A CHALLENGE FROM ST. BEDE'S
The two boys who entered with the "Beetle" were Baldry and Sedgefield,
the companions of Plunger. The Beetle was a sturdy, but rather
heavy-featured, boy of fourteen. He wore the St. Bede's cap--dark cloth
with a white shield in front, on which were worked in old English
letters, "St. B.," while beneath these were three Roman capitals--"S. S.
V.," the initials of the school motto, "Suis stet viribus"--"He stands
on his merit."
"Why, it's Mellor," came the cry, so soon as the face of the boy from
St. Bede's could be clearly seen.
Yes, it was Mellor, till recently a pupil at Garside, and formerly an
occupant of the dormitory in which Harry Moncrief, Baldry and the others
slept. He had left Garside last term, and, much to the disgust of his
former associates, had entered as a pupil of St. Bede's. The fact was
that it was not so much Mellor's work as his father's. Mellor was good
at sport, but not quite as keen on learning, so that he had remained for
two years in the same form along with boys who were much younger than
himself. Mellor, of course, put it down to the school, and not to any
lack of diligence on his part. His father fell in with the view of his
son, believing him to be a "clever boy--unmistakably clever"--if the
cleverness were only brought out. In the hope that this cleverness would
be brought out, he had been taken from Garside and turned over to St.
Bede's.
Now the conversion of a "Gargoyle" into a "Beetle" was not an easy
process. He had to fit himself into new surroundings, new conditions,
new methods, with new companions. And while these new companions had
given him a cool reception, his old companions, thinking him fair game
for ridicule and sport now that he had "gone over to the enemy," had
determined on giving him a warm reception at the first opportunity.
It so happened that on the third day of Mellor's entrance at St. Bede's
he chanced to meet Parfitt and a couple of companions of his in the
Fifth. They had promptly seized on Mellor, and after congratulating him
with mock gravity on rising to the "dignity of a Beetle," had ended by
making him crawl on all fours "as a Beetle ought," and, using his back
as a desk, had finally written this note on a slip of paper--"Beetle,
otherwise cockroach--nocturnal insect, concealing itself in holes during
the day, and crawling off at the approach of light."
This flattering description they had pinned to Mellor's back, with an
intimation that he was to crawl back to his brother Beetles as quickly
as possible or he would be "squashed before he could get to his hole
again." Mellor, smarting under these indignities, had hastened back to
St. Bede's and placed the note in the hands of one of the boys belonging
to the corresponding form to that of his tormentors.
The Fifth had duly considered it, and a day later had despatched an
answer with Mellor. And this was the answer: "Gargoyle, otherwise
spout--receiving things that come from gutters. Meant to frighten people
by making ugly faces. Good for little else. If the Fifth Form has one
Gargoyle of any pluck amongst them, he will find a Fifth Form Beetle
ready to meet him at the sand-pit, Cranstead Common, to-morrow
afternoon, three sharp."
"It's a challenge," said Hasluck.
"Read it out," came in a chorus.
And Hasluck read it out.
"Don't you think you've got a lot of cheek to bring a note like that,
Mellor," remarked Arbery when Hasluck had finished.
"Not half as much as Parfitt had in writing the one he sent by me,"
retorted Mellor indignantly.
"What does it feel like, being a Beetle?" asked Leveson politely.
"Kitchen stuff's fattening, isn't it?"
"After going about on all fours, don't you find it a bit tricky to stand
on your hind legs again?" remarked Arbery. "Want a balancing-pole, don't
you?"
Before Mellor could reply, a mysterious gurgling sound came from the
direction in which Devey was standing.
"Hallo, Devey, what's wrong?" demanded Hasluck, as every eye turned in
his direction.
"Wrong? Nothing wrong! What do you mean?" retorted Devey, quite blushing
at thus suddenly becoming the object of general attention.
"Thought you were trying to laugh. Never heard such a screech. Like a
laughing hyena with the toothache. Don't do it again, there's a good
chap. It'll get on our nerves."
"I haven't done anything, I tell you," exclaimed the indignant Devey. "I
didn't laugh."
"It came from your corner. It must have been some of those youngsters of
the Third eavesdropping outside. Chase 'em away a bit, Arbery."
Arbery, accompanied by Leveson, darted out with the object of giving the
"youngsters of the Third" a bad time, but after searching around the
shed, could find no sign of their presence.
"They must have scooted before we could get to them," reported Arbery on
his return to the shed. "I can guess pretty well who it was--Plunger and
his set."
Again that sound from Devey's corner which Hasluck had described as "a
laughing hyena with the toothache"; and again all eyes went to Devey.
"Well, what the dickens are you staring at?" Devey indignantly demanded,
when he thought that he had borne this scrutiny with enough patience.
"Beetles are bad enough, Devey, without paroquets," remarked Hasluck
reproachfully. "If you feel bad, you'd better go out. We'll excuse you."
"It's not me, I tell you. I didn't laugh. It came from outside, or the
roof, or--or somewhere," protested Devey.
Arbery and Leveson darted out again, with the same result as before. But
they saw shadows in the distance which they believed to be some of their
tormentors, and it was decided that they should take up a position
close to the door, and at once dart out if the sound were repeated.
Devey was, of course, perfectly truthful when he had denied making the
curious sound which had so startled his companions. Nor had it come from
the "youngsters of the Third" outside. It came, as the reader has
guessed, from the box in which Mr. Freddy Plunger was reposing. At
first, when the heavy weight of Devey had rested on the box, he thought
that he would have been suffocated. But when, in the excitement caused
by the unexpected entrance of Mellor with his challenge from St. Bede's,
Devey had risen with the other fellows, and remained standing, Plunger
breathed more freely, and began to feel quite light-hearted again.
He felt just as excited as any of those outside at what was happening
and entered just as thoroughly into the scene, so that when Leveson and
Arbery began to question Mellor about the peculiarities of "a Beetle,"
he felt that he must laugh or choke. The result was the curious noise
which had been put down first to Devey, then to the boys outside. No one
guessed for a moment that it came from the box before which Devey was
standing. When the stir caused by this incident had subsided, attention
was once more turned to Mellor.
"Well, Mellor, you haven't answered our questions yet," said Parfitt,
taking up the fire. "What does it feel like to be a Beetle?"
Mellor flamed up the instant Parfitt spoke. It was Parfitt who had set
upon him and badgered him, and written the note which had stirred up so
much feeling at St. Bede's against Garside.
"You're a cad and a coward!" he cried hotly. "I don't want to answer you
or speak to you either."
Parfitt, stung by the boy's words, moved towards him to clutch him by
the ear. But Paul was quicker, and stood between them.
"Hands off, Parfitt! Mellor's here as a messenger from the Fifth of St.
Bede's to us, the Fifth of Garside. Don't drag us in the mud! Let's be
fair! They've sent us a challenge. Let's be polite enough to answer
it."
"Interfering again," sneered Parfitt. "Always poking your nose where it
isn't wanted!"
"Don't get waxy, Parfitt," remonstrated Hasluck. "Percival's quite
right. It isn't nice perhaps to know that one of our fellows has gone
over to the Beetles, but there it is. It can't be helped. What's done
can't very well be undone. Let's be fair, and let's be polite. There,
I'm with Percival, and so, I think, are the rest of you." ("Hear, hear,
hear," from the rest, with the exception of Parfitt, who felt rather
small.) "Shall we send an answer?"
"Yes, yes."
"I knew well enough you'd say 'Yes.' Well, the next point is, what's the
answer to be?"
"I think there can be only one answer," exclaimed Newall, speaking for
the first time. "The Fifth Form Gargoyle is quite ready to meet the
Fifth Form Beetle at the sand-pit, Cranstead Common, to-morrow
afternoon, three sharp."
At once a cheer broke out in favour of Newall's suggestion.
"As Parfitt wrote the elegant little note which has brought this storm
upon us, he'd better write the answer," said Hasluck.
This suggestion also met with general approval. Parfitt hesitated, but
at length wrote the note as dictated by Newall. Hasluck read it out.
"Will it do?" he questioned when he had finished.
"Agreed, agreed!" was the answering shout. Paul alone remained silent.
His face was unusually grave. He had come there on a peaceful mission,
and the peaceful mission had ended in a declaration of war.
"There you are, Mellor; take that and give it to your brother Beetles,
with the compliments and best wishes of the Fifth," he said, as he
folded up the note and handed it to Mellor. "Now cut!"
"Cut isn't the word," said Arbery, as he opened the door. "Crawl!"
Mellor darted out of the shed with the note, without waiting for any
further references to the new title conferred upon him.
"Won't you eat your words in the sand-pit to-morrow!" he cried as a
parting shot.
"The cheeky beggar got the last word in anyhow," quoth Arbery as he
closed the door.
Dead silence followed for a minute or two, then it was broken by
Hasluck.
"You called us here, Percival," he said, turning to Paul, "to talk over
the triangular squabble between you and Moncrief and Newall. You don't
mind us putting that off for a bit? This is the thing we've got to
settle, this cheeky challenge from the Beetles."
Paul, seeing there was no help for it, nodded assent.
"And you, Newall?"
Newall nodded in turn.
"Good! Well, then, having decided to take up the challenge from St.
Bede's, the next thing to settle is, who's to be our champion at the
sand-pit to-morrow?"
No one seemed in a great hurry to answer that question, but at length
Newall, a curious smile hovering about his lips, said:
"We're all of us anxious for the job, that's the reason we're so silent.
But I'd like to propose one as our champion who'd do us
credit--Percival."
Had a thunderbolt fallen in the shed, the boys of the Fifth could not
have been more startled than when they heard Paul's name. Was Newall in
earnest, or was he poking fun? It was hard to tell, for the curious
smile that had hovered about his lips was there no longer. It had quite
vanished, and his face was the gravest amongst them.
"Percival!" he repeated with emphasis. "He's done me a lot of honour.
He's done me the honour of calling you fellows together to settle a
quarrel between Moncrief and me. He's done me honour in the nice things
he has said of me. Well, I'd like to do him a little in turn. There
can't be a greater honour than representing the Fifth as champion of the
Form. It's one that I'd jump at myself, but after what has taken place,
after all that Percival has said about the honour of the Form, I can
only take a back seat. He comes first. So I again say, let Percival be
our champion."
Notwithstanding that Paul had rarely been seen in a school fight, it was
well known amongst his companions that he was a fine athlete and
perfectly able to take care of himself, so with ready shouts they hailed
the suggestion.
"Percival, Percival, Percival!" resounded on all sides.