their hands smarted; then suddenly there arose a prolonged "_Oh, oh!_" +from all the field. + +"Hullo! what's the matter?" asked Bibbs, looking up from the book he was +reading. + +"What's the matter?" shouted Maxton wrathfully, snatching away the +volume and banging Bibbs on the head with it. "Why don't you watch the +game? Old Ally's bowled off his pads!" + +It was only too true: the captain's wicket was down, and "The Happy +Family," after a simultaneous ejaculation of "_Blow it!_" tore up stalks +of grass, and began to chew them with a stern expression on their faces. + +This disaster seemed but the forerunner of others. Redfern, the next +man, had hardly taken his place at the wicket when a sharp _click_, the +glitter of bails twirling in the air, and a Wraxby shout of "Well +bowled!" announced his fate; while ten minutes later Rowland, one of the +mainstays of the home team, was caught in a most provoking manner at +_cover-point_. + +"Oh, bother it all!" sighed "Rats; this is nothing but a procession." + +"Now, Oaks, old chap, do your best for us!" cried Allingford. + +"All right," returned the other, laughing, as he paused for a moment +outside the pavilion to fasten the strap of his batting-glove; "I'm +going to make runs this journey, or die in the attempt." + +Oaks was undoubtedly a regular Briton, just the sort of fellow to turn +the fortunes of a losing game. He walked up to the wicket as coolly as +though it were enclosed within a practice net, patted down the ground +with the flat of his bat in a manner which seemed to imply that he had +"come to stay," and then proceeded to hit three twos in his first +"over." + +This dashing commencement was but the prelude to a brilliant bit of +rapid scoring: twos and threes followed each other in quick succession. +Allingford shouted, the crowd roared, while "The Happy Family" +gambolled about on one another's chests and stomachs, and squealed with +delight. Like the poet's brook, Oaks might have exclaimed, "Men may +come, and men may go, but I go on for ever." When Wraxby changed the +bowling, he welcomed the new-comer by sending the first ball into the +next field, and continued to cut and drive in such a gallant manner that +even Bibbs, standing up to get the full use of his lungs, shouted, "Go +'long!" and "Well hit!" until his face was the colour of a poppy. + +"I say!" exclaimed Carton, as the eighth wicket fell, "I wish one of +these next two chaps would hang on a bit, and give Oaks a chance of +getting a few more; it must be nearly eighty up." + +"Thurston, you're in!" came from the scorer. + +The boy named was sitting by himself, on the end of a form close to the +telegraph, moodily scraping up the ground with the spikes of his +cricket-shoes. He knew that most of his comrades in the eleven would +give him the cold shoulder, and so did not mingle with them inside the +pavilion. He rose, and prepared to obey the summons. + +"Let's give him a cheer," said Rats; "he may do something.--Go it, +Thurston! Sit tight, and keep the pot boiling!" + +The big fellow turned his head in the direction of "The Happy Family," +and with something of the old good-humoured smile, which had seldom of +late been seen upon his face, answered: "All right, my boy, you see if I +don't." + +"Jolly fellow old Thirsty," remarked "Rats," swelling with pride at this +friendly recognition. "He can play when he likes, but he hasn't +troubled to practise much of late. He used always--Phew! my eye, what +an awful crack!" + +A terrifically swift ball from Austin had risen suddenly from the hard +ground. Thurston had no time to avoid it, but turning away his face, +received the blow on the back of his head. He dropped his bat, +staggered away from the wicket, and fell forward on his knees. + +To suffer for the cause of the school in a cricket or football match was +a thing which, like charity, "covered a multitude of sins." Allingford +hurried out of the pavilion and ran towards the pitch, while Partridge +and a few more of the "Wraxby men gathered round their wounded opponent +and helped him to his feet. + +"You'd better come out, Thurston," said the Ronleigh captain; "I'll send +the next man in." + +"No, I'll go on," replied the other, in rather a shaky voice; "I shall +be all right in a minute." + +It requires something more than ordinary pluck for a batsman to stand up +to fast bowling and show good form after having been badly hit. For a +time a great deal of determination, and the exercise of a considerable +amount of will power, are necessary to conquer the natural inclination +to shrink from a possible repetition of the injury; and those who +watched the dogged manner in which Thurston continued to defend his +wicket, being themselves practical cricketers, rewarded him with loud +shouts of encouragement and praise. + +Oaks piled on the score with unflagging energy, while the careful play +of his companion defied all attempts of the Wraxby bowlers to dissolve +the partnership. + +"Bravo, 'Thirsty!'" shouted the spectators. "Go 'long'--and another!" + +At length, just as the telegraph operator had received the welcome +order, "A hundred up!" the ball shot, and crashed into Thurston's +wicket. He came slowly back from the pitch, still holding his hand to +the back of his head; and though his individual score had barely run +into double figures, he was greeted on all sides with hearty cheers. + +Payne, the last man, just succeeded in cracking his _duck's-egg_, and +the innings closed for 104. + +As the fielders came trooping in, a small boy ran past the Third Form +encampment exclaiming, "I say, you chaps, old Punch is in the lower +road, over by that tree!" Which announcement had no sooner been made +than the greater part of "The Happy Family" sprang to their feet, and +went scampering across the field in the direction of the opposite hedge. + +The cause of this stampede, it must be explained, was the arrival of an +itinerant vendor of ice-cream, whose real name, Samuel Jones, had been +changed to Punch on account of the prominence of his nasal organ. +His presence within the grounds of Ronleigh College was not approved of +by the authorities, and his trade with the small boys, who were his +particular patrons, was carried on through a gap in the hedge. +Punch's establishment ran on four wheels, and was ornamented with a +number of daubs representing Union Jacks and Royal Standards, which +formed the framework of an alarming portrait of the Prince of Wales, +from which adornment one might be led to suppose that on some previous +occasion His Royal Highness had patronized the stall. The ice-cream +was shovelled out of a tin receptacle, and pasted in lumps on to the top +of very shallow glasses, the standard price for which was one penny; and +there being a scarcity of spoons, the customers usually devoured the +delicacy in the same manner as a dog does a saucer of milk. Cynical +members of the upper classes at Ronleigh, who had ceased to patronize +the stall, charged Punch with not being over-particular in washing the +glasses, and of making the "stuff," as they called it, with cornflour +instead of cream. But the small boys were not fastidious; and as each +one had two helpings, which they ate as slowly as possible to prolong +the enjoyment, they were still refreshing themselves when the home team +moved out to field. + +"Look sharp!" cried "Rats," giving Bibbs's elbow a sudden jerk which +caused that worthy to plaster the end of his nose with the remains of +his third ice. "Come on! let's see the beginning." + +The second half of the game proved, if anything, more exciting than the +first. Two wickets fell before 10 appeared on the telegraph. + +"Oh, we shall lick them easily!" cried "Rats" jubilantly; while Fletcher +junior gave vent to his feelings by handing Bibbs's bag of sweets round +to the company. + +But there were still some hard nuts to be cracked in the Wraxby team, +and one soon appeared in Partridge, the captain. Over after over went +by, and the score rapidly increased: "Thirty up!"--"Forty up!"--"Fifty +up!" Two more wickets were taken; but Partridge seemed to have fairly +got his eye in, and gave the home team as much leather-hunting as Oaks +had provided for the visitors. To make matters worse, Austin, arriving +on the scene sixth man in, appeared to be also possessed with a +determination to carry his bat; and though he was eventually run out +by a sharp throw-in from square-leg, it was not until eighty runs had +been registered for the Grammar School. + +The closing scene of the game caused an amount of excitement +unparalleled in the history of Ronleigh cricket. + +As the last man of the Wraxby team went in to bat, the telegraph was +changed from 90 to 100. "Over" had just been called, and the invincible +Partridge stepped forward to play, evidently making up his mind for +another boundary hit. Thurston had been put on to bowl at the top end, +and stood ready to recommence the attack. + +"Four to equal, five to beat," sighed "Rats." "Bother it all, they're +sure to win." + +A cricket match needs to be very narrowly watched, or the spectator +whose eye has strayed for a moment from the game misses some fine piece +of play. The incident which finished the contest between Ronleigh +College and Wraxby Grammar School occupied barely three seconds of time; +yet it was remembered and spoken about many years after those concerned +in it had passed on to swell the ranks of the "old boys." + +Partridge commenced the over with a hard, straight drive, and at the +same instant Thurston gave a little jump into the air with his right arm +stretched above his head. The ball had passed like lightning between +the wickets, and the spectators looked for a moment to see where it had +gone; then a wild shriek of joy from "The Happy Family" rent the air,-- + +"_Caught!_" + +It was true enough. With a splendid one-handed catch Thurston had +brought the well-fought contest to a close, and secured a victory for +Ronleigh College. + +This brilliant feat, coupled with the gallant manner in which he had +continued his innings when hurt, and so enabled Oaks to run up the +score, caused the black sheep of the Sixth Form to be regarded as the +hero of the day. Allingford shook him by the hand, and a noisy crowd +hoisted him shoulder high and carried him three times round the +quadrangle. + +Thurston certainly had good reason to feel proud of the part he had +played in the chief match of the season, and might in years to come have +always looked back with pleasure on this twenty-fourth of July. +Unfortunately another event of a sadly different character was destined +to make it a red-letter day in his career at Ronleigh. The feeling of +respect and good-will which his prowess in the field had awakened in the +minds of his former friends afforded him a splendid opportunity for +reassociating himself with all that was worthy and honourable in school +life. The chance no sooner presented itself, however, than it was flung +away, and was lost for ever. + +Evening preparation was over, and supper, an informal meal, attendance +at which was not compulsory, was in progress. The door of Thurston's +study was once more locked on the inside, as it had been when Diggory +went to return the match-box to its rightful owner. + +Fletcher senior, Hawley, and Gull sat on three sides of the small table, +while Thurston himself occupied the fourth. + +"Hang it all!" exclaimed the latter, throwing down a handful of playing +cards upon the table, and pushing back his chair. "I shan't play any +more to-night; I've got no more tin." + +"Oh, go on; I'll lend you some," answered Fletcher. "I don't care +whether I win or lose; it's only the game I play for." + +As a matter of fact, Fletcher nearly always _did_ win, and was mightily +displeased on the rare occasions when he lost. + +"No; I've borrowed enough already," returned the other. "I shan't be +able to square up as it is till next term. It's all very well for +fellows like you three, who have rich people, and can write home any +time for a fiver; but I'm not so flush of cash.--Look here, Gull, have +you got that banjo? Sing us a song." + +"All right," answered Gull, reaching down and picking a small +five-stringed instrument off the floor; "what'll you have?" + +"Oh, something with a good swing to it. I feel like kicking up a row." + +Gull tuned up, struck a few chords, and then launched out into a +rattling nigger song with an amount of "go" and clatter sufficient to +inspire the hearer with an almost irresistible desire to get up and +dance. The three listeners shouted the chorus at the top of their +voices, pounding the table with their fists by way of a sort of drum +accompaniment. Gull was just preparing to commence the fourth verse +when there was a knock at the study door. + +"Wait a jiff," said Thurston.--"Who's there? What d'you want?" + +"Why," came the answer, uttered in rather a drawling tone, "I wish you +fellows wouldn't make so much row. I can't possibly work. Do be +quiet." + +"Oh, go to Bath!" shouted Thurston.--"It's only that old stew-pot +Browse," he added. "The beggar's got the next study, and he's cramming +up for some 'exam.'--Go on, Gull." + +The entertainment continued, and waxed more noisy than ever, the +performers hammering the table with a ruler and two walking-sticks to +add zest to the choruses. + +Soon there came another interruption, very different in tone from the +mild expostulation of the studious Browse. The door was violently +shaken, and from without came the sharp, peremptory order of the +school captain,-- + +"Look here, Thurston, just shut up; we've had enough of this horrible +row for one night. Stop it, d'you hear?" + +"All right," growled the owner of the study; "keep your hair on, old +fellow!" + +"Sh! steady on, Thirsty," said Fletcher, in a low tone. "Don't go too +far, or he'll put a stop to our next merry meeting. I know Allingford, +and he's rather a hard wall to run your head against." + +"That confounded old Browse has gone and sneaked!" cried the other, with +a flush of passion on his face. "Let's wait till Ally's gone, and then +make a raid on the old stew-pot." + +Hawley and Gull sprang to their feet with a murmur of assent; Fletcher +shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. + +"What we'll do is this," continued Thurston. "He sits with his back to +the door. I'll pop in first and throw this tablecloth over his head; +then, while I hold him down, you chaps upset the things and put out the +light. Then we'll rush out all together, and he won't know for certain +who did it." + +Five minutes later the conspirators crept out into the passage, and +tip-toed towards the door of the adjoining study. Fletcher lingered +behind, and, instead of following the expedition, stole softly away +in the opposite direction. Another moment, and the unfortunate Browse +was struggling to rise from his chair, with his head enveloped in the +tablecloth. Hawley and Gull, following immediately in rear of their +leader, sent the table, with its load of books and writing materials, +over with a crash, threw the chairs into different corners of the room, +and were about to scatter the contents of the bookcase over the floor, +when Allingford suddenly burst into the room, and stood glaring round +like an angry lion. + +With one swing of his right arm he sent Thurston staggering against the +wall, and then, stepping forward without an instant's hesitation, he +dealt each of the other marauders a swinging box on the ear. + +The two Fifth Form boys were big, strong fellows, and for a moment it +seemed as though a stand-up fight would ensue. The captain, however, +followed up his attack with amazing promptness, and before his +antagonists had time to think of resistance he had taken them both by +the shoulders and sent them flying into the passage. + +"There!" he exclaimed. "I'll teach you gentlemen to come playing pranks +on Sixth Form studies. What business have you got here, I should like +to know?--As for you," continued the speaker, casting a scornful glance +at the originator of the outrage, "I should have thought a fellow who's +a prefect ought to know better than to go rioting with every scamp in +the school." + +Thurston's conduct on the cricket field had clearly proved him to be no +coward. He stood his ground, and returned Allingford's angry glances +with a look of fierce defiance. He attempted to make some reply, but +somehow the words failed him, and turning on his heel he walked away to +his own study. + +"Confound that fellow Fletcher!" he muttered between his teeth. +"He always takes precious good care to sneak away when there's any row +on. If it wasn't for that money I owe him, I'd punch his head." + +Half an hour later there was a sharp rap at the door, and Allingford, +Oaks, and Acton entered the room. + +"Well," said Thurston, looking up with a frown from the book he was +reading, "what d'you want now? I don't remember asking you fellows to +come and see me. A chap can't call his study his own nowadays." + +"No," answered Acton grimly. "If a chap wants to work, a lot of +blackguards come and wreck his furniture." + +"Look here, Thurston," said the captain coldly, "we've no wish to stay +here longer than we can help. We've come simply to tell you this--that +after what's happened to-night the prefects are determined that +to-morrow morning you send in your resignation to the doctor." + +"And supposing I don't choose to send in my resignation?" returned the +other. + +"Then," answered the captain calmly, "we shall send it in for you." + +There was a moment's silence; then Thurston rose from his chair, and +closing his book flung it down with a bang upon the table. + +"All right," he said; "I'll do it. You fellows have been set against me +from the first. I know all about it, and before I leave this place I'll +pay you out." + +"I almost wish we'd left it till after the holidays," said Oaks, as the +three prefects walked down the passage. + +"No," said Allingford firmly; "if we hesitate, and the fellows see it, +we're lost. It must be done at once." + +"Well, perhaps so," answered Oaks; "but I'll tell you this--Thurston +means mischief. I wish he was going to leave. He won't forget this in +a hurry, and my belief is we shall hear more about it next term." + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +THE ELECTIONS. + +Thurston's resignation, as might have been expected, gave rise to a +considerable amount of excitement and conflicting opinion. Nearly every +boy in the school saw clearly that he was both unworthy and unfitted to +fulfil the duties of a prefect, but the peculiar circumstances under +which he had, as "Rats" put it, been given "notice to quit," caused a +large number of his schoolfellows to side with him, and condemn the +action of the captain. Only a few of the general public knew exactly +what the row had been. The Sixth Form authorities, refusing to be +catechized, would answer no questions; while the other side took good +care to spread abroad a very one-sided account of the affair. + +The Wraxby match was fresh in everybody's mind. "Awfully hard lines I +call it," said the cricketers. "He won that game for us; why didn't +they let him go on a few days more till the end of the term?" +While those young gentlemen, of whom a few are to be found in every +school, who cherish a strong dislike to anything in the shape of law and +order, were, of course, loud in their expressions of dissatisfaction at +the removal of one who always winked at their transgressions. + +At the commencement of the winter session it soon became evident that +seven weeks of summer holiday had not dispelled the cloud which had +overshadowed the close of the previous term. No sooner had the first +excitement of meeting and settling down subsided a little than the +question of Thurston's deposal cropped up again, and caused an unusual +amount of interest to be felt by all Ronleigh in the forthcoming +elections. + +Every school has its own methods of choosing those who are to fill the +posts and offices in connection with its various institutions, and it +will be well to describe, in a few words, how this was done at Ronleigh, +in order that the reader may follow with greater interest the working +out of an important event in the history of the college. + +The elections took place twice a year--at the commencement of the summer +and winter terms--their chief object being to appoint what was known as +the Sports Committee (who had the management of athletics and of the +forthcoming cricket or football season), two librarians, and a keeper of +the reading-room. In addition to this, when any of the prefects left, +fresh ones were chosen in their places. Only members of the Sixth Form +were eligible for this office, which was not conferred before the choice +of the boys had been confirmed by the sanction of the head-master, and +was understood to last for the remainder of the recipient's school life. + +On the second or third morning of the term a paper was posted up on the +notice-board in the big schoolroom, announcing the fact that the +elections would take place two days later, and mentioning exactly what +each voter was required to do. Every boy who had been two terms at the +school received a voting paper, which he filled up at his leisure and +handed over to the returning officers at a special assembly called for +the purpose. + +At the commencement of this particular winter term the school +reassembled on a Tuesday, and on Thursday notice was given that the +elections would take place on the following Saturday afternoon. + +According to the usual custom, when fresh prefects were to be chosen, +the names of all the Sixth Form boys who were not already holding that +office were mentioned on the notice, to show who were eligible for the +position. Thurston's name did not appear on the list; some one added it +in pencil, another hand crossed it out, and an hour or two later it was +added again, this time in red ink. + +This simple action seemed the signal for a general agitation on +Thurston's behalf. His friends throughout the school openly proclaimed +their intention of voting for him, and exhorted others to do the same. +Almost to a man the Sixth and Remove sided with the captain, but Hawley +and Gull in the Fifth, Noaks and Mouler in the Upper Fourth, and other +fellows in the lower forms made up their minds to secure Thurston's +return, and set to work to carry out their project with a zeal worthy of +a better cause. + +Two fresh prefects were required, and the friends of law and order were +unanimous in naming Fielding and Parkes as the most suitable candidates +to fill the vacancies. Rival posters appeared on the double doors +leading to the playground:-- + + REMEMBER THE WRAXBY MATCH, + + AND + + VOTE FOR THURSTON. + + + PLUMP FOR PARKES, + + AND HAVE A + + PROPER PREFECT. + +But this method of carrying on the campaign was soon brought into +disrepute, owing to the fact that certain juveniles, seeing in this new +idea of bill-posting a fresh field for practical joking, began to adorn +the walls of the "grub-room," and other spaces which did not often come +under the eye of a master, with placards exhibiting inscriptions which +had no bearing on the elections--such irrelevant remarks as, +"nooks Two wants kicking !" or, "_Lost_-my wits. (Signed) B. BIBBS," being +calculated to occasion a considerable amount of strife and bad blood +without serving any useful purpose. + +The Lower School was in a fever heat of excitement, and it is quite +possible that the little pleasantries which have just been alluded to +were occasioned by difference of opinion on the one absorbing topic of +the day. The close of the previous holidays had witnessed a general +parliamentary election, and with the details of contests which had taken +place in their native towns vividly impressed upon their minds, the +younger boys, from the Lower Fourth downwards, threw themselves into the +present conflict with an amount of energy and spirit which was not to be +found in the more sober and deliberate action of their seniors. + +The greater number of the old "Happy Family" had now been removed into +the Lower Fourth, and this form in particular was rent with opposing +views, and shaken with continued outbursts of hostility between the +rival factions. The Triple Alliance were loyal to the old _regime_, and +were supported by "Rats," Carton, and several of their old friends. + +"Acton saved us from getting into a row after that 'coffee-mill' +business," remarked Diggory. + +"Rowland gave Noaks a dressing down when he hit me in the mouth," said +Jack Vance. + +"And old Ally boxed Mouler's ears when they made me upset that paint," +added Mugford. + +"Rats" declared that he meant to conduct what he called a +"house-to-house visitation," and accordingly, beginning at the bottom of +the form, the first person he called upon was Grundy, a great lout of +sixteen, who had been at the tail end of the Lower Fourth for the last +twelve months. As it happened, Grundy was a strong partisan of the +opposite side, and not only refused to vote for Parkes, but, seizing +hold of the unfortunate canvasser, proceeded to twist his arms and pinch +his ears for daring to oppose the election of Thurston. + +Fletcher Two, whose sympathies, as might have been expected, were with +his brother's chum, organized open-air meetings in one corner of the +field where the big cricket-roller could be used as a platform. +But here, again, the love of larking which is so characteristic +of the lawless small boy came into evidence, and with that touch of +nature which makes the whole world kin, friend and foe alike joined in +the spree of interrupting the proceedings. Just when the orator +had reached the most important point in his harangue, and was pouring +forth a torrent of impassioned eloquence, the platform would begin to +move, or the audience would insist on turning the gathering into an +imaginary "scrum," and almost crushing the life out of those who +happened to be in the middle of the crowd. + +Poor Bibbs especially became a target for the humour of the electors. +According to Fletcher's instructions, he had written out a speech and +learned it by heart; but though he was being continually called upon to +deliver it, he never got beyond the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," before a +sudden movement of the platform precipitated him into the arms of his +irreverent hearers, or a shout of "Play up at the cocoa-nuts!" followed +by a shower of acorns, bits of stick, and pieces of turf, caused him to +jump down and hastily seek shelter behind the roller. + +For two days, especially in the Lower School, the excitement continued +steadily to increase, and small boys being seized in out-of-the-way +corners were made to assert at one time that they would vote for +Thurston, and at another that they would vote for Parkes or Fielding, +and so, in order to escape with a whole skin, were forced to commit +perjury at least a dozen times between the hours of breakfast and tea. + +One incident, which as far as the Lower Fourth was concerned tended +considerably to embitter the contest, is worthy of record as a notable +feature of this memorable campaign. + +The occupants of dormitory No. 13 were rabid Thurstonians; dormitory No. +14, on the other hand, in which slept the Triple Alliance, Maxton, +"Rats," and Carton, were to a man supporters of Parkes and Fielding. +On Friday evening the two doors, which were exactly opposite to each +other, being left open, the process of undressing was enlivened by a +continual fire of abuse and insulting remarks, which might have led to a +regular scrimmage between the two parties if the presence of the +prefect, patrolling the passage, had not prevented either side from +advancing beyond the threshold of their own doorway. + +"I wouldn't vote for a chap like Thurston, who goes boozing in a common +'pub' like the Black Swan," cried "Rats;" "but that's just the sort of +man for you. You're a cheap lot, the whole crew of you!" + +"Look here, young 'Rats,'" retorted Fletcher junior from the opposite +room, wandering rather wide of the subject in hand. "Why don't you +write home and ask your people to buy you a new pair of braces, +instead of mending those old ones up with string? You look just like a +young street arab, and that's about what you are!" + +"Don't you fellows talk about broken braces, and looking like street +arabs," cried Diggory, "when only yesterday old Greyling sent Stokes out +of class and told him to go down to the lavatory and wash his face. +That's a sample of you Thurstonians!" + +"Look here!" shouted the boy alluded to, springing out of bed, and +appearing in his night-shirt at the opposite end of the dormitory. +"You know very well that Grundy flipped a pen full of ink over me, +and that was why I had to go out and wash my face." + +"I know you looked altogether a different fellow +when you came back," returned Jack Vance: "I hardly knew you!" + +There was a momentary pause in the discussion, and Bibbs, thinking this +a suitable opportunity for the delivery of his speech, stepped forward, +and took up his stand in the doorway. Hardly, however, had he +pronounced the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," when a cake of soap, flung by +Maxton, struck him a violent blow in the pit of the stomach, and he was +still rolling and groaning on his bed in the throes of recovering his +lost wind when the prefect arrived to turn out the light. + +The occupants of the two dormitories lay down, but not to sleep. + +"You mark my word," said Diggory, "as soon as the prefects have gone +down to supper those chaps from over the way'll come across and pay us +out for throwing that soap. We'd better put a chair against the door." + +"Look here!" remarked Fletcher junior to his room-mates. "I shouldn't +be at all surprised if Maxton and those other fellows in No. 14 come +over and try to rag us; let's lie awake a bit and listen." + +For half an hour all was quiet and still, and the watchers in No. 14 +were turning over and preparing to go to sleep, when "Rats" started up, +exclaiming in a whisper, "They're coming! I heard some one in the +passage. There 'tis again! Jump up, you chaps, and let's make a +sortie." + +Now, strange to say, an exactly similar alarm had just been given by +Fletcher junior in No. 13, and the reason was simply as follows:-- +Mr. Greyling, the master of the Lower Fourth, in walking towards his +bedroom in slippered feet, was seized with a sneezing fit, and halting +just outside the two dormitories, gave vent to his feelings with a loud +"Et-chow!" After a moment's pause he sneezed again, and had hardly +done so before both doors were suddenly flung open, and with a cry of +"Ah, you sneaks!" and another of "Come on, you blackguards!" a crowd of +white-robed figures rushed out, brandishing pillows and startling +Mr. Greyling to such a degree that he exclaimed "Great Scott!" and +dropped his candle. + +What followed is too sad to be related in detail. Mr. Greyling +scattered largess in the shape of lines among the crowd, and the next +day the occupants of the two dormitories went about thirsting for each +other's blood. + +On Saturday, just before morning school, the voting papers were +collected, and directly after dinner the boys assembled to hear the +result of the poll. According to the usual custom, no masters were +present. Allingford presided, and the excitement was intense. + +A hush of expectation fell on the crowded room as the captain mounted +the platform on which stood the head-master's desk. Up to the present +time elections at Ronleigh had been little more than a matter of +form, but on this occasion every one felt that something more was at +stake than the mere distribution of the school offices. + +"Gentlemen, the business of this meeting, as you are very well aware, is +to announce the result of the elections. + +"The following," continued Allingford, referring to the paper which he +held in his hand, "have been chosen to act as the Sports Committee: +Myself chairman, Oaks, Acton, Rowland, Parkes, Redfern, and Hoyle. + +"The two former librarians, Clarkson and Lang, have been re-elected. + +"Dale, who for some time past held the position of keeper of the +reading-room, having left, the choice of a successor has fallen between +Lucas and Ferris, who, singularly enough, both received the same number +of votes. Each of these gentlemen being equally ready to withdraw in +the other's favour, I exercised my prerogative as captain of the school, +and gave the casting vote in favour of Lucas." + +At this there was a slight murmur among the audience, though whether of +dissent or approval it was impossible to tell. The interruption was +only momentary, for every one was too much interested in the next +announcement to care much what became of the post of keeper of the +reading-room. + +"As you all know, two vacancies have occurred among the prefects, to +fill which the following gentlemen have been chosen, and their election +duly sanctioned by the head-master: Parkes and Fielding." + +The words had hardly passed the speaker's lips when the whole room was +in an uproar. Cheers, howls, whistling, and the stamping of feet filled +the air with an indescribable din; members of the Lower Fourth fought +one another across the desks; and it was some minutes before Allingford +could obtain sufficient silence to enable him to finish his speech. + +"This," he said, in conclusion, "is the result of the present election. +I believe there has been some little difference of opinion among you, +especially in regard to the selection of the two fresh prefects; there +are so many worthy fellows in the Sixth that one can hardly wonder at +your finding some difficulty in making your choice. One thing is +certain--namely, that the two gentlemen who have been elected to +what is and always has been a very honourable position at Ronleigh are +eminently fitted for the work. The duties of a prefect are often +difficult, and the reverse of pleasant; but I think you will agree +with me when I say that in any large school it is eminently satisfactory +to find that a certain amount of the government and discipline can be +entrusted to the boys themselves, and I feel sure that you will give +Parkes and Fielding the same willing support as you have always accorded +to myself and the other prefects." + +As the captain finished speaking, Hawley, Gull, Noaks, and several other +boys sprang to their feet, their appearance being the signal for a fresh +outburst of cheers and groans. Young "Rats" commenced to hiss like a +small steam-engine, while Grundy made frantic but futile attempts to +reach over from the desk behind and smite him on the head with a French +dictionary. + +"If any one wishes to speak," said the chairman, "he is at liberty to do +so; but, of course, we can't have more than one at a time." + +With the exception of Hawley, those who had risen sat down again. + +"I want to ask," said the former, "what were the numbers in the voting +for the prefects?" + +"Parkes received fifty-six votes, and Fielding forty-eight." + +"Did Thurston receive any votes?" + +"Yes." + +"How many?" + +"That," returned the captain, "is a question which, for certain reasons, +I think it would be best not to answer." + +"I think," interrupted Gull, rising to his feet, amid a murmur of +excitement, "that we have a perfect right to insist on the figures being +made public; everything in connection with these elections ought to +be fair and open." + +"I don't think," answered Allingford quietly, "that any one has ever had +reason to accuse me of being unfair in any of my dealings; it is exactly +because I think it would be hardly fair to Thurston himself that I +propose not to publish the number of votes awarded to unsuccessful +candidates." + +The subject of this remark sat in the front row but one, lolling back +against the desk behind, with his hands in his pockets and a sneering +smile on his lips. + +"I don't care what you do," he exclaimed, with a short laugh. "I can +guess pretty well what's coming." + +"There!" cried Gull; "you hear what Thurston says. Now let's have the +figures." + +"Very well," answered the captain. "If you insist, you shall have them. +The number of votes for Thurston was sixty-one." + +"Then, if he got more votes than either Parkes or Fielding, why isn't he +elected?" + +"Because the doctor would not sanction it. The names have to be +submitted to him for approval, and he appointed Parkes and Fielding." + +"Did you try to influence him to overlook Thurston?" demanded Gull +angrily. But an immediate outburst of such cries as "Shame!" "Shut up!" +and "Sit down!" showed the speaker he had gone too far, and rendered it +unnecessary for Allingford to reply to the question. + +"I think," said Fletcher senior, rising to his feet when this +interruption had ceased, and looking round with a foxy smile on his +face, "that, with all due respect to the gentlemen who have been elected +as prefects, it is a great pity that the doctor should not have +consented to confirm the choice of the school, and reappoint Thurston. +I think if the matter were laid before him in a proper light he might be +induced to reconsider his decision." + +"Well, will you go and see him about it yourself?" asked Allingford, +with a slight sneer. + +"No; of course I shouldn't go alone," returned Fletcher. "I think it's +a matter that should be taken up by the whole school." + +There was a moment's lull in the proceedings, broken only by a confused +murmur of voices; then Acton jumped to his feet. The football captain +was popular with everybody, and the sight of his jovial face and sturdy +figure was greeted with a burst of cheers. + +"Look here, you fellows," he began. "I'm no speaker, but I can say +enough to serve the purpose. I think we are very much indebted to our +captain, not only for presiding over this meeting, but for what he has +done and is always doing for the good of the school. I remember +Ronleigh when it wasn't such a decent place as it is to-day. A lot of +things went on here when I was a kid that wouldn't be put up with now, +and I don't think the school ever played such good games of cricket and +football as we see at the present time. A lot of this, you may take my +word for it, is due to our captain, and I think we can't show our +appreciation of his work in a better way than by giving him three +cheers. Now, then, take the time from me. Three cheers for Allingford. +HIP, HIP, HURRAH!" + +The big assembly shouted till the roof rang and the windows rattled; +then the meeting slowly dispersed, a feeble attempt to raise three +cheers for Thurston being met with as many groans as plaudits. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +A PASSAGE OF ARMS. + +The Triple Alliance, in common with the rest of their schoolfellows, +little thought, on returning from their summer holidays, what a +memorable epoch the coming term would prove in the history of +Ronleigh College; still less did any one imagine what important results +would arise from the action of the three friends, and how much would +depend on the loyalty of these youngsters for their _Alma Mater_. + +They settled down to enjoy a peaceful thirteen weeks of work and play. +Jack Vance reported that the robbery of "the Hermit's" coins was +regarded at Todderton as quite a piece of ancient history; and as +Noaks appeared to have forgotten the existence of the clasp-knife, and, +growing every day more intimate with Thurston and Co., seemed more than +ever inclined to go his way and leave his former foes alone, the latter +made up their minds to banish dull care, and consider their unfortunate +misadventure as a storm which they had safely weathered. + +The wave of excitement caused by the elections soon passed over. +The new prefects entered upon their duties, and in the performance of +the same apparently met with no ill-will or opposition; yet to every +keen observer it was evident that the recent contest had left behind it +a distinct under-current of dissatisfaction, and for the first time in +the memory of all concerned Ronleigh was a house divided against +itself--no longer united in a common cause, but split into two factions, +one pulling against the other, thinking more of party interests than of +the honour and welfare of the whole community. + +The first occasion on which this spirit clearly manifested itself was +some ten days after the elections, when the college played their first +football match of the season against Ronleigh town. Thurston's name +had, as usual, been included in the list of the eleven which was posted +up on Wednesday morning, but before school was over it was noised abroad +that he had refused to play. + +"I say, you fellows, have you heard about 'Thirsty'?" said Fletcher +junior, as the Lower Fourth straggled into their classroom after +interval. "I wonder if it's true." + +"Oh, it's true enough," answered Grundy from the back desk; "and I'm +jolly glad he's done it. I heard him say this morning that if +Allingford and those other fellows wouldn't put up with him as a +prefect, they shouldn't have him in the team." + +"Well, I call that rot," cried Jack Vance: "the team doesn't belong to +Allingford or to anybody else--" + +"Oh, shut your mouth, you young prig!" interrupted Grundy, and the +entrance of Mr. Greyling put a stop to any further conversation. + +I am inclined to think that a much nobler spirit would pervade such +field-sports as cricket and football if the fact could be more firmly +impressed upon the minds of both players and spectators that, providing +the conduct of each side is fair and generous, and that every one does +his "big best," it is equally creditable to lose as to win. Certainly +both sides should strive their hardest to gain the day; but let boys +especially remember, in an uphill game, when scoring goes against them, +that it is to the honour of the slaughtered Spartans and not of the +victorious Persians that the pass of Thermopylae has become a household +word. + +In addition to the loss of Thurston, who, to do him justice, was a very +good forward, the school team was weakened still further by an +unfortunate accident which befell Rowlands, who twisted his ankle, and +was forced to leave the ground at the very commencement of the game. +The Town were unusually strong, and the bulk of the back work fell on +Allingford. The captain played a magnificent game, and covered himself +with glory; but in spite of all that he and his men could do, after a +gallant fight the visitors claimed the victory with a score of four +goals to two. + +On the morning after the match, just before school, the members of the +Triple Alliance were strolling across the entrance-hall, when they +noticed a crowd of boys surrounding the notice-board. The gathering +seemed to consist mainly of members of the lower classes, and the manner +in which they were elbowing each other aside, laughing, talking, and +gesticulating, showed that some announcement of rather uncommon interest +and importance must be exposed to view. + +Our three friends hurried forward to join the group. Pinned to the +board with an old pen-nib was a half-sheet of scribbling-paper, and +inscribed thereon, in what was evidently a disguised handwriting, were +some verses, which were seen at once to refer to the previous +afternoon's defeat. They were as follows:-- + + COLLEGE V. TOWN. + _Air_, "Bonnie Dundee." + + To the boys of the college 'twas Allingford spoke: + "When we play the Town team there are heads to be broke; + So let ten veteran players come now follow me, + And fight for the honour of ancient Ronleigh." + + _Chorus_. + + "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark your touch-line; + We'll grind them to powder, and put them in brine. + Let boarders and day boys all come out to see + Us fight for the honour of ancient Ronleigh." + + The ten merry men mustered quick at his call-- + There were forwards, and half-backs, and goal-keeper tall; + But one who was wont in the forefront to be + No longer was seen in the ranks of Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + + Too soon their rejoicings and empty their boast, + For the Town fellows very soon had them on toast; + And the bystanders sighed as they saw frequently + The ball pass the "back" of our ancient Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + + From this draw a moral, you fellows who rule: + Sink personal spite when you act for the school; + And whatever your notions of prefects may be, + Let's have the right men in the team at Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + +Something in these doggerel lines excited Jack Vance's wrath above +measure, the last verse especially raising his anger to boiling-point, +so that it fairly bubbled over. Jack was a loyal-hearted youngster; +he was nothing to Allingford, but Allingford was something to him, as +head and leader of the community of which he himself was a member. +The sight of the captain toiling manfully through the long, unequal +contest of the previous afternoon, doing practically double work to make +up for the loss of his fellow-back, and to prevent a losing game +degenerating into a rout, rose up once more before the small boy's mind, +and, as has been said before, his wrath boiled over. + +"Well, I call that a beastly shame. The chap who wrote it ought to be +kicked round the field." + +"My eye," cried Grundy, "listen to what's talking! Kicked round the +field, indeed! Why, I think it's jolly good: it serves Allingford and +those other fellows just right for turning Thurston out of the +team." + +"What a lie!" retorted Jack. "You know very well they didn't turn him +out; he went out of his own accord." + +"Here, don't give me any of your cheek," said Grundy, sidling up to his +antagonist in a threatening manner; "you mean to say I'm a liar, eh?" + +The advent of three Fifth Form boys--one of whom took Grundy by the +shoulders and pushed him away, with the command to "Get out and lie on +the mat"--put an end, for the time being, to the altercation. The crowd +increased: boys of all ages stopped to read the verses; some few +laughed, and pronounced them jolly good; but to do them justice, the +greater number of Ronleians were too jealous of the honour of their +school to see much fun in this attempt to lampoon their football +representatives. Just as the bell was ringing for assembly, the paper +was torn down by Trail, the head of the Remove, who ripped it up into +fifty pieces, and in answer to Gull's inquiry what he did that for, +replied, "I'll jolly soon show you!" in such a menacing tone that the +questioner saw fit to turn on his heel and walk away with an alacrity of +movement not altogether due to any particular eagerness to commence +work. + +The Lower Fourth were straggling down the passage on the way to their +classroom, when they heard a scuffle and the clatter of falling books. +Grundy had seized Jack Vance by the collar from behind, and was screwing +his knuckle into his victim's neck. + +"Yes; you called me a liar, didn't you?" + +"So you are! Let go my coat!" + +"Oh, so you stick to it, do you? I'll--" + +The sentence was interrupted by Jack giving a sudden twist and striking +his antagonist a heavy blow in the chest, which sent him staggering +against the opposite wall. Grundy was nearly a head taller than Vance; +but the latter's blood was up, and in another moment the dogs of war +would have assuredly broken loose had not the flutter of a gown at the +end of the passage announced the advent of Mr. Greyling. + +The class had finished translating from their Latin author, and had just +commenced writing an exercise, when a note was passed over to Jack Vance +from the desk behind; it was short and to the point:-- + +"Will you fight me after twelve at the back of the pavilion?-- +H. GRUNDY." + +Jack read the challenge, turned round and nodded, and then went calmly +on with his work as though nothing had happened. + +This cool way of treating the matter did not altogether please Grundy, +who had rather expected that his adversary would elect to "take a +licking." He had, however, every reason to count upon an easy +victory, and so promptly despatched another note, which contained the +words: "Very well. I'll smash you." + +Later on a third epistle was handed over: "Don't tell any one, or +there'll be too much of a crowd." + +It was not until the interval that the two other members of the Triple +Alliance were informed of the coming conflict. + +"You don't really mean you're going to fight him?" said Mugford. + +"Of course I am." + +"You'll get licked!" added Diggory, with a sigh. + +"I don't care if I am. If I land him one or two, he won't be in a hurry +to lick me again. Don't you remember what you said ages ago at The +Birches, Diggy, when you went down that slide on skates? Well, it's the +same thing with me now. I'm going to show him, once and for all, that +he's not going to ride rough-shod over me for nothing." + +During the last hour of school, which happened to be devoted to algebra, +the only member of the Triple Alliance who seemed able to work was Jack +Vance. Diggory made a hash of nearly every sum, while Mugford simply +collapsed, and could not even remember that like signs made _plus_, and +unlike _minus_. + +"I say, Diggy," whispered the latter, "don't you think Grundy'll lick +him?" + +"I don't know," returned the other, with a desperate attempt to be +cheerful; "you never know what may happen. He may--" + +"Trevanock, stop talking," interrupted Mr. Greyling. "If I have to +speak to you again for inattention, you'll stay in and work out these +examples after twelve." + +At length the faint jangle of the bell announced the fact that the +eventful hour had arrived: the Lower Fourth passed on into the big +schoolroom, and were dismissed with the other classes. + +Jack betrayed not the least sign of excitement, and insisted on going +down into the grub-room to feed two white mice before setting out for +the "front." His two friends, however, weighed down with anxiety, and +with dismal forebodings as to the result of the coming conflict, were +obliged to seek support by informing "Rats" of what was about to take +place, and begging him to give them the benefit of his cheering company. + +Young "Rats," who was always ready to take part in anything from a +garden party to a game of marbles, immediately accepted the invitation. + +"Jolly glad you told me," he cried; "wouldn't have missed seeing it for +anything. Jack Vance and Grundy--whew-w-w!" + +The long whistle with which he concluded the sentence had certainly an +ominous sound, but the appearance of their principal was the signal for +the seconds to hide their fears under an assumed air of jovial +confidence. + +"You'll be certain to lick him, Jack," said Diggory, with a face as long +as a fiddle;--"won't he, 'Rats'?" + +"Lick him!" answered "Rats;" "I should think so! Lick him into fits; +I could do it myself." + +"He's a beastly bully," added Mugford solemnly; "and bullies always get +licked--in books." + +"I don't care," answered Jack jauntily, "if I lick him or not, but I +know he'll find me a pretty hard nut to crack." + +Ronleigh had no recognized duelling-ground, but when a premeditated +encounter did take place, the combatants usually resorted to a little +patch of grass situated between the back of the pavilion and the edge +of the adjoining field. Here it was possible to conduct an affair of +honour without much fear of interruption. + +Grundy was already at the trysting-place, accompanied by Andson, a chum +from the Upper Fourth, and Fletcher junior. It was quite an informal +little gathering, and the business was conducted in a free-and-easy +manner, and with an entire absence of the cut-and-dried ceremony which +characterized similar undertakings in the palmy days of the prize ring. + +"Look here, young Vance," said Grundy, "if you like to apologize for +calling me a liar, I'll let you off; if not, I'm going to punch your +head." + +"Punch away!" answered Jack stolidly, and all further attempt at +pacification was abandoned. + +The principals took off their coats and collars, while their companions +drew aside to give them room, and the signal was given to commence the +action. + +Grundy made no attempt at any display of science; he simply relied on +his superior strength and size, and charged down upon his adversary with +the intention of thumping and pounding him till he gave in. Jack Vance +knew very little about the "noble art," except that it was the proper +thing to hit straight from the shoulder; and following out this +fundamental principle, he succeeded in landing his opponent a good hard +drive between the eyes, which made him see more stars than are to be +witnessed at the explosion of a sixpenny rocket. Grundy drew back, and +after blinking and rubbing his nose for a moment, came on again, this +time with greater caution. Jack, on the other hand, emboldened by his +previous success, made an unwise attempt to rush the fighting, and was +rewarded with a sounding smack on the cheek-bone which broke the skin +and sent him staggering back into the arms of Diggory. + +Once more the combatants approached each other, this time with a little +more feinting and dodging, which showed a certain amount of respect for +the weight of each other's fists. At length, urged on to further feats +of arms by impatient ejaculations of "Now, then, go into it!" and "Keep +the game alive!" from Fletcher and Andson, they closed again, and after +a sharp interchange of rather random pounding, Jack smote his opponent +on the nose, and received in return a heavy blow on the chest which very +nearly sent him to the ground. + +After this there was another short breathing-space; a thin stream of +blood was trickling from Grundy's nasal organ, while Diggory and Mugford +noticed with aching hearts that their comrade was beginning to look +rather limp, and was getting short of breath. + +What would have been the ultimate result of the contest had it been +resumed I am sure I cannot say, but I fear that, taking Grundy's +superior weight and height into consideration, the story of the fight +would have been recorded among the trials and not the triumphs of the +Triple Alliance. As it was, a sudden interruption brought the encounter +to a premature close. + +"Hullo, you young beggars! what are you up to?" + +The voice was that of Allingford, who, attracted by cries of "Go it!"-- +"Give him another!"--"Bravo, Vance!" and other warlike shouts, had +hurried round to the rear of the pavilion to find out what was +happening. + +"Hullo!" he continued, stepping forward and grasping Grundy by the +shoulder; "what's up? what's the joke?" + +"It's only a bit of a fight," said Andson; "they had a row this +morning." + +"What, d'you mean to say you're fighting that youngster? Why don't you +choose some one a bit smaller?" demanded the captain, rather bitterly. + +"Well, it's his own doing," growled Grundy. "I offered to let him off, +but he wanted to have it out." + +"Pshaw!" returned the other. "Look here, I've half a mind to give you +two a jolly good 'impot' to keep you out of mischief. Now stop it, +d'you hear, or I'll send both your names in to Denson." + +Fletcher and Andson had already beaten a retreat, and Grundy was +preparing to follow, when Allingford called him back. + +"Come," he said, in a kinder tone. "I don't know what your quarrel's +about, but finish it up like men, and shake hands." + +The boys did as they were told, and though the salutation was not a very +hearty one, it helped to extinguish the smouldering sparks of anger +which might at some future meeting have been once more fanned into a +flame. + +Grundy disappeared round the corner of the building; but Allingford +remained for a moment or two, watching Jack Vance as he fastened on his +collar and resumed his coat. + +"Well, what was the row about?" + +"Oh, nothing." + +"Nonsense; fellows don't fight for nothing. What was it? Any great +secret?" + +"Oh no," answered Jack, laughing: "it began about that lot of verses +that was pinned upon the notice-board this morning. Grundy said +Thurston was turned out of the team, and I said he wasn't." + +The captain smiled thoughtfully, and going down on one knee examined the +wounded cheek. "Put some cold water to it," he said, and then walked +away. + +That look was worth fifty bruises, and for it Jack would have continued +the fight with Grundy to the bitter end. Diggory and Mugford fell upon +his neck, and were loud in their declarations that in another round +their champion would have "knocked the stuffing out" of his opponent. +That this would really have been the case is, as I remarked before, +rather doubtful; but one fact is certain--that the conflict caused the +three friends to be more firmly established than ever in their loyalty +to the side of law and order. + +For a couple of days fellows continued to talk about the skit on the +eleven, and to hazard guesses as to who was the writer. As the +majority, however, pronounced it "a dirty shame," and spoke of the +author as "some mean skunk," the poet wisely concluded to conceal his +identity, and by the end of the week the matter was, for the time being, +practically forgotten. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +THE READING-ROOM RIOT. + +Thurston followed up his withdrawal from the football team by a number +of other actions which clearly showed a determination to spend what was +known to be his last term at Ronleigh in living at open enmity with +those who had once been his friends and associates. He never played +unless it was in one of the rough-and-ready practice games, composed +chiefly of stragglers, who, from being kept in and various other causes, +were too late for the regular pick-ups, and came drifting on to the +field later in the afternoon. He severed his connection with the +debating society, and shunning the society of his comrades in the Sixth, +was seen more frequently than ever hobnobbing with Gull and Hawley, or +lounging about in conversation with Noaks and Mouler. + +Fletcher senior, a mean, double-faced fellow, continued, as the saying +goes, "to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds." + +"It's an awful pity about old 'Thirsty,'" he would say to his brother +prefects. "I try to keep him a bit straight; but upon my word, if he +will go on being so friendly with such cads as Gull and Noaks, I shall +chuck him altogether." + +The speaker's methods of endeavouring to keep his chum straight were, to +say the least of it, not very effective, and, if anything, rather more +calculated to encourage him still further in his descent along the +downward road. + +"Look here!" said Fletcher, as they sat one evening talking in +Thurston's study: "don't you think you'd better make peace with +Allingford and the rest, and be a nice white sheep again, instead of a +giddy old black one? I can tell you at present they don't look upon you +as being a particular credit to the Sixth." + +"I don't care what they think; they're a beastly set of prigs, and I'll +have nothing more to do with them--with Allingford especially." + +"Well, of course," answered Fletcher, with an air of resignation, "the +quarrel's yours and not mine. I must own that I think Allingford made a +great deal of unnecessary fuss over that Black Swan business, and acted +very shabbily in making you send in your resignation just before the +holidays. There's something, too, that I can't understand about the +doctor's not confirming your re-election; and I think there ought to +have been some further attempt made to get you to remain in the team-- +you did a lot of good service last season. However, my advice is, Put +your pride in your pocket, and return to the fold." + +Young Carton had shown that he possessed a certain amount of insight +into character when he told Diggory that Thurston was a dangerous fellow +to cross. The ex-prefect's brow darkened as Fletcher enumerated this +list of real or imaginary grievances, and at the conclusion of the +latter's speech there was a short silence. + +"Yes," said Thurston, suddenly making the fender jump and rattle with a +vicious kick. "Allingford's got his knife in me; he's bent on spoiling +my life here. But that's a game two can play at. I've got a plan or +two in my head, and I'll take the change out of him and those other +prigs before the term's finished." + +Grundy still continued to brag and swagger in the Lower Fourth, but his +attitude towards Jack Vance suddenly underwent a change. Towards the +latter he assumed quite a friendly bearing, and though still remaining a +stanch Thurstonian, refrained from making himself aggressively obnoxious +to the Triple Alliance. The hatchet had been buried for nearly a +fortnight when an event happened which caused Ronleigh College to be +once more convulsed with excitement and party feeling--a certain air of +mystery which pervaded the whole affair tending to considerably increase +the interest which the occurrence itself awakened. + +Allingford had not, perhaps, been altogether wise in his choice of Lucas +as keeper of the reading-room. The latter was a studious, hard-working +boy in the Fifth, whose parents were known to be in comparatively poor +circumstances, and the captain had named him in preference to Ferris, +thinking that the guinea which was given as remuneration to the holder +of this post, as well as to the two librarians, would be specially +acceptable to one who seldom had the means to purchase the books which +he longed to possess. + +The duties of the keeper of the reading-room were to receive and take +charge of the papers and magazines, to keep the accounts, and to be +nominally responsible for the order of the room. I say nominally, as +the law relating to absolute silence was never actually enforced; and as +long as the members amused themselves in a reasonably quiet manner, and +without turning the place into a bear-garden, they were allowed to +converse over their games of chess or draughts, and exchange their +opinions on the news of the day. + +Lucas was, if one may say it, a little too conscientious in the +execution of his duties, and rather apt to be fussy and a trifle +overbearing in his manner. He posted copies of the rules on each of the +four walls of the room, and insisted on decorous behaviour and perfect +silence. The consequence was that he soon became the butt of +innumerable jokes: fellows said they weren't in school, and meant to +enjoy themselves. + +"Rats" hit on the idea of carrying in an old newspaper under his coat. +This he surreptitiously produced, and pretended to read as though it +belonged to the room. At a favourable moment, with an exclamation of, +"Well, this is a rotten paper!" he suddenly crunched the sheet up in his +hands and tore it into fifty pieces. Lucas, naturally imagining that +the property of the room was being destroyed, rushed up exploding with +wrath. An explanation followed, and the whole assembly went off into +fits of merriment, at the latter's expense. + +By the time this trick was worn out, other waggish gentlemen had +introduced the practice of dropping wax matches on the floor and +treading on them, and of hunting an imaginary moth--an irresistibly +humorous proceeding, in which the participators rushed about brandishing +books and magazines, ever and anon crying, "There he is!" and smiting on +the head some quiet, unoffending reader. Some evil-minded young +miscreant went so far as to put bits of india-rubber on the top of the +stove, the consequence being that in a short time a mysterious smell +arose of such a fearful and distressing nature that every one was +obliged to bolt out into the passage. + +Those boys who at the time of the elections had formed the rank and file +of the Thurstonian party, saw here an opportunity for showing their +resentment of what they still chose to consider unfair conduct on +Allingford's part. As a result, so they said, of the captain's +favouritism, Lucas had been forced into a position for which he was +entirely un-fitted; and with the expressed determination "not to stand +him at any price," they proved themselves ever ready to assist in +keeping up a constant repetition of the disturbances which have just +been described. + +These games, it need hardly be said, were not carried on when any of the +prefects or members of the Sixth happened to be present; but during the +half-hour between the end of tea and the commencement of preparation, +when it rarely happened that any of the seniors put in an appearance, +the conduct of the place went steadily from bad to worse. Lucas lost +his head and lost his temper, and in doing so lost all control of his +charge; and at last things were brought to a climax in the manner we are +about to describe. + +At the back of the room was one of those short desks which can be +changed at will into a seat, the top part falling over and making a +back-rest, while the form remains stationary. In connection with +this article of furniture Gull one evening introduced a new pastime, +which he called putting fellows in the stocks, and which consisted in +decoying innocent small boys into taking a seat, then suddenly pushing +them backwards on to the floor, and imprisoning their feet between the +form and the reversible desk--a position from which they only extricated +themselves with considerable difficulty. + +Lucas made a couple of attempts to interfere and stop the proceedings, +and when at length, for the third time, a thud and a shout of laughter +announced that still another victim had fallen into the trap, he rose in +wrath, and ordered Gull to leave the room. + +"I shan't," returned the other. "Keep to yourself, and mind your own +business." + +"That's just what I'm doing; you know the rules as well as I do. It's +my business to keep order in this room." + +"Rubbish! Who do you think cares for your rules, you jack-in-office?" + +"Will you leave the room?" + +"No, of course I won't. If you want to act 'chucker-out,' you'd better +try it on." + +In desperation Lucas resolved to play his last card. "Look here, Gull," +he said, rising from his seat. "You know I'm not your match in size or +strength, or you wouldn't challenge me to fight; but this I will do: +unless you leave the room, I shall go at once and report you to Dr. +Denson." + +The offender, seeing perhaps that this was no empty threat, evidently +considered it the wiser plan not to risk an interview with the +head-master. + +"Oh, keep your wig on!" he answered, with a scornful laugh. "I +shouldn't like to make you prove yourself a sneak as well as a coward. +I'm going in a minute." + +The assembly, who for the most part considered the stocks joke very good +fun, and were possessed with all the traditional schoolboy hatred for +anything in the shape of telling tales, showed their disapproval with a +good deal of booing and hissing as Gull sauntered out of the room, and +Lucas bent over his accounts with the despairing sense of having lost +instead of gained by the encounter. + +It soon became evident that the matter was not to be allowed to drop +without some show of feeling, for on the following morning the +unfortunate official was greeted with jeers and uncomplimentary remarks +wherever he went. + +Just before tea Diggory and Jack Vance were crossing the quadrangle on +their way from the gymnasium to the schoolroom, when they were accosted +by Fletcher junior. + +"I say," remarked the latter, in rather a knowing manner, "if you want +to see a lark, come to the reading-room before 'prep.'" + +"Why, what's up?" + +"Oh, never mind; don't tell any one I told you," and the speaker passed +on. + +"Shall we go?" said Diggory. + +"We might as well," answered his companion, laughing. "I wonder what +the joke is! Another moth-hunt, or some more of that 'stocks' business, +I suppose." + +When the two friends entered the reading-room, it presented an unusually +quiet and orderly appearance. About twenty boys were seated at the +various desks and tables, all occupied with games of chess or draughts, +or in the perusal of magazines and papers. Even Grundy, who never read +anything but an occasional novel, was poring over the advertisement +columns of _The Daily News_, with apparently great interest, while young +Fletcher was equally engrossed in the broad pages of _The Times_. +An attempt to put "Rats" in the stocks utterly failed, from the fact +that those who were usually foremost in acts of disorder refused to +render any assistance, and even went so far as to nip the disturbance in +the bud with angry ejaculations of "Here, dry up!"--"Stop it, can't +you?" + +"I say," murmured Diggory, after sitting for a quarter of an hour +listlessly turning over the pages of a magazine, "Fletcher's sold us +about that lark; I don't see the use of staying here any longer." + +Hardly had the words been uttered when some one in the passage outside +crowed like a cock. There was a rustling of newspapers, and the next +instant all four gas-jets were turned out simultaneously, and the room +was plunged in total darkness. What followed it would be difficult to +describe. The door was flung open, there was an inrush of boys from the +passage, and the place became a perfect pandemonium. Tables were +overturned, books and magazines went whizzing about in the darkness, a +grand "scrum" seemed in progress round Lucas's desk, while amid the +chorus of whoops, whistles, and cat-calls the latter's voice was +distinctly audible, crying in angry tones,-- + +"Leave me alone, you blackguards; let go, I say!" + +Jack and Diggory listened in amazement to the uproar with which they +suddenly found themselves surrounded, and not wishing to risk the chance +of having a form or a table upset on their toes, remained seated in +their corner, wondering how the affair would end. + +At length, piercing the general uproar, came the distant _clang, clang_ +of the bell for preparation. The tumult suddenly subsided, and there +was a rush for the passage. Hardly had this stampede been accomplished +when some one struck a match and lit the gas-jet nearest the door: it +was Gull. + +He stood for a moment looking round the room with a sardonic smile upon +his face, evidently very well pleased with the sight which met his gaze. +The place certainly presented the appearance of a town which had been +bombarded, carried by storm, and pillaged for a week by some foreign +foe. Most of the furniture was upset or pulled out of place, magazines +and papers lay strewn about in every direction, ink was trickling in +black rivulets about the floor, and draughts and chess men seemed to +have been scattered broadcast all over the place. In addition to our +two friends, three other boys, who had evidently taken no active part in +the proceedings, still remained at some seats next to the wall; while +Lucas, with hair dishevelled, waistcoat torn open, and collar flying +loose, stood flushed and panting amid the _debris_ of his overturned +desk. + +"Well, I'm sure!" said Gull, with a short laugh; "you fellows seem to +have been having rather a bit of fun here this evening. I thought I +heard a row, and I was coming to see what it was; only just when I got +to the door, about fifty chaps bounced out and nearly knocked me down.-- +What have they been up to, eh, Lucas?" + +"Never you mind," answered the unfortunate official, choking with rage; +"the bell's gone, so all of you clear out." + +"Well, you can't blame me this journey," retorted Gull, calmly striking +another match and lighting the next gas-jet. "It seems to me this is a +little too much of a good thing. You'll have to lick a few of them, +Lucas, my boy; and if you can't manage it yourself, you'd better get +some one else to do it for you--your friend Allingford, for instance." + +The master on duty in the big schoolroom had to call several times for +silence before the subdued hum of muttered conversation entirely ceased. +Every one had heard of the reading-room riot, and was anxious to discuss +the matter with his companions. + +"Who did it? who did it?" was the question asked on all sides. + +"I don't know," would be the answer. "They say it wasn't the fellows +who were in the room--some of them put the gas out; but it was a lot of +other chaps, who rushed in after, who did all the damage and caused such +'ructions.'" + +"It seems to me," remarked Diggory to his two chums, "that it was a +put-up job, all arranged beforehand." + +"Then who d'you think planned it?" asked Mugford. + +"I don't know, but I believe Gull had a hand in it." + +"Oh, I don't think that," answered Jack Vance. "He came in and lit the +gas; if he'd been in it, he'd have skedaddled with the rest." + +"Um--would he?" returned Diggory, nodding his head in a sagacious +manner; "I'm rather inclined to think he came in on purpose." + +By the end of supper a fresh rumour spread which caused the affair to +assume a still graver and more important aspect. Lucas had reported the +whole thing to the head-master, and the latter had expressed his +intention of inquiring into it on the following day. The truth of these +tidings was proved beyond all possibility of doubt when, next morning at +breakfast, an announcement was made that the school would assemble +immediately after the boys left the hall, instead of gathering, as +usual, at nine o'clock. + +Every one knew what this meant. The subject had been discussed for +hours in most of the dormitories on the previous evening, and when +Dr. Denson ascended his throne there was no necessity for him to strike +the small hand-bell--the usual signal for silence; an expectant hush +pervaded the whole of the big room, showing clearly the interest +which every one felt in the business on hand. + +"I need hardly say," began the doctor, in his clear, decisive manner, +"that my object in calling you together is to inquire into a disgraceful +piece of disorder which took place in the reading-room last night. +I am astonished that such outrageous behaviour should be possible in +what, up to the present time, I have always been proud to regard as a +community of gentlemen. Such an offence against law and order cannot be +allowed to pass unpunished. I feel certain that the greater number of +those here present had no share in it, and I shall give the culprits a +chance of proving themselves at all events sufficiently honourable to +prevent their schoolfellows suffering the consequences which have arisen +from the folly of individuals. Let those boys who are responsible for +what occurred last evening stand up!" + +With one exception nobody stirred; a solitary small boy rose to his +feet, and in spite of the gravity of the situation a subdued titter ran +through the assembly. Apparently the whole of the row and disturbance +of the previous evening was the handiwork of one single boy, and that +boy the youthful "Rats." + +"Well, Rathson," said the head-master grimly, "am I to understand that +you single-handed overturned forms and tables, scattered books and +papers to the four winds, and nearly tore the clothes off another +boy's back?" + +"N--no, sir," answered "Rats" plaintively. + +"Then will you explain exactly what you did do?" + +"I was reading--and the gas went out--and some one emptied a box of +chess-men over my head--and I--I hit him--and then there was a lot of +pushing, and I pushed, and--" concluded "Rats" apologetically-- +"and I think I shouted." + +"H'm!" said the doctor; "so that's all you did. Sit down, sir.--Lucas!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Do you remember what boys were in the reading-room last night?" + +"Yes, sir, but I don't think they were responsible for what happened; it +was done by others who came in from outside." + +There was a silence. + +"I ask once more," said the head-master, "what boys took part in this +disturbance? let them stand up!" + +Once more young "Rats" alone pleaded guilty. + +"Very well, then," continued the doctor sternly; "the whole school will +be punished: there will be no half-holiday on Wednesday afternoon, and +the reading-room will be closed for a fortnight.--Sit down, Rathson; you +are the only boy among the many who must have been connected with this +affair--the only one, I say, who has any sense of manliness or honour. +Write me a hundred lines, and bring them to me to-morrow morning." + +The prospect of having to work on Wednesday afternoon caused, the boys +themselves to take up the doctor's inquiry, and the query, "Who did it?" +became the burning question of the hour. + +The riot had evidently been carefully planned beforehand, and the plot +arranged in such a manner that those who took part in it might do so +without being recognized. + +It was impossible to discover who really were the culprits, though the +majority of the boys put it down as having been done by "some of +'Thirsty's' lot," and as being a further proof of the latter's +well-known animosity towards Allingford, who had, of course, appointed +Lucas as keeper of the room. + +"Look here!" said Diggory, accosting Fletcher Two in the playground: +"what made you tell us to come to the reading-room last night? How did +you know there was going to be a row?" + +"I didn't," murmured the other warily. "All I knew was that they were +going to put 'Rats' in the 'stocks;' I hadn't the faintest idea there +was going to be such a fine old rumpus." + +"Umph! hadn't you?" muttered Diggory, turning on his heel; "I know +better." + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +THE CIPHER LETTER. + +The reading-room row, as it was called, had pretty well blown over, when +one morning Diggory accosted Jack Vance and Mugford, who were both +seated at the latter's desk, sharpening their knives on an oil-stone. + +"I say, you fellows, look what I've found." As he spoke, he laid on the +desk a slip of paper; it was evidently a scrap torn out of some +exercise-book, and inscribed upon it were several lines of capital +letters, all jumbled together without any apparent object in their +arrangement, and, to be more exact, placed as follows:-- + + NVVGRMGSVTBNDSVMGSVUVOOLD + HKZHHLMGLHFKKVIGSVGDLXZM + HLUDZGVIZIGHGZMWRMTRMHRW + VGSVXFKYLZIWFMWVIGSVHGZRIH. + +"Well, what is there funny about that?" asked Jack; "it looks to me as +if some one had been practising making capitals." + +"Is it a puzzle?" inquired Mugford. + +"No, but I'll tell you what I think it is," answered Diggory, sitting +down, and speaking in a low, mysterious tone: "it's a letter written in +cipher." + +"A letter?" repeated Mugford, glancing at the paper. "Why, how could +any one read that rubbish--NVVG?" + +"Of course they can, if they know the key. Didn't I say it was written +in cipher, you duffer? Every letter you see there stands for something +different." + +"Then why didn't they write the proper letters at once, and have done +with it?" grumbled Mugford. + +"Because, you prize ass," retorted Diggory, with pardonable asperity, +"they didn't want it read." + +"Then if they didn't want it read, why did they write it at all?" +exclaimed Mugford triumphantly. + +"Oh, shut up! you're cracked, you--" + +"Look here," interrupted Jack Vance, "where did you find the thing?" + +"Why, you know the window in the box-room that looks out on the 'quad;' +well, there's a little crack under the ledge between the wooden frame +and the wall, and this note was stuck in there. I should never have +seen it, only I was watching a spider crawling up the wall, and it ran +into the hole close to the end of the paper. Some fellows must be using +the place as a sort of post-office; don't you remember Fred Acton made +one in the wainscotting at The Birches? only these fellows have invented +a cipher. Well, I'm going to find it out, and read this note, just for +the lark." + +"How are you going to do it, though? I don't see it's possible to read +a thing like this; you can't tell where one word ends and a fresh one +begins." + +"There is a way of finding out a cipher," answered Diggory; "it tells +you how to do it in that book that we bought when Mug had his things +sold by auction at Chatford." + +"What, in Poe's tales?" asked Mugford. "Yes; in one of the stories +called 'The Gold Bug.' Where is the book?" + +"I lent it to Maxton, but I should think he's finished it by this time. +I'll go and see." + +"All right," said Diggory, pocketing the slip of paper; "you get it, and +then I can show you what I mean. Come on, Jack; let's go out." + +The two friends were just rising from the form on which they had been +sitting, when they were accosted by Browse, who, strolling up with a +pair of dilapidated slippers on his feet, which caused him to walk as +though he were skating, inquired in drawling tones, "I say, have either +of you kids got a watch-key?" + +Jack Vance handed him the required article, which happened to be of the +kind which fit all watches. + +The Sixth Form "sap" was very short-sighted, and proceeded to wind up +his timepiece, holding it close to his spectacles throughout the +operation. + +"I can't think how it is," he continued, in his sing-song tone, +"I'm always losing my key. I've had two new ones already this term. +I always stick them in a place where I think they're sure not to get +lost, and then I forget where I put them. Thanks awfully." + +"What a queer old codger Browse is!" remarked Diggory, as the big fellow +moved away; "no one would ever think he was so clever." + +"No," answered Jack Vance. "By-the-bye, did you hear that he had +another row with 'Thirsty' last night?" + +"No; what about?" + +"Oh, the same thing as before. Some fellows were making a beastly row +in Thurston's study, and Browse couldn't work, so he threatened if they +weren't quiet he'd report them to the doctor. 'Thirsty' came out +in an awful wax, and said for two pins he'd knock Browse down; and young +Collis, who was standing at the top of the stairs, says he believes he'd +have done it if some of the other fellows in the Sixth hadn't come out +and interfered." + +In the course of the afternoon Diggory secured Mugford's copy of Poe's +tales, and (sad to relate) spent a good part of that evening's +preparation in trying to unravel the secret of the mysterious missive +which he had found in the box-room. So intent was he on solving the +problem that, instead of going down to supper with the majority of his +companions, he remained seated at his desk, poring over the experiments +which he was making according to directions given in the famous story of +"The Gold Bug." + +"Well, how are you getting on ?" inquired Jack Vance, as the crowd came +straggling back from the dining-hall. + +"Oh, pretty well," answered the other. "The first thing you have to do +is to find E; it's the letter which occurs most frequently. Well, in +this case V is the letter which comes oftenest--there are fourteen of +them--so V is E. Then, when you know what E is, you search for the word +'the.' There are certain to be several 'the's' in the piece; so you +look for instances in which the same two letters come before E, or, in +this case, before V. Well, here it is, G S V, five times; so you are +pretty certain that G S V is 'the,' or, in other words, that G is T, S +is H, and V is E. That's as far as I've got at present; but I mean to +worry out the rest of it to-morrow." + +While Diggory was holding forth in the big schoolroom on his methods of +reading a cipher, a conversation of a very different character, and on a +matter of grave importance, was taking place in the study of the school +captain. + +Allingford and John Acton were seated in front of the former's little +fireplace talking over matters connected with the football club. +Suddenly there was a sound of hurrying feet in the passage; the next +instant the door burst open, and in bounced Browse. The two prefects +gazed at him for a moment in open-mouthed astonishment; then Acton broke +the silence, exclaiming, "Why, Browse, what's the matter?" + +The "sap" certainly presented an extraordinary appearance. +His spectacles were gone; his hair was pasted all over his face, as +though he had just come up from a long dive; his clothes were torn, and +in a state of the wildest disorder; while the strangest part of all was +that from head to foot he seemed soaking wet, drenched through and +through with water, which dripped from his garments as he stood. + +"Why, man alive!" cried Allingford, "what have you been up to?" + +"It's those blackguards!" gasped Browse, choking with rage, and shaken +for once in a way out of his usual drawl; "it's that Thurston and his +crew--I know it was!" + +"But what was? what's the matter?" + +With some little difficulty the two prefects at length succeeded in +extracting from their excited comrade an account of his wrongs; even +then such an amount of cross-questioning was necessary that it will be +best to make no attempt at a verbatim report, but rather to give the +reader a more concise version of the story. + +From Browse's statement it appeared that just before supper some one had +come to his study, saying: "Smeaton wants you in the 'lab;' look sharp!" +The door had only been opened about a couple of inches, and then closed +again. From the few words thus spoken Browse did not recognize the +voice; but thinking that his particular friend Smeaton (another +tremendous worker) was engaged in some important experiments, and needed +his assistance, he hurried away, never dreaming but that the message he +had received was genuine. + +In order to reach the laboratory, it was necessary to traverse the +box-room and the gymnasium, both of which were in darkness, the lights +being turned out by the prefect on duty when the boys assembled for +preparation. + +Across the first of these chambers Browse groped his way in safety. +Hardly, however, had he crossed the threshold of the second, when he was +suddenly seized and held fast by several strong pairs of hands. +His indignant expostulations were met with a titter of suppressed +laughter; he was roughly forced down upon his knees, and while in this +position what seemed like two buckets of cold water were emptied over +his devoted head. This having been done, he was dragged to his feet, +thrust back into the box-room, and the door leading into the gymnasium +was slammed to and locked on the inside. From first to last not a word +had been spoken, and at the very commencement of the struggle Browse's +spectacles had been knocked off. These two circumstances had entirely +prevented him from recognizing the shadowy figures of his assailants. +He made one attempt to force the door open, but finding it securely +fastened, had come straight away to the captain's study. + +"It's that Thurston and some of his gang," he repeated in conclusion; +"they did it to pay me out for interfering with their noisy meetings." + +Allingford and John Acton sprang to their feet. The idea that the rowdy +element should be so powerful in Ronleigh that a Sixth Form boy could +with impunity be seized and drenched with cold water, was not very +pleasing to one who was largely responsible for the order of the school, +and the captain's face was as black as thunder. + +"All right!" he exclaimed; "leave this to me. Go and change your +clothes." + +The two prefects hurried down the passage. + +"Wait a minute," said Allingford. "Which is Thurston's study?" + +Acton knocked at the door; and receiving no answer, pushed it open and +looked in. The room was empty. + +"Come on," cried Allingford; "the 'gym!' They may be there still." + +They rushed down the stairs, scattering a group of small boys who were +roasting chestnuts at the gas-jet in the passage, and on through the +box-room, but only to find the door on the other side standing +wide open, and the gymnasium itself silent and deserted--two empty +water-cans, lying in a big pool of wet on the cement floor, being the +only remaining traces of the recent outrage. + +"They're gone," said Acton. "What shall we do?" + +"We'll find one of them, at all events," replied his companion; and +returning once more to the neighbourhood of the studies, he shouted,-- + +"_Thurston!_" + +There was a faint "Hullo!" and a moment later a door opened half-way +down the passage. + +"Well, what d'you want?" + +Allingford walked quickly forward. "Look here," he demanded sternly, +"where have you been? What have you been doing?" + +"Doing!" echoed Thurston; "why, I've been sitting here for the last two +hours with old Smeaton. I asked him to let me come and work in his +study to-night. There's some of this Ovid I can't get on with, and he +promised he'd help me out with it if I'd tell him what it was I didn't +understand." + +The captain hesitated a moment, rather nonplussed by this unexpected +reply. "I believe you know something about this affair with Browse," he +continued. "Who did it?" + +"Who did what?" demanded Thurston snappishly. "If you mean when he came +banging at my study door last night--" + +"No, I don't mean that," interrupted Allingford. "I mean this +blackguard's trick that was played on him to-night." + +"I don't know what you're talking about," retorted Thurston angrily. +"Look here, Allingford, I'll thank you not to call me a blackguard for +nothing, for I suppose that's what you're driving at. If you don't +think I'm speaking the truth, ask Smeaton. I suppose you'll take his +word, if you won't take mine." + +Smeaton, whose veracity it was impossible to doubt, confirmed the last +speaker's assertions, and Allingford and Acton were forced to beat a +retreat, feeling that they had certainly been worsted in the +encounter. + +"What's to be done?" asked Acton, as they re-entered the captain's +study. + +"I don't know," answered the other, flinging himself into a chair. +"The only thing I can see is to report it to the doctor." + +"Oh, I shouldn't do that; it's more a piece of personal spite than any +disorder and breach of rule, like that reading-room affair. I think +it's a thing which ought to be put down by the fellows themselves. +Who was in Thurston's study last night?" + +"I don't know. It may have been those fellows Gull and Hawley, but you +can't accuse them without some evidence; you see what I got just now for +tackling Thurston. Ever since the elections there seem to be a lot of +fellows bent on bringing the place to the dogs. Thurston's hand and +glove with the whole lot of them, and it's hard to say who did this +thing to Browse." + +A report of what had happened was rapidly spreading all over the school. +One by one the other prefects dropped in to the captain's study to talk +the matter over. Most of them were inclined to agree with Acton in +considering it a thing to be taken up by the boys themselves, and the +discussion was continued till bedtime. + +"Well, I'll tell you what I think I'd better do," said Allingford, +preparing to wish his companions good-night. "I'll report it to the +doctor, and ask him not to take any steps in the matter until we've +had a chance of inquiring into it ourselves." + +The story of Browse's mishap, as we have just said, soon passed from +mouth to mouth, until it was common property throughout the college. +The remarks which the news elicited were often of an entirely opposite +nature, according to the character of the boys who made them. Noaks and +Mouler laughed aloud, declaring it a rare good joke; but to the credit +of the Ronleians of that generation be it said, the majority shook their +heads, and muttered, "Beastly shame!" "What'll be done?" was the +question asked on all sides. "Will it be reported to the doctor?" + +"If it is," said "Rats," "we shall lose another half-holiday. Confound +those fellows, whoever they are! I should like to see them all jolly +well kicked." + +On the following day the first assembly for morning school passed +without anything happening, though every one looked rather anxiously +towards the head-master's throne as Dr. Denson took his seat. + +The brazen voice of the bell had just proclaimed the eleven o'clock +interval, when the Triple Alliance, hurrying with their companions of +the Lower Fourth along the main corridor leading to the schoolroom, +found that the passage was nearly blocked by a large crowd of boys +standing round the notice-board. + +"Hullo!" said Diggory, "another rhyme?" + +This time, however, the placard was in good plain prose, and ran as +follows:-- + + "NOTICE. + + "A meeting of the whole school will take place + directly after dinner in the gymnasium. A full + attendance is urgently requested, as the matter for + consideration is of great importance. + + "A. R. ALLINGFORD." + +"Humph," muttered Fletcher senior to himself, as he turned on his heel +after reading the notice, "the fat's in the fire now, and no mistake." + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +DIGGORY READS THE CIPHER. + +The gymnasium was filled with a dense crowd of boys; "Rats," Maxton, +and some other members of the Lower Fourth were fighting for seats on +the parallel bars, and throughout tho whole assembly there was a subdued +murmur of interest and expectation. The last gathering of the kind had +been a court-martial held some two years previously on a boy suspected +of stealing. Old stagers, in a patronizing manner, related what had +happened to their younger comrades, adding, "What, weren't you here +_then?_ Well, you are a kid!" and forgetting to mention that at the +time they themselves were wearing knickerbockers, and doing simple +arithmetic in the lowest form. + +At one end of the room was a big chest containing dumb-bells and +single-sticks, and Allingford, mounting on the top of this as the last +stragglers from the dining-hall joined the assembly, called for silence. + +There was no attempt at eloquence or self-assertion in Allingford's +remarks; brief they were almost to bluntness, but well suited to the +audience to whom they were addressed. It was the old, well-tried +captain of Ronleigh who spoke, and the boys of Ronleigh who listened, +and the manner in which the words were given and received might have +reminded one of a speech of Sir Colin Campbell's in the Indian Mutiny, +and the answer of the Highlanders he addressed:-- + +"Ninety-third, you are my own lads; I rely on you to do yourselves and +me credit." + +"Ay, ay, Sir Colin; ye ken us, and we ken you." + +"I think you all know," began the captain, "the reason of this meeting +being called together. Last night Browse was set on in this room--in +the dark, mind you--knocked down, and drenched with cold water. +Some fellows may think it a good joke. I don't; I think the fellows who +did it were cads and cowards. I reported the matter to the doctor, and +he consented to act in accordance with the wishes of the prefects, and +leave the matter in the hands of the boys themselves rather than inquire +into it himself, which would probably only have meant another punishment +for the whole school." ("Hear, hear!") + +"Now, what I want to say is this. I've been here a good many years-- +longer than any one, except Oaks and Rowlands and two or three more. +I love the place, and I'm proud of it. I'd sooner be captain of +Ronleigh than of any other public school you could mention" (cheers); +"but I tell you plainly, the place is going down. There's been a good +deal too much of this rowdy element showing lately, and it's high time +it was put a stop to. + +"Some of you, I know, have lately taken a dislike to me, and think I +don't act rightly." ("No, no!") "If I'm to blame, I'm sorry for it, +for I've always tried to do my best. I ask you not to look upon this +matter as a personal affair, either of mine or of any of the other +prefects, but to consider only the welfare of the school. I say again +that if Ronleigh is to retain its reputation, and be kept from going to +the dogs, it's high time these underhanded bits of foul play like the +reading-room row and this attack on Browse were put a stop to; and I beg +you all to join in taking measures to prevent anything of the kind +occurring again in the future." + +The speaker concluded his remarks amid a general outburst of applause. + +"So we will," cried several voices; "three cheers for old Ally!" + +"In my opinion," began Oaks, as soon as order was restored, "the first +thing is to try to find out who did it; surely a fellow can't be set on +by three or four others without somebody knowing something about it.-- +Haven't you yourself any idea who it was, Browse?" + +"Well, I can't swear," answered Browse readily. "I couldn't see, +because it was dark, and my spectacles were knocked off; but I'm pretty +certain it was some of Thurston's lot--Gull, or Hawley, or some of those +fellows. They did it because I complained when they kicked up a row and +interfered with my work." + +This reply created a great sensation, and the air was rent with a storm +of groans, cheers, and hisses. + +Oaks, who seemed to have taken upon himself the duties of counsel for +the prosecution, held up his hand to procure silence. + +"Shut up!" he exclaimed; "every one will be heard in time. Browse +thinks it might have been Gull, Thurston, or Hawley.--Now, Gull, what +have you got to say? Where were you last night?" + +"In bed, asleep," answered Gull promptly. + +There was a laugh. + +"I don't mean that. What we want to know is, what were you doing after +'prep'?" + +"Well, I was about some private business of my own." + +"What was it?" + +"I don't see why I should tell you all my private affairs." + +"Well, in this instance we mean to know; so out with it. What were you +doing directly after 'prep' last night?" + +There was a hush of expectation. Every one thought an important +disclosure was about to be made. + +"All right," answered Gull calmly; "if you must know, I'll tell you. +I was in the matron's room, getting her to sew two buttons on my +waistcoat." + +A roar of laughter interrupted the proceedings; the defence had scored +heavily. Oaks was for the moment completely nonplussed, and Thurston +seized the opportunity of making a counter-attack. He strode forward, +and mounting the chest addressed the assembly as follows:-- + +"Gentlemen, however low Ronleigh may have sunk, there is still, I +believe, left among us a certain amount of love of fair play, and +therefore I ask you to give me a hearing. The saying goes, 'Give a dog +a bad name and then hang him.' I'm a dog on which certain people have +been good enough to bestow a bad name. I know I've got it, and to tell +you the truth I don't much care. All the same, I don't see why I should +be hung for a thing which is no fault of mine. You've just heard what +Gull's had to say. I can prove that I was in Smeaton's study when this +thing happened; and I daresay, if Hawley is to be cross-examined, he'll +be able to show that he was somewhere else at the time. What I say, +however, is this--that it's very unfair and unjust to practically +accuse fellows of a thing without having some grounds for so doing. +I don't want to brag, but there have been times, as, for instance, at +the last Wraxby match" (cheers), "when the school thought well of me" +(loud cheers). "Now I'm a black sheep; but there ought to be fair play +for black sheep as well as for white ones." ("Hear, hear!") +"Allingford said something about underhanded bits of foul play. Well, +I, for one, am not afraid to be open and speak my mind. If the place is +going to the dogs because of it's being continually in a state of +disorder, then the fault lies with the prefects." (Sensation.) +"They're the ones who ought to check it, and if they are incompetent, +and can't do their duty, it's no excuse for their trying to shift the +blame on to fellows who are innocent, but who happen to stand in their +bad books." + +The speech had just the effect which Thurston intended it should have. +The English schoolboy has always been a zealous champion of "fair play," +though sometimes misled in his ideas as to what the term really implies. +A vague sense that the prefects were at fault, and that this inquiry was +a blind to cover their shortcomings, spread through the meeting. +Oaks was interrupted and prevented from questioning Hawley, and it +seemed as though the good influence of Allingford's opening speech would +be entirely lost, and that the meeting would bring about a still more +hostile attitude on the part of the rank and file towards those in +authority. + +The Thurstonians, however, attempting to make the most of this temporary +triumph, met with an unexpected disaster, which quickly turned the +changing tide of public opinion. + +During a momentary pause in the hubbub which followed Thurston's +address, Fletcher senior, with the usual smile upon his face, began to +speak. + +"Thurston has just said that as regards these rows the fault lies with +the prefects, and that they are culpable in trying to shift the blame on +to other fellows without first getting sufficient evidence to warrant +their so doing. As one of the prefects, I think it only fair to myself +to mention that I was not in favour of this meeting being called. +I suggested to my friend Allingford that this matter should be allowed +to rest until some inquiries had been made--" + +"Stop!" cried the captain sternly. The two lines were deepening between +his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth were drawn down. The boys +had seen that look before, as he stood at the wicket when runs were few +and the bowling dangerous. "Stop! Speak the truth: you're not my +friend." + +"Allingford says we are not friends," continued the speaker, with the +same eternal smile upon his lips. "I'm sorry to hear it. I know I've +always tried to be his friend, ever--" + +"You're lying!" interrupted the other sharply. "Take care, or I'll +prove it!" + +There was a dead silence all over the room. Fletcher did not know what +was coming, and though he felt uneasy, he had gone too far to go back. + +"I can't understand," he began, "why you should have this unkind feeling +towards me. I can only repeat, in spite of what you say, that I _am_ +your friend." + +"Very well," returned the other, with an angry flash in his eyes, "as it +was partly an attack on myself, I had meant to have said nothing about +it; but since you persist in your miserable hypocrisy, I'll expose +you.--You remember," he continued, turning to the audience, and speaking +with a ring of bitter scorn in his voice, "that paltry rhyme that was +fastened on the notice-board after the Town match? Well, allow me to +introduce you to the author of it. He was too modest to sign his name +to it, but here he is, all the same--a fellow who tries to bring +ridicule and contempt on his own side; who stabs a man in the dark, and +in the daylight professes to be his friend." + +A derisive groan rose from the crowd. + +"You can't prove it!" retorted Fletcher, turning first white and then +red. + +"I can prove it up to the hilt. You had the confounded cheek to borrow +from me the very book of songs you used when you wrote the parody, and +you were fool enough to leave the rough copy in it when you brought it +back. It's there now, in your writing. Shall I send for it? it's on my +study table at this moment." + +The culprit muttered something about it's being "only a joke," but his +reply was lost amid a storm of hoots and hisses. + +"Sneak!" cried one voice; "Turn him out!" yelled another; while the +object of this outburst of animosity, recovering himself sufficiently to +glance round with a contemptuous sneer on his face, fell back, and +endeavoured to hide his confusion by entering into conversation with +Gull and Thurston. + +Fletcher had come a nasty cropper, and reaped what, sooner or later, is +the inevitable reward of double-dealing. + +Once more the sympathy of the meeting was enlisted on the side of +Allingford and the prefects, and the crowd dispersed, resolved to +discover, if possible, who had made the attack on Browse, and determined +that such acts of disorder were not to be tolerated in the future. + +"Hullo, old chap!" said Thurston, entering his friend's study a few +moments later; "you made rather a mess of that speech of yours. +I'm inclined to think you've damaged your reputation." + +"I don't care," returned the other; "we're both leaving at the end of +this term. As for Allingford, just let him look out: it'll be my turn +to move next, and there's plenty of time to finish the game between +now and Christmas." + +It was a bright, crisp afternoon. Almost everybody hurried away to +change for football. + +"Where's Diggy?" asked Jack Vance, as he and Mugford strolled out to the +junior playing field. + +"Oh, he said he wasn't coming; he's stewing away at that stupid cipher. +He can't find any word except 'the;' he'll never be able to read the +thing." + +It being a half-holiday, the games lasted a little longer than usual. +At length, however, the signal was given to "cease fire," and a general +cry of "Hold the ball!" put an end to the several contests. + +The crowd of players were tramping across the paved playground, and +surging through the archway into the quadrangle, when Jack Vance and +Mugford were suddenly confronted by Diggory. He held some scraps of +paper in his hand, and appeared to be greatly agitated. + +"Come here," he cried, seizing each of them by the arm; "I've got +something to show you." + +"Well, what is it?" asked the other two. Their friend, however, would +vouchsafe no further reply than, "Come here out of the way, and I'll +tell you." + +He dragged them along until they reached the deserted entrance to some +of the classrooms; then, stopping and turning to them with an +extraordinary look of mingled triumph, mystery, and excitement, +exclaimed,-- + +"I've read the cipher!" + +"Pooh! what of that?" answered Jack, rather annoyed at being taken so +far out of his way for nothing. "I expect it isn't anything particular +after all." + +"It is, though," returned the other confidently; "and you'll say so too +when you read it." + +"Well, tell us first how you managed to find it out." + +"That's just what I was going to do. You know I found that G was T, S +was H, and V was E; well, I tried and tried, and I couldn't get any +further. I wrote down the alphabet, and put V opposite E, and T +opposite G, and S opposite H. I stared at it and stared at it, and all +of a sudden--I don't know how I came to think of it--I noticed that E is +the fifth letter from the _beginning_ of the alphabet, and V is the +fifth letter from the _end_. The same thing held good with the next +letter: G was seventh from the beginning, and T was seventh from the +end." + +Diggory paused as though to see what effect this announcement would have +on the faces of his friends. + +"Well!" they exclaimed; "go on!" + +"Why, then, I saw in a moment what they'd done: _they'd simply +transposed the whole alphabet_--A. was Z, and Z was A!" + +"Oh!" cried Jack Vance; "I see it now." + +"Of course, it was as plain as print. I put the two alphabets side by +side, one the right way and the other upside down, and I read the cipher +in two minutes, and here's what you might call the translation." + +As he spoke he held out a scrap of scribbling-paper. Jack Vance took +it, and read as follows:-- + +"Meet in the 'gym' when the fellows pass on to supper. The two cans of +water are standing inside the cupboard under the stairs." + +Mugford stared at Jack Vance, and Jack stared at Diggory. "D'you see?" +cried the latter eagerly. + +"Yes." + +"Well, what then?" + +"Why, it must have something to do with this row about Browse." + +"Of course: the fellows who did it didn't want, I suppose, to be seen +talking together too much just before it happened, and so they invented +this way of making their plans." + +"But who can it be?" asked Mugford. "It seems to me it's just like one +of those secret society things in Russia." + +"So it is, and we must find out who they are," answered Diggory, +smacking his lips with great relish. "We'll see once more what can be +done by the Triple Alliance." + +The more the three friends thought over the matter of the cipher letter, +the more their curiosity and interest were excited. + +"I believe it's either Noaks or Mouler," said Mugford; "they were both +of them siding with Thurston, and trying to kick up a row at the +meeting." + +"Oh, they'd neither of them have the sense to invent a thing like this," +answered Jack. "They may be in it, but there's some one else besides." + +Diggory scouted the idea of letting any other boys share their secret. +The honour of having discovered and exposed the plot must belong to the +Triple Alliance alone, and it must be said that they had accomplished +their task unaided by any outsiders. + +That evening and the following day the greater portion of their free +time was spent in discussing the great question as to what should be +done. The cipher note evidently had direct connection with the +attack on Browse, but the translation of the letter was in itself like +finding a key without knowing the whereabouts of the lock which it +fitted. The question was, by whom and for whom it had been written. + +Afternoon school was just over, and the three friends were standing +warming their feet on a hot-water pipe, discussing the likelihood of +making any other discoveries which might tend to throw more light on the +subject, when suddenly a happy thought entered the head of Jack Vance. + +"Look here, Diggory. You said you found this note in a crack in the +wall under one of the grub-room windows, and that you thought some +fellows were using it as a sort of post-office. Well, have you +been there to see if anything's been put there since?" + +"No!" cried Diggory. "Good idea! I'll go now at once." + +He walked quickly out of the room, and came back a few moments later at +a run. + +"I've got one!" he exclaimed, in a low, eager tone. "Don't let any one +see; come to my desk." + +The note this time was very brief:-- + + ZUGVIGVZFMWVIGSVKZE. + +Diggory hastily fished out his double alphabet, wrote down the proper +letters as Jack read out those on the paper, and in a few seconds the +translation was complete, and read as follows:-- + +"_After tea under the pav._" + +The three boys stared at it in silence. + +"What does it mean?" asked Mugford. + +"Why," cried Diggory excitedly, "I see. Something's going to happen +after tea this evening in that place under the pavilion--you know where +I mean?" + +The other two nodded their heads. The pavilion at Ronleigh being raised +some distance above the level of the field, there was a space between +the floor and the ground used for storing whiting-buckets, goal-posts, +and a number of forms, which were brought out on match-days to afford +seats for visitors. The door of this den had no lock, and opened on the +piece of waste turf at the back of the building. Small boys used it as +a cave when playing brigands, and for so doing had their ears boxed by +irate members of the Sports Committee. It was too low to admit of any +one's moving about except in a stooping posture, and pitch dark unless +the door was left wide open. + +"What do you think it is?" said Mugford. + +"I don't know," answered Diggory; "but I mean to go and see." + +"If they catch you prying about, and find out that you've been watching +them, you'll get an awful licking." + +"I don't care if I do; I mean to go." + +"Well, we'll go with you," said Jack Vance. "Remember it's the Triple +Alliance, and we vowed always to stand by each other whatever happened." + +"Yes," answered Diggory, "and so we will; but there's less chance of one +being seen than three. No; I'll go alone." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +A SECRET SOCIETY. + +It was a clear, starlight night. Diggory was one of the first to leave +the dining-hall, and, passing swiftly out of the quadrangle, was soon +hurrying across the junior playing field. On reaching the pavilion, all +was quiet and deserted, and he stood for a moment considering what +should be his next step. + +The thin hedge dividing the two playgrounds was by this time bare of +leaves, and afforded no hiding-place; the only chance of concealment was +to take shelter inside the den itself--a place which has already been +described. This, however, seemed rather like venturing into the lion's +mouth. What was going to happen? Would anything take place, or was it +only a wild-goose chase after all? + +"Here goes!" muttered Diggory to himself. He opened the door, pulling +it to again after him as he crept inside; then taking a step forward in +the pitchy darkness, promptly fell over a bucket with an appalling +crash. Scrambling once more to his feet, he felt in his waistcoat +pocket, and finding there a fusee which he remembered to have taken from +a box owned by "Rats," he struck it, and by the aid of its feeble glare +crept behind the heap of benches which lay piled up close to the +opposite wall. + +Hardly had he done so when there were a sound of footsteps and a murmur +of conversation; the door was opened, and some one crept into the den. +No sooner had the new-comer crossed the threshold than he stopped, +sniffed audibly, and exclaimed,-- + +"Hullo! what a stink of fusees! Who's been here, I wonder?" + +Diggory instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Noaks, and the +sound of it brought a momentary recollection of the time when he and +Jack Vance had lain concealed behind the hedge opposite to Horace +House. His heart beat fast, and he vainly wished that he had had +sufficient forethought to come provided with some ordinary matches. +Several more boys entered, and one of them struck a light. Diggory, +peering through an aperture in the pile of forms, saw at a glance who +they were--Fletcher senior, Thurston, Noaks, and Hawley. + +"There don't seem to be any one about," continued Noaks, peering into +the corners; "yet it's rum there should be such a smell of fusees." + +"I expect it was the man," said Thurston, producing a candle-end, and +sticking it in an empty ginger-beer bottle which lay on the ground. +"He was in here this afternoon after some of those old boxes, and I +expect he lit his pipe. The smell is sure to hang about when the door's +shut." + +The four boys sat down on two upturned buckets and a couple of old +hampers, with the candle in their midst, and Diggory gave vent to an +inward sigh of relief. + +"Well," began Thurston, "one reason we meet here to-night is because I +wanted to explain to you fellows that we can't have any more of those +pleasant little parties in my study--at all events, for the present. +Until this row about Browse has blown over, every one'll be watching us +like cats watching a mouse. We ought not to be seen speaking together, +and that's where that cipher business that old Fletcher invented will +come in jolly useful. We can say anything we want to without appearing +to meet." + +"By-the-bye," interrupted Noaks, "what became of that last note? Mouler +told me about it, or I shouldn't have come. Some one had taken it away +before I went to look." + +"Perhaps it was Gull," answered Thurston. "Where is he?" + +"He's got some turned work to do," answered Hawley. + +"Mouler's outside keeping _cave_" added Noaks. "We thought it would be +well for some one to keep a look-out in case anybody came." + +"Well, what I was going to say," continued Thurston, "is, that for the +present we'd better lie low, and not be seen going about together. +It was a good thing Gull and I managed to turn the tables on Oaks +at that inquiry; it would have been jolly awkward for the rest of you to +have proved an _alibi_. Of course it was agreed that I should keep out +of it, as it was a dead certainty they'd pounce down on me first; so I +went and sat all the evening with old Smeaton. Ha, ha! the fool quite +thought I meant it when I asked him to help me about my work. But I +say, how did it come off? I haven't heard the particulars." + +"Oh, simply enough," answered Hawley. "Noaks and Mouler and Gull and I +did the trick; young Grundy's was the voice that told Browse to go down +to the 'lab.' Grundy hung about at the top of the stairs, and as soon +as he saw Browse come back and make for Allingford's study, he let us +know the coast was clear, so we unlocked the door and skedaddled. +Gull went straight away to the matron's room, and asked her to sew the +two buttons on his waistcoat; he'd pulled them off on purpose. He is a +cunning beggar, that Gull. Fancy his staying behind to light the +reading-room gas, and telling Lucas he'd only just come! Why, he did +more of the wrecking than any two of us put together." + +"D'you think young Grundy's to be trusted?" asked Noaks. + +"Oh yes," answered Hawley; "he's been on our side all along. He had a +fight with young what's-his-name not long ago, about that skit on the +Town match. Besides, I've told him that if it gets out that he had a +hand in that Browse business, he'll be expelled. So he'll keep his +mouth shut right enough." + +"Oh, by-the-bye," cried Thurston, turning to his particular chum, "have +you heard anything more about that poem of yours?" + +Fletcher senior, who had been sitting all this time scowling in silence +at the candle, answered shortly, "No." + +"Hullo!" returned his friend, "what's the matter? You seem precious +glum to-night. What's up? Are you going to chuck this business and +turn good?" + +"You asked me whether I'd heard anything more about that rhyme I wrote," +answered the other, rousing himself, and speaking with a thrill of anger +in his voice. "I say no, but I've _seen_ a jolly lot." + +"How d'you mean?" + +"Why, there's not a fellow in the Sixth but gives me the cold shoulder. +Allingford sets the example, and there's hardly one of them will give me +a civil word. They'd like to oust me from the prefects like they did +you, but they shan't, and, what's more, I'll get even chalks with some +of them before I leave." + +"Hear, hear!" exclaimed Thurston; "that's just what I say. And now the +question is, what shall we do?" + +"Nothing at present," answered the other. "We must wait until this +affair's blown over. There's no need to run the risk of getting +expelled; and, besides, we want some time to think of a plan." + +The faint _clang, ter-ang_ of a bell sounded across the playing field. +Noaks and Hawley rose to their feet. + +"'Prep!'" exclaimed the latter. "We must be off." A new cause for +anxiety now presented itself to Diggory's mind in the thought that he +would be late in taking his place in the big schoolroom. He knew +that Noaks and Hawley would have to be in time for the assembly; but the +two Sixth Form boys were not amenable to the same rule, and might linger +behind. + +Thurston, however, rose to his feet, blew out the candle, and the four +conspirators groped their way in a body out through the low doorway. + +Diggory waited until he thought they must have reached the school +buildings, and then prepared to follow. The bell had stopped ringing +some minutes, and without looking very carefully where he was going, he +ran as fast as he could out of the match-ground, and across the junior +field. Suddenly, right in front of him, and within fifty yards of the +paved playground, a dark figure seemed all at once to rise out of the +ground. It was Noaks! The latter had dropped a pencil-case, and had +been left by his companions searching for it on his hands and knees. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed, catching the small boy by the arm. "Who are you? +and where have you been?" + +"What's that to you?" answered Diggory boldly; "let me go." + +The remembrance of that mysterious smell of a fusee flashed across +Noaks's mind. + +"Look here!" he cried sharply. "You tell me this moment where you've +been." + +"In the other field." + +"What were you doing there?" + +"Running." + +There was a moment's silence. Noaks had a strong suspicion that the +other knew something about the secret meeting; it was equally possible, +however, that he did not. Young madcaps were often known to let off +steam by careering wildly round the field after dark, and if this had +really been the case in the present instance, it would be folly to say +anything that should awaken suspicion. The big fellow hesitated; then a +happy thought occurred to him: he dragged his captive across the paved +playground, and stopping under the gas-lamp which lit up the archway +leading into the quadrangle, began a hasty examination of the contents +of the latter's pockets. There was no time to lose, and failing to find +what he sought, Noaks gave the youngster a final shake, saying as he +did so: "Look here, have you forgotten that coin robbery? Because, if +you have, I haven't. I've got that knife still. Don't you fall foul of +me, or you'll have reason to be sorry for it, d'you hear?" + +The two boys ran quickly across to the big schoolroom, and entered just +in time to take their seats before the master on duty called, "Silence!" + +As might have been expected, none of the Triple Alliance put in an +appearance at supper that evening; as a matter of fact, they were +congregated in a quiet corner of the box-room, listening to a graphic +account of Diggory's adventures. Noaks's threat about the pocket-knife +revived all their former feelings of dread and uneasiness respecting +their unfortunate expedition to The Hermitage, and there was a grave +look upon their faces as the narrative concluded. + +"You see," said Diggory, as he brought his story to a close, "the thing +was this: he wasn't quite sure whether I knew anything or not, but he +said that to frighten me in case I did." + +"I don't see that we can do anything," began Mugford uneasily. "You say +they aren't going to kick up any other row just yet, and it would be an +awful thing if Noaks found it out, and sent my knife to the police." + +"No, I don't see very well what I can do," answered Diggory. "Somehow +it seems rather mean to hide away and then go and tell what you've +overheard. I think it's best to leave it, and keep a sharp look-out +and see what happens next." + +"Fancy Fletcher inventing that cipher," said Jack Vance, "and being +mixed up with that lot. He is a double-faced beast; it was just like +him making that underhanded attack on the football team." + +"Yes," added Mugford; "and fancy Gull being in both those rows, and +making every one believe he wasn't! They must be a deep lot." + +"So they are," answered Diggory complacently; "but they aren't a match +for the Triple Alliance." + +"I say, what made Noaks search your pockets?" asked Jack, as the three +friends prepared to break up their "confab." + +"Oh, for a long time I couldn't imagine, and then all of a sudden I +thought why it was. Don't you see, he wanted to find if I had any more +fusees. My stars, I was glad 'Rats' had only given me one instead of +the box!" + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. + +The firmest friendships, we are told, have been formed in mutual +adversity; and among the many trials which served to strengthen and +confirm the loyalty and unity of the Triple Alliance, a string of minor +disasters which overtook them one unlucky day early in December must +certainly not be overlooked. + +The after results of this chapter of accidents cause it to assume an +additional importance as being the "beginning of the end," alike of this +narrative and of an eventful period in the history of Ronleigh College. +The reader will understand, therefore, that in turning our attention for +a short time to an account of the afore-mentioned misfortune of the +three friends, we are not wandering from what might be called the main +line of our story. + +"It all came about," so said Jack Vance, "through Carton's having the +cheek to go home some ten days before proper time." The latter +certainly did, for one reason or another, leave Ronleigh on Wednesday, +the eleventh of December; and by his own special request, our three +friends came down to the station to see him off. + +"Have you got anything to read going along?" asked Diggory, as they +stood lingering round the carriage door. + +"Yes," answered Carton. "Look here, you fellows, you might get in and +sit round the window till the train starts; it'll keep other people from +getting in, and I shall have the place to myself." + +The Triple Alliance did as they were requested. + +"Aha, my boys!" continued Carton, rubbing his hands together, "when +you're stewing away in 'prep' this evening, think of me at home eating a +rattling good tea, and no more work to prepare after it for old +Greyling." + +"Oh, rubbish!" cried Jack. "I wouldn't go now even if I had the chance. +Why, you'll miss all the fun of breaking up; and young 'Rats' is making +up a party to fill a carriage, and we're going to have a fine spree. +Then by the time we get home for Christmas it'll be all stale to you. +Pshaw! I wouldn't--hullo!--here, stop a minute!--why, she's off!" + +Off she certainly was. There had been a sharp chirrup of the whistle, +and at almost the same moment the train began to move. Diggory tried to +let down the window to get at the handle of the door; but the sash +worked stiffly, and before he succeeded in making it drop, the train had +run the length of the platform, and the station was left behind. + +The four boys gazed at one another for a moment in blank astonishment, +and then burst into a simultaneous roar of laughter. + +"You'll have to go as far as Chatton now," said Carton. "Never mind; you +can get back by the next train." + +"Yes; but the question is if we've got any money," answered Jack Vance +ruefully. "It's fourpence the single journey, so the fare there and +back for three of us'll be two bob. Here's threepence; that's all the +tin I'm worth.--what have you got, Diggy?" + +"Four halfpenny stamps, and half a frank on my watch-chain," was the +reply. "But I don't think these railway Johnnies 'ud take either of +those." + +On examination, the only articles of value Mugford's pockets were found +to contain were an aluminium pencil-case which wouldn't work, and a +dirty scrap of indiarubber. + +"Look here," cried Carton, "I'll give you two shillings. It's my fault; +and I've got something over from my journey-money." + +The offer was gladly accepted, and at length, when the train reached +Chatton, the three chums wished their companion good-bye, laughing +heartily over their unexpected journey. + +"What time's the next train back to Ronleigh?" asked Jack, as he paid +the money for their fare to the ticket-collector. + +"Let's see," answered the official: "next train to Ronleigh--5.47." + +Jack's face fell. "Isn't there any train before that?" he asked. +"We've got to be back at the school by half-past five." + +"Can't help that," returned the man; "next train from here to Ronleigh's +5.47. And," he added, encouragingly, "she's nearly always a bit late." + +The boys wandered disconsolately through the booking-office of the +little country station, and halted outside to consider what was to be +done. + +"It's five-and-twenty past four," said Jack Vance, looking at his watch, +"and it's a good six miles by road; we shall never walk it in the time." + +"It's a good bit shorter by rail," mused Diggory, "if we could walk +along the line. That tunnel under Arrow Hill cuts off a long round." + +"We couldn't do that," said Mugford; "there are notice-boards all over +the shop saying that trespassers on the railway will be prosecuted." + +"Oh, bother that," cried Jack Vance, suddenly smitten with Diggory's +idea. "Who cares for notice-boards? We'll go home along the line. +If we trot every now and then, we shall get back in time." + +"Well, we'd better walk along the road as far as that curve," said +Diggory, "and then they won't see us from the station." + +The trio started off in the direction indicated, hurrying along the +permanent way, hopping over the sleepers, and seeing how far they could +run on one of the metals without falling off. At length they entered a +cutting, the steep banks of which rose gradually until they towered high +above their heads on either hand. Before long the mouth of the tunnel +was reached, and, as if by mutual consent, the three friends came to a +halt. + +There was something forbidding about the dark, gloomy entrance--the +stale, smoky smell, and the damp dripping from the roof, all tending to +give it a very uninviting aspect. + +"It's awfully long," said Mugford; "don't you think we'd better turn +back?" + +In their secret hearts his two companions were more than half inclined +to follow this suggestion; but there is a form of cowardice to which +even the bravest are subject--namely, the fear of being thought afraid-- +and it was this, perhaps, which decided them to advance instead of +retreat. + +"Oh no, we won't go back," cried Diggory. "Come along; I'll go first." +And so saying, he plunged forward into the deep shadow of the archway. + +The ground seemed to be plentifully strewn with ashes, which scrunched +under their feet as they plodded along, and their voices sounded hollow +and strange. + +"My eye," said Jack, "it's precious dark. I can hardly see where I'm +going." + +"It'll be darker still before we see the end," answered Diggory. "Some +one was telling me the other day that there's a curve in the middle." + +"Hadn't we better go back?" faltered Mugford. + +"No, you fathead; shut up." + +The darkness seemed to increase, and the silence grew oppressive. + +The boys were walking in single file, Diggory leading, and Jack Vance +bringing up the rear. + +"I say," exclaimed the latter, as he stumbled over a sleeper, +"I shouldn't like to be caught here by a train." + +"That can't happen," retorted Diggory; "didn't you hear the man say +there wasn't another till 5.47?" + +"Yes," added Mugford; "but there might be a luggage, or one coming the +other way." + +"Well, all you'd have to do would be to cross over on to the other +line." + +Imperceptibly the boys quickened their pace until it became almost a +trot. + +"Hurrah!" cried Diggory, a few moments later, as a far-distant +semicircle of daylight came into view. "There's the other end." + +"Stop a minute," cried Jack, emboldened by the prospect of soon being +once more in the fresh air; "let's see if we can make an echo." + +The little party halted for a moment, but instead of hearing the shrill +yell for the production of which Jack had just filled his lungs, their +ears were greeted with a far more terrible sound, which caused their +hearts to stop beating. There was, it seemed, a sudden boom, followed +by a long, continuous roar. Diggory turned his head, to find the +far-off patch of light replaced by a spark of fiery red, and the +terrible truth flashed across his mind that in the excitement of the +moment he could not remember for certain which was the down line. + +It was well for the Triple Alliance that at least one of their number +was blessed with the faculty of quick decision and prompt action, or the +history of their friendship might have had a tragic ending. + +Diggory wheeled round, and catching hold of Mugford, cried in a voice +loud enough to be heard above the ever-increasing din, "Quick! get into +the six-foot way, and lie down!" + +What followed even those who underwent the experience could never +clearly describe. They flung themselves upon the ground: there were the +thundering roar of an earthquake, coupled with a deafening clatter, as +though the whole place were falling about their ears, and a whirling +hurricane of hot air and steam. + +In ten seconds, which seemed like ten minutes, the whole thing had come +and gone, and Diggory, scrambling to his feet in the dense darkness of +the choking atmosphere, inquired in a shaky voice, "Are you all right, +you chaps?" + +There was a reply in the affirmative, and the three boys proceeded to +grope their way along in silence, until the broad archway of the +tunnel's mouth appeared through a fog of steam and smoke. + +"I say, you fellows," cried Diggory, as they emerged into the fresh air, +"I wouldn't go through there again for something." + +"It was a good thing you gave me that shove," said Mugford; "I felt as +though I couldn't move. And we were standing on the very line it went +over." + +"Yes: I couldn't remember for the moment which was 'up' and which was +'down.' I thought, too, we should be safer lying flat on the ground +when it passed; had we stood up in the six-foot way, we might have got +giddy and fallen under the wheels." + +The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a strange voice shouting,-- + +"Hullo, you young beggars! what are you a-doing there?" + +The boys turned to see from whence this inquiry proceeded. Half-way up +the cutting on their left was a little hut, and beside it stood the man +who had spoken. The same glance showed them another thing--namely, that +just beside this little shanty was one of the notice-boards Mugford had +mentioned, warning the public that persons found trespassing on the +railway would be prosecuted. + +"Come along," cried Jack Vance; "let's bolt." + +Unless they doubled back into the tunnel, their only way of escape lay +in scaling the right side of the cutting, as a short distance down the +line a gang of platelayers were at work, who would have intercepted them +before they reached the open country. + +"Come along," repeated Jack Vance, and the next moment he and his two +companions were clambering as fast as they could up the steep side of +the embankment, clutching at bushes and tufts of grass, and causing +miniature landslips of sand and gravel with every step they took. + +The man shouted after them to stop, and seeing that they paid no +attention to his commands, promptly gave chase, rushing down the narrow +pathway from the hut, and scrambling after them up the opposite +slope. + +Jack Vance and Diggory, whose powers of wind and limb had benefited by +constant exercise in the football field, were soon at the top; but +Mugford, who was not inclined to be athletic, and who had already been +pretty nearly pumped in hurrying out of the tunnel; was still slowly +dragging himself up the ascent, panting and puffing like a steam-engine, +when his comrades reached the summit. + +His pursuer was gaining on him rapidly, and it was in vain that his two +friends (too loyal to make good their escape alone) stood, and with +frantic gestures urged him to quicker movement. Just, however, as the +capture seemed certain, a great piece of loose earth giving way beneath +the man's weight caused the latter to fall forward on his face. In this +posture he tobogganed down the slope, with more force than elegance; and +with a yell of triumph Jack and Diggory stretched out their hands, and +dragged Mugford up to the level grassy plateau on which they stood. + +Close behind them was a wood, and without a moment's hesitation they +plunged through the hedge, and dashed on through the bushes. The dry +twigs cracked, and the dead leaves rustled beneath their feet. +Suddenly, not more than fifty yards away to their right, there was the +loud explosion of a gun, and almost at the same instant a harsh-voice +shouted: "Hi there--stop! Where are you going?" + +"Oh," panted Jack, "it's one of the keepers! Run for all you're worth!" + +The opposite edge of the wood was not far distant. The three youngsters +rushed wildly on, and stumbling blindly over the boundary hedge, +continued their mad gallop across a narrow field. Over another hedge, +and they were in a sunken roadway. Then came the end. Mugford +staggered over to the opposite bank, and falling down upon it with his +hand pressed to his side, gasped out, "Awful stitch--can't go any +further!" + +Years afterwards, when the Triple Alliance met at an Old Boys' dinner, +they laughed heartily in talking over this adventure; but there were no +signs of mirth on any of their faces at the time it was happening. +Then as Jack Vance and Diggory stood staring blankly at each other in +the deepening winter twilight, they suddenly blossomed out into heroes-- +heroes, it is true, in flannel cricket-caps and turned-down collars, +but heroes, at all events to my mind, as genuine in the spirit which +prompted their action as those whose deeds are known in song and story. +The barking of a dog in the field above showed that the keeper was +following up their trail. + +"Bun for it!" panted Mugford; "don't wait for me!" + +"Shan't!" said Jack and Diggory in one voice; and the latter, sticking +his hands in his trouser pockets, began to whistle. + +"Go on!" cried Mugford. + +"Shan't!" repeated his companions. + +It was evident that the Triple Alliance would sink or swim together, and +it so happened that by a piece of unexpected good fortune they were +destined to realize the latter alternative. There was a clatter of +wheels, the quick stamp of a fast-trotting horse, and a baker's cart +came swinging round the corner. Diggory, whose wits never seemed to +desert him at a critical moment, recognized it at once as belonging +to the man who supplied the school, and springing forward he beckoned to +the driver to stop, crying,-- + +"I say, give us a lift into Ronleigh, and we'll pay you a shilling. +We belong to the college." + +The man peered round the canvas covering, and at once recognized the +boys' cap and crest. + +"All right," he said. "Hop up; I'll find room for you somewhere." + +The danger was past; with an audible sigh of relief the three youngsters +clambered into the vehicle, and the next moment were bowling rapidly +along in the direction of the town. + +"I say," cried Jack, "this is a stroke of good luck. Why, we shall be +back in time after all." + +The remainder of their conversation was lost to the ears of the driver, +but seemed to consist mainly of a series of attempts on the part of +Mugford to say something, which were always interrupted by a chorus of +groans, and shouts of "Shut up!" from his two companions. + +At length the cart arrived at Ronleigh, and set down the three +passengers at the corner of Broad Street, the principal thoroughfare; +and here their adventures seemed to have terminated. + +I say _seemed_, because, as a matter of fact, something still remains to +be told in the history of this eventful day; but before proceeding to +the close of the chapter, it will be well to say a word or two with +regard to a certain person connected with it who is as yet unknown to +the reader. + +Ronleigh was fortunate in having a staff of masters who won the respect +and confidence of the boys. Some poor-spirited fellows there are who +will always abuse those set in authority over them; but at Ronleigh +there was happily, on the whole, a mutual good understanding, such as +might exist in a well and wisely disciplined regiment between officers +and men. + +Exceptions, however, prove the rule; and when at the commencement of the +present winter term a new junior master had come to take charge of the +Third Form, it was evident from the first that before long there would +be trouble. Mr. Grice was a very short man, with a pompous, hectoring +manner, which was, somehow, especially exasperating to fellows who stood +a good head and shoulders taller than the master. His rule was founded +on the fear of punishment, and the sceptre which he wielded was a small +black note-book, in which he entered the names of all offenders with an +accompanying "Hundred lines, Brown!" or "Write the lesson out after +school, Smith." Lastly, Mr. Grice was not a gentleman. Boys, I know, +pay little attention to the conventionalities, and are seldom found +consulting books on etiquette; but those who have been well brought up, +and accustomed at home to an air of refinement, are quick to detect +ill-breeding and bad manners in those older than themselves, and who +"ought to know better." So it came about that Mr. Grice was unpopular, +and the boys in his class bemoaned their fate, and called him +uncomplimentary nicknames. + +We left the three friends standing at the corner of Broad Street. +The church clock had just struck the quarter-past five, and by this time +it was dark, though the street was lit up by the gas-lamps and the long +rows of shop windows. + +"I hope no one sees us," said Jack Vance. "I'm mud all over. We must +look sharp, or we shall be late." + +"Hullo!" exclaimed Diggory, "look out! Here's that wretched little +Grice coming; there, he's stopped to look into the ironmonger's shop. +We must dodge past him somehow, or he'll want to know where we've +been." + +The trio crossed quickly over to the opposite side of the street, and +hurried off at full speed in the direction of the school. + +All boys were supposed to be on the school premises by half-past five, +and at that time the door leading to the outer world was locked by the +prefect for the day. + +Oaks, who happened to be on duty, was standing in the passage talking to +Allingford when the three juveniles arrived, out of breath and flushed +with running. + +"Hullo, you kids! where have you been?" inquired the captain. + +Diggory launched out into a brief description of their many adventures; +Oaks laughed heartily. "Well," he said, pulling out his watch, "you've +just got back in time; half a minute more, and you'd have been outside, +my boys." + +The prefect locked the door, and continuing his conversation with +Allingford, started off down the passage. On reaching what was the main +corridor on the ground floor, they paused for a moment, and stood +warming their hands at the hot-water pipe, and it was while thus engaged +that they were suddenly accosted by Mr. Grice, who bustled up to them in +a great state of excitement. + +"Are you on duty, Oaks?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Have any boys come in late?" + +"No, sir." + +"Well, three boys passed me in the town; I think one of them was young +Trevanock. I called to them to stop, but they took no notice. When +they come in, you send than to me." + +"They weren't late, sir," answered Oaks; "they came in about a minute +ago." + +"Oh, nonsense. I looked at my watch when I saw them in the town, and +then it was five-and-twenty past; they couldn't have come up in five +minutes. You must either have let them in, or not closed the door at +the proper time." + +Prefects at Ronleigh were not in the habit of being lectured as though +they were lower-school boys. Oaks bit his lip. + +"I closed the door on the stroke of half-past," he answered. + +"Well, you say those boys came in about two minutes ago. By me it's now +twenty to six, so they must have been late." + +"They were in before half-past, sir; your watch must be wrong." + +"Don't keep contradicting me, sir," said the master. + +"We are supposed to work by the school clock, sir," interposed the +captain. + +"I'm not aware that I addressed any remark to you, Allingford," retorted +Mr. Grice, rapidly losing all control of his temper. "You need make no +further attempt to teach me the rules of the school; I flatter myself +that I am sufficiently well versed in them already." + +A crowd of idlers, attracted by the angry tones of the master's voice, +had begun to collect in the passage, and the captain flushed to the +roots of his hair at being thus taken to task in public. + +"I merely said, sir, that we work by the school clock." + +"And I say, hold your tongue, sir.--Oaks, remember you report those +three boys for being late." + +"I can't do that, sir," answered Oaks stolidly, "for they were in time." + +Mr. Grice boiled over. "You are a very impertinent fellow," he cried. +"I shall report you both to the doctor." And so saying, he turned on +his heel and walked away. + +There was a buzz of astonishment among the bystanders. The idea of a +captain of Ronleigh being reported to the doctor was something novel +indeed, and by the time the first bell rang for tea, a report of the +collision between Mr. Grice and the prefects had spread all over the +school. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +SOWING THE WIND. + +The passage of arms between Mr. Grice and the two prefects was eagerly +discussed by boys of all ages. Exaggerated reports spread from mouth to +mouth, each teller of the story adding to it some details drawn from his +own imagination, until, away down in the Second Form, it was confidently +asserted that Oaks had called Mr. Grice a "little tin monkey," and that +Allingford had boxed the master's ears; which enormities would most +certainly result in the expulsion of the two offenders. + +As a matter of fact, the expected storm never burst. The first thing +the doctor did on receiving Mr. Grice's complaint was to compare that +gentleman's watch with his own. "Hum'" he said shortly, "I suppose +you're aware that you _are_ ten minutes fast?" + +A few moments later Mr. Grice withdrew, looking rather crestfallen. +As may be imagined, the result of his interview with the head-master was +never made public, and in the meantime Ronleians old and young were +expressing their high approval of the conduct of their captain and his +lieutenant. The gilt was beginning to wear off the Thurstonian +gingerbread, and sensible fellows, who could tell the difference +between jewel and paste, were less inclined than ever to be led by the +nose by such fellows as Gull and Hawley. Here was an instance in which +the prefects had taken a stand against palpable injustice, and the +action had caused the whole body to rise several pegs in everybody's +estimation. + +The near approach of the Wraxby football match caused a revival of good, +honest public spirit. If only Ronleigh could beat the Grammar School +this year at footer as well as at cricket, every one felt that their cup +of joy would run over, and the champions who were to strive for the +wished-for victory were naturally regarded, for the time being, as +standing on more exalted ground than their fellows. Ever since the +exposure of Fletcher senior as the author of "College _v._ Town," the +poem had become a weapon turned against the writer and his party. +Boys had gone to the bottom of the matter, and discovering the real +reason of Thurston's absence from the team, had declared that a fellow +who out of spite would refuse to give his services to uphold the honour +of the school had forfeited all claim on their consideration or +sympathy. Such was the state of popular feeling when, with the clang of +the getting-up bell on Thursday morning, the twelfth of December, a day +commenced fraught with unexpected episodes and situations closely +affecting the interests of the Triple Alliance. + +One might have thought that their adventures on the previous afternoon +had afforded them sufficient excitement for at least one week; but these +were destined to prove but the prelude to an event of still greater +importance. The three friends went into school at nine o'clock, looking +forlorn and miserable. Something, indeed, had happened to mar their +happiness, and the cause of their depression was as follows:-- + +Soon after breakfast, when the contents of the post-bag had been +distributed as usual, Mugford accosted his two chums, who were strolling +up and down the quadrangle. A look of abject misery was on his face, +and in his hand he held an open letter. + +"Hullo!" cried Jack Vance; "what's up? You look as if you had lost a +sovereign and found sixpence!" + +"Matter enough," murmured Mugford, whose heart was evidently in his +mouth: "I'm going to leave." + +"Going to leave!" exclaimed Diggory; "what ever d'you mean?" + +"Well, I don't mind telling you fellows," answered the other. "You know +my guv'nor isn't well off, and he says he's lost money, and can't afford +to keep me at Ronleigh. I know I'm no good, and you fellows'll get on +all right without me, and--" + +The sentence not being completed, the two other boys glanced at the +speaker's face, and from previous indications in the tone of his voice +were not surprised to find that he was crying. Two years appear a long +time when one is on the bright side of twenty, and the friendship seemed +to have lasted for ages. At the near prospect of separation all +Mugford's little failings were forgotten, and both Diggory and Jack +Vance felt that life without him would be a blank. + +"Oh, dash it all!" said the latter; "you mustn't go? Isn't there +anything we can do? Shall I write to your guv'nor?" + +The idea of Jack Vance addressing a remonstrance to his respected parent +caused the ghost of a smile to appear on Mugford's doleful face. + +"No, it's no good," he answered. "There's nothing for it; I shall have +to leave." + +During the interval which divided morning school and the free time +before dinner the three friends mooned about together, trying in vain to +regard the future in a more cheerful light, and to make plans for +keeping touch of each other by an interchange of letters and a possible +meeting in the holidays. + +"It's all very well," said Jack Vance to Diggory, when late on in the +afternoon he happened to come across the latter flattening his nose +against the glass of the box-room window--"it's all very well talking +about writing and all that; but this is the end of the Triple Alliance." + +"Yes," answered Diggory, after a moment's thought, "I suppose it is. +I wish we could do something more before it's broken up." + +As he spoke, he passed his hand mechanically along the lower surface of +the window ledge; then with a sudden exclamation he went down on his +knees, and picked something out of the wall. + +It was another note written in cipher! + +The missive was certainly very brief, consisting of only seven +letters:-- + + "GLMRTSG." + +"Hullo!" said Jack Vance; "they're at it again!" + +His companion made no reply, but taking out a pencil, copied the cipher +on the back of an envelope, and then replaced the mysterious document in +the crack between the window-frame and the bricks. + +"What are you doing that for?" + +"Why, because they may miss it, and smell a rat. Come on; let's get the +key and see what it means." + +In this instance the translation of the cryptograph did not occupy much +time; Diggory produced his double alphabet, and soon spelt out the +word:-- + +"_To-night._" + +The two chums gazed at each other for a few moments in silence. + +"What does it mean?" queried Jack. + +"I don't know, unless it is that they are going to have another meeting +after tea under the pavilion." + +"Let's find Mug, and hear what he thinks." + +In discussing their new find and attempting to solve its meaning, the +three friends forgot for the time being the melancholy tidings they had +received that morning, and gave themselves up to a full enjoyment of the +mystery. + +"I can't see," said Mugford, "that it means anything else than that they +are going to have another meeting." + +"Yes, that's it. I shall go down to the pavilion again after tea, and +see what's up. I shouldn't wonder if there is going to be another row. +Fletcher said he meant to do something before he left, and there isn't +much time now before the end of the term." + +"Shan't Mug or I go this time?" asked Jack Vance; "it's rather a risky +business." + +"No, I'll go; I know now just where to hide." + +During the half-hour between tea and evening preparation Jack Vance and +Mugford lingered about in the dark and deserted quadrangle, anxiously +awaiting their comrade's return. Once only was the silence broken, by +Maxton chasing young "Rats" from the gymnasium into the big school, +shouting, "I'll lick you, you little villain!" but with this exception, +our two friends had the place to themselves. + +It was a raw, cold night; every one seemed, very naturally, to be +keeping indoors, and there were no signs of any members of the secret +society being abroad. Jack Vance and his companion trotted softly up +and down, endeavouring to keep themselves warm. At length, when their +patience was wellnigh exhausted, there was a sound of footsteps, and +Diggory was descried coming through the archway leading to the playing +fields. + +"Well," cried his two chums, in low, eager tones, "what have you heard?" + +The answer was certainly one they had least expected,-- + +"Nothing." + +"Nothing! what d'you mean?" + +"Why, they didn't come; there wasn't any meeting. I waited and waited, +until I saw it was no use staying any longer; so then I gave it up as a +bad job." + +"Did the note really say to-night?" + +"Yes: I went down just before tea to see if it was still there, and I +brought it away with me. Here, look for yourself." + +As he spoke, Diggory produced the slip of paper from his waistcoat +pocket. By the light of the archway lamp it was compared with a +hastily-constructed key, and the former translation was found to be +correct. + +The Triple Alliance had certainly for once in a way "drawn blank," and +the preparation bell putting an end to their further deliberations, they +directed their steps toward the schoolroom, wondering more than ever +what could be the meaning of that significant word, "To-night." + +Now, the real reason of the three friends being thus at fault in their +investigations was simply this: they were exactly twenty-four hours +behindhand in their attempt to unravel the mystery. The conclusion +they had come to with regard to the meaning of the note was correct: a +tacit understanding had existed for some time among the inner circle of +the Thurstonian party that this should be the signal for a gathering of +the clan; but the note, when Diggory had found it, had been lying in the +impromptu post office for a day and a half, and the meeting to which +it was a summons had already taken place on the previous evening. + +For the reader, who is a privileged person, we intend to put back the +clock, and leaving the Triple Alliance dividing their attention between +attempts to discover the meaning, first of their Latin author, and +secondly of the enigma formed by this perplexing single-worded epistle, +we will give a short account of the gathering to which it referred. + +It was while the greater number of their school-fellows were gathered in +numerous little groups, whiling away the free time before preparation +discussing the various rumours that were current respecting Mr. Grice's +encounters with Oaks and Allingford, that the same five conspirators +assembled for another secret "confab" in the den beneath the pavilion. + +In one way it was a fortunate thing for Diggory that he did not discover +the note sooner, for hardly had Thurston set the lighted candle in the +empty bottle than Noaks picked it up, and peered carefully into each of +the four corners, and behind the heaps of benches and other lumber. + +"What are you doing that for?" asked Gull. + +"Oh, only to see that no one's come who wasn't invited. D'you remember +last time what a stink there was of a burnt fusee? Well, after you'd +gone I found young Trevanock knocking about the field, and I wouldn't +swear but what he knew something about our meeting. I searched the +young beggar's pockets; but he hadn't got any more lights, so I let him +go." + +The party grouped themselves round the candle, as they had done on the +previous occasion, when Diggory had watched their movements from behind +the pile of forms, and Thurston, with an inquiring look at Fletcher, +asked, "Well, what's the object of this pleasant little reunion?" + +"I suppose you can pretty well guess," answered the other. "The last +time we were here we all agreed that before the end of the term was up +we'd get even chalks with Allingford and Co. Well, seeing there's only +eight days left, I thought it was about time we had another meeting, and +decided what we were going to do.--By-the-bye," added the speaker, +turning with something like a sneer on his lips, and addressing his +chum, "it's the Wraxby match on Saturday; I suppose they haven't asked +you to play in the team?" + +The shaft went home, and Thurston's face darkened with anger. + +"No," he answered indignantly, "and I wouldn't play, not if they all +went down on their knees and begged me to. What do I care about the +Wraxby match? If I could, I'd put a stopper on it, and bring the whole +thing to the ground." + +"Well," continued Fletcher calmly, "that's just what we're going to do. +If you'd asked me this morning how we could put a spoke in Allingford's +wheel, and pay out him and a lot of those other prigs like Oaks and +Rowlands, I couldn't have told you; but now the thing's as easy as pat. +They'll find out they haven't cold-shouldered me at every turn and +corner for nothing. I'll give them tit for tat, and after Christmas, +when I've left this beastly place, I'll write and tell them who did it." + +"You seem to have got your back up, old chap," said Thurston, referring +to the bitter tones in which the last few sentences had been spoken; +"but out with it--what's your plan?" + +"Why, this: I'd no idea what a chance we should have when I stuck that +note in our pillar-box, but here it is all ready made. Allingford and +Oaks have had a row with little Grice; he's reported them, and it's +quite natural they should want to pay him out for doing it. As they're +such good boys, I don't suppose they'll try anything of the kind; but we +might undertake the job, and do it for them." + +The speaker paused to see if he had been understood. + +"What!" exclaimed Thurston bluntly, "you mean, play Grice a trick and +make it appear they'd done it because of this rumpus about locking the +door?" + +"That's about it," returned the other, laughing. "What could we do +better?" + +Noaks murmured his approval of the scheme, but Gull and Hawley were +silent. To tell the truth, since the big row following their attack on +Browse had put a stop to any further chance of card-parties and other +amusements in Thurston's study, their attachment to the ex-prefect had +considerably lessened. Like many others of their kind, they were +thoroughly selfish at heart, and saw no good in running any personal +risk to settle the quarrels of a third person. The party feeling which +had characterized the last school elections, and caused for the time +being a spirit of ill-will and opposition towards the school leaders, +had just about died a natural death; and if another public meeting had +been called in the gymnasium, not half a dozen fellows would have +shouted for Thurston, or allied themselves against the side of law and +order. All this had tended to make Hawley and Gull lukewarm in their +adherence to the cause. Noaks, however, who would have paid any price +for the privilege of being able to hobnob with those who were in any +higher position than himself, was ready to follow his two Sixth Form +cronies to any extreme they might suggest. + +"Well," he inquired, "and what's to be the trick?" + +"I only just thought of one on the spur of the moment," answered +Fletcher; "but if no one else has a better to suggest, I daresay it'll +do. We might screw up little Grice's bedroom door so as to get him +down late in the morning; his room's right away at the end of the +passage. There is a screw-driver belonging to Oaks lying in one of the +empty lockers--it has his name on the handle; and if we happened to +drop it as we came away, I think that in the face of this row it would +look uncommonly like his doing. D'you twig?" + +There was something so mean and cowardly in this scheme, and in the +manner in which the proposal was made, that even Thurston gave vent to +an exclamation of contempt. + +"So that's your little game, is it?" he inquired. + +"Yes, that's it; that's my little project for putting a stop to the +Wraxby match. There'll be an awful row, and the doctor'll keep the team +from going. Now, then, who'll do the trick?--Will you, Hawley?" + +"No fear," answered Hawley. "Gull and I did most of the last two +blow-ups; it's some one else's turn now. Suppose you do it yourself, as +it's your idea." + +Fletcher frowned: in matters of this sort he liked to make the plans and +get others to execute them. "Well, I was thinking one of you might," he +began. + +"Oh, bother!" interrupted Thurston, whose revengeful spirit had been +once more aroused by the mention of the Wraxby match--"it's nothing; +you and I'll do it." + +"And I'll help if you like," added Noaks, who thought the present +occasion a good opportunity to distinguish himself. + +"All right," continued Thurston: "you go down town and get some screws, +Noaks--two or three good long ones." + +"Well, we'll fix to-morrow night," said Fletcher. "Keep awake, and meet +at the top of B staircase, say at one o'clock; then there's no fear but +what every one'll be asleep." + + +The Triple Alliance had for some hours ceased to puzzle their brains +over either Virgil or cipher notes, and the whole of Ronleigh College +was apparently wrapped in slumber, when three shadowy figures +assembled on the landing at the top of staircase B, and proceeded +noiselessly along the corridor, and down the side passage at the end of +which Mr. Grice's room was situated. + +"Have you got the screws?" + +"Yes," answered Noaks, producing a twist of paper from his pocket. + +"Don't you think I'd better go and keep _cave_ at the top of the +stairs?" whispered Fletcher. + +"No," returned Thurston; "Noaks can do that. I'll make the two holes, +and you must put the screws in; you're the best carpenter of the lot." + +Standing in the cold, dark passage, the work seemed to take ages to +perform; but at length it was finished. + +"Hist! what are you doing?" + +Fletcher had produced a scrap of paper from his pocket, and was +seemingly about to slip it under the door. + +"I want to make certain that it shall be put down to Oaks," he +whispered; "so in case the screw-driver should be overlooked, I'm going +to slip this under the door for Grice to find in the morning." + +Thurston glanced at the paper, and saw printed thereon in bold capitals +the following inscription:-- + + "BE IN TIME BY THE SCHOOL CLOCK." + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. + +Work at Ronleigh commenced with a sort of half-hour's preliminary +practice in the various classrooms; the school then assembled for +prayers, after which came breakfast. During the progress of this meal +on the Friday morning, in the small hours of which had been enacted the +scene described at the end of the previous chapter, it became evident +that "something was up." The table, at which sat most of the boys of +the Third Form, was in a state of great disorder, while the discussion +of some topic of unusual interest seemed to be occupying the attention +of the prefects. It was not, however, until after the boys had swarmed +out of the dining-hall that the reason of this subdued commotion became +generally known; and then, like the sudden report of an explosion, every +one seemed to become acquainted with the news at the same moment. +Mr. Grice had been screwed up in his bedroom! Oaks and Allingford had +done it! The doctor had summoned them to meet him in his study! + +It was from a member of the Third Form that the Triple Alliance heard +the particulars of what had happened. "'Little Grice,'" said this young +gentleman, whose own height was about four feet two inches--"'little +Grice' never turned up until just before the bell rang for prayers, and +then he was simply bursting with rage, and told us all about it. They'd +put a note under his door telling him to be in time by the school clock; +and besides that, when one of the men went to get him out, he found a +screw-driver with Oaks's name on, so it's as clear as day who did it." + +This conversation took place in the quadrangle. Travers, the Third Form +boy, rushed off to impart his information to other hearers, and the +three chums passed on through the archway, and came to a stand-still in +a quiet corner of the paved playground. + +"Well," asked Diggory, "who did it?" + +"Who d'you think it was?" retorted Jack Vance. + +"Why, some of Thurston's lot, I believe." + +"So do I." + +Mugford, who was always rather slow at grasping a new idea, opened his +eyes in astonishment. "But," he exclaimed, "how about the paper and the +screw-driver?" + +"Pooh!" answered Diggory, "how about that cipher note that said, +'To-night'?" + +"Of course," added Jack Vance, "they'd evidently arranged it beforehand, +and that paper was to say when they were to do the trick." + +It seems possible sometimes to come by wrong roads to a right +conclusion; and though the boys were mistaken in changing from their +first opinion as to the meaning of the note, yet in this instance their +error caused them to hit the right nail on the head. + +"It was one of Thurston's lot who did it," repeated Diggory decisively; +"neither Oaks nor Allingford would ever dream of doing such a mad +thing." + +"I don't see exactly how you can prove it," said Jack Vance +thoughtfully; "that one word 'To-night' might mean anything." + +"Of course it's no proof in itself," answered the other; "but what I +mean to say is, that if the doctor, or any other sensible chap, knew all +we do about the cipher, and what they said at their last meeting, he +wouldn't doubt for a moment but that it was one of them who screwed up +Grice's door. Travers says the doctor has sent for Oaks and old Ally; +it'll be an awful shame if they get into a row." + +"I don't see how they are going to get out of it," sighed Mugford. + +"Then I do," answered Diggory stoutly, with a sudden flash in his bright +eyes: "the Triple Alliance can get them out!" + +"How?" + +"Why, we must tell all we know, and show Dr. Denson the note." + +"When?" + +"Now." + +"Won't it be sneaking?" + +"I should consider we were beastly sneaks if we didn't." + +"So we should be!" exclaimed Jack Vance. "They've always been jolly +decent to us, and it was on our account they had this row with Grice." + +"If Noaks finds we've split, he'll send that knife to the police," said +Mugford. + +"I don't care a straw what Noaks does," answered Diggory boldly. +"You fellows needn't have anything to do with it; I'll go and tell Dr. +Denson myself." + +"No; I'll come too," said Jack. + +"So'll I," added Mugford; and off they started. It was always a great +ordeal to enter the doctor's study, even in what might be termed times +of peace; and now, as Diggory turned the handle of the door, in answer +to the muffled "Come in" which had followed his knock, the three friends +experienced a sudden shortness of breath, and an unpleasant sinking +sensation at the pit of the stomach. + +The two prefects were standing at the front of the writing-table. +Allingford's face was very white, and Oaks's very red, "for all the +world like the Wars of the Roses," as Jack Vance afterwards remarked, +though it would be difficult to clearly understand the simile. + +The head-master glanced round for a moment to see who had entered the +room, and, without taking any further notice of the three juveniles, +continued the speech he was in the act of making when they entered the +apartment. + +"I am not going to defend the action of Mr. Grice," he was saying. +"We are all apt to make mistakes, and I will tell you candidly that on +this occasion I think Mr. Grice was unwise; but it is absolutely +necessary that I should uphold the authority of my masters. If boys +consider they are not justly dealt with, they have me to appeal to; but +the idea that disputes between the two should be settled by practical +joking is simply outrageous. This is the first instance of the kind +that I ever remember to have happened at Ronleigh, and I tell you +plainly that I am determined to make an example of the offenders." + +"I assure you, sir," said Oaks, in a low, agitated voice, "that we have +had no hand in this matter." + +"I am sorry even to seem to doubt your word, Oaks," answered the doctor, +"but I think you must own that appearances are very much against you. +A screw-driver bearing your name was found in the passage, and this +piece of paper, which was pushed under the bedroom door, and which now +lies before me, bears a direct reference to the dispute about the +school time. As far as I can see at present, the only conclusion which +can be arrived at is that this is an act of retaliation which has sprung +from your contention with Mr. Grice." + +The captain was about to speak, but Dr. Denson held up his hand. + +"As I said before," he continued, "I am sorry, Allingford, even to +appear to doubt your word; I have always had reason to rely with +confidence upon the integrity and honour of my prefects, and believe +me, this interview is to me an exceedingly painful one. The matter, +however, is too serious to be passed over lightly, and you must hear me +to the end. The conduct of the school during the present term has +been far from satisfactory: two acts of gross misconduct have already +been committed, and I cannot but blame those whom I hold mainly +responsible for the order of the school that in both instances the +offenders should have gone unpunished. It seems hardly possible to me +that such things should happen without its coming to the ears of the +prefects who were the perpetrators of the deeds in question. Here we +have a third example of the same thing. If neither of you took any +actual part in screwing up this door, I am still inclined to think that +you must have been cognizant of the act, and I demand to know the names +of the offenders. Take time to think before you answer. I warn you +once more that I am determined to sift the matter to the bottom." + +Once more the two prefects protested that they had not the remotest idea +who had played the trick on Mr. Grice. + +Dr. Denson frowned, and sat for some moments without speaking, rapping +the blotting-pad in front of him with the butt end of a seal; then +remembering the presence of the small boys, he turned towards them with +an inquiring look. + +"Well?" + +Diggory's face wore something of the same expression which Jack and +Mugford had seen upon it when long ago their friend first distinguished +himself at The Birches by going down the slide on skates. He gave a +nervous little cough, and advancing towards the head-master's table, +laid thereon the cipher note, at the same time remarking, "If you +please, sir, we know who screwed up little--hem! Mr. Grice's door, or, +at all events, we think we do." + +So sudden and unexpected was this announcement that it caused the doctor +to half rise from his chair, while Oaks and Allingford turned and gazed +at the speaker in open-mouthed astonishment. They none of them expected +for a moment that the three youngsters had come for any more important +purpose than to solicit orders for new caps or "journey-money," and this +confession came like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. + +"What!" exclaimed the head-master, taking the scrap of paper, and +glancing alternately from the mystic word to the boy's face--"what on +earth is this? Explain yourself." + +It would be unnecessary to attempt a verbatim report of Diggory's +evidence; in doing so we should but be repeating facts with which the +reader is already acquainted. Let it suffice to say that, with many +haltings and stumbles, he gave a full account of his finding the first +cipher, translating the same, attending the secret meeting, and, lastly, +discovering on the previous day the brief note which he had just +produced. + +The telling of the tale occupied some considerable time, for the doctor +had many questions to ask; and when it came to the account of the +conversation which had taken place under the pavilion, his face visibly +darkened. + +"My eye," remarked Diggory, an hour later, "I wouldn't go through that +again for something! I swear that by the time I'd finished the +perspiration was running down my back in a regular stream." + +"Well," said the doctor, turning to Jack Vance and Mugford, when their +companion had finished speaking, "and what have you two got to say?" + +"Only the same as Trevanock, sir; we--we found it out together." + +"Then, in the first place, why didn't you tell me all this before?" + +"We were afraid to, sir," faltered Jack Vance; "and we thought it would +be sneaking." + +"Dear, dear," exclaimed the head-master impatiently, "when will you boys +see things in a proper light? You think it wrong to tell tales, and yet +quite right that innocent people should suffer for things done by these +miserable cowards!" + +"No, sir," answered Diggory: "we've come now to try to get Oaks out of a +scrape; though we--were afraid--" + +"Afraid of what?" + +"Nothing, sir." + +"Afraid of telling more tales, I suppose. Well, well; the question now +is whether the same boys are guilty of having screwed up Mr. Grice's +door. Why they should have done such a thing I don't understand, nor do +I see how it is to be brought home to them simply by means of this +exceedingly brief note." + +There was a silence. Diggory glanced up, and received a look from the +two prefects that amply repaid him for the trying ordeal through which +he had just passed. Jack Vance leaned over to whisper something in his +ear, when their attention was attracted by an exclamation of surprise +from Dr. Denson. + +"Aha! what does this mean?--Look here, Allingford." + +Every member of the company edged forward, and looking down at what lay +on the writing-table, saw in a moment that the mystery was solved. + +The communication which had been slipped under the bedroom door was +written on a half-sheet of small-sized note-paper; a similar piece of +stationery had been used for the cipher note. The head-master had +accidentally brought them together on his blotting-pad and the rough, +torn edge of the one fitted exactly into the corresponding side of the +other. They had both unmistakably come from the same source! + +Even the dread atmosphere of the doctor's study could not restrain some +show of excitement on the part of those interested in this disclosure, +but it was quickly suppressed. + +"Oaks," said the doctor, "go and give my compliments to Mr. Cowland, and +ask him to open school for me; and at the same time inform the following +boys that I wish to see them at once, here in my study: Fletcher One, +Thurston, Gull, Hawley, and Noaks." + +To the Triple Alliance hours seemed to pass before a shuffling of feet +in the passage announced the arrival of the Thurstonians. One by one +they filed into the room, the door was shut, and there was a moment of +awful silence. Even Diggory trembled, and Allingford, noticing it, laid +his big hand reassuringly on the small boy's shoulder. + +"I wish to know," began the doctor, "which of you boys were concerned in +what took place last night? I refer, of course, to the screwing up of +Mr. Grice's bedroom door." + +No one spoke, but Fletcher turned pale to the lips. + +"Had you anything to do with it, Fletcher?" + +"No, sir." + +"Then will you tell me the meaning of this?" continued the head-master, +holding up the cipher note. + +"I--I don't know what it means," began the prefect. + +"Don't lie to me, sir," interrupted the doctor sternly. "You know very +well what it means; it's of your own invention." + +Thurston saw clearly that the game was up, and with the recklessness of +despair decided at once to accept the inevitable. + +"I screwed up Mr. Grice's door," he said sullenly. + +"And who assisted you?" + +To this inquiry Thurston would give no reply, but maintained a dogged +silence. Gull and Hawley, however, anxious at all costs to save their +own skins, practically answered the question by saying, "We didn't," and +casting significant glances at Noaks and Fletcher. + +What followed it is hardly necessary to describe in detail. The five +culprits were subjected to a merciless cross-examination, during which a +confession, not only of their various transgressions, but also of the +motives which had prompted them to adopt such a line of conduct, was +dragged from their unwilling lips. The cloak was torn off, and the +cowardice and meanness of their actions appeared plainly revealed, and +were forced home even to their own hearts. + +"Thurston and Fletcher," said the doctor, when at length, long after the +bell had rung for "interval," the inquiry concluded, "go to your +studies, and remain there till you hear from me--Noaks, go in like +manner to the housekeeper's room.--Gull and Hawley, as you seem to have +taken no active part in this last misdemeanour, you may go. As regards +your previous misconduct, I shall speak to you on that subject when I +have decided what is to be done with your companions." + +For the Triple Alliance the remainder of the day passed in a whirl of +conflicting emotions. In a very short time the whole school knew +exactly what had taken place in the doctor's study, and every boy was +incensed at the underhanded meanness of this attempted attack on Oaks +and Allingford. It was a good thing for Thurston and Fletcher that they +had their studies, and Noaks the housekeeper's room, in which to find +shelter, or they would have been compelled to run the gauntlet. Hawley +and Gull, though not found guilty on this particular count, were hustled +and abused for their former misdeeds, which it was perfectly evident +would be remembered against them during the remainder of their life at +Ronleigh. + +As for Diggory and his two chums, never were three small boys made so +much of before. "What was the cipher?"--"How did they find it out?"-- +these and a hundred other questions were continually being dinned in +their ears, coupled with slaps on the back, ejaculations of "Well +done!"--"You're a precious sharp lot!" and many other expressions of +approval. + +At the close of this eventful day two things alone remained vividly +impressed upon their minds. + +The first was an interview with Allingford and Oaks in the former's +study. + +"Well," said the captain, "you kids have done us a good turn. We were +in a precious awkward box, and I don't know how we should have got out +of it if it hadn't been for you." + +"Yes," added Oaks: "I was never more surprised at anything in my life +than when Trevanock said he knew who'd done the business. It made old +Denson open his eyes." + +"So it did," continued Allingford; "and if it hadn't come out, the whole +school would have got into another precious row, and there'd have been a +stop put to the Wraxby match. I tell you what. You youngsters thought +it sneaking to let out what you knew; in my opinion you'd have been +jolly sneaks if you'd shielded those blackguards, and allowed everyone +else to suffer. Well, as I said before, you've done is a good turn, and +as long as we're at Ronleigh together we shan't forget you." + +The second thing which lodged in the recollection of the three friends +was a look which Noaks had bestowed upon them as he passed out of the +doctor's study. + +"Did you see his face?" said Diggory. "He looked as if he could have +killed us. He's never forgiven us since that time he was turned off the +football field for striking you at The Birches." + +"No," added Jack Vance; "and then we were the means of old Noaks getting +the sack over those fireworks; and that reminds me he's always had a +grudge against me for letting out that time that his father was a +servant man; and now there's this last row. Oh yes! he'll do his best +now to get us into a bother over that knife of Mugford's." + +"Of course he will," answered Diggory; "that's what he meant by glaring +at us as he did." + +"I don't care!" exclaimed Jack Vance, with forced bravado; "he can't +prove we stole the coins." + +"Of course he can't," sighed Mugford; "but if there's a row it'll rather +spoil our Christmas." + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? + +The Wraxby match was played and won. Allingford and his men journeyed +to the neighbouring town, so gaming the additional credit of a victory +on their opponents' ground; and thus, for the first time for many years, +Ronleigh lowered the flag of their ancient rivals both at cricket and at +football. + +"Hurrah!" cried "Rats," who was in a great state of excitement when the +news arrived; "they won't ask us again if we'd like to play a master, +the cheeky beggars!" + +The same afternoon on which Ronleigh so distinguished herself saw also +the melancholy ending of the school life of two of her number. Thurston +and Fletcher One went home to return no more; practically expelled, +though the doctor, in this instance, did not make a public example of +their departure. + +Another thing happened on this memorable day which caused quite a +sensation, especially among the members of the upper and lower divisions +of the Fourth Form. + +"I say, have you heard the latest?" cried Maxton, bursting into the +reading-room just before preparation, regardless alike of the presence +of Lucas and the rule relating to silence. + +"What about?" asked several voices. + +"Why, about Noaks!" + +"No." + +"Well, then, he's run away!" + +Magazines and papers fell from the hands which held them, and the usual +quiet of the room was broken by a buzz of astonishment. + +"Run away! Go on; you don't mean it!" + +"I do, though: he's skedaddled right enough, and they can't find him +anywhere." + +The report was only too true. Afraid to face his schoolfellows, and +having already received several intimations, from fellows passing the +housekeeper's parlour, that a jolly good licking awaited him when he +left his present place of refuge, Noaks had watched his opportunity, and +when the boys were at tea had slipped out, and, as Maxton put it, +"run away." + +No one mourned his loss; even Mouler would not own to having been his +friend; and everybody who expressed any opinion on the subject spoke +of his departure as being decidedly a good riddance. + +The Triple Alliance, however, had cause to feel uneasy when they heard +of this latest escapade of their ancient enemy. + +"He's got my knife with him," said Mugford; "he may go any day and try +for that reward." + +For the time being, however, no communication was received from the +police-station at Todderton, and none of the three friends was caused, +like Eugene Aram, to leave the school with gyves upon his wrists. +Whatever evil intentions Noaks might have cherished towards them were +destined to be checkmated by a fortunate circumstance, the possibility +of which neither side had yet foreseen. + +The last day of the term arrived in due course, bringing with it that +jolly time when everybody is excited, happy, and good-tempered; when the +morning's work is a mere matter of form, and the boys slap their books +together at the sound of the bell, with the joyful conviction that the +whole length of the Christmas holidays lies between them and "next +lesson." + +Directly after dinner every one commenced "packing up;" which term might +have been supposed to include every form of skylarking which the heart +of the small boy could devise, from racing round the quadrangle, arrayed +in one of Bibbs's night-shirts, to playing football in the gymnasium, +North _versus_ South, with the remains of an old mortar-board. + +It was at this period of the day that the Triple Alliance proceeded to +carry out a project which had for some little time occupied the minds of +at least two of their number. The idea was that the little fraternity +should celebrate their approaching separation, and the consequent +breaking up of their association, with a sort of funeral feast, the cost +of which Jack and Diggory insisted should be borne by the two surviving +members. Only one outsider was invited to attend--namely, "Rats," whose +cheery presence it was thought would tend to enliven the proceedings, +and chase away the gloomy clouds of regret which would naturally hang +over the near prospect of parting. + +The box-room (where such functions usually took place) being at this +time in a state of indescribable uproar, it was decided that the banquet +should be served in one of the remote classrooms. + +"None of the fellows'll come near it," said Jack Vance; "and if old +Watford should be knocking round and catch us there, he won't do +anything to-day; we shall have to clear out, that's all." + +Accordingly, about a quarter to four, the three friends, with their +solitary guest, assembled at the trysting-place. Jack Vance carried two +big paper bags, Diggory a biscuit-box and a small tin kettle, while the +other two were provided with four clean jam-pots, it having been +announced that there was "going to be some cocoa." + +For the preparation of this luxury Diggory mounted a form and lit one of +the gas-jets, over which he and Jack Vance took it in turns to hold the +kettle until the water boiled. Sugar, cocoa, and condensed milk were +produced from the biscuit-tin, and the jam-pots having been filled with +the steaming beverage, the company seated themselves round the stove, in +which there still smouldered some remains of the morning's fire, and +prepared to enjoy themselves. + +From the first, however, the proceeding's fell as flat as ditch-water. +Even the gallant efforts of "Rats" to enliven the party were of no +avail; and for some time everybody munched away in silence, Jack Vance +occasionally pausing to remark, "Here, pass over that nose-bag, and help +yourselves." + +The classroom itself, which belonged to the Third Form, was suggestive +of that glad season known as "breaking-up." The ink-pots had all been +collected, and stood together in a tray on the master's table; fragments +of examination papers filled the paper-basket, and were littered here +and there about the floor, while some promising Latin scholar had +scrawled across the blackboard the well-known words, _Dulce Domum_. +These inspiriting signs of a "good time coming" were, however, lost on +the Triple Alliance. Their present surroundings served only to remind +them of the old days of "The Happy Family," when they had first come to +Ronleigh, never expecting but to have completed the period of their +school lives in one another's company. + +"Well," said Jack Vance, suddenly broaching the subject which was +uppermost in each of their minds, "we've had jolly times together.-- +D'you remember when we made the Alliance, the day you first came +to The Birches, Diggory?" + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "it was just after we'd been frightened by the +ghost. D'you remember the 'Main-top' and the 'House of Lords' and the +Philistines? I wonder what's become of them all?" + +One reminiscence suggested another, and after exhausting their +recollections of The Birches, they recalled their varied experiences at +Ronleigh. Only one adventure was by mutual consent not alluded +to: their clandestine visit to The Hermitage, coupled with Noaks's +threat, hung like the sword suspended by a single hair above the head of +Damocles at the feast. + +At length, when the paper bags had been wellnigh emptied, Jack Vance +intimated his intention of making a speech--which announcement was +received with considerable applause. + +"Don't finish up your cocoa," he began, "because, before we dissolve the +Alliance, I'm going to propose a toast. We've been friends a long time, +and both here and at The Birches, as Diggory says, the Triple Alliance +has done wonders and covered itself with glory." (Cheers.) "We said +when we started that we'd always stand by each other whatever happened; +and so we have, and so we would again if we were going to be together +any longer." ("Hear, hear!") "I wish 'Rats' could have joined us, but +then I suppose it wouldn't have been the Triple Alliance. However, now +it's finished with; but before we break it up, I'm going to call upon +you to drink the health of Mr. Mugford. May he have long life and +happiness, and a jolly fine house, with a model railway, and a lake for +boating in the grounds, and ask us all to come and stay with him +whenever we feel inclined." + +This sentiment was received with shouts of applause, and in honouring it +the jam-pots were drained to their muddy dregs. + +No one expected that Mugford would reply, for he was decidedly a man of +few words; but on this occasion he rose above his usual self, and +sitting with his hands in his trouser pockets, his feet on the fender of +the stove, and his chin sunk forward on his breast, delivered himself as +follows. The room was already growing dark with the early winter +twilight, which perhaps rendered it more easy for him to undertake the +task of responding to the toast. + +"You've always been very kind to me," he began, speaking rather quickly. + +"No, we haven't," interrupted Jack Vance. + +"Yes, you have. Just shut up; I'm going to say what I like. You made +friends with me because I happened to be in the same room at The +Birches; but you always stuck to me, and helped me along a lot when we +came here first. I know I'm stupid, and sometimes I feel I'm a coward; +but I enjoyed being with you, and shall always remember the times we've +had together--yes, I swear I shall--always. And now I've got a drop of +cocoa left, so I'm going to propose a toast. You must take 'Rats' in my +place. I hope you'll have heaps of larks; and you must write me a +letter sometimes and tell me what you're doing. Here goes--The new +_Triple Alliance!_" + +It was customary to laugh at whatever Mugford said, but on this occasion +not even a smile greeted the conclusion of his remarks. + +Only Diggory spoke. "No, we shan't have another Triple Alliance; now +it's going to end." + +He turned, and taking something out of the biscuit-tin, said solemnly, +"I, Diggory Trevanock, do hereby declare that the association known as +the Triple Alliance is now dissolved; in token of which I break this bit +of a flat ruler, used by us as a sugar-spoon, into three parts, one of +which I present to each of the members as a keepsake, to remind them of +all our great deeds and many adventures." + +Each boy pocketed his fragment of wood in silence. Jack Vance tried to +crack a joke, but it was a miserable failure. + +"There was something I wanted to say," began "Rats" thoughtfully. +"I shall remember it in a minute. Oh, _bother!_" + +"What's up?" + +"Why, I know what it was; Mugford's talking about writing to him +reminded me of it. I'm awfully sorry, but there were some letters came +for you chaps this morning. I took them off the table, meaning to give +them to you; but I quite forgot, and left them in my desk." + +"Well, you're a nice one!" cried Diggory. "Suppose you go and fetch 'em +now!" + +"Rats" scrambled to his feet and hurried out of the room. + +Jack Vance pulled out his watch, and held it down so that the glimmer of +the red light from between the bars of the stove fell upon its face. + +"My word," he exclaimed, "it's time we thought about packing!" + +"Wait a jiff for those letters," answered Diggory. + +A moment later "Rats" came scampering down the passage. "Here they +are," he cried; "I'm very sorry I forgot 'em. A letter for Mugford, and +a paper for Vance." + +Diggory relighted the gas-jet which he had turned out after boiling the +kettle, and proceeded, with the assistance of "Rats," to gather up the +remains of the feast. They had hardly, however, got further than +emptying the tin kettle down the ventilator before their attention was +attracted by a joyful exclamation from Jack Vance. + +"What d'you think's happened?" he cried, brandishing the open newspaper. +"Why, they've caught the thieves who stole old Fossberry's coins!" + +"Not really!" + +"They have, though. It was the old woman who looks after the house, and +her husband; they're to be tried at the next assizes. They did it right +enough; some of the coins were found in their possession, and--Hullo! +what's the matter with you?" + +The latter remark was addressed to Mugford, who suddenly jumped on a +form, began to dance, fell off into the coal-box, scrambled to his feet, +and capered wildly round the room. + +"He's gone mad!" cried Diggory; "catch him, and sit on his head!" + +"No, I haven't!" exclaimed Mugford, coming to a standstill; "but what do +you think's happened? Guess!" + +"Not that you're going to stay on here!" + +"Yes! My uncle says he'll pay for me, and I'm to come back again after +Christmas!" + +"Well, I'm sure!" gasped Jack Vance; "and we've just dissolved the +Alliance! We must make it again." + +"No, you shan't!" shouted "Rats;" "Diggory said you wouldn't. +I'm coming in, as Mugford suggested, so it'll have to be a quadruple one +next time." + +"Well, so it shall be," cried Jack Vance, embracing Mugford with the +hugging power of a juvenile bear: "next term we'll start afresh." + +Diggory and "Rats" promptly fell into each other's arms, and all four, +coming into violent collision, tumbled down amidst the _debris_ of the +overturned coal-box; and after rolling over one another like a lot of +young dogs, scrambled to their feet, turned out the gas, and rushed away +to complete their packing. + +So, as the door slams behind them, they vanish from our sight; for +though the renewal of their friendship tempts us to follow them further +in their school life, we are reminded that our story has been told. +Here ended the existence of the Triple Alliance, and here, therefore, +should the history of its trials and triumphs be likewise brought to a +conclusion. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10027 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5136002 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10027 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10027) diff --git a/old/10027.txt b/old/10027.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ad4c681 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10027.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9072 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Triple Alliance, by Harold Avery + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Triple Alliance + +Author: Harold Avery + +Release Date: November 13, 2003 [eBook #10027] + +Language: English + +Chatacter set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE*** + + + + +E-text prepared by Lionel G. Sear of Truro, Cornwall, England, and +dedicated to the memory of R. F. Mudie, who won the book used as the +source for this e-text as Form II First Prize for the Summer Term in +1901 at the Seafield House Preparatory School, Broughty Ferry, Scotland + + + + +THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE + +ITS TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS + +By HAROLD AVERY + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Chapter. + + I. A NEW BOY, + + II. THE PHILISTINES, + + III. DISCOMFITURE OF THE PHILISTINES, + + IV. THE SUPPER CLUB, + + V. CATCHING A TARTAR, + + VI. GUNPOWDER PLOT, + + VII. RONLEIGH COLLEGE, + + VIII. THIRD FORM ORATORY, + + IX. A HOLIDAY ADVENTURE, + + X. A SCREW LOOSE IN THE SIXTH, + + XI. SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS, + + XII. THE WRAXBY MATCH, + + XIII. THE ELECTIONS, + + XIV. A PASSAGE OF ARMS, + + XV. THE READING-ROOM RIOT, + + XVI. THE CIPHER LETTER, + + XVII. DIGGORY READS THE CIPHER, + +XVIII. A SECRET SOCIETY, + + XIX. A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS, + + XX. SOWING THE WIND, + + XXI. REAPING THE WHIRLWIND, + + XXII. WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +A NEW BOY. + +"What's your name?" + +"Diggory Trevanock." + +The whole class exploded. + +"Now, then," said Mr. Blake, looking up from his mark-book with a broad +grin on his own face--"now, then, there's nothing to laugh at.--Look +here," he added, turning to the new boy, "how d'you spell it?" + +Instead of being at all annoyed or disconcerted at the mirth of his +class-mates, the youngster seemed rather to enjoy the joke, and +immediately rattled out a semi-humorous reply to the master's +question,-- + +"D I G, dig; G O R Y, gory--Diggory: T R E, tre; VAN, van; O C K, +ock--Trevanock." Then turning round, he smiled complacently at the +occupants of the desks behind, as much as to say: "There, I've done +all I can to amuse you, and I hope you're satisfied." + +This incident, one of the little pleasantries occasionally permitted by +a class master, and which, like a judge's jokes in court, are always +welcomed as a momentary relief from the depressing monotony of the +serious business in hand--this little incident, I say, happened in the +second class of a small preparatory school, situated on the outskirts of +the market town of Chatford, and intended, according to the wording of a +standing advertisement in the _Denfordshire Chronicle_, "for the sons of +gentlemen." + +This establishment, which bore the somewhat suggestive name of "The +Birches," was owned and presided over by Mr. Welsby, who, with an +unmarried daughter, Miss Eleanor, acting as housekeeper, and his +nephew, Mr. Blake, performing the duties of assistant-master, undertook +the preliminary education of about a dozen juveniles whose ages ranged +between ten and fourteen. + +On the previous evening, returning from the Christmas holidays, exactly +twelve had mustered round the big table in the dining-room; no new +faces had appeared, and Fred Acton, a big, strong youngster of fourteen +and a half, was undisputed cock of the walk. + +The school was divided into two classes. The first, containing the five +elder scholars, went to sit at the feet of Mr. Welsby himself; while the +second remained behind in what was known as the schoolroom, and received +instruction from Mr. Blake. + +It was while thus occupied on the first morning of the term that the +lower division were surprised by the sudden appearance of a new boy. +Miss Eleanor brought him into the room, and after a few moments' +whispered conversation with her cousin, smiled round the class and then +withdrew. Every one worshipped Miss Eleanor; but that's neither here +nor there. A moment later Mr. Blake put the question which stands +at the commencement of this chapter. + +The new-comer's answer made a favourable impression on the minds of his +companions, and as soon as the morning's work was over, they set about +the task of mutual introduction in a far more friendly manner than was +customary on these occasions. He was a wiry little chap, with bright +eyes, for ever on the twinkle, and black hair pasted down upon his head, +so as not to show the slightest vestige of curl, while the sharp, +mischievous look on his face, and the quick, comical movements of his +body, suggested something between a terrier and a monkey. + +There was never very much going on in the way of regular sports or +pastimes at The Birches; the smallness of numbers made it difficult to +attempt proper games of cricket or football, and the boys were forced to +content themselves with such substitutes as prisoner's base, cross tag, +etc., or in carrying out the projects of Fred Acton, who was constantly +making suggestions for the employment of their time, and compelling +everybody to conform to his wishes. + +Mr. Welsby had been a widower for many years; he was a grave, scholarly +man, who spent most of his spare time in his own library. Mr. Blake was +supposed to take charge out of school hours; he was, as every one said, +"a jolly fellow," and the fact that his popularity extended far and wide +among a large circle of friends and acquaintances, caused him to have a +good many irons in the fire of one sort and another. During their hours +of leisure, therefore, the Birchites were left pretty much to their own +devices, or more often to those of Master Fred Acton, who liked, as has +already been stated, to assume the office of bellwether to the little +flock. + +At the time when our story commences the ground was covered with snow; +but Acton was equal to the occasion, and as soon as dinner was over, +ordered all hands to come outside and make a slide. + +The garden was on a steep slope, along the bottom of which ran the brick +wall bounding one side of the playground; a straight, steep path lay +between this and the house, and the youthful dux, with his usual +disregard of life and limb, insisted on choosing this as the scene of +operations. + +"What!" he cried, in answer to a feeble protest on the part of Mugford, +"make it on level ground? Of course not, when we've got this jolly hill +to go down; not if I know it. We'll open the door at the bottom, and go +right on into the playground." + +"But how if any one goes a bit crooked, and runs up against the bricks?" + +"Well, they'll get pretty well smashed, or he will. You must go +straight; that's half the fun of the thing--it'll make it all the more +exciting. Come on and begin to tread down the snow." + +Without daring to show any outward signs of reluctance, but with +feelings very much akin to those of men digging their own graves before +being shot, the company set about putting this fearful project into +execution. In about half an hour the slide was in good working order, +and then the fun began. + +Mugford, and one or two others whose prudence exceeded their valour, +made a point of sitting down before they had gone many yards, preferring +to take the fall in a milder form than it would have assumed at a later +period in the journey. To the bolder spirits, however, every trip was +like leading a forlorn hope, none expecting to return from the +enterprise unscathed. The pace was terrific: on nearing the playground +wall, all the events of a lifetime might have flashed across the memory +as at the last gasp of a drowning man; and if fortunate enough to whiz +through the doorway, and pull up "all standing" on the level stretch +beyond, it was to draw a deep breath, and regard the successful +performance of the feat as an escape from catastrophe which was nothing +short of miraculous. The unevenness of the ground made it almost +impossible to steer a straight course. A boy might be half-way down the +path, when suddenly he felt himself beginning to turn round; an agonized +look spread over his face; he made one frantic attempt to keep, as it +were, "head to the sea;" there was an awful moment when house, garden, +sky, and playground wall spun round and round; and then the little group +of onlookers, their hearts hardened by their own sufferings, burst into +a roar of laughter; while Acton slapped his leg, crying, "He's over! +What a stunning lark! Who's next?" + +At the end of an hour and a half most of the company were temporarily +disabled, and even their chief had not escaped scot free. + +"Now then for a regular spanker!" he cried, rushing at the slide. +A "spanker" it certainly was: six yards from the commencement his legs +flew from under him, he soared into the air like a bird, and did not +touch the ground again until he sat down heavily within twenty paces of +the bottom of the slope. + +One might have supposed that this catastrophe would have somewhat damped +the sufferer's ardour; but instead of that he only seemed fired with a +fresh desire to break his neck. + +He hobbled up the hill, and pausing for a moment at the top to take +breath, suddenly exclaimed, "Look here, I'm going down it on skates." + +Every one stood aghast at this rash determination; but Acton hurried off +into the house, and soon returned with the skates. He sat down on a +bank, and was proceeding to put them on, when he discovered that, +by some oversight, he had brought out the wrong pair. "Bother it! these +aren't mine, they're too short; whose are they?" + +"I think they're mine," faltered Mugford. + +"Well, put 'em on." + +"But I don't want to." + +"But I say you must!" + +"Oh! please, Acton, I really can't, I--" + +"Shut up! Look here, some one's got to go down that slide on skates, so +just put 'em on." + +It was at this moment that Diggory Trevanock stepped forward, and +remarked in a casual manner that if Mugford didn't wish to do it, but +would lend him the skates, he himself would go down the slide. + +His companions stared at him in astonishment, coupled with which was a +feeling of regret: he was a nice little chap, and they had already begun +to like him, and did not wish to see him dashed to pieces against the +playground wall before their very eyes. Acton, however, had decreed +that "some one had got to go down that slide on skates," and it seemed +only meet and right that if a victim had to be sacrificed it should be a +new boy rather than an old stager. + +"Bravo!" cried the dux; "here's one chap at least who's no funk. +Put 'em on sharp; the bell 'll ring in a minute." + +Several willing hands were stretched out to assist in arming Diggory for +the enterprise, and in a few moments he was assisted to the top of the +slide. + +"All right," he said; "let go!" + +The spectators held their breath, hardly daring to watch what would +happen. But fortune favours the brave. The adventurous juvenile rushed +down the path, shot like an arrow through the doorway, and the next +instant was seen ploughing up the snow in the playground, and eventually +disappearing head first into the middle of a big drift. + +His companions all rushed down in a body to haul him out of the snow. +Acton smacked him on the back, and called him a trump; while Jack Vance +presented him on the spot with a mince-pie, which had been slightly +damaged in one of the donor's many tumbles, but was, as he remarked, +"just as good as new for eating." + +From that moment until the day he left there was never a more popular +boy at The Birches than Diggory Trevanock. + +"I say," remarked Mugford, as they met a short time later in the +cloak-room, "that was awfully good of you to go down the slide instead +of me; what ever made you do it?" + +"Well," answered the other calmly, "I thought it would save me a lot of +bother if I showed you fellows at once that I wasn't a muff. I don't +mind telling you I was in rather a funk when it came to the start; but +I'd said I'd do it, and of course I couldn't draw back." + +The numerous stirring events which happened at The Birches during the +next three terms, and which it will be my pleasing duty to chronicle in +subsequent chapters, gave the boys plenty of opportunity of testing the +character of their new companion, or, in plainer English, of finding out +the stuff he was made of; and whatever his other faults may have been, +this at least is certain, that no one ever found occasion to charge +Diggory Trevanock with being either a muff or a coward. + +One might have thought that the slide episode would have afforded +excitement enough for a new boy's first day at school; yet before it +closed he was destined to be mixed up in an adventure of a still +more thrilling character. + +The Birches was an old house, and though its outward appearance was +modern enough, the interior impressed even youthful minds with a feeling +of reverence for its age. The heavy timbers, the queer shape of some of +the bedrooms and attics, the narrow, crooked passages, and the little +unexpected flights of stairs, were all things belonging to a bygone age, +of which the pupils were secretly proud, and which caused them to +remember the place, and think of it at the time, as being in some way +different from an ordinary school. + +"I say, Diggy," exclaimed Jack Vance, addressing the new boy by the +friendly abbreviation, which seemed by mutual consent to have been +bestowed upon him in recognition of his daring exploit--"I say, Diggy, +you're in my bedroom: there's you, and me, and Mugford. Mug's an awful +chump, but he's a good-natured old duffer, and you and I'll do the +fighting." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Why, sometimes when Blake is out spending the evening, and old Welsby +is shut up in his library, the different rooms make raids on one +another. It began the term before last. Blake had been teaching us all +about how the Crusaders used to go out every now and then and make war +in Palestine, and so the fellows on the west side of the house called +themselves the Crusaders, and we were Infidels, and they'd come over and +rag us, and we should drive them back. Miss Eleanor came up one night, +and caught us in the middle of a battle. O Diggy, she is a trump! +Blake asked her next day before us all which boys had been out on the +landing, because he meant to punish them; and she laughed, and said: +'I'm sure I can't tell you. Why, when I saw they were all in their +night-shirts, I shut my eyes at once!' Of course it was all an excuse +for not giving us away. She doesn't mind seeing chaps in their +night-shirts when they're ill, we all know that; and once or twice +when for some reason or other she told us on the quiet that there +mustn't be any disturbance that evening, no one ever went crusading-- +Acton would have licked them if they had. Acton's going to propose to +Miss Eleanor some day, he told us so, and--" + +"But what about the bedrooms?" interrupted Diggory; "have you given up +having crusades?" + +"Yes, but we have other things instead. We call our rooms by different +names, and it's all against all; one lot come and make a raid on you, +and then you go and pay them out. This term Kennedy and Jacobs sleep in +the room above ours, and next to the big attic. They're always reading +sea stories, and they call their room the 'Main-top,' because it's so +high up. Then at the end of the passage are Acton, Shaw, and Morris, +and they're the 'House of Lords;' and next to them is the 'Dogs' Home,' +where all the other fellows are put." + +A few hours later Diggory and his two room-mates were standing at the +foot of their beds and discussing the formation of a few simple rules +for conducting a race in undressing, the last man to put the candle out. + +"You needn't bother to race," said Mugford; "I'll do it--I'm sure to be +the last." + +"No, you aren't," answered Vance. "We'll give you coat and waistcoat +start; it'll be good fun--" + +At this moment the door was suddenly flung open, two half-dressed +figures sprang into the room, and discharged a couple of snowballs +point-blank at its occupants. One of the missiles struck Diggory on the +shoulder, and the other struck Mugford fair and square on the side of +the head, the fragments flying all over the floor. There was a subdued +yell of triumph, the door was slammed to with a bang, and the muffled +sound of stockinged feet thudding up the neighbouring staircase showed +that the enemy were in full retreat. + +"It's those confounded Main-top men!" cried Jack Vance; "I will pay them +out. I wonder where the fellows got the snow from?" + +"Oh, I expect they opened the window and took it off the ledge," +answered Diggory. "Look here--let's sweep it up into this piece of +paper before it melts." + +This having been done, the three friends hastily threw off their clothes +and scrambled into bed, forgetting all about the proposed race in their +eagerness to form some plan for an immediate retaliation on the +occupants of the "Main-top." + +"I wonder if they'll hear anything of the ghost again this term?" said +Mugford, + +"What ghost?" asked Diggory. + +"Oh, it's nothing really," answered Vance; "only somebody said once +that the house is haunted, and Kennedy and Jacobs say the ghost must be +in the big attic next their room. They hear such queer noises sometimes +that they both go under the bed-clothes." + +"Do they always do that?" + +"Yes, so they say, whenever there is a row." + +"Well, then," said Diggory, "I'll tell you what we'll do: we'll go very +quietly up into that attic, and groan and knock on the wall until you +think they've both got their heads well under the clothes, and then +we'll rush in and bag their pillows, or drag them out of bed, or +something of that sort. You aren't afraid to go into the attic, are +you?" he continued, seeing that the others hesitated. "Why, of course +there are no such things as ghosts. Or, look here, I'll go in, and +you can wait outside." + +"N--no, I don't mind," answered Vance; "and it'll be an awful lark +catching them with their heads under the clothes." + +"All right, then, let's do it; though I suppose we'd better wait till +every one's in bed." + +The last suggestion was agreed upon, and the three friends lay talking +in an undertone until the sound of footsteps and the gleam of a candle +above the door announced the fact that Mr. Blake was retiring to rest. + +"He's always last," said Vance; "we must give him time to undress, and +then we'll start." + +A quarter of an hour later the three boys, in semi-undress, were +creeping in single file up the narrow staircase. + +"Be careful," whispered Vance; "there are several loose boards, and they +crack like anything." + +The small landing was reached in safety, and the moon, shining faintly +through a little skylight formed of a single pane of glass, enabled them +to distinguish the outline of two doors. + +Now it was a very different matter, when lying warm and snug in bed, to +talk about acting the ghost, from what it was, when standing shivering +in the cold and darkness, to put the project into execution. During the +period of waiting the conversation had turned on haunted houses, and no +one seemed particularly anxious to claim as it were the post of honour, +and be the first to enter the big attic. + +"Go on!" whispered Mugford, nudging Vance. + +"Go on!" repeated the latter, giving Diggory's arm a gentle push. + +The new boy had certainly undertaken to play the part of the ghost, and +there was no excuse for his backing out of it at the last moment. + +"All right," he muttered, "I'll go." + +Just then a terrible thing happened. Diggory clutched the door-knob as +though it were the handle of a galvanic battery, while Mugford and Vance +seized each other by the arm and literally gasped for breath. + +The stillness had been broken by a slight sound, as of something falling +inside the attic, and this was followed a moment later by a shrill, +unearthly scream. + +For five seconds the three companions stood petrified with horror, not +daring to move; then followed another scream, if anything more horrible +than the last, and accompanied this time by the clanking rattle of a +chain being dragged across the floor. + +That was enough. Talk about a _sauve qui peut_! the wonder is that any +one survived the stampede which followed. The youngsters turned and +flew down the stairs at break-neck speed, and hardly had they started +when the door of the "Main-top" was flung open, and its two occupants +rushed down after them. As though to ensure the retreat being nothing +less than a regular rout, Mugford, who was leading, missed his footing +on the last step, causing every one to fall over him in turn, until all +five boys were sprawling together in a mixed heap upon the floor. + +Freeing themselves with some little difficulty from the general +entanglement, they rose to their feet, and after surveying each other +for a moment in silence, gave vent to a simultaneous ejaculation of +"_The ghost_!" + +"What were you fellows doing up there?" asked Kennedy. + +"Why, we came up to have a joke with you," answered Vance; "but just +when we got up to the landing, it--it made that noise!" + +There was the sound of the key turning in the lock of Mr. Blake's door. + +"_Cave_!" whispered Mugford. + +"Tell him about it," added Vance; and giving Diggory a push, they all +three darted into their room just as the master emerged from his, +arrayed in dressing-gown and slippers. + +"Now, then," exclaimed the latter, holding his candle above his head, +and peering down the passage, "what's the meaning of this disturbance? +I thought the whole house was falling down.--Come here, you two, and +explain yourselves!" + +"Please, sir," answered Kennedy and Jacobs in one breath, "it's the +ghost!" + +"The ghost! What ghost? What d'you mean?" + +The two "Main-top" men began a hasty account of the cause of their +sudden fright, taking care, however, to make no mention of the three +hostile visitors who had shared in the surprise. + +Mr. Blake listened to their story in silence, then all at once he burst +out laughing, and without a word turned on his heel and went quickly +upstairs. He entered the attic, and in about half a minute they heard +him coming back. + +"Ha, ha! I've got your ghost; I've been trying to lay him for some time +past." + +The jingle of a chain was distinctly audible; Mr. Blake was evidently +bringing the spectre down in his arms! Diggory and Vance could no +longer restrain their curiosity; they hopped out of bed and glanced +round the corner of the door. The master held in his hand a rusty old +gin, the iron jaws of which were tightly closed upon the body of an +enormous rat. + +"There's a monster for you!" he said; "I think it's the biggest I ever +saw. He'd carried the trap, chain and all, right across the room, but +that finished him; he was as dead as a stone when I picked him up. +Now get back to bed; I should think you're both nearly frozen." + +Diggory and Jack Vance followed the advice given to Kennedy and Jacobs, +and did so rather sheepishly. They felt they had been making tools of +themselves; yet it would never have done to own to such a thing. + +"What a lark!" said the new boy, after a few moments' silence. + +"Wasn't it!" returned Jack Vance; "it's the best joke I've had for a +long time. But we didn't pay those fellows out for throwing those +snowballs; we must do it some other night. And now we three must swear +to be friends, and stand by each other against all the world, and +whatever happens. What shall we call our room?" + +"I know," answered Diggory: "we'll call it 'The Triple Alliance!'" + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +THE PHILISTINES. + +The Triple Alliance, the formation of which has just been described, was +destined to be no mere form of speech or empty display of friendship. +The members had solemnly sworn to stand by one another whatever +happened, and the manner in which they carried out their resolve, and +the important consequences which resulted from their concerted actions, +will be made known to the reader as our story progresses. + +Poor Mugford certainly seemed likely to be a heavy drag on the +association; he was constantly tumbling into trouble, and needing to be +pulled out again by those who had promised to be his friends. + +An instance of this occurred on the day following Diggory's arrival at +The Birches. He and Vance had gone down after morning school into what +was called the playroom, to partake of two more of the latter's +mince-pies, and on their return to the schoolroom found a crowd +assembled round Acton, who, seated on the top of a small cupboard which +always served as a judicial bench, was hearing a case in which Mugford +was the defendant, while Jacobs and another boy named Cross appeared as +plaintiffs. + +The charge was that the former was indebted to the latter for the sum of +half a crown, which he had borrowed towards the end of the previous +term, in separate amounts of one shilling and eighteen pence, promising +to repay them, with interest, immediately after the holidays. The money +had been expended in the purchase of a disreputable old canary bird, for +which Noaks, the manservant, had agreed to find board and lodging during +the Christmas vacation. Now, when the creditors reminded Mugford of his +obligations, they found him totally unable to meet their demands for +payment. + +"Now, look here," said Acton, addressing the defendant with great +severity, "no humbug--how much money did you bring back with you?" + +"Well, I had to pay my brother before I came away for my share in a +telescope we bought last summer, and then--" + +"Bother your brother and the telescope! Why can't you answer my +question? How much money did you bring back with you?" + +"Only five bob." + +"Then why in the name of Fortune don't you pay up?" + +"Because I had to pay all that to Noaks for bird-seed." + +"D'you mean to say that that bird ate five shillings' worth of seed in +four weeks?" + +"Well, so Noaks says; he told me he'd kept scores of birds in his time, +but he'd 'never seen one so hearty at its grub before.' Those were the +very words he used, and he said it was eating nearly all the day, and +that's one reason why it looks such a dowdy colour, and never sings." + +"Well, all I can say is, if you believe all Noaks tells you, you're a +fool. But that's no reason why these two chaps should be done out of +their money; so now, how are you going to pay them?" + +"If they only wait till pocket-money's given out--" began Mugford. + +"Oh no, we shan't!" interrupted Cross. "He only gets sixpence a week, +and he's always breaking windows and other things, and having it +stopped." + +There seemed only one way out of the difficulty, and that was to put as +it were an execution into Mugford's desk, and realize a certain amount +of his private property. + +"Look here," said Acton, "he must sell something.--Now, then," he added, +turning to the defendant, "just shell out something and bring it here at +once, and we'll have an auction." + +The boy walked off to his desk, and after rummaging about in it for some +little time, returned with a miscellaneous collection of small articles +in his arms, which he proceeded to hand up one by one for the judge's +inspection. + +"What's this?" + +"Oh, its a book that was given me on my birthday, called 'Lofty Thoughts +for Little Thinkers.'" + +"Lofty grandmother!" said Acton impatiently. + +"What else have you got ?" + +"Well, here's a wire puzzle, only I think a bit of it's lost, and the +clasp of a cricket belt, and old Dick Rodman's chessboard and some of +the men, and some stuff for chilblains, and--" + +"Oh, dry up!" interrupted Acton; "what bosh! Who d'you expect would buy +any of that rubbish? Look here, we'll give you till after dinner, and +unless you find something sensible by then, we shall come and hunt for +ourselves." + +"That's just like Mug," said Jack Vance to Diggory, as the group of boys +slowly dispersed; "he's always doing something stupid. But I suppose as +we made that alliance, we ought to try to help the beggar somehow." + +They followed their unfortunate comrade to his desk, which when opened +displayed a perfect chaos of ragged books, loose sheets of paper, broken +pen-holders, pieces of string, battered cardboard boxes, and other +rubbish. + +"Look here, Mug, what have you got to sell? you'll have to fork out +something." + +"I don't know," returned the other mournfully, stirring up the contents +of the desk as though he were making a Christmas pudding. "I've got +nothing, except--well, there's this book of Poe's, 'Tales of Adventure, +Mystery, and Imagination,' and my clasp-knife; and perhaps some one +would buy these fret-saw patterns or this dog-chain." + +He turned out two or three more small articles and laid them on the +form. + +"Are there any of these things you particularly wish to keep?" asked +Diggory; "because, if so, Vance and I'll bid for them, and then you can +buy them back from us again when you've got some more money." + +"That's awfully kind of you," answered Mugford, brightening up. "I'll +tell you what I should like to keep, and that's my clasp-knife and the +book; they're such jolly stories. 'The Pit and the Pendulum' always +gives me bad dreams, and 'The Premature Burial' makes you feel certain +you'll be buried alive." + +"All right; and did you bring a cake back with you?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, then, sell that first, and you can share our grub." + +The auction was held directly after dinner. The cake fetched a +shilling, and Diggory and Vance bid ninepence each for the book and +pocket-knife; so Mugford came out of his difficulty without suffering +any further loss than what was afterwards made good again by the +generosity of his two comrades. They, for their part, made no fuss over +this little act of kindness, but handed the book and clasp-knife over +to Mugford without waiting for the money, and little thinking what an +important part these trifling possessions would play in the subsequent +history of the Triple Alliance. + +The sale had not long been concluded, and the little community were +preparing to obey Acton's order to "Come outside," when the latter +rushed into the room finning with rage. + +"I say," he exclaimed, "what do you think that beast of a Noaks has +done? Why, he's gone and put ashes all over our slide!" + +In their heart of hearts every one felt decidedly relieved at this +announcement; still it was necessary, at all events, to simulate some of +their leader's wrath, and accordingly there was a general outcry against +the offender. + +"Oh, the cad!"--"What an awful shame!"--"Let's tell Blake!" etc., etc. + +"Who is Noaks?" asked Diggory. "Is he that sour-looking man who brings +the boots in every morning?" + +"Yes, that's so," answered Vance. "He hates us all--partly, I believe, +because his son's a Philistine. I wonder old Welsby doesn't get another +man." + +"His son's a _what?_" asked Diggory; but at that moment Acton came +marching round the room ordering every one out into the playground, and +Jack Vance hurried off to get his cap and muffler without replying to +the question. + +Sliding was out of the question, and the "House of Lords" having amused +themselves for a time by capturing small boys and throwing them into the +snow-drift, some one remarked that it would be good fun to build a snow +man; which proposition was received with acclamation, and all hands were +soon hard at work rolling the big balls which were to form the base of +the statue. As the work progressed the interest in it increased, the +more so when Diggory suggested that the figure should be supposed to +represent the obnoxious Noaks, and that the company could then relieve +their feelings by pelting his effigy as soon as it was completed. +Every one was pleased with the project, and even Acton, who as a rule +would never follow up any plan which was not of his own making, took +special pains to cause the snow man to bear some likeness to the +original. He had just, by way of a finishing touch, expended nearly +half a penny bottle of red ink in a somewhat exaggerated reproduction of +the fiery hue of Noaks's nose, when the bell rang for afternoon school, +and the bombardment had to be postponed until the following day. + +It was no small trial of patience being thus obliged to wait nearly +twenty-four hours before wreaking their vengeance on the effigy; still +there was no help for it. The boys bottled down their feelings, and +when at last the classes were dismissed, and the dux cried, "Come on, +you fellows!" every one obeyed the summons willingly enough. There had +been a slight thaw in the night, and the statue stood in need of some +trifling repairs. Acton suggested, therefore, that the half-hour +before dinner should be devoted to putting things to rights, and to +making some small additions in the shape of pebbles for waistcoat +buttons, and other trifling adornments. + +Mr. Welsby kept the boys at the table for nearly a quarter of an hour +after the meal was finished, talking over his plans for the coming term, +and when at last he finished there was a regular stampede for the +playground. Acton was leading the rush; he dashed through the garden +doorway, and then stopped dead with an exclamation of dismay. All those +who followed, as they arrived on the spot, did the same. Every vestige +of the snow man, which had been left barely an hour ago standing such a +work of art, had disappeared. Certainly a portion of the pedestal still +remained, looking like the stump of an old, decayed tooth; but the +figure itself had been thrown down, trodden flat, and literally stamped +out of existence! + +The little crowd stood for a moment speechless, gazing with woebegone +expressions on their faces at the wreck of their hopes and handiwork; +then the silence was broken by a subdued chuckle coming from the other +side of the wall on their left, and every one, with a start and a sudden +clinching of fists, cried simultaneously: "The Philistines!" + +The words had hardly been uttered when above the brickwork appeared the +head and shoulders of a boy a size or so bigger than Acton; +a dirty-looking brown bowler hat was stuck on the very back of his head, +and rammed down until the brim rested on the top of his ears; and it +will be quite sufficient to remark that his face was in exact keeping +with the manner in which he wore his hat. Once more everybody gave vent +to their feelings by another involuntary ejaculation--"Young Noaks!" + +The stranger laughed, pulled a face which, as far as ugliness went, was +hardly an improvement on the one Nature had already bestowed upon him, +and then pointed mockingly at the remains of the masterpiece. + +His triumph, however, was short-lived. Jack Vance, as he left the +house, had caught up a double handful of snow, which he had been +pressing into a hard ball as he ran down the path, determining in his +own, mind to be the first to open fire on the snow man. Without a +moment's hesitation he flung the missile at the intruder's head, and, to +the intense delight of his companions, it struck the latter fairly on +the mouth, causing him to lose his precarious foothold on the wall and +fall back into the road. + +It needed no further warning to inform the Birchites that the +Philistines were upon them, and every one set to work to lay in a stock +of snowballs as fast as hands could make them. "Look out!" cried +Kennedy. Young Noaks's face rose once more above the top of the wall, +and the next moment a big stone, the size of hen's egg, whizzed past +Diggory's head, and struck the garden door with a sounding bang. + +"Oh, the cad!" cried Acton; "let's go for him." + +The whole garrison combined in making a vigorous sortie into the road; +but it was only to find the enemy in full retreat, and a few dropping +shots at long range ended the skirmish. + +"I say, Vance," exclaimed Diggory, "who are they? Who are these +fellows?" + +Now, as the aforesaid Philistines play rather an Important part in the +opening chapters of our story, I propose to answer the question myself, +in such a way that the reader may be enabled to take a more intelligent +interest in the chain of events which commenced with the destruction of +the snow man; and in order that this may be done in a satisfactory +manner, I will in a few words map out the ground on which this memorable +campaign was afterwards conducted. + +Take the well-known drawing of two right angles In Euclid's definition, +and imagine the horizontal line to be the main road to Chatford, while +the perpendicular one standing on it is a by-way called Locker's lane. +In the right angle stood The Birches; the house itself faced the +Chatford road, while behind it, in regular succession, came first the +sloping garden, then the walled-in playground, and then the small field +in which were attempted such games of cricket and football as the +limited number of pupils would permit. There were three doors in the +playground--one the entrance from the garden, another opening into the +lane, and a third into the field, the two latter being usually kept +locked. + +Locker's Lane was a short cut to Chatford, yet Rule 21 in The Birches +Statute-Book ordained that no boy should either go or return by this +route when visiting the town; the whole road was practically put out of +bounds, and the reason for this regulation was as follows: + +At the corner of the playing field the lane took a sharp turn, and about +a quarter of a mile beyond this stood a large red-brick house, shut in +on three sides by a high wall, whereon, close to the heavy double doors +which formed the entrance, appeared a board bearing in big letters the +legend-- + + HORACE HOUSE, + Middle-Class School for Boys. + A. PHILLIPS, B.A., Head-master. + +The pupils of Mr. Phillips had been formerly called by Mr. Welsby's boys +the Phillipians, which title had in time given place to the present +nickname of the Philistines. + +I have no doubt that the average boy turned out by Horace House was as +good a fellow, taking him all round, as the average boy produced by The +Birches; and that, if they had been thrown together in one school, they +would, for the most part, have made very good friends and comrades. +However, in fairness both to them and to their rivals, it must be said +that at the period of our story Mr. Phillips seemed for some time past +to have been unusually unfortunate in his elder boys: they were +undoubtedly "cads," and the character of the whole establishment, as far +as the scholars were concerned, naturally yielded to the influence of +its leaders. + +It had been customary every term for the Birchites to play a match +against them either at cricket or football; but their conduct during a +visit paid to the ground of the latter, back in the previous summer, had +been so very ungentlemanly and unsportsmanlike that, when the next +challenge arrived for an encounter at football, Mr. Welsby wrote back a +polite note expressing regret that he did not see his way clear to +permit a continuation of the matches. This was the signal for an +outbreak of open hostilities between the two schools: the Philistines +charged the Birchites in the open street with being afraid to meet them +in the field. These base insinuations led to frequent exchanges of +taunts and uncomplimentary remarks; and, last of all, matters were +brought to a climax by a stand-up fight between Tom Mason, Acton's +predecessor as dux, and young Noaks. The encounter took place just +outside the stronghold of the enemy, the Birchite so far getting the +best of it that at the end of a five minutes' engagement he proclaimed +his victory by dragging his adversary along by the collar and bumping +his head a number of times against the very gates of Horace House. +Unfortunately a rumour of what had happened got to the ears of +Mr. Welsby. Mason was severely reprimanded, and his companions were +forbidden, under pain of heavy punishment, to walk in Locker's Lane +further than the corner of their own playing field. + +"But who is young Noaks?" asked Diggory, as Jack Vance finished a hasty +account of this warfare with the Philistines. + +"Why, that's just the funny part of it," returned the other. "This Sam +Noaks is the son of our Noaks, but he's got an uncle, called Simpson, +who lives at Todderton, where I come from. This man Simpson made a lot +of money out in Australia, and when he came back to England he adopted +young Noaks, and sends him here to Phillips's school." + +By this time the home forces had all struggled back into the playground. +In one corner stood a wooden shed containing a carpenter's bench, a +chest for bats and stumps, and various other things belonging to +different boys. Acton, as head of the school, kept the key, and having +unfastened the door, summoned his followers inside to hold an impromptu +council of war and discuss the situation. There was a grave expression +on each face, for every one felt that things were beginning to look +serious. Mason, the only one of their number who had been physically +equal to the leaders of their opponents, was no longer among them, and +the enemy, evidently aware of their helpless condition, had dared for +the first time to actually come and beard them in their own den. + +"What I want to know first is this," began Acton. "You can see by the +footmarks that they came in through that door; of course it's always +kept locked, and here's the key hanging up inside the shed. Now who +opened it for them, and how was it done?" + +"Perhaps it wasn't fastened," suggested Morris. + +"Yes, it was," answered Kennedy excitedly. "I noticed that this +morning, when we were picking up stones for the snow man's buttons." + +"Then I tell you what it is," continued Acton solemnly: "some one here's +playing us false, and my belief is it's old Noaks. D'you remember last +term when Mason and Jack Vance and I made a plot for going down and +throwing crackers into their yard? Well, they must have heard of it +from some one; for they were all lying in wait for us behind the wall, +and as soon as we got near to it they threw cans of water over us and +pelted us with stones." + +There was a murmur of suppressed wrath at the memory of the fate of this +gallant expedition. + +"Yes," added Shaw, "and I believe some one told them about this snow +man." + +"Well, one thing's certain," said Acton--"we must serve 'em out somehow +for knocking it down. They evidently think now Mason's gone they can do +what they like, and that we shall be afraid of them. Now what can we +do?" + +There was a silence; every one felt that a serious crisis had arrived in +the history of the Birchites, and that unless some immediate steps were +taken to avenge this insult they would no longer be free men, but live +in constant terror of the Philistines;--every one, I say, felt that some +bold action must be taken, yet nobody had a suggestion to make. + +"Well, look here," said Acton, "something's got to be done. We must all +think it over, and we'll have another meeting in a week's time; then if +any one's made a plan, we'll talk it over and decide what's to be done." + +"Jack," said Diggory two evenings later, "you know what Acton said about +the Philistines; well, I've got part of a plan in my head, but I shan't +tell you what it is till Wednesday." + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +DISCOMFITURE OF THE PHILISTINES. + +On Wednesday afternoon, as soon as dinner was over, Acton summoned his +followers to attend the council of war which was to decide what +reprisals should be taken on the Philistines for the destruction of the +snow man. Every one felt the importance of a counter-attack, for unless +something of the kind were attempted, as Acton remarked in his opening +speech, "they'll think we're funky of them, and they'll simply come down +here as often as they like, and worry us to death." + +"Couldn't we tell Mr. Welsby?" suggested Butler, a timid small boy +belonging to the "Dogs' Home." + +"Tell Mr. Welsby!" cried half a dozen voices in withering tones; +"of course not!" + +It was well known by both parties that whenever the real state of +affairs became known to their respective head-masters, the war would +come to an abrupt termination; and the great reason why each side +forbore to make any open complaint against the other was undoubtedly +because every one secretly enjoyed the excitement of the campaign, and +felt that a peace would make life rather dull and uninteresting. + +"The thing that licks us," said Acton, "is what I was speaking about +last week: somehow or other, they always seem to know just what we're up +to, and it's no use our doing anything, because they're always prepared. +Some one's acting the spy. I can't think it's any of you fellows, but I +believe it's old Noaks. You see his son's there, and for some reason or +other he seems to hate every one here like poison. Now, what are we to +do?" + +There was a silence, broken at length by Diggory Trevanock. + +"I don't know what you think," he began, "but it seems to me it's no use +making any plans until we find out who tells 'em to the Philistines. +I should say that Noaks is the fellow who does it, but we ought to +make certain." + +"Yes, but how are we to do it?" asked Acton, laughing; "that's just what +I want to know." + +"Well, I've got a bit of a plan," returned the other, "only I should +like to tell it you in private." + +"All right," answered the dux; "come on outside. Now, then, what is +it?" + +"Why," said Diggory, "it's this (I didn't want the other chaps to hear, +because then it'll prove who's the spy). You say the last time you went +down to throw some crackers over the wall they were all lying in wait +for you. Well, let you and me go into the boot-room when Noaks is at +work there, and pretend to make a plan as though we were going to do it +again to-morrow night; then two of us might go down and see if they're +prepared. If so, it must have been Noaks who told them, because no one +else knows about it. I'll go for one, and Jack Vance'll go for another. +I'll tell him to keep it dark, and you can let us in and out of the +door." + +"Oh--ah!" said Acton, "that isn't a bad idea; at all events we'll try +it." + +The project was put into immediate execution. That same afternoon, just +before tea, Acton and Diggory discussed the bogus plan in Noaks's +hearing, while Jack Vance, having been admitted into their confidence +and sworn to secrecy, willingly agreed to go out with Diggory and form +the reconnoitering party which was to report on the movements of the +enemy. + +"I knew you'd come," said the latter; "and we'll show them what sort of +stuff the Triple Alliance is made of." + +On the following evening, as soon as tea was over, the two friends +slipped off down into the playground, where they were joined a minute +later by Acton, who, unlocking the shed, took down from the peg on which +it hung the key of the door in the outer wall. + +"You'll have plenty of time," he said, glancing at his watch, "and with +this moonlight you'll soon be able to see if they're about. I'll keep +the door, and let you in when you come back." + +The next moment the two members of the Alliance were trotting down +Locker's Lane. It was a bright, frosty night, and the hard ground rang +beneath their feet like stone. They turned off on to the grass, lest +the noise should give the enemy warning of their approach; and when +within about a hundred yards of Horace House, pulled up to consider for +a moment what their plan of action should be, before proceeding any +further. + +"I don't see any one," said Jack Vance. + +"Perhaps they are hiding," answered Diggory. "Look here! let's get into +this field and run down on the other side of the hedge until we get +opposite the gate." + +The stronghold of the Philistines was silent as the grave. The two +chums crouched behind a thick bush, and peering through its leafless +branches could see nothing but the closed double doors, and a stretch of +blank wall on either side. + +"There's no one about," whispered Vance; "I don't believe old Noaks has +told them." + +"Wait a minute," answered Diggory. "I'll see if I can stir any of +them;" and so saying, he knelt up, and cried in an audible voice, +"Now, then, are you all ready?" + +Diggory and Jack Vance dropped flat on their stomachs, for the words had +hardly been uttered when the doors were flung open, and at least ten of +the Philistines rushed out into the road with a yell of defiance. +Many of them were bigger than Acton, and what would have been the fate +of the two Birchites had they kept to the road instead of acting on +Diggory's suggestion of advancing under cover of the hedge, one hardly +dares to imagine. + +"Hullo!" cried young Noaks, who had headed the sortie. "There's nobody +here, and yet I'll swear I heard them somewhere." + +"So did I," answered another voice; "they must have cut and run." + +"There's no place for them to run to," returned Noaks; "they must be +behind that hedge.--Come out of it, you skunks!" + +A big stone came crashing through the twigs within a yard of Diggory's +head. The two boys crouched close to the low earth bank and held their +breath. + +"They must be about somewhere," cried Noaks. "I knew they were coming, +and I'm sure I heard some one say, 'Are you ready?' They're behind that +hedge. We can't get through, it's too thick; but you fellows stop +here, and I and Hogson and Bernard'll run down to the gate and cut off +their retreat." + +"What shall we do?" whispered Jack; "this field's so large they'll run +us down before we get to the other hedge. Shall we make a bolt and +chance it?" + +Diggory was just about to reply in the affirmative, when help came from +an unexpected quarter. + +"What are you boys doing out here at this time?" cried a loud, stern +voice.--"Noaks, what are you about down the road there?--Come in this +moment, every one of you!" + +"Saved!" whispered Jack Vance, in an ecstasy of delight as the +Philistines trooped back through the double doors. "That was old +Phillips. I hope he gives Noaks a jolly good 'impot.' That chap is a +cad," continued the speaker, as they hurried back towards The Birches: +"when he can't do anything else, he chucks stones like he did to-night. +The wonder is he hasn't killed some one before now. I don't see how +it's possible for the Philistines to show up well when they've got a +chap like him bossing the show." + +The bell for evening preparation was ringing as they reached The +Birches, and only a very few hasty replies could be given to Acton's +eager inquiries as they rushed together up the garden path. In the +little interval before supper, however, the subject was resumed in a +quiet corner of the passage. + +"So it must have been old Noaks who told them," said Acton; "that's +proved without a doubt. I vote we go and have a jolly row with him +to-morrow morning." + +"No, I shouldn't do that," answered Diggory; "don't let him know that +we've found him out." + +"Well, look here," answered Acton, thumping the wall with his fist and +frowning heavily, "what are we going to do to get even with the +Philistines? We can't go out and fight them in Locker's Lane; we're too +small, and they know it. Young Noaks would never have dared to act as +he did after they'd knocked our snow man down if Mason had been here. +They think now they're going to ride rough-shod over us; but they +aren't, and we must show them we aren't going to be trampled on." + +"So we will," cried Jack Vance excitedly, "and that jolly quick!" + +"But how?" + +There was a moment's pause. "I'm sure I don't know," answered Jack +sadly, and so the meeting terminated. + +The fact of the insult, which had been put upon them by the destruction +of their snow man, remaining unavenged, caused a sense of gloom to rest +upon the Birchites, as though they already felt themselves suffering +beneath the yoke of the conquering Philistines. Even the bedroom feuds +were forgotten: night after night the "House of Lords" left the +"Dogs' Home" in undisturbed tranquillity, and the occupants of the +"Main-top" retired to rest without even putting a washstand against +their door. One thought occupied the minds of all, and even Mugford, +when asked on one occasion by Mr. Blake who were the conspirators in the +Gunpowder Plot, answered absent-mindedly, "The Philistines!" + +"Look here, you two," said Diggory one evening, as he scrambled into +bed, "we three must think of some way of paying those fellows out for +knocking down our snow man. It would be splendid if we could say that +the Triple Alliance had done it, and without telling any one +beforehand." + +"So we will," answered Jack Vance; "that is if you'll think of the plan. +I'm not able to make one, and I'm jolly sure Mugford can't." + +The speaker turned over and went to sleep; but after what seemed half +the night had passed, he was suddenly aroused by several violent tugs at +his bed-clothes. Thinking it nothing less than a midnight raid, Jack +sprang up and grasped his pillow. + +"No, no, it's not that," said Diggory, "but I wanted to help you; +I've got an idea." + +"W--what about?" asked the other, in a sleepy voice. + +"Why, how we can pay out the Philistines!" + +"Oh, bother the Philistines!" grumbled Jack, and promptly returned to +the land of dreams. + +"I wonder where those fellows Vance and Trevanock are?" said Acton the +following afternoon, as the boys were picking up for a game at +prisoner's base. "And there's that dummy of a Mugford--where's he +sneaked off to? he never will play games if he can possibly help it." + +They set to work, and at the end of about twenty minutes were engaged in +a most exciting rally. Acton had started out to rescue one of the +prisoners, while Shaw had rushed forth to capture Acton. Morris left +the base with similar designs on Shaw, and every one, with the exception +of the den-keepers, seemed suddenly seized with an irresistible desire +to do something. The playground was full of boys rushing and dodging +all over the place, when suddenly everybody stood still and listened. +Some one was pounding with his clinched fist at the door opening into +Locker's Lane, and at the same time Jack Vance was heard shouting, +"Let us in quick, or the Philistines'll have us!" + +Acton ran to fetch the key, and the next moment the three members of the +Triple Alliance dashed through the open door, which was hastily secured +behind them, while a shout of baffled rage some little distance down the +road showed that they had only narrowly escaped falling into the hands +of the enemy. The pursuit, however, was evidently abandoned, and +Morris, climbing on the roof of the shed, saw young Noaks and Hogson +slowly retreating round the corner of the road. + +The three friends certainly presented a striking appearance. Mugford's +nose was bleeding, Jack Vance's collar seemed to have been nearly torn +off his neck, while Diggory's cap was in his hand, and his hair in a +state of wild disorder. Their faces, flushed with running, were radiant +with a look of triumph, while all three, the unfortunate Mugford +included, leaned up against the wall, and laughed until the tears ran +down their cheeks. + +"What have you fellows been up to?" cried Acton; "why don't you tell +us?" + +"Oh my!" gasped Diggory, "we've taken a fine rise out of the +Philistines; they can't say we're not quits with them now!" and he went +off into a fresh fit of merriment. + +Shaw and Morris seized hold of Jack Vance, and at length succeeded in +shaking him into a sufficient state of sobriety to be able to answer +their questions. + +"Oh dear," he said faintly, "I never laughed so much in my life before! +Diggory ought to tell you, because he planned it all. We went very +quietly down to Horace House, and found the double doors were shut. +You know just what they're like, how the wall curves in a bit, and +there's a scraper close to the gate-post, on either side, about a foot +from the ground. We'd got an old play-box cord with us, and we tied it +to each of the scrapers. The doors have a sort of iron ring for a +handle, and through this we stuck a broken cricket-stump, and Mug and I +held the two ends so that you couldn't possibly lift the latch on the +inside. Then--but you go on, Diggy." + +"Well, then," continued the other, "I scrambled on to these two chaps' +shoulders, and looked over the top of the door. We could hear some of +the Philistines knocking about on the gravel, and I saw there were +about half a dozen of them playing footer with a tennis-ball. I shouted +out, 'Hullo! Good-afternoon!' They all stood still in a moment, and +young Noaks cried, 'Why, it's a Birchite!--What do you want here, you +young dog?' I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I said, +'I want to know if this is the bear-pit or the monkey-house.' My eye, +you should have seen them! I dropped down in a trice, and they all +rushed to the doors; but they couldn't lift the latch, because Mug and +Jack were holding fast to the stump. We waited a moment, and then let +go and ran for it. You may judge what happened next. It's a regular +sea of mud outside those gates. They all came rushing out together, and +I saw Noaks and Hogson go head first over the rope, and two or three +others fall flat on the top of them. It was a sight, I can tell you!" + +"Yes, but that wasn't all," interrupted Jack Vance. "Bernard, one of +their big chaps, hopped over the rest and came after us. We ran for all +we were worth, but he collared me. Mugford went for him, and hung +on to his coat like a young bull-terrier, and got a smack on the nose; +and just then Diggory turned, and came prancing back, and ran his head +into the beggar's stomach, and that doubled him up, and so we all got +away. But," concluded the speaker, turning towards his wounded comrade, +"I never thought old Mug had so much grit in him before; he stuck to it +like a Briton!" + +A demonstration of the most genuine enthusiasm followed this warlike +speech. Acton folded Diggory to his breast in a loving embrace, Shaw +and Morris stuffed the door-key down Mugford's back, while the remainder +of the company executed a war-dance round Jack Vance. + +"My eye," cried the dux, "won't the Philistines be wild! +Fancy upsetting them in the mud, and knocking Bernard's wind out! +They won't be in a hurry to meddle with us again. Well done, Diggy!" + +"It wasn't I alone," said the author of the enterprise; "we did it +between us--the Triple Alliance." + +"Then three cheers for the Triple Alliance!" cried Acton. + +The company shouted themselves hoarse, for every one felt that the +honour of The Birches had been retrieved, and that the day was still far +distant when they would be crushed beneath the iron heel of young Noaks, +or be exposed as an unresisting prey to the ravages of the wild hordes +of Horace House. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +THE SUPPER CLUB. + +As this story is to be a history of the Triple Alliance, and not of The +Birches, it will be necessary to pass over many things which happened +at the preparatory school, in order that full justice may be done to the +important parts played by our three friends in an epoch of strange and +stirring events at Ronleigh College. + +Diggory, by the daring exploit described in the previous chapter, won +all hearts; and instead of being looked upon as a new boy, was regarded +quite as an old and trusty comrade. Acton displayed marked favour +towards the Triple Alliance, and was even more friendly with Diggory and +Jack Vance than with his room and class mates, Shaw and Morris. + +The Philistines seemed, for the time being, paralyzed by the humiliation +of their mud bath, and for many months there was a complete cessation +from hostilities. + +It was perhaps only natural that in time of peace a brave knight like +Acton should turn his thoughts from war to love-making, and therefore I +shall make no excuse for relating a little experience of his which +must be introduced as a prelude to the account of the formation of the +famous supper club. + +At the very commencement of the summer term it was plain to everybody +that something was wrong with the dux; he seemed to take no interest in +the doings of his companions in the playground, and only once roused +himself sufficiently to bang Cross with a leg-guard for bowling awful +wides at cricket. + +At length, one afternoon, Diggory and Jack Vance on entering the shed +found him sitting on the carpenter's bench, with his chin resting in his +hand, and a most ferocious expression on his face. + +"Hullo! what's up?" + +Acton stared blankly at the new-comers until the question had been +repeated; then he sat up and straightened his back with the air of one +who has made a great resolve. + +"I don't mind telling you two," he said. "You know I've said before that +I meant some day to propose to Miss Eleanor. Well," he added, stabbing +the bench with the gimlet, "I'm going to do it." + +"I've saved five and ninepence," continued the speaker, "to buy a ring +with, but I can't make up my mind whether I'd better speak or write to +her. What do you think?" + +"I should say," answered Diggory, after a moment's thought, "that the +best thing would be to toss up for it." + +"All right; have you got a coin?" + +"No, but I think I've got a brass button. Yes, here it is. Now, then, +front you speak, and back you write. There you are--it's a letter!" + +"Well, now," said Acton, getting off the bench and sticking his hands +deep in his trousers pockets, "what had I better say? I shall be +fifteen in August; I thought I'd tell her my age, and say I didn't mind +waiting." + +"I believe it's the girl who always says that," answered Jack Vance, +kicking a bit of wood into a corner. + +"Then, again, I don't know how to begin. Would you say 'Dear Miss +Eleanor,' or 'Dear Miss Welsby'? I think 'Dear Eleanor' sounds rather +cheeky." + +"I'll tell you what I should do," answered Diggory, who seemed to have a +great idea of letting the fates decide these matters: "I should write +'em all three on slips of paper and then draw one." + +"Well, I'm going to write the letter in 'prep' this evening, and let her +have it to-morrow. Did you notice I gave her a flower this morning, and +she stuck it in her dress?" + +"Yes; but fellows are often doing that," answered Jack Vance, "and she +always wears them, either in her dress or stuck up somehow under her +brooch." + +"Oh, but this was a white rose, and a white rose means something, though +I don't know what. At all events, she'll have the letter to-morrow, and +I'll tell you fellows when I give it her, only of course you mustn't +breathe a word to any one else." + +"All right: we won't," answered Diggory, "except to old Mugford, because +he's one of the Alliance, and we've sworn not to have any secrets from +each other, and he won't split." + +That evening the Triple Alliance lay awake until a late hour discussing +the situation. Mugford's opening comment was certainly worth +recording,-- + +"I hope she'll accept him." + +"Why?" + +"Why, because if she does, I should think old Welsby'll give us a +half-holiday." + +It was evident at breakfast, to those who were in the know, that Acton +was prepared for the venture. He was wearing a clean collar and new +necktie, and ate only four pieces of bread and butter, besides his +bacon. + +"He's shown me the letter," whispered Diggory to Jack Vance; "only I +promised I wouldn't say what was in it, but it ends up with a piece of +poetry as long as this table!" + +After morning school was the time agreed upon for the dux to cast the +die which was to decide his future; and as soon as the classes were +dismissed, Jack Vance and Diggory met him by appointment in one corner +of the garden. + +"I've done it," he said, looking awfully solemn. "She was in the hall, +and I gave it to her as I came out. I say, how many _t's_ are there in +'attachment'?" + +Jack Vance thought one, Diggory said two; and the company then relapsed +into silence, and stood with gloomy looks upon their faces, as though +they were waiting to take part in a funeral procession. + +At length a voice from the house was heard calling, "Fred--Fred Acton!" +The dux turned a trifle pale, but pulling himself together, marched off +with a firm step to learn his fate. + +"She called him Fred," murmured Diggory; "that sounds hopeful." + +"Oh, that's nothing," answered Jack Vance; "Miss Eleanor always calls +fellows by their Christian names. There's one thing," he added, after a +few moments' thought--"if she'd cut up rough over the letter, she might +have called him Mr. Acton. Hullo, here he comes!" As he spoke Acton +emerged from the house, and came down the path towards them; his straw +hat was tilted forward over his eyes, and his cheeks were glowing like +the red glass of a dark-room lamp. He sauntered along, kicking up the +gravel with the toe of his boot. + +"Well, what happened?" inquired Jack Vance. + +No answer. + +"What's the matter ?" cried Diggory; "what did she say?" + +"Why, this!" answered the other, in a voice trembling with suppressed +emotion: "she said I was a silly boy, and--and--_gave me a lump of +cake!_" + +If any one else had done it, the probability is Acton would have slain +them on the spot. Diggory opened his eyes and mouth wide, and then +exploded with laughter. "Oh my!" he gasped, "I shall die, I know I +shall! Ha, ha, ha!" + +Acton eyed him for a moment with a look of indignant astonishment; then +he began to smile, Jack Vance commenced to chuckle, and very soon all +three were laughing in concert. + +"Well, I think it's rather unfeeling of you fellows," said the rejected +suitor; "I can tell you I'm jolly cut up about it." + +"I'm awfully sorry," answered Diggory, "but I couldn't help laughing. +Cheer up; why, think, you won't have to get the ring now, so you can do +what you like with that five and ninepence you saved. Why, it's worth +being refused to have five and ninepence to spend in grub!" + +"Ah, Diggy !" said the other, shaking his head in a mournful manner, +"wait till you're as old as I am: when you're close on fifteen you'll +think differently about love and all that sort of thing." + +As has already been hinted, it was the failure of this attempt on the +part of the dux to win the heart and hand of Miss Eleanor that +indirectly brought about the formation of the famous supper club. +About a week after the events happened which have just been described, +Acton invited the Triple Alliance to meet the "House of Lords" in the +work-shed, to discuss an important scheme which he said had been in his +mind for some days past; and the door having been locked to exclude +outsiders, he commenced to unfold his project as follows:-- + +"I've been thinking that during the summer term, and while the weather's +warm, our two rooms might form a supper club. We'd hold it, say, once a +week, when pocket-money is given out, and have a feed together; one time +in your room, and the next in ours, after every one's gone to bed. +You know I saved some money at the beginning of the term to buy an +engagement ring with; but I don't want it now, so I'm going to spend the +tin in grub, and if you like I'll stand the first feed." + +There was a murmur expressive of approbation at this generous offer, +mingled with sympathy for the unhappy circumstance which gave rise to +it, and which was now an open secret. + +"Oh," said Shaw, "that's a grand idea! I know my brother Bob, who's at +a big school at Lingmouth, told me that he and some other chaps formed a +supper club and held it in his study. It's by the sea, and they used to +go out and catch shrimps; and they only had one old coffee-pot, that +they used to boil over the gas; so they cooked the shrimps in it first, +and made the coffee after. One night they only had time to heat it up +once, and so they boiled the shrimps in the coffee; and Bob says they +didn't taste half bad, and that they always used to do it after, to save +time." + +"Well, I propose that we have one," cried Morris. + +The resolution was carried unanimously. Acton was elected president, +and by way of recognizing the mutual interest of the Triple Alliance, +Jack Vance was appointed to act as secretary, and it was decided to hold +the first banquet on the following night. + +"We can buy the grub to-morrow," said Acton; "but there's one thing we +ought to fetch to-day, and that is, I thought we might have, say, six +bottles of ginger-beer. Then each man must take his own up to bed with +him this evening, and hide it away in his box or in one of his drawers." + +This was accordingly done, and, as it happened, was the cause of the +only disaster which attended the formation of the club. For the first +week in June the weather was unusually hot: a candle left all day +in the "Main-top" was found drooping out of the perpendicular, and when +the Triple Alliance retired to rest their bedroom felt like an oven. +They were just dozing off to sleep, when all three were suddenly +startled by a muffled bang somewhere close to them. In an instant they +were sitting up in bed, rubbing their eyes with one hand and grasping +their pillows with the other. + +"Look out, they're coming!" whispered Jack Vance; "wasn't that something +hit the door?" + +"It sounded as if something fell on the floor," answered Diggory. +"I wonder if anything's rolled off either of the washstands." + +Jack Vance reconnoitred the passage, while Diggory and Mugford examined +the room; but nothing could be found to account for the disturbance. + +"It must have been the fellows in the 'Main-top.' I expect they dropped +a book or upset a chair. Don't let's bother about it any more." + +The following morning, however, the mystery was explained. The boys +were hastily putting on their clothes, when Mugford, who had just thrown +aside a dirty collar, gave vent to an exclamation of dismay, which +attracted the attention of his two companions. + +"Hullo! what's up?" + +"Why, look here! If this beastly bottle of ginger-beer hasn't gone and +burst in the middle of my box!" + +The first meeting of the supper club was a great success. How ever +Acton and his noble friends had managed to smuggle upstairs, under their +jackets, a pork-pie, a plum-cake, a bag of tarts, and a pound of +biscuits, was a feat which, as Jack Vance remarked, "beat conjuring." + +Shortly after midnight the Triple Alliance wended their way to the +"House of Lords," where they found the three other members quite ready +to commence operations. The good things were spread out on the top of a +chest of drawers, and the company ranged themselves round on the +available chairs and two adjacent beds, and commenced to enjoy the +repast. + +"Ah, well," sighed Acton, with his mouth full of pork-pie, "I'm rather +glad for some things that I didn't get engaged. It must be rather a +bore having to spend all your money in rings and that sort of thing, +instead of in grub; though I really think I'd have given up grub for +Miss Eleanor." + +"I wonder," said Morris, who was of a more prosaic disposition, "how it +is that it's always much jollier having a feed when you ought not to +than at the proper time. For instance, eating this pork-pie at a table, +with knife and fork and a plate, wouldn't be a quarter the fun it is +having it like we're doing now--cutting it with a razor out of Acton's +dressing-case, and knowing that if we were cobbed we should get into a +jolly row." + +"Talking about rows over feeds," said Acton, "my brother John is at +Ronleigh College, and I remember, soon after he went there, he said they +had a great spree in his dormitory. One of the chaps had had a hamper +sent him, and they smuggled the grub upstairs; and when they thought the +coast was clear, they spread a sheet on the floor, and laid out the grub +as if it were on a table-cloth. The fellow who was standing treat was +rather a swell in his way, and among other things he'd got his jam put +out in a flat glass dish. It was a fine feed, and they'd just begun, +when they heard some one coming. They'd only just got time to turn out +the gas and jump into bed before the door opened, and in came one of the +masters called Weston. Well, of course, they all pretended to be +asleep. But the master had heard them scrambling about, and he walked +in the dark up the aisle between the beds, saying, 'Who's been out of +bed here?' Then all of a sudden he stuck his foot into the glass +jam-dish, and it slid along the floor, and down he came bang in the +middle of all the spread. John said that when the gas was lit they +couldn't help laughing at old Weston: he'd rammed one elbow into a box +of sardines, and there was a cheese-cake stuck in the middle of his +back. But oh, there was a row, I can tell you!" + +This yarn produced others, and the time passed pleasantly enough, until +full justice had been done to the provisions, and hardly a crumb +remained. + +"Phew! isn't it hot?" said Diggory; "let's open the window a bit. +The moon must be full," he continued, as he raised the sash; "it's +nearly as light as day. I can see all down the garden, and--hullo! +quick, put the candle out!" + +Every one started to his feet, and the light was extinguished in a +moment. + +"What is it--what's the matter?" they all asked. "There's some one in +the playground," whispered Diggory, as the others crowded round him. +"You see the door at the bottom of the garden; well, just when I spoke +some one opened it and looked up at the house, and then shut it again. +It must have been Blake, and he's seen our light." + +"It can't be Blake," answered Acton; "he's gone to Fenley to play in a +cricket match, and isn't coming back till to-morrow morning. Old Welsby +went to bed hours ago; and, besides, what should either of them want to +be doing down there at this time of night? You must have been dreaming, +Diggy." + +"No, I wasn't; I saw it distinctly. It must be old Blake. He's come +home sooner than he expected, and I shouldn't wonder if he's going +round by the road to take us by surprise." + +"He can't do that," answered Acton, "because I've got the key of the +shed, and the door-key's hung up inside." + +Acton remained watching at the window while the others hastily cleared +away all traces of the feast; the Triple Alliance retired to their own +room, and nothing further was heard or seen of the mysterious visitor. + +The next morning it was discovered that Mr. Blake had not returned from +Fenley, and the five other members of the supper club were inclined to +regard Diggory's vision of the midnight intruder as a sort of waking +nightmare, resulting from an overdose of cake and pork-pie. Two days +later Cross came into the schoolroom in a great state of excitement. + +"Look here, you fellows," he exclaimed: "some one keeps taking away my +things out of the shed, and not putting them back. Last week I missed a +saw and two chisels, and now that brace and nearly all the bits are +gone. It's a jolly shame!" + +Carpentering was Cross's great hobby, and his collection of tools was an +exceptionally good one, both as regards quantity and quality. Every +one, however, denied having touched the things mentioned. A general +search was made; but the missing articles could not be found, and at +length the matter was reported to Mr. Welsby. + +The latter was evidently greatly displeased on hearing the facts of the +case. As soon as dinner was over he called the school together, and +after standing for some moments in silence, frowning at the book he +carried in his hand, said briefly,-- + +"With regard to these tools, there is a word which has never been used +before in connection with any pupil at The Birches, and which I hope I +may never have occasion to use again. I can hardly think it possible +that we have a _thief_ in the house. I am rather inclined to imagine +that some one has removed the things and hidden them away in joke; if +so, let me tell him that the joke has been allowed to go too far, and +that, unless they are returned at once, a shadow of doubt will be cast +upon the honour and integrity of all here present. It is impossible for +such large articles as a saw and a brace to be mislaid or lost on such +small premises as these, and I trust that before this evening you will +report to me that the things have been found. I have purposely allowed +the key of the shed to remain in your own possession, feeling certain +that your behaviour as regards each other's property would be in +accordance with the treatment which one gentleman expects to receive +from another. You may go." + +There was little in the nature of a scolding in this address, and yet +something in it caused every one to leave the room in a state of great +excitement. Acton and Jack Vance especially fairly boiled with wrath. + +"What old Welsby says is quite right," remarked the latter; "and until +those things are found, we may all be looked upon as thieves." + +The search, however, proved fruitless; and, what was worse, in turning +over the contents of the shed, Acton discovered that a bull's-eye +lantern belonging to himself had disappeared from the shelf on which it +usually stood; while Mugford declared that a box of compasses, which he +had brought down a few days before to draw a pattern on a piece of +board, was also missing. + +Directly after tea Acton button-holed Diggory, and taking him aside +said, "Look here, I'm in an awful rage about these thing's being +prigged, because, of course, I've got the key of the shed; and didn't +you hear what old Welsby said about it? It looks uncommonly as if I +were the thief. You remember what you said the other night when we had +that feed, about seeing that man? D'you think there _is_ any one who +comes here at night and steals things?" + +"Well, I'm certain I saw some one in the playground when I told you. +It was a man; but whether he comes regularly and goes into the shed I +don't know, but I think we ought to be able to find out." + +"How?" + +"Oh, some way or other; I'll tell you to-morrow." That night, long +after the rest of the house were asleep, the Triple Alliance lay awake +engaged in earnest conversation; and in the morning, as the boys were +assembling for breakfast, Diggory touched Acton on the shoulder and +whispered,-- + +"I say, we've thought of a plan to find out if any one goes into the +shed at night." + +"Who's 'we'?" + +"Why, the Triple Alliance; we thought it out between us. Sneak out of +the house directly after evening 'prep,' and meet me in the playground, +and I'll show you what it is." + +At the time appointed Acton ran down the path, and found Diggory waiting +for him by the shed. + +"Look," said the latter, "I've cut a little tiny slit with my knife in +each door-post, about three feet from the ground, and I'm going to +stretch this piece of black cotton between them. No one will see it, +and if they go through the door, the thread will simply draw out of one +of the slits without their noticing it, and we shall see that it's been +disturbed. Jack Vance says that when he's been out shooting with his +guv'nor he's seen the keeper put them across the paths in a wood to find +out if poachers have been up them. Now unlock the door, and let's go +inside." + +In front of the bench, where the ground had been much trodden, there was +a great deal of loose dust. Diggory went down on his hands and knees, +and producing an old clothes-brush from his pocket, swept about a square +yard of the ground until the dust lay in a perfectly smooth surface. + +"There," he said, rising to his feet again; "we'll do this the last +thing every night, and any morning if we find the cotton gone we must +look here for footprints, and then we ought to be able to tell if it's +a man or a boy." + +"Don't you think we ought to tell Blake about that man you saw?" asked +Acton, as they walked back to the schoolroom. + +"Well, I don't see how we can," answered Diggory. "The first thing +he'll ask will be,' Who saw him?' I shall say, 'I did;' and then he'll +want to know how I saw the playground door from my bedroom window, which +looks out on the road; and then the fat'll be in the fire, and it'll all +come out about that supper." + +Regularly every evening, as soon as supper was over, the two boys stole +down into the playground to set their trap; but when morning came there +was no sign of the shed having been entered. This went on for nearly a +month, but still no result. + +"I don't think it's any good bothering about it any more," said Acton; +"the thief doesn't mean to come again." + +"Well, we'll set it to-night," answered Diggory, "and that shall be the +last time." + +The following morning Acton was sauntering towards the playground, when +Diggory came running up the path in a state of great excitement. +"I say, the cotton's gone!" + +Acton rushed down, unlocked the door of the shed, and went inside. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed, as Diggory followed; "_it is_ some man. Look at +these footprints, and hobnailed boots into the bargain!" + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +CATCHING A TARTAR. + +It was impossible for two boys to keep such an important discovery to +themselves, and the shed was soon filled with an eager crowd, all +anxious to view the mysterious footprints. The Triple Alliance +gained fresh renown as the originators of the scheme by which the +disclosure had been made, and it was unanimously decided that the matter +should be reported to Mr. Blake. + +The master cross-questioned Acton and Diggory, but seemed rather +inclined to doubt their story. + +"I think," he said, "you must be mistaken. I expect the piece of +cotton blew away, and the foot-marks must have been there before. +I don't see what there is in the shed that should make it worth any +one's while to break into it; besides, if the door was locked, the thief +must have broken it open, and you'd have seen the marks." + +Certainly nothing seemed to have been touched, and as no boy complained +of any of his property having been stolen, the subject was allowed to +drop, and the usual excitement connected with the end of term and the +near approach of the holidays soon caused it to be driven from every +one's thoughts and wellnigh forgotten. + +With the commencement of the winter term a fresh matter filled the minds +of the Triple Alliance, and gave them plenty of food for discussion and +plan-making. On returning to Chatford after the summer holidays, they +discovered that all three were destined to leave at Christmas and +proceed to Ronleigh College, a large school in the neighbourhood, to +which a good number of Mr. Welsby's former pupils had been transferred +after undergoing a preliminary course of education at The Birches. +Letters from these departed heroes, containing disjointed descriptions +of their new surroundings, awakened a feeling of interest in the doings +of the Ronleigh College boys. The records of their big scores at +cricket, or their victories at football, which appeared in local papers, +were always read with admiration; and the name of an old Birchite +appearing in either of the teams was a thing of which every one felt +justly proud. + +"I wish I was going too," said Acton, addressing the three friends; +"but my people are going to send me to a school in Germany. My brother +John is there; he's one of the big chaps, and is captain of the football +team this season. I'm going to get the _Denfordshire Chronicle_ every +week, to see how they get on in the matches." + +Early in October the goal-posts were put up in the field, and the +Birchites commenced their football practice. Mr. Blake was a leading +member of the Chatford Town Club, and although six a side was +comparatively a poor business, yet under his instruction they gained a +good grounding in the rudiments of the "soccer" of the period. The old +system of dribbling and headlong rushes was being abandoned in favour of +the passing game, and forwards were learning to keep their places, and +to play as a whole instead of as individuals. + +"Come here, you fellows," said the master, walking into the playground +one morning, with a piece of paper in his hand; "I've got something to +speak about." + +The boys crowded round, wondering what was up. + +"I've got here a challenge from Horace House to play a match against +them, either on our ground or on theirs. I think it's a pity that you +shouldn't have an opportunity of playing against strangers. Of course +they are bigger and heavier than we are, and we should probably get +licked; but that isn't the question: any sportsman would sooner play a +losing game than no game at all, and it'll be good practice. We always +used to have a match with them every term; but some little time ago +there seemed to be a lack--well, I'll say of good sportsmen among them, +and the meetings had to be abandoned. I've talked the matter over with +Mr. Welsby, and he seems willing to give the thing another trial." + +An excited murmur ran through the crowd. + +"Wait a minute," interrupted the speaker, holding up his hand. +"Mr. Welsby has left it with me to make arrangements for the match, and +I shall only do so on one condition. I know that since the event +happened to which I referred a moment ago a decidedly unfriendly spirit +has existed between you and the boys at Mr. Phillips's. Now an +exhibition of this feeling on a football field would be a disgrace to +the school. You must play like gentlemen, and there must be no +wrangling or disputing. They are agreeable for a master to play on each +side, so I shall act as captain. Anything that has to be said must be +left to me, and I shall see you get fair play. Do you clearly +understand?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Very well, then, I'll write and say we shall be pleased to play them +here on Saturday week." + +The prospect of mooting the Philistines in the open field filled the +mind of every boy with one thought, and the whole establishment went +football mad. It was played in the schoolroom and passages with empty +ink-pots and balls of paper, in the bedrooms with slippers and sponges, +and even in their dreams fellows kicked the bed-clothes off, and woke up +with cries of "Goal!" on their lips. + +Mr. Blake arranged the order of the team, and remarking that they would +need a good defence, put himself and Shaw as full backs. Acton took +centre forward, with Jack Vance on his right, while Diggory was told off +to keep goal. + +At length the eventful morning arrived. Class 2 came utterly to grief +in their work; but Mr. Blake understood the cause, and set the same +lessons over again for Monday. + +It was the first real match most of the players had taken part in, and +as they stood on the ground waiting for their opponents to arrive, every +one was trembling with excitement. The only exception was the +goal-keeper, who leaned with his back against the wall, cracking nuts, +and remarking that he "wished they'd hurry up and not keep us waiting +all day." At length there was a sound of voices in the lane, and +the next moment the enemy entered the field, headed by their +under-master, Mr. Fox. Young Noaks and Hogson pounced down at once upon +the practice ball, and began kicking it about with great energy, +shouting at the top of their voices, and evidently wishing to make an +impression on the spectators before the game began. + +"I say," muttered Jacobs, "they're awfully big." + +"Well, what does that matter?" answered Diggory, cracking another nut +and spitting out the shell. "They aren't going to eat us; and as for +that chap Noaks, he's all noise--look how he muffed that kick." + +Mr. Blake tossed up. "Now, you fellows," he said, coming up to his +followers, "we play towards the road; get to your places, and remember +what I told you." + +With young Noaks as centre forward, Hogson and Bernard on his right and +left, and other big fellows to complete the line of hostile forwards, +the home team seemed to stand no chance against their opponents. +The visitors bowled them over like ninepins, and rushed through their +first line of defence as though it never existed. But Mr. Blake stood +firm, and kept his ground like the English squares at Waterloo. +Attack after attack swept down upon him only to break up like waves on a +rock, and the ball came flying back with a shout of "Now, then! Get +away, Birches!" Twice the Horace House wing men got round Shaw, and put +in good shots; but Diggory saved them both, and was seen a moment later +calmly rewarding himself with another nut. Gradually, as the time +slipped away and no score was made, the Birchites began to realize that +being able to charge wasn't everything, and that their opponents could +do more with their shoulders than with their feet, and soon lost control +of the ball when bothered by the "halves." The play of the home eleven +became bolder--the forwards managed a run or two; and though the +Philistines had certainly the upper hand, yet it soon became obvious to +them that it was no mere "walk over," and that victory would have to be +struggled for. + +Noaks and the two inside forwards evidently did not relish this state of +things; they had expected an easy win, and began to show their +disappointment in the increased roughness of their play. + +At length, just before half-time, a thing happened which very nearly +caused Mr. Blake's followers to break their promise. + +Cross was badly kicked while attempting to take the ball from Hogson, +and had to retire from the game. + +There were some black looks and a murmur of indignation among the home +team, but Mr. Blake hushed it up in a moment. + +"I think," he said pleasantly, "that the play is a trifle rough. Our +men," he added, laughing, "are rather under size." + +Noaks muttered something about not funking; but Mr. Fox said,-- + +"Yes, just so. Come, play the game, boys, and think less about +charging." + +The loss of their right half-back was distinctly felt by the Birchites +during the commencement of the second half, and Diggory was called upon +three times in quick succession to save his charge. He acquitted +himself like a brick, and the last time did a thing which afforded his +side an immense amount of secret satisfaction. He caught the ball in +his hands, and at the same moment Noaks made a fierce rush, meaning +to knock him through the goal. Diggory, with an engaging smile, hopped +on one side, and the Philistine flung himself against the post, and +bumped his head with a violence which might have cracked any ordinary +skull. He came back scowling. A moment later Jack Vance ran into him, +and took the ball from between his feet. Noaks charged viciously, and +in a blind fit of temper deliberately raised his fist and struck the +other player in the face. + +"_Stop!_" + +It was Mr. Blake's voice, and he came striding up the ground looking as +black as thunder. + +"I protest against that deliberate piece of foul play. I have played +against all the chief clubs in the district, and in any of those +matches, if such a thing had happened, this man would have been ordered +off the ground." + +There was a buzz of approval, in which several of the Philistines +joined. + +"You are quite right, Mr. Blake," answered Mr. Fox. "I deeply regret +that the game should have been spoiled by a member of my team.--Noaks," +he added, turning to the culprit, "put on your coat and go home; you +have disgraced yourself and your Comrades. I shall see that you send a +written apology to the boy you struck." + +"Bravo!" whispered Acton; "old Fox is a good sort." + +"Oh, they're most of them all right," answered Morris; "it's only two or +three that are such beasts." + +The game was continued. The loss of one man on each side made the teams +equal in numbers, but the sudden calamity which had overtaken their +centre forward seemed to have exerted a very demoralizing effect on the +Philistines. + +Their attacks were not nearly so spirited, and several times the +Birchite forwards appeared in front of their goal. + +Neither side had scored, and it seemed as though the game would end in a +draw--a result which the home team would have considered highly +satisfactory. + +The umpire looked at his watch, and in answer to a query from Mr. Fox +said, "Five minutes more." + +"Look here, Acton," said Mr. Blake: "let me take your place, and you go +back. Do all you can to stop them if they come." + +The ball was thrown out of touch; Mr. Blake got it, and in a few seconds +the fight was raging in the very mouth of the enemy's goal. Morris put +in a capital shot; but the ball glanced off one of the players, and went +behind. + +"Corner!" cried Mr. Blake. "I'll take it. Now you fellows get it +through somehow or other!" + +"Mark your men, Horace House!" cried Mr. Fox. The next moment every one +was shoving and elbowing with their eyes fixed on the ball as it flew +through the air. It dropped in exactly the right place, and Jack Vance, +by some happy fluke, kicked it just as it touched the ground. Like a +big round shot it whizzed through the posts, and there was a rapturous +yell of "_Goal!_" + +The delight of the Birchites at having beaten their opponents was +unbounded, and when, a short time later, the latter retired with a score +against them of one to nil. Jack Vance was seized by a band of +applauding comrades, who, with his head about a couple of feet lower +than his heels, carried him in triumph across the playground, and +staggered half-way up the steep garden path, when Acton happening to +tread on a loose pebble brought the whole procession to grief, and +caused the noble band of conquering heroes to be seen all grovelling in +a mixed heap upon the gravel. + +But it is not for the simple purpose of recording the victory over +Horace House that a description of the match has been introduced into +our story; and although the important part played by Diggory in +goal and Jack Vance in the "fighting line" caused it to be an occasion +when the Triple Alliance was decidedly in evidence and won fresh +laurels, yet there are other reasons which make an account of it +necessary, as the reader will discover in following the course of +subsequent events. If Jack Vance had kicked the ball a yard over the +bar instead of under it, the probability is that the following chapter +would never have been written; while the public disgrace of young Noaks +was destined to cause our three comrades more trouble than they ever +expected to encounter, at all events on this side of their leaving +school. + +If the result of the match made such a great impression on the minds of +the victors, it is only natural that it should have had a similar effect +on the hearts of their opponents. Most of the Philistines would have +been content to take their defeat as a sportsman should, but neither +Noaks nor his two cronies, Hogson and Bernard, had any of this manly +spirit about them; and smarting under the disappointment of not having +won, and the knowledge that at least one of them had reaped shame and +contempt instead of glory, they determined to seek a speedy revenge. +As the three biggest boys in the school, they had little difficulty in +inducing their companions to join in the crusade which they preached +against The Birches, and the consequence was that the two schools were +soon exchanging open hostilities with greater vigour than ever. + +Now, although the Birchites had proved themselves equal to their +opponents at football, they would have stood no chance against them in +anything like a personal encounter. The other party were, of course, +perfectly well aware of this fact, and waxed bold in consequence. +Again and again, when Mr. Welsby's pupils were at football practice, and +Mr. Blake happened not to be present, the enemy's sharp-shooter crept +into ambush behind the hedge and discharged stones from their catapults +at the legs of the players, while the latter replied by inquiring when +they meant to "come over and take another licking." At other times +these Horace House Cossacks swooped down on single members of the rival +establishment, harrying them in the very streets of Chatford, and on one +occasion had the audacity to lay violent hands on Jacobs, beat his +bowler hat down over his eyes, and push him through the folding doors of +a drapery establishment, where he upset an umbrella-stand and three +chairs, had his ears boxed by the shop-walker, and was threatened with +the police court if ever he did such a thing again! At length it became +positively perilous for the weaker party to go beyond the precincts of +their own citadel except in bodies of three or four together. All kinds +of plans for retaliation were suggested, but still the Philistines +continued to score heavily. At length, about the last week in October, +a thing happened which raised the wrath of the Birchites to +boiling-point. + +Cross having received five shillings from home on the morning of his +birthday, determined to celebrate the occasion by the purchase of a +pork-pie, of which he had previously invited all his companions to +partake. The latter were standing in the playground waiting for his +return from Chatford, when they became conscious of certain "alarms +without;" whoops and war-cries sounded somewhere down Locker's Lane, +and ceased as suddenly as they had begun. The boys stood for some +moments wondering what this could mean, and were just thinking of +starting a fresh game of "catch smugglers," when there came a banging at +the door. It was flung open, and Cross rushed into their midst, +flushed, dishevelled, and empty-handed! + +What words of mine can tell that tale of woe or describe the burst of +indignation which followed its recital? Cross had unwisely decided to +shorten his return journey by risking the dangers of Locker's +Lane. He had been captured by a party of Philistines, who, under the +leadership of Hogson, had not only robbed him of his pie, but had held +him prisoner while they devoured it before his very eyes! + +What this terrible outrage would have excited those who had suffered +this cruel wrong to do in return--whether they would have started off +there and then, burnt Horace House to the ground, and hung its +inhabitants on the surrounding trees--it would be hard to say; as it +was, at this very moment a counter-attraction was forced upon their +attention by Morris, who came shouldering his way into their midst, +saying,-- + +"Look here, you fellows, some one's stolen my watch and chain!" + +It seemed as if a perfect shower of thunderbolts had commenced to +descend from a clear sky upon the devoted heads of Mr. Welsby's pupils. +Every one stared at his neighbour in mute amazement, and only Fred Acton +remained in sufficient possession of his faculties to gasp out,-- + +"_What?_" + +"It's true," continued Morris excitedly. "I didn't change for football +yesterday afternoon, but before going into the field I hung my watch up +on a nail in the shed, and stupidly forgot all about it until I came +to wind it up last night. Then it was too late to fetch it, and now +it's gone!" + +"Look here !" cried Acton, glaring round the group with an unusually +ferocious look, "who knows anything about this? speak up, can't you! +We've had enough of this prigging business, and I'm sick of it!" + +No one attempted to reply. + +"Well," continued the dux, "I'm going straight off to old Welsby to tell +him, and I won't keep the key of that place. Of course it makes me look +as if I were the thief, and I won't stand it any longer." + +The speaker turned on his heel and strode off in the direction of the +house. + +"Oh, I say," muttered Jack Vance, "now there'll be a row!" + +Jack's prophecy was soon fulfilled. The watch and chain could not be +found, and there was but little doubt that they had been stolen. +Mr. Welsby called the boys together, and though he spoke in a calm and +collected manner, with no trace of passion in his voice, yet his words +made them all tremble. Miss Eleanor sat silent at the tea-table, with a +shocked expression on her face; and Mr. Blake, when told of the +occurrence, said sharply, "Well, we'd better have locks put on +everything, and the sooner the better." + +Acton produced his bunch of keys, and insisted that all his possessions +should be searched, and every one else followed his example. The whole +of the next afternoon was spent in a careful examination of desks and +boxes, but with no result beyond the discovery that Mugford owned a cord +waistcoat which he had 'never had the moral courage to wear. + +There is one feature in the administration of justice by an English +court which is unhappily too often overlooked in the lynch law of +schoolboys, and that is the principle that a man shall be considered +innocent until he has been clearly proved guilty. Smarting under a +sense of shame which was entirely unmerited, every boy sought eagerly +for some object on which to vent his indignation; it became necessary, +to use the words of the comic opera, that "a victim should be found," +and suspicion fell on Kennedy and Jacobs. The result of Diggory's trap +seemed to show that the various thefts had been committed at night. +It was agreed that the two occupants of the "Main-top" had special +opportunity for getting out of the house if so minded; every other room +had one or more fellows in it who had suffered the loss of some +property; and lastly, Kennedy was known to possess a pair of hob-nailed +fishing-boots, which he usually kept under his bed. The two boys +indignantly denied the accusation when it was first brought against +them, but the very vehemence with which they protested their innocence +was regarded as "put on," and accepted as an additional proof of their +guilt. The evidence, however, was not thought sufficient to warrant +bringing a charge against them before the head-master, and accordingly +it was decided to send them both to Coventry until some fresh light +should be brought to bear upon the case. + +To do full justice to the memory of Diggory Trevanock, he alone stood +out against this decision, and incurred the wrath both of Acton and Jack +Vance in so doing. He continued to affirm that it must be the man he +had seen in the playground on the occasion of the first meeting of the +supper club; and that the footprint in the dust had been a man's, and +much larger than Kennedy's boot could have produced. + +This outlawing of the "Main-top" and difference of opinion with Diggory +spoiled all chance of games and good fellowship. Even the association +of the Triple Alliance seemed likely to end in an open rupture, and +very possibly might have done so if it had not been for an event which +caused the members to reunite against the common enemy. + +One half-holiday afternoon Mugford and Diggory had gone down to +Chatford. It was nearly dark when they started to come back, and the +latter proposed the short cut by Locker's Lane. + +"I'm not afraid of the Philistines; besides, they won't see us now." + +As they drew near to Horace House, a solitary figure was discovered +standing in the shadow of the brick wall. + +"It's young Noaks," whispered Diggory. "It's too late to turn back, but +most likely he won't notice us in this light if we walk straight on." + +They passed him successfully, and were just opposite the entrance, when +three more boys sauntered through the doorway. A gleam of light from +the house happened to fall on Diggory's cap and broad white collar, and +immediately the shout was raised, "_Birchites!_" + +There was a rush of feet, a wild moment of grabbing and dodging, and +Mugford, who had managed somehow to shake himself free from the grasp of +his assailants, dashed off at full speed down the road. After running +for about two hundred yards, and finding he was not followed, he pulled +up, waited and listened, and then began cautiously to retrace his steps. +There was no sign either of his companion or the enemy; and though he +ventured back as far as the double doors, which were now closed, not a +soul was to be seen. He knew in a moment that his class-mate had been +captured, but all hope of attempting anything in the shape of a rescue +was out of the question. It was impossible for him single-handed to +storm the fortress, and so, after lingering about for some minutes in +the hope that his friend would reappear, he ran home as fast as he +could, and bursting into the schoolroom, where most of his schoolfellows +sat reading round the fire, threw them into a great state of +consternation and dismay by proclaiming in a loud voice the alarming +intelligence that Diggory had been taken prisoner, and was at that +moment in the hands of the Philistines! + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +GUNPOWDER PLOT. + +The news caused a profound sensation, the like of which had probably +never been witnessed at The Birches before--no, not even on that +memorable occasion when the intelligence arrived that Scourer, one of +the past seniors, had ridden his bicycle through the plate-glass window +of Brown's big crockery-shop, and was being brought home on a shutter. + +All the boys threw down their books, and started to their feet. +Acton and Vance banished from their minds all thought of the +disagreement which had lately estranged them from their unfortunate +school-fellow, and joined heartily in the general outburst of wrath and +consternation. + +The thought that Diggory, their well-beloved, was at that very moment +languishing, a prisoner of war, in the hands of the Philistines was +almost unbearable. + +"What will they do with him?"--"Where have they put him?"--"How can we +rescue the fellow?" were questions which everybody was asking, but no +one could answer. It seemed altogether beyond their power to do +anything, and yet there was not a boy who would not have given his +dearest possession, were it a white rat or a stamp collection, if by +parting with it he could have rendered some assistance to his ill-fated +comrade. + +"There's only half an hour before tea," said Vance, looking up at the +clock; "if anything can be done, we must do it at once." + +The precious moments sped away, but in vain did the assembly rack their +brains for some plan of action which might in any way be likely to serve +the purpose they had in view. The first wild suggestion, that they +should go in a body and carry Horace House by storm, was abandoned as +impracticable; in hopeless inactivity they stood watching the long +hand of the clock creep up from six till twelve. + +The first tea-bell had just finished ringing, when there was a sound of +footsteps hurrying along the passage, the door burst open, and in rushed +no other person than Diggory himself! + +"Hullo! how did you get away?"--"What have they been doing?"--"How did +you escape?" + +"Oh, such a lark!" cried the boy. "They'll wish they'd never caught me! +I'll tell you all about it after tea." + +As soon as the meal was over, Diggory was seized, hurried up into the +schoolroom, and there forced to relate his adventures. + +"Well," he began, "they collared me, and dragged me through the gates +and along into their playground. Noaks looked at me and said, 'Hullo, +here's luck! This is the young beggar who tied that rope to the +scrapers; I vote we give him a jolly good licking.' I told them that my +father was a lawyer, and if any of them touched me he'd take a summons +out against them for assault. That frightened Noaks, for you can see +he's a regular coward, so he asked the others what they thought had +better be done with me. + +"'I know,' said Hogson. 'There's an old cow-shed in the field next to +ours; let's shut him in and keep him there till after tea. He'll get a +jolly row for being late when he gets back, and he won't dare to say +where he's been; because I know it's against their rules to come +anywhere near us, and Locker's Lane is out of bounds. If he does tell, +we'll swear he was in the road chucking stones at the windows.' + +"Some one said there was only a staple on the door of the shed, but +Noaks said he'd fetch the padlock off his play-box, and so he did. + +"Well, they took me across their playing field, and over the hedge into +the next, and shut me up in this beastly old hovel. 'It's no use your +making a row,' said Hogson, 'because no one'll hear you; and if you +do, summons or no summons we'll come down and give you a licking.' +After that they left me, and went back to the house; and as soon as +they'd gone, I began to try to find some way of escape, but it was so +dark inside the shed I couldn't see anything. Presently I heard a +knocking on the boards. There was a wide crack between them in one +place, and looking through it I could just make out that there was some +boy standing there with what looked like a dirty apron over his +trousers. I said, 'Hullo!' and he said, 'Hullo! what's up? who are you? +and what have they been a-sticking of you in there for?' + +"I told him, and asked him who he was, and it turned out his name was +Joe Crump, and he's the boy who cleans the knives at Philips's. +He happened to be knocking about when they took me prisoner, and he +couldn't see who it was in the dark, and thought it might be his younger +brother who comes on errands from the grocer's; the Philistines are +always playing tricks on him. + +"I said, 'Look here, Joe Crump, you let me out, there's a good chap.' +But he wouldn't; he was afraid of what young Noaks would do to him. +At last I gave him a shilling through the crack of the boards, and vowed +I wouldn't say who'd done it, and then he undid the door. I fastened +the padlock again, and threw the key into the hedge, for Noaks had left +it in the keyhole; so now he won't be able to get his lock again unless +he either breaks it or the staple, and they're both pretty tough. +After that I got round through two other fields into the lane, and here +I am." + +The conclusion of Diggory's story was hailed with shouts of triumph. +To imagine the disappointment of the Philistines when they discovered +that the bird had flown, and the chagrin of young Noaks when he found +that his play-box padlock was fastened to the door of the shed, was +simply delightful; and Acton was so carried away that he once more fell +on Diggory's neck, and pretended to shed tears of joy upon the latter's +broad turn-down collar. + +"But that's not all," cried the youngster, shaking himself free from his +leader's embrace. "The best is this. I had a bit of a talk with Joe +Crump before I came away, and he says that young Noaks is going to leave +at the end of this term, and he's been telling the Philistines that +before he goes he means to do something that'll pay us out for his being +sent off the field in that football match. Crump doesn't know what he +means to do, but I made him promise, if he finds out, to come and tell +me, and I'll give him another shilling. Then we shall be prepared." + +"I say, Diggy," exclaimed Jack Vance, "you are a _corker!_" and the bell +now commencing to ring for evening preparation, the meeting terminated. + +It was an annual custom at The Birches for the boys to subscribe towards +getting a display of fireworks, which were let off in the playground +under the superintendence of Mr. Blake. The head-master himself gave a +donation towards the fund, and allowed the boys to prepare the next +day's work in the afternoon instead of in the evening. + +This year, however, when Acton went, as usual, to the library to +formally ask permission that the celebration should take place, he met +with a terrible rebuff. + +"No, Acton," answered Mr. Welsby; "as long as the school continues to be +disgraced by these repeated thefts--as, for example, this recent +instance of Morris's watch and chain--I do not feel inclined to allow +the same privileges as before. There will be no fireworks this term." + +As may be imagined, when the dux reported the result of his visit to +head-quarters, the news created great excitement. The unfortunate +occupants of the "Main-top," who were still in the position of +scapegoats, were hunted round the place by an indignant mob, and fled, +vainly protesting their innocence, from one shelter to another, until +they finally escaped from the playing field into the open country, where +they hid behind hedges for the remainder of the afternoon. + +"Look here," exclaimed Jack Vance, as the Triple Alliance were wending +their way from the playground to the house, "there's only one thing to +be done, and that is, we must set Miss Eleanor on old Welsby's track. +She'll make him alter his mind. Some one must go and ask her.--Acton, +you're the man; you must do it!" + +"I'm shot if I do!" answered the dux, turning round to face the trio, +and walking backwards up the path; "why should I go more than any other +fellow?" + +"Why, because you've got such a way with you," returned Diggory. +"She'd be sure to do it for you; why, the last time you spoke to her she +gave you a lump of cake." + +Acton seized the speaker by the neck and shook him like a rat. +"You're the cheekiest little imp I ever came across," he said. "I've a +jolly good mind to give you a good licking, only I don't believe you'd +care tu'pence if I did!" + +"Well, anyhow you've got to go," answered Diggory, calmly picking up his +cap, which had fallen to the ground; "and if you're afraid to go alone +for fear she should think it's another proposal, I'll come with you." + +After some further discussion it was agreed that the thing should be +attempted. The two boys found Miss Eleanor making cake, and the +conference began by Diggory's having his ears boxed for picking plums +out of the dough. But no one ever appealed to Miss Eleanor without +being sure, at all events, of a patient hearing, and the following +morning Mr. Welsby informed the school that he had been led to +reconsider his decision regarding the fifth of November, and that they +might have their display as usual. + +Accordingly, the fireworks were ordered, and arrived soon after +breakfast on the morning of the fourth. Miss Eleanor had a dread of +gunpowder, and Mr. Blake sent Jack Vance to tell Noaks to carry the +box as usual down into the shed. + +"Humph!" growled the man, as the boy gave him the message. "It's a nice +thing that I should have to fetch and carry all your fooling playthings +for you; it's a pity you young gen'lemen can't do something for +yourselves, instead of bothering me." + +"Well, it isn't my orders," answered Jack; "it's Mr. Blake's." + +"Mr. Blake's, is it? All right, I'll do it when I can spare the time." + +When the boys came out at interval, the box was still lying about in the +yard, although there were heavy clouds overhead threatening rain. +Mr. Blake sent for Noaks, and a rather sharp passage of arms took place +between them, which ended in the man's being told to leave what he was +doing and carry the fireworks down to the shed. + +"I believe he left them on purpose, in the hope they'd get wet," said +Shaw. "He hates us all like poison, and I believe it's all because his +son's at the other school. D'you remember what a row he kicked up when +he heard Acton say that the Philistines were cads for shooting at us +with catapults?" + +"Yes," answered Morris; "and if he hates us, he hates Blake a jolly +sight worse. He's been like it ever since that football match; and +he'll get sacked if he doesn't mind, for Blake won't stand his cheek +much longer." + +The purchase of fireworks had this year been more extensive than on any +previous occasion, and every one was looking forward with great +anticipation to the business of the following evening. + +"I say, Diggy," cried Acton at the close of afternoon school, "I wish +you'd run down into the playground and bring up that football flag +that's got to be mended; I left it in the corner by the shed. +I'd go myself, but I want to finish this letter before tea." + +Diggory trotted off to fetch the flag, and Jack Vance, who was loitering +about one of the passages, accompanied him down into the playground. +It was very dark, the stars being hidden by heavy clouds. + +"I say," exclaimed Diggory, "it'll be a splendid night for the fireworks +if it's like this to-morrow. We must get--Hark! what's that?" + +"I didn't hear anything." + +"Yes, there was a sort of a rapping sound. Hush! there it is again." + +Jack heard it this time. "It's some one knocking very gently against +that door leading into Locker's Lane," he whispered. + +They groped their way across the playground until they reached the wall. +There was no mistake about it--some one was gently tapping with his +knuckles on the other side of the door. + +"Who's there?" asked Jack Vance. + +"I want to speak to the young gen'leman who was locked up t'other day in +the cow-shed," was the answer, given in a low voice which Diggory +instantly recognized. + +"I know him," he said; "it's Joe Crump. Here, give me a leg up, and +I'll talk to him over the wall.--All right, Joe; I'm the chap." + +"Well, if you are," answered the voice, "you'll remember you offered me +a bob if I could find out and tell you when somebody was going to do +something." + +"Well, what's the news?" + +"Give me the money first, and then I'll tell you." + +Jack Vance fortunately had the required coin in his pocket, and Diggory +dropped it into Joe Crump's cap. + +"Well, the news is this," said the latter, speaking in the same low +tone--"that there Noaks and Hogson are coming up here to-night just +afore nine o'clock, and they're a-going to drown your fireworks." + +"Drown our fireworks! why, what ever d'you mean? How do they know we've +got any fireworks? and how can they get at them when they're all locked +up?" + +"I can't say," returned Crump, "so it's no use asking me. I only knows +that Noaks is a-going to do it; 'drown 'em all in a bucket of water,' +was what he said. Remember you promised to tell nothink about me, +that's all. Good-night, mister!" + +The stranger vanished in the darkness, and Diggory dropped down from the +wall. + +"Here's a pretty go!" he remarked. "What are we to do? there's no time +to lose. Come on, Jack, let's go and tell Acton." + +The latter was engaged on the closing sentence of his letter; but on +hearing the intelligence which Diggory had to impart, he threw the +unfinished epistle into his desk, and rose to his feet with an +exclamation of astonishment. + +"D'you think it's really true? or is this fellow, Lump or Bump or +whatever you call him, trying to take a rise out of us, or telling lies +to earn the shilling?" + +"I don't think so," answered Diggory, "and I'll tell you why. For some +reason or other, he's at daggers drawn with young Noaks and Hogson. +I think they've knocked him about, and he's doing it to pay them out." + +"But how did they get to know about our fireworks? and how do they +reckon they're going to get them out of the shed? Look here, hadn't we +better tell Blake?" + +"We can't do that," answered Jack Vance, "or it'll get Diggy in a row. +If he says anything about Joe Crump, it'll all come out about his having +been in Locker's Lane when the Philistines caught him, and of course +that's against rules." + +"What time did he say they meant to come?" + +"About a quarter to nine." + +There was a silence which lasted for over a minute; then Diggory spoke. + +"This is what I think we'd better do. If they come at all, they are +certain to be here soon after half-past eight, because I heard Fox +telling Blake on the day of the match that they go to bed at nine. +We won't tell any one, but as soon as 'prep' is over we'll cut down into +the playground, and when they come we'll kick up a row. They'll soon +make tracks if they find they're discovered, and it'll be better than +saying anything to Blake about it, and we shall have defeated them +ourselves." + +"All right," answered Acton. "But it'll look queer if we all three stop +out from supper; two's enough. I'll go for one, and you and Vance toss +up." + +This suggestion was accepted with some reluctance, as both boys were +anxious to take part in the adventure. Acton's word, however, was law, +and eventually Diggory was chosen by fate to be his companion. + +Directly after tea all the boys paid a visit to the shed; the door was +securely locked, as also was the one leading into Locker's Lane, and it +seemed impossible for the Philistines to carry out their evil designs +upon the fireworks. + +"I believe it's all bunkum," said Acton, as they strolled back towards +the house. "However, we'll come down as we said, and just see if +anything happens." + +Three boys, at all events, did very little work that evening, for it was +impossible to concentrate one's mind on Caesar or on French verbs with +such an adventure looming in the near future. How would the Philistines +get at the fireworks? Would they change their minds, and instead of +drowning them apply a slow match and blow up the shed? or would it, +after all, turn out to be only a false alarm, raised by the boy Crump +for the sake of the promised shilling? + +These and other thoughts filled the minds of the trio as they sat +frowning at the books in front of them. The clock seemed to go slower +and slower, until they really began to wonder whether it had stopped. +At length the long hand reached the half-past. Mr. Blake yawned, put +down his paper, and said, "Put away your work, and pass on to supper." + +Acton and Diggory, both tingling with excitement, lingered behind until +the rest had left the room; then, when the coast was clear, they slipped +out into the garden, and hurried down the sloping path. It was +considerably lighter than it had been before tea; the clouds had cleared +away, and there were plenty of stars. + +"Locked," muttered Acton, examining the shed. "Locked," he repeated, +trying the door leading into Locker's Lane. "I don't believe there's +anything in it. They might get over the wall if one gave the other a +leg up, but then how's the last man to get back again?" + +"Well, if there's nothing in it," answered Diggory, "how should Joe +Crump have got to know we had any fireworks in the place? There must-- +Hush! what's that?" + +There was a sound of footsteps coming down the path from the house. +"_Cave!_" cried Acton. "It's Blake; let's hide!" + +Several shrubs growing in the garden and overhanging the boarded +partition threw one corner of the playground into deep shadow. The boys +rushed into the angle, and, crouching down in the inky darkness, were at +once hidden from the view of any one who might advance even to within a +few feet of their hiding-place. + +They had hardly time to conceal themselves, when a man, the outline of +whose figure they could just make out in the gloom, came through the +garden door, and, advancing a few yards, stood still, turning his head +from side to side as though looking to make sure that the quadrangle was +empty. + +"He heard us talking," whispered Acton. + +The new-comer having apparently come to the conclusion that he was +alone, walked slowly across to the shed, halted in front of the door, +and the next moment there was the sound of a key being fitted into the +lock. At that instant Diggory, who had been craning his neck forward to +get a better view of the intruder, suddenly gripped Acton's arm, and, +putting his mouth close to the latter's ear, whispered,-- + +"_It isn't Blake; it's old Noaks!_ Now keep quiet," he added, as his +companion made a movement as though he meant to rush out of their +hiding-place; "let's see what he does." + +"He's the thief who stole all those things!" answered Acton excitedly. +"He must have another key, and he's going to bag something now." + +Noaks (for certainly it was he) disappeared inside the shed; but in a +few seconds he was out again, and once more stood waiting as though +undecided what to do next. + +Before the boys could have counted ten, there was a low whistle in the +lane. + +"They've come," whispered Diggory. "He's got the key of the door, and +is going to let them in." + +His words were speedily verified, and the next moment two more figures +entered the playground, the object of their visit being at once made +evident by the fact that one of them was carrying a bucket. It was too +dark to distinguish their faces, but the short conversation which took +place on their entry soon made them known to the two watchers. + +"Now, then," said old Noaks, "if you're going to do it, just look +sharp." + +"Awful joke, isn't it, dad?" answered one of the new-comers. "Lend us a +hand, and we'll dip 'em all in this bucket and put 'em back again." + +"No, I shan't," returned the man. "I don't know nothink about it. +It's your game, and all I promised was I'd open the door." + +"Well, show us where the box is.--Come on, Hogson; don't make more row +than you can help." + +After a moment's hesitation and some muttered remarks about "that there +Blake" and "them uppish young dogs," Noaks senior led the way across the +gravel, and followed by the two Philistines entered the shed. Hardly +had they crossed the threshold when Diggory started up, kicked off his +slippers, crept swiftly and noiselessly as a shadow across the ground, +and before his companion had time to realize what was happening, the +door of the shed was slammed to and locked on the outside. + +To describe exactly what followed would be well-nigh impossible, as even +the principal actors themselves seemed to have but a confused +recollection of the part they played. Those concerned, however, will +probably never forget Diggory's bursting into the room as they sat +finishing supper, and striking every one dumb with amazement by saying +to Mr. Blake, "Please, sir, some fellows are stealing our fireworks, and +I've locked them up in the shed." And there will still remain in their +minds memories of a wild rush to the playground; of old Noaks being +peremptorily ordered to "clear out," and on attempting to bandy words +with Mr. Blake, being taken by the scruff of the neck and "chucked out;" +of the two Philistines being conducted, under a strong escort, to +Mr. Welsby's study; of a polite note being dispatched by the latter to +Mr. Philips; and of the unmitigated delight of the Birchites when Hogson +and Noaks junior were delivered over into the hands of Mr. Fox, +and marched off by that gentleman to take their trial at Horace House. +Every one was in high spirits. Acton and Diggory were made to tell +their story over twenty times. Kennedy and Jacobs were at once declared +innocent, and instead of being looked upon as outcasts, came to be +regarded as martyrs who had suffered in a good cause. Old Noaks was +clearly the culprit. He volunteered no explanation as regarded his +possession of a duplicate key to the shed door, and though no attempt +was made to bring the charge home against him, there was little doubt as +to his guilt, and he was dismissed the next morning. + +The firework display came off the following evening, and was a great +success. Every rocket or Roman candle that shot into the air seemed to +attest the final triumph of the Birchites over the Philistines, and +was cheered accordingly. I say final triumph, for the removal of young +Noaks and Hogson from the rival school caused a great change for the +better among the ranks of Horace House. The old feud died out, giving +place to a far better spirit, which was manifested each term in the +friendly manner in which the teams met for matches at cricket and +football. + +This sounds very much like the end of a story; but it is not, and for a +connecting-link to join this chapter to those that follow, we will go +forward for one moment into the future. + +Nearly a year later Diggory and Jack Vance were sauntering arm in arm +across one of the fives-courts at Ronleigh College. + +"D'you remember," remarked the former, "how, that night we caught the +Philistines bagging our fireworks, you said, 'Well, I should think now +we've just about finished with young Noaks'?" + +"Did I?" answered Jack, shrugging his shoulders. "My eye, I ought to +have said we'd just begun!" + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +RONLEIGH COLLEGE. + +The first two or three weeks of a new boy's life at a big school are, as +a rule, a dull and uneventful period, which does not furnish many +incidents that are of sufficient interest to be worth recording. + +The Triple Alliance passed through the principal entrance to Ronleigh +College one afternoon towards the end of January, with no flourish of +trumpets or beat of drums to announce the fact of their arrival to their +one hundred and eighty odd schoolfellows. They were simply "new kids." +But though, after the fame they had won at The Birches, it was rather +humiliating at first to find themselves regarded as three nobodies, yet +there was some compensation in the thought that, just as the smallest +drummer-boy can point to a flag covered with "honours," and say +"My regiment," so, in looking round at the many things of which +Ronleians past and present had just reason to be proud, they could claim +it as "our school," and feel that they themselves formed a part, however +small and insignificant, of the institution. + +The crowd of boys, and the maze of passages, rooms, and staircases, were +very confusing after the quiet, old-fashioned house at Chatford; but +though in this world there is no lack either of lame dogs or of stiles, +there is also a good supply of kindly-disposed persons who are ever +ready to help the former over the latter, and our three friends were +fortunate enough to fall in with one of these philanthropic individuals +soon after their arrival. + +The stranger, who was a youngster of about their own age, with a +pleasant, good-natured-looking face, patted Diggory on the back in a +fatherly manner, and addressing the group said,-- + +"Well, my boys, we're a large family at Ronleigh, but fresh additions +are always welcome. How did you leave them all at home? Quite well, +I hope? Um, ah! Just so. That's what Dr. Denson always says," +continued the speaker, without waiting for any reply to his numerous +questions. "You'll have to go and see him after tea. My name's Carton; +what's yours?" + +The three comrades introduced themselves. + +"What bedroom are you in?" + +"Number 16." + +"Then you're in the same one as I and young Hart. Come for a stroll, +and I'll show you round the place." + +With Carton acting as conductor, the party set out on a tour of +inspection. It was some time before the new-comers could find their way +about alone without turning down wrong passages, or encroaching on +forbidden ground, and getting shouted at by irate seniors, and ordered +to "Come out of that!" But by the time they had finished their round, +and the clanging of a big bell summoned them to assemble in the +dining-hall for tea, they had been able to form a general idea as to the +geography of Ronleigh College, and a brief account of their discoveries +will be of interest to the reader. + +Passing through the central archway in the block of buildings which +faced the road, the boys found themselves in a large gravelled +quadrangle surrounded on all sides by high walls, broken by what +appeared at first sight to be an almost countless number of windows, +while the red brick was relieved in many places by a thick growth of +ivy. + +"That's the gymnasium on the left," said Carton, "and above it are +studies; and that row of big windows on the right, with the coloured +glass in the top, is the big schoolroom." + +Crossing the gravel they passed through another archway, in which were +two folding-doors, and emerged upon an open space covered with asphalt, +upon which stood a giant-stride and two double fives-courts. + +This formed but a small corner of a large level field, in which a number +of boys were to be seen wandering about arm in arm, or standing chatting +together in small groups, pausing every now and then in their +conversation to give chase to a football which was being kicked about in +an aimless fashion by a number of their more energetic companions. + +"The goal-posts aren't up yet," said Carton, "and this is only what's +called the junior field; the one beyond is where the big fellows play. +The pavilion is over the hedge there, with the flagstaff by the side +of it. That's the match ground, and there's room for another game +besides." + +"Where do all the fellows go when they aren't out of doors?" asked +Diggory. + +"Well, the Sixth all have studies; then comes Remove, and those chaps +have a room to themselves; all the rest have desks in the big school, +and you hang about there, though of course, if you like, there's the +gymnasium, or the box-room--that's where a lot of fellows spend most of +their time." + +"What sort of a place is that?" + +"Oh, it's where the play-boxes are kept. Come along; we'll go there +next." + +They passed once more through the double doors, and were crossing the +quadrangle, when a certain incident attracted their notice, unimportant +in itself, but indicating a strong contrast in the manner of life at +Ronleigh to what they had always been accustomed to at The Birches. +A youngster was tearing up a piece of paper and scattering the fragments +about on the gravel. + +"Hi, you there!" cried a voice; "pick that up. What d'you mean by +making that mess here?" + +The small boy grabbed up the bits of paper, stuffed them in his pocket, +and hurried away towards the schoolroom. + +"Is that one of the masters?" asked Mugford. + +"No," answered Carton, "that's Oaks; he's one of the prefects. +Don't you see he's got a blue tassel to his mortar-board?" + +"But what's a prefect?" + +"Whew!" laughed the other, "you'll soon find out if you play the fool, +and don't mind what you're about. Why, there are fourteen of them, all +fellows in the Sixth, and they keep order and give you lines, and all +that sort of thing." + +"Why, I thought it was only masters did that," said Jack Vance. + +"Well, you'll find the prefects do it here," answered Carton; "and when +they tell you to do a thing, I'd advise you to look alive and do it, for +they don't reckon to speak twice." + +The evening passed quickly enough. After tea came an interview with the +head-master in his study, and then what was perhaps a still more trying +ordeal--a long spell of sitting in the big schoolroom answering an +incessant fire of questions such as, "What's your name?"--"Where d'you +come from?" etc., etc. + +At length the signal was given for passing on to bed, and the Triple +Alliance were not sorry to gain the shelter of No. 16 dormitory. + +The room contained seven other beds besides their own, two of which were +as yet still vacant, waiting the arrival of boys who had not turned up +on the first day. The remainder were occupied by a couple of other +new-comers, and three oldsters, Carton, Hart, and Bayley. + +It was very different from the cosy little bedrooms at The Birches; but +the three friends were glad to be allowed to undress in peace and quiet, +and had scrambled safely into bed some time before the prefect put in an +appearance to turn out the light. + +"I tell you what," said Hart, a few moments later: "you new kids may +think yourselves lucky that you're in a quiet room for a start. I know +when I came first there used to be christenings and all kinds of +humbug." + +"What was that?" asked Diggory. + +"Why, fellows used always to christen you with a nickname: they stuck +your head in a basin and poured water over you, and if you struggled you +got it all down your back." + +"Yes," continued Carton, "and they hid your clothes, and had bull-fights +and all sorts of foolery. That was in _Nineteen_: old 'Thirsty' was the +prefect for that passage, and he doesn't care tu'pence what fellows do. +But Allingford's put a stop to almost all that kind of thing: he's +captain of the school, and he's always awfully down on anything of that +sort." + +By the time breakfast was over on the following morning, Diggory and his +two companions were beginning to recover a little from their first state +of bewilderment amid their strange surroundings. They donned the school +cap of black flannel, with the crest worked in silk upon the front, and +went out to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine in the playground. + +It was a bright, frosty day, and the whole place seemed full of life and +activity. There was plenty to engage their attention, and much that was +new and singular after their comparatively quiet playground at The +Birches. But whatever there was to awaken their interest out of doors, +a thing was destined to happen during their first morning school which +would be a still greater surprise than anything they had yet encountered +during their short residence at Ronleigh. + +At nine o'clock the clanging of the big bell summoned them to the +general assembly in the big schoolroom. They took their places at a +back desk pointed out to them by the master on duty, and sat watching +the stream of boys that poured in through the open doors, wondering how +long it would take them to become acquainted with the names of such a +multitude. + +The forms passed on in their usual order, and the new boys were +conducted to a vacant classroom, where they received a set of +examination papers which were intended to test the amount of their +knowledge, and determine the position in which they were to start work +on the following day. + +Jack Vance, Diggory, and Mugford sat together at the first desk, just in +front of the master's table, and were soon busy in proving their +previous acquaintance with the Latin grammar. Presently the door +opened, and a voice, which they at once recognized as Dr. Denson's, +said, "Mr. Ellesby, may I trouble you to step here for a moment?" +None of the trio raised their eyes from their work. There was a +muttered conversation in the passage, and then the door was once more +closed. + +The master returned to his desk, dipped his pen in the ink, and +addressing some one at the back of the room, inquired,-- + +"What did Dr. Denson say your name was?" + +"Noaks, sir." + +The Triple Alliance gave a simultaneous start as though they had +received an electric shock, and their heads turned round like three +weathercocks. + +There, sure enough, at the back desk of all, sat the late leader of the +Philistines, with a rather sheepish expression on his face, somewhat +similar to the one it had worn when the marauders from Horace House had +been ushered into Mr. Welsby's study. + +Jack Vance looked at Mugford, and Mugford looked at Diggory. "Well, I'm +jiggered!" whispered the latter, and once more returned to his +examination paper. + +At eleven o'clock there was a quarter of an hour's interval. Being +still, as it were, strangers in a strange land, the three friends kept +pretty close together. They were walking arm in arm about the +quadrangle, giving expression to their astonishment at this latest +arrival at Ronleigh, when Diggory suddenly exclaimed, "Look out! here +he comes!" + +After so many encounters of a decidedly hostile nature, it was difficult +to meet their old enemy on neutral ground without some feeling of +embarrassment. Young Noaks, however, walked up cool as a cucumber, and +holding out his hand said,-- + +"Hullo, you fellows, who'd have thought of seeing you here! How are +you?" + +The three boys returned the salutation in a manner which, to say the +least, was not very cordial, and made some attempt to pass on their way; +but the new-comer refused to see that he was not wanted, and insisted on +taking Mugford's arm and accompanying them on their stroll. + +"I say," he continued, addressing Jack Vance, "were you at Todderton +these holidays? I don't think I saw you once." + +"The last time I saw you," returned Jack, in rather a bitter tone, "was +when you came to spoil our fireworks, and we collared you in the shed." + +Noaks clinched his fist, and for a moment his brow darkened; the next +instant, however, he laughed as though the recollection of the incident +afforded him an immense amount of amusement. + +"Ha, ha! Yes, awful joke that, wasn't it? almost as good as the time +when that fool of a master of yours, Lake, or Blake, or whatever you +call him, had me sent off the field so that you could win the match." + +"It was no such thing," answered Jack. "You know very well why it was +Blake interfered; and he's not a fool, but a jolly good sort." + +"Oh, don't get angry," returned the other. "I'm sure I shouldn't fly +into a wax if you called Fox or old Phillips a fool. I got sick of that +beastly little school, as I expect you did of yours, and so I made my +uncle send me here.--Hullo! I suppose that's the bell for going back to +work; see you again later on." + +"I say," whispered Diggory, as soon as they had regained their seat in +the examination-room, "I vote we give that chap the cold shoulder." + +The following morning the three friends heard their names read out as +forming part of the Third Form, to which their friend Carton already +belonged. Young Noaks was placed in the Upper Fourth, and they were +not destined therefore to have him as a class-mate. + +The Third Form at Ronleigh had, for some reason or other, received the +title of "The Happy Family." They certainly were an amusing lot of +little animals, and Diggory and his companions coming into the classroom +rather late, and before the entrance of the master, saw them for the +first time to full advantage. Out of the two-and-twenty juveniles +present, only about six seemed to be in their proper places. + +One young gentleman sitting close to the blackboard cried, "Powder, +sir!" and straightway scrubbed his neighbour's face with a very chalky +duster. The latter, by way of retaliation, smote the former's pile +of books from the desk on to the ground--a little attention which was +immediately returned by boy number one; while as they bent down to pick +up their scattered possessions, a third party, sitting on the form +behind, made playful attempts to tread upon their fingers. Two rival +factions in the rear of the room were waging war with paper darts; while +a small, sandy-haired boy, whose tangled hair and disordered attire gave +him the appearance, as the saying goes, of having been dragged through a +furze-bush backwards, rapped vigorously with his knuckles upon the +master's table, and inquired loudly how many more times he was to say +"Silence!" + +The entrance of the three new-comers caused a false alarm, and in a +moment every one was in his proper seat. + +"Bother it!" cried the small, sandy-haired boy, who had bumped his knee +rushing from the table to his place; "why didn't you make more noise +when you came in?" + +"But I thought you were asking for silence," answered Diggory. + +"Shut up, and don't answer back when you are spoken to by a prefect," +retorted the small boy. "Look here, you haven't written your name on +Watford's slate.--They must, mustn't they, Maxton?" he added, turning to +a boy who sat at the end of one of the back seats. + +"Of course they must," answered Maxton, who, with both elbows on the +desk, was blowing subdued railway whistles through his hands; "every new +fellow has to write his name on that little slate on Mr. Watford's +table, and he enters them from there into his mark-book. I'm head boy, +and I've got to see you do it. Look sharp, or he'll be here in a +minute, and there'll be a row." + +Diggory, Vance, and Mugford hastily signed their names, one under the +other, upon the slate. There was a good deal of tittering while they +did so; but as a new boy is laughed at for nearly everything he does, +they took no notice of it, and had hardly got back to their places when +the master entered the room, and the work began in earnest. + +About a quarter of an hour later the boys were busy with a Latin +exercise, when silence was broken by a shuffle and an exclamation from +the back desk. "You again, Maxton," said the master, looking up +with a frown. "I suppose you are determined to idle away your time and +remain bottom of the class this term as you were last. I shall put your +name down for some extra work. Let's see," he continued, taking up the +slate: "I appear to have three boys' names down already--'Vance,' +'Mugford,' and 'Trevanock.' What's the meaning of this? This is not +my writing. How came these names here?" + +"Please, sir," faltered Mugford, "we put them there ourselves." + +"Put them there yourselves! What d'you want to put your names down on +my punishment slate for? I suppose some one told you to, didn't they?" + +"Please, sir," answered Diggory warily, "we thought we had to, so that +you might have our names to enter in your mark-book." + +There was a burst of laughter, but that answer went a long way towards +setting the Alliance on a good footing with their class-mates. + +"That young Trevanock's the right sort," said Maxton, "and so are the +others. I thought they'd sneak about that slate, but they didn't." + +Mr. Noaks, junior, on the other hand, was destined to find that he was +not going to carry everything before him at Ronleigh as he had done +among the small fry at Horace House, The Upper Fourth voted him a +"bounder," and nicknamed him "Moke." After morning school he repeated +his attempt to ally himself with his former foes, but the result was +decidedly unsatisfactory. + +Down in the box-room, a good-sized apartment boarded off from the +gymnasium, Jack Vance was serving out a ration of plum-cake to a select +party, consisting of his two chums and Carton, when the ex-Philistine +strolled up and joined himself to the group. + +"Hullo!" he said, "are you chaps having a feed? D'you remember that +pork-pie we bagged from one of your kids at Chatford? Ha, ha! it was a +lark." + +"I don't see it's much of a lark to bag what doesn't belong to you," +muttered Diggory. + +"What's that you say?" + +"Nothing for you to hear," returned the other. "I don't know if you're +waiting about here to get some cake, but I'm sure I never invited you to +come." + +"Look here, don't be cheeky," answered Noaks. "If you think I want to +make friends with a lot of impudent young monkeys like you, all I can +say is you're jolly well mistaken," and so saying he turned on his heel +and walked away. + +"I say, Trevanock," said Carton, two days later, "that fellow Noaks has +found a friend at last: he's picked up with Mouler. They'll make a nice +pair, I should say. Mouler was nearly expelled last term for telling +lies to Ellesby about some cribs." + +Noaks certainly seemed to have discovered a chum in the black sheep of +the Upper Fourth, and the Triple Alliance began to congratulate +themselves that he would trouble them no further. In a big school +like Ronleigh College there was plenty of room for everybody to go his +own way without fear of running his head into people whom he wished to +avoid. Our three friends, however, seemed fated to find in the person +of Noaks junior a perpetual stumbling-block and cause of disquietude and +annoyance. They had no sooner succeeded in setting him at a distance +when an incident occurred which brought them once more into violent +collision with the enemy. + +The pavilion, which has already been mentioned as standing on the match +ground, was a handsome wooden structure, surrounded by some low palings, +in front of which was a small oblong patch of gravel. On the second +Saturday morning of the term Noaks and Mouler were lounging across this +open space, when Oaks, the prefect, emerged from the pavilion, carrying +in his hand a pot of paint he had been mixing for the goal-posts, which +were just being put up. On reaching the paling he suddenly ejaculated, +"Bother! I've forgotten the brush;" and resting the can on the top of +the little gate-post, hurried back up the short flight of steps, and +disappeared through the open door. + +"I say, there's a good cock-shy," said Noaks, nodding his head in the +direction of the paint. + +"Umph! shouldn't like to try," answered Mouler. + +"Why not?" + +"Because Oaks would jolly well punch both our heads." + +"Well, here's a new kid coming; let's set him on to do it. You speak to +him; he knows me. His name's Mugford." + +The two cronies both picked up a handful of stones, and began throwing +at the can, taking good care that their shots should fly wide of the +mark. + +Mugford, who, as we have already seen, was not blessed with the sharpest +of wits, paused for a moment to watch the contest. The paint had been +mixed in an old fruit-tin, and at first sight it certainly seemed to +have been put on the post for the sole purpose of being knocked off +again. + +"Hullo, you new kid!" exclaimed Mouler. "Look here, we want a chap for +the third eleven next season--a fellow who can throw straight. Come +along, and let's see if you can hit that old can." + +It certainly looked easy enough, and Mugford, pleased at being taken +some notice of by a boy in the Upper Fourth, picked up some pebbles, and +joined in the bombardment. The second shot brought the tin down with a +great clatter, and a flood of white paint spread all over the trim +little pathway. At the same instant Oaks dashed down the steps boiling +with rage. + +"Confound you!" he cried; "who did that ?" + +"I did," answered Mugford, half crying; "I thought it was empty." + +"Thought it was empty! why didn't you look, you young blockhead?" cried +the prefect, catching the small boy by the arm, while Noaks and Mouler +burst into a roar of laughter. + +Things would probably have gone hard with the unfortunate Mugford if at +that moment a fifth party had not arrived on the scene. The new-comer, +who, from the show of whisker at the side of his face and the tone of +authority in which he spoke, seemed to be one of the masters, was tall +and muscular, with the bronze of a season's cricketing still upon his +cheeks and neck. + +"Stop a minute, Oaks," he said. "I happened to see this little game; +let's hear what the kid's got to say for himself." + +In faltering tones Mugford told his story. Without a word the stranger +stepped up to Mouler and dealt him a sounding box on the ear. + +"There!" he said, "take that for your trouble; and now cut off down town +and buy a fresh pot of paint out of your own pocket, and do it jolly +quick, too.--As for you," he added, turning to Noaks, "get a spade out +of that place under the pavilion and clean up this path. If you weren't +a new fellow I'd serve you the same. Look out in future." + +"And you look out too," muttered Noaks, glancing at Mugford with a +fierce expression on his face as the two seniors moved off, "you beastly +young sneak. The first chance I get I'll give you the best licking +you ever had in your life." + +"Old Mug is rather a fool," remarked Jack Vance to Diggory a few hours +later; "he ought to have seen through that. But we must stand by him +because of the Triple Alliance. Noaks is sure to try to set on him the +first chance he gets." + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "look out for squalls." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +THIRD FORM ORATORY. + +At the end of the first fortnight our three friends had begun to find +their feet at Ronleigh, and the sense of being "outsiders" in everything +was gradually wearing off as they grew more intimate with their +schoolfellows. + +Jack Vance and Diggory soon became popular members of "The Happy +Family," and their loyalty to Mugford caused the latter's path to be +much smoother than it probably would have been had he been compelled to +tread it alone. + +Carton turned out a capital fellow; Rathson, the small, sandy-haired boy +mentioned in the previous chapter, and who generally went by the name of +"Rats," took a great fancy to Jack; while Maxton repeated his assertion +that young Trevanock was "the right sort," and as a further mark of his +favour presented the new-comer with a moleskin of his own curing, which +looked very nice, but, as "Rats" put it, "smelt rather fruity." + +But it was not in the Third Form only that Diggory began to find +friends; for by a lucky chance he was fortunate enough to make a good +impression on the minds of the great men, who, as a rule, took no +further notice of the small fry than to exact from them a certain amount +of obedience, or in default a certain number of lines or other "impots." + +One morning, soon after breakfast, a little group was gathered round +Carton's desk in the big school-room, discussing the value of some +foreign stamps, when a small boy came up to them, saying,-- + +"Is Trevanock here? Well, Acton wants you now at once in his study." + +"Hullo," said Carton, looking up from the sheet of specimens in front of +him--"hullo, Diggy! What have you been up to?" + +"I haven't been doing anything," answered the other. "What do you think +he wants me for?" + +"I don't know, but it sounds rather like getting a licking. At all +events, you'd better hurry up; prefects don't thank you for keeping them +waiting. His is the third door on the right as you go down the +passage." + +Diggory hastened to obey the summons, wondering what it could mean. +He found the door, and in answer to the loud "Come in!" which greeted +his knock turned the handle, and found himself for the first time inside +one of the Sixth Form studies. + +It was a small, square room, and looked very cosy and comfortable with +its red window-curtains, well-filled bookshelf, and many little +knick-knacks that adorned the walls and mantelpiece. An array of silver +cups, several photographs of cricket and football teams, and a +miscellaneous pile of bats, fencing-sticks, Indian clubs, etc., standing +in one corner, all spoke of the athlete; while carelessly thrown down +on the top of a cupboard was an article for the possession of which many +a, boy would have bartered the whole of his worldly wealth--a bit of +worn blue velvet and the tarnished remnant of what had once been a gold +tassel--the "footer cap" of Ronleigh College. + +But it was not so much the furniture as the occupants of the study that +attracted Diggory's attention. John Acton, a tall, wiry fellow, who +looked as though his whole body was as hard and tough as whip-cord, was +standing leaning on the end of the mantelpiece talking to another of the +seniors, who sat sprawling in a folding-chair on the other side of the +fire; while seated at the table, turning over the leaves of what +appeared to be a big manuscript book, was no less a personage than +Allingford, the school captain. + +"I don't understand a bit what's coming to 'Thirsty,'" the football +leader was saying. "I was rather chummy with him when we were in the +Fifth, and he was all right then, but now he seems to be running to seed +as fast as he can; and I believe it's a great deal that fellow +Fletcher.--Hullo, youngster! what d'you want?" + +"I was told you wanted to see me," said Diggory nervously. + +"Oh yes. You were at The Birches, that school near Chatford, weren't +you? Well, I want to hear about that love affair my young brother had +with the old chap's daughter.--It was an awful joke," added the speaker, +addressing his companions. "He was about fourteen, and she's a grown-up +woman; and he was awfully gone, I can tell you.--How did he pop the +question?" + +"He wrote," answered Diggory. "We tossed up whether he should do that +or speak." + +There was a burst of laughter. + +"Did you see the letter?" + +"Yes." + +"What did he say?" + +"I can't tell you." + +"Why not? don't you remember?" + +"Yes; but he only showed me the letter on condition I wouldn't ever tell +any one what was in it." + +"Oh, that's all rot! you can tell me; I'm his brother. Come, out with +it." + +It was an awful thing to beard the lion in his den--for a new boy to +face so great a personage as the football captain, and refuse +point-blank to do as he was told. Diggory shifted uneasily from one +foot to another, and then glancing up he became aware of the fact that +Allingford was gazing at him across the table with a curious expression, +which somehow gave him fresh encouragement to persist in his refusal to +disclose the contents of his former friend's love-letter. + +"I can't tell you," he repeated; "it was a promise, you know." + +The Ronleigh captain laughed. "Well done," he said. "I wish some other +fellows were a bit more careful to keep their promises.--Acton, you +beggar, you swore you'd keep up this register for me, and there's +nothing entered for last term." + +"Oh, bother you, Ally!" exclaimed the other; "what a nigger-driver you +are!--Hullo, there's the bell!--Here, kid, stick those two oranges in +your pocket; go 'long!" + +Diggory left the room, having gained something else besides the two +oranges; for as he closed the door Allingford laughed again, and rising +from his chair said, "He's a stanch little beggar; I think I'll keep +an eye on him." + +The subject of this remark hurried away, and had just joined the crowd +of boys who were thronging into the big school for assembly, when some +one took hold of his arm, and glancing round he was startled to see Jack +Vance, looking very excited and dishevelled, and mopping his mouth with +a blood-stained handkerchief. + +"I say," exclaimed the latter, "have you seen Mugford?" + +"No. What's the matter? what have you done to your mouth?" + +"Why, I've had a beastly row with Noaks. I'll 'tell you after school." + +"No, tell me now," cried Diggory, pulling his companion aside into a +corner by the door. "Quick--what was it?" + +"Why, he pounced down on Mugford, out there by the fives-court, and +began twisting his arm and saying he'd pay him out for that paint-pot +business. I went to the rescue, and the beast hit me with the +back of his hand here on the mouth. I told him he was a cad, and said +something about his father being only a man-servant, and having stolen +our things. I'm sorry now, for it was rather a low thing to do, but I +was in such a wax I didn't think what I was saying. Mouler was standing +by, and he heard it, and laughed; and Noaks looked as if he'd have +killed me. I believe he would have knocked me down, only Rowlands, the +prefect, came up and stopped the row." + +There was no time for any further details, and the two boys had to rush +away to their seats in order to escape being marked as late. + +One thing was certain--that the Triple Alliance were once more embroiled +in a quarrel with their ancient foe the former leader of the +Philistines, and they knew enough of their adversary's character to +feel sure that he would not pass over an event of this kind without some +attempt at revenge. + +It is probable that, if this had happened at Horace House, Jack Vance +would have received a good licking as soon as the classes were +dismissed; but a few very plain and forcible words spoken by Rowlands +on the subject of knocking small boys about caused Noaks to postpone his +retaliation. + +"Look here," he said, meeting Jack Vance in the quadrangle during the +interval: "just you keep your mouth shut about me and my father. +I've got two or three accounts to settle with you chaps already; just +mind what you're up to." He clinched his fist as though about to +strike, then, with an ugly scowl, turned on his heel and walked away. + +It must have been about three days after this encounter with Noaks that +our three friends were called upon to attend a mass meeting of the Third +Form, to consider the advisability of starting a periodical in +opposition to the school magazine. Important events connected with a +later period of their life at Ronleigh render it necessary that we +should not linger too long over the account of their first term; but +some mention, however brief, should certainly be made of the memorable +gathering to which we have referred. A notice pinned on to the +black-board, and pulled down as soon as Mr. Watford entered the +classroom, announced the project in the following words:-- + + "NOTICE." + "A meeting will be held in the 'old lab' directly + after dinner to-day, to make plans for starting a + magazine in opposition to _The Ronleian_. + All members of the Third Form are specially requested + to attend." + + "FLETCHER II." + "J. A. BIBBS." + +"You must come," said "Rats" to Diggory; "it'll be an awful lark." + +"But what's it all about?" + +"Oh, you'll hear when you get there. It's Fletcher's idea; he wants to +start a new magazine. Eastfield, who edits _The Ronleian_, is Maxton's +cousin; so Maxton's going to interrupt and get some other fellows to do +the same. I'm going to be part of the opposition," added the youthful +"Rats," beaming with delight, "and I have got a whole heap of paper bags +I'm going to burst while Fletcher's speaking." + +The "old lab," as it was called, was a small brick building which stood +on one side of the asphalt playground. A new laboratory having recently +been fitted up elsewhere, the former one was, for the time being, +unused. It was not more than about fifteen feet long by seven or eight +feet wide; and as "The Happy Family" mustered in force, the place was +crowded to overflowing. The door having been closed, Fletcher Two +mounted a low stone sink which ran along the end wall, and from this +ready-made platform commenced to address the assembly :-- + +"Gentlemen,--We've met here, as you know, to talk over starting a fresh +magazine. _The Ronleian_ is a beastly swindle, and it's high time we +had something different." (A voice, "No, 'tisn't," and the bursting of +a paper bag.) "You shut up there! I say it is a swindle: they didn't +give any account of that fourth eleven match against Robertson's second, +and they made fun of us in the 'Quad Gossip,' and said that in +'The Happy Family' there was a preponderance of monkey." ("So there is, +and you're it!" Laughter and another explosion.) + +"What I propose is that we start a manuscript magazine for the Third +Form, and that every fellow promise to take that, and never to buy a +copy of the other. We might pass it round, and charge a penny each to +look at it. Will you all subscribe?" + +No one spoke, the silence only being broken by the sound of "Rats" +blowing up another bag, which caused a fresh burst of laughter. + +"Will you all subscribe?" once more demanded the speaker. + +There were mingled cries of "Yes!" and "No!" and a stentorian yell of +"No, you cuckoo! of course we won't," from Maxton, and another +explosion. + +"Look here, young 'Rats,' if you burst any more of those bags I'll come +down and burst your head.--I forgot to say, gentlemen, that Mr. Bibbs +has promised to assist in editing the paper; and I will now call upon +him to give you an account of what it will contain." + +Bibbs, the Third Form genius, was regarded by every one as a huge joke, +and the very mention of his name caused a fresh burst of merriment. +He was a sad-faced, untidy-looking boy, quick and clever enough in some +things, and equally dull and stupid in others. The announcement that he +would address the meeting had no sooner been made than half a dozen +willing pairs of hands seized and hoisted him on to the platform; though +no sooner had he attained this exalted position than two or three voices +ordered him in a peremptory manner to "Come down!" + +The greater part of the audience not caring the toss of a button whether +Fletcher started his magazine or not, but thinking that it was rather +good fun to interrupt the proceedings, now joined the opposition, and +the unfortunate Bibbs was subjected to a brisk fire of chaff. +One facetious class-mate, standing close to the sink, offered to sell +him by auction; and hammering on the stones with the fragment of a bat +handle, knocked him down for threepence to another joker, who said he'd +do for a pen-wiper. + +"Sing a song, Bibbs!" cried one voice; "Where's your neck-tie?" asked +another; "What are you grinning at?" demanded a third; while the object +of these pleasantries stood, with a vacant smile upon his face, +nervously fumbling with his watch-chain. + +"Go on!" cried Fletcher, who had descended from the platform to make +room for his colleague; "say something, you fool!" + +"The magazine is to be written on exercise-book paper," began Bibbs, and +had only got thus far when he was interrupted by a perfect salvo of +paper bags which little "Rats" discharged in quick succession. + +With an exclamation of wrath Fletcher made a dive in the direction of +the offender, and in a moment the whole gathering was in a state of +confusion. The majority of those present siding with "Rats," began to +hustle Fletcher, while two gentlemen having dragged Bibbs from his +perch, jumped up in his stead, and began to execute a clog-dance. + +In the midst of this commotion Maxton elbowed his way through the crush, +and having pushed the two boys off the sink, mounted it himself, +crying,-- + +"Look here, I'm going to speak; just you listen a minute. The reason +why Bibbs wants to start a new magazine is because he wrote a novel +once, and sent it to _The Ronleian_ to come out so much each month, +and they wouldn't have it." + +"Shut up, Maxton!" cried Fletcher, rushing to the spot; "you've only +come here on purpose to interrupt. Let's turn him out!" + +"Yes, turn him out!" echoed the audience, who by this time were just in +the spirit for "ragging," and would have ejected friend or foe alike for +the sport of the thing--"turn him out!" + +The two clog-dancers being quite ready to avenge the interruption of +their performance, formed themselves into a storming-party, and carried +the platform by assault. Maxton, struggling all the way, was dragged to +the door, and cast out into the playground. Most of the restless +spirits in the audience requiring a short breathing-space to recover +their wind after the tussle, there followed a few moments' quiet, which +Fletcher immediately took advantage of to mount the sink and resume the +business of the meeting. + +"The magazine," he began, "is going to be written on exercise-book +paper. Any one who likes can contribute, and it's going to be more +especially a paper for the Third Form." + +The speaker went on to show that the periodical was destined to supply a +long-felt want. _The Ronleian_ ignored the doings of boys in the lower +half of the school, and returned their contributions with insulting +suggestions, pencilled on the margins, that the authors should devote +some of their spare time and energy to the study of their English +grammars and spelling-books. _The Third Form Chronicle_, as it was to +be called, would recognize the fact that junior boys had as much right +to be heard as seniors, and would afford them the opportunity of airing +their views on any subject they chose to bring forward. + +Fletcher had barely time to proceed thus far with his speech when an +alarming interruption occurred, which put an immediate stop to his +further utterance. Nearly at the top of the end wall there had formerly +been a ventilator; this, for one reason or another, had been removed, +and in the brickwork an open space about a foot square had been left. +A hissing noise was suddenly heard outside, and the next moment a stream +of water shot through the aperture, and descended in a perfect deluge on +the heads of the company. + +The fact was that Maxton, ever a reckless young villain, had discovered +a hose fixed to one of the mains close to the building, and had +immediately seized upon it as an instrument wherewith to wreak vengeance +on his companions for having turned him out of the meeting. + +Words cannot describe the uproar and confusion which followed. As one +man the whole assembly made for the door, but only to find it fastened +on the outside. The water flew all over the small building, drenching +every one in turn. Some howled, some laughed, and only Bibbs had +sufficient presence of mind to creep under the sink, which afforded a +certain amount of shelter from the falling flood. + +The deluge ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and an instant later the +door was flung open, and the figure of a Sixth Form boy was seen barring +the exit. + +"Now, then," he demanded, "what are you youngsters making this awful +row for? I've a jolly good mind to take all your names." + +There was a moment's silence. Then Fletcher's voice was heard +exclaiming,-- + +"Oh! it's only old 'Thirsty;' he's all right." + +"Here, not so fast," answered the prefect, blocking up the doorway as +some boys tried to escape; "what are you chaps doing in here? I thought +you'd been told to keep out." + +The originator of the meeting pushed his way through the crowd, and +taking hold of the big fellow's arm in a familiar manner, said,-- + +"Oh, it's all right, 'Thirsty,' old chap. We just came inside, and some +one squirted water all over us, and that's why we shouted. But we won't +do it again." + +"Oh, but it isn't all right," returned the other. "If I find any of you +in here again, I'll help you out with the toe of my boot. Go on! I'll +let you off this once." + +The crowd rushed forth and quickly dispersed. + +"That Thurston seems an awful decent chap," said Diggory; "I didn't +think he'd let us off so easily." + +"He's all right as long as you don't cross him," answered Carton. +"He used to be pretty strict, but he doesn't seem to care now what +fellows do. He's very thick with Fletcher's brother--that's one reason +why he didn't do anything just now; but I can tell you he's a nasty chap +to deal with when he's in a wax." + +The prefect locked the empty building, and turning on his heel caught +sight of our three friends, who were standing close by waiting for +"Rats." + +"Hullo, you new kids! what are you called?" + +The usual answer was given, and Thurston passed on, little thinking what +good cause he would have before the end of the year for remembering the +names of the trio, and altogether unaware of the prominent part which +the Triple Alliance was destined to play in his own private affairs as +well as in the fortunes of Ronleigh College. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +A HOLIDAY ADVENTURE. + +The weeks slipped away, and the Triple Alliance soon got over their +new-boy trials, and began to enjoy all the rights and privileges of +Ronleigh College boys. They wrote letters to Miss Eleanor and to their +former schoolfellows, and received in reply the latest news from The +Birches. + +"The Philistines are quite friendly now," wrote Acton. "We had a match +against them last week on their ground, and they gave us tea after. +It's awfully slow; I almost wish that chap Noaks was back." + +"So do I," added Diggory, as he finished the sentence; "we could very +well spare him." + +"Oh, he's all right," answered Jack Vance; "that row's blown over now. +As long as we leave him alone he won't interfere with us." + +"Won't he!" returned the other; "you take my word for it, he hasn't +forgotten what you said about his father, and he's only waiting for a +chance to pay us out. Whenever I go near him he looks as black as ink." + +It was customary at Ronleigh to have what was called a half-term +holiday. This was usually given on a Monday, to enable those boys who +lived within a short distance of the school to spend the week end +at home; while, in the winter or spring terms, the boarders who remained +at the school usually devoted the greater portion of the day to a +paper-chase. + +"I shall go home," said Jack Vance to his two chums; "Todderton's only +about half an hour's ride from here on the railway. And, I say, I've +got a grand idea: I'm going to write and get my mater to invite you +fellows to come too! It would be jolly to have a meeting there of the +Triple Alliance, and I'm sure old Denson would let you go if we came +back on Monday night." + +Both Mugford and Diggory were charmed with the idea. "But d'you really +think your mater would have us?" they asked. + +"Of course she will, if I ask her," answered Jack, and straightway sat +down to write the letter. + +By Wednesday evening everything, including the formal invitation and the +doctors permission to accept the same, had been obtained, and for the +two following days the Triple Alliance could talk or think of little +else besides their projected excursion. At length Saturday came, and as +soon as morning school was over they rushed upstairs to change into +their best clothes; and having crammed their night-shirts, brushes and +combs, etc., into a hand-bag, hurried off to the railway station, in +order that they might, as Jack put it, "be home in time for dinner." + +Just as they were getting into the train, who should come out of the +booking-office but young Noaks. + +"Hullo!" said Jack. "He must be going home too; I hope he won't come in +here." + +The new-comer, however, had no intention of making another attempt to +force his society on the Triple Alliance; he passed them with a surly +nod, and entered a compartment at the other end of the train. + +Jack Vance lived in the suburbs of Todderton, about twenty minutes' walk +from the railway; but for all that he managed to carry out his intention +of being home in time for dinner; and the three boys, after receiving a +hearty welcome, were soon seated down to a repast which came very +acceptable after seven weeks of school fare. + +"Jack," said Mr. Vance, "you know that house that was to let just on the +other side of The Hermitage? Who d'you think's taken it?" + +"I don't know, father." + +"Why, that man Simpson, the uncle of your friend what's-his-name." + +"He isn't my friend," answered Jack. "You mean Noaks. Fancy his coming +to live so near to us as that! We saw him in the train just now. +He's here for the holiday." + +"I ought to tell you," continued Mr. Vance, turning to Diggory, "that +our next-door neighbour is called 'The Hermit.' He's a queer old +fellow, who lives by himself, and never makes friends or speaks to any +one. He's supposed to be very clever, and I've heard it said that he's +got a very valuable collection of coins, and is quite an authority on +the subject; it's one of his hobbies." + +"I suppose," said Mugford thoughtfully, "that as he's a hermit that's +why his place is called The Hermitage." + +"Well done, Mug!" said Jack, speaking with his mouth pretty full; +"you're getting quite sharp." + +"Yes, that's it," continued Mr. Vance, laughing. "The old man's away +from home just now; he was suffering from rheumatism very badly, and the +doctor ordered him to a course of treatment at some baths." + +The conversation turned on other topics, and when at length they rose +from the table, Jack proposed a stroll round the garden. + +There were many things to see--some pet rabbits, a swing, and an old +summer-house, which Jack, being, we should say, of a decidedly nautical +turn of mind, had turned into a sort of miniature shipbuilding yard +for the construction of model vessels; though at present the chief use +to which the place seemed to have been put was the production of a great +amount of chips and shavings. + +"I say," exclaimed the owner, after he and his friends had amused +themselves for some time boring holes in the door with a brace, "I know +what we'll do: let's go over and explore The Hermitage!" + +Anything with a spice of excitement in it was meat and drink to Diggory. +He immediately seconded the proposition, and Mugford, after a moment's +hesitation, agreed to join his companions in the enterprise. + +They strolled off down the path, and soon reached a long stretch of +brick wall, the top of which was thickly covered with fragments of +broken bottles. + +"There's a place down at the other end where we can get over," said +Jack. "I smashed the glass with a hammer, because I lost a ball and had +to climb over and get it, one day last holidays." + +The Hermitage was surrounded on all sides by a thick mass of shrubs and +trees, through which a moment later the Triple Alliance were cautiously +threading their way. Emerging from the bushes, they found themselves +standing on a gravel path, green with moss and weeds, which ran round +the house--a queer, dilapidated-looking building, which seemed sadly in +want of repair: the plaster was cracked and discoloured, while the doors +and windows had long stood in need of a fresh coating of paint. + +"I say," whispered Mugford, "hadn't we better go back? what if the old +chap's at home!" + +"Oh, it's all right; there's nobody about," answered Jack. "Let's go on +and see what the place is really like." + +They tip-toed round the building. It was evidently unoccupied, though +the delightful sense of uncertainty that at any moment some one might +pounce out upon them or walk down the drive made the questionable +adventure very charming. + +"Have you ever been inside?" asked Diggory. + +"No, rather not; I don't think any one has except the doctor, and an old +woman who comes in to do the house-work." + +"Well, then, I'm going in," answered Diggory, with a twinkle in his eye. + +"Go on! Why, you might be had up for house-breaking!" + +"Rubbish! I'm not going to steal anything.--Here, Mug, lend me your +knife a minute." + +"I don't believe this one's fastened," he continued, walking up to one +of the windows. "No, it isn't. Bother! I'm awfully sorry, Mugford." + +Using the big blade of the clasp-knife as a lever, Diggory had just +succeeded in raising the sash the fraction of an inch, when the steel +suddenly snapped off short at the handle. + +"Oh, never mind," said the owner; "let's go back now. What if we're +seen!" + +"Oh, there's no fear of that," answered Jack, who was always infected +with the adventurous spirit of his chum.--"Go on, Diggy; I'll come +too." + +By inserting their fingers in the aperture, the boys soon raised the +sash, and a few seconds later Diggory mounted the ledge and scrambled +through the window "Come on," he said; "the coast's all clear." + +Jack Vance joined him immediately, and Mugford, not wishing to be left +alone outside, was not long in making up his mind to follow his +companions. + +The room in which the three boys found themselves was evidently a +library or study. Book-shelves, and cupboards with glass doors, +containing geological and other specimens, occupied much of the wall +space; while in the centre of the floor stood a large writing-table, +covered with a miscellaneous collection of pens, ink-pots, bundles of +papers, and a polished mahogany box which could easily be recognized as +a microscope-case. + +The intruders stood for a few moments gazing round in silence. +The place did not look very interesting, and smelt rather damp and +mouldy. + +"I say," exclaimed Jack Vance, "look there: he don't seem very careful +how he leaves his things when he goes away." + +As he spoke he pointed across to the opposite side of the room, where, +between two bookcases, an iron safe had been let into the wall. +The heavy door was standing half open, while the floor beneath was +strewn with a quantity of shallow wooden trays lined with green baize. + +"Old bachelors are always untidy," remarked Diggory. "Let's see where +this door leads to." He turned the handle as he spoke, and walked out +into a gloomy little hall paved with cold, bare flagstones, which caused +their footsteps to waken mournful echoes in the empty house. + +"I say, you fellows, don't let's go any further," murmured Mugford;" +we've seen enough now. Suppose the old chap came back and--" + +He never reached the end of the sentence, for Diggory suddenly raised +his hand, exclaiming in a whisper, "Hark! what was that?" + +The loud ticking of Mugford's old turnip of a watch was distinctly +audible in the silence which followed. + +"What is it, Diggy? what--" + +"Hark! there it is again; listen." + +The suspense became awful. At length Diggory dropped his hand. +"Didn't you hear footsteps?" he asked. "I'm certain there's some one +walking about on the gravel path." + +"We shall be caught," whimpered Mugford; "I knew we should. What can we +do?" + +"Bolt!" answered Diggory, and began tip-toeing back towards the library +door. "Stay here half a 'jiffy,'" he added; "I'll go and reconnoitre." + +Ages seemed to pass while Jack Vance and Mugford stood in the dark +passage awaiting their companion's return. At length the door was +pushed softly open. + +"It's all right; there's no one there. I must have been mistaken. +Come along." + +In a very short time the Triple Alliance were once more outside The +Hermitage. Diggory lingered for a moment to close the window, and then +followed his companions through the shrubs and over the wall. + +"You are a great ass, Diggy, to go giving us a start like that," said +Jack, as they paused for a moment to take breath before returning to the +house. + +"Well, I could have sworn I heard the gravel crunch as if some one was +walking on it," returned the other. "I should think the place must be +haunted." + +A good tea, with all kinds of nice things on the table, soon revived the +boys from the trifling shock which their nerves had sustained, and by +the end of the evening their adventure was wellnigh forgotten. +They were destined, however, to remember it for many a long day to come, +and before many hours had passed they were heartily wishing that they +had never set foot inside The Hermitage, but kept on their own side of +the wall. + +The party were seated at supper on Sunday evening, when a servant +entered the room, and addressing her master said, "If you please, sir, +there's a policeman called to see you." + +Jack's father rose from his chair, remarking, in a jocular manner, +"I expect it's one of you young gentlemen he's come after." + +The meal was nearly over when Mr. Vance returned and reseated himself at +the table. + +"Did either of you hear the dog bark last night?" he asked. + +"No; why?" + +"Why, because old Fossberry's house has been broken into, and they think +the thieves must have come through our garden; there were some footmarks +in the shrubbery just on the other side of the wall." + +The hearts of the Triple Alliance seemed to jump into their throats, and +their mouths grew dry and parched. Jack stared at Mugford, and Mugford +stared at Diggory, but none of them spoke. + +"It seems," continued Mr. Vance, not noticing the effect which his first +announcement had produced on at least three of his hearers, "that the +old woman who looks after the house went there this morning, and found +that the iron safe in which the old chap keeps his coins had been opened +and the whole collection removed. The only trace of the thieves that +the police have been able to discover is the broken blade of a +clasp-knife, which was on a flower-bed near the window." + +"What will they get if they are caught?" asked Jack faintly. + +"Oh, penal servitude, I suppose; it's a serious business housebreaking." + +"How quiet you boys are!" said Mrs. Vance a short time later. +"I think you must be tired. Wouldn't you like to go to bed?" + +The three friends were only too glad to avail themselves of this excuse +for getting away into some place where they could indulge in a little +private conversation. Diggory and Mugford slept together in the same +room; Jack followed them in and closed the door. + +"Well," he exclaimed, "we're in a nice mess." + +"But we didn't steal the coins," said Mugford. + +"Of course we didn't--the safe had been robbed before we went there--but +it looks as if we'd done it; and if they find out we got into the house, +I don't see how we're going to prove that we're innocent." + +There was a short silence; then Diggory spoke. + +"Look here, Jack: I was the one who proposed going inside the place; +shall I tell your guv'nor?" + +"Well, I was thinking of doing that myself, only I don't see what good +it can do. If we tell him, he'll be bound to tell the police, to +explain about those footmarks; and when it comes out that we got into +the house, I should think we are pretty certain to be charged with +having stolen the coins. I think the best thing will be to keep it +dark: we didn't crib the things, and the thieves are sure to be caught +in time." + +Even after Jack had retired to his own room, Diggory and Mugford lay +awake for hours discussing the situation; and when at length they did +fall asleep, it was only to dream of being chased by "The Hermit" +and a swarm of long-legged policemen, who forced their way into the +Third Form classroom at Ronleigh, and handcuffed the unfortunate trio in +the very bosom of "The Happy Family." + +The following morning was spent in visiting such parts of the town of +Todderton as were worth seeing. + +"Upon my word," said Jack, "I feel funky to show my nose outside our +gate, just as if I really had prigged those wretched coins. I shan't be +at all sorry this evening to get back to Ronleigh. It's all in the +paper this morning; it mentions the footmarks and the knife-blade, and +says that as yet the police have not been able to discover any further +traces of the robbers." + +The conditions on which the half-term holiday was granted required every +boy to return to school on the Monday evening, and accordingly, about +seven o'clock, the Triple Alliance found themselves once more on their +way to the railway station. They took their seats, and had hardly done +so when young Noaks entered the compartment. + +"Hullo, you fellows!" he exclaimed; "didn't you hear me whistle? +I was standing over there by the book-stall." + +Regarding this as an overture of friendship after their recent +encounter, Jack Vance replied in an equally amicable manner, and after a +few common-place remarks the party relapsed into silence. At Chatton, +the station before Ronleigh, a man who had so far travelled with them +got out, and the four boys were left alone. Hardly had the train +started again when Noaks put down his paper, and turning to his +companions said,-- + +"That's a rum business about that old chap's house being robbed, isn't +it?" + +Something in the speaker's look and in the tone of his voice caused the +three listeners to experience an unpleasant quickening of their pulses. + +"Yes," answered Diggory, with a well-assumed air of indifference. +"I suppose they'll catch the thieves in time." + +"I suppose so," returned the other, "especially if they find the chap +who owns that knife with the broken blade." + +The malignant look with which these words was accompanied showed at once +that the speaker meant mischief. The three friends looked at one +another in horrified amazement. Could it be possible that their visit +to The Hermitage had already been discovered? + +Noaks watched their faces for a moment, evidently well pleased with the +effect which his remark had produced; then he burst out laughing. + +"Look here," he continued, producing from his pocket a buck-handled +clasp-knife: "I wonder if that's anything like it; I see the big blade's +broken." + +The Triple Alliance recognized it in a moment as one of the articles +that had been rescued from Mugford's sale at The Birches; in fact, the +owner's name appeared plainly engraved on the small brass plate. + +Diggory was the first to find his tongue. + +"What d'you mean? We didn't steal the coins!" + +"My dear fellow, I never said you did. I only know that on Saturday I +was looking over our wall, through an opening there happens to be in the +shrubs, and saw you fellows climbing out of the old chap's window; and +after you'd gone I noticed something lying in the path, and I hopped +over, and picked up this knife." + +"Give it here; it's mine," said Mugford, holding out his hand. + +"No fear," answered the other, calmly returning the piece of lost +property to his own pocket. "In this case finding's keeping; besides, +I'm not sure if I couldn't get a reward for this if I sent it to the +right place." + +The train began to slacken speed as it approached Ronleigh station. + +"Look here, Noaks," cried Jack Vance, in a fit of desperation, "what are +you going to do? You know very well we are not thieves." + +"I don't know anything of the sort," returned the tormentor, standing up +to take his bag off the rack; "all I know is just what I've told you. +See here, Mr. Vance," he continued, rounding on Jack with a sudden +snarl, "you were good enough some little time ago to make some very +caddish remarks about my father; in the future you'd better keep your +mouth shut. I owe all three of you a dressing down for things that +happened at Chatford, and now you'd better mind your P's and Q's if you +don't want to be hauled up for housebreaking." + +With this parting threat the ex-Philistine left the carriage. Mugford, +Jack, and Diggory gazed at one another for a moment with anything but a +happy look on their faces. One after another they slowly gathered up +their things and stepped out on to the platform. Hardly had they done +so when they heard their names called, and turning round beheld the +small figure of "Rats" rushing forward to meet them. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "Old Ally sent me down to get a paper, and I +thought you'd come by this train. I say, there's a fine row on up at +the school--such a lark; I'll tell you about it as we go along." + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A SCREW LOOSE IN THE SIXTH. + +For the time being the three friends forgot their own troubles in their +eagerness to hear "Rat's" description of certain events which had +happened during their absence from Ronleigh. + +"Look sharp; out with it!" they exclaimed. "What's happened?" + +"Well," began Rathson, "it all came out through young Bayley acting the +fool and spraining his ankle. You know we had the paper-chase this +morning, and the hares ran out to Arrow Hill, and back again round by +the canal and Birksam Church. Just after we'd rounded the hill, young +Bayley jumped off the top of a high hedge, and twisted his foot so badly +that he couldn't stand up. As it happened, there was a check just then, +and Carton ran forward and told Allingford what had happened. He and +Oaks came back, and said the only thing would be to get him +to Chatton station, and so home by train. It was awfully decent of +those chaps. They carried Bayley all the way, and then Oaks went home +with him, and Allingford walked back, and so, of course, they missed +half the run. Awfully brickish of them I call it, considering that it +was only a kid like Bayley." + +The Triple Alliance gave a murmur of assent. + +"Was that what the row's about?" asked Diggory. + +"Oh, bless you, no; I haven't come to that yet. After he'd seen Oaks +and Bayley into the train, old Ally started to walk home. There's a +little 'pub' about half a mile out of Chatton called the Black Swan, and +he thought he'd call and ask if they'd seen the fellows pass. You know +Thurston the prefect, that chap who came to the door when we were having +that meeting in the 'old lab.' Well, now, if he and Mouler, and two or +three more of that sort, weren't sitting in the taproom, smoking, and +drinking beer, and having a regular high old time. They'd lagged behind +on purpose. Of course Allingford kicked them all out, and he and +'Thirsty' had a frightful row. They say the big chaps want to hush the +matter up as far as they can, and not report it to old Denson, for fear +he'd make it an excuse to put a stop to paper-chasing. Ally slanged +Thurston right and left, and told him that if he chose to drink beer in +a low 'pub' with the biggest blackguards in the school, he needn't +expect that the fellows in the Sixth would have anything to do with him, +and that he ought to send in his resignation as a prefect." + +On entering the school buildings, our three friends were convinced of +the truth of their comrade's story, and on their way to the schoolroom +the question was repeated at least half a dozen times--"Have you heard +about old 'Thirsty' being cobbed in the Black Swan?" Diggory thought of +the conversation he had overheard in Acton's study, and mentioned it to +Carton. + +"Yes," answered the latter. "Big Fletcher's a beast. I know Thurston's +very chummy with him, but I don't see that's got much to do with it. +My brother, who left last term, said that 'Thirsty' used to be rather a +jolly chap, only he's got a fearful temper when he's crossed. Most of +the chaps like him as a prefect, because as long as you don't interfere +with him he doesn't seem to care much what any one does. The real thing +is he's going to the dogs, and, as Allingford says, he ought to resign." + +Away in one of the Sixth Form studies the subject of their conversation +was sitting with his hands in his pockets, frowning at the fire. He was +roused from his reverie by some one putting his head round the corner of +the door and exclaiming,-- + +"Hullo, 'Thirsty!'" + +"Hullo, Fletcher! where on earth have you been all the evening?" + +The new-comer was tall and lanky; he had a sharp, foxy-looking face, +with thin, straight lips, and two deep lines which looked almost like +scars between the eyebrows. He shut the door, and dragging forward a +chair, sat down with his feet on the fender, and commenced warming his +hands at the fire. + +"Oh, I've been nowhere in particular," he answered, laughing. "But I +say, young man, you seem to have raised a pretty good hornets' nest +about your ears along this corridor." + +"Yes, I know; they've had the cheek to send me that!" + +He leaned back as he spoke, and taking a piece of paper from the table, +tossed it across to his friend. It was a letter signed by most of the +prefects, suggesting that he should send in his resignation. + +"Humph!" said Fletcher; "that's a nice sort of a round robin, don't you +call it? Well, what are you going to do?" + +"Oh, I shall resign and have done with it. I'm sick of having to +masquerade about as a good boy. I mean to do what I like." + +"Pooh!" returned the other. "Now that you are a prefect, I wouldn't +give up all the privileges and the right to go out and come in when you +like just because a strait-laced chap like Allingford chooses to take +offence at something you do. They can't force you to resign unless they +go to the doctor, and they won't do that. I know what I'd do: I'd tell +them pretty straight to go and be hanged, and keep their sermonizing to +themselves." + +Thurston turned on the speaker with a sudden burst of anger. + +"Oh yes!" he exclaimed; "you're always saying you'd do this and do that, +but when the time comes you turn tail and sneak away. Look here: you +were the one who proposed going into the Black Swan this morning, and +when young Mouler said Allingford was coming, you slipped out of the +back door and left us to face the shindy." + +"Well," returned the other, laughing, "I thought you chaps were going to +bolt too. I hopped over the wall at the back into the field, and waited +there for about a quarter of an hour, and then, as no one came, I made +tracks home." + +"That's all very fine. You took precious good care to save your own +bacon; you always do." + +"Oh, go on!" answered Fletcher, rising from his chair; "you're in a wax +to-night. Well, ta, ta! Don't you resign." + +This little passage of arms was not the first of the kind that had taken +place between Fletcher and Thurston, and it did not prevent a renewal of +their friendship on the morrow. + +The latter, following either his own inclination or the advice of his +chum, decided not to resign his position as a prefect, and in a few +days' time the majority of the school had wellnigh forgotten the +fracas at the Black Swan. + +Among those in high places, however, the affair was not so easily +overlooked. The big fellows kept their own counsel, but it soon became +evident that Thurston was being "cut" and cold-shouldered by the other +members of the Sixth; while he, for his part, as though by way of +retaliation, began to hob-nob more freely than ever with boys lower down +in the school and of decidedly questionable character. + +"It's awfully bad form of a chap who's a prefect chumming up with a +fellow like Mouler in the Upper Fourth," said Carton one afternoon. +"I wonder old 'Thirsty' isn't ashamed to do it. And now he's hand +and glove with those chaps Hawley and Gull in the Fifth; they've both +got heaps of money, but they're frightful cads." + +From the morning following their return to Ronleigh the Triple Alliance +had been kept in a continual state of uneasiness and suspense, wondering +what action Noaks would take regarding his discovery of their visit to +The Hermitage. + +The days passed by, and still he made no further reference to the +matter, and took no notice of any of the three friends when he happened +to pass them in the passages. The fact was that for the time being his +attention was turned in another direction. Like most fellows of his +kind, Noaks was a regular toady, ready to do anything in return for the +privilege of being able to rub shoulders occasionally with some one in a +higher position than himself, and he eagerly seized the opportunity +which his friendship with Mouler afforded him of becoming intimate with +Thurston. It was rather a fine thing for a boy in the Upper Fourth to +be accosted in a familiar manner by a prefect, and asked sometimes to +visit the latter in his study; and when such things were possible, it +was hardly worth while to spend time and attention in carrying on a feud +with youngsters in the Third Form. But Noaks had never forgotten the +double humiliation he had suffered at Chatford--first in being sent off +the football field, and again in the disastrous ending to the attempted +raid on the Birchites' fireworks; nor had he forgiven the Triple +Alliance for the part which they had played, especially on the latter +occasion, in bringing shame and confusion on the heads of the +Philistines. + +One morning, nearly a month after the half-term holiday, the three +friends were strolling arm in arm through the archway leading from the +quadrangle to the paved playground, when they came face to face with +their old enemy. He was about to push past them without speaking; then, +seeming suddenly to change his mind, he pulled up, took something from +his pocket, and handing it to Jack Vance, said shortly,-- + +"There! I thought you'd like to see that; it seems a good chance to +earn some pocket-money." + +The packet turned out to be a copy of the Todderton weekly paper. + +"I've marked the place," added Noaks, turning on his heel with a +sneering laugh; "you needn't give it me back." + +A cross of blue chalk had been placed against a short paragraph +appearing under the heading "Local Notes." Jack read it out loud for the +edification of his two companions. + +"We notice that Mr. Fossberry has offered a reward of 50 pounds for any +information which shall lead to the arrest of the thieves who entered +his house some few weeks ago, and stole a valuable collection of coins. +As yet the police have been unable to discover any further traces of the +missing property, but it is to be hoped that before long the offenders +will be discovered and brought to justice." + +There was a moment's silence. + +"I wish I'd told my guv'nor," muttered Jack Vance. + +"Well, tell him now," said Diggory. + +"Oh no, I can't now; he'd wonder why I hadn't done it sooner. Besides, +I believe Noaks is only doing this to frighten us; he can't prove that +we stole the coins, because we didn't. All the same, it would be very +awkward if he sent the police that jack-knife, and told them he'd seen +us climbing out of the old chap's window." + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "I suppose it would look rather fishy. +Bother him! why can't he leave us alone?" + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS. + +The Easter holidays came and went as rapidly as Easter holidays always +do, and before the Alliance had recovered from the excitement connected +with their first experience of breaking up at Ronleigh, they were back +again, greeting their friends, asking new boys their names, and, in +short, commencing their second term as regular old stagers. Up to the +present they had been content to "lie low," and had remained satisfied +with making the acquaintance of their class-mates in "The Happy Family;" +but now they began to take more interest in school matters in general, +and to notice what was going on in other circles besides their own. + +In answer to the eager inquiries of his two companions, Jack Vance said +that he had seen nothing of Noaks during the holidays, except having +passed him on one or two occasions in the street. The notice of the +fifty pounds reward still appeared in the windows of the police station; +but the robbery itself was beginning to be looked upon as a thing of the +past, and was already wellnigh forgotten. + +"I wonder if Noaks has still got my knife?" said Mugford. + +"Oh, I don't know," answered Jack. "He's too much taken up with Mouler +and Gull and all that lot to think about us. I shouldn't bother my head +about it any further; he only showed us that paper out of spite, to put +us in a funk." + +It was pretty evident, to the most casual observer, that the quarrel +which the Black Swan incident had occasioned between Thurston and his +brother prefects had not yet been dismissed from the minds of either +party. The former became more lax than ever in the discharge of his +duties, and avoiding the society of his school equals, sought the +companionship of such boys as Hawley, Gull, and Mouler, who at +length came to be known throughout the College as "Thirsty's Lot." +With the exception of Fletcher, the prefects left him severely alone. +Allingford occasionally came down on him for allowing all kinds of +misconduct to pass unchecked, but it was hardly to be expected that a +fellow who was hand and glove with some of the principal offenders +should have much influence or power in maintaining law and order; and +these interviews with the captain usually ended in an exchange of black +looks and angry words. + +The consequences which resulted from this lack of harmony among those in +authority may be easily imagined. "Old Thirsty never makes a row when +he sees a chap doing so-and-so," was the cry. "Why should Oaks and +Rowlands and those other fellows kick up bothers, and give lines for the +same thing?" To all these murmurers the prefects turned a deaf ear. +"I don't care what Thurston does," would be their answer; "you know the +rule, and that's sufficient." Any further remonstrance on the part of +the offender was met with a summary "Shut up, or you'll get your head +punched," and so for a time the matter ended. + +It was hardly to be expected that the light-hearted juveniles of the +Third Form should trouble their heads to take much notice of this +disagreement among the seniors. For one thing, they knew nothing of +what was said and done in the Sixth Form studies, and even the prefects +themselves never thought for a moment that this little bit of friction +in the machinery of Ronleigh College would, figuratively speaking, lead +to "hot bearings" and a narrow shave of a general breakdown. + +So the members of "The Happy Family" pursued the even tenor of their +way, getting into scrapes and scrambling out of them, feasting on pastry +and ginger-beer, turning up in force on Saturday afternoon to witness +the cricket matches, and coming to the conclusion that though Oaks and +Rowlands might be a trifle strict, and rather freehanded with lines and +"impots," yet all this could be overlooked and forgiven for the sake +of the punishment which they inflicted on the enemy's bowling. + +As it has been all along the intention of this story to follow the +fortunes of the Triple Alliance, the record of their second term at +Ronleigh would not be complete without some mention of their memorable +adventure with the "coffee-mill." + +Wednesday, the fourteenth of June, was Jack Vance's birthday, and just +before morning school he expressed his intention of keeping it up in a +novel manner. + +"Look here!" he remarked to his two companions. "You know that little +bootmaker's shop just down the road, before you come to the church. +There's a notice in the window, 'Double Tricycle on Hire.' Well, the +mater's sent me some money this year instead of a hamper, so I thought +I'd hire the machine; and we'll go out for a ride, and take it in turns +for one to walk or trot behind." + +"Oh, I'd advise you not to!" cried "Rats," who was standing by and +overheard the project. + +"Why not?" + +"Why, it's a rotten old _sociable_, one of the first, I should think, +that was ever made. It's like working a tread-mill, and it rattles and +bangs about until you think every minute it must all be coming to +pieces. It's got a sort of box-seat instead of a saddle. Maxton hired +it out one day the term before last, and he and I and Collis rode to +Chatton. It isn't meant to carry three; but the seat's very wide, and +they squeezed me in between them. There's something wrong with the +steering-gear, and it makes a beastly grinding noise as it goes along, +so Maxton christened it the 'coffee-mill.' Fellows are always chaffing +old Jobling about it, when they go into his shop to buy bits of leather, +and asking him how much he'll take for his coffee-mill, and the old chap +gets into an awful wax." + +"Oh, I don't care!" answered Jack. "It'll be a lark, and we needn't go +far.--What d'you say, Diggy?" + +Diggory and Mugford both expressed their willingness to join in the +expedition, and arrangements were accordingly made for it to take place +that afternoon. + +"You'd better not let old Jobling see three of you get on at once," said +"Rats." "I should send Mugford on in front and pick him up when you get +round the corner." + +Rathson's description of the "coffee-mill" was certainly not +exaggerated. It was a rusty, rattle-bag concern--a relic of the dark +ages of cycling--and .looked as if it had not been used for a +twelvemonth. Jobling squirted some oil into the bearings, knocked +the dust off the cushioned seat, and remarked that a shilling an hour +was the proper charge; but that, as he always favoured the Ronleigh +gentlemen, he would say two shillings, and they might keep it the whole +afternoon. + +Jack, as we have said before, was of rather a nautical turn of mind, and +occasionally, when the fit was on him, loved to interlard his +conversation with seafaring expressions. + +"She isn't much of a craft to look at," he remarked, as they drew up and +dismounted at the spot where Mugford stood waiting for them; "but we'll +imagine this is my steam-yacht, and that we're going for a cruise. +Now then, Diggy, you're the mate, and you shall sit on the starboard +side and steer. Mugford's the passenger, so he'll go in the middle. +I'm captain, and I'll work the port treadles. Now, then, all aboard!" + +The boys scrambled on to the seat, and with some little amount of +crushing and squeezing got settled in their places, and at the captain's +word, "Half-speed ahead!" the voyage commenced. They went lumbering and +clattering through the outskirts of the town, and at length, after +having roused the dormant wit of one shop-boy, who shouted "Knives to +grind!" after them, they gained the highroad. For half a mile the +voyage was prosperous enough; then the adventures began. + +They were going at a good pace down a gentle slope, and on turning a +corner saw immediately in front of them a narrow piece of road with a +duck-pond on one side and a high bank on the other. Some one had +carelessly left a wheelbarrow standing very nearly in the centre of the +highway, and there was only just room to pass it on the water side. + +"Starboard a little!" + +The steering gear worked rather stiffly. Diggory gave the handle a hard +twist, and it went round further than he intended. + +"Port!" cried the captain, "hard a-port!" But it was too late, and the +next moment the "coffee-mill" ran down the sloping bank and plunged +into the duck-pond. It gave a violent lurch, but fortunately its +breadth of beam kept it from overturning, and the water, being not more +than a few inches deep, only wet the boots of the mariners. + +"You great ass, Diggy! why didn't you _port?_" demanded the captain. + +The mate, who as a matter of fact could not have told the difference +between the nautical "port" and home-made ginger-beer, answered +promptly, "So I did;" and the two officers commenced to punch each +other with their disengaged hands. This combat, which was conducted +with the utmost good feeling on both sides, had been continued for +nearly a minute, when the passenger, on whose unoffending back a large +proportion of the blows were falling, remarked,-- + +"Well, if we aren't going to stop here all day, when you've quite done +we'd better think about getting out." + +They were at least four yards from the shore, and it was impossible to +reach it dry-shod. + +"Some one must take off his boots and socks and haul her out," said +Diggory. + +"Well, I can't," answered Jack; "the captain never ought to leave the +ship." + +"Oh, I'll go," answered Mugford, laughing; and accordingly, after +performing some complicated gymnastic feats in getting off his boots, he +slid from the seat into the water, and so hauled the "coffee-mill" +back to _terra firma_. + +It would be impossible to describe in detail all the alarming incidents +which happened during the outward passage. + +They had not gone a quarter of a mile further when something went wrong +with the brake. They flew down a long hill, holding on for dear life, +nothing but the grand way in which the mate managed this time to steer a +straight course down the middle of the road saving them from +destruction. Nevertheless, mounting the last slope was such hard labour +that Mugford had to turn to and "work his passage," by every now and +again taking a spell at the treadles. + +"Look here!" said Diggory at length: "don't you think we've gone far +enough? we shan't be back in time for tea." + +"Oh, I forgot," answered the captain. "We'll see. Stand by your +anchor! Let go-o-o!" + +The "coffee-mill" stopped, and Jack Vance pulled out his watch. + +"By me it's half-past twelve, and I'm four hours slow: twelve to one, +one to two, two to three, three to four--half-past four. Yes, it's time +we turned round. Now, then, 'bout ship!" + +The tricycle clanked and rattled away merrily enough on the return +journey until it came to the long hill, which this time had to be +climbed instead of descended. + +"Don't let's get off," said Jack; "we ought to rush her up this if we +set our minds to it." + +With a great deal of panting and struggling they succeeded in getting +about half-way; then suddenly there was a crack, and the machine, +instead of going forward, began to run back. Faster and faster it +went, the pedals remaining motionless under their feet. + +"The chain's gone," gasped the captain. "There's a cart behind! Quick, +run her aground!" + +Of course the mate turned the handle the wrong way. On one side of the +road was an ordinary hedge, while on the other lay a deep ditch, and +into this a moment later the "coffee-mill" disappeared with every soul +on board! + +There was an awful moment, when earth, sky, arms, legs, wheels, and +bushes seemed all mixed together, and then Jack Vance found himself +resting on his hands and knees in a puddle of dirty water. Diggory and +Mugford had been driven with considerable violence into the thickest +part of a thorn hedge, and proceeded to extricate themselves +therefrom with many groans and lamentations. + +"Well," said the mate, as they proceeded to drag the machine out of the +ditch, "I should think, Jack, you've celebrated your birthday about +enough; now you'd better give over, or we shall all be sent home in a +sack." + +"Me!" cried the captain, with great indignation. "It was _your_ fault, +you dummy! you put the helm over wrong again, you--" + +"Hullo, you kids!" interrupted a voice behind them, and turning round +the three friends saw the burly form of John Acton pushing a bicycle up +the hill. "Hullo!" he continued; "it's young Trevanock. What's up? +Have you had a spill?" + +"Yes; the chain broke, and we ran into the ditch." + +"Umph! bad business. Now you'll have to foot it, I suppose." + +"Yes," answered Jack ruefully; "and we're bound to be back late pushing +this old thing all the way. I wish old Jobling would try a ride on it +himself." + +"Oh! is that the 'coffee-mill'?" exclaimed the prefect, laughing. +"Well, look here! If you're late, I'll see whoever's on duty, and tell +him about the breakdown, and see if I can get you off." + +"Oh, thanks awfully!" chorused the small boys. + +"I've half a mind to say I wouldn't," continued Acton, looking round as +he put his foot on the step of his machine, and nodding his head at +Diggory. "I owe you a grudge for not telling me what I wanted to know +about my young brother's love-letter." + +The football captain was as good as his word: he got the Triple Alliance +excused the "impot" which would otherwise have been awarded them for +arriving at the school half an hour late, and the only misfortune which +resulted from their eventful excursion was that Jack Vance had to expend +a further portion of his postal order in paying Jobling for repairing +the broken chain. The day, however, did not close without another +incident happening to one of the voyagers, which, though trifling in +itself, proved, as it were, the shadow of coming events which were +destined to seriously affect the well-being and happiness of all the +Ronleigh boys. + +Crossing the quadrangle soon after tea, Diggory saw something bright +lying on the gravel; it proved to be a silver match-box with the letters +C. T. engraved on the front. He took it with him into the school-room, +and holding it up as the boys were assembling at their desks for +preparation, asked if any one knew who was the owner. + +"Yes, I do," answered young Fletcher: "it's Thirsty's; I've seen it +often." + +Preparation of the next day's work having ended, Diggory's attention was +occupied for a time in discussing with Carton the merits of some foreign +stamps. Just before supper, however, he remembered the match-box, and +hurried away to restore it to its rightful owner. + +Thurston was evidently at home, for a prolonged shout of laughter and +the clamour of several voices reached Diggory's ears as he approached +the study. As he knocked at the door the noise suddenly ceased, there +was a moment's silence, and then a murmur in a low tone, followed by a +scuffling of feet and the overturning of a chair. + +"Who's there? you can't come in!" shouted the owner of the den. + +"I don't want to," answered Diggory, through the keyhole. "I've brought +your match-box that I picked up in the 'quad.'" + +"Oh, it's only a kid," said the voice of Fletcher senior; and the next +instant the door was unlocked by Thurston, who opened it about six +inches, and immediately thrust his body into the aperture, as though to +prevent the possibility of the visitor getting any sight of the interior +of the room. + +"Oh, thanks; you're a brick," he said, taking the box, and immediately +closed the door and turned the key. + +Diggory was retracing his steps along the passage, wondering what could +be the object of all this secrecy, when he nearly ran into the school +captain. + +"Hullo, young man!" said the latter, "where have you been?" + +"To Thurston's study." + +"What have you been there for?" demanded Allingford sharply, with a +sudden change in his tone and manner. + +"Only to give him his match-box that I picked up in the 'quad.'" + +The captain eyed the speaker narrowly, as though half inclined to doubt +the truth of this explanation; then, apparently satisfied with the +honest expression of the small boy's face, told him to get down to +supper. + +The latter wandered off, wondering more than ever what could have been +the object of the private gathering in Thurston's study which he had +just interrupted. + +"It's what I told you before," remarked Carton, when Diggory chanced to +mention what had happened. "Thirsty's going to the dogs, and I believe +big Fletcher's got a lot to do with it. Allingford can't interfere with +them as long as they keep to themselves. I don't know what they do, but +I shouldn't be surprised if there is a rare old kick-up one of these +fine days." + +Mischief certainly was brewing, and the "kick-up" came sooner than even +Carton himself expected. + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +THE WRAXBY MATCH. + +Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of July, saw the whole of Ronleigh College +in a state of bustle and excitement. The near approach of the holidays +was sufficient in itself to put every one in high spirits, while, in +addition to this, the afternoon was to witness the chief cricket contest +of the season--the annual match against Wraxby Grammar School. During +the hour before dinner the ground itself was a scene of brisk activity: +the school colours flew at the summit of the flagstaff; the boundary +flags fluttered in the breeze; a number of willing hands, under the +direction of Allingford, put a finishing touch to the pitch with the big +roller, while others assisted in rigging up the two screens of white +canvas in line with the wickets. + +"I do hope we lick them," said little "Rats" to Jack Vance as they stood +by the pavilion, watching Oaks mixing some whiting for the creases; +"we _must_ somehow or other." + +"Why?" + +"Why? because they've beaten us now three times running; and the last +time when our chaps went over to Wraxby and got licked at footer their +captain asked Ally if in future we should like to play a master! +Such rot!" continued the youthful "Rats," boiling with wrath; "as if we +couldn't smash them without! Look here, I'd give--I'd give sixpence if +we could win!" and with this burst of patriotic enthusiasm the speaker +hurried away to join Maxton, who, with an old sprung racquet in one hand +and the inside of an exploded cricket-ball in the other, was calling to +him from the adjoining playing field to "Come and play tip and run, and +bring something that'll do for a wicket." + +The feelings expressed by "Rats" as regards the result of the match were +shared by the whole school, and by none more so than the members of the +Third Form. + +"The Happy Family" turned up to a man, and encamped _en masse_ upon the +turf within twenty yards of the pavilion. Bibbs was the last to arrive +on the scene of action, and did so with a bag of sweets in one hand, a +book in the other, and a piece of paper, pinned by some joker to the +tail of his coat, bearing the legend, "Please to kick me"--a request +which was immediately responded to in a most hearty and generous fashion +by all present. + +Kicking the unfortunate Bibbs afforded every one such exquisite +enjoyment that an effort was made to prolong the pastime by forcible +attempts to fasten the placard on to other members of the company, and +a general _melee_, would have followed if the attention of the +combatants had not been attracted in another direction. Ronleigh having +won the toss and elected to go in first, the Wraxby men strolled out of +the pavilion to take the field. + +They were a likely-looking lot of fellows--the faded flannel caps and +careless way in which they sauntered towards the pitch proclaiming the +fact that each one was a veteran player. + +"That chap with the wicket-keeping gloves in his hand is Partridge, +their captain," said Carton; "and that fellow who's putting out the +single stump to bowl at is Austin. He does put them in to some +tune; you can hardly see the ball, it's so swift." + +There was a faint _clang_ from the pitch. + +"See that!" cried Fletcher junior: "that chap Austin's knocked that +single stump out of the ground first ball. My eye, he'll make our +fellows sit up, I'll bet." + +"No, he won't," cried "Rats" excitedly. "Old Ally'll knock him into a +cocked hat. He'll soon break his back," added the speaker +complaisantly. "Hullo! men in--Parkes and Rowland." + +There is something in the short space of time preceding the first +_clack_ of the bat at a cricket match which rivals in interest even that +exciting moment at football when the centre forward stands hovering over +the ball waiting for the whistle to give the signal for the contest to +commence. + +The noisy clatter of "The Happy Family" ceases as the crowd of boys, +ranged all down the sides of the field, turn to watch the opening of the +game. + +It is an ideal day for cricket, with a fresh breeze blowing, just +sufficient to temper the hot afternoon sunshine and cause a flutter of +cricket-shirts and boundary flags. Rowland takes centre, twists the +handle of his bat round and round in his hands, and is heard amid the +general hush to say, "No, no trial." Austin glances round at the +motionless figures of his comrades, signals to _long-on_ to stand a +little deeper, and then delivers the ball. With an easy and graceful +forward stroke, the batsman returns it sharply in the direction of the +opposite wicket, and an almost imperceptible movement, like the +releasing of a spring, takes place among the fielders. So begins +the battle. + +"Twenty up!" had just been called from the pavilion when a sharp catch +in the slips disposed of Parkes. + +"Never mind!" cried "Rats." "Here comes old Ally; he'll make them trot +round a bit!" + +The captain commenced his innings with a heart-warming leg hit, which +sent the ball to the boundary, a wave of legs and arms marking its track +as the spectators, with a joyous yell, rolled over one another to escape +being hit. + +For some time cheer followed cheer, and "The Happy Family" clapped until +their hands smarted; then suddenly there arose a prolonged "_Oh, oh!_" +from all the field. + +"Hullo! what's the matter?" asked Bibbs, looking up from the book he was +reading. + +"What's the matter?" shouted Maxton wrathfully, snatching away the +volume and banging Bibbs on the head with it. "Why don't you watch the +game? Old Ally's bowled off his pads!" + +It was only too true: the captain's wicket was down, and "The Happy +Family," after a simultaneous ejaculation of "_Blow it!_" tore up stalks +of grass, and began to chew them with a stern expression on their faces. + +This disaster seemed but the forerunner of others. Redfern, the next +man, had hardly taken his place at the wicket when a sharp _click_, the +glitter of bails twirling in the air, and a Wraxby shout of "Well +bowled!" announced his fate; while ten minutes later Rowland, one of the +mainstays of the home team, was caught in a most provoking manner at +_cover-point_. + +"Oh, bother it all!" sighed "Rats; this is nothing but a procession." + +"Now, Oaks, old chap, do your best for us!" cried Allingford. + +"All right," returned the other, laughing, as he paused for a moment +outside the pavilion to fasten the strap of his batting-glove; "I'm +going to make runs this journey, or die in the attempt." + +Oaks was undoubtedly a regular Briton, just the sort of fellow to turn +the fortunes of a losing game. He walked up to the wicket as coolly as +though it were enclosed within a practice net, patted down the ground +with the flat of his bat in a manner which seemed to imply that he had +"come to stay," and then proceeded to hit three twos in his first +"over." + +This dashing commencement was but the prelude to a brilliant bit of +rapid scoring: twos and threes followed each other in quick succession. +Allingford shouted, the crowd roared, while "The Happy Family" +gambolled about on one another's chests and stomachs, and squealed with +delight. Like the poet's brook, Oaks might have exclaimed, "Men may +come, and men may go, but I go on for ever." When Wraxby changed the +bowling, he welcomed the new-comer by sending the first ball into the +next field, and continued to cut and drive in such a gallant manner that +even Bibbs, standing up to get the full use of his lungs, shouted, "Go +'long!" and "Well hit!" until his face was the colour of a poppy. + +"I say!" exclaimed Carton, as the eighth wicket fell, "I wish one of +these next two chaps would hang on a bit, and give Oaks a chance of +getting a few more; it must be nearly eighty up." + +"Thurston, you're in!" came from the scorer. + +The boy named was sitting by himself, on the end of a form close to the +telegraph, moodily scraping up the ground with the spikes of his +cricket-shoes. He knew that most of his comrades in the eleven would +give him the cold shoulder, and so did not mingle with them inside the +pavilion. He rose, and prepared to obey the summons. + +"Let's give him a cheer," said Rats; "he may do something.--Go it, +Thurston! Sit tight, and keep the pot boiling!" + +The big fellow turned his head in the direction of "The Happy Family," +and with something of the old good-humoured smile, which had seldom of +late been seen upon his face, answered: "All right, my boy, you see if I +don't." + +"Jolly fellow old Thirsty," remarked "Rats," swelling with pride at this +friendly recognition. "He can play when he likes, but he hasn't +troubled to practise much of late. He used always--Phew! my eye, what +an awful crack!" + +A terrifically swift ball from Austin had risen suddenly from the hard +ground. Thurston had no time to avoid it, but turning away his face, +received the blow on the back of his head. He dropped his bat, +staggered away from the wicket, and fell forward on his knees. + +To suffer for the cause of the school in a cricket or football match was +a thing which, like charity, "covered a multitude of sins." Allingford +hurried out of the pavilion and ran towards the pitch, while Partridge +and a few more of the "Wraxby men gathered round their wounded opponent +and helped him to his feet. + +"You'd better come out, Thurston," said the Ronleigh captain; "I'll send +the next man in." + +"No, I'll go on," replied the other, in rather a shaky voice; "I shall +be all right in a minute." + +It requires something more than ordinary pluck for a batsman to stand up +to fast bowling and show good form after having been badly hit. For a +time a great deal of determination, and the exercise of a considerable +amount of will power, are necessary to conquer the natural inclination +to shrink from a possible repetition of the injury; and those who +watched the dogged manner in which Thurston continued to defend his +wicket, being themselves practical cricketers, rewarded him with loud +shouts of encouragement and praise. + +Oaks piled on the score with unflagging energy, while the careful play +of his companion defied all attempts of the Wraxby bowlers to dissolve +the partnership. + +"Bravo, 'Thirsty!'" shouted the spectators. "Go 'long'--and another!" + +At length, just as the telegraph operator had received the welcome +order, "A hundred up!" the ball shot, and crashed into Thurston's +wicket. He came slowly back from the pitch, still holding his hand to +the back of his head; and though his individual score had barely run +into double figures, he was greeted on all sides with hearty cheers. + +Payne, the last man, just succeeded in cracking his _duck's-egg_, and +the innings closed for 104. + +As the fielders came trooping in, a small boy ran past the Third Form +encampment exclaiming, "I say, you chaps, old Punch is in the lower +road, over by that tree!" Which announcement had no sooner been made +than the greater part of "The Happy Family" sprang to their feet, and +went scampering across the field in the direction of the opposite hedge. + +The cause of this stampede, it must be explained, was the arrival of an +itinerant vendor of ice-cream, whose real name, Samuel Jones, had been +changed to Punch on account of the prominence of his nasal organ. +His presence within the grounds of Ronleigh College was not approved of +by the authorities, and his trade with the small boys, who were his +particular patrons, was carried on through a gap in the hedge. +Punch's establishment ran on four wheels, and was ornamented with a +number of daubs representing Union Jacks and Royal Standards, which +formed the framework of an alarming portrait of the Prince of Wales, +from which adornment one might be led to suppose that on some previous +occasion His Royal Highness had patronized the stall. The ice-cream +was shovelled out of a tin receptacle, and pasted in lumps on to the top +of very shallow glasses, the standard price for which was one penny; and +there being a scarcity of spoons, the customers usually devoured the +delicacy in the same manner as a dog does a saucer of milk. Cynical +members of the upper classes at Ronleigh, who had ceased to patronize +the stall, charged Punch with not being over-particular in washing the +glasses, and of making the "stuff," as they called it, with cornflour +instead of cream. But the small boys were not fastidious; and as each +one had two helpings, which they ate as slowly as possible to prolong +the enjoyment, they were still refreshing themselves when the home team +moved out to field. + +"Look sharp!" cried "Rats," giving Bibbs's elbow a sudden jerk which +caused that worthy to plaster the end of his nose with the remains of +his third ice. "Come on! let's see the beginning." + +The second half of the game proved, if anything, more exciting than the +first. Two wickets fell before 10 appeared on the telegraph. + +"Oh, we shall lick them easily!" cried "Rats" jubilantly; while Fletcher +junior gave vent to his feelings by handing Bibbs's bag of sweets round +to the company. + +But there were still some hard nuts to be cracked in the Wraxby team, +and one soon appeared in Partridge, the captain. Over after over went +by, and the score rapidly increased: "Thirty up!"--"Forty up!"--"Fifty +up!" Two more wickets were taken; but Partridge seemed to have fairly +got his eye in, and gave the home team as much leather-hunting as Oaks +had provided for the visitors. To make matters worse, Austin, arriving +on the scene sixth man in, appeared to be also possessed with a +determination to carry his bat; and though he was eventually run out +by a sharp throw-in from square-leg, it was not until eighty runs had +been registered for the Grammar School. + +The closing scene of the game caused an amount of excitement +unparalleled in the history of Ronleigh cricket. + +As the last man of the Wraxby team went in to bat, the telegraph was +changed from 90 to 100. "Over" had just been called, and the invincible +Partridge stepped forward to play, evidently making up his mind for +another boundary hit. Thurston had been put on to bowl at the top end, +and stood ready to recommence the attack. + +"Four to equal, five to beat," sighed "Rats." "Bother it all, they're +sure to win." + +A cricket match needs to be very narrowly watched, or the spectator +whose eye has strayed for a moment from the game misses some fine piece +of play. The incident which finished the contest between Ronleigh +College and Wraxby Grammar School occupied barely three seconds of time; +yet it was remembered and spoken about many years after those concerned +in it had passed on to swell the ranks of the "old boys." + +Partridge commenced the over with a hard, straight drive, and at the +same instant Thurston gave a little jump into the air with his right arm +stretched above his head. The ball had passed like lightning between +the wickets, and the spectators looked for a moment to see where it had +gone; then a wild shriek of joy from "The Happy Family" rent the air,-- + +"_Caught!_" + +It was true enough. With a splendid one-handed catch Thurston had +brought the well-fought contest to a close, and secured a victory for +Ronleigh College. + +This brilliant feat, coupled with the gallant manner in which he had +continued his innings when hurt, and so enabled Oaks to run up the +score, caused the black sheep of the Sixth Form to be regarded as the +hero of the day. Allingford shook him by the hand, and a noisy crowd +hoisted him shoulder high and carried him three times round the +quadrangle. + +Thurston certainly had good reason to feel proud of the part he had +played in the chief match of the season, and might in years to come have +always looked back with pleasure on this twenty-fourth of July. +Unfortunately another event of a sadly different character was destined +to make it a red-letter day in his career at Ronleigh. The feeling of +respect and good-will which his prowess in the field had awakened in the +minds of his former friends afforded him a splendid opportunity for +reassociating himself with all that was worthy and honourable in school +life. The chance no sooner presented itself, however, than it was flung +away, and was lost for ever. + +Evening preparation was over, and supper, an informal meal, attendance +at which was not compulsory, was in progress. The door of Thurston's +study was once more locked on the inside, as it had been when Diggory +went to return the match-box to its rightful owner. + +Fletcher senior, Hawley, and Gull sat on three sides of the small table, +while Thurston himself occupied the fourth. + +"Hang it all!" exclaimed the latter, throwing down a handful of playing +cards upon the table, and pushing back his chair. "I shan't play any +more to-night; I've got no more tin." + +"Oh, go on; I'll lend you some," answered Fletcher. "I don't care +whether I win or lose; it's only the game I play for." + +As a matter of fact, Fletcher nearly always _did_ win, and was mightily +displeased on the rare occasions when he lost. + +"No; I've borrowed enough already," returned the other. "I shan't be +able to square up as it is till next term. It's all very well for +fellows like you three, who have rich people, and can write home any +time for a fiver; but I'm not so flush of cash.--Look here, Gull, have +you got that banjo? Sing us a song." + +"All right," answered Gull, reaching down and picking a small +five-stringed instrument off the floor; "what'll you have?" + +"Oh, something with a good swing to it. I feel like kicking up a row." + +Gull tuned up, struck a few chords, and then launched out into a +rattling nigger song with an amount of "go" and clatter sufficient to +inspire the hearer with an almost irresistible desire to get up and +dance. The three listeners shouted the chorus at the top of their +voices, pounding the table with their fists by way of a sort of drum +accompaniment. Gull was just preparing to commence the fourth verse +when there was a knock at the study door. + +"Wait a jiff," said Thurston.--"Who's there? What d'you want?" + +"Why," came the answer, uttered in rather a drawling tone, "I wish you +fellows wouldn't make so much row. I can't possibly work. Do be +quiet." + +"Oh, go to Bath!" shouted Thurston.--"It's only that old stew-pot +Browse," he added. "The beggar's got the next study, and he's cramming +up for some 'exam.'--Go on, Gull." + +The entertainment continued, and waxed more noisy than ever, the +performers hammering the table with a ruler and two walking-sticks to +add zest to the choruses. + +Soon there came another interruption, very different in tone from the +mild expostulation of the studious Browse. The door was violently +shaken, and from without came the sharp, peremptory order of the +school captain,-- + +"Look here, Thurston, just shut up; we've had enough of this horrible +row for one night. Stop it, d'you hear?" + +"All right," growled the owner of the study; "keep your hair on, old +fellow!" + +"Sh! steady on, Thirsty," said Fletcher, in a low tone. "Don't go too +far, or he'll put a stop to our next merry meeting. I know Allingford, +and he's rather a hard wall to run your head against." + +"That confounded old Browse has gone and sneaked!" cried the other, with +a flush of passion on his face. "Let's wait till Ally's gone, and then +make a raid on the old stew-pot." + +Hawley and Gull sprang to their feet with a murmur of assent; Fletcher +shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. + +"What we'll do is this," continued Thurston. "He sits with his back to +the door. I'll pop in first and throw this tablecloth over his head; +then, while I hold him down, you chaps upset the things and put out the +light. Then we'll rush out all together, and he won't know for certain +who did it." + +Five minutes later the conspirators crept out into the passage, and +tip-toed towards the door of the adjoining study. Fletcher lingered +behind, and, instead of following the expedition, stole softly away +in the opposite direction. Another moment, and the unfortunate Browse +was struggling to rise from his chair, with his head enveloped in the +tablecloth. Hawley and Gull, following immediately in rear of their +leader, sent the table, with its load of books and writing materials, +over with a crash, threw the chairs into different corners of the room, +and were about to scatter the contents of the bookcase over the floor, +when Allingford suddenly burst into the room, and stood glaring round +like an angry lion. + +With one swing of his right arm he sent Thurston staggering against the +wall, and then, stepping forward without an instant's hesitation, he +dealt each of the other marauders a swinging box on the ear. + +The two Fifth Form boys were big, strong fellows, and for a moment it +seemed as though a stand-up fight would ensue. The captain, however, +followed up his attack with amazing promptness, and before his +antagonists had time to think of resistance he had taken them both by +the shoulders and sent them flying into the passage. + +"There!" he exclaimed. "I'll teach you gentlemen to come playing pranks +on Sixth Form studies. What business have you got here, I should like +to know?--As for you," continued the speaker, casting a scornful glance +at the originator of the outrage, "I should have thought a fellow who's +a prefect ought to know better than to go rioting with every scamp in +the school." + +Thurston's conduct on the cricket field had clearly proved him to be no +coward. He stood his ground, and returned Allingford's angry glances +with a look of fierce defiance. He attempted to make some reply, but +somehow the words failed him, and turning on his heel he walked away to +his own study. + +"Confound that fellow Fletcher!" he muttered between his teeth. +"He always takes precious good care to sneak away when there's any row +on. If it wasn't for that money I owe him, I'd punch his head." + +Half an hour later there was a sharp rap at the door, and Allingford, +Oaks, and Acton entered the room. + +"Well," said Thurston, looking up with a frown from the book he was +reading, "what d'you want now? I don't remember asking you fellows to +come and see me. A chap can't call his study his own nowadays." + +"No," answered Acton grimly. "If a chap wants to work, a lot of +blackguards come and wreck his furniture." + +"Look here, Thurston," said the captain coldly, "we've no wish to stay +here longer than we can help. We've come simply to tell you this--that +after what's happened to-night the prefects are determined that +to-morrow morning you send in your resignation to the doctor." + +"And supposing I don't choose to send in my resignation?" returned the +other. + +"Then," answered the captain calmly, "we shall send it in for you." + +There was a moment's silence; then Thurston rose from his chair, and +closing his book flung it down with a bang upon the table. + +"All right," he said; "I'll do it. You fellows have been set against me +from the first. I know all about it, and before I leave this place I'll +pay you out." + +"I almost wish we'd left it till after the holidays," said Oaks, as the +three prefects walked down the passage. + +"No," said Allingford firmly; "if we hesitate, and the fellows see it, +we're lost. It must be done at once." + +"Well, perhaps so," answered Oaks; "but I'll tell you this--Thurston +means mischief. I wish he was going to leave. He won't forget this in +a hurry, and my belief is we shall hear more about it next term." + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +THE ELECTIONS. + +Thurston's resignation, as might have been expected, gave rise to a +considerable amount of excitement and conflicting opinion. Nearly every +boy in the school saw clearly that he was both unworthy and unfitted to +fulfil the duties of a prefect, but the peculiar circumstances under +which he had, as "Rats" put it, been given "notice to quit," caused a +large number of his schoolfellows to side with him, and condemn the +action of the captain. Only a few of the general public knew exactly +what the row had been. The Sixth Form authorities, refusing to be +catechized, would answer no questions; while the other side took good +care to spread abroad a very one-sided account of the affair. + +The Wraxby match was fresh in everybody's mind. "Awfully hard lines I +call it," said the cricketers. "He won that game for us; why didn't +they let him go on a few days more till the end of the term?" +While those young gentlemen, of whom a few are to be found in every +school, who cherish a strong dislike to anything in the shape of law and +order, were, of course, loud in their expressions of dissatisfaction at +the removal of one who always winked at their transgressions. + +At the commencement of the winter session it soon became evident that +seven weeks of summer holiday had not dispelled the cloud which had +overshadowed the close of the previous term. No sooner had the first +excitement of meeting and settling down subsided a little than the +question of Thurston's deposal cropped up again, and caused an unusual +amount of interest to be felt by all Ronleigh in the forthcoming +elections. + +Every school has its own methods of choosing those who are to fill the +posts and offices in connection with its various institutions, and it +will be well to describe, in a few words, how this was done at Ronleigh, +in order that the reader may follow with greater interest the working +out of an important event in the history of the college. + +The elections took place twice a year--at the commencement of the summer +and winter terms--their chief object being to appoint what was known as +the Sports Committee (who had the management of athletics and of the +forthcoming cricket or football season), two librarians, and a keeper of +the reading-room. In addition to this, when any of the prefects left, +fresh ones were chosen in their places. Only members of the Sixth Form +were eligible for this office, which was not conferred before the choice +of the boys had been confirmed by the sanction of the head-master, and +was understood to last for the remainder of the recipient's school life. + +On the second or third morning of the term a paper was posted up on the +notice-board in the big schoolroom, announcing the fact that the +elections would take place two days later, and mentioning exactly what +each voter was required to do. Every boy who had been two terms at the +school received a voting paper, which he filled up at his leisure and +handed over to the returning officers at a special assembly called for +the purpose. + +At the commencement of this particular winter term the school +reassembled on a Tuesday, and on Thursday notice was given that the +elections would take place on the following Saturday afternoon. + +According to the usual custom, when fresh prefects were to be chosen, +the names of all the Sixth Form boys who were not already holding that +office were mentioned on the notice, to show who were eligible for the +position. Thurston's name did not appear on the list; some one added it +in pencil, another hand crossed it out, and an hour or two later it was +added again, this time in red ink. + +This simple action seemed the signal for a general agitation on +Thurston's behalf. His friends throughout the school openly proclaimed +their intention of voting for him, and exhorted others to do the same. +Almost to a man the Sixth and Remove sided with the captain, but Hawley +and Gull in the Fifth, Noaks and Mouler in the Upper Fourth, and other +fellows in the lower forms made up their minds to secure Thurston's +return, and set to work to carry out their project with a zeal worthy of +a better cause. + +Two fresh prefects were required, and the friends of law and order were +unanimous in naming Fielding and Parkes as the most suitable candidates +to fill the vacancies. Rival posters appeared on the double doors +leading to the playground:-- + + REMEMBER THE WRAXBY MATCH, + + AND + + VOTE FOR THURSTON. + + + PLUMP FOR PARKES, + + AND HAVE A + + PROPER PREFECT. + +But this method of carrying on the campaign was soon brought into +disrepute, owing to the fact that certain juveniles, seeing in this new +idea of bill-posting a fresh field for practical joking, began to adorn +the walls of the "grub-room," and other spaces which did not often come +under the eye of a master, with placards exhibiting inscriptions which +had no bearing on the elections--such irrelevant remarks as, +"nooks Two wants kicking !" or, "_Lost_-my wits. (Signed) B. BIBBS," being +calculated to occasion a considerable amount of strife and bad blood +without serving any useful purpose. + +The Lower School was in a fever heat of excitement, and it is quite +possible that the little pleasantries which have just been alluded to +were occasioned by difference of opinion on the one absorbing topic of +the day. The close of the previous holidays had witnessed a general +parliamentary election, and with the details of contests which had taken +place in their native towns vividly impressed upon their minds, the +younger boys, from the Lower Fourth downwards, threw themselves into the +present conflict with an amount of energy and spirit which was not to be +found in the more sober and deliberate action of their seniors. + +The greater number of the old "Happy Family" had now been removed into +the Lower Fourth, and this form in particular was rent with opposing +views, and shaken with continued outbursts of hostility between the +rival factions. The Triple Alliance were loyal to the old _regime_, and +were supported by "Rats," Carton, and several of their old friends. + +"Acton saved us from getting into a row after that 'coffee-mill' +business," remarked Diggory. + +"Rowland gave Noaks a dressing down when he hit me in the mouth," said +Jack Vance. + +"And old Ally boxed Mouler's ears when they made me upset that paint," +added Mugford. + +"Rats" declared that he meant to conduct what he called a +"house-to-house visitation," and accordingly, beginning at the bottom of +the form, the first person he called upon was Grundy, a great lout of +sixteen, who had been at the tail end of the Lower Fourth for the last +twelve months. As it happened, Grundy was a strong partisan of the +opposite side, and not only refused to vote for Parkes, but, seizing +hold of the unfortunate canvasser, proceeded to twist his arms and pinch +his ears for daring to oppose the election of Thurston. + +Fletcher Two, whose sympathies, as might have been expected, were with +his brother's chum, organized open-air meetings in one corner of the +field where the big cricket-roller could be used as a platform. +But here, again, the love of larking which is so characteristic +of the lawless small boy came into evidence, and with that touch of +nature which makes the whole world kin, friend and foe alike joined in +the spree of interrupting the proceedings. Just when the orator +had reached the most important point in his harangue, and was pouring +forth a torrent of impassioned eloquence, the platform would begin to +move, or the audience would insist on turning the gathering into an +imaginary "scrum," and almost crushing the life out of those who +happened to be in the middle of the crowd. + +Poor Bibbs especially became a target for the humour of the electors. +According to Fletcher's instructions, he had written out a speech and +learned it by heart; but though he was being continually called upon to +deliver it, he never got beyond the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," before a +sudden movement of the platform precipitated him into the arms of his +irreverent hearers, or a shout of "Play up at the cocoa-nuts!" followed +by a shower of acorns, bits of stick, and pieces of turf, caused him to +jump down and hastily seek shelter behind the roller. + +For two days, especially in the Lower School, the excitement continued +steadily to increase, and small boys being seized in out-of-the-way +corners were made to assert at one time that they would vote for +Thurston, and at another that they would vote for Parkes or Fielding, +and so, in order to escape with a whole skin, were forced to commit +perjury at least a dozen times between the hours of breakfast and tea. + +One incident, which as far as the Lower Fourth was concerned tended +considerably to embitter the contest, is worthy of record as a notable +feature of this memorable campaign. + +The occupants of dormitory No. 13 were rabid Thurstonians; dormitory No. +14, on the other hand, in which slept the Triple Alliance, Maxton, +"Rats," and Carton, were to a man supporters of Parkes and Fielding. +On Friday evening the two doors, which were exactly opposite to each +other, being left open, the process of undressing was enlivened by a +continual fire of abuse and insulting remarks, which might have led to a +regular scrimmage between the two parties if the presence of the +prefect, patrolling the passage, had not prevented either side from +advancing beyond the threshold of their own doorway. + +"I wouldn't vote for a chap like Thurston, who goes boozing in a common +'pub' like the Black Swan," cried "Rats;" "but that's just the sort of +man for you. You're a cheap lot, the whole crew of you!" + +"Look here, young 'Rats,'" retorted Fletcher junior from the opposite +room, wandering rather wide of the subject in hand. "Why don't you +write home and ask your people to buy you a new pair of braces, +instead of mending those old ones up with string? You look just like a +young street arab, and that's about what you are!" + +"Don't you fellows talk about broken braces, and looking like street +arabs," cried Diggory, "when only yesterday old Greyling sent Stokes out +of class and told him to go down to the lavatory and wash his face. +That's a sample of you Thurstonians!" + +"Look here!" shouted the boy alluded to, springing out of bed, and +appearing in his night-shirt at the opposite end of the dormitory. +"You know very well that Grundy flipped a pen full of ink over me, +and that was why I had to go out and wash my face." + +"I know you looked altogether a different fellow +when you came back," returned Jack Vance: "I hardly knew you!" + +There was a momentary pause in the discussion, and Bibbs, thinking this +a suitable opportunity for the delivery of his speech, stepped forward, +and took up his stand in the doorway. Hardly, however, had he +pronounced the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," when a cake of soap, flung by +Maxton, struck him a violent blow in the pit of the stomach, and he was +still rolling and groaning on his bed in the throes of recovering his +lost wind when the prefect arrived to turn out the light. + +The occupants of the two dormitories lay down, but not to sleep. + +"You mark my word," said Diggory, "as soon as the prefects have gone +down to supper those chaps from over the way'll come across and pay us +out for throwing that soap. We'd better put a chair against the door." + +"Look here!" remarked Fletcher junior to his room-mates. "I shouldn't +be at all surprised if Maxton and those other fellows in No. 14 come +over and try to rag us; let's lie awake a bit and listen." + +For half an hour all was quiet and still, and the watchers in No. 14 +were turning over and preparing to go to sleep, when "Rats" started up, +exclaiming in a whisper, "They're coming! I heard some one in the +passage. There 'tis again! Jump up, you chaps, and let's make a +sortie." + +Now, strange to say, an exactly similar alarm had just been given by +Fletcher junior in No. 13, and the reason was simply as follows:-- +Mr. Greyling, the master of the Lower Fourth, in walking towards his +bedroom in slippered feet, was seized with a sneezing fit, and halting +just outside the two dormitories, gave vent to his feelings with a loud +"Et-chow!" After a moment's pause he sneezed again, and had hardly +done so before both doors were suddenly flung open, and with a cry of +"Ah, you sneaks!" and another of "Come on, you blackguards!" a crowd of +white-robed figures rushed out, brandishing pillows and startling +Mr. Greyling to such a degree that he exclaimed "Great Scott!" and +dropped his candle. + +What followed is too sad to be related in detail. Mr. Greyling +scattered largess in the shape of lines among the crowd, and the next +day the occupants of the two dormitories went about thirsting for each +other's blood. + +On Saturday, just before morning school, the voting papers were +collected, and directly after dinner the boys assembled to hear the +result of the poll. According to the usual custom, no masters were +present. Allingford presided, and the excitement was intense. + +A hush of expectation fell on the crowded room as the captain mounted +the platform on which stood the head-master's desk. Up to the present +time elections at Ronleigh had been little more than a matter of +form, but on this occasion every one felt that something more was at +stake than the mere distribution of the school offices. + +"Gentlemen, the business of this meeting, as you are very well aware, is +to announce the result of the elections. + +"The following," continued Allingford, referring to the paper which he +held in his hand, "have been chosen to act as the Sports Committee: +Myself chairman, Oaks, Acton, Rowland, Parkes, Redfern, and Hoyle. + +"The two former librarians, Clarkson and Lang, have been re-elected. + +"Dale, who for some time past held the position of keeper of the +reading-room, having left, the choice of a successor has fallen between +Lucas and Ferris, who, singularly enough, both received the same number +of votes. Each of these gentlemen being equally ready to withdraw in +the other's favour, I exercised my prerogative as captain of the school, +and gave the casting vote in favour of Lucas." + +At this there was a slight murmur among the audience, though whether of +dissent or approval it was impossible to tell. The interruption was +only momentary, for every one was too much interested in the next +announcement to care much what became of the post of keeper of the +reading-room. + +"As you all know, two vacancies have occurred among the prefects, to +fill which the following gentlemen have been chosen, and their election +duly sanctioned by the head-master: Parkes and Fielding." + +The words had hardly passed the speaker's lips when the whole room was +in an uproar. Cheers, howls, whistling, and the stamping of feet filled +the air with an indescribable din; members of the Lower Fourth fought +one another across the desks; and it was some minutes before Allingford +could obtain sufficient silence to enable him to finish his speech. + +"This," he said, in conclusion, "is the result of the present election. +I believe there has been some little difference of opinion among you, +especially in regard to the selection of the two fresh prefects; there +are so many worthy fellows in the Sixth that one can hardly wonder at +your finding some difficulty in making your choice. One thing is +certain--namely, that the two gentlemen who have been elected to +what is and always has been a very honourable position at Ronleigh are +eminently fitted for the work. The duties of a prefect are often +difficult, and the reverse of pleasant; but I think you will agree +with me when I say that in any large school it is eminently satisfactory +to find that a certain amount of the government and discipline can be +entrusted to the boys themselves, and I feel sure that you will give +Parkes and Fielding the same willing support as you have always accorded +to myself and the other prefects." + +As the captain finished speaking, Hawley, Gull, Noaks, and several other +boys sprang to their feet, their appearance being the signal for a fresh +outburst of cheers and groans. Young "Rats" commenced to hiss like a +small steam-engine, while Grundy made frantic but futile attempts to +reach over from the desk behind and smite him on the head with a French +dictionary. + +"If any one wishes to speak," said the chairman, "he is at liberty to do +so; but, of course, we can't have more than one at a time." + +With the exception of Hawley, those who had risen sat down again. + +"I want to ask," said the former, "what were the numbers in the voting +for the prefects?" + +"Parkes received fifty-six votes, and Fielding forty-eight." + +"Did Thurston receive any votes?" + +"Yes." + +"How many?" + +"That," returned the captain, "is a question which, for certain reasons, +I think it would be best not to answer." + +"I think," interrupted Gull, rising to his feet, amid a murmur of +excitement, "that we have a perfect right to insist on the figures being +made public; everything in connection with these elections ought to +be fair and open." + +"I don't think," answered Allingford quietly, "that any one has ever had +reason to accuse me of being unfair in any of my dealings; it is exactly +because I think it would be hardly fair to Thurston himself that I +propose not to publish the number of votes awarded to unsuccessful +candidates." + +The subject of this remark sat in the front row but one, lolling back +against the desk behind, with his hands in his pockets and a sneering +smile on his lips. + +"I don't care what you do," he exclaimed, with a short laugh. "I can +guess pretty well what's coming." + +"There!" cried Gull; "you hear what Thurston says. Now let's have the +figures." + +"Very well," answered the captain. "If you insist, you shall have them. +The number of votes for Thurston was sixty-one." + +"Then, if he got more votes than either Parkes or Fielding, why isn't he +elected?" + +"Because the doctor would not sanction it. The names have to be +submitted to him for approval, and he appointed Parkes and Fielding." + +"Did you try to influence him to overlook Thurston?" demanded Gull +angrily. But an immediate outburst of such cries as "Shame!" "Shut up!" +and "Sit down!" showed the speaker he had gone too far, and rendered it +unnecessary for Allingford to reply to the question. + +"I think," said Fletcher senior, rising to his feet when this +interruption had ceased, and looking round with a foxy smile on his +face, "that, with all due respect to the gentlemen who have been elected +as prefects, it is a great pity that the doctor should not have +consented to confirm the choice of the school, and reappoint Thurston. +I think if the matter were laid before him in a proper light he might be +induced to reconsider his decision." + +"Well, will you go and see him about it yourself?" asked Allingford, +with a slight sneer. + +"No; of course I shouldn't go alone," returned Fletcher. "I think it's +a matter that should be taken up by the whole school." + +There was a moment's lull in the proceedings, broken only by a confused +murmur of voices; then Acton jumped to his feet. The football captain +was popular with everybody, and the sight of his jovial face and sturdy +figure was greeted with a burst of cheers. + +"Look here, you fellows," he began. "I'm no speaker, but I can say +enough to serve the purpose. I think we are very much indebted to our +captain, not only for presiding over this meeting, but for what he has +done and is always doing for the good of the school. I remember +Ronleigh when it wasn't such a decent place as it is to-day. A lot of +things went on here when I was a kid that wouldn't be put up with now, +and I don't think the school ever played such good games of cricket and +football as we see at the present time. A lot of this, you may take my +word for it, is due to our captain, and I think we can't show our +appreciation of his work in a better way than by giving him three +cheers. Now, then, take the time from me. Three cheers for Allingford. +HIP, HIP, HURRAH!" + +The big assembly shouted till the roof rang and the windows rattled; +then the meeting slowly dispersed, a feeble attempt to raise three +cheers for Thurston being met with as many groans as plaudits. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +A PASSAGE OF ARMS. + +The Triple Alliance, in common with the rest of their schoolfellows, +little thought, on returning from their summer holidays, what a +memorable epoch the coming term would prove in the history of +Ronleigh College; still less did any one imagine what important results +would arise from the action of the three friends, and how much would +depend on the loyalty of these youngsters for their _Alma Mater_. + +They settled down to enjoy a peaceful thirteen weeks of work and play. +Jack Vance reported that the robbery of "the Hermit's" coins was +regarded at Todderton as quite a piece of ancient history; and as +Noaks appeared to have forgotten the existence of the clasp-knife, and, +growing every day more intimate with Thurston and Co., seemed more than +ever inclined to go his way and leave his former foes alone, the latter +made up their minds to banish dull care, and consider their unfortunate +misadventure as a storm which they had safely weathered. + +The wave of excitement caused by the elections soon passed over. +The new prefects entered upon their duties, and in the performance of +the same apparently met with no ill-will or opposition; yet to every +keen observer it was evident that the recent contest had left behind it +a distinct under-current of dissatisfaction, and for the first time in +the memory of all concerned Ronleigh was a house divided against +itself--no longer united in a common cause, but split into two factions, +one pulling against the other, thinking more of party interests than of +the honour and welfare of the whole community. + +The first occasion on which this spirit clearly manifested itself was +some ten days after the elections, when the college played their first +football match of the season against Ronleigh town. Thurston's name +had, as usual, been included in the list of the eleven which was posted +up on Wednesday morning, but before school was over it was noised abroad +that he had refused to play. + +"I say, you fellows, have you heard about 'Thirsty'?" said Fletcher +junior, as the Lower Fourth straggled into their classroom after +interval. "I wonder if it's true." + +"Oh, it's true enough," answered Grundy from the back desk; "and I'm +jolly glad he's done it. I heard him say this morning that if +Allingford and those other fellows wouldn't put up with him as a +prefect, they shouldn't have him in the team." + +"Well, I call that rot," cried Jack Vance: "the team doesn't belong to +Allingford or to anybody else--" + +"Oh, shut your mouth, you young prig!" interrupted Grundy, and the +entrance of Mr. Greyling put a stop to any further conversation. + +I am inclined to think that a much nobler spirit would pervade such +field-sports as cricket and football if the fact could be more firmly +impressed upon the minds of both players and spectators that, providing +the conduct of each side is fair and generous, and that every one does +his "big best," it is equally creditable to lose as to win. Certainly +both sides should strive their hardest to gain the day; but let boys +especially remember, in an uphill game, when scoring goes against them, +that it is to the honour of the slaughtered Spartans and not of the +victorious Persians that the pass of Thermopylae has become a household +word. + +In addition to the loss of Thurston, who, to do him justice, was a very +good forward, the school team was weakened still further by an +unfortunate accident which befell Rowlands, who twisted his ankle, and +was forced to leave the ground at the very commencement of the game. +The Town were unusually strong, and the bulk of the back work fell on +Allingford. The captain played a magnificent game, and covered himself +with glory; but in spite of all that he and his men could do, after a +gallant fight the visitors claimed the victory with a score of four +goals to two. + +On the morning after the match, just before school, the members of the +Triple Alliance were strolling across the entrance-hall, when they +noticed a crowd of boys surrounding the notice-board. The gathering +seemed to consist mainly of members of the lower classes, and the manner +in which they were elbowing each other aside, laughing, talking, and +gesticulating, showed that some announcement of rather uncommon interest +and importance must be exposed to view. + +Our three friends hurried forward to join the group. Pinned to the +board with an old pen-nib was a half-sheet of scribbling-paper, and +inscribed thereon, in what was evidently a disguised handwriting, were +some verses, which were seen at once to refer to the previous +afternoon's defeat. They were as follows:-- + + COLLEGE V. TOWN. + _Air_, "Bonnie Dundee." + + To the boys of the college 'twas Allingford spoke: + "When we play the Town team there are heads to be broke; + So let ten veteran players come now follow me, + And fight for the honour of ancient Ronleigh." + + _Chorus_. + + "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark your touch-line; + We'll grind them to powder, and put them in brine. + Let boarders and day boys all come out to see + Us fight for the honour of ancient Ronleigh." + + The ten merry men mustered quick at his call-- + There were forwards, and half-backs, and goal-keeper tall; + But one who was wont in the forefront to be + No longer was seen in the ranks of Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + + Too soon their rejoicings and empty their boast, + For the Town fellows very soon had them on toast; + And the bystanders sighed as they saw frequently + The ball pass the "back" of our ancient Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + + From this draw a moral, you fellows who rule: + Sink personal spite when you act for the school; + And whatever your notions of prefects may be, + Let's have the right men in the team at Ronleigh. + + _Chorus_: "Then put up your goal-posts, and mark," etc. + +Something in these doggerel lines excited Jack Vance's wrath above +measure, the last verse especially raising his anger to boiling-point, +so that it fairly bubbled over. Jack was a loyal-hearted youngster; +he was nothing to Allingford, but Allingford was something to him, as +head and leader of the community of which he himself was a member. +The sight of the captain toiling manfully through the long, unequal +contest of the previous afternoon, doing practically double work to make +up for the loss of his fellow-back, and to prevent a losing game +degenerating into a rout, rose up once more before the small boy's mind, +and, as has been said before, his wrath boiled over. + +"Well, I call that a beastly shame. The chap who wrote it ought to be +kicked round the field." + +"My eye," cried Grundy, "listen to what's talking! Kicked round the +field, indeed! Why, I think it's jolly good: it serves Allingford and +those other fellows just right for turning Thurston out of the +team." + +"What a lie!" retorted Jack. "You know very well they didn't turn him +out; he went out of his own accord." + +"Here, don't give me any of your cheek," said Grundy, sidling up to his +antagonist in a threatening manner; "you mean to say I'm a liar, eh?" + +The advent of three Fifth Form boys--one of whom took Grundy by the +shoulders and pushed him away, with the command to "Get out and lie on +the mat"--put an end, for the time being, to the altercation. The crowd +increased: boys of all ages stopped to read the verses; some few +laughed, and pronounced them jolly good; but to do them justice, the +greater number of Ronleians were too jealous of the honour of their +school to see much fun in this attempt to lampoon their football +representatives. Just as the bell was ringing for assembly, the paper +was torn down by Trail, the head of the Remove, who ripped it up into +fifty pieces, and in answer to Gull's inquiry what he did that for, +replied, "I'll jolly soon show you!" in such a menacing tone that the +questioner saw fit to turn on his heel and walk away with an alacrity of +movement not altogether due to any particular eagerness to commence +work. + +The Lower Fourth were straggling down the passage on the way to their +classroom, when they heard a scuffle and the clatter of falling books. +Grundy had seized Jack Vance by the collar from behind, and was screwing +his knuckle into his victim's neck. + +"Yes; you called me a liar, didn't you?" + +"So you are! Let go my coat!" + +"Oh, so you stick to it, do you? I'll--" + +The sentence was interrupted by Jack giving a sudden twist and striking +his antagonist a heavy blow in the chest, which sent him staggering +against the opposite wall. Grundy was nearly a head taller than Vance; +but the latter's blood was up, and in another moment the dogs of war +would have assuredly broken loose had not the flutter of a gown at the +end of the passage announced the advent of Mr. Greyling. + +The class had finished translating from their Latin author, and had just +commenced writing an exercise, when a note was passed over to Jack Vance +from the desk behind; it was short and to the point:-- + +"Will you fight me after twelve at the back of the pavilion?-- +H. GRUNDY." + +Jack read the challenge, turned round and nodded, and then went calmly +on with his work as though nothing had happened. + +This cool way of treating the matter did not altogether please Grundy, +who had rather expected that his adversary would elect to "take a +licking." He had, however, every reason to count upon an easy +victory, and so promptly despatched another note, which contained the +words: "Very well. I'll smash you." + +Later on a third epistle was handed over: "Don't tell any one, or +there'll be too much of a crowd." + +It was not until the interval that the two other members of the Triple +Alliance were informed of the coming conflict. + +"You don't really mean you're going to fight him?" said Mugford. + +"Of course I am." + +"You'll get licked!" added Diggory, with a sigh. + +"I don't care if I am. If I land him one or two, he won't be in a hurry +to lick me again. Don't you remember what you said ages ago at The +Birches, Diggy, when you went down that slide on skates? Well, it's the +same thing with me now. I'm going to show him, once and for all, that +he's not going to ride rough-shod over me for nothing." + +During the last hour of school, which happened to be devoted to algebra, +the only member of the Triple Alliance who seemed able to work was Jack +Vance. Diggory made a hash of nearly every sum, while Mugford simply +collapsed, and could not even remember that like signs made _plus_, and +unlike _minus_. + +"I say, Diggy," whispered the latter, "don't you think Grundy'll lick +him?" + +"I don't know," returned the other, with a desperate attempt to be +cheerful; "you never know what may happen. He may--" + +"Trevanock, stop talking," interrupted Mr. Greyling. "If I have to +speak to you again for inattention, you'll stay in and work out these +examples after twelve." + +At length the faint jangle of the bell announced the fact that the +eventful hour had arrived: the Lower Fourth passed on into the big +schoolroom, and were dismissed with the other classes. + +Jack betrayed not the least sign of excitement, and insisted on going +down into the grub-room to feed two white mice before setting out for +the "front." His two friends, however, weighed down with anxiety, and +with dismal forebodings as to the result of the coming conflict, were +obliged to seek support by informing "Rats" of what was about to take +place, and begging him to give them the benefit of his cheering company. + +Young "Rats," who was always ready to take part in anything from a +garden party to a game of marbles, immediately accepted the invitation. + +"Jolly glad you told me," he cried; "wouldn't have missed seeing it for +anything. Jack Vance and Grundy--whew-w-w!" + +The long whistle with which he concluded the sentence had certainly an +ominous sound, but the appearance of their principal was the signal for +the seconds to hide their fears under an assumed air of jovial +confidence. + +"You'll be certain to lick him, Jack," said Diggory, with a face as long +as a fiddle;--"won't he, 'Rats'?" + +"Lick him!" answered "Rats;" "I should think so! Lick him into fits; +I could do it myself." + +"He's a beastly bully," added Mugford solemnly; "and bullies always get +licked--in books." + +"I don't care," answered Jack jauntily, "if I lick him or not, but I +know he'll find me a pretty hard nut to crack." + +Ronleigh had no recognized duelling-ground, but when a premeditated +encounter did take place, the combatants usually resorted to a little +patch of grass situated between the back of the pavilion and the edge +of the adjoining field. Here it was possible to conduct an affair of +honour without much fear of interruption. + +Grundy was already at the trysting-place, accompanied by Andson, a chum +from the Upper Fourth, and Fletcher junior. It was quite an informal +little gathering, and the business was conducted in a free-and-easy +manner, and with an entire absence of the cut-and-dried ceremony which +characterized similar undertakings in the palmy days of the prize ring. + +"Look here, young Vance," said Grundy, "if you like to apologize for +calling me a liar, I'll let you off; if not, I'm going to punch your +head." + +"Punch away!" answered Jack stolidly, and all further attempt at +pacification was abandoned. + +The principals took off their coats and collars, while their companions +drew aside to give them room, and the signal was given to commence the +action. + +Grundy made no attempt at any display of science; he simply relied on +his superior strength and size, and charged down upon his adversary with +the intention of thumping and pounding him till he gave in. Jack Vance +knew very little about the "noble art," except that it was the proper +thing to hit straight from the shoulder; and following out this +fundamental principle, he succeeded in landing his opponent a good hard +drive between the eyes, which made him see more stars than are to be +witnessed at the explosion of a sixpenny rocket. Grundy drew back, and +after blinking and rubbing his nose for a moment, came on again, this +time with greater caution. Jack, on the other hand, emboldened by his +previous success, made an unwise attempt to rush the fighting, and was +rewarded with a sounding smack on the cheek-bone which broke the skin +and sent him staggering back into the arms of Diggory. + +Once more the combatants approached each other, this time with a little +more feinting and dodging, which showed a certain amount of respect for +the weight of each other's fists. At length, urged on to further feats +of arms by impatient ejaculations of "Now, then, go into it!" and "Keep +the game alive!" from Fletcher and Andson, they closed again, and after +a sharp interchange of rather random pounding, Jack smote his opponent +on the nose, and received in return a heavy blow on the chest which very +nearly sent him to the ground. + +After this there was another short breathing-space; a thin stream of +blood was trickling from Grundy's nasal organ, while Diggory and Mugford +noticed with aching hearts that their comrade was beginning to look +rather limp, and was getting short of breath. + +What would have been the ultimate result of the contest had it been +resumed I am sure I cannot say, but I fear that, taking Grundy's +superior weight and height into consideration, the story of the fight +would have been recorded among the trials and not the triumphs of the +Triple Alliance. As it was, a sudden interruption brought the encounter +to a premature close. + +"Hullo, you young beggars! what are you up to?" + +The voice was that of Allingford, who, attracted by cries of "Go it!"-- +"Give him another!"--"Bravo, Vance!" and other warlike shouts, had +hurried round to the rear of the pavilion to find out what was +happening. + +"Hullo!" he continued, stepping forward and grasping Grundy by the +shoulder; "what's up? what's the joke?" + +"It's only a bit of a fight," said Andson; "they had a row this +morning." + +"What, d'you mean to say you're fighting that youngster? Why don't you +choose some one a bit smaller?" demanded the captain, rather bitterly. + +"Well, it's his own doing," growled Grundy. "I offered to let him off, +but he wanted to have it out." + +"Pshaw!" returned the other. "Look here, I've half a mind to give you +two a jolly good 'impot' to keep you out of mischief. Now stop it, +d'you hear, or I'll send both your names in to Denson." + +Fletcher and Andson had already beaten a retreat, and Grundy was +preparing to follow, when Allingford called him back. + +"Come," he said, in a kinder tone. "I don't know what your quarrel's +about, but finish it up like men, and shake hands." + +The boys did as they were told, and though the salutation was not a very +hearty one, it helped to extinguish the smouldering sparks of anger +which might at some future meeting have been once more fanned into a +flame. + +Grundy disappeared round the corner of the building; but Allingford +remained for a moment or two, watching Jack Vance as he fastened on his +collar and resumed his coat. + +"Well, what was the row about?" + +"Oh, nothing." + +"Nonsense; fellows don't fight for nothing. What was it? Any great +secret?" + +"Oh no," answered Jack, laughing: "it began about that lot of verses +that was pinned upon the notice-board this morning. Grundy said +Thurston was turned out of the team, and I said he wasn't." + +The captain smiled thoughtfully, and going down on one knee examined the +wounded cheek. "Put some cold water to it," he said, and then walked +away. + +That look was worth fifty bruises, and for it Jack would have continued +the fight with Grundy to the bitter end. Diggory and Mugford fell upon +his neck, and were loud in their declarations that in another round +their champion would have "knocked the stuffing out" of his opponent. +That this would really have been the case is, as I remarked before, +rather doubtful; but one fact is certain--that the conflict caused the +three friends to be more firmly established than ever in their loyalty +to the side of law and order. + +For a couple of days fellows continued to talk about the skit on the +eleven, and to hazard guesses as to who was the writer. As the +majority, however, pronounced it "a dirty shame," and spoke of the +author as "some mean skunk," the poet wisely concluded to conceal his +identity, and by the end of the week the matter was, for the time being, +practically forgotten. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +THE READING-ROOM RIOT. + +Thurston followed up his withdrawal from the football team by a number +of other actions which clearly showed a determination to spend what was +known to be his last term at Ronleigh in living at open enmity with +those who had once been his friends and associates. He never played +unless it was in one of the rough-and-ready practice games, composed +chiefly of stragglers, who, from being kept in and various other causes, +were too late for the regular pick-ups, and came drifting on to the +field later in the afternoon. He severed his connection with the +debating society, and shunning the society of his comrades in the Sixth, +was seen more frequently than ever hobnobbing with Gull and Hawley, or +lounging about in conversation with Noaks and Mouler. + +Fletcher senior, a mean, double-faced fellow, continued, as the saying +goes, "to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds." + +"It's an awful pity about old 'Thirsty,'" he would say to his brother +prefects. "I try to keep him a bit straight; but upon my word, if he +will go on being so friendly with such cads as Gull and Noaks, I shall +chuck him altogether." + +The speaker's methods of endeavouring to keep his chum straight were, to +say the least of it, not very effective, and, if anything, rather more +calculated to encourage him still further in his descent along the +downward road. + +"Look here!" said Fletcher, as they sat one evening talking in +Thurston's study: "don't you think you'd better make peace with +Allingford and the rest, and be a nice white sheep again, instead of a +giddy old black one? I can tell you at present they don't look upon you +as being a particular credit to the Sixth." + +"I don't care what they think; they're a beastly set of prigs, and I'll +have nothing more to do with them--with Allingford especially." + +"Well, of course," answered Fletcher, with an air of resignation, "the +quarrel's yours and not mine. I must own that I think Allingford made a +great deal of unnecessary fuss over that Black Swan business, and acted +very shabbily in making you send in your resignation just before the +holidays. There's something, too, that I can't understand about the +doctor's not confirming your re-election; and I think there ought to +have been some further attempt made to get you to remain in the team-- +you did a lot of good service last season. However, my advice is, Put +your pride in your pocket, and return to the fold." + +Young Carton had shown that he possessed a certain amount of insight +into character when he told Diggory that Thurston was a dangerous fellow +to cross. The ex-prefect's brow darkened as Fletcher enumerated this +list of real or imaginary grievances, and at the conclusion of the +latter's speech there was a short silence. + +"Yes," said Thurston, suddenly making the fender jump and rattle with a +vicious kick. "Allingford's got his knife in me; he's bent on spoiling +my life here. But that's a game two can play at. I've got a plan or +two in my head, and I'll take the change out of him and those other +prigs before the term's finished." + +Grundy still continued to brag and swagger in the Lower Fourth, but his +attitude towards Jack Vance suddenly underwent a change. Towards the +latter he assumed quite a friendly bearing, and though still remaining a +stanch Thurstonian, refrained from making himself aggressively obnoxious +to the Triple Alliance. The hatchet had been buried for nearly a +fortnight when an event happened which caused Ronleigh College to be +once more convulsed with excitement and party feeling--a certain air of +mystery which pervaded the whole affair tending to considerably increase +the interest which the occurrence itself awakened. + +Allingford had not, perhaps, been altogether wise in his choice of Lucas +as keeper of the reading-room. The latter was a studious, hard-working +boy in the Fifth, whose parents were known to be in comparatively poor +circumstances, and the captain had named him in preference to Ferris, +thinking that the guinea which was given as remuneration to the holder +of this post, as well as to the two librarians, would be specially +acceptable to one who seldom had the means to purchase the books which +he longed to possess. + +The duties of the keeper of the reading-room were to receive and take +charge of the papers and magazines, to keep the accounts, and to be +nominally responsible for the order of the room. I say nominally, as +the law relating to absolute silence was never actually enforced; and as +long as the members amused themselves in a reasonably quiet manner, and +without turning the place into a bear-garden, they were allowed to +converse over their games of chess or draughts, and exchange their +opinions on the news of the day. + +Lucas was, if one may say it, a little too conscientious in the +execution of his duties, and rather apt to be fussy and a trifle +overbearing in his manner. He posted copies of the rules on each of the +four walls of the room, and insisted on decorous behaviour and perfect +silence. The consequence was that he soon became the butt of +innumerable jokes: fellows said they weren't in school, and meant to +enjoy themselves. + +"Rats" hit on the idea of carrying in an old newspaper under his coat. +This he surreptitiously produced, and pretended to read as though it +belonged to the room. At a favourable moment, with an exclamation of, +"Well, this is a rotten paper!" he suddenly crunched the sheet up in his +hands and tore it into fifty pieces. Lucas, naturally imagining that +the property of the room was being destroyed, rushed up exploding with +wrath. An explanation followed, and the whole assembly went off into +fits of merriment, at the latter's expense. + +By the time this trick was worn out, other waggish gentlemen had +introduced the practice of dropping wax matches on the floor and +treading on them, and of hunting an imaginary moth--an irresistibly +humorous proceeding, in which the participators rushed about brandishing +books and magazines, ever and anon crying, "There he is!" and smiting on +the head some quiet, unoffending reader. Some evil-minded young +miscreant went so far as to put bits of india-rubber on the top of the +stove, the consequence being that in a short time a mysterious smell +arose of such a fearful and distressing nature that every one was +obliged to bolt out into the passage. + +Those boys who at the time of the elections had formed the rank and file +of the Thurstonian party, saw here an opportunity for showing their +resentment of what they still chose to consider unfair conduct on +Allingford's part. As a result, so they said, of the captain's +favouritism, Lucas had been forced into a position for which he was +entirely un-fitted; and with the expressed determination "not to stand +him at any price," they proved themselves ever ready to assist in +keeping up a constant repetition of the disturbances which have just +been described. + +These games, it need hardly be said, were not carried on when any of the +prefects or members of the Sixth happened to be present; but during the +half-hour between the end of tea and the commencement of preparation, +when it rarely happened that any of the seniors put in an appearance, +the conduct of the place went steadily from bad to worse. Lucas lost +his head and lost his temper, and in doing so lost all control of his +charge; and at last things were brought to a climax in the manner we are +about to describe. + +At the back of the room was one of those short desks which can be +changed at will into a seat, the top part falling over and making a +back-rest, while the form remains stationary. In connection with +this article of furniture Gull one evening introduced a new pastime, +which he called putting fellows in the stocks, and which consisted in +decoying innocent small boys into taking a seat, then suddenly pushing +them backwards on to the floor, and imprisoning their feet between the +form and the reversible desk--a position from which they only extricated +themselves with considerable difficulty. + +Lucas made a couple of attempts to interfere and stop the proceedings, +and when at length, for the third time, a thud and a shout of laughter +announced that still another victim had fallen into the trap, he rose in +wrath, and ordered Gull to leave the room. + +"I shan't," returned the other. "Keep to yourself, and mind your own +business." + +"That's just what I'm doing; you know the rules as well as I do. It's +my business to keep order in this room." + +"Rubbish! Who do you think cares for your rules, you jack-in-office?" + +"Will you leave the room?" + +"No, of course I won't. If you want to act 'chucker-out,' you'd better +try it on." + +In desperation Lucas resolved to play his last card. "Look here, Gull," +he said, rising from his seat. "You know I'm not your match in size or +strength, or you wouldn't challenge me to fight; but this I will do: +unless you leave the room, I shall go at once and report you to Dr. +Denson." + +The offender, seeing perhaps that this was no empty threat, evidently +considered it the wiser plan not to risk an interview with the +head-master. + +"Oh, keep your wig on!" he answered, with a scornful laugh. "I +shouldn't like to make you prove yourself a sneak as well as a coward. +I'm going in a minute." + +The assembly, who for the most part considered the stocks joke very good +fun, and were possessed with all the traditional schoolboy hatred for +anything in the shape of telling tales, showed their disapproval with a +good deal of booing and hissing as Gull sauntered out of the room, and +Lucas bent over his accounts with the despairing sense of having lost +instead of gained by the encounter. + +It soon became evident that the matter was not to be allowed to drop +without some show of feeling, for on the following morning the +unfortunate official was greeted with jeers and uncomplimentary remarks +wherever he went. + +Just before tea Diggory and Jack Vance were crossing the quadrangle on +their way from the gymnasium to the schoolroom, when they were accosted +by Fletcher junior. + +"I say," remarked the latter, in rather a knowing manner, "if you want +to see a lark, come to the reading-room before 'prep.'" + +"Why, what's up?" + +"Oh, never mind; don't tell any one I told you," and the speaker passed +on. + +"Shall we go?" said Diggory. + +"We might as well," answered his companion, laughing. "I wonder what +the joke is! Another moth-hunt, or some more of that 'stocks' business, +I suppose." + +When the two friends entered the reading-room, it presented an unusually +quiet and orderly appearance. About twenty boys were seated at the +various desks and tables, all occupied with games of chess or draughts, +or in the perusal of magazines and papers. Even Grundy, who never read +anything but an occasional novel, was poring over the advertisement +columns of _The Daily News_, with apparently great interest, while young +Fletcher was equally engrossed in the broad pages of _The Times_. +An attempt to put "Rats" in the stocks utterly failed, from the fact +that those who were usually foremost in acts of disorder refused to +render any assistance, and even went so far as to nip the disturbance in +the bud with angry ejaculations of "Here, dry up!"--"Stop it, can't +you?" + +"I say," murmured Diggory, after sitting for a quarter of an hour +listlessly turning over the pages of a magazine, "Fletcher's sold us +about that lark; I don't see the use of staying here any longer." + +Hardly had the words been uttered when some one in the passage outside +crowed like a cock. There was a rustling of newspapers, and the next +instant all four gas-jets were turned out simultaneously, and the room +was plunged in total darkness. What followed it would be difficult to +describe. The door was flung open, there was an inrush of boys from the +passage, and the place became a perfect pandemonium. Tables were +overturned, books and magazines went whizzing about in the darkness, a +grand "scrum" seemed in progress round Lucas's desk, while amid the +chorus of whoops, whistles, and cat-calls the latter's voice was +distinctly audible, crying in angry tones,-- + +"Leave me alone, you blackguards; let go, I say!" + +Jack and Diggory listened in amazement to the uproar with which they +suddenly found themselves surrounded, and not wishing to risk the chance +of having a form or a table upset on their toes, remained seated in +their corner, wondering how the affair would end. + +At length, piercing the general uproar, came the distant _clang, clang_ +of the bell for preparation. The tumult suddenly subsided, and there +was a rush for the passage. Hardly had this stampede been accomplished +when some one struck a match and lit the gas-jet nearest the door: it +was Gull. + +He stood for a moment looking round the room with a sardonic smile upon +his face, evidently very well pleased with the sight which met his gaze. +The place certainly presented the appearance of a town which had been +bombarded, carried by storm, and pillaged for a week by some foreign +foe. Most of the furniture was upset or pulled out of place, magazines +and papers lay strewn about in every direction, ink was trickling in +black rivulets about the floor, and draughts and chess men seemed to +have been scattered broadcast all over the place. In addition to our +two friends, three other boys, who had evidently taken no active part in +the proceedings, still remained at some seats next to the wall; while +Lucas, with hair dishevelled, waistcoat torn open, and collar flying +loose, stood flushed and panting amid the _debris_ of his overturned +desk. + +"Well, I'm sure!" said Gull, with a short laugh; "you fellows seem to +have been having rather a bit of fun here this evening. I thought I +heard a row, and I was coming to see what it was; only just when I got +to the door, about fifty chaps bounced out and nearly knocked me down.-- +What have they been up to, eh, Lucas?" + +"Never you mind," answered the unfortunate official, choking with rage; +"the bell's gone, so all of you clear out." + +"Well, you can't blame me this journey," retorted Gull, calmly striking +another match and lighting the next gas-jet. "It seems to me this is a +little too much of a good thing. You'll have to lick a few of them, +Lucas, my boy; and if you can't manage it yourself, you'd better get +some one else to do it for you--your friend Allingford, for instance." + +The master on duty in the big schoolroom had to call several times for +silence before the subdued hum of muttered conversation entirely ceased. +Every one had heard of the reading-room riot, and was anxious to discuss +the matter with his companions. + +"Who did it? who did it?" was the question asked on all sides. + +"I don't know," would be the answer. "They say it wasn't the fellows +who were in the room--some of them put the gas out; but it was a lot of +other chaps, who rushed in after, who did all the damage and caused such +'ructions.'" + +"It seems to me," remarked Diggory to his two chums, "that it was a +put-up job, all arranged beforehand." + +"Then who d'you think planned it?" asked Mugford. + +"I don't know, but I believe Gull had a hand in it." + +"Oh, I don't think that," answered Jack Vance. "He came in and lit the +gas; if he'd been in it, he'd have skedaddled with the rest." + +"Um--would he?" returned Diggory, nodding his head in a sagacious +manner; "I'm rather inclined to think he came in on purpose." + +By the end of supper a fresh rumour spread which caused the affair to +assume a still graver and more important aspect. Lucas had reported the +whole thing to the head-master, and the latter had expressed his +intention of inquiring into it on the following day. The truth of these +tidings was proved beyond all possibility of doubt when, next morning at +breakfast, an announcement was made that the school would assemble +immediately after the boys left the hall, instead of gathering, as +usual, at nine o'clock. + +Every one knew what this meant. The subject had been discussed for +hours in most of the dormitories on the previous evening, and when +Dr. Denson ascended his throne there was no necessity for him to strike +the small hand-bell--the usual signal for silence; an expectant hush +pervaded the whole of the big room, showing clearly the interest +which every one felt in the business on hand. + +"I need hardly say," began the doctor, in his clear, decisive manner, +"that my object in calling you together is to inquire into a disgraceful +piece of disorder which took place in the reading-room last night. +I am astonished that such outrageous behaviour should be possible in +what, up to the present time, I have always been proud to regard as a +community of gentlemen. Such an offence against law and order cannot be +allowed to pass unpunished. I feel certain that the greater number of +those here present had no share in it, and I shall give the culprits a +chance of proving themselves at all events sufficiently honourable to +prevent their schoolfellows suffering the consequences which have arisen +from the folly of individuals. Let those boys who are responsible for +what occurred last evening stand up!" + +With one exception nobody stirred; a solitary small boy rose to his +feet, and in spite of the gravity of the situation a subdued titter ran +through the assembly. Apparently the whole of the row and disturbance +of the previous evening was the handiwork of one single boy, and that +boy the youthful "Rats." + +"Well, Rathson," said the head-master grimly, "am I to understand that +you single-handed overturned forms and tables, scattered books and +papers to the four winds, and nearly tore the clothes off another +boy's back?" + +"N--no, sir," answered "Rats" plaintively. + +"Then will you explain exactly what you did do?" + +"I was reading--and the gas went out--and some one emptied a box of +chess-men over my head--and I--I hit him--and then there was a lot of +pushing, and I pushed, and--" concluded "Rats" apologetically-- +"and I think I shouted." + +"H'm!" said the doctor; "so that's all you did. Sit down, sir.--Lucas!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Do you remember what boys were in the reading-room last night?" + +"Yes, sir, but I don't think they were responsible for what happened; it +was done by others who came in from outside." + +There was a silence. + +"I ask once more," said the head-master, "what boys took part in this +disturbance? let them stand up!" + +Once more young "Rats" alone pleaded guilty. + +"Very well, then," continued the doctor sternly; "the whole school will +be punished: there will be no half-holiday on Wednesday afternoon, and +the reading-room will be closed for a fortnight.--Sit down, Rathson; you +are the only boy among the many who must have been connected with this +affair--the only one, I say, who has any sense of manliness or honour. +Write me a hundred lines, and bring them to me to-morrow morning." + +The prospect of having to work on Wednesday afternoon caused, the boys +themselves to take up the doctor's inquiry, and the query, "Who did it?" +became the burning question of the hour. + +The riot had evidently been carefully planned beforehand, and the plot +arranged in such a manner that those who took part in it might do so +without being recognized. + +It was impossible to discover who really were the culprits, though the +majority of the boys put it down as having been done by "some of +'Thirsty's' lot," and as being a further proof of the latter's +well-known animosity towards Allingford, who had, of course, appointed +Lucas as keeper of the room. + +"Look here!" said Diggory, accosting Fletcher Two in the playground: +"what made you tell us to come to the reading-room last night? How did +you know there was going to be a row?" + +"I didn't," murmured the other warily. "All I knew was that they were +going to put 'Rats' in the 'stocks;' I hadn't the faintest idea there +was going to be such a fine old rumpus." + +"Umph! hadn't you?" muttered Diggory, turning on his heel; "I know +better." + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +THE CIPHER LETTER. + +The reading-room row, as it was called, had pretty well blown over, when +one morning Diggory accosted Jack Vance and Mugford, who were both +seated at the latter's desk, sharpening their knives on an oil-stone. + +"I say, you fellows, look what I've found." As he spoke, he laid on the +desk a slip of paper; it was evidently a scrap torn out of some +exercise-book, and inscribed upon it were several lines of capital +letters, all jumbled together without any apparent object in their +arrangement, and, to be more exact, placed as follows:-- + + NVVGRMGSVTBNDSVMGSVUVOOLD + HKZHHLMGLHFKKVIGSVGDLXZM + HLUDZGVIZIGHGZMWRMTRMHRW + VGSVXFKYLZIWFMWVIGSVHGZRIH. + +"Well, what is there funny about that?" asked Jack; "it looks to me as +if some one had been practising making capitals." + +"Is it a puzzle?" inquired Mugford. + +"No, but I'll tell you what I think it is," answered Diggory, sitting +down, and speaking in a low, mysterious tone: "it's a letter written in +cipher." + +"A letter?" repeated Mugford, glancing at the paper. "Why, how could +any one read that rubbish--NVVG?" + +"Of course they can, if they know the key. Didn't I say it was written +in cipher, you duffer? Every letter you see there stands for something +different." + +"Then why didn't they write the proper letters at once, and have done +with it?" grumbled Mugford. + +"Because, you prize ass," retorted Diggory, with pardonable asperity, +"they didn't want it read." + +"Then if they didn't want it read, why did they write it at all?" +exclaimed Mugford triumphantly. + +"Oh, shut up! you're cracked, you--" + +"Look here," interrupted Jack Vance, "where did you find the thing?" + +"Why, you know the window in the box-room that looks out on the 'quad;' +well, there's a little crack under the ledge between the wooden frame +and the wall, and this note was stuck in there. I should never have +seen it, only I was watching a spider crawling up the wall, and it ran +into the hole close to the end of the paper. Some fellows must be using +the place as a sort of post-office; don't you remember Fred Acton made +one in the wainscotting at The Birches? only these fellows have invented +a cipher. Well, I'm going to find it out, and read this note, just for +the lark." + +"How are you going to do it, though? I don't see it's possible to read +a thing like this; you can't tell where one word ends and a fresh one +begins." + +"There is a way of finding out a cipher," answered Diggory; "it tells +you how to do it in that book that we bought when Mug had his things +sold by auction at Chatford." + +"What, in Poe's tales?" asked Mugford. "Yes; in one of the stories +called 'The Gold Bug.' Where is the book?" + +"I lent it to Maxton, but I should think he's finished it by this time. +I'll go and see." + +"All right," said Diggory, pocketing the slip of paper; "you get it, and +then I can show you what I mean. Come on, Jack; let's go out." + +The two friends were just rising from the form on which they had been +sitting, when they were accosted by Browse, who, strolling up with a +pair of dilapidated slippers on his feet, which caused him to walk as +though he were skating, inquired in drawling tones, "I say, have either +of you kids got a watch-key?" + +Jack Vance handed him the required article, which happened to be of the +kind which fit all watches. + +The Sixth Form "sap" was very short-sighted, and proceeded to wind up +his timepiece, holding it close to his spectacles throughout the +operation. + +"I can't think how it is," he continued, in his sing-song tone, +"I'm always losing my key. I've had two new ones already this term. +I always stick them in a place where I think they're sure not to get +lost, and then I forget where I put them. Thanks awfully." + +"What a queer old codger Browse is!" remarked Diggory, as the big fellow +moved away; "no one would ever think he was so clever." + +"No," answered Jack Vance. "By-the-bye, did you hear that he had +another row with 'Thirsty' last night?" + +"No; what about?" + +"Oh, the same thing as before. Some fellows were making a beastly row +in Thurston's study, and Browse couldn't work, so he threatened if they +weren't quiet he'd report them to the doctor. 'Thirsty' came out +in an awful wax, and said for two pins he'd knock Browse down; and young +Collis, who was standing at the top of the stairs, says he believes he'd +have done it if some of the other fellows in the Sixth hadn't come out +and interfered." + +In the course of the afternoon Diggory secured Mugford's copy of Poe's +tales, and (sad to relate) spent a good part of that evening's +preparation in trying to unravel the secret of the mysterious missive +which he had found in the box-room. So intent was he on solving the +problem that, instead of going down to supper with the majority of his +companions, he remained seated at his desk, poring over the experiments +which he was making according to directions given in the famous story of +"The Gold Bug." + +"Well, how are you getting on ?" inquired Jack Vance, as the crowd came +straggling back from the dining-hall. + +"Oh, pretty well," answered the other. "The first thing you have to do +is to find E; it's the letter which occurs most frequently. Well, in +this case V is the letter which comes oftenest--there are fourteen of +them--so V is E. Then, when you know what E is, you search for the word +'the.' There are certain to be several 'the's' in the piece; so you +look for instances in which the same two letters come before E, or, in +this case, before V. Well, here it is, G S V, five times; so you are +pretty certain that G S V is 'the,' or, in other words, that G is T, S +is H, and V is E. That's as far as I've got at present; but I mean to +worry out the rest of it to-morrow." + +While Diggory was holding forth in the big schoolroom on his methods of +reading a cipher, a conversation of a very different character, and on a +matter of grave importance, was taking place in the study of the school +captain. + +Allingford and John Acton were seated in front of the former's little +fireplace talking over matters connected with the football club. +Suddenly there was a sound of hurrying feet in the passage; the next +instant the door burst open, and in bounced Browse. The two prefects +gazed at him for a moment in open-mouthed astonishment; then Acton broke +the silence, exclaiming, "Why, Browse, what's the matter?" + +The "sap" certainly presented an extraordinary appearance. +His spectacles were gone; his hair was pasted all over his face, as +though he had just come up from a long dive; his clothes were torn, and +in a state of the wildest disorder; while the strangest part of all was +that from head to foot he seemed soaking wet, drenched through and +through with water, which dripped from his garments as he stood. + +"Why, man alive!" cried Allingford, "what have you been up to?" + +"It's those blackguards!" gasped Browse, choking with rage, and shaken +for once in a way out of his usual drawl; "it's that Thurston and his +crew--I know it was!" + +"But what was? what's the matter?" + +With some little difficulty the two prefects at length succeeded in +extracting from their excited comrade an account of his wrongs; even +then such an amount of cross-questioning was necessary that it will be +best to make no attempt at a verbatim report, but rather to give the +reader a more concise version of the story. + +From Browse's statement it appeared that just before supper some one had +come to his study, saying: "Smeaton wants you in the 'lab;' look sharp!" +The door had only been opened about a couple of inches, and then closed +again. From the few words thus spoken Browse did not recognize the +voice; but thinking that his particular friend Smeaton (another +tremendous worker) was engaged in some important experiments, and needed +his assistance, he hurried away, never dreaming but that the message he +had received was genuine. + +In order to reach the laboratory, it was necessary to traverse the +box-room and the gymnasium, both of which were in darkness, the lights +being turned out by the prefect on duty when the boys assembled for +preparation. + +Across the first of these chambers Browse groped his way in safety. +Hardly, however, had he crossed the threshold of the second, when he was +suddenly seized and held fast by several strong pairs of hands. +His indignant expostulations were met with a titter of suppressed +laughter; he was roughly forced down upon his knees, and while in this +position what seemed like two buckets of cold water were emptied over +his devoted head. This having been done, he was dragged to his feet, +thrust back into the box-room, and the door leading into the gymnasium +was slammed to and locked on the inside. From first to last not a word +had been spoken, and at the very commencement of the struggle Browse's +spectacles had been knocked off. These two circumstances had entirely +prevented him from recognizing the shadowy figures of his assailants. +He made one attempt to force the door open, but finding it securely +fastened, had come straight away to the captain's study. + +"It's that Thurston and some of his gang," he repeated in conclusion; +"they did it to pay me out for interfering with their noisy meetings." + +Allingford and John Acton sprang to their feet. The idea that the rowdy +element should be so powerful in Ronleigh that a Sixth Form boy could +with impunity be seized and drenched with cold water, was not very +pleasing to one who was largely responsible for the order of the school, +and the captain's face was as black as thunder. + +"All right!" he exclaimed; "leave this to me. Go and change your +clothes." + +The two prefects hurried down the passage. + +"Wait a minute," said Allingford. "Which is Thurston's study?" + +Acton knocked at the door; and receiving no answer, pushed it open and +looked in. The room was empty. + +"Come on," cried Allingford; "the 'gym!' They may be there still." + +They rushed down the stairs, scattering a group of small boys who were +roasting chestnuts at the gas-jet in the passage, and on through the +box-room, but only to find the door on the other side standing +wide open, and the gymnasium itself silent and deserted--two empty +water-cans, lying in a big pool of wet on the cement floor, being the +only remaining traces of the recent outrage. + +"They're gone," said Acton. "What shall we do?" + +"We'll find one of them, at all events," replied his companion; and +returning once more to the neighbourhood of the studies, he shouted,-- + +"_Thurston!_" + +There was a faint "Hullo!" and a moment later a door opened half-way +down the passage. + +"Well, what d'you want?" + +Allingford walked quickly forward. "Look here," he demanded sternly, +"where have you been? What have you been doing?" + +"Doing!" echoed Thurston; "why, I've been sitting here for the last two +hours with old Smeaton. I asked him to let me come and work in his +study to-night. There's some of this Ovid I can't get on with, and he +promised he'd help me out with it if I'd tell him what it was I didn't +understand." + +The captain hesitated a moment, rather nonplussed by this unexpected +reply. "I believe you know something about this affair with Browse," he +continued. "Who did it?" + +"Who did what?" demanded Thurston snappishly. "If you mean when he came +banging at my study door last night--" + +"No, I don't mean that," interrupted Allingford. "I mean this +blackguard's trick that was played on him to-night." + +"I don't know what you're talking about," retorted Thurston angrily. +"Look here, Allingford, I'll thank you not to call me a blackguard for +nothing, for I suppose that's what you're driving at. If you don't +think I'm speaking the truth, ask Smeaton. I suppose you'll take his +word, if you won't take mine." + +Smeaton, whose veracity it was impossible to doubt, confirmed the last +speaker's assertions, and Allingford and Acton were forced to beat a +retreat, feeling that they had certainly been worsted in the +encounter. + +"What's to be done?" asked Acton, as they re-entered the captain's +study. + +"I don't know," answered the other, flinging himself into a chair. +"The only thing I can see is to report it to the doctor." + +"Oh, I shouldn't do that; it's more a piece of personal spite than any +disorder and breach of rule, like that reading-room affair. I think +it's a thing which ought to be put down by the fellows themselves. +Who was in Thurston's study last night?" + +"I don't know. It may have been those fellows Gull and Hawley, but you +can't accuse them without some evidence; you see what I got just now for +tackling Thurston. Ever since the elections there seem to be a lot of +fellows bent on bringing the place to the dogs. Thurston's hand and +glove with the whole lot of them, and it's hard to say who did this +thing to Browse." + +A report of what had happened was rapidly spreading all over the school. +One by one the other prefects dropped in to the captain's study to talk +the matter over. Most of them were inclined to agree with Acton in +considering it a thing to be taken up by the boys themselves, and the +discussion was continued till bedtime. + +"Well, I'll tell you what I think I'd better do," said Allingford, +preparing to wish his companions good-night. "I'll report it to the +doctor, and ask him not to take any steps in the matter until we've +had a chance of inquiring into it ourselves." + +The story of Browse's mishap, as we have just said, soon passed from +mouth to mouth, until it was common property throughout the college. +The remarks which the news elicited were often of an entirely opposite +nature, according to the character of the boys who made them. Noaks and +Mouler laughed aloud, declaring it a rare good joke; but to the credit +of the Ronleians of that generation be it said, the majority shook their +heads, and muttered, "Beastly shame!" "What'll be done?" was the +question asked on all sides. "Will it be reported to the doctor?" + +"If it is," said "Rats," "we shall lose another half-holiday. Confound +those fellows, whoever they are! I should like to see them all jolly +well kicked." + +On the following day the first assembly for morning school passed +without anything happening, though every one looked rather anxiously +towards the head-master's throne as Dr. Denson took his seat. + +The brazen voice of the bell had just proclaimed the eleven o'clock +interval, when the Triple Alliance, hurrying with their companions of +the Lower Fourth along the main corridor leading to the schoolroom, +found that the passage was nearly blocked by a large crowd of boys +standing round the notice-board. + +"Hullo!" said Diggory, "another rhyme?" + +This time, however, the placard was in good plain prose, and ran as +follows:-- + + "NOTICE. + + "A meeting of the whole school will take place + directly after dinner in the gymnasium. A full + attendance is urgently requested, as the matter for + consideration is of great importance. + + "A. R. ALLINGFORD." + +"Humph," muttered Fletcher senior to himself, as he turned on his heel +after reading the notice, "the fat's in the fire now, and no mistake." + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +DIGGORY READS THE CIPHER. + +The gymnasium was filled with a dense crowd of boys; "Rats," Maxton, +and some other members of the Lower Fourth were fighting for seats on +the parallel bars, and throughout tho whole assembly there was a subdued +murmur of interest and expectation. The last gathering of the kind had +been a court-martial held some two years previously on a boy suspected +of stealing. Old stagers, in a patronizing manner, related what had +happened to their younger comrades, adding, "What, weren't you here +_then?_ Well, you are a kid!" and forgetting to mention that at the +time they themselves were wearing knickerbockers, and doing simple +arithmetic in the lowest form. + +At one end of the room was a big chest containing dumb-bells and +single-sticks, and Allingford, mounting on the top of this as the last +stragglers from the dining-hall joined the assembly, called for silence. + +There was no attempt at eloquence or self-assertion in Allingford's +remarks; brief they were almost to bluntness, but well suited to the +audience to whom they were addressed. It was the old, well-tried +captain of Ronleigh who spoke, and the boys of Ronleigh who listened, +and the manner in which the words were given and received might have +reminded one of a speech of Sir Colin Campbell's in the Indian Mutiny, +and the answer of the Highlanders he addressed:-- + +"Ninety-third, you are my own lads; I rely on you to do yourselves and +me credit." + +"Ay, ay, Sir Colin; ye ken us, and we ken you." + +"I think you all know," began the captain, "the reason of this meeting +being called together. Last night Browse was set on in this room--in +the dark, mind you--knocked down, and drenched with cold water. +Some fellows may think it a good joke. I don't; I think the fellows who +did it were cads and cowards. I reported the matter to the doctor, and +he consented to act in accordance with the wishes of the prefects, and +leave the matter in the hands of the boys themselves rather than inquire +into it himself, which would probably only have meant another punishment +for the whole school." ("Hear, hear!") + +"Now, what I want to say is this. I've been here a good many years-- +longer than any one, except Oaks and Rowlands and two or three more. +I love the place, and I'm proud of it. I'd sooner be captain of +Ronleigh than of any other public school you could mention" (cheers); +"but I tell you plainly, the place is going down. There's been a good +deal too much of this rowdy element showing lately, and it's high time +it was put a stop to. + +"Some of you, I know, have lately taken a dislike to me, and think I +don't act rightly." ("No, no!") "If I'm to blame, I'm sorry for it, +for I've always tried to do my best. I ask you not to look upon this +matter as a personal affair, either of mine or of any of the other +prefects, but to consider only the welfare of the school. I say again +that if Ronleigh is to retain its reputation, and be kept from going to +the dogs, it's high time these underhanded bits of foul play like the +reading-room row and this attack on Browse were put a stop to; and I beg +you all to join in taking measures to prevent anything of the kind +occurring again in the future." + +The speaker concluded his remarks amid a general outburst of applause. + +"So we will," cried several voices; "three cheers for old Ally!" + +"In my opinion," began Oaks, as soon as order was restored, "the first +thing is to try to find out who did it; surely a fellow can't be set on +by three or four others without somebody knowing something about it.-- +Haven't you yourself any idea who it was, Browse?" + +"Well, I can't swear," answered Browse readily. "I couldn't see, +because it was dark, and my spectacles were knocked off; but I'm pretty +certain it was some of Thurston's lot--Gull, or Hawley, or some of those +fellows. They did it because I complained when they kicked up a row and +interfered with my work." + +This reply created a great sensation, and the air was rent with a storm +of groans, cheers, and hisses. + +Oaks, who seemed to have taken upon himself the duties of counsel for +the prosecution, held up his hand to procure silence. + +"Shut up!" he exclaimed; "every one will be heard in time. Browse +thinks it might have been Gull, Thurston, or Hawley.--Now, Gull, what +have you got to say? Where were you last night?" + +"In bed, asleep," answered Gull promptly. + +There was a laugh. + +"I don't mean that. What we want to know is, what were you doing after +'prep'?" + +"Well, I was about some private business of my own." + +"What was it?" + +"I don't see why I should tell you all my private affairs." + +"Well, in this instance we mean to know; so out with it. What were you +doing directly after 'prep' last night?" + +There was a hush of expectation. Every one thought an important +disclosure was about to be made. + +"All right," answered Gull calmly; "if you must know, I'll tell you. +I was in the matron's room, getting her to sew two buttons on my +waistcoat." + +A roar of laughter interrupted the proceedings; the defence had scored +heavily. Oaks was for the moment completely nonplussed, and Thurston +seized the opportunity of making a counter-attack. He strode forward, +and mounting the chest addressed the assembly as follows:-- + +"Gentlemen, however low Ronleigh may have sunk, there is still, I +believe, left among us a certain amount of love of fair play, and +therefore I ask you to give me a hearing. The saying goes, 'Give a dog +a bad name and then hang him.' I'm a dog on which certain people have +been good enough to bestow a bad name. I know I've got it, and to tell +you the truth I don't much care. All the same, I don't see why I should +be hung for a thing which is no fault of mine. You've just heard what +Gull's had to say. I can prove that I was in Smeaton's study when this +thing happened; and I daresay, if Hawley is to be cross-examined, he'll +be able to show that he was somewhere else at the time. What I say, +however, is this--that it's very unfair and unjust to practically +accuse fellows of a thing without having some grounds for so doing. +I don't want to brag, but there have been times, as, for instance, at +the last Wraxby match" (cheers), "when the school thought well of me" +(loud cheers). "Now I'm a black sheep; but there ought to be fair play +for black sheep as well as for white ones." ("Hear, hear!") +"Allingford said something about underhanded bits of foul play. Well, +I, for one, am not afraid to be open and speak my mind. If the place is +going to the dogs because of it's being continually in a state of +disorder, then the fault lies with the prefects." (Sensation.) +"They're the ones who ought to check it, and if they are incompetent, +and can't do their duty, it's no excuse for their trying to shift the +blame on to fellows who are innocent, but who happen to stand in their +bad books." + +The speech had just the effect which Thurston intended it should have. +The English schoolboy has always been a zealous champion of "fair play," +though sometimes misled in his ideas as to what the term really implies. +A vague sense that the prefects were at fault, and that this inquiry was +a blind to cover their shortcomings, spread through the meeting. +Oaks was interrupted and prevented from questioning Hawley, and it +seemed as though the good influence of Allingford's opening speech would +be entirely lost, and that the meeting would bring about a still more +hostile attitude on the part of the rank and file towards those in +authority. + +The Thurstonians, however, attempting to make the most of this temporary +triumph, met with an unexpected disaster, which quickly turned the +changing tide of public opinion. + +During a momentary pause in the hubbub which followed Thurston's +address, Fletcher senior, with the usual smile upon his face, began to +speak. + +"Thurston has just said that as regards these rows the fault lies with +the prefects, and that they are culpable in trying to shift the blame on +to other fellows without first getting sufficient evidence to warrant +their so doing. As one of the prefects, I think it only fair to myself +to mention that I was not in favour of this meeting being called. +I suggested to my friend Allingford that this matter should be allowed +to rest until some inquiries had been made--" + +"Stop!" cried the captain sternly. The two lines were deepening between +his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth were drawn down. The boys +had seen that look before, as he stood at the wicket when runs were few +and the bowling dangerous. "Stop! Speak the truth: you're not my +friend." + +"Allingford says we are not friends," continued the speaker, with the +same eternal smile upon his lips. "I'm sorry to hear it. I know I've +always tried to be his friend, ever--" + +"You're lying!" interrupted the other sharply. "Take care, or I'll +prove it!" + +There was a dead silence all over the room. Fletcher did not know what +was coming, and though he felt uneasy, he had gone too far to go back. + +"I can't understand," he began, "why you should have this unkind feeling +towards me. I can only repeat, in spite of what you say, that I _am_ +your friend." + +"Very well," returned the other, with an angry flash in his eyes, "as it +was partly an attack on myself, I had meant to have said nothing about +it; but since you persist in your miserable hypocrisy, I'll expose +you.--You remember," he continued, turning to the audience, and speaking +with a ring of bitter scorn in his voice, "that paltry rhyme that was +fastened on the notice-board after the Town match? Well, allow me to +introduce you to the author of it. He was too modest to sign his name +to it, but here he is, all the same--a fellow who tries to bring +ridicule and contempt on his own side; who stabs a man in the dark, and +in the daylight professes to be his friend." + +A derisive groan rose from the crowd. + +"You can't prove it!" retorted Fletcher, turning first white and then +red. + +"I can prove it up to the hilt. You had the confounded cheek to borrow +from me the very book of songs you used when you wrote the parody, and +you were fool enough to leave the rough copy in it when you brought it +back. It's there now, in your writing. Shall I send for it? it's on my +study table at this moment." + +The culprit muttered something about it's being "only a joke," but his +reply was lost amid a storm of hoots and hisses. + +"Sneak!" cried one voice; "Turn him out!" yelled another; while the +object of this outburst of animosity, recovering himself sufficiently to +glance round with a contemptuous sneer on his face, fell back, and +endeavoured to hide his confusion by entering into conversation with +Gull and Thurston. + +Fletcher had come a nasty cropper, and reaped what, sooner or later, is +the inevitable reward of double-dealing. + +Once more the sympathy of the meeting was enlisted on the side of +Allingford and the prefects, and the crowd dispersed, resolved to +discover, if possible, who had made the attack on Browse, and determined +that such acts of disorder were not to be tolerated in the future. + +"Hullo, old chap!" said Thurston, entering his friend's study a few +moments later; "you made rather a mess of that speech of yours. +I'm inclined to think you've damaged your reputation." + +"I don't care," returned the other; "we're both leaving at the end of +this term. As for Allingford, just let him look out: it'll be my turn +to move next, and there's plenty of time to finish the game between +now and Christmas." + +It was a bright, crisp afternoon. Almost everybody hurried away to +change for football. + +"Where's Diggy?" asked Jack Vance, as he and Mugford strolled out to the +junior playing field. + +"Oh, he said he wasn't coming; he's stewing away at that stupid cipher. +He can't find any word except 'the;' he'll never be able to read the +thing." + +It being a half-holiday, the games lasted a little longer than usual. +At length, however, the signal was given to "cease fire," and a general +cry of "Hold the ball!" put an end to the several contests. + +The crowd of players were tramping across the paved playground, and +surging through the archway into the quadrangle, when Jack Vance and +Mugford were suddenly confronted by Diggory. He held some scraps of +paper in his hand, and appeared to be greatly agitated. + +"Come here," he cried, seizing each of them by the arm; "I've got +something to show you." + +"Well, what is it?" asked the other two. Their friend, however, would +vouchsafe no further reply than, "Come here out of the way, and I'll +tell you." + +He dragged them along until they reached the deserted entrance to some +of the classrooms; then, stopping and turning to them with an +extraordinary look of mingled triumph, mystery, and excitement, +exclaimed,-- + +"I've read the cipher!" + +"Pooh! what of that?" answered Jack, rather annoyed at being taken so +far out of his way for nothing. "I expect it isn't anything particular +after all." + +"It is, though," returned the other confidently; "and you'll say so too +when you read it." + +"Well, tell us first how you managed to find it out." + +"That's just what I was going to do. You know I found that G was T, S +was H, and V was E; well, I tried and tried, and I couldn't get any +further. I wrote down the alphabet, and put V opposite E, and T +opposite G, and S opposite H. I stared at it and stared at it, and all +of a sudden--I don't know how I came to think of it--I noticed that E is +the fifth letter from the _beginning_ of the alphabet, and V is the +fifth letter from the _end_. The same thing held good with the next +letter: G was seventh from the beginning, and T was seventh from the +end." + +Diggory paused as though to see what effect this announcement would have +on the faces of his friends. + +"Well!" they exclaimed; "go on!" + +"Why, then, I saw in a moment what they'd done: _they'd simply +transposed the whole alphabet_--A. was Z, and Z was A!" + +"Oh!" cried Jack Vance; "I see it now." + +"Of course, it was as plain as print. I put the two alphabets side by +side, one the right way and the other upside down, and I read the cipher +in two minutes, and here's what you might call the translation." + +As he spoke he held out a scrap of scribbling-paper. Jack Vance took +it, and read as follows:-- + +"Meet in the 'gym' when the fellows pass on to supper. The two cans of +water are standing inside the cupboard under the stairs." + +Mugford stared at Jack Vance, and Jack stared at Diggory. "D'you see?" +cried the latter eagerly. + +"Yes." + +"Well, what then?" + +"Why, it must have something to do with this row about Browse." + +"Of course: the fellows who did it didn't want, I suppose, to be seen +talking together too much just before it happened, and so they invented +this way of making their plans." + +"But who can it be?" asked Mugford. "It seems to me it's just like one +of those secret society things in Russia." + +"So it is, and we must find out who they are," answered Diggory, +smacking his lips with great relish. "We'll see once more what can be +done by the Triple Alliance." + +The more the three friends thought over the matter of the cipher letter, +the more their curiosity and interest were excited. + +"I believe it's either Noaks or Mouler," said Mugford; "they were both +of them siding with Thurston, and trying to kick up a row at the +meeting." + +"Oh, they'd neither of them have the sense to invent a thing like this," +answered Jack. "They may be in it, but there's some one else besides." + +Diggory scouted the idea of letting any other boys share their secret. +The honour of having discovered and exposed the plot must belong to the +Triple Alliance alone, and it must be said that they had accomplished +their task unaided by any outsiders. + +That evening and the following day the greater portion of their free +time was spent in discussing the great question as to what should be +done. The cipher note evidently had direct connection with the +attack on Browse, but the translation of the letter was in itself like +finding a key without knowing the whereabouts of the lock which it +fitted. The question was, by whom and for whom it had been written. + +Afternoon school was just over, and the three friends were standing +warming their feet on a hot-water pipe, discussing the likelihood of +making any other discoveries which might tend to throw more light on the +subject, when suddenly a happy thought entered the head of Jack Vance. + +"Look here, Diggory. You said you found this note in a crack in the +wall under one of the grub-room windows, and that you thought some +fellows were using it as a sort of post-office. Well, have you +been there to see if anything's been put there since?" + +"No!" cried Diggory. "Good idea! I'll go now at once." + +He walked quickly out of the room, and came back a few moments later at +a run. + +"I've got one!" he exclaimed, in a low, eager tone. "Don't let any one +see; come to my desk." + +The note this time was very brief:-- + + ZUGVIGVZFMWVIGSVKZE. + +Diggory hastily fished out his double alphabet, wrote down the proper +letters as Jack read out those on the paper, and in a few seconds the +translation was complete, and read as follows:-- + +"_After tea under the pav._" + +The three boys stared at it in silence. + +"What does it mean?" asked Mugford. + +"Why," cried Diggory excitedly, "I see. Something's going to happen +after tea this evening in that place under the pavilion--you know where +I mean?" + +The other two nodded their heads. The pavilion at Ronleigh being raised +some distance above the level of the field, there was a space between +the floor and the ground used for storing whiting-buckets, goal-posts, +and a number of forms, which were brought out on match-days to afford +seats for visitors. The door of this den had no lock, and opened on the +piece of waste turf at the back of the building. Small boys used it as +a cave when playing brigands, and for so doing had their ears boxed by +irate members of the Sports Committee. It was too low to admit of any +one's moving about except in a stooping posture, and pitch dark unless +the door was left wide open. + +"What do you think it is?" said Mugford. + +"I don't know," answered Diggory; "but I mean to go and see." + +"If they catch you prying about, and find out that you've been watching +them, you'll get an awful licking." + +"I don't care if I do; I mean to go." + +"Well, we'll go with you," said Jack Vance. "Remember it's the Triple +Alliance, and we vowed always to stand by each other whatever happened." + +"Yes," answered Diggory, "and so we will; but there's less chance of one +being seen than three. No; I'll go alone." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +A SECRET SOCIETY. + +It was a clear, starlight night. Diggory was one of the first to leave +the dining-hall, and, passing swiftly out of the quadrangle, was soon +hurrying across the junior playing field. On reaching the pavilion, all +was quiet and deserted, and he stood for a moment considering what +should be his next step. + +The thin hedge dividing the two playgrounds was by this time bare of +leaves, and afforded no hiding-place; the only chance of concealment was +to take shelter inside the den itself--a place which has already been +described. This, however, seemed rather like venturing into the lion's +mouth. What was going to happen? Would anything take place, or was it +only a wild-goose chase after all? + +"Here goes!" muttered Diggory to himself. He opened the door, pulling +it to again after him as he crept inside; then taking a step forward in +the pitchy darkness, promptly fell over a bucket with an appalling +crash. Scrambling once more to his feet, he felt in his waistcoat +pocket, and finding there a fusee which he remembered to have taken from +a box owned by "Rats," he struck it, and by the aid of its feeble glare +crept behind the heap of benches which lay piled up close to the +opposite wall. + +Hardly had he done so when there were a sound of footsteps and a murmur +of conversation; the door was opened, and some one crept into the den. +No sooner had the new-comer crossed the threshold than he stopped, +sniffed audibly, and exclaimed,-- + +"Hullo! what a stink of fusees! Who's been here, I wonder?" + +Diggory instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Noaks, and the +sound of it brought a momentary recollection of the time when he and +Jack Vance had lain concealed behind the hedge opposite to Horace +House. His heart beat fast, and he vainly wished that he had had +sufficient forethought to come provided with some ordinary matches. +Several more boys entered, and one of them struck a light. Diggory, +peering through an aperture in the pile of forms, saw at a glance who +they were--Fletcher senior, Thurston, Noaks, and Hawley. + +"There don't seem to be any one about," continued Noaks, peering into +the corners; "yet it's rum there should be such a smell of fusees." + +"I expect it was the man," said Thurston, producing a candle-end, and +sticking it in an empty ginger-beer bottle which lay on the ground. +"He was in here this afternoon after some of those old boxes, and I +expect he lit his pipe. The smell is sure to hang about when the door's +shut." + +The four boys sat down on two upturned buckets and a couple of old +hampers, with the candle in their midst, and Diggory gave vent to an +inward sigh of relief. + +"Well," began Thurston, "one reason we meet here to-night is because I +wanted to explain to you fellows that we can't have any more of those +pleasant little parties in my study--at all events, for the present. +Until this row about Browse has blown over, every one'll be watching us +like cats watching a mouse. We ought not to be seen speaking together, +and that's where that cipher business that old Fletcher invented will +come in jolly useful. We can say anything we want to without appearing +to meet." + +"By-the-bye," interrupted Noaks, "what became of that last note? Mouler +told me about it, or I shouldn't have come. Some one had taken it away +before I went to look." + +"Perhaps it was Gull," answered Thurston. "Where is he?" + +"He's got some turned work to do," answered Hawley. + +"Mouler's outside keeping _cave_" added Noaks. "We thought it would be +well for some one to keep a look-out in case anybody came." + +"Well, what I was going to say," continued Thurston, "is, that for the +present we'd better lie low, and not be seen going about together. +It was a good thing Gull and I managed to turn the tables on Oaks +at that inquiry; it would have been jolly awkward for the rest of you to +have proved an _alibi_. Of course it was agreed that I should keep out +of it, as it was a dead certainty they'd pounce down on me first; so I +went and sat all the evening with old Smeaton. Ha, ha! the fool quite +thought I meant it when I asked him to help me about my work. But I +say, how did it come off? I haven't heard the particulars." + +"Oh, simply enough," answered Hawley. "Noaks and Mouler and Gull and I +did the trick; young Grundy's was the voice that told Browse to go down +to the 'lab.' Grundy hung about at the top of the stairs, and as soon +as he saw Browse come back and make for Allingford's study, he let us +know the coast was clear, so we unlocked the door and skedaddled. +Gull went straight away to the matron's room, and asked her to sew the +two buttons on his waistcoat; he'd pulled them off on purpose. He is a +cunning beggar, that Gull. Fancy his staying behind to light the +reading-room gas, and telling Lucas he'd only just come! Why, he did +more of the wrecking than any two of us put together." + +"D'you think young Grundy's to be trusted?" asked Noaks. + +"Oh yes," answered Hawley; "he's been on our side all along. He had a +fight with young what's-his-name not long ago, about that skit on the +Town match. Besides, I've told him that if it gets out that he had a +hand in that Browse business, he'll be expelled. So he'll keep his +mouth shut right enough." + +"Oh, by-the-bye," cried Thurston, turning to his particular chum, "have +you heard anything more about that poem of yours?" + +Fletcher senior, who had been sitting all this time scowling in silence +at the candle, answered shortly, "No." + +"Hullo!" returned his friend, "what's the matter? You seem precious +glum to-night. What's up? Are you going to chuck this business and +turn good?" + +"You asked me whether I'd heard anything more about that rhyme I wrote," +answered the other, rousing himself, and speaking with a thrill of anger +in his voice. "I say no, but I've _seen_ a jolly lot." + +"How d'you mean?" + +"Why, there's not a fellow in the Sixth but gives me the cold shoulder. +Allingford sets the example, and there's hardly one of them will give me +a civil word. They'd like to oust me from the prefects like they did +you, but they shan't, and, what's more, I'll get even chalks with some +of them before I leave." + +"Hear, hear!" exclaimed Thurston; "that's just what I say. And now the +question is, what shall we do?" + +"Nothing at present," answered the other. "We must wait until this +affair's blown over. There's no need to run the risk of getting +expelled; and, besides, we want some time to think of a plan." + +The faint _clang, ter-ang_ of a bell sounded across the playing field. +Noaks and Hawley rose to their feet. + +"'Prep!'" exclaimed the latter. "We must be off." A new cause for +anxiety now presented itself to Diggory's mind in the thought that he +would be late in taking his place in the big schoolroom. He knew +that Noaks and Hawley would have to be in time for the assembly; but the +two Sixth Form boys were not amenable to the same rule, and might linger +behind. + +Thurston, however, rose to his feet, blew out the candle, and the four +conspirators groped their way in a body out through the low doorway. + +Diggory waited until he thought they must have reached the school +buildings, and then prepared to follow. The bell had stopped ringing +some minutes, and without looking very carefully where he was going, he +ran as fast as he could out of the match-ground, and across the junior +field. Suddenly, right in front of him, and within fifty yards of the +paved playground, a dark figure seemed all at once to rise out of the +ground. It was Noaks! The latter had dropped a pencil-case, and had +been left by his companions searching for it on his hands and knees. + +"Hullo!" he exclaimed, catching the small boy by the arm. "Who are you? +and where have you been?" + +"What's that to you?" answered Diggory boldly; "let me go." + +The remembrance of that mysterious smell of a fusee flashed across +Noaks's mind. + +"Look here!" he cried sharply. "You tell me this moment where you've +been." + +"In the other field." + +"What were you doing there?" + +"Running." + +There was a moment's silence. Noaks had a strong suspicion that the +other knew something about the secret meeting; it was equally possible, +however, that he did not. Young madcaps were often known to let off +steam by careering wildly round the field after dark, and if this had +really been the case in the present instance, it would be folly to say +anything that should awaken suspicion. The big fellow hesitated; then a +happy thought occurred to him: he dragged his captive across the paved +playground, and stopping under the gas-lamp which lit up the archway +leading into the quadrangle, began a hasty examination of the contents +of the latter's pockets. There was no time to lose, and failing to find +what he sought, Noaks gave the youngster a final shake, saying as he +did so: "Look here, have you forgotten that coin robbery? Because, if +you have, I haven't. I've got that knife still. Don't you fall foul of +me, or you'll have reason to be sorry for it, d'you hear?" + +The two boys ran quickly across to the big schoolroom, and entered just +in time to take their seats before the master on duty called, "Silence!" + +As might have been expected, none of the Triple Alliance put in an +appearance at supper that evening; as a matter of fact, they were +congregated in a quiet corner of the box-room, listening to a graphic +account of Diggory's adventures. Noaks's threat about the pocket-knife +revived all their former feelings of dread and uneasiness respecting +their unfortunate expedition to The Hermitage, and there was a grave +look upon their faces as the narrative concluded. + +"You see," said Diggory, as he brought his story to a close, "the thing +was this: he wasn't quite sure whether I knew anything or not, but he +said that to frighten me in case I did." + +"I don't see that we can do anything," began Mugford uneasily. "You say +they aren't going to kick up any other row just yet, and it would be an +awful thing if Noaks found it out, and sent my knife to the police." + +"No, I don't see very well what I can do," answered Diggory. "Somehow +it seems rather mean to hide away and then go and tell what you've +overheard. I think it's best to leave it, and keep a sharp look-out +and see what happens next." + +"Fancy Fletcher inventing that cipher," said Jack Vance, "and being +mixed up with that lot. He is a double-faced beast; it was just like +him making that underhanded attack on the football team." + +"Yes," added Mugford; "and fancy Gull being in both those rows, and +making every one believe he wasn't! They must be a deep lot." + +"So they are," answered Diggory complacently; "but they aren't a match +for the Triple Alliance." + +"I say, what made Noaks search your pockets?" asked Jack, as the three +friends prepared to break up their "confab." + +"Oh, for a long time I couldn't imagine, and then all of a sudden I +thought why it was. Don't you see, he wanted to find if I had any more +fusees. My stars, I was glad 'Rats' had only given me one instead of +the box!" + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. + +The firmest friendships, we are told, have been formed in mutual +adversity; and among the many trials which served to strengthen and +confirm the loyalty and unity of the Triple Alliance, a string of minor +disasters which overtook them one unlucky day early in December must +certainly not be overlooked. + +The after results of this chapter of accidents cause it to assume an +additional importance as being the "beginning of the end," alike of this +narrative and of an eventful period in the history of Ronleigh College. +The reader will understand, therefore, that in turning our attention for +a short time to an account of the afore-mentioned misfortune of the +three friends, we are not wandering from what might be called the main +line of our story. + +"It all came about," so said Jack Vance, "through Carton's having the +cheek to go home some ten days before proper time." The latter +certainly did, for one reason or another, leave Ronleigh on Wednesday, +the eleventh of December; and by his own special request, our three +friends came down to the station to see him off. + +"Have you got anything to read going along?" asked Diggory, as they +stood lingering round the carriage door. + +"Yes," answered Carton. "Look here, you fellows, you might get in and +sit round the window till the train starts; it'll keep other people from +getting in, and I shall have the place to myself." + +The Triple Alliance did as they were requested. + +"Aha, my boys!" continued Carton, rubbing his hands together, "when +you're stewing away in 'prep' this evening, think of me at home eating a +rattling good tea, and no more work to prepare after it for old +Greyling." + +"Oh, rubbish!" cried Jack. "I wouldn't go now even if I had the chance. +Why, you'll miss all the fun of breaking up; and young 'Rats' is making +up a party to fill a carriage, and we're going to have a fine spree. +Then by the time we get home for Christmas it'll be all stale to you. +Pshaw! I wouldn't--hullo!--here, stop a minute!--why, she's off!" + +Off she certainly was. There had been a sharp chirrup of the whistle, +and at almost the same moment the train began to move. Diggory tried to +let down the window to get at the handle of the door; but the sash +worked stiffly, and before he succeeded in making it drop, the train had +run the length of the platform, and the station was left behind. + +The four boys gazed at one another for a moment in blank astonishment, +and then burst into a simultaneous roar of laughter. + +"You'll have to go as far as Chatton now," said Carton. "Never mind; you +can get back by the next train." + +"Yes; but the question is if we've got any money," answered Jack Vance +ruefully. "It's fourpence the single journey, so the fare there and +back for three of us'll be two bob. Here's threepence; that's all the +tin I'm worth.--what have you got, Diggy?" + +"Four halfpenny stamps, and half a frank on my watch-chain," was the +reply. "But I don't think these railway Johnnies 'ud take either of +those." + +On examination, the only articles of value Mugford's pockets were found +to contain were an aluminium pencil-case which wouldn't work, and a +dirty scrap of indiarubber. + +"Look here," cried Carton, "I'll give you two shillings. It's my fault; +and I've got something over from my journey-money." + +The offer was gladly accepted, and at length, when the train reached +Chatton, the three chums wished their companion good-bye, laughing +heartily over their unexpected journey. + +"What time's the next train back to Ronleigh?" asked Jack, as he paid +the money for their fare to the ticket-collector. + +"Let's see," answered the official: "next train to Ronleigh--5.47." + +Jack's face fell. "Isn't there any train before that?" he asked. +"We've got to be back at the school by half-past five." + +"Can't help that," returned the man; "next train from here to Ronleigh's +5.47. And," he added, encouragingly, "she's nearly always a bit late." + +The boys wandered disconsolately through the booking-office of the +little country station, and halted outside to consider what was to be +done. + +"It's five-and-twenty past four," said Jack Vance, looking at his watch, +"and it's a good six miles by road; we shall never walk it in the time." + +"It's a good bit shorter by rail," mused Diggory, "if we could walk +along the line. That tunnel under Arrow Hill cuts off a long round." + +"We couldn't do that," said Mugford; "there are notice-boards all over +the shop saying that trespassers on the railway will be prosecuted." + +"Oh, bother that," cried Jack Vance, suddenly smitten with Diggory's +idea. "Who cares for notice-boards? We'll go home along the line. +If we trot every now and then, we shall get back in time." + +"Well, we'd better walk along the road as far as that curve," said +Diggory, "and then they won't see us from the station." + +The trio started off in the direction indicated, hurrying along the +permanent way, hopping over the sleepers, and seeing how far they could +run on one of the metals without falling off. At length they entered a +cutting, the steep banks of which rose gradually until they towered high +above their heads on either hand. Before long the mouth of the tunnel +was reached, and, as if by mutual consent, the three friends came to a +halt. + +There was something forbidding about the dark, gloomy entrance--the +stale, smoky smell, and the damp dripping from the roof, all tending to +give it a very uninviting aspect. + +"It's awfully long," said Mugford; "don't you think we'd better turn +back?" + +In their secret hearts his two companions were more than half inclined +to follow this suggestion; but there is a form of cowardice to which +even the bravest are subject--namely, the fear of being thought afraid-- +and it was this, perhaps, which decided them to advance instead of +retreat. + +"Oh no, we won't go back," cried Diggory. "Come along; I'll go first." +And so saying, he plunged forward into the deep shadow of the archway. + +The ground seemed to be plentifully strewn with ashes, which scrunched +under their feet as they plodded along, and their voices sounded hollow +and strange. + +"My eye," said Jack, "it's precious dark. I can hardly see where I'm +going." + +"It'll be darker still before we see the end," answered Diggory. "Some +one was telling me the other day that there's a curve in the middle." + +"Hadn't we better go back?" faltered Mugford. + +"No, you fathead; shut up." + +The darkness seemed to increase, and the silence grew oppressive. + +The boys were walking in single file, Diggory leading, and Jack Vance +bringing up the rear. + +"I say," exclaimed the latter, as he stumbled over a sleeper, +"I shouldn't like to be caught here by a train." + +"That can't happen," retorted Diggory; "didn't you hear the man say +there wasn't another till 5.47?" + +"Yes," added Mugford; "but there might be a luggage, or one coming the +other way." + +"Well, all you'd have to do would be to cross over on to the other +line." + +Imperceptibly the boys quickened their pace until it became almost a +trot. + +"Hurrah!" cried Diggory, a few moments later, as a far-distant +semicircle of daylight came into view. "There's the other end." + +"Stop a minute," cried Jack, emboldened by the prospect of soon being +once more in the fresh air; "let's see if we can make an echo." + +The little party halted for a moment, but instead of hearing the shrill +yell for the production of which Jack had just filled his lungs, their +ears were greeted with a far more terrible sound, which caused their +hearts to stop beating. There was, it seemed, a sudden boom, followed +by a long, continuous roar. Diggory turned his head, to find the +far-off patch of light replaced by a spark of fiery red, and the +terrible truth flashed across his mind that in the excitement of the +moment he could not remember for certain which was the down line. + +It was well for the Triple Alliance that at least one of their number +was blessed with the faculty of quick decision and prompt action, or the +history of their friendship might have had a tragic ending. + +Diggory wheeled round, and catching hold of Mugford, cried in a voice +loud enough to be heard above the ever-increasing din, "Quick! get into +the six-foot way, and lie down!" + +What followed even those who underwent the experience could never +clearly describe. They flung themselves upon the ground: there were the +thundering roar of an earthquake, coupled with a deafening clatter, as +though the whole place were falling about their ears, and a whirling +hurricane of hot air and steam. + +In ten seconds, which seemed like ten minutes, the whole thing had come +and gone, and Diggory, scrambling to his feet in the dense darkness of +the choking atmosphere, inquired in a shaky voice, "Are you all right, +you chaps?" + +There was a reply in the affirmative, and the three boys proceeded to +grope their way along in silence, until the broad archway of the +tunnel's mouth appeared through a fog of steam and smoke. + +"I say, you fellows," cried Diggory, as they emerged into the fresh air, +"I wouldn't go through there again for something." + +"It was a good thing you gave me that shove," said Mugford; "I felt as +though I couldn't move. And we were standing on the very line it went +over." + +"Yes: I couldn't remember for the moment which was 'up' and which was +'down.' I thought, too, we should be safer lying flat on the ground +when it passed; had we stood up in the six-foot way, we might have got +giddy and fallen under the wheels." + +The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a strange voice shouting,-- + +"Hullo, you young beggars! what are you a-doing there?" + +The boys turned to see from whence this inquiry proceeded. Half-way up +the cutting on their left was a little hut, and beside it stood the man +who had spoken. The same glance showed them another thing--namely, that +just beside this little shanty was one of the notice-boards Mugford had +mentioned, warning the public that persons found trespassing on the +railway would be prosecuted. + +"Come along," cried Jack Vance; "let's bolt." + +Unless they doubled back into the tunnel, their only way of escape lay +in scaling the right side of the cutting, as a short distance down the +line a gang of platelayers were at work, who would have intercepted them +before they reached the open country. + +"Come along," repeated Jack Vance, and the next moment he and his two +companions were clambering as fast as they could up the steep side of +the embankment, clutching at bushes and tufts of grass, and causing +miniature landslips of sand and gravel with every step they took. + +The man shouted after them to stop, and seeing that they paid no +attention to his commands, promptly gave chase, rushing down the narrow +pathway from the hut, and scrambling after them up the opposite +slope. + +Jack Vance and Diggory, whose powers of wind and limb had benefited by +constant exercise in the football field, were soon at the top; but +Mugford, who was not inclined to be athletic, and who had already been +pretty nearly pumped in hurrying out of the tunnel; was still slowly +dragging himself up the ascent, panting and puffing like a steam-engine, +when his comrades reached the summit. + +His pursuer was gaining on him rapidly, and it was in vain that his two +friends (too loyal to make good their escape alone) stood, and with +frantic gestures urged him to quicker movement. Just, however, as the +capture seemed certain, a great piece of loose earth giving way beneath +the man's weight caused the latter to fall forward on his face. In this +posture he tobogganed down the slope, with more force than elegance; and +with a yell of triumph Jack and Diggory stretched out their hands, and +dragged Mugford up to the level grassy plateau on which they stood. + +Close behind them was a wood, and without a moment's hesitation they +plunged through the hedge, and dashed on through the bushes. The dry +twigs cracked, and the dead leaves rustled beneath their feet. +Suddenly, not more than fifty yards away to their right, there was the +loud explosion of a gun, and almost at the same instant a harsh-voice +shouted: "Hi there--stop! Where are you going?" + +"Oh," panted Jack, "it's one of the keepers! Run for all you're worth!" + +The opposite edge of the wood was not far distant. The three youngsters +rushed wildly on, and stumbling blindly over the boundary hedge, +continued their mad gallop across a narrow field. Over another hedge, +and they were in a sunken roadway. Then came the end. Mugford +staggered over to the opposite bank, and falling down upon it with his +hand pressed to his side, gasped out, "Awful stitch--can't go any +further!" + +Years afterwards, when the Triple Alliance met at an Old Boys' dinner, +they laughed heartily in talking over this adventure; but there were no +signs of mirth on any of their faces at the time it was happening. +Then as Jack Vance and Diggory stood staring blankly at each other in +the deepening winter twilight, they suddenly blossomed out into heroes-- +heroes, it is true, in flannel cricket-caps and turned-down collars, +but heroes, at all events to my mind, as genuine in the spirit which +prompted their action as those whose deeds are known in song and story. +The barking of a dog in the field above showed that the keeper was +following up their trail. + +"Bun for it!" panted Mugford; "don't wait for me!" + +"Shan't!" said Jack and Diggory in one voice; and the latter, sticking +his hands in his trouser pockets, began to whistle. + +"Go on!" cried Mugford. + +"Shan't!" repeated his companions. + +It was evident that the Triple Alliance would sink or swim together, and +it so happened that by a piece of unexpected good fortune they were +destined to realize the latter alternative. There was a clatter of +wheels, the quick stamp of a fast-trotting horse, and a baker's cart +came swinging round the corner. Diggory, whose wits never seemed to +desert him at a critical moment, recognized it at once as belonging +to the man who supplied the school, and springing forward he beckoned to +the driver to stop, crying,-- + +"I say, give us a lift into Ronleigh, and we'll pay you a shilling. +We belong to the college." + +The man peered round the canvas covering, and at once recognized the +boys' cap and crest. + +"All right," he said. "Hop up; I'll find room for you somewhere." + +The danger was past; with an audible sigh of relief the three youngsters +clambered into the vehicle, and the next moment were bowling rapidly +along in the direction of the town. + +"I say," cried Jack, "this is a stroke of good luck. Why, we shall be +back in time after all." + +The remainder of their conversation was lost to the ears of the driver, +but seemed to consist mainly of a series of attempts on the part of +Mugford to say something, which were always interrupted by a chorus of +groans, and shouts of "Shut up!" from his two companions. + +At length the cart arrived at Ronleigh, and set down the three +passengers at the corner of Broad Street, the principal thoroughfare; +and here their adventures seemed to have terminated. + +I say _seemed_, because, as a matter of fact, something still remains to +be told in the history of this eventful day; but before proceeding to +the close of the chapter, it will be well to say a word or two with +regard to a certain person connected with it who is as yet unknown to +the reader. + +Ronleigh was fortunate in having a staff of masters who won the respect +and confidence of the boys. Some poor-spirited fellows there are who +will always abuse those set in authority over them; but at Ronleigh +there was happily, on the whole, a mutual good understanding, such as +might exist in a well and wisely disciplined regiment between officers +and men. + +Exceptions, however, prove the rule; and when at the commencement of the +present winter term a new junior master had come to take charge of the +Third Form, it was evident from the first that before long there would +be trouble. Mr. Grice was a very short man, with a pompous, hectoring +manner, which was, somehow, especially exasperating to fellows who stood +a good head and shoulders taller than the master. His rule was founded +on the fear of punishment, and the sceptre which he wielded was a small +black note-book, in which he entered the names of all offenders with an +accompanying "Hundred lines, Brown!" or "Write the lesson out after +school, Smith." Lastly, Mr. Grice was not a gentleman. Boys, I know, +pay little attention to the conventionalities, and are seldom found +consulting books on etiquette; but those who have been well brought up, +and accustomed at home to an air of refinement, are quick to detect +ill-breeding and bad manners in those older than themselves, and who +"ought to know better." So it came about that Mr. Grice was unpopular, +and the boys in his class bemoaned their fate, and called him +uncomplimentary nicknames. + +We left the three friends standing at the corner of Broad Street. +The church clock had just struck the quarter-past five, and by this time +it was dark, though the street was lit up by the gas-lamps and the long +rows of shop windows. + +"I hope no one sees us," said Jack Vance. "I'm mud all over. We must +look sharp, or we shall be late." + +"Hullo!" exclaimed Diggory, "look out! Here's that wretched little +Grice coming; there, he's stopped to look into the ironmonger's shop. +We must dodge past him somehow, or he'll want to know where we've +been." + +The trio crossed quickly over to the opposite side of the street, and +hurried off at full speed in the direction of the school. + +All boys were supposed to be on the school premises by half-past five, +and at that time the door leading to the outer world was locked by the +prefect for the day. + +Oaks, who happened to be on duty, was standing in the passage talking to +Allingford when the three juveniles arrived, out of breath and flushed +with running. + +"Hullo, you kids! where have you been?" inquired the captain. + +Diggory launched out into a brief description of their many adventures; +Oaks laughed heartily. "Well," he said, pulling out his watch, "you've +just got back in time; half a minute more, and you'd have been outside, +my boys." + +The prefect locked the door, and continuing his conversation with +Allingford, started off down the passage. On reaching what was the main +corridor on the ground floor, they paused for a moment, and stood +warming their hands at the hot-water pipe, and it was while thus engaged +that they were suddenly accosted by Mr. Grice, who bustled up to them in +a great state of excitement. + +"Are you on duty, Oaks?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Have any boys come in late?" + +"No, sir." + +"Well, three boys passed me in the town; I think one of them was young +Trevanock. I called to them to stop, but they took no notice. When +they come in, you send than to me." + +"They weren't late, sir," answered Oaks; "they came in about a minute +ago." + +"Oh, nonsense. I looked at my watch when I saw them in the town, and +then it was five-and-twenty past; they couldn't have come up in five +minutes. You must either have let them in, or not closed the door at +the proper time." + +Prefects at Ronleigh were not in the habit of being lectured as though +they were lower-school boys. Oaks bit his lip. + +"I closed the door on the stroke of half-past," he answered. + +"Well, you say those boys came in about two minutes ago. By me it's now +twenty to six, so they must have been late." + +"They were in before half-past, sir; your watch must be wrong." + +"Don't keep contradicting me, sir," said the master. + +"We are supposed to work by the school clock, sir," interposed the +captain. + +"I'm not aware that I addressed any remark to you, Allingford," retorted +Mr. Grice, rapidly losing all control of his temper. "You need make no +further attempt to teach me the rules of the school; I flatter myself +that I am sufficiently well versed in them already." + +A crowd of idlers, attracted by the angry tones of the master's voice, +had begun to collect in the passage, and the captain flushed to the +roots of his hair at being thus taken to task in public. + +"I merely said, sir, that we work by the school clock." + +"And I say, hold your tongue, sir.--Oaks, remember you report those +three boys for being late." + +"I can't do that, sir," answered Oaks stolidly, "for they were in time." + +Mr. Grice boiled over. "You are a very impertinent fellow," he cried. +"I shall report you both to the doctor." And so saying, he turned on +his heel and walked away. + +There was a buzz of astonishment among the bystanders. The idea of a +captain of Ronleigh being reported to the doctor was something novel +indeed, and by the time the first bell rang for tea, a report of the +collision between Mr. Grice and the prefects had spread all over the +school. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +SOWING THE WIND. + +The passage of arms between Mr. Grice and the two prefects was eagerly +discussed by boys of all ages. Exaggerated reports spread from mouth to +mouth, each teller of the story adding to it some details drawn from his +own imagination, until, away down in the Second Form, it was confidently +asserted that Oaks had called Mr. Grice a "little tin monkey," and that +Allingford had boxed the master's ears; which enormities would most +certainly result in the expulsion of the two offenders. + +As a matter of fact, the expected storm never burst. The first thing +the doctor did on receiving Mr. Grice's complaint was to compare that +gentleman's watch with his own. "Hum'" he said shortly, "I suppose +you're aware that you _are_ ten minutes fast?" + +A few moments later Mr. Grice withdrew, looking rather crestfallen. +As may be imagined, the result of his interview with the head-master was +never made public, and in the meantime Ronleians old and young were +expressing their high approval of the conduct of their captain and his +lieutenant. The gilt was beginning to wear off the Thurstonian +gingerbread, and sensible fellows, who could tell the difference +between jewel and paste, were less inclined than ever to be led by the +nose by such fellows as Gull and Hawley. Here was an instance in which +the prefects had taken a stand against palpable injustice, and the +action had caused the whole body to rise several pegs in everybody's +estimation. + +The near approach of the Wraxby football match caused a revival of good, +honest public spirit. If only Ronleigh could beat the Grammar School +this year at footer as well as at cricket, every one felt that their cup +of joy would run over, and the champions who were to strive for the +wished-for victory were naturally regarded, for the time being, as +standing on more exalted ground than their fellows. Ever since the +exposure of Fletcher senior as the author of "College _v._ Town," the +poem had become a weapon turned against the writer and his party. +Boys had gone to the bottom of the matter, and discovering the real +reason of Thurston's absence from the team, had declared that a fellow +who out of spite would refuse to give his services to uphold the honour +of the school had forfeited all claim on their consideration or +sympathy. Such was the state of popular feeling when, with the clang of +the getting-up bell on Thursday morning, the twelfth of December, a day +commenced fraught with unexpected episodes and situations closely +affecting the interests of the Triple Alliance. + +One might have thought that their adventures on the previous afternoon +had afforded them sufficient excitement for at least one week; but these +were destined to prove but the prelude to an event of still greater +importance. The three friends went into school at nine o'clock, looking +forlorn and miserable. Something, indeed, had happened to mar their +happiness, and the cause of their depression was as follows:-- + +Soon after breakfast, when the contents of the post-bag had been +distributed as usual, Mugford accosted his two chums, who were strolling +up and down the quadrangle. A look of abject misery was on his face, +and in his hand he held an open letter. + +"Hullo!" cried Jack Vance; "what's up? You look as if you had lost a +sovereign and found sixpence!" + +"Matter enough," murmured Mugford, whose heart was evidently in his +mouth: "I'm going to leave." + +"Going to leave!" exclaimed Diggory; "what ever d'you mean?" + +"Well, I don't mind telling you fellows," answered the other. "You know +my guv'nor isn't well off, and he says he's lost money, and can't afford +to keep me at Ronleigh. I know I'm no good, and you fellows'll get on +all right without me, and--" + +The sentence not being completed, the two other boys glanced at the +speaker's face, and from previous indications in the tone of his voice +were not surprised to find that he was crying. Two years appear a long +time when one is on the bright side of twenty, and the friendship seemed +to have lasted for ages. At the near prospect of separation all +Mugford's little failings were forgotten, and both Diggory and Jack +Vance felt that life without him would be a blank. + +"Oh, dash it all!" said the latter; "you mustn't go? Isn't there +anything we can do? Shall I write to your guv'nor?" + +The idea of Jack Vance addressing a remonstrance to his respected parent +caused the ghost of a smile to appear on Mugford's doleful face. + +"No, it's no good," he answered. "There's nothing for it; I shall have +to leave." + +During the interval which divided morning school and the free time +before dinner the three friends mooned about together, trying in vain to +regard the future in a more cheerful light, and to make plans for +keeping touch of each other by an interchange of letters and a possible +meeting in the holidays. + +"It's all very well," said Jack Vance to Diggory, when late on in the +afternoon he happened to come across the latter flattening his nose +against the glass of the box-room window--"it's all very well talking +about writing and all that; but this is the end of the Triple Alliance." + +"Yes," answered Diggory, after a moment's thought, "I suppose it is. +I wish we could do something more before it's broken up." + +As he spoke, he passed his hand mechanically along the lower surface of +the window ledge; then with a sudden exclamation he went down on his +knees, and picked something out of the wall. + +It was another note written in cipher! + +The missive was certainly very brief, consisting of only seven +letters:-- + + "GLMRTSG." + +"Hullo!" said Jack Vance; "they're at it again!" + +His companion made no reply, but taking out a pencil, copied the cipher +on the back of an envelope, and then replaced the mysterious document in +the crack between the window-frame and the bricks. + +"What are you doing that for?" + +"Why, because they may miss it, and smell a rat. Come on; let's get the +key and see what it means." + +In this instance the translation of the cryptograph did not occupy much +time; Diggory produced his double alphabet, and soon spelt out the +word:-- + +"_To-night._" + +The two chums gazed at each other for a few moments in silence. + +"What does it mean?" queried Jack. + +"I don't know, unless it is that they are going to have another meeting +after tea under the pavilion." + +"Let's find Mug, and hear what he thinks." + +In discussing their new find and attempting to solve its meaning, the +three friends forgot for the time being the melancholy tidings they had +received that morning, and gave themselves up to a full enjoyment of the +mystery. + +"I can't see," said Mugford, "that it means anything else than that they +are going to have another meeting." + +"Yes, that's it. I shall go down to the pavilion again after tea, and +see what's up. I shouldn't wonder if there is going to be another row. +Fletcher said he meant to do something before he left, and there isn't +much time now before the end of the term." + +"Shan't Mug or I go this time?" asked Jack Vance; "it's rather a risky +business." + +"No, I'll go; I know now just where to hide." + +During the half-hour between tea and evening preparation Jack Vance and +Mugford lingered about in the dark and deserted quadrangle, anxiously +awaiting their comrade's return. Once only was the silence broken, by +Maxton chasing young "Rats" from the gymnasium into the big school, +shouting, "I'll lick you, you little villain!" but with this exception, +our two friends had the place to themselves. + +It was a raw, cold night; every one seemed, very naturally, to be +keeping indoors, and there were no signs of any members of the secret +society being abroad. Jack Vance and his companion trotted softly up +and down, endeavouring to keep themselves warm. At length, when their +patience was wellnigh exhausted, there was a sound of footsteps, and +Diggory was descried coming through the archway leading to the playing +fields. + +"Well," cried his two chums, in low, eager tones, "what have you heard?" + +The answer was certainly one they had least expected,-- + +"Nothing." + +"Nothing! what d'you mean?" + +"Why, they didn't come; there wasn't any meeting. I waited and waited, +until I saw it was no use staying any longer; so then I gave it up as a +bad job." + +"Did the note really say to-night?" + +"Yes: I went down just before tea to see if it was still there, and I +brought it away with me. Here, look for yourself." + +As he spoke, Diggory produced the slip of paper from his waistcoat +pocket. By the light of the archway lamp it was compared with a +hastily-constructed key, and the former translation was found to be +correct. + +The Triple Alliance had certainly for once in a way "drawn blank," and +the preparation bell putting an end to their further deliberations, they +directed their steps toward the schoolroom, wondering more than ever +what could be the meaning of that significant word, "To-night." + +Now, the real reason of the three friends being thus at fault in their +investigations was simply this: they were exactly twenty-four hours +behindhand in their attempt to unravel the mystery. The conclusion +they had come to with regard to the meaning of the note was correct: a +tacit understanding had existed for some time among the inner circle of +the Thurstonian party that this should be the signal for a gathering of +the clan; but the note, when Diggory had found it, had been lying in the +impromptu post office for a day and a half, and the meeting to which +it was a summons had already taken place on the previous evening. + +For the reader, who is a privileged person, we intend to put back the +clock, and leaving the Triple Alliance dividing their attention between +attempts to discover the meaning, first of their Latin author, and +secondly of the enigma formed by this perplexing single-worded epistle, +we will give a short account of the gathering to which it referred. + +It was while the greater number of their school-fellows were gathered in +numerous little groups, whiling away the free time before preparation +discussing the various rumours that were current respecting Mr. Grice's +encounters with Oaks and Allingford, that the same five conspirators +assembled for another secret "confab" in the den beneath the pavilion. + +In one way it was a fortunate thing for Diggory that he did not discover +the note sooner, for hardly had Thurston set the lighted candle in the +empty bottle than Noaks picked it up, and peered carefully into each of +the four corners, and behind the heaps of benches and other lumber. + +"What are you doing that for?" asked Gull. + +"Oh, only to see that no one's come who wasn't invited. D'you remember +last time what a stink there was of a burnt fusee? Well, after you'd +gone I found young Trevanock knocking about the field, and I wouldn't +swear but what he knew something about our meeting. I searched the +young beggar's pockets; but he hadn't got any more lights, so I let him +go." + +The party grouped themselves round the candle, as they had done on the +previous occasion, when Diggory had watched their movements from behind +the pile of forms, and Thurston, with an inquiring look at Fletcher, +asked, "Well, what's the object of this pleasant little reunion?" + +"I suppose you can pretty well guess," answered the other. "The last +time we were here we all agreed that before the end of the term was up +we'd get even chalks with Allingford and Co. Well, seeing there's only +eight days left, I thought it was about time we had another meeting, and +decided what we were going to do.--By-the-bye," added the speaker, +turning with something like a sneer on his lips, and addressing his +chum, "it's the Wraxby match on Saturday; I suppose they haven't asked +you to play in the team?" + +The shaft went home, and Thurston's face darkened with anger. + +"No," he answered indignantly, "and I wouldn't play, not if they all +went down on their knees and begged me to. What do I care about the +Wraxby match? If I could, I'd put a stopper on it, and bring the whole +thing to the ground." + +"Well," continued Fletcher calmly, "that's just what we're going to do. +If you'd asked me this morning how we could put a spoke in Allingford's +wheel, and pay out him and a lot of those other prigs like Oaks and +Rowlands, I couldn't have told you; but now the thing's as easy as pat. +They'll find out they haven't cold-shouldered me at every turn and +corner for nothing. I'll give them tit for tat, and after Christmas, +when I've left this beastly place, I'll write and tell them who did it." + +"You seem to have got your back up, old chap," said Thurston, referring +to the bitter tones in which the last few sentences had been spoken; +"but out with it--what's your plan?" + +"Why, this: I'd no idea what a chance we should have when I stuck that +note in our pillar-box, but here it is all ready made. Allingford and +Oaks have had a row with little Grice; he's reported them, and it's +quite natural they should want to pay him out for doing it. As they're +such good boys, I don't suppose they'll try anything of the kind; but we +might undertake the job, and do it for them." + +The speaker paused to see if he had been understood. + +"What!" exclaimed Thurston bluntly, "you mean, play Grice a trick and +make it appear they'd done it because of this rumpus about locking the +door?" + +"That's about it," returned the other, laughing. "What could we do +better?" + +Noaks murmured his approval of the scheme, but Gull and Hawley were +silent. To tell the truth, since the big row following their attack on +Browse had put a stop to any further chance of card-parties and other +amusements in Thurston's study, their attachment to the ex-prefect had +considerably lessened. Like many others of their kind, they were +thoroughly selfish at heart, and saw no good in running any personal +risk to settle the quarrels of a third person. The party feeling which +had characterized the last school elections, and caused for the time +being a spirit of ill-will and opposition towards the school leaders, +had just about died a natural death; and if another public meeting had +been called in the gymnasium, not half a dozen fellows would have +shouted for Thurston, or allied themselves against the side of law and +order. All this had tended to make Hawley and Gull lukewarm in their +adherence to the cause. Noaks, however, who would have paid any price +for the privilege of being able to hobnob with those who were in any +higher position than himself, was ready to follow his two Sixth Form +cronies to any extreme they might suggest. + +"Well," he inquired, "and what's to be the trick?" + +"I only just thought of one on the spur of the moment," answered +Fletcher; "but if no one else has a better to suggest, I daresay it'll +do. We might screw up little Grice's bedroom door so as to get him +down late in the morning; his room's right away at the end of the +passage. There is a screw-driver belonging to Oaks lying in one of the +empty lockers--it has his name on the handle; and if we happened to +drop it as we came away, I think that in the face of this row it would +look uncommonly like his doing. D'you twig?" + +There was something so mean and cowardly in this scheme, and in the +manner in which the proposal was made, that even Thurston gave vent to +an exclamation of contempt. + +"So that's your little game, is it?" he inquired. + +"Yes, that's it; that's my little project for putting a stop to the +Wraxby match. There'll be an awful row, and the doctor'll keep the team +from going. Now, then, who'll do the trick?--Will you, Hawley?" + +"No fear," answered Hawley. "Gull and I did most of the last two +blow-ups; it's some one else's turn now. Suppose you do it yourself, as +it's your idea." + +Fletcher frowned: in matters of this sort he liked to make the plans and +get others to execute them. "Well, I was thinking one of you might," he +began. + +"Oh, bother!" interrupted Thurston, whose revengeful spirit had been +once more aroused by the mention of the Wraxby match--"it's nothing; +you and I'll do it." + +"And I'll help if you like," added Noaks, who thought the present +occasion a good opportunity to distinguish himself. + +"All right," continued Thurston: "you go down town and get some screws, +Noaks--two or three good long ones." + +"Well, we'll fix to-morrow night," said Fletcher. "Keep awake, and meet +at the top of B staircase, say at one o'clock; then there's no fear but +what every one'll be asleep." + + +The Triple Alliance had for some hours ceased to puzzle their brains +over either Virgil or cipher notes, and the whole of Ronleigh College +was apparently wrapped in slumber, when three shadowy figures +assembled on the landing at the top of staircase B, and proceeded +noiselessly along the corridor, and down the side passage at the end of +which Mr. Grice's room was situated. + +"Have you got the screws?" + +"Yes," answered Noaks, producing a twist of paper from his pocket. + +"Don't you think I'd better go and keep _cave_ at the top of the +stairs?" whispered Fletcher. + +"No," returned Thurston; "Noaks can do that. I'll make the two holes, +and you must put the screws in; you're the best carpenter of the lot." + +Standing in the cold, dark passage, the work seemed to take ages to +perform; but at length it was finished. + +"Hist! what are you doing?" + +Fletcher had produced a scrap of paper from his pocket, and was +seemingly about to slip it under the door. + +"I want to make certain that it shall be put down to Oaks," he +whispered; "so in case the screw-driver should be overlooked, I'm going +to slip this under the door for Grice to find in the morning." + +Thurston glanced at the paper, and saw printed thereon in bold capitals +the following inscription:-- + + "BE IN TIME BY THE SCHOOL CLOCK." + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. + +Work at Ronleigh commenced with a sort of half-hour's preliminary +practice in the various classrooms; the school then assembled for +prayers, after which came breakfast. During the progress of this meal +on the Friday morning, in the small hours of which had been enacted the +scene described at the end of the previous chapter, it became evident +that "something was up." The table, at which sat most of the boys of +the Third Form, was in a state of great disorder, while the discussion +of some topic of unusual interest seemed to be occupying the attention +of the prefects. It was not, however, until after the boys had swarmed +out of the dining-hall that the reason of this subdued commotion became +generally known; and then, like the sudden report of an explosion, every +one seemed to become acquainted with the news at the same moment. +Mr. Grice had been screwed up in his bedroom! Oaks and Allingford had +done it! The doctor had summoned them to meet him in his study! + +It was from a member of the Third Form that the Triple Alliance heard +the particulars of what had happened. "'Little Grice,'" said this young +gentleman, whose own height was about four feet two inches--"'little +Grice' never turned up until just before the bell rang for prayers, and +then he was simply bursting with rage, and told us all about it. They'd +put a note under his door telling him to be in time by the school clock; +and besides that, when one of the men went to get him out, he found a +screw-driver with Oaks's name on, so it's as clear as day who did it." + +This conversation took place in the quadrangle. Travers, the Third Form +boy, rushed off to impart his information to other hearers, and the +three chums passed on through the archway, and came to a stand-still in +a quiet corner of the paved playground. + +"Well," asked Diggory, "who did it?" + +"Who d'you think it was?" retorted Jack Vance. + +"Why, some of Thurston's lot, I believe." + +"So do I." + +Mugford, who was always rather slow at grasping a new idea, opened his +eyes in astonishment. "But," he exclaimed, "how about the paper and the +screw-driver?" + +"Pooh!" answered Diggory, "how about that cipher note that said, +'To-night'?" + +"Of course," added Jack Vance, "they'd evidently arranged it beforehand, +and that paper was to say when they were to do the trick." + +It seems possible sometimes to come by wrong roads to a right +conclusion; and though the boys were mistaken in changing from their +first opinion as to the meaning of the note, yet in this instance their +error caused them to hit the right nail on the head. + +"It was one of Thurston's lot who did it," repeated Diggory decisively; +"neither Oaks nor Allingford would ever dream of doing such a mad +thing." + +"I don't see exactly how you can prove it," said Jack Vance +thoughtfully; "that one word 'To-night' might mean anything." + +"Of course it's no proof in itself," answered the other; "but what I +mean to say is, that if the doctor, or any other sensible chap, knew all +we do about the cipher, and what they said at their last meeting, he +wouldn't doubt for a moment but that it was one of them who screwed up +Grice's door. Travers says the doctor has sent for Oaks and old Ally; +it'll be an awful shame if they get into a row." + +"I don't see how they are going to get out of it," sighed Mugford. + +"Then I do," answered Diggory stoutly, with a sudden flash in his bright +eyes: "the Triple Alliance can get them out!" + +"How?" + +"Why, we must tell all we know, and show Dr. Denson the note." + +"When?" + +"Now." + +"Won't it be sneaking?" + +"I should consider we were beastly sneaks if we didn't." + +"So we should be!" exclaimed Jack Vance. "They've always been jolly +decent to us, and it was on our account they had this row with Grice." + +"If Noaks finds we've split, he'll send that knife to the police," said +Mugford. + +"I don't care a straw what Noaks does," answered Diggory boldly. +"You fellows needn't have anything to do with it; I'll go and tell Dr. +Denson myself." + +"No; I'll come too," said Jack. + +"So'll I," added Mugford; and off they started. It was always a great +ordeal to enter the doctor's study, even in what might be termed times +of peace; and now, as Diggory turned the handle of the door, in answer +to the muffled "Come in" which had followed his knock, the three friends +experienced a sudden shortness of breath, and an unpleasant sinking +sensation at the pit of the stomach. + +The two prefects were standing at the front of the writing-table. +Allingford's face was very white, and Oaks's very red, "for all the +world like the Wars of the Roses," as Jack Vance afterwards remarked, +though it would be difficult to clearly understand the simile. + +The head-master glanced round for a moment to see who had entered the +room, and, without taking any further notice of the three juveniles, +continued the speech he was in the act of making when they entered the +apartment. + +"I am not going to defend the action of Mr. Grice," he was saying. +"We are all apt to make mistakes, and I will tell you candidly that on +this occasion I think Mr. Grice was unwise; but it is absolutely +necessary that I should uphold the authority of my masters. If boys +consider they are not justly dealt with, they have me to appeal to; but +the idea that disputes between the two should be settled by practical +joking is simply outrageous. This is the first instance of the kind +that I ever remember to have happened at Ronleigh, and I tell you +plainly that I am determined to make an example of the offenders." + +"I assure you, sir," said Oaks, in a low, agitated voice, "that we have +had no hand in this matter." + +"I am sorry even to seem to doubt your word, Oaks," answered the doctor, +"but I think you must own that appearances are very much against you. +A screw-driver bearing your name was found in the passage, and this +piece of paper, which was pushed under the bedroom door, and which now +lies before me, bears a direct reference to the dispute about the +school time. As far as I can see at present, the only conclusion which +can be arrived at is that this is an act of retaliation which has sprung +from your contention with Mr. Grice." + +The captain was about to speak, but Dr. Denson held up his hand. + +"As I said before," he continued, "I am sorry, Allingford, even to +appear to doubt your word; I have always had reason to rely with +confidence upon the integrity and honour of my prefects, and believe +me, this interview is to me an exceedingly painful one. The matter, +however, is too serious to be passed over lightly, and you must hear me +to the end. The conduct of the school during the present term has +been far from satisfactory: two acts of gross misconduct have already +been committed, and I cannot but blame those whom I hold mainly +responsible for the order of the school that in both instances the +offenders should have gone unpunished. It seems hardly possible to me +that such things should happen without its coming to the ears of the +prefects who were the perpetrators of the deeds in question. Here we +have a third example of the same thing. If neither of you took any +actual part in screwing up this door, I am still inclined to think that +you must have been cognizant of the act, and I demand to know the names +of the offenders. Take time to think before you answer. I warn you +once more that I am determined to sift the matter to the bottom." + +Once more the two prefects protested that they had not the remotest idea +who had played the trick on Mr. Grice. + +Dr. Denson frowned, and sat for some moments without speaking, rapping +the blotting-pad in front of him with the butt end of a seal; then +remembering the presence of the small boys, he turned towards them with +an inquiring look. + +"Well?" + +Diggory's face wore something of the same expression which Jack and +Mugford had seen upon it when long ago their friend first distinguished +himself at The Birches by going down the slide on skates. He gave a +nervous little cough, and advancing towards the head-master's table, +laid thereon the cipher note, at the same time remarking, "If you +please, sir, we know who screwed up little--hem! Mr. Grice's door, or, +at all events, we think we do." + +So sudden and unexpected was this announcement that it caused the doctor +to half rise from his chair, while Oaks and Allingford turned and gazed +at the speaker in open-mouthed astonishment. They none of them expected +for a moment that the three youngsters had come for any more important +purpose than to solicit orders for new caps or "journey-money," and this +confession came like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. + +"What!" exclaimed the head-master, taking the scrap of paper, and +glancing alternately from the mystic word to the boy's face--"what on +earth is this? Explain yourself." + +It would be unnecessary to attempt a verbatim report of Diggory's +evidence; in doing so we should but be repeating facts with which the +reader is already acquainted. Let it suffice to say that, with many +haltings and stumbles, he gave a full account of his finding the first +cipher, translating the same, attending the secret meeting, and, lastly, +discovering on the previous day the brief note which he had just +produced. + +The telling of the tale occupied some considerable time, for the doctor +had many questions to ask; and when it came to the account of the +conversation which had taken place under the pavilion, his face visibly +darkened. + +"My eye," remarked Diggory, an hour later, "I wouldn't go through that +again for something! I swear that by the time I'd finished the +perspiration was running down my back in a regular stream." + +"Well," said the doctor, turning to Jack Vance and Mugford, when their +companion had finished speaking, "and what have you two got to say?" + +"Only the same as Trevanock, sir; we--we found it out together." + +"Then, in the first place, why didn't you tell me all this before?" + +"We were afraid to, sir," faltered Jack Vance; "and we thought it would +be sneaking." + +"Dear, dear," exclaimed the head-master impatiently, "when will you boys +see things in a proper light? You think it wrong to tell tales, and yet +quite right that innocent people should suffer for things done by these +miserable cowards!" + +"No, sir," answered Diggory: "we've come now to try to get Oaks out of a +scrape; though we--were afraid--" + +"Afraid of what?" + +"Nothing, sir." + +"Afraid of telling more tales, I suppose. Well, well; the question now +is whether the same boys are guilty of having screwed up Mr. Grice's +door. Why they should have done such a thing I don't understand, nor do +I see how it is to be brought home to them simply by means of this +exceedingly brief note." + +There was a silence. Diggory glanced up, and received a look from the +two prefects that amply repaid him for the trying ordeal through which +he had just passed. Jack Vance leaned over to whisper something in his +ear, when their attention was attracted by an exclamation of surprise +from Dr. Denson. + +"Aha! what does this mean?--Look here, Allingford." + +Every member of the company edged forward, and looking down at what lay +on the writing-table, saw in a moment that the mystery was solved. + +The communication which had been slipped under the bedroom door was +written on a half-sheet of small-sized note-paper; a similar piece of +stationery had been used for the cipher note. The head-master had +accidentally brought them together on his blotting-pad and the rough, +torn edge of the one fitted exactly into the corresponding side of the +other. They had both unmistakably come from the same source! + +Even the dread atmosphere of the doctor's study could not restrain some +show of excitement on the part of those interested in this disclosure, +but it was quickly suppressed. + +"Oaks," said the doctor, "go and give my compliments to Mr. Cowland, and +ask him to open school for me; and at the same time inform the following +boys that I wish to see them at once, here in my study: Fletcher One, +Thurston, Gull, Hawley, and Noaks." + +To the Triple Alliance hours seemed to pass before a shuffling of feet +in the passage announced the arrival of the Thurstonians. One by one +they filed into the room, the door was shut, and there was a moment of +awful silence. Even Diggory trembled, and Allingford, noticing it, laid +his big hand reassuringly on the small boy's shoulder. + +"I wish to know," began the doctor, "which of you boys were concerned in +what took place last night? I refer, of course, to the screwing up of +Mr. Grice's bedroom door." + +No one spoke, but Fletcher turned pale to the lips. + +"Had you anything to do with it, Fletcher?" + +"No, sir." + +"Then will you tell me the meaning of this?" continued the head-master, +holding up the cipher note. + +"I--I don't know what it means," began the prefect. + +"Don't lie to me, sir," interrupted the doctor sternly. "You know very +well what it means; it's of your own invention." + +Thurston saw clearly that the game was up, and with the recklessness of +despair decided at once to accept the inevitable. + +"I screwed up Mr. Grice's door," he said sullenly. + +"And who assisted you?" + +To this inquiry Thurston would give no reply, but maintained a dogged +silence. Gull and Hawley, however, anxious at all costs to save their +own skins, practically answered the question by saying, "We didn't," and +casting significant glances at Noaks and Fletcher. + +What followed it is hardly necessary to describe in detail. The five +culprits were subjected to a merciless cross-examination, during which a +confession, not only of their various transgressions, but also of the +motives which had prompted them to adopt such a line of conduct, was +dragged from their unwilling lips. The cloak was torn off, and the +cowardice and meanness of their actions appeared plainly revealed, and +were forced home even to their own hearts. + +"Thurston and Fletcher," said the doctor, when at length, long after the +bell had rung for "interval," the inquiry concluded, "go to your +studies, and remain there till you hear from me--Noaks, go in like +manner to the housekeeper's room.--Gull and Hawley, as you seem to have +taken no active part in this last misdemeanour, you may go. As regards +your previous misconduct, I shall speak to you on that subject when I +have decided what is to be done with your companions." + +For the Triple Alliance the remainder of the day passed in a whirl of +conflicting emotions. In a very short time the whole school knew +exactly what had taken place in the doctor's study, and every boy was +incensed at the underhanded meanness of this attempted attack on Oaks +and Allingford. It was a good thing for Thurston and Fletcher that they +had their studies, and Noaks the housekeeper's room, in which to find +shelter, or they would have been compelled to run the gauntlet. Hawley +and Gull, though not found guilty on this particular count, were hustled +and abused for their former misdeeds, which it was perfectly evident +would be remembered against them during the remainder of their life at +Ronleigh. + +As for Diggory and his two chums, never were three small boys made so +much of before. "What was the cipher?"--"How did they find it out?"-- +these and a hundred other questions were continually being dinned in +their ears, coupled with slaps on the back, ejaculations of "Well +done!"--"You're a precious sharp lot!" and many other expressions of +approval. + +At the close of this eventful day two things alone remained vividly +impressed upon their minds. + +The first was an interview with Allingford and Oaks in the former's +study. + +"Well," said the captain, "you kids have done us a good turn. We were +in a precious awkward box, and I don't know how we should have got out +of it if it hadn't been for you." + +"Yes," added Oaks: "I was never more surprised at anything in my life +than when Trevanock said he knew who'd done the business. It made old +Denson open his eyes." + +"So it did," continued Allingford; "and if it hadn't come out, the whole +school would have got into another precious row, and there'd have been a +stop put to the Wraxby match. I tell you what. You youngsters thought +it sneaking to let out what you knew; in my opinion you'd have been +jolly sneaks if you'd shielded those blackguards, and allowed everyone +else to suffer. Well, as I said before, you've done is a good turn, and +as long as we're at Ronleigh together we shan't forget you." + +The second thing which lodged in the recollection of the three friends +was a look which Noaks had bestowed upon them as he passed out of the +doctor's study. + +"Did you see his face?" said Diggory. "He looked as if he could have +killed us. He's never forgiven us since that time he was turned off the +football field for striking you at The Birches." + +"No," added Jack Vance; "and then we were the means of old Noaks getting +the sack over those fireworks; and that reminds me he's always had a +grudge against me for letting out that time that his father was a +servant man; and now there's this last row. Oh yes! he'll do his best +now to get us into a bother over that knife of Mugford's." + +"Of course he will," answered Diggory; "that's what he meant by glaring +at us as he did." + +"I don't care!" exclaimed Jack Vance, with forced bravado; "he can't +prove we stole the coins." + +"Of course he can't," sighed Mugford; "but if there's a row it'll rather +spoil our Christmas." + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? + +The Wraxby match was played and won. Allingford and his men journeyed +to the neighbouring town, so gaming the additional credit of a victory +on their opponents' ground; and thus, for the first time for many years, +Ronleigh lowered the flag of their ancient rivals both at cricket and at +football. + +"Hurrah!" cried "Rats," who was in a great state of excitement when the +news arrived; "they won't ask us again if we'd like to play a master, +the cheeky beggars!" + +The same afternoon on which Ronleigh so distinguished herself saw also +the melancholy ending of the school life of two of her number. Thurston +and Fletcher One went home to return no more; practically expelled, +though the doctor, in this instance, did not make a public example of +their departure. + +Another thing happened on this memorable day which caused quite a +sensation, especially among the members of the upper and lower divisions +of the Fourth Form. + +"I say, have you heard the latest?" cried Maxton, bursting into the +reading-room just before preparation, regardless alike of the presence +of Lucas and the rule relating to silence. + +"What about?" asked several voices. + +"Why, about Noaks!" + +"No." + +"Well, then, he's run away!" + +Magazines and papers fell from the hands which held them, and the usual +quiet of the room was broken by a buzz of astonishment. + +"Run away! Go on; you don't mean it!" + +"I do, though: he's skedaddled right enough, and they can't find him +anywhere." + +The report was only too true. Afraid to face his schoolfellows, and +having already received several intimations, from fellows passing the +housekeeper's parlour, that a jolly good licking awaited him when he +left his present place of refuge, Noaks had watched his opportunity, and +when the boys were at tea had slipped out, and, as Maxton put it, +"run away." + +No one mourned his loss; even Mouler would not own to having been his +friend; and everybody who expressed any opinion on the subject spoke +of his departure as being decidedly a good riddance. + +The Triple Alliance, however, had cause to feel uneasy when they heard +of this latest escapade of their ancient enemy. + +"He's got my knife with him," said Mugford; "he may go any day and try +for that reward." + +For the time being, however, no communication was received from the +police-station at Todderton, and none of the three friends was caused, +like Eugene Aram, to leave the school with gyves upon his wrists. +Whatever evil intentions Noaks might have cherished towards them were +destined to be checkmated by a fortunate circumstance, the possibility +of which neither side had yet foreseen. + +The last day of the term arrived in due course, bringing with it that +jolly time when everybody is excited, happy, and good-tempered; when the +morning's work is a mere matter of form, and the boys slap their books +together at the sound of the bell, with the joyful conviction that the +whole length of the Christmas holidays lies between them and "next +lesson." + +Directly after dinner every one commenced "packing up;" which term might +have been supposed to include every form of skylarking which the heart +of the small boy could devise, from racing round the quadrangle, arrayed +in one of Bibbs's night-shirts, to playing football in the gymnasium, +North _versus_ South, with the remains of an old mortar-board. + +It was at this period of the day that the Triple Alliance proceeded to +carry out a project which had for some little time occupied the minds of +at least two of their number. The idea was that the little fraternity +should celebrate their approaching separation, and the consequent +breaking up of their association, with a sort of funeral feast, the cost +of which Jack and Diggory insisted should be borne by the two surviving +members. Only one outsider was invited to attend--namely, "Rats," whose +cheery presence it was thought would tend to enliven the proceedings, +and chase away the gloomy clouds of regret which would naturally hang +over the near prospect of parting. + +The box-room (where such functions usually took place) being at this +time in a state of indescribable uproar, it was decided that the banquet +should be served in one of the remote classrooms. + +"None of the fellows'll come near it," said Jack Vance; "and if old +Watford should be knocking round and catch us there, he won't do +anything to-day; we shall have to clear out, that's all." + +Accordingly, about a quarter to four, the three friends, with their +solitary guest, assembled at the trysting-place. Jack Vance carried two +big paper bags, Diggory a biscuit-box and a small tin kettle, while the +other two were provided with four clean jam-pots, it having been +announced that there was "going to be some cocoa." + +For the preparation of this luxury Diggory mounted a form and lit one of +the gas-jets, over which he and Jack Vance took it in turns to hold the +kettle until the water boiled. Sugar, cocoa, and condensed milk were +produced from the biscuit-tin, and the jam-pots having been filled with +the steaming beverage, the company seated themselves round the stove, in +which there still smouldered some remains of the morning's fire, and +prepared to enjoy themselves. + +From the first, however, the proceeding's fell as flat as ditch-water. +Even the gallant efforts of "Rats" to enliven the party were of no +avail; and for some time everybody munched away in silence, Jack Vance +occasionally pausing to remark, "Here, pass over that nose-bag, and help +yourselves." + +The classroom itself, which belonged to the Third Form, was suggestive +of that glad season known as "breaking-up." The ink-pots had all been +collected, and stood together in a tray on the master's table; fragments +of examination papers filled the paper-basket, and were littered here +and there about the floor, while some promising Latin scholar had +scrawled across the blackboard the well-known words, _Dulce Domum_. +These inspiriting signs of a "good time coming" were, however, lost on +the Triple Alliance. Their present surroundings served only to remind +them of the old days of "The Happy Family," when they had first come to +Ronleigh, never expecting but to have completed the period of their +school lives in one another's company. + +"Well," said Jack Vance, suddenly broaching the subject which was +uppermost in each of their minds, "we've had jolly times together.-- +D'you remember when we made the Alliance, the day you first came +to The Birches, Diggory?" + +"Yes," answered Diggory; "it was just after we'd been frightened by the +ghost. D'you remember the 'Main-top' and the 'House of Lords' and the +Philistines? I wonder what's become of them all?" + +One reminiscence suggested another, and after exhausting their +recollections of The Birches, they recalled their varied experiences at +Ronleigh. Only one adventure was by mutual consent not alluded +to: their clandestine visit to The Hermitage, coupled with Noaks's +threat, hung like the sword suspended by a single hair above the head of +Damocles at the feast. + +At length, when the paper bags had been wellnigh emptied, Jack Vance +intimated his intention of making a speech--which announcement was +received with considerable applause. + +"Don't finish up your cocoa," he began, "because, before we dissolve the +Alliance, I'm going to propose a toast. We've been friends a long time, +and both here and at The Birches, as Diggory says, the Triple Alliance +has done wonders and covered itself with glory." (Cheers.) "We said +when we started that we'd always stand by each other whatever happened; +and so we have, and so we would again if we were going to be together +any longer." ("Hear, hear!") "I wish 'Rats' could have joined us, but +then I suppose it wouldn't have been the Triple Alliance. However, now +it's finished with; but before we break it up, I'm going to call upon +you to drink the health of Mr. Mugford. May he have long life and +happiness, and a jolly fine house, with a model railway, and a lake for +boating in the grounds, and ask us all to come and stay with him +whenever we feel inclined." + +This sentiment was received with shouts of applause, and in honouring it +the jam-pots were drained to their muddy dregs. + +No one expected that Mugford would reply, for he was decidedly a man of +few words; but on this occasion he rose above his usual self, and +sitting with his hands in his trouser pockets, his feet on the fender of +the stove, and his chin sunk forward on his breast, delivered himself as +follows. The room was already growing dark with the early winter +twilight, which perhaps rendered it more easy for him to undertake the +task of responding to the toast. + +"You've always been very kind to me," he began, speaking rather quickly. + +"No, we haven't," interrupted Jack Vance. + +"Yes, you have. Just shut up; I'm going to say what I like. You made +friends with me because I happened to be in the same room at The +Birches; but you always stuck to me, and helped me along a lot when we +came here first. I know I'm stupid, and sometimes I feel I'm a coward; +but I enjoyed being with you, and shall always remember the times we've +had together--yes, I swear I shall--always. And now I've got a drop of +cocoa left, so I'm going to propose a toast. You must take 'Rats' in my +place. I hope you'll have heaps of larks; and you must write me a +letter sometimes and tell me what you're doing. Here goes--The new +_Triple Alliance!_" + +It was customary to laugh at whatever Mugford said, but on this occasion +not even a smile greeted the conclusion of his remarks. + +Only Diggory spoke. "No, we shan't have another Triple Alliance; now +it's going to end." + +He turned, and taking something out of the biscuit-tin, said solemnly, +"I, Diggory Trevanock, do hereby declare that the association known as +the Triple Alliance is now dissolved; in token of which I break this bit +of a flat ruler, used by us as a sugar-spoon, into three parts, one of +which I present to each of the members as a keepsake, to remind them of +all our great deeds and many adventures." + +Each boy pocketed his fragment of wood in silence. Jack Vance tried to +crack a joke, but it was a miserable failure. + +"There was something I wanted to say," began "Rats" thoughtfully. +"I shall remember it in a minute. Oh, _bother!_" + +"What's up?" + +"Why, I know what it was; Mugford's talking about writing to him +reminded me of it. I'm awfully sorry, but there were some letters came +for you chaps this morning. I took them off the table, meaning to give +them to you; but I quite forgot, and left them in my desk." + +"Well, you're a nice one!" cried Diggory. "Suppose you go and fetch 'em +now!" + +"Rats" scrambled to his feet and hurried out of the room. + +Jack Vance pulled out his watch, and held it down so that the glimmer of +the red light from between the bars of the stove fell upon its face. + +"My word," he exclaimed, "it's time we thought about packing!" + +"Wait a jiff for those letters," answered Diggory. + +A moment later "Rats" came scampering down the passage. "Here they +are," he cried; "I'm very sorry I forgot 'em. A letter for Mugford, and +a paper for Vance." + +Diggory relighted the gas-jet which he had turned out after boiling the +kettle, and proceeded, with the assistance of "Rats," to gather up the +remains of the feast. They had hardly, however, got further than +emptying the tin kettle down the ventilator before their attention was +attracted by a joyful exclamation from Jack Vance. + +"What d'you think's happened?" he cried, brandishing the open newspaper. +"Why, they've caught the thieves who stole old Fossberry's coins!" + +"Not really!" + +"They have, though. It was the old woman who looks after the house, and +her husband; they're to be tried at the next assizes. They did it right +enough; some of the coins were found in their possession, and--Hullo! +what's the matter with you?" + +The latter remark was addressed to Mugford, who suddenly jumped on a +form, began to dance, fell off into the coal-box, scrambled to his feet, +and capered wildly round the room. + +"He's gone mad!" cried Diggory; "catch him, and sit on his head!" + +"No, I haven't!" exclaimed Mugford, coming to a standstill; "but what do +you think's happened? Guess!" + +"Not that you're going to stay on here!" + +"Yes! My uncle says he'll pay for me, and I'm to come back again after +Christmas!" + +"Well, I'm sure!" gasped Jack Vance; "and we've just dissolved the +Alliance! We must make it again." + +"No, you shan't!" shouted "Rats;" "Diggory said you wouldn't. +I'm coming in, as Mugford suggested, so it'll have to be a quadruple one +next time." + +"Well, so it shall be," cried Jack Vance, embracing Mugford with the +hugging power of a juvenile bear: "next term we'll start afresh." + +Diggory and "Rats" promptly fell into each other's arms, and all four, +coming into violent collision, tumbled down amidst the _debris_ of the +overturned coal-box; and after rolling over one another like a lot of +young dogs, scrambled to their feet, turned out the gas, and rushed away +to complete their packing. + +So, as the door slams behind them, they vanish from our sight; for +though the renewal of their friendship tempts us to follow them further +in their school life, we are reminded that our story has been told. +Here ended the existence of the Triple Alliance, and here, therefore, +should the history of its trials and triumphs be likewise brought to a +conclusion. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE*** + + +******* This file should be named 10027.txt or 10027.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/0/2/10027 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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