now, why ralph should have felt in the slightest degree confused by the sudden appearance of dr. beverly, he could not have said; and yet he was conscious that he exhibited something of hesitation in his manner. it was perhaps due to the doctor finding him there in the dark, and looking rather suspicious and stern.
the fact was that the doctor was so used to his pupils playing tricks and getting into scrapes, that it was but natural that he should scan the boy's face closely, and he noted that ralph looked confused.
he repeated his question sharply, and then the boy recovered himself and described how he had come to ask mr. delermain to again explain the point which had escaped his memory.
"mr. delermain has gone out, i believe," dr. beverly said, when ralph concluded. "but perhaps i may be able to make the point clear. come to my study and let me see what you are doing."
ralph followed the doctor, not without some little nervousness; for, like all the boys, he stood somewhat in awe of the head master; but the doctor[pg 114] smiled, and was so kind that he soon put the boy at ease; and, after scanning the neat rows of figures in the exercise-book, he nodded approval.
"i am glad to see that you work so neatly, rexworth," the head said. "now, this point. here is your error—it is very simple, though easily made."
and taking a pencil, he worked out the sum himself, making ralph go over it with him, and explaining each detail as it was done, so that ralph was able to understand it quite easily; and, with words of thanks, took his books and went off, the doctor saying, as he departed—
"but let me give you one word of advice, rexworth. it is all very well to be industrious; but remember, the brain wants rest, and you cannot learn properly when you are jaded. put the books away, and do something else until bedtime—draw, read, or whatever you like. it pays to have a little relaxation when one is working hard."
now ralph valued the master's experience too much to neglect that advice; and, though he had intended to work for another hour, he put his books away when he reached his little study, and, picking up his long-neglected story, he settled down with a sigh of relief for a quiet read.
but he could not read. he wondered who it was that had run up against him, and what he was doing in the master's quarters. he felt uneasy, he could not say why. then he had behaved so foolishly[pg 115] when the doctor first met him! as if any one had any need to be afraid of such a kind man as dr. beverly!
then he fell to thinking of lord elgert; and he wondered why he should seem to be so bitter against him, and why he seemed to take a delight in saying that his father was a thief. ralph could not understand lord elgert; he was as much a mystery as was his father's disappearance.
then, from thinking of the father, his thoughts went to the son; and he wondered whether horace elgert would stand any chance of winning the gold medal, and whether he was working with one of those cribs; and he caught himself thinking how nice it would be to defeat his rival and carry off the prize.
but then he checked himself. he wanted to win, but that ought not to be the real motive for it. after all, to want to win only to make elgert vexed, was a very poor sort of thing.
"i seem to be for ever catching myself up," he reflected. "it is harder work being a standard-bearer than i supposed at first."
the bell rang for supper, and there was no more time to think then. boys were laughing, shouting, enjoying the freedom which was allowed at this last meal of the day; and after that was over, the classes went off to their dormitories, and silence soon reigned in the school. and ralph slept calm and peaceful, little dreaming what trouble was coming for him in the morning.
[pg 116]
but that trouble came, sharp and swift, before the classes assembled for morning school—the heaviest trouble that ralph had been ever called to face, with the exception of that all-supreme one—the loss of his dear father.
breakfast was over, and the boys crowding from the dining-hall to snatch a few minutes' play prior to entering classes, when ralph felt a hand laid on his shoulder and, turning, saw kesterway by his side.
"rexworth, the head wants you in his study at once!" the monitor said; and ralph, wondering what could be the matter, turned and went to the doctor's room forthwith.
and when he entered, he found both dr. beverly and mr. delermain there; and both looked very grave he thought.
"you sent for me, sir?" he asked, looking towards the doctor, and the master nodded.
"i did, rexworth. come in and shut the door. now sit down and listen to me. you know that neither i nor mr. delermain would willingly say anything to hurt your feelings—i am sure that you realize that?"
"of course i do, sir," replied ralph, wondering greatly. "you have both always been kind to me."
"well, now, i am going to say something that may seem hurtful," the master went on. but then he stopped as he encountered those calm, brave eyes, and he motioned to mr. delermain. "suppose you[pg 117] speak?" he said, and ralph's own master complied.
"rexworth," he said quietly, "it is not pleasant to say anything that could be interpreted into the faintest suspicion of doubting your honesty——"
"i hope that you do not doubt it, sir," replied ralph quickly. "it would be a very great trouble to me if you did! but i see that something is wrong; and if that is so, it is best to know it at once in plain language. if you have to say anything to hurt me, it must be something grave indeed!" he added.
"it is grave," acknowledged the master. "you remember, last evening, knocking a banknote from my desk, and picking it up for me?"
"perfectly well, sir."
"i replaced that note on my desk, and, having some letters to write, i forgot to take it up again; and when i went to post my correspondence, i left it there on the desk. when i returned, the note was gone, and the only person who was near my room, so far as we know, was yourself. dr. beverly saw you there."
"and you think that i have stolen your banknote, sir?" cried ralph, regretfully. but mr. delermain shook his head.
"no, no, ralph! you must not go so far as that. i only tell you the facts, as far as we know them. the note was there, the note has gone, you are the only one who was seen near the spot!"
"there was some one else, sir!" cried ralph; and[pg 118] he narrated how some one had pushed against him and run down the dark corridor. both masters listened gravely as he did so.
"and you have no idea who this was? did not recognize either voice or figure?"
"no, sir. he did not speak, and it was so dark, and the thing so sudden, that i was taken quite by surprise!"
"you can think of no one? know of no lad you saw in that part of the house?"
"no, sir," answered ralph; but even as he spoke one thought flashed into his mind. "charlton, his chum! charlton was in need of money! could it have been charlton?"
"i can think of no one, sir," he replied. "i can quite see how it looks against me; but mr. delermain has proved so good a friend to me, that it seems hard that i should be thought capable of robbing him."
"let me impress upon you, rexworth," said the doctor, "that we do not look at the matter in that light. we sent for you because we knew that you were near the place—in the room, indeed. the matter must be made public, and questions must be asked; and it is natural that, since you are the only one who was near the place——"
"i was not the only one, sir," he answered quietly.
"no, there is that other boy whom you say ran past you in the dark; but, my lad, unless something can be found out concerning that boy, we have only[pg 119] your bare word; and suspicion is bound to fall mostly upon yourself. that is why we both felt that you should be seen privately, before the circumstance was made known to the whole school. that is all. you can go!"
"it is impossible that such a boy can be a thief, sir!" cried mr. delermain to the head, when ralph had gone. "i would stake my life upon his honesty!"
"i feel somewhat the same, delermain," answered the head. "but the note is gone, and he is the only one known to have been near. the school will not view the thing in that light."
"i should rather that the school did not know, sir," suggested the master; but at this dr. beverly shook his head.
"no, no, delermain, i will not have that. we will have no favouritism—no keeping things back. if it was my own son who was implicated, the thing should be gone on with. for the sake of every one concerned, it must be gone on with."
but what a sensation it caused when the doctor made the announcement to the school! he had classes stopped, and all the school assembled in the hall; and there, standing at his great desk, he spoke to the lads, telling them that the banknote was lost.
"it can hardly have been mislaid," he said, "for mr. delermain put it beneath a heavy paper-weight; and upon his return he found that weight had been moved. now, there are two things i want to [pg 120]impress upon you all, very solemnly. some one must have done this—some one acting, perhaps, under a sudden temptation; some one, perhaps, who did not understand the full gravity and magnitude of his offence. let that some one come and own his fault to me, like a man and a christian should do. remember, also, that the number of that note is known. it cannot be parted with, or converted into money, without eventually being traced, even through successive stages, back to the one who originally parted with it.
"then, remember also, that there is one of your number who is particularly affected by this loss; there is one boy who knew this note was there, and who is known to have been near the study during mr. delermain's absence. a boy who frankly explains what took him there, and who declares that some one passed him hurriedly in the darkness of the corridor. that boy is ralph rexworth, and the boy who passed by him must undoubtedly be the thief!"
it was kindly put by the head, for it seemed as if it exonerated ralph from all suspicion; but there were those in the classes who, as the head had foreseen, did not look at it from that standpoint; and dobson muttered to his nearest neighbour—
"that is all very well, but why may not rexworth have taken it himself? he is the only one who knew that it was there."
[pg 121]
and the boy to whom this was addressed nodded.
"i again earnestly entreat the boy who has done this thing to confess his fault!" the head went on. "do not let us have the taint of a thief amongst us! let the culprit act the better part, and remove the disgrace from the school! now go to your classes, and think over what i have said, and i trust ere the morning has passed, the boy who is guilty will have taken the better course and have come to own his fault to me!"
away to their rooms they went; and now tongues were loosened, and comments made; and oh, how hard it was for ralph to keep his temper! for elgert was not slow to take all the advantages which the circumstance offered to him.
"it is all right to talk about shame being on the school!" he said to his companions. "what else can you expect? there is charlton—look at him! 'like father, like son,' you know. then there is his chum, rexworth. 'birds of a feather flock together.' it does not take very much to see who the thief is, rexworth was caught almost in the act, by the head himself; and it is very easy to make up a tale of some one running by him in the dark."
"of course," was the answer; and ralph heard it all so plainly, as elgert had intended that he should do. poor ralph, it was a hard task for him to keep his temper—to remember his promise, and act the standard-bearer's part!
