ity for the good of a school as a head-master--always more
than an assistant master. You could wreck the School in a week if you
chose; and it is in your hands to pull it together more than any of us
masters, however much we should like to do it. And you'll do it, old
fellow!"

And so they turned up the lane that led round to the back of the
mountain.

The news that Mr Stratton and the captain had gone up Hawk's Pike to
look for Rollitt soon spread through Fellsgarth that morning. The souls
of our friends the juniors were seriously stirred by it.

Their promise--or shall we say threat?--to organise a search-party up
the mountain on their own account had been lost sight of somewhat in the
exciting distractions of the last twenty-four hours; but now that they
found the ground cut from under their feet they were very indignant.
Secretly, no doubt, they were a little relieved to find that they had
been forestalled in the perilous venture of a winter ascent of the
formidable pike they had such good cause to remember.

It was a mean trick of Yorke's to "chowse" them out of the credit, they
protested. Now he would get all the glory, and they would get none.

"I tell you what," said Percy. "It's my notion Rollitt's not gone up
the mountain at all. It's just a dodge of those two to get a jolly good
spree for themselves. Pooh! They'll get lost. We shall have to go and
look for them, most likely."

"And then," said Lickford, "somebody will have to come and look for us."

"And Rollitt's not here to do it," said Fisher minor.

This cast the company back on to their original subject.

"It's my notion," said Wally, "he's got on the island in the middle of
the lake, like Robinson Crusoe."

"Rather a lark," said Ashby, "to get up a search-party and go and look
for him there."

The idea took wonderfully. To-day was "Founder's Day," a whole holiday.
They would certainly go and look for Rollitt on the island.

The preparations disclosed an odd conception on the part of the
explorers of the serious nature of their quest. Their stated object was
to rescue a lost schoolfellow. Why, therefore, did they decide to take
nine pennyworth of brandy-balls, a football, a pair of boxing-gloves,
and other articles of luxury not usually held to be necessary to the
equipment of a relief expedition?

As regards food, they possessed too keen a recollection of the straits
they had been put to up the mountain a few weeks ago to negl