CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

I AM ADVISED TO LIE LOW.

My first impulse on reading Crofter's letter was to jump for joy. It meant that Tempest would stay at Low Heath, and that I was to be allowed to a.s.sist in keeping him there.

But my second thoughts were more of a surprise than pleasure. Crofter was a mystery to me. His fellow-seniors disliked him, and warned me against him. But, as far as I could see, he was not as bad as they made him out, and certainly never said anything as bad about them as they said about him.

What could be his object now if it was not a disinterested one? He would be permanent captain of the house if Tempest left, and yet he was doing the very thing that would keep Tempest at school. Tempest had openly insulted him during the term, and yet here he was helping his enemy out of a very tight place. I knew he was well off, so probably he could afford the 5; but at the end of the term pocket-money was not a plentiful commodity. He said nothing about being paid back, too; surely he did not mean to make Tempest a free gift of this magnificent amount!

The more I thought it over the more I felt Crofter was a brick, and had been scandalously misunderstood. He seemed to me a true type of the virtuous man, who, when struck on one cheek, turns the other, and when robbed of his coat offers his cloak too. I only hoped Tempest might know what he owed him. In short, in the brief time it took me to dress, I had worked myself up into a state of enthusiasm on the subject of Crofter.

As to the mystery of Mr Marple's letter having got into the doctor's hands, no doubt I had been careless and dropped the compromising envelope, which some foolish but honest person (it did not occur to me at the time it might have been Crofter himself) had picked up and dropped in the head master's letter-box, supposing he was doing a very clever thing. Tempest would not be likely to allow me to explain, which was hard on me, and made it all the more virtuous on my part to a.s.sist now in putting things right for him. Luckily for him, he had friends at Low Heath in spite of himself.

When I encountered Crofter in the morning, I requested him, with a knowing look of intelligence, to give me an _exeat_ into the town to do some shopping. It was probably the first recognition he had received of his temporary authority as head of the house, and he made no difficulty in granting my request.

I made my way first of all to Marple's.

"Oh, about that bill you gave me. How much was it?"

"Two pounds and sixpence, young gentleman."

"I said I'd see it paid for you, didn't I?"

"You did. I don't want to show up--"

"All right, you needn't. Here's the money; give me the change, please, and a receipt."

Mr Marple opened his eyes very wide at the sight of a five-pound note within three days of the end of term. "I--I hope it's all right," said he, hesitatingly. "You needn't have it if you don't want," said I, mounting my high horse.

"I'm sure I'm much obliged to you, young gentleman," said the tradesman, giving the note a professional twitch, and proceeding to count out the change from his till. "I shall always be pleased to attend to any little orders from Mr Tempest or you."

"You can make out the receipt to Tempest," said I; "I expect he won't get much more here."

"Don't say that. I'm sure no offence was meant."

It was a delicious sensation to feel myself master of the situation like this. I could have bullied Marple if I had liked, but I resolved not to be too hard on him.

"I'm sure I'm much obliged," said he, "for all your trouble. Have you seen these pretty little pencil-sharpers? They are quite new. I shall be pleased if you will accept one, young gentleman."

A pencil-sharpener was the very thing I wanted. All the term I had been wrestling with a blunt penknife, which no sooner uncovered the lead at the end of a pencil than it broke it off. So in a weak moment I accepted the gift, and forfeited my advantage.

From Marple's I proceeded to the confectioner's, where a score of nearly a pound stood against Tempest. Here, again, I experienced the sweets of being treated with distinguished consideration, and being asked to partake of a strawberry ice (how Rammage, by the way, continued to have strawberry ices in the middle of December I have never yet clearly understood) while the receipt was being made out.

Mr Winget, the hatter, rather disappointed me by offering me nothing more than his sincere thanks for the settlement of his little bill. He might at least, I thought, have offered me a mourning hatband or a new school ribbon. His bill, however, was only five shillings, so probably the profit did not permit of any gratuitous allowance in recognition of my distinguished services.

I was consoled, however, by Mr Ringstead, the games man, who presented me with a net-bag for holding tennis b.a.l.l.s, and urged me, whenever I wanted any little thing in the way of repairs to bats, or fresh spikes to my running shoes, to let him know.

It was all very pleasant, and I grieve to say that the shady side of all this petty bribery and corruption never once occurred to my simple mind.

I returned to school covered with self-satisfaction, and virtuously clutching in my hand half-a-crown, the final change out of the "fiver."

This in due course I put in an envelope, together with the batch of receipts, and laid on Crofter's table after morning school, with the laconic message under the flap, "All right, T.J. iv."

I was far too knowing to let out my secret to the Philosophers, whose agitation and indignation at Tempest's probable expulsion knew no bounds and somewhat amused me.

"Look here, Sarah," said Langrish, as I entered for the first time after my disgrace of the previous day--I knew my comrades well enough to be sure they would like to see me--"we all know you're about the beastliest, howlingest cad in Low Heath; so that's all right."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Yes, and you've been told to clear out, as it's your fault Tempest's expelled."

"Is it? That's all you know," said I.

"Yes, and you're kicked out of the Philosophers, and we're going to invite d.i.c.ky Brown to join us. _He's_ a decent chap."

This was rather a blow.

"I thought no town-boys were eligible."

"No cads are; that's why you're out of it."

"Look here--" said I.

"We're not going to look here. You can cut and go, and sit on the stairs. We don't want you in here, do we, you chaps?"

"Rather not, unless we've got our kicking boots on."

"All right," said I, feeling I must play one or two of my trumps. "I sha'n't tell you what I was going to."

"Pooh, we know all about it," said c.o.xhead. But it was plain by the way they had all p.r.i.c.ked their ears they did not.

"Oh, if you know, it's all right. But you don't know the latest."

"We don't want to, unless it's that old Tempest has got off."

"That's just what it is," said I triumphantly.

"Good old Sarah! how do you know?"

"Never mind, it's a secret; but it's a fact, honour bright."

"What, has he paid all his bills?"

"They're all paid, I know that."

"I suppose," said Langrish, "as that motion about Sarah being kicked out wasn't properly seconded, it's off, isn't it?"

"Does any gentleman second the motion?" said c.o.xhead, glancing round the a.s.sembled Philosophers.