THE PETITION--WHAT BEFELL IT
The master put the questions--the questions which formed so strong an
indictment against himself--with grim solemnity. Paul scarcely knew how
to answer him, so was silent.
"Well?" persisted Mr. Weevil.
"I must say that at one time I was suspicious of you, sir. I thought you
were in league with traitors against your country--against England."
"When did your opinion alter?"
"When I heard you in the cave appealing to Zuker to give up his scheme;
when I heard you telling him that the hand of a Higher than man was in
it. Then I remembered that however stern you had been to others, you had
been kind and tender to Hibbert, and it slowly dawned upon me that it
was for poor Hibbert's sake you kept in with Zuker, that for his sake
you were playing a part you did not care for."
"Thank you. I'm glad you've done me justice in your own mind, Percival,"
answered the master, with more feeling than he was in the habit of
displaying. "You have guessed my motive precisely. It was for Hibbert's
sake--the son of the sister I loved--that I kept on friendly terms with
Zuker. But my duty to Hibbert--my love for him--did not make me blind to
the interests of my country. All along I have been in communication with
the Moncriefs. It was I who first communicated with Mr. Henry Moncrief,
in cipher, the information of Zuker's arrival in England. It was
arranged, however, that Zuker was to be allowed to develop his plans,
along with his confederates, before any action was taken to checkmate
him. The Admiralty wished to obtain complete information of all the
details of the scheme, and I alone was in the position of giving it
them. First of all, however, I made my terms with the Admiralty. They
were these: When Zuker's plans were developed, they were at liberty to
take what action they pleased to counteract those plans, and arrest any
accomplice who might be engaged in work with Zuker, but I made this
proviso, that no step should be taken to arrest Zuker himself, without
my knowledge and sanction. Furthermore, that in return for the
information I was able to furnish as to every detail of the plot, I was
to be permitted in the last resort to warn Zuker, so that he might
escape to his native country, if he cared to.
"In that interview you overheard, I made my first strong appeal to him.
Unfortunately it was not successful, and worse than that, he became
suspicious of me. The death of dear little Hibbert took away the only
link that bound me to Zuker. One or two of his confederates were
arrested, and he himself became conscious that the net was closing round
himself. Your appearance in his hiding-place must have brought that home
to him. What happened after that I can only guess. I have two
theories--the first, that, in escaping by the river, he might have taken
refuge for a time on the old battleship, and was in hiding at the time
when the fire broke out. The other theory is that, recognizing that his
schemes had been a complete failure, he deliberately set fire to the
ship, and perished in the flames. He who knows the motives as well as
the actions of all men, will alone know which of these theories is the
right one. God be merciful to him, as to me, miserable sinner."
Mr. Weevil stood with bowed head. And as he breathed, thus reverently,
the response he had so often heard, Paul felt his mother's hand stealing
into his, as it had so often stolen into it in the village church in
days gone by, when the good vicar read the Litany, and prayed for
deliverance from "lightning and tempest, from plague, pestilence, and
famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death." The man who had
brought about "the sudden death" of his father, had ended his with
tragic swiftness, and now stood before the Judge of all. The time for
the last great trial had come for Israel Zuker.
"Before Him--before the Judge of all men," said Mr. Weevil, at length
breaking the silence, "I hope to justify myself for what I have done, as
well as for what I have left undone, but in the meantime I shall never
forget the part that you have played, Percival. It is true, profoundly
true, that no good deed is ever lost. Your kindness to Hibbert will ever
be a sacred memory to me. Good-night, Percival, and God bless you."
"Good-night sir."
And Paul, with his heart very full, turned from the room.
When Paul went out, Mr. Weevil did not retire to rest. He was one of
those men who require very little sleep. He unlocked a drawer in his
desk, and took from it several loose sheets of paper, with entries on
them. These he regarded closely for a moment or two, then leaned
reflectively back in his chair, with eyes closed. Then he looked at the
pages again, together with some memoranda jotted on a separate sheet of
paper. His scrutiny ended, he put them back into the drawer, and locked
them up again.
Having done this, he took up a sheet of foolscap, on which was written,
in the form of a petition, the resolution of the Fifth calling upon Mr.
Weevil to expel Percival from Garside. To this petition were attached
the names of the mover and seconder of the resolution--Stanley Moncrief
and Parfitt--followed by the names of the other boys in the Form, with
the exception of Waterman.
Mr. Weevil had not yet answered this unusual petition, so he took up a
pen and paper and wrote:
"Mr. Weevil's compliments, and he will be pleased to meet the Fifth, and
go into their petition to-morrow. As so delicate a matter cannot be
discussed before the whole school, the form will return to the
class-room, where the master will come to them at the end of the day's
work. One last proviso, as it is the conduct of Percival which has been
impugned, it will, of course, be necessary for him to be present at the
inquiry, so that he may be heard in his own defence."
This note he folded up, placed in an envelope, and directed to Hasluck,
the head of the Form. The following morning it was delivered to Hasluck
by Bax, the porter. Having read it, Hasluck passed it round the Form.
Waterman was next to Percival. Instead of passing it to him, he just
glanced at it and passed it back to Parfitt with a yawn.
"Doesn't interest me. More in your line, Parfitt."
Waterman, in this dexterous manner, escaped the painful duty of passing
on a note for which he was in no way responsible.
As he afterwards said, "he liked to see others troubling over their own
underhand business."
Parfitt bit his lip, then, without a word, handed it to Paul. Paul read
it. He had no difficulty in understanding its meaning. Harry had told
him about the meeting that had been held about him. This letter was the
result of it.
Adopting Parfitt's own tactics, he handed it back without a word, but he
could not help stealing a glance at Stanley. His eyes were heavy, as
though from want of sleep. He looked quite haggard and ill. He kept his
eyes away from Paul, as though uncertain as to himself. He looked very
miserable, and, indeed, he was even more miserable than he looked.
At the close of school that day, the Fifth passed back to their
class-room. Soon after, Mr. Weevil entered. He looked cold, stern,
implacable--a different man from the one Paul had seen the previous
night speaking in tremulous tones about Hibbert. Those little human
traits seemed to have vanished with the night. He was no longer the man,
but the judge.
"Step forward, Percival," he said briefly.
Paul stepped forward.
"You know the charge against you?"
"No, sir; I've come to hear."
"The charge is in this petition," said the master, taking up the
petition, which he unfolded and placed on the desk. "I needn't read it,
but I can tell you briefly what the charge is. The charge is that you
connived with the boys of a rival college--St. Bede's--to have the flag,
which is held in so much honour and esteem here, stolen from the tower."
"Yes, sir. Anything more?" asked Paul, as the master paused and glanced
down at the petition.
"The petition further alleges that having placed this dishonour on the
school, you connived with the enemy to keep it by them till it suited
your time and purpose, and that then you arranged for its return."
"Time and purpose?" repeated Paul. "What purpose?"
"What purpose?" repeated the master, glancing again at the petition. "It
is clearly enough set forth. Listen. 'Percival had made enemies of his
Form, and had looked for his friends at St. Bede's. His object in
getting back the flag was to try to regain at one stroke some of his
lost popularity.' Is that clear enough?"
"Quite clear, sir. What followed?"
"A resolution was moved and carried, with only one dissentient, that you
should be expelled from the school."
"Who--who moved the resolution?" asked Percival, with an effort.
"Is it worth while my giving names?"
"I would like to know, sir, if you would be kind enough."
Mr. Weevil glanced at the names. He did not answer. The silence was
broken by Stanley.
"I moved the resolution, Percival--Paul!" he cried, in a voice that
seemed to be choking him. "I did you an injustice before all the Form. I
now ask your pardon before all the Form. I'm ashamed of myself--ashamed
that I so degraded myself as to move that resolution. My eyes were shut.
Now they're open. I've been groping about in the dark. Now I'm in the
light. I was a fool ever to doubt you, but appearances were so against
you. It was your turning away from Wyndham at the gravel-pits that so
rankled in my mind, and--and your friendly meetings with him after. I
did not know----"
"Stop! Not quite so fast!" commanded Mr. Weevil. Stanley had poured out
at a feverish rate the words that had been burning at his heart
throughout the whole of the night and day. "Do I understand that you,
Moncrief major, who proposed this resolution, now wish to withdraw it?"
"Yes, sir; every word of it. I have wronged Percival--deeply wronged
him, and before all the Form I ask his pardon."
Paul's heart leapt with joy. He cared little what the others might
think. Stanley had come round of his own accord. He had voluntarily
asked his pardon. Paul grasped the hand stretched out to him.
"I see that it was you, Parfitt, who seconded this resolution, asking
that Percival should be expelled from the school. Is it your wish to
withdraw also?" asked the master.
"Certainly not," said Parfitt indignantly. "I'm not going to turn tail
because Moncrief has. If Moncrief has sold me, I'm not going to sell all
the other fellows who signed that petition."
A murmur of approval came from "the other fellows," except Waterman. He
greeted it with the customary yawn.
"You still hold to your wish that Percival should be expelled from
Garside?" asked Mr. Weevil.
"Yes, sir."
"You understand that expelling a scholar from Garside is a very serious
matter. It is a grave stigma placed on him at the commencement of his
career--a stigma which clings to him when he goes from school into the
sterner battle of life. I'm bound to impress this upon you, Parfitt, so
that you may understand the gravity of the step you wish me to take."
"I understand, sir. We all understand."
"And you decline to do what Moncrief has done--withdraw from the
petition?"
"Yes, sir. We can't stand Percival any longer."
"Hear! hear!" from Newall.
Suddenly, to the astonishment of the Form, the master opened the desk
before him, and drew from it a book.
"You know this book?" he demanded.
Know it? They knew it but too well. It was the dreaded Black Book.