Twining subsided to mutters and Hugh clothed himself again and rescued his treasures from the floor. When he had finished, the two juniors were already outside.
“You can’t get out the door,” said Hugh. “It’s locked. Keep with me and we’ll slip out a window at the back.”
Twining again demurred, but Struthers promptly sat on him, and a minute later they were outside.
“Now you chaps see if you can find a window unlocked. That’s what I’m going to do. I don’t fancy having it known that I was locked up in School Hall by a lot of fresh lower class chaps. Good night.”
“Good night,” replied Struthers, “and much obliged, Ordway.”
Twining, however, was already creeping off in the darkness, wasting no time on amenities. Hugh felt a strong desire to overtake the youngster and cuff him, but in the end he only shrugged his shoulders and considered his own plight. He carefully closed the window before he turned away to seek Lothrop, and when he did he kept along at the back of Trow to avoid the lights in front. It was well after ten o’clock now and most of the windows were dark, but here and there a light still shone. Mr. Russell’s study on the first floor of Trow was illumined and the curtains were raised, and as Hugh, bending low, passed beneath them he fervently hoped that the Greek master would not take it into his head to approach a casement just then.
The ground floor of Lothrop was given over to public rooms save where, at the farther end, Mr. Rumford had his suite of five rooms and bath. Along the front, between the two entrances, were the library, the common room and the recreation room. At the back were rooms occupied by the superintendent of buildings, Mr. Craig, and by the head janitor, Mr. Crump, a store room and a serving room. The nearer end of the building was taken up by the big dining hall. There were ten windows in the latter and Hugh hoped to find one of the number unlatched. He kept away from the front of the building, for it was disconcertingly light there, and tried the first window on the end. It was fast, however, and so was the next one. Then, to his consternation, the ground began to slope away to the level of the basement floor at the rear of the building, for the kitchen and laundry and various other service rooms were above ground at the back. This brought the third window almost head-high and placed the fourth beyond his reach, and the third window was locked as fast as the others!
He knew nothing of the lay of the land below-stairs and feared to try his fortunes there. Consequently there was nothing to do but risk detection while trying the windows along the front or to ring a door-bell and be reported by Mr. Crump. He had little liking for either alternative and hesitated a moment in the shadow at the corner before emerging into the publicity of the walk which, while deserted, was in plain view of Trow. After all, though, it was, he reflected, no hanging matter, and so he presently emerged quite boldly and, as he passed along the front of the dormitory, tried each window. He had progressed as far as the library when his perseverance was at last rewarded. A sash gave readily to his pressure and in a twinkling he was inside.
Lights in the corridor shone through the open doors and he had no trouble, after he had silently closed the window again and fastened it, in making his way between chairs and tables. At the door nearest to the stairs he paused and looked out. No one was in sight and he swiftly stepped into the corridor, around the corner and through the swinging door that gave on the stairs. He stepped lightly, for he knew that on each floor a master’s bedroom was separated from him by only the thickness of a wall. It was when he had reached the fourth floor and had his hand on the door there that he recalled the fact that directly across the hallway was Number 34, inhabited by Cathcart. Cathcart was a proctor and, so it was said, a most conscientious one. He would have done better, as he now realized, to have gained the floor by the other stairway. However, Cathcart’s door was tightly closed and it was more than likely that Cathcart was sound asleep. So Hugh pushed the swinging portal softly ajar, slipped through and turned along the corridor toward 29. Halfway, he thought he heard a sound behind him, but he didn’t stop or turn. He scuttled into 29—Bert had thoughtfully left the door unlocked—and the instant the latch had slipped into place behind him tore off his coat and fumbled at his belt. The study was empty and dark, but a light shone from Bert’s bedroom and as Hugh hurried into his own apartment a sibilant voice came to him.
“That you, Hugh?”