A burst of laughter greeted Ralph's ears as he opened the study door, and some one said:
"Look sharp. Here he comes! Hurry up there, Elgert!"
But the laughter died away somewhat awkwardly when the boys saw that Charlton was not alone, and one or two of the boys came up to Ralph.
"Hallo, you new fellow! They surely haven't put you to chum with Charlton, have they? What a shame! I should kick against it. Some one else must make room for you."
Such were the remarks of those who had taken a fancy to Ralph, but he paid no heed to it all. He just calmly gazed round, as if counting the number of boys there and taking their measure; and then he quite as calmly shut the door, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. Those present looked in surprise for a moment—some laughed, and one, a tall, handsome boy, came haughtily up to him.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. "How dare you lock that door?"
Ralph regarded him with the utmost coolness. No one had told him who the boy was, and yet he seemed to know—he felt sure that this was none other than Horace Elgert himself.
"Wait a bit," he said calmly. "So far as I understand, this study belongs to Charlton and myself. We have a perfect right to lock the door."
"But not to lock us in," retorted Elgert. "Open it at once, and think yourself lucky that you don't get a licking for your impudence!"