"Better let us go and have a look for him," said Ralph; and the two started, Warren grumbling all the way, until in response to their shouts, they heard an answering call, and saw their companion appear.
"Well, you stupid!" began Warren; but Ralph checked him, for the other boy looked scared and pale.
"Why, what is the matter?" he asked. "You look as if you had been scared. Has any one frightened you?"
"I! Any one frightened me? Oh, no!" answered Charlton quickly. "How silly! Who could be with me? I got lost—and lost my head! I felt a little afraid, until I heard you call."
"We have been shouting for the last half hour!" grumbled Warren. "Come along! We shall be late for tea!"
But Ralph said nothing. He was puzzled. The spot where they stood was damp and clayey; and on the soft ground were the imprints of two pairs of feet, going towards the bushes from which Charlton had emerged. Of those footprints, one set was a boy's, and evidently made by his chum; the other set was a man's.
Charlton said that he had been alone, but Ralph knew better. A man had been with his chum, but who was that man? Was he the one who had broken into the school the previous night?