"Good idea!" agreed Robin. "We could threaten to tell the prefects if they didn't."
Just then Dave came back, vastly relieved to find the fire out, for he had been too briskly occupied in front to give a hand in quenching it.
"Those cowardly Squirms would have rushed out like rabbits if I hadn't shamed them into leaving quietly. They've all cleared off, but some of the other chaps are waiting about to see if you need any help."
"Tell them they can hop it, Dave; everything's safe," said Robin. "Ask 'em to keep their mouths shut, though, to avoid any fuss. Later on, we'll find out who threw that apple and settle the score!"
CHAPTER XI
Settling the Score
Russet apples are not everyone's fancy. They need to be well-ripened before they are palatable, and most boys prefer a larger, juicier kind.
Which of the Squirms had bought russet apples on the day of the Robin Hood concert? Apples too green for him to eat with relish, seeing that he had thought fit to waste one by throwing it on the stage. Therein lay the clue to the particular Squirm who had caused the fire, cheated the performers of their well-earned applause, and left the majority of them with scorched costumes and slightly-burnt fingers.
"Whoever the little bounder is, it isn't right that he should get off scot-free," said Robin, a few days after the trouble.
"But how are you going to discover him? Osbody's an oyster. He wouldn't tell who squirted acid on the bonfire, even when you were blackening his face with the ashes."