he noise?"

"Yes. Our chaps heard a row in the night."

"We could hear it at our place," said Brown. "They say the chap's known
who did it, too."

"Who?"

"How do I know? Some chap who's been extra drilled, most likely."

"There's plenty of them," suggested I.

"Well, yes. They say a lot of gunpowder had been stowed in the lumber
room just under the door. There, do you see?"

We had reached the scene of the tragedy, and I was able to judge of the
mischief which had been done. The door was broken, but whether by the
explosion or ordinary violence it was hard to say. The floor and
grating over the lumber room were broken away, and one or two windows
were smashed. That was all. My first feeling was one of relief that
the damage was so slight. I had pictured the whole building a wreck,
and a row of mangled remains on stretchers all round. Compared with
that, our poor guy had really made a very slight disturbance. Of him I
was thankful to be able to observe no trace, except one tan boot and a
fragment of a ginger-beer bottle in the area. That indeed was bad
enough, but, I argued, the lumber room was full of old cast-off shoes
and bottles, and these would probably be set down as fragments of the
rubbish displaced by the explosion.

Brown, however, and others to whom I spoke, failed to share my view of
the slightness of the damage.

"If the fellow's found, it will be a case of the police court for him."

The blood left my face as I heard the awful words. It had never
occurred to me yet that the matter was one of more than school concern.
Visions of penal servitude and a broken-hearted mother swam before my
eyes. Oh, why had I ever left the tranquil seclusion of Fallowfield for
this awful place?

As soon as possible I edged quietly out of the crowd, and made my way
dismally back to Sharpe's, where I met not a few of our fellows, all
eager for news.

I was too sick to give them much information, and sent them to inspect
for themselves while I made my way dismally to Tempest's room.

He was up, reading.

"Hullo, youngster," said he, "what's all the row about? What was that
noise in the quad, last night? were some of your lot fooling about with
fireworks?"

"Don't you know?" gasped I, fairly taken aback with the question. "Why,
some one's been trying to blow up the gymnasium!"

"What!" he exclaimed. "Why, _I_ was there, not long before the noise.
Who's done it?"

"That's what nobody knows.