Louis' School Days Part 38

"I hear your name is very high in the list to-day."

"Yes, sir," replied Charles, gravely; and, as the doctor released him, he settled down precisely in the same att.i.tude, without showing the least satisfaction at the notice he had received.

Hamilton turned away with an impatient gesture.

"Are you going immediately, sir?" he said. "Can you spare me a few minutes?"

"I shall be at the garden-gate in a quarter of an hour from this time,"

replied the doctor.

"I will not fail, sir," said Hamilton; and, crossing the room in immense strides, he flew up stairs, and returned almost immediately with a large volume under his arm. He made some inquiries of Trevannion's whereabouts, and, learning that he was in the playground, went in search of him. He very soon found him, walking briskly up and down with Norman, making extracts from an old book in his hand, and questioning his friend alternately. Hamilton and he had scarcely exchanged a word since their quarrel, and it was with some surprise that he saw Hamilton present himself, and still more, when a request was made that he would exchange books.

"I particularly want this just now," he replied.

"This is Rollin," said Hamilton. "I should feel obliged if you would exchange copies."

Trevannion opened his eyes wider, but after a second's pause, he took Hamilton's and gave him his book in exchange, without any comment.

"What a strange whim!" remarked Norman, when Hamilton had left them, after shortly expressing his thanks.

"What can he mean, Norman?" said Trevannion. "This is his own, too."

"Perhaps some new way of trying to make up an old quarrel,"

said Norman, sneeringly.

"I don't think so," replied Trevannion; "he would not have tried so odd a plan--no, there's something deeper than that."

"Are the histories alike?" asked Norman.

"I believe so," answered Trevannion; "if there's any advantage, I am sure to have it, at any rate."

"You have a very high opinion of him."

"VERY," said Trevannion. "If Hamilton did mean this to make up our quarrel, I am sure I shall be willing."

"Upon my word," said Norman, "this is dignity."

Trevannion made no answer, for something had attracted his attention on the opposite side of the playground.

"Holloa! Norman, look there!" he exclaimed.

"Where? what! oh, horror!" cried Norman.

"There they are--they're hid; now, there they are again!--now look, who is it? Stand behind this tree a minute--now let us look out."

Obedient to his instructions, Norman looked, and saw three boys drop down one after another from the branch of a tree, that had evidently a.s.sisted their descent from the playground wall, and then run across the playground.

"Who are they?" said Trevannion, putting up his eye-gla.s.s (which, gentle reader, be it known he carried for use). "One is Churchill, I'm sure! Who's that long fellow? Why, it's Harris, isn't it? It can't be, surely!"

"It is," said Norman; "and the other's Ca.s.son."

"I'm sure they are at no good," said Trevannion; "I shall make a note of this remarkable occurrence."

So saying, he made a memorandum of the circ.u.mstance in his pocket-book, and had just finished when the boys poured out cloaked and great-coated, and informed him of the doctor's desires.

The reader will be at no loss to discover Hamilton's reason for exchanging the books. As Louis was out, he took Dr. Wilkinson's with him into the cla.s.s-room, and sat down to finish the six last words of his poem; and then, folding it neatly up, enveloped it in half a sheet of writing-paper. He was just pressing the seal upon the wax, when his watch, which he had laid open before him, warned him that the last minutes of the quarter of an hour had arrived.

He just pushed his things together, and left them on the table; and s.n.a.t.c.hing up his hat as he ran through the hall, scarcely arrived at the garden-gate in time to save his character for punctuality.

It so happened that Ca.s.son was Louis' companion during the walk, and entertained him with a flowing account of all the vulgar tricks he had been in the habit of playing at his former school. Louis could not help laughing at them; nor would his vanity allow him to refrain from boasting of--what he had before been properly ashamed--his own share in some of Ca.s.son's late exploits. So afraid was he of seeming inferior, even to a person he despised, and in those things which his better feelings taught him equally to despise. Ca.s.son inwardly laughed at Louis' boasted feats, as he had always done to others when Louis was out of hearing; but he now quizzed him, stimulating him, by applauding his spirit and ingenuity; and by the time they had reached the house, Louis was in a thoroughly giddy humor, ready to try, at the risk of disgrace, the new schemes to which he had just been listening.

The boys stayed in the playground till the dinner-bell rang, which was a few minutes after they had entered the playground; but these few minutes sufficed for Louis, in his present humor, to get himself in a sc.r.a.pe, the consequences of which, at the time, he certainly did not contemplate. He had been complaining to Ca.s.son, in the beginning of their walk, that he could not get "Rollin's History," and, as Ca.s.son persisted that it was in the study, Louis took him there to show him his error, when they returned home.

"Ha, ha! Mr. Louis Mortimer, who's right?" cried Ca.s.son, holding up the book.

"That can't be; I wonder how it got there," said Louis, approaching the table in a mystified manner. "These must be Trevannion's things, I suppose; only Hamilton was writing here; and here is his dictionary,--I wonder what he wanted with it--he never said he had it--he let me suppose Trevannion had it--kind of him--I suppose he wanted to prevent my getting it; but I'll have it now--he's got one of his own."

"I'd be even with him," said Ca.s.son; "what a heap of things! See, here's an exercise of his; or a letter, I suppose--it's too neat for an exercise. A good thick letter--sealed, too. I'll tell you what, Louis--"

Accordingly, what Ca.s.son did tell Louis was, what a "capital dodge"

it would be to abstract Hamilton's sealed packet, and to leave another folded like it in its place.

"We often used to trick the boys at old Stennett's with their exercises," continued he; "they never wrote in books there--we used to tear the leaves out of the exercise-books, and write on them. It was such jolly fun to see them open the paper and find nothing in it, or only some rubbish."

"How did you do it?" asked Louis.

"Oh, we doubled up a bit of an old exercise-book, and exchanged, that's all!" replied Ca.s.son; "see, why here's half a sheet of paper, that'll do for the cover; and now then, Louis, more paper--he'll never miss it--that's it--fold it up just the size; how beautifully you have done it!"

"But there's no seal," said Louis.

"He'll forget he sealed it," replied Ca.s.son; "oh, how jolly!--here's a piece of sealing-wax--it is sealed with the top of a pencil-case."

"I have one just like that," said Louis; "oh, no; here's E. H. on this--that won't do, Ca.s.son."

Ca.s.son presently relieved this difficulty by discovering Hamilton's pencil-case; and the paper was quickly sealed, when Louis began to doubt:

"But we don't know what it is, Ca.s.son."

"If it turns out to be any thing, send it by post, directed to him, at his father's," said Ca.s.son; "he'll get it safely enough."

The dinner-bell rang loudly at this moment, and with a little laugh at the idea of the oddity of sending it to Hamilton's home, and a strong feeling of doubt as to the wisdom of his proceeding, Louis hastily exchanged the packets, and ran out of the room. On his way to the dining-room he paused--

"If it should be of any consequence, Ca.s.son," he said.

"Well, if it is, so much the better fun; he won't treat you so shabbily another time."

"Ah, but--I don't want to revenge myself, and I don't like playing tricks on Hamilton exactly, either: I think I must give it back."

"I thought you were such a dab at these kinds of things," said Ca.s.son, sneeringly.