Everything being quiet—the gas was lowered and the Prefect retired for the night. Suddenly Bolax gave a scream, "two rats! Two rats, two rats!" cried he. In a second of time the whole dormitory was astir.
The Prefect hearing the commotion rushed upstairs and was greeted with: "Rats! Mr. Royal, Rats!" There were sixteen boys in the room; so you can imagine how such an unusual chorus sounded.
"Rats!" said Mr. Royal; "where did they come from?"
"There were two in a large trap in the lavatory," said Harry Dunn, "but how did they escape?" "Did any of you touch that trap?" asked the Prefect.
"Yes, sir;" answered Bo, "I did. I felt sorry for the poor things; I was just looking at them when the door of the trap opened somehow, and out they jumped, one struck my face as I leaned over."
"My dear boy," said Mr. Royal, "you ought not to have gone near the trap, suppose that rat had bitten you."
"Well now, all that is to be done is to catch them." A dozen voices expressed their owners' willingness to go on the hunt, but Mr. Royal preferred calling up one of the men.
In a few minutes, Alex, the gardener, came into the dormitory with "Happy Hooligan" and "Vixen," two Scotch terriers. All the doors were shut, and the hunt began; the rats did not keep together, but ran in different directions. As Alex would plunge under a bed, broom in hand, some one would scream out: "Oh, here he is, up at this end."
The boys calling to the dogs, set them wild, so they did not know which way to run. Such laughter! It appeared to be great fun for the youngsters, just because it was silence hour.
At last the beasts were killed, and order was once more restored. Mr. Royal requested strict silence.