ather sharply for
him.

Servants have a knack of knowing what is going on in a house, and this
servant seemed to be in the secret which had called the little assembly
together, for she would not take the rebuff, but said:

"If you please, sir, I _must_ speak to Mrs. Brier."

So Mrs. Brier left the room for a moment, to return again in company
with the servant.

"What is this all about?" asked the Doctor.

"If you please, sir, this morning, in making the bed Mr. Pemberton
sleeps in, I noticed the ticking loose, and I put my hand in, as I felt
something hard, and I found this snuff-box."

I have read in books about boys who, under some exciting necessity,
have started in an instant from boyhood to manhood, just as I have read
about people's hair in time of trouble turning from black to white in
the course of a night. Howard Pemberton did not spring from boyhood to
manhood at this strange discovery, nor did his hair turn white, but the
words of the servant had a sudden and powerful influence upon him. In a
moment he turned to his accuser and said:

"Digby, there is some vile secret underlying all this, and I don't know
what it is. But I declare to you, solemnly, that I am innocent of this
charge. If you have spoken against me to-day because you thought you
ought to do it, I can't blame you, but if you have done it from any
wrong motive, I hope you'll confess it before evil is added to evil."

But Digby merely shrugged his shoulders, and turning to the Doctor,
said: "Have you anything more you wish to ask me, sir?"

Dr. Brier was fairly nonplussed. The fog grew denser all around him.
Addressing a few words of caution to those who had been summoned to
this the strangest meeting that was ever held in Blackrock School, he
dismissed the boys, ordering Howard and Digby to be kept in separate
rooms until he should arrive at some judgment in the case.

CHAPTER IV.

THE VERDICT.

It was all very well for the Doctor to decide to keep the boys in two
separate rooms until he should form some judgment on the case, but
toward the close of the day, after the most searching inquiries had
been instituted, he was no nearer to a final decision than when he
started, and he feared they might have to remain where they were until
Doomsday, unless he could find out something positive about the matter.

Howard and Digby were missed from their accustomed places in the
school, and by the mid-day play-time the secret had oozed o