Lester struggled frantically to climb the rope; we tried to help him, but a large knot caught the edge of the window-sill, and we could not lift it over, nor could we let Lester down, for one of the Seven had entangled his legs in the coil, and before he had extricated himself, it was too late to save our companion.
"Who are you?" again called Gray-beard, grasping the boy by the trousers.
"It's me, Lester," replied the lad.
Seeing that the game was up, we gently let Lester farther down, and he entered Gray-beard's room through the window.
In the mean time one of the boys had run softly downstairs to open the hall door for Joel, who had not been discovered.
Gray-beard woke us up in the morning at the usual hour, but of the disturbance during the night he said nothing. At breakfast the subject was not mentioned, although we listened with anxious expectation.
To the twelve boys who were engaged in the escapade of the night, it seemed as though the preliminary exercises of the morning school session would never end, so desirous were we to have the punishment, whatever it might be, come quickly and we be rid of suspense. The last name on the roll was called; Gray-beard slowly closed the Register, put it in his desk, and during an impressive silence turned his eyes upon us to scan our faces.
"Lester!" said he, at last, "you will step up to my desk, if you please."
If there was a serious matter on hand, Gray-beard always said, "If you please."