tory, and knocked.

No answer. He knocked a little louder. Still no answer. Louder still.

"Bother the fellow," said Wildney; "he sleeps like a grampus. Won't one
of you try to wake him?"

"No," said Graham; "'taint dignified for fifth-form boys to have
stomach-aches."

"Well, I must try again." But it seemed no use knocking, and Wildney at
last, in a fit of impatience, thumped a regular tattoo on the
bed-room door.

"Who's there?" said the startled voice of Mr. Harley.

"Only me, sir!" answered Wildney, in a mild and innocent way.

"What do you want?"

"Please, sir, I want the key of the lavatory. I'm indisposed," said
Wildney again, in a tone of such disciplined suavity, that the others
shook with laughing.

Mr. Harley opened the door about an inch, and peered about suspiciously.

"Oh, well, you must go and awake Mr. Rose. I don't happen to have the
key to-night." And so saying, he shut the door.

"Phew! Here's a go!" said Wildney, recovering immediately. "It'll never
do to awake old Rose. He'd smell a rat in no time."

"I have it," said Pietrie. "I've got an old nail, with which I believe I
can open the lock quite simply. Let's try."

"Quietly and quick, then," said Eric.

In ten minutes he had silently shot back the lock with the old nail, and
the boys were on the landing. They carried their shoes in their hands,
ran noiselessly down stairs, and went to the same window at which Eric
and Wildney had got out before. Wildney had taken care beforehand to
break the pane and move away the glass, so they had only to loosen the
bar and slip through one by one.

It was cold and very dark, and as on the March morning they stood out
in the playground, all four would rather have been safe and harmlessly
in bed. But the novelty and the excitement of the enterprise bore them
up, and they started off quickly for the house at which Mr. Gordon and
his pupils lived, which was about half a mile from the school. They went
arm in arm to assure each other a little, for at first in their fright
they were inclined to take every post and tree for a man in ambush, and
to hear a recalling voice in every sound of wind and wave.

Not far from Mr. Gordon's was a carpenter's shop, and outside of this
there was generally a ladder standing. They had arranged to carry this
ladder with them (as it was only a short one), climb the low garden wall
with it, and then place it against the house, immediately under the
dovecot which hung