Glyn Severn's Schooldays, by George Manville Fenn.
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Glyn Severn and the Maharajah of Dour, both about 15 or 16, have been
sent together to an English Boarding School. Glyn's father has been for
many years a Colonel in the Maharajah's father's army, but now the old
Maharajah is dead, and his son, known at school as "Singh", has
inherited the title. The Colonel is Singh's guardian.
There are the usual schoolboyish rivalries and fights, in particular
involving a nasty individual called Slegge. A menagerie owner lives
nearby, and among his animals is an elephant who is sometimes in a bad
mood. It turns out that Glyn and Singh, who have had dealings with
elephants in India, are rather good at bringing it under control.
Singh has brought one of his Princely regalia, a heavily bejewelled
belt. One day it disappears. Several people are known to be short of
cash, so are suspected of the theft. Nearly half the book is spent in
chasing out the culprit, but we get there in the end.
However, there is a surprise ending to the book.
It should be mentioned that the title is a little misleading, for
"schooldays" covers well over a decade, but the action in this book
covers only a few days. NH
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