"Yes, sir."
"Do you remember what boys were in the reading-room last night?"
"Yes, sir, but I don't think they were responsible for what happened; it was done by others who came in from outside."
There was a silence.
"I ask once more," said the head-master, "what boys took part in this disturbance? let them stand up!"
Once more young "Rats" alone pleaded guilty.
"Very well, then," continued the doctor sternly; "the whole school will be punished: there will be no half-holiday on Wednesday afternoon, and the reading-room will be closed for a fortnight.—Sit down, Rathson; you are the only boy among the many who must have been connected with this affair—the only one, I say, who has any sense of manliness or honour. Write me a hundred lines, and bring them to me to-morrow morning."
The prospect of having to work on Wednesday afternoon caused, the boys themselves to take up the doctor's inquiry, and the query, "Who did it?" became the burning question of the hour.
The riot had evidently been carefully planned beforehand, and the plot arranged in such a manner that those who took part in it might do so without being recognized.
It was impossible to discover who really were the culprits, though the majority of the boys put it down as having been done by "some of 'Thirsty's' lot," and as being a further proof of the latter's well-known animosity towards Allingford, who had, of course, appointed Lucas as keeper of the room.