re in a bit of a mess."

"I'm afraid your bedroom will be a little untidy," said Fisher minor.

"The best thing you can do is to climb back by the window," suggested
D'Arcy.

"I don't fancy you'll want a warming-pan to-night," said Ashby.

This was all very nice and helpful. The heroes looked at one another
dismally.

"We must lump it," said Percy. "They can't do anything very bad."

"Can't they?" said Cottle. "Were you ever licked by Brinkman?"

"No," said the others.

"All right--I have been--that's all." This sounded alarming. D'Arcy
said--

"Why don't you come over to our side, and out that lot! We could have
no end of larks if you were Classics, instead of little Modern beasts."

"Our side's as good as yours," snapped Lickford. "All serene; you'd
better go and join them," said Wally.

This did not advance the argument much further. Of course it was out of
the question to go and tell tales to the Classic prefects, or even to
their own master. Nor was the suggestion of sleeping that night on the
Classic side hailed with enthusiasm by either party.

On the whole D'Arcy's suggestion of getting back by the window seemed
the most hopeful. When once back they would go straight to bed, where
they would be safe for a while. Then, if they could manage to rise at
the supernatural hour of six, they might succeed in evading the
penalties of rebellion for another day. For to-morrow being exeat day,
they would be free to roam where they liked. And they had a very good
idea that wherever it was, they would give Forder's house a very wide
berth.

"Tell you what!" exclaimed Wally, slapping his brother on the back so
hard as to cause him to yell loud enough to bring every prefect of
Fellsgarth on to the spot. "Tell you what, old chappies; of course we
will! Why ever didn't we think of it before--eh?"

"Think of what?"

"Why, we'll go up Hawk's Pike, of course."

"Of course we will," said everybody.

What mattered it to _them_ that Hawk's Pike had defied the ordinary
tourist for generations? _They_ weren't ordinary tourists, or anything
like.

"You come over for us at six," said Wally. "Bring the grub we left in
your room. It'll be a regular sell for all those chaps. We'll make a
day of it."

It seemed a magnificent solution of the problem; and on the strength of
it the five truants departed, not without misgivings, for their
quarters.

The rope was still dangling from their window, and Ca