companion or the enemy; and though he
ventured back as far as the double doors, which were now closed, not a
soul was to be seen. He knew in a moment that his class-mate had been
captured, but all hope of attempting anything in the shape of a rescue
was out of the question. It was impossible for him single-handed to
storm the fortress, and so, after lingering about for some minutes in
the hope that his friend would reappear, he ran home as fast as he
could, and bursting into the schoolroom, where most of his schoolfellows
sat reading round the fire, threw them into a great state of
consternation and dismay by proclaiming in a loud voice the alarming
intelligence that Diggory had been taken prisoner, and was at that
moment in the hands of the Philistines!

CHAPTER VI.

GUNPOWDER PLOT.

The news caused a profound sensation, the like of which had probably
never been witnessed at The Birches before--no, not even on that
memorable occasion when the intelligence arrived that Scourer, one of
the past seniors, had ridden his bicycle through the plate-glass window
of Brown's big crockery-shop, and was being brought home on a shutter.

All the boys threw down their books, and started to their feet.
Acton and Vance banished from their minds all thought of the
disagreement which had lately estranged them from their unfortunate
school-fellow, and joined heartily in the general outburst of wrath and
consternation.

The thought that Diggory, their well-beloved, was at that very moment
languishing, a prisoner of war, in the hands of the Philistines was
almost unbearable.

"What will they do with him?"--"Where have they put him?"--"How can we
rescue the fellow?" were questions which everybody was asking, but no
one could answer. It seemed altogether beyond their power to do
anything, and yet there was not a boy who would not have given his
dearest possession, were it a white rat or a stamp collection, if by
parting with it he could have rendered some assistance to his ill-fated
comrade.

"There's only half an hour before tea," said Vance, looking up at the
clock; "if anything can be done, we must do it at once."

The precious moments sped away, but in vain did the assembly rack their
brains for some plan of action which might in any way be likely to serve
the purpose they had in view. The first wild suggestion, that they
should go in a body and carry Horace House by storm, was abandoned as
impracticable; in hopeless