HATCHING A PLOT, AND WHAT CAME OF IT
"Nothing could be better. Let Percival be the victim!"
Scarcely were the words out of Harry's lips than Viner come up to Baldry
with the notice he was expecting. It was a hectograph copy, announcing
that a meeting of the more important members of the Third Form would be
held in the Forum at half-past six prompt to consider a matter of
pressing importance.
Baldry thanked Viner. Viner smirked and retreated.
"Viner's in the know, that's certain," said Baldry, when he was out of
earshot. "Viner's a crawler."
Harry had no great reason to like Viner. It was he who had gone behind
him on the day that he had entered Garside, so that Newall might push
him over his back. From that incident the quarrel had arisen between
Stanley and Newall, and other troubles had followed in its train.
"You're right there; but now what's to be done?"
"Oh, that's easy enough. We've only got to rub out 'Third Form' and put
in 'Fifth,' and then send it on to Percival; and there you are."
With the aid of a knife and some hectograph ink this alteration was soon
made. The next question was how to get it to Percival without arousing
suspicion. As they were considering this point Baldry caught sight of
Hibbert crossing the ground.
"There's our messenger," he exclaimed. Then he shouted, "Hibbert,
Hibbert!"
Hibbert looked round. Baldry beckoned him, and he came to where they
were standing.
"I want you to give this note to Percival. If he asks you where it came
from, tell him he will see inside. Then come away. Do you understand?"
"Yes," said Hibbert, looking suspiciously at the note.
"Well, run along. It won't bite you."
Hibbert went off reluctantly with the note. It seemed now as though he
were as anxious as the rest to avoid Paul. At any rate, he kept out of
his way, but he could not very well refuse Baldry's request.
He found Paul by himself, as usual, in the writing-room. He had
commenced work in downright earnest on the prize essay.
"Hallo, Hibbert, is that you?" he asked, looking up as the boy entered.
"What have you got there?"
Hibbert handed him the notice without a word, but did not beat a retreat
according to the instructions he had received.
"Another meeting of the Fifth," Paul said, as much to himself as to
Hibbert, when he had glanced at the note. "I wonder they trouble to send
to me. It is too great an honour!"
No suspicion as to the genuineness of the note crossed his mind. It was
quite usual for Sedgefield, who acted as hon. sec. for the Fifth, to
send out his notices with a messenger from the junior forms.
"What's too great an honour, may I ask?" said Hibbert timidly.
Paul explained to him the contents of the notice.
"It's to call me over the coals again, I expect. Shall I go or shan't
I?" he asked himself. Then, turning smilingly to the boy: "What would
you do if you were in my place, Hibbert?"
"Stay away," said the boy promptly.
"And improve my reputation for courage--eh? Why would you stay away?"
Having so far exceeded his instructions, Hibbert thought he might as
well go a little further.
"Because I don't believe that the Fifth had anything to do with that
notice. It came from Baldry and Moncrief minor. I believe it's a trick."
Paul, beginning to smell a rat, examined the notice with closer
attention, and soon detected the erasion where "Fifth" had been
substituted for "Third Form."
"Thanks, Hibbert. I don't know why you should, but you're always doing
me a good turn."
"Not half the good turns you've done me," said the boy earnestly, as he
went out.
"What's in the wind?" Paul asked himself, when he was alone. "Bitter as
Stanley is against me, he can't have set on his cousin to hoax and poke
fun at me. Surely not?"
What was it, then? He could not guess; but it seemed to him that he must
have sunk very low indeed in the eyes of the school when he had become a
target for the junior forms.
"I must put my foot down on that nonsense," he said to himself, as he
paced to and fro the room.
At first he thought of making straight for Baldry and Moncrief minor,
and demanding what it meant; but on second thoughts he decided against
that course, because it would mean mischief to Hibbert. His life at the
school would be made more miserable than it was.
"The best thing after all will be to face it--to accept the invitation
of Masters Moncrief and Baldry to the Forum to-night. I run the risk of
being laughed at, I know, but I'm getting fairly used to that. And it's
just possible I may be able to turn the tables."
Having come to this decision, Paul did the wisest thing possible under
the circumstances--dismissed the matter from his mind, and went on with
his work.
Now it so happened that a meeting of the Fifth had really been called
for that evening in the Forum, and still stranger to relate, for the
express purpose of discussing Paul. The information that he had been
seen in the company of Wyndham, and had actually shaken hands with him,
had quickly spread, and the meeting of the Fifth had been called for the
express purpose of considering this further development in the feud
between the Beetles and the Gargoyles. No notice of this meeting had,
however, been sent to Paul.
So it was that about the time Paul was getting ready to go to the Forum,
little suspecting the proposed meeting, Newall had already started for
it, just as ignorant of the little plot that had been hatched by certain
members of the Third. Leveson had had some lines which had kept him late
in the class-room, and Newall had taken his place in getting the shed
ready for the meeting. Thus it happened he was in advance of the rest.
It was quite dark as Newall made his way to the shed. Harry Moncrief was
hiding at the side, with his whistle between his teeth. The figure
coming towards the shed in the darkness he took to be the figure of
Paul.
"He's up to time," he chuckled to himself. "He's fallen into the trap
beautifully."
Newall reached the door of the shed, opened it, and passed in.
Simultaneously Harry blew the whistle. At the signal, Plunger pulled the
string which communicated with the basket immediately over the doorway,
sending its contents showering down on the head of Newall.
Newall gasped and staggered in the darkness, striking out wildly with
his arms. He had a confused idea that some enormous bird of prey had
suddenly swooped down from the roof, and was flapping its wings over his
head.
"Ooshter--ooshter! Get out of it!" he gasped, as he reeled about and
struck out wildly at his imaginary foe.
Meantime Plunger had slid down quickly from the tree, and, accompanied
by Viner and Bember, who had been awaiting the signal in the rear,
rushed round to the front. The three held on to the door, so as to keep
their victim floundering about in the darkness till they saw fit to
release him.
"Splendid; couldn't be better," chuckled Plunger. "My, isn't old Baldy
carrying on?"
His companions could not answer. They were doing their best to smother
their laughter.
"My, he's carrying on awful!" went on Plunger. "Breaking up the happy
home. Didn't think Baldy had so much spring in him. Seems to be all over
the shop. Do you hear him, Moncrief? Where is Moncrief?"
Moncrief had made himself scarce. He had retreated to a safe distance,
where Baldry was awaiting him. By the time he reached him, he, too, was
exploding with laughter.
"Well, what's happened?" asked Baldry.
"Oh, don't ask me. It's too funny for words."
"Percival's inside?"
"Percival's inside, ramping about like mad, and Plunger, Viner, and
Bember are holding the door outside like grim death, and laughing like
hyenas over 'old Baldy.' Good, isn't it?"
On that Baldry was seized with a fit of laughter too.
"Good? The best joke we've had at Garside for a long time," answered
Baldry, between gasps. "My, what will happen when they find out their
mistake? What will they say when they see Percival stagger out instead
of 'old Baldy?'"
"Plunger will stagger the most of the two, I reckon," laughed Harry.
"I just reckon he will."
"And I reckon also that he'd better keep out of the reach of Percival."
"Percival!" echoed Baldry contemptuously. "Percival may ramp a good
deal, but he's not likely to do much, I'm thinking, after his exhibition
at the sand-pits. Percival is----"
"I beg pardon, but did I hear some one mention my name?" came a quiet
voice in the rear of Baldry.
Both boys turned promptly round at the voice. To their amazement
Percival was standing before them.
"Per--Percival!" exclaimed Harry.
"Per--Percival!" echoed Baldry.
"I happened to be strolling this way, and thought I heard my name; but
perhaps I was mistaken."
The boys could not speak. They could only stare with open mouths at
Percival. It was a shadowy figure that stood before them in the
darkness. Was it indeed Percival, or was it his ghost?
"Y--y--yes; we--we--were speaking about you," stammered Baldry, at
length. "We--were--just wondering--how you were getting on."
"It's very kind of you to think of me," said Paul, with a quiet smile.
Paul, quite ignorant of what had transpired in the shed, thought for the
moment whether he had better tackle Baldry and Moncrief minor then and
there as to their motive in desiring him to go to the shed, but on
second thoughts he decided to find out for himself; so he passed on.
"Pinch me--punch me--kick me", exclaimed Harry. "Am I awake or am I
dreaming, Baldry?"
"It was Percival right enough."
"Then who--who's--in--the shed?" gasped Harry, a cold perspiration
coming to his brow.
"What an idiotic question to ask me," retorted Baldry indignantly. "You
ought to know best. Are you sure there's anybody in the shed at all?"
"I'm sure of that. And--and--I could have sworn it was Percival."
"You've made a nice mess of it."
"Well, if I have made a mess of it, I've kept you out of it," retorted
Harry, beginning to feel sore at the tone taken by Baldry. "After all,
Plunger and the others will be taken in a good deal more than we've
been, remember. He still thinks it's you he's got a prisoner."
"Ah, yes, so he does," exclaimed Baldry, breaking into laughter again;
"I'd forgotten that. When that door opens it'll be one of the best
little surprise packets Plunger's ever had in his life. Hallo, here
comes a lot of the Fifth fellows, and they seem making for the shed,
too!"
The shadowy figures of Arbery, Parfitt, Hasluck, and a couple of others
passed within a short distance of where the two boys were standing. They
were conversing eagerly together.
There was silence between them for a moment; then an unearthly yell rose
on the air.
"Goodness! What was that? Enough to lift your hair off, wasn't it,
Moncrief?"
Harry did not answer. He was trying to pierce the darkness to see what
was happening in the direction of the shed.