The consequence was, that when next afternoon the captain walked into their study to see whether his order had been complied with, he was met by an unceremonious yap from Smiley herself, echoed by an impertinent squeak from her irreverent son.
“You’ve got them still, then?” said Ainger. “Very well, they can stay now till after you’ve been to the doctor. Nine o’clock sharp to-morrow morning, both of you.”
The friends turned pale.
“Not really, Ainger? You haven’t sent up our names, have you? We’ll send them off. We thought as Felgate said—oh, you cad!”
This last remark was occasioned by Ainger departing and shutting the door behind him without vouchsafing any further parley.
They felt that the game was up, and that they had been done. In their distress they waited upon Felgate and laid their case before him. He, as is usual with gentlemen of his type, said it was very hard and unjust, and they would do quite right in resisting and defying everybody all round. But he did not offer to go instead of them to the doctor, so that his general observations on the situation were not particularly comforting.
Arthur proposed telegraphing to Railsford something in this form:
“Ainger says Smiley’s against rules. Wire him you allow.”
But when the form was filled up and ready to send, the chance of it succeeding seemed hardly worth the cost.
Finally they went down sadly after tea to the school farm and hired a kennel, and arranged for the board and lodging of their exiled pets at so much a week.