“Rather!” said Telson, “and give them a start too.”
“All very well, you fellows,” said King, “but suppose we’re all expelled to-morrow.”
This unpleasant suggestion took away most of the interest in the proposed race, and it was decided to defer further arrangements till the fate of the parties should be decided.
After this the party waited gloomily till seven o’clock came, and then, in decidedly low spirits, rose in a body and repaired to Mr Parrett’s study.
Had they been aware of the actual state of that amiable athlete’s mind from the moment they last saw him, handkerchief in mouth, hurrying down the passage, till now, their trepidation would have been considerably relieved. The first thing Mr Parrett had done on regaining his room after that “bad quarter of an hour” with his juniors was to throw himself into a chair and laugh heartily.
The fact was, his sense of humour was inconveniently acute for the master of a public school, so that what would strike other masters as a heinous offence, occurred to him more as a ludicrous chapter of accidents. And to Mr Parrett’s mind a more ludicrous chapter of accidents had rarely occurred in his history. He saw the whole matter at once, and the more he thought about it the funnier it all seemed. And yet, funny as it was, it was a painful necessity that discipline must be maintained, and that however much he enjoyed the joke he must be severe on the jokers.
When, therefore, the group of youthful culprits slowly filed into his room, his voice was stern and his countenance betrayed no symptoms of the amusement which lurked beneath.
“Now, you boys,” said he, surveying the anxious array carefully, “what have you to say for yourselves?”
“Please, sir,” began Parson, Telson, and Cusack, all at a breath.
“Stop,” said Mr Parrett; “only one at a time. You, Parson, what have you to say?”