The weeks slipped away, and the Triple
Alliance soon got over their new-boy trials, and began
to enjoy all the rights and privileges of Ronleigh
College boys. They wrote letters to Miss Eleanor
and to their former schoolfellows, and received in
reply the latest news from The Birches.
“The Philistines are quite friendly
now,” wrote Acton. “We had a match
against them last week on their ground, and they gave
us tea after. It’s awfully slow; I almost
wish that chap Noaks was back.”
“So do I,” added Diggory,
as he finished the sentence; “we could very
well spare him.”
“Oh, he’s all right,”
answered Jack Vance; “that row’s blown
over now. As long as we leave him alone he won’t
interfere with us.”
“Won’t he!” returned
the other; “you take my word for it, he hasn’t
forgotten what you said about his father, and he’s
only waiting for a chance to pay us out. Whenever
I go near him he looks as black as ink.”
It was customary at Ronleigh to have
what was called a half-term holiday. This was
usually given on a Monday, to enable those boys who
lived within a short distance of the school to spend
the week end at home; while, in the winter or spring
terms, the boarders who remained at the school usually
devoted the greater portion of the day to a paper-chase.
“I shall go home,” said
Jack Vance to his two chums; “Todderton’s
only about half an hour’s ride from here on
the railway. And, I say, I’ve got a grand
idea: I’m going to write and get my mater
to invite you fellows to come too! It would
be jolly to have a meeting there of the Triple Alliance,
and I’m sure old Denson would let you go if we
came back on Monday night.”
Both Mugford and Diggory were charmed
with the idea. “But d’you really
think your mater would have us?” they asked.
“Of course she will, if I ask
her,” answered Jack, and straightway sat down
to write the letter.
By Wednesday evening everything, including
the formal invitation and the doctors permission to
accept the same, had been obtained, and for the two
following days the Triple Alliance could talk or think
of little else besides their projected excursion.
At length Saturday came, and as soon as morning school
was over they rushed upstairs to change into their
best clothes; and having crammed their night-shirts,
brushes and combs, etc., into a hand-bag, hurried
off to the railway station, in order that they might,
as Jack put it, “be home in time for dinner.”
Just as they were getting into the
train, who should come out of the booking-office but
young Noaks.
“Hullo!” said Jack.
“He must be going home too; I hope he won’t
come in here.”
The new-comer, however, had no intention
of making another attempt to force his society on
the Triple Alliance; he passed them with a surly nod,
and entered a compartment at the other end of the train.
Jack Vance lived in the suburbs of
Todderton, about twenty minutes’ walk from the
railway; but for all that he managed to carry out his
intention of being home in time for dinner; and the
three boys, after receiving a hearty welcome, were
soon seated down to a repast which came very acceptable
after seven weeks of school fare.
“Jack,” said Mr. Vance,
“you know that house that was to let just on
the other side of The Hermitage? Who d’you
think’s taken it?”
“I don’t know, father.”
“Why, that man Simpson, the uncle of your friend
what’s-his-name.”
“He isn’t my friend,”
answered Jack. “You mean Noaks. Fancy
his coming to live so near to us as that! We
saw him in the train just now. He’s here
for the holiday.”
“I ought to tell you,”
continued Mr. Vance, turning to Diggory, “that
our next-door neighbour is called ‘The Hermit.’
He’s a queer old fellow, who lives by himself,
and never makes friends or speaks to any one.
He’s supposed to be very clever, and I’ve
heard it said that he’s got a very valuable
collection of coins, and is quite an authority on
the subject; it’s one of his hobbies.”
“I suppose,” said Mugford
thoughtfully, “that as he’s a hermit that’s
why his place is called The Hermitage.”
“Well done, Mug!” said
Jack, speaking with his mouth pretty full; “you’re
getting quite sharp.”
“Yes, that’s it,”
continued Mr. Vance, laughing. “The old
man’s away from home just now; he was suffering
from rheumatism very badly, and the doctor ordered
him to a course of treatment at some baths.”
The conversation turned on other topics,
and when at length they rose from the table, Jack
proposed a stroll round the garden.
There were many things to see some
pet rabbits, a swing, and an old summer-house, which
Jack, being, we should say, of a decidedly nautical
turn of mind, had turned into a sort of miniature shipbuilding
yard for the construction of model vessels; though
at present the chief use to which the place seemed
to have been put was the production of a great amount
of chips and shavings.
“I say,” exclaimed the
owner, after he and his friends had amused themselves
for some time boring holes in the door with a brace,
“I know what we’ll do: let’s
go over and explore The Hermitage!”
Anything with a spice of excitement
in it was meat and drink to Diggory. He immediately
seconded the proposition, and Mugford, after a moment’s
hesitation, agreed to join his companions in the enterprise.
They strolled off down the path, and
soon reached a long stretch of brick wall, the top
of which was thickly covered with fragments of broken
bottles.
“There’s a place down
at the other end where we can get over,” said
Jack. “I smashed the glass with a hammer,
because I lost a ball and had to climb over and get
it, one day last holidays.”
The Hermitage was surrounded on all
sides by a thick mass of shrubs and trees, through
which a moment later the Triple Alliance were cautiously
threading their way. Emerging from the bushes,
they found themselves standing on a gravel path, green
with moss and weeds, which ran round the house a
queer, dilapidated-looking building, which seemed sadly
in want of repair: the plaster was cracked and
discoloured, while the doors and windows had long
stood in need of a fresh coating of paint.
“I say,” whispered Mugford,
“hadn’t we better go back? what if the
old chap’s at home!”
“Oh, it’s all right; there’s
nobody about,” answered Jack. “Let’s
go on and see what the place is really like.”
They tip-toed round the building.
It was evidently unoccupied, though the delightful
sense of uncertainty that at any moment some one might
pounce out upon them or walk down the drive made the
questionable adventure very charming.
“Have you ever been inside?” asked Diggory.
“No, rather not; I don’t
think any one has except the doctor, and an old woman
who comes in to do the house-work.”
“Well, then, I’m going
in,” answered Diggory, with a twinkle in his
eye.
“Go on! Why, you might be had up for house-breaking!”
“Rubbish! I’m not
going to steal anything. Here, Mug, lend
me your knife a minute.”
“I don’t believe this
one’s fastened,” he continued, walking
up to one of the windows. “No, it isn’t.
Bother! I’m awfully sorry, Mugford.”
Using the big blade of the clasp-knife
as a lever, Diggory had just succeeded in raising
the sash the fraction of an inch, when the steel suddenly
snapped off short at the handle.
“Oh, never mind,” said
the owner; “let’s go back now. What
if we’re seen!”
“Oh, there’s no fear of
that,” answered Jack, who was always infected
with the adventurous spirit of his chum. “Go
on, Diggy; I’ll come too.”
By inserting their fingers in the
aperture, the boys soon raised the sash, and a few
seconds later Diggory mounted the ledge and scrambled
through the window “Come on,” he said;
“the coast’s all clear.”
Jack Vance joined him immediately,
and Mugford, not wishing to be left alone outside,
was not long in making up his mind to follow his companions.
The room in which the three boys found
themselves was evidently a library or study.
Book-shelves, and cupboards with glass doors, containing
geological and other specimens, occupied much of the
wall space; while in the centre of the floor stood
a large writing-table, covered with a miscellaneous
collection of pens, ink-pots, bundles of papers, and
a polished mahogany box which could easily be recognized
as a microscope-case.
The intruders stood for a few moments
gazing round in silence. The place did not look
very interesting, and smelt rather damp and mouldy.
“I say,” exclaimed Jack
Vance, “look there: he don’t seem
very careful how he leaves his things when he goes
away.”
As he spoke he pointed across to the
opposite side of the room, where, between two bookcases,
an iron safe had been let into the wall. The
heavy door was standing half open, while the floor
beneath was strewn with a quantity of shallow wooden
trays lined with green baize.
“Old bachelors are always untidy,”
remarked Diggory. “Let’s see where
this door leads to.” He turned the handle
as he spoke, and walked out into a gloomy little hall
paved with cold, bare flagstones, which caused their
footsteps to waken mournful echoes in the empty house.
“I say, you fellows, don’t
let’s go any further,” murmured Mugford;”
we’ve seen enough now. Suppose the old
chap came back and ”
He never reached the end of the sentence,
for Diggory suddenly raised his hand, exclaiming in
a whisper, “Hark! what was that?”
The loud ticking of Mugford’s
old turnip of a watch was distinctly audible in the
silence which followed.
“What is it, Diggy? what ”
“Hark! there it is again; listen.”
The suspense became awful. At
length Diggory dropped his hand. “Didn’t
you hear footsteps?” he asked. “I’m
certain there’s some one walking about on the
gravel path.”
“We shall be caught,”
whimpered Mugford; “I knew we should. What
can we do?”
“Bolt!” answered Diggory,
and began tip-toeing back towards the library door.
“Stay here half a ‘jiffy,’”
he added; “I’ll go and reconnoitre.”
Ages seemed to pass while Jack Vance
and Mugford stood in the dark passage awaiting their
companion’s return. At length the door
was pushed softly open.
“It’s all right; there’s
no one there. I must have been mistaken.
Come along.”
In a very short time the Triple Alliance
were once more outside The Hermitage. Diggory
lingered for a moment to close the window, and then
followed his companions through the shrubs and over
the wall.
“You are a great ass, Diggy,
to go giving us a start like that,” said Jack,
as they paused for a moment to take breath before returning
to the house.
“Well, I could have sworn I
heard the gravel crunch as if some one was walking
on it,” returned the other. “I should
think the place must be haunted.”
A good tea, with all kinds of nice
things on the table, soon revived the boys from the
trifling shock which their nerves had sustained, and
by the end of the evening their adventure was wellnigh
forgotten. They were destined, however, to remember
it for many a long day to come, and before many hours
had passed they were heartily wishing that they had
never set foot inside The Hermitage, but kept on their
own side of the wall.
The party were seated at supper on
Sunday evening, when a servant entered the room, and
addressing her master said, “If you please, sir,
there’s a policeman called to see you.”
Jack’s father rose from his
chair, remarking, in a jocular manner, “I expect
it’s one of you young gentlemen he’s come
after.”
The meal was nearly over when Mr.
Vance returned and reseated himself at the table.
“Did either of you hear the
dog bark last night?” he asked.
“No; why?”
“Why, because old Fossberry’s
house has been broken into, and they think the thieves
must have come through our garden; there were some
footmarks in the shrubbery just on the other side
of the wall.”
The hearts of the Triple Alliance
seemed to jump into their throats, and their mouths
grew dry and parched. Jack stared at Mugford,
and Mugford stared at Diggory, but none of them spoke.
“It seems,” continued
Mr. Vance, not noticing the effect which his first
announcement had produced on at least three of his
hearers, “that the old woman who looks after
the house went there this morning, and found that
the iron safe in which the old chap keeps his coins
had been opened and the whole collection removed.
The only trace of the thieves that the police have
been able to discover is the broken blade of a clasp-knife,
which was on a flower-bed near the window.”
“What will they get if they
are caught?” asked Jack faintly.
“Oh, penal servitude, I suppose;
it’s a serious business housebreaking.”
“How quiet you boys are!”
said Mrs. Vance a short time later. “I
think you must be tired. Wouldn’t you like
to go to bed?”
The three friends were only too glad
to avail themselves of this excuse for getting away
into some place where they could indulge in a little
private conversation. Diggory and Mugford slept
together in the same room; Jack followed them in and
closed the door.
“Well,” he exclaimed, “we’re
in a nice mess.”
“But we didn’t steal the coins,”
said Mugford.
“Of course we didn’t the
safe had been robbed before we went there but
it looks as if we’d done it; and if they find
out we got into the house, I don’t see how we’re
going to prove that we’re innocent.”
There was a short silence; then Diggory spoke.
“Look here, Jack: I was
the one who proposed going inside the place; shall
I tell your guv’nor?”
“Well, I was thinking of doing
that myself, only I don’t see what good it can
do. If we tell him, he’ll be bound to tell
the police, to explain about those footmarks; and
when it comes out that we got into the house, I should
think we are pretty certain to be charged with having
stolen the coins. I think the best thing will
be to keep it dark: we didn’t crib the
things, and the thieves are sure to be caught in time.”
Even after Jack had retired to his
own room, Diggory and Mugford lay awake for hours
discussing the situation; and when at length they did
fall asleep, it was only to dream of being chased by
“The Hermit” and a swarm of long-legged
policemen, who forced their way into the Third Form
classroom at Ronleigh, and handcuffed the unfortunate
trio in the very bosom of “The Happy Family.”
The following morning was spent in
visiting such parts of the town of Todderton as were
worth seeing.
“Upon my word,” said Jack,
“I feel funky to show my nose outside our gate,
just as if I really had prigged those wretched coins.
I shan’t be at all sorry this evening to get
back to Ronleigh. It’s all in the paper
this morning; it mentions the footmarks and the knife-blade,
and says that as yet the police have not been able
to discover any further traces of the robbers.”
The conditions on which the half-term
holiday was granted required every boy to return to
school on the Monday evening, and accordingly, about
seven o’clock, the Triple Alliance found themselves
once more on their way to the railway station.
They took their seats, and had hardly done so when
young Noaks entered the compartment.
“Hullo, you fellows!”
he exclaimed; “didn’t you hear me whistle?
I was standing over there by the book-stall.”
Regarding this as an overture of friendship
after their recent encounter, Jack Vance replied in
an equally amicable manner, and after a few common-place
remarks the party relapsed into silence. At Chatton,
the station before Ronleigh, a man who had so far travelled
with them got out, and the four boys were left alone.
Hardly had the train started again when Noaks put
down his paper, and turning to his companions said,
“That’s a rum business
about that old chap’s house being robbed, isn’t
it?”
Something in the speaker’s look
and in the tone of his voice caused the three listeners
to experience an unpleasant quickening of their pulses.
“Yes,” answered Diggory,
with a well-assumed air of indifference. “I
suppose they’ll catch the thieves in time.”
“I suppose so,” returned
the other, “especially if they find the chap
who owns that knife with the broken blade.”
The malignant look with which these
words was accompanied showed at once that the speaker
meant mischief. The three friends looked at one
another in horrified amazement. Could it be possible
that their visit to The Hermitage had already been
discovered?
Noaks watched their faces for a moment,
evidently well pleased with the effect which his remark
had produced; then he burst out laughing.
“Look here,” he continued,
producing from his pocket a buck-handled clasp-knife:
“I wonder if that’s anything like it; I
see the big blade’s broken.”
The Triple Alliance recognized it
in a moment as one of the articles that had been rescued
from Mugford’s sale at The Birches; in fact,
the owner’s name appeared plainly engraved on
the small brass plate.
Diggory was the first to find his tongue.
“What d’you mean? We didn’t
steal the coins!”
“My dear fellow, I never said
you did. I only know that on Saturday I was
looking over our wall, through an opening there happens
to be in the shrubs, and saw you fellows climbing
out of the old chap’s window; and after you’d
gone I noticed something lying in the path, and I hopped
over, and picked up this knife.”
“Give it here; it’s mine,” said
Mugford, holding out his hand.
“No fear,” answered the
other, calmly returning the piece of lost property
to his own pocket. “In this case finding’s
keeping; besides, I’m not sure if I couldn’t
get a reward for this if I sent it to the right place.”
The train began to slacken speed as it approached
Ronleigh station.
“Look here, Noaks,” cried
Jack Vance, in a fit of desperation, “what are
you going to do? You know very well we are not
thieves.”
“I don’t know anything
of the sort,” returned the tormentor, standing
up to take his bag off the rack; “all I know
is just what I’ve told you. See here, Mr.
Vance,” he continued, rounding on Jack with a
sudden snarl, “you were good enough some little
time ago to make some very caddish remarks about my
father; in the future you’d better keep your
mouth shut. I owe all three of you a dressing
down for things that happened at Chatford, and now
you’d better mind your P’s and Q’s
if you don’t want to be hauled up for housebreaking.”
With this parting threat the ex-Philistine
left the carriage. Mugford, Jack, and Diggory
gazed at one another for a moment with anything but
a happy look on their faces. One after another
they slowly gathered up their things and stepped out
on to the platform. Hardly had they done so
when they heard their names called, and turning round
beheld the small figure of “Rats” rushing
forward to meet them.
“Hullo!” he exclaimed.
“Old Ally sent me down to get a paper, and I
thought you’d come by this train. I say,
there’s a fine row on up at the school such
a lark; I’ll tell you about it as we go along.”