Burr Junior Part 66

"Why, Frank, old chap, you aren't serious, are you? What's the matter?"

"Come up into the loft and see," I replied, as sternly as I could, but feeling so miserable that I could hardly keep my voice from quivering.

"Oh, all right! I'm ready," he said rather stiffly now. "I've done nothing to offend you that I know of. Come on."

We moved toward the yard, but before we reached the gateway, without speaking now, our names were shouted, and, stopping and looking round, I saw Mr Hasnip and Mr Rebble coming after us, the former beckoning.

We turned and walked toward him, with a cold sensation of dread running through me; for what I knew made me s.h.i.+ver with dread, lest the real cause of the disappearance of the watch should have been discovered; and I remembered now about my headache on the cricket match day, and how Mercer had hung about near me, going and coming between me and the tent.

The next moment we were facing the two masters, and Mr Rebble spoke, looking at me very severely.

"Burr junior," he said, "the Doctor wishes to see you in his room directly."

I felt as if I had turned white, and I saw Mr Hasnip looking at me in a horrified way, as Mr Rebble continued:

"And, Mercer, you are to come as well."

"Poor Tom!" I thought, as my hot anger against him died away. "It is all found out. What will we do? I shall have to tell the whole truth."

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

Everything seemed to me as if we were in a dream, and I grew more and more troubled as we were marched in separately to the Doctor's library, where to my astonishment I found Burr major and d.i.c.ksee standing, while the Doctor sat back in his big chair, with one hand over his eyes.

I glanced once at Mercer, but he did not meet my eyes, and we took our places as pointed out by Mr Rebble, who then stood waiting, and at last coughed softly.

"Yes, Mr Rebble," said the Doctor huskily, as he dropped his hand, and I saw that there was a look of pain on his plump face that I had not seen before. "Yes, Mr Rebble, I see. I was trying to arrange my thoughts, so as to meet this painful case calmly. Pray sit down, Mr Rebble--Mr Hasnip."

The two ushers took chairs, and we boys alone remained standing, while the Doctor cleared his throat, and spoke in a way which drew me toward him as I had never felt drawn before, since, boy-like, I had been rather too apt to look upon my instructor as one of the enemies of my life.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I look upon what I have learned as a catastrophe to my school, a trouble more painful than I can express, but, for all our sakes, I hope that the dark cloud will prove to be a mist of error, which by calm investigation we shall be able to disperse, for, be it understood, I make no accusation."

Mr Rebble and Mr Hasnip both coughed, the Doctor sighed, glanced at me, and then went on.

"Burr major, you have already told me that you had a presentation silver watch from your father."

I had been hoping that I was in error, and that we were called in for reproof about some trivial matter, but now my spirits sank.

"Yes, sir."

"And that, on the day of the cricket match, you left that watch in your vest on the form at the back of the cricket tent?"

"Yes, sir."

"That, when you returned to the tent, and resumed your garments, you afterwards found the watch gone?"

"Yes, sir."

"That every search was made, and that, though, as you say, you had suspicions, about which we will talk by and by, that watch was never found?"

"Yes, sir."

I glanced at Mercer, but he was staring hard at Burr major.

"Now, d.i.c.ksee," said the Doctor, "have the goodness to repeat what you told me a short time back."

"Yes, sir," said d.i.c.ksee eagerly. "I went up into the big loft over the stable this afternoon, to see if I could find some nice stout pieces of straw in one of the old trusses to make jackstraws with, when I heard somebody coming."

I started as I remembered fancying I heard some one in the loft.

"Yes; go on."

"I looked out of the window, and saw it was Burr junior, so I went and hid myself in the straw."

The rustling I thought was rats.

"Why?" said the Doctor sharply.

"Because Burr junior and Mercer are so jealous about any other boy going up there, and they would have knocked me about, as you know, sir, they did once before, for being up there."

"It isn't true!" I cried.

"Silence, sir," said the Doctor. "You shall be heard afterwards. Go on, d.i.c.ksee."

"Yes, sir, please, sir. So I hid under the straw, and then I saw Burr junior come up into the loft, and look round, and out of the window, and everywhere but in the straw."

"State what you saw simply, sir," said the Doctor sternly; "and recollect that you do not stand upon a very good pedestal, for you were playing one of the meanest parts a human being can take, that of a spy."

"Hear! hear!" said the two masters together.

"Please, sir, I was afraid," pleaded d.i.c.ksee.

"Go on," said the Doctor.

"And I saw Burr junior open the big bin where he and Mercer keep their rubbish."

"It may not be rubbish to them," said the Doctor, "Go on, sir."

"And after fiddling about a bit, and looking round to see if he was watched, Burr junior took up a stuffed rabbit, put his hand inside, and pulled out some tow, and then he opened that, and took out Burr major's silver watch."

"How do you know it was?" said the Doctor sharply.

"Because we saw it such lots of times, sir, and I knew it again directly."

"It might have been any watch," said the Doctor. "Go on."

"Yes, sir. And he looked at it, and played with it ever so long, and then wrapped it up in tow again, and stuffed it inside the rabbit, and then locked up the bin, put the key in his pocket, and went down."