pretty hot if yer master knowed yer had come here at all; and if he
found you'd been playing cards on a Sunday, and roulette, and pawning
yer watches and things, I'll bet a hundred it wouldn't make it better.
Gents like you can allus get money somehow; write to yer friends; it's
only two pun ten apiece, and they won't stick at that to get you out of
such a shindy as this will be. This here's Thursday and I'm bound to go
on Monday. If you don't bring them five pounds by then, I'll go to your
master with that 'ere I O U in my hand on Monday morning as sure as I
stand here. So now you know."
And with this ultimatum the rascal dismissed them. They walked slowly
along the lane leading to Weston with hearts as heavy as could be, for
indeed they were at their wits' end. If this fellow fulfilled his
threat, and they had no doubt he would, it most certainly would result
in expulsion for them both. To write home for more money was out of the
question, for each had exhausted every conceivable excuse for doing so
already, and any further application would only bring a letter to Dr
Jolliffe asking the reason for all this extravagance, instead of cash,
and so precipitate the calamity rather than ward it off. A less
shameful peccadillo might have been confessed, but this low-lived
gambling, this association with a fellow like Josiah Slam, how could it
be spoken of? Impossible! Well, but what was to be done? Anything,
anything to stave off the immediate peril; but what? That thought
haunted each of them all day and during a sleepless night, and when they
met on the following morning each looked at the other to see if he could
detect any gleam of hope in his face.
"Look here," said Saurin, "there is just a chance, not a good one, but
still a chance. That fellow Gould always has heaps of money, and from
all these stories of Crawley's visit to him at Christmas his people must
be very rich. Now he is not a generous fellow, but he likes to show
off. And if we went to him and told him all about it, and that we were
dead certain to be expelled if we could not raise five pounds, do you
not think he might lend it us till after Easter?"
"I am afraid he won't," replied Edwards, "but it is worth trying."
"You see, it would be something for him to brag about afterwards,"
continued Saurin. "It would make him look important and influential
that he had got two fellows out of such a row, and was the only one in
the school who could do it."
"It is worth trying at any rate," said Edwards. "Ask him this
afternoon."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
A CRIME.
Once every term the cricket and football committees assembled to
transact business. They learned what funds were in hand, what
subscriptions had been paid and what were in arrear, also the
expenditure for balls, nets, goals, stumps, rolling the ground, and all
other items. After which, rules were discussed, and arrangements for
future matches made. It was part of the principle of the school that
the boys should manage all these things for themselves, as it was
considered that to learn practically how to set such matters going and
keep them in order was quite as educational as to acquire the right use
of the subjunctive. All that the authorities had to do with the
arrangement was that when the day and hour for a committee meeting was
fixed, the master in whose house the secretary was, gave leave for his
pupil-room to be used for the occasion; and it was also customary to ask
one of them to audit the accounts. These assemblages were of a twofold
character: during the first part, when the accounts were read out, and
what had been done gone over, any boy who liked might attend and ask
questions. But when arrangements for the future were discussed, the
room was cleared of all but the committee. Experience had brought that
about; for when outsiders had been allowed to remain, the number and
variety of absurd and futile suggestions which were made, prevented any
conclusion being come to at all.
Since Crawley was the secretary and treasurer of both the cricket and
football clubs there was only one general meeting, at which the accounts
of both were taken together, instead of two in the term, as when those
offices were vested in different individuals. Crawley had found these
burdens rather onerous this term; with that stiff examination looming
nearer and nearer every month he began to feel serious, for he had set
his heart upon getting into the artillery if he could, and he was going
at his subjects in downright earnest, with no shirking or trifling when
the humour was not on him. So that the time it took him to prepare
these accounts, and still worse, to collect the subscriptions, he did
rather grudge. But he never dreamed of resigning on that account; he
had undertaken these duties, and would go on with them without
grumbling. Perhaps he had the feeling which energetic folk who are
accustomed to other people leaning on them are naturally apt to acquire,
that things would get into a muddle without him. However he had got in
the subscriptions, docketed his papers, and prepared everything for the
meeting that evening, and the last finishing stroke being put, he locked
all up in the japanned box which he kept in his room, with "Weston
Cricket Club" neatly painted on it in white letters, changed his clothes
for flannels, and ran out to the football field.
He had not been gone a quarter of an hour before Saurin and Edwards
approached the house on their visit to Gould, who was also an inmate of
Dr Jolliffe's. They had chosen that time in order to find him alone,
for he had had a slight sprain of the ankle--not enough to lay him up
altogether, but sufficient to prevent his playing at football; and as he
was rather glad than otherwise of an excuse to sit in with a novel, the
chances were that he was now so occupied. It was a fine March day, with
a bright sun and a cold east wind--not high enough to be unpleasant
though, unless you dawdled about. When they came to the side-door which
led to the boys' part of the house, which was a separate block of
buildings from the doctor's residence, though joined to and
communicating with it, Saurin stopped and said: "I think perhaps you had
better wait here for me; I shall get on better with him alone."
"All right!" replied Edwards with a feeling of relief, for he dreaded
the interview with Gould beyond measure. It is nervous work to ask
anyone to lend you money, unless you are quite hardened. Saurin felt
that too; it was a bitter pill for his pride to swallow, with the
prospect on one side of a refusal and on the other of being subjected to
insolent airs of superiority, for Gould was not the fellow to grant a
favour graciously. But he had a stronger will than Edwards, and the
situation made extreme measures necessary.
He entered the passage alone, then, and mounted the staircase, not
meeting anyone. Dead stillness pervaded the house except for the trills
of a canary at the far end of the second landing. Crawley's door was
open as he passed, and he saw his clothes strewn about over a couple of
chairs and the japanned box standing in a corner by his bureau. Saurin
passed on, the song of the canary growing louder as he advanced, and
knocked at Gould's door; there was no response. "Gould!" he cried,
"Gould! are you in?" As there was still no answer he turned the handle
and looked in; there was the canary hanging in the window, through which
the sun poured, and his shrill notes went through his head; but no
Gould. "Plague take it!" muttered Saurin; "it is all to do now another
time, and I cannot get this suspense over. I wonder where the fellow
has gone to!"
He closed the door again and retraced his steps slowly. When he
repassed Crawley's room he stopped and listened. Not a sound except the
bird's song. His heart beat so quickly that it was like to choke him,
and he grew quite giddy. "Crawley!" he said in an unsteady voice, for
though he saw the room was empty he had an insane fancy that he might be
there, invisible, or that this mist before his eyes might prevent his
seeing him. Then he mastered his apprehensions with an effort, and
stepped into the room. Going to a chair, he felt the coat which hung
over the back; there were keys in the pocket. Then he listened again;
not a sound, for the singing of the canary had stopped. Ten minutes
later Saurin went down-stairs quietly, stealthily. He found Edwards
waiting for him outside, took him by the arm, and led him away.
"Have you seen anyone?" he asked eagerly, but in a voice which he could
not keep from trembling.
"Not a soul," replied Edwards.
"Then, come a long to my tutor's--quick! get your flannels on; and we
will go into the football field. We are late, but can get in on one
side or another."
"But, have you succeeded? Will Gould lend the money?"
"No, he won't; and I would not have fellows know I asked him for worlds;
so I am glad no one saw us."
Saurin was as white as a sheet, he trembled all over, and there was a
look in his eyes as of a hunted animal. That one in whose courage,
presence of mind, and resources he trusted so entirely should be
affected to such a degree as this, appalled poor Edwards; what a black
gulf, indeed, must yawn before them!
"Is there no chance at all, then?" he asked in piteous accents.
"Yes, it will be all right; I--I have thought of something else,"
stammered Saurin. "Don't mind me--I'm knocked over by asking a favour
and being refused; that's all. I shall be all right directly. Only
swear you will never say a word to anyone about it. I tell you I have
thought of a way to silence that villain Slam, and I will go and see him
the first chance. It will be all right if you only hold your tongue.
And now look sharp and let us change and go and play football; there's
lots of time."
They had reached their own rooms by this, and Edwards did what Saurin
told him, wondering, but partly reassured; and in a few minutes they
were on their way to the football field, where they were hailed by their
own house and paired off on different sides.
Saurin had sulkily retired from all the school sports for some time, and
the boys wondered at the energy with which he now rushed into the game.
The fact was he felt the necessity for violent exertion to escape
reflection and drown thought in fatigue. He could not do it, but he
succeeded in regaining the mastery over his nerves, his looks, his
speech. As for Edwards, he played more listlessly than usual; and the
thought occurred to several that afternoon that if Saurin would only
take up regular practice again he would be a greater source of strength
to the house team than Edwards. And they wanted to be as strong as
possible, for the match with the doctor's house was approaching, and
they feared that they were a little overmatched.
That evening a good many boys were assembled in Dr Jolliffe's pupil-
room to hear the reports concerning the cricket and football clubs,
which were really one, as the same subscribers belonged to both, and it
was only for clearness and to avoid confusion of accounts that they were
treated separately; besides that, one boy could not always be found to
undertake, like Crawley, the management of both. There were the
committees, and besides them a sprinkling of the curious, who did not
care to listen to the debit and credit accounts, but had the Anglo-Saxon
instinct for attending public meetings of any kind, so that the room,
though not half full, contained a respectable audience, when Crawley
with his japanned box in his hand entered, and went to the place
reserved for him at the head of the table.
"I have not a long story to tell you," he said, producing his keys and
inserting one in the lock of the box. "Fellows have paid up pretty
well, and we are rather in funds. The principal expense has been a new
roller which we were obliged to have, the old one being quite worn out,
and besides, as many of you have often observed, not heavy enough.
Indeed the committee have been blamed rather severely by enthusiastic
cricketers on this score, as if they had taken weight out of the roller,
or could put extra weight into it; and I have sometimes thought that if
the critics would have sat on the roller instead of on us, it would have
been more effective." Laughter; for a little joke goes a long way on
these solemn occasions. "Mr Rabbits has kindly audited our accounts,
which are satisfactory, I believe; here they are, if any one likes to
look at them. We do not owe anything, and there are two pounds in hand
for the football, and seven pounds twelve shillings for the cricket
accounts, which I have here. Hulloa! what is this?" and Crawley changed
countenance as he opened a _portmonnaie_ which he took out of the box,
and drew from it a five-pound note. "I have been robbed!" he cried.
"There were four half-sovereigns, two sovereigns, and twelve shillings
in silver, besides this bank-note in the purse this morning, and now
there is only the five-pound note here!"
The consternation caused by this announcement was so great that for
quite a quarter of a minute there was a dead silence, and then
ejaculations, suggestions, questions, began to pour.
"Perhaps it is loose in the box," said some one, and the papers were
immediately all taken out, and the box turned upside down to prove the
futility of that perhaps.
"Well, never mind; of course I am responsible," said Crawley presently,
recovering himself. "I was taken by surprise, or I should not have made
all this fuss. The money will not be wanted till the cricketing season
begins next term, and I can make it good by then."
Outsiders then took their departure, leaving the committee to any
deliberations that might remain, and carrying the news of the robbery
far and wide, so that it became the principal topic of conversation
throughout the school that evening. Of course it lost nothing in the
telling, and some received the information that Crawley's room had been
regularly cleared out that day, all his books, clothes, and pictures
taken, besides five pounds of his own and twenty of the public money.
The committee had not much business to transact. The day for the match
at football between Dr Jolliffe's and Mr Cookson's houses was settled,
a suggestion that some new turf should be laid down on a part of the
cricket-field where the grass had been worn past recovery was agreed to,
and the members who did not board at Dr Jolliffe's were back at their
own houses before "All In."
But the excitement about the loss of this money was naturally greater in
the house where it had taken place than anywhere else, and as the boys
talked about it at supper the servants heard of it. It was evident that
though no accusation might be made, suspicion would be very likely to
fall upon them, and as they were anxious to have the matter sifted, the
butler was deputed to report the whole affair to the doctor. So when
prayers were over Dr Jolliffe told all present to remain where they
were, and then calling up Crawley, he asked him whether the account he
had heard was correct.
"I did not mean to report it, sir," said Crawley, "but it is true that
four pounds in gold and twelve shillings in silver were taken from the
tin box belonging to the cricket and football club this afternoon."
"When did you last see this money?"
"At about a quarter to three, sir. As it was a half-holiday I thought I
would get all my papers ready against the cricket and football meeting
this evening. I set to work at that at a little after two; it did not
take me very long, as they were all ready before, and only wanted
arranging, and a little memorandum written out of what I wanted to say,
for fear I should forget anything. When I had done I counted out the
money in hand, and put it in a purse which I have always used for the
subscriptions; there was the sum I have mentioned and a five-pound note.
I put the purse back in the box, locked it, placed the keys in my coat-
pocket, changed my clothes, and went out to play at football. I heard
the clock strike three just after I had begun to play."
"And when did you miss the money."
"At the meeting, when I opened the box."
"You had not done so again till then after locking it up, when you went
out?"
"No, sir."
"You are sure?"
"Positive, sir."
"And the five-pound note was not taken?"
"No, sir; that was left."
"Was it in the same compartment of the purse as the gold and silver?"
"No, sir; but it could be seen if the purse was opened, and why it was
not taken too I cannot imagine."
"That is not so difficult of explanation. But now I must ask you a
painful question; but it is your bounden duty to answer it without
reserve. Have you any suspicions as to who may have taken it?"
"None whatever, sir. I am almost certain that there was not a boy in
the house. I was the last to remain in. Indeed I found all but three
in the football field, and I know where they were, for I saw them
playing at fives as I passed the court. At least two were playing, and
the third, who had hurt his foot, was looking on."
"Do you mean to say, for it is necessary to be accurate, that you
recognised every boy in the house except these three in the football
field yourself?"
"Not exactly, sir; but we have been talking the matter over, and those
whom I did see can answer for all the rest."
"And who were the three boys in the Fives Court?"
"I was the looker-on, sir," said Gould, stepping forward.
"And when did you leave?"
"When the others left off play, sir. We all returned together at tea-
time."
"That is right, sir," said Smith and Simmonds. "We were the two playing
at fives, and Gould went and returned with us." (Of course it is not
meant that they said all this together, in chorus, as people do in a
play; but they both stood forward, and Smith was the spokesman.)
"And now, Crawley," resumed the doctor, "are you sure that the money was
not taken _after_ your return. You left your room again, perhaps,
before the meeting?"
"Yes, I did for a short time, sir; but then I had the keys in my pocket;
and the box was fairly unlocked. There are no marks of violence; and
it's a Brahma, so, whoever did it, must have had the right key."
"I am very glad that all the boys in my house seem able to prove so
clear an _alibi_," said the doctor. "That will do."
When they had all dispersed Dr Jolliffe made inquiries amongst the
servants. The fat cook indignantly demanded that her boxes should be
searched; but one coin of the realm is so like another that there did
not appear to be much object in that, beyond the pleasure of inspecting
a very smart bonnet in reserve for Easter, and other articles of
apparel. The maids who waited on the boys were very much cut up about
it. They never went near the rooms after they had once cleaned them up
in the morning till supper-time, when they turned down the beds (which
were set on end, and shut up to look like cupboards during the day), and
filled the jugs and cans with fresh water, etcetera. But it was
impossible for them to prove their absence during those two hours--from
three to five--so clearly as the boys could, though they could testify
to one another's not having been away for many minutes at a time. It
was extremely unpleasant for them, and for the butler and another man-
servant in a less degree also, for, though they had no business to go
into the boys' part of the house, it was possible that they might have
gone there without having any business.
But there was no reason to conclude that anyone residing in the house at
all was the guilty party; any person could walk in from the street at
any hour. Itinerants often passed through the place with mice,
squirrels, and other things, which they tried to sell to the boys, and
one of these might have slipped up-stairs. But, no; a man like that
would not have known that there was likely to be money in that
particular box; it certainly looked more like the action of someone who
had good information.
Such were the speculations and reasonings which were rife in Weston for
the next few days; and then the topic began to grow stale, for no one
had been seen hanging about the house that afternoon, and there was no
satisfactory peg upon which to hang conjecture. One hard fact remained;
poor Crawley was answerable for four pounds twelve shillings which had
been stolen from him, and this came at a time when he was particularly
anxious to spend as little money as possible. He did not make much fuss
about it, and only to Buller, his friendship with whom grew stronger the
more they knew of one another, did he speak his mind.
"My poor mother!" he said during a Sunday walk the day after the
robbery; "I shall have to ask her for the money, and it is precious hard
upon her. I have been abominably extravagant, and she is not rich, and
there are a lot of us. I owe a good bit to Tiffin, and to my London
tailor too, but he will wait any time. Tiffin duns me, hang him! though
why he should be devoted to capital punishment for asking for his due I
don't know either. I should not have had such a lot of patties, fruit,
ices, and stuff. He will have to be paid at latest when I leave; and at
that time, if I get into Woolwich, there will be my outfit. And then I
must needs buy a gun and a license for just three days' shooting with
Gould last Christmas; and tipping the groom and keeper was a heavy item
besides. One of my sisters is delicate, and can't walk far; and they
could keep a pony-carriage if it wasn't for me. And now, here is
another flyer I must rob my mother of, just because I left my keys in my
coat when I changed my dress--sheer carelessness!"
"Never mind; you will get into Woolwich next examination, and then you
will soon get a commission, and draw pay, and not want so much from your
mother."
"Yes, I think of that, and it is some consolation; but still it is in
the future, don't you see, and I must ask her for this stolen money at
once. By Jove! I wish I had come back unexpectedly for something, and
caught the fellow taking it! I wonder who on earth it can be!"
"I have no idea. Not Polly the maid, I'll take my Davey; I have so
often left money and things about, and never lost a halfpenny."
That same Sunday Saurin and Edwards were standing with two or three
others in the quadrangle, when Gould limped by.
"How is your ankle getting on, Gould?" one of the group called out.
"Better, thanks," he replied, joining them. "I say, if it had kept me
in yesterday afternoon Crawley might have thought I took the money!
What a joke, eh? Fancy my wanting a paltry four pounds odd."
"You were not in?" cried Edwards; and he could have bitten his tongue
out immediately afterwards.
But the surprise was too great for his prudence. He and Saurin had gone
to their own tutor's house before repairing to the football field, you
may remember, and that route did not pass the Fives Court. So that it
was the first intimation Edwards had that Saurin lied when he said he
had asked Gould for a loan, and been refused.
"No," said Gould, looking at him in surprise; "what made you think I
was?"
"Only your sprain," said Edwards, recovering himself. "Some fellows
were saying that if you were in, the thief must have trod very lightly
for you not to have heard him, as your room is so near. But as you were
out, and all the other fellows too, he had the coast clear, you know."
"What is your idea about the whole thing, Saurin?" asked Gould; "you are
a sharp chap."
"Oh, I don't know," said Saurin. "I should not be very much surprised
if the money turned up, and there proved to have been no robbery at
all."
"What on earth do you mean?"
"The chances are I am wrong, no doubt, but it is possible. Crawley is a
very careless fellow, you know, about money matters."
"But how could he have made a mistake, when he counted out the money
such a short time before?" asked one of the group. "I was present at
the meeting, and you should have seen his surprise when he took up the
purse."
"Oh, I dare say it is all as you think," said Saurin. "I only know that
if I had charge of money I should always be in a muddle. I never know
anything about my own, and it is little enough to calculate; if I had to
keep it separate from that of other people I should always be bothered
between the two. But no doubt Crawley is better at business than I am."
"I say; he is awfully poor, Crawley is, and tries to make a show as if
he were rich," said Gould. "I know he has been dunned by old Tiffin
lately, and it is quite possible he may have paid him out of the club
money and got confused, eh? Of course, what I say is strictly between
ourselves."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
AN ACCIDENT.
"It is no business of mine," said Saurin, turning on his heel. "But if
any fellow likes to get up a subscription to make good Crawley's loss,
real or imaginary, I'll subscribe." And he sauntered off, whistling
carelessly.