"the whole school to assemble in the hall!"
the order was received in every class-room, and masters and boys looked surprised. it was generally known that ralph rexworth had been absent all night, and that a message had been sent over to mr. st. clive's asking whether the boy had been detained there. it was also known that charlton was in disgrace—that he had been accused of stealing ralph's examination papers, for the purpose of correcting them from a crib.
the idea was that it must be on one of these accounts that the school was summoned—either ralph had got into trouble, or charlton was to be punished.
but there was no time for speculation. into the hall the boys trooped, class by class—juniors, middle division, and seniors—their masters following, and their monitors leading the way; and there upon the doctor's desk an ominous object was to be seen—the school birch, rarely taken from its resting-place in the cupboard, rarely used, and, if the truth must be told, rarely needing to be used. woe betide the unlucky boy who[pg 295] so far disgraced the honour of marlthorpe as to render its presence needful, for what he got from the head was as nothing to what he would receive from the angry scholars later on.
"silence!"
kesterway's voice rang out as dr. beverly entered and an expectant hush fell upon the whole school.
"frederick charlton, stand out!"
charlton obeyed. boys who knew how nervous he was were surprised to see him quite calm now. he moved forward towards the head's desk and saluted; and then the headmaster of marlthorpe spoke.
"charlton, you were found in my class-room the other night, with rexworth's examination papers in your hand. tell the school your reason for being there!"
the head spoke shortly, but kindly, as if inviting the boy to be at ease; and charlton told his story, and explained how he had seen dobson and elgert break open the desk.
"the desk was unlocked. there was no need to break it open," the head said; and then he turned to the other two boys, and asked them what they had to say.
what they had to say indeed! such indignant denials, and such plain statements that it was all up between rexworth and charlton.
"rexworth is detained, and cannot be here yet," said the head quietly. "but we can proceed with this inquiry in his absence. elgert and dobson, stand out!"
[pg 296]
and the two obeyed, ill at ease, wondering what was coming next, and casting suspicious looks at each other, as if each thought the other had turned informer.
"horace elgert, did you ever see this before?" asked the head.
and elgert turned white, for the doctor held out that wretched crib which he had thrown into the river.
"no, sir," he answered, averting his eyes.
and the same answer was asked of dobson, who gave the same answer.
"james green! henry tinkle!" cried kesterway.
and the two small chums jumped up eagerly.
"explain how you became possessed of this crib," said the head.
green spoke first, and tinkle backed him up, and then a low angry hiss rang through the school, and horace elgert turned a pair of anxious, frightened eyes towards his companions.
"do you deny this story, elgert?" asked the head sternly.
and the boy was silent. if those two juniors had picked up his book, had they picked up anything else?
"there was a banknote missing some time ago," the head went on. "you may remember that a note was found in rexworth's pocket-book, and i showed how he had been the victim of a plot. the banknote that was stolen was never discovered; but i now know that it was changed by you, dobson, at a[pg 297] low cake shop in the town, and that afterwards it was bought back by you and elgert from that man for far more than it was worth. that note, elgert, you destroyed yesterday by burning it, and here are the ashes." and the head produced the filmy ash still lying in tom brown's schooldays. "but that note had been photographed, and you purchased the negative by giving to the person who held it a pocket-book which you had previously taken from him. the negative you also threw into the river, and the person you were with threw in the book which you had just restored to him. do you deny these statements?"
still elgert did not answer. he felt hot and cold by turns. he did not know where to turn his eyes. it was no use denying in the face of such proof.
"you cannot answer!" the head went on. "you, dobson, what do you know of this?"
"oh—oh—oh!" yelled dobson, clasping his hands, and falling upon his knees. "oh, forgive me, sir! oh, i will own up, sir! it was all elgert's fault. he made me do it, sir! i never wanted to do it, sir! it is all true, every bit of it, sir! oh——"
"silence!" cried the head, in ill-disguised contempt. "no one can force another to do evil. you two boys have conspired together to injure the good name of a companion, whose only offence has been that he has tried to act a noble manly part amidst very difficult and adverse circumstances. you would have branded him a thief; and to do it you did not hesitate to [pg 298]become thieves yourselves. you have told the vilest lies—and you, elgert, have done worse. it will be for other authorities to deal with this; but i will mention it here. you have allowed one of these boys—charlton i mean—to suffer much torture because of his father's unhappy position. you knew that his father was innocent, and you held the proof of that, and——"
then the head stopped, for charlton had turned very white. he had not known of the business of the pocket-book.
"oh, sir," he said, "my father innocent! and he knew it, and—and——"
he put his hand to his head, and kesterway sprang forward and caught him, or he would have fallen, for he fainted away; and the head, with tears in his eyes, murmured—
"poor boy! poor boy! take him to the matron."
they carried him out, and not one of those who had jeered at him but now felt sorry and ashamed, and full of anger against the two culprits, to whom the head now turned again.
"it is possible that others outside our school may have something to say to you about this business," he said. "that has nothing to do with me. i have only to deal with your offence as it touches the honour of the school and for that offence only the severest punishment can be inflicted——"
whereat dobson uttered a howl, and elgert clenched[pg 299] his hands and looked desperate. the severest punishment! that was why the birch was there.
"you will both be publicly flogged," continued the head, "and then you will be expelled!"
and at this a shout of approval went up. marlthorpe was going to be avenged for the slight put upon its honour.
"oh, mercy—mercy!" cried dobson. "oh, don't flog me, sir! i won't do it any more, and it was all elgert's fault."
elgert looked at him in scorn. if he must be flogged, he would crave no mercy. he would show them that he did not care. but flogged! a gasp went round as the school porter and the man who kept the lodge came in. it was useless to resist, though dobson kicked and struggled, and shouted in his anger and fear. the head laid aside his gown, and took the rod; and then the sound of the hissing cuts came. dobson was the first victim, and with the strokes came the yells—awful yells, for the head did not spare him in the least, and dobson plainly found himself in a very uncomfortable position.
he was released at last, and then elgert—the honourable horace elgert—took his place. he bit his lips until the blood came, but he would not cry out. but oh, how he hated ralph rexworth then! if he could have hurt him—if he could have killed him, he would not have cared what they did to him afterwards.
[pg 300]
it was over at last. and he stood breathless, smarting, a mist before his eyes, until he caught sight of tinkle's fat face; and he thought that tinkle was grinning.
then, rage overcoming him, not thinking what he was doing, he rushed at the little fellow, and, had not warren been near to prevent it, he would have knocked him down.
and then, head or no head, marlthorpe lost its calmness, and the boys sprang up, and surged forward at the two offenders—angry boys, with menacing eyes. elgert's courage failed him then. he turned and ran, and dobson went after him. in vain masters shouted, and the head rang his bell. in vain kesterway rushed after them. not another monitor paid any attention. out into the playground they streamed, and around it they chased the two boys.
around they went. they drove them to the small pond, and threw them in. they dragged them out, and hustled them, dripping and breathless, to the gates. the head had no need to expel the pair.
as elgert and dobson were thrown out a little party approached the gates; and from its number, one boy darted forward to throw himself between the two miserable victims and their pursuers, and that boy was ralph rexworth himself.
"here, i say, drop that! it is not fair!" giving warren a shove backwards. "it isn't the right thing! drop it, you fellows! and look out, here comes the head!"
[pg 301]
yes, the head with his cane, and the masters with their canes, coming to insist upon order, and to show marlthorpe that it could not be permitted to do just as it chose even with boys like dobson and elgert. it certainly looked as though some one was going to get caned just then.
but warren uttered a whoop.
"hallo, ralph! fellows, here is rexworth turned up. just too late to see the fun! you ought to have heard dobby yell, my boy! it was lovely!"
"here is rexworth!" echoed the boys.
they pounced upon him. they grabbed arm or leg, whichever they could get hold of, and dragged him somehow upon their shoulders, and marched back triumphantly; while the head and the masters did not know what to do.
and behind ralph came mr. rexworth, and mr. st. clive and irene—a very radiant irene—who whispered to tom warren that the gentleman with the injured arm was ralph's father, and that he was lord rexworth, because he was the son of the old lord stephen, and his right name was rexworth stephen, and ralph would be the honourable ralph rexworth stephen. she told it very excitedly, and tom warren whistled, and then yelled—
"three cheers for ralph's father—lord rexworth stephen! and three more cheers for the honourable ralph rexworth stephen! come on, you fellows, out with it!"
[pg 302]
what shouting and cheering there was then! and how, while mr. rexworth, as we will still call him, was talking to the doctor, ralph got nearly pulled to pieces. why, they even forgot the birching in the excitement of ralph's return. they had to hear his story, and how he had found his father; and then warren explained how they had found out that mr. charlton was innocent.
that was good news for ralph—the best news that could possibly be—and escaping with warren and irene, he hurried across to the matron's house, and begged that he might see his chum.
charlton was all right, only he was so excited, and just a little inclined to cry. and he wanted to know where his father was; and when ralph explained how mr. charlton had given himself up, he exclaimed—
"oh, ralph, let us go and explain! let us go now!"
"come and tell my father. he will understand," said ralph; but there was little need for telling.
already mr. st. clive had been informed, and he had hurried off at once. it would not be long before mr. charlton was a free man.
and then mr. rexworth, seeing that there would be much to talk about, went back with ralph and irene and charlton to mr. st. clive's house, there to tell his story, and explain how it was that he had become the prisoner of the man who had treated him so very cruelly.
