Dr. Bowles nodded assent.
"Well, sir, I went there, intending to read God's Word to a poor woman who is bedridden, to whom I have read before. I had heard she was sorely disappointed at my having missed the previous Saturday, and that was the reason of my refusal to accompany you. I see now I should have told you all; but I feared you might think it was ostentatious of me to do so."
Dr. Bowles's eyes brightened. "You have proof then, that the hour you were out of the play-ground you spent in reading God's Word to a poor woman?"
"I have no proof, sir, if my own word is to be doubted, for I found the cottage door locked, and so had to return home. You know, sir, that cottage is nearly half an hour's walk from here, and as I was back in an hour I could not have had time to read to old Susan."
"Well, but did no one see you at the cottage? Because, if there be evidence that you were seen there, it would be conclusive you were not at the river, as from the points of distance you could not have been both at the cottage and at the river."
"No, sir, I saw no one; though I looked in all directions for little Tommy Fegan, Susan's grandson, who lives with her, I did not see him."
Dr. Bowles's brow darkened. It was strange, he said to himself, that no evidence of the truth of the boy's assertions could be found, whilst the overwhelming evidence of his guilt had been produced. There was but one course open to him, and that was to wait a few days ere pronouncing sentence on the boy and writing a full account of the transaction to Mr. Macleod.
In the meantime, Ronald, except in school hours, was to be separated from the other boys, and the master would make every effort to discover the real truth of the matter. The belief in Ronald's guilt, which had at first possessed him, was shaken; not only by little Dudley's testimony, but by the lad's clear, steady eye, and the truthful character he had hitherto borne. And not altogether in vain had Ronald's steady uplifting of the royal banner proved.
In the school-room, with the exception of two or three, there was but one opinion held on the subject, and that was, that Ronald was innocent; but how the boy suffered during these days none knew, save the God who allowed him to go through such a trial for the purifying of his faith and the chastening of his proud spirit. Closely was he watched by master and tutors during the week, but none could detect any signs of guilt or fear: steadily he went through with his lessons; fearlessly he bent his knee in private prayer, morning and evening.
Yet the day was drawing near when, if no evidence of his innocence appeared, the disgraceful sentence of expulsion from the school would be pronounced against him. During these days, Sir James Dudley spent every spare moment out-of-doors prowling round the spot where the fishing rod had been found, feeling in every place in hopes of finding some trace of the guilty one, but in vain. Dr. Bowles had himself visited the sick woman, and she had confirmed the truth of the boy's story, of his reading to her from time to time; but of that Saturday she could say nothing, except that she knew she had slept most of the afternoon.