"On your return from your cruise in the Lily, it gives us great pleasure to welcome you. We hardly expected to see you so soon; and your arrival at this early hour deprives the students of the pleasure of meeting you on the lake in the Sylph, in which they were preparing to receive you some time in the course of the day.
"We congratulate you on the happy circumstance that you have brought the Lily back in good condition, and we have no doubt you have enjoyed your excursion very much. We understand that you have enforced discipline on board of the schooner; and, as you were sailing under sealed orders, you have kept your own counsel. For myself, I may say that I have received the sixty dollars which was the sinews of the trip."
"I didn't steal that money," blubbered Tom, as he looked at the principal, and realized that all the students, even to Bent, Kidd, and Pell, who were seen among them, were laughing at him, and enjoying the scene to their hearts' content.
"My dear Captain Topover, no one has accused you of stealing it!" exclaimed the principal. "You sailed under sealed orders, and you did not even tell your companions in the enterprise where you got that money. This was all very proper, for it takes away from the dignity of a commander to be too familiar with his subordinates. We look upon you as a mighty man, and we hardly expect you to be more communicative to us."
Tom seemed to be a little bothered at the allusion to the money, and he began to feel in his vest-pocket for the bills. He had not shown them to his companions; and they could not have known any thing about the money, except the hint he had given them that he was provided with funds. The roll of bills had been in his pocket when he went to sleep: it was not there now. And the principal was talking about the amount, which he had not mentioned, to the whole school. It looked very strange to him now that he had time to collect his thoughts. He could not explain it.
At this point of the interview, the breakfast-bell rang at the door of the mansion.
"It is a happy circumstance that you arrived just in time for our morning meal, and we shall take great pleasure in escorting you to the banquet hall. You must have an appetite after the labors of the night, most of which you have spent in your berth," continued Captain Gildrock. "March to the house by twos, and open ranks in the middle to receive our distinguished guests on this occasion."
The students doubled up, and marched ashore. In the middle of the column, in single file, the three rebels were placed. Tom did not know what to make of it. If the principal or Bates had taken him by the collar, and pitched him on the deck, he could have comprehended it. If he was disposed to rebel, he could not do so in the face of the ridicule that was in process of being heaped upon him. He took his place in the line, and the column marched to the house.
The teachers and others had collected on the lawn, aware that something unusual had transpired; and they could not help joining in the general laugh, when they saw in the procession the three runaways marching to the mansion. At the table all took their usual places, and the lake voyagers were hungry enough to do excellent justice to the meal set before them.
While they were at breakfast, Bates moved the Lily back to her moorings, fished up the anchor, and put the craft in her usual neat trim. Nothing was said at the table about the escapade of the Topover party; and, though the students kept an eye on the chief, the principal hardly glanced at him. While he was still at the head of the table, a servant brought in the morning mail. As the party rose from their seats, the captain handed the letters to those to whom they were directed. Among several belonging to himself, he opened one. He read for a moment, and then rapped on the table.