CHAPTER XXVII
THE OLD FLAG
As the thought went through Paul's mind, the door opened, and Mr. Weevilentered. To Paul's wonder the master fell on his knees beside the bed,and, taking Hibbert's hand in his, murmured:
"Tim, Tim, what have they done to you? Speak, Tim."
The cold nature of the master seemed to have melted as he looked at theunconscious boy. Paul had never heard him call Hibbert by his Christianname before. The ashen lips were moving tremulously. The blinking eyeswere fixed tenderly on the boy's face, and--was Paul dreaming?--hethought he saw a tear roll down the master's cheek.
"Why did I leave you to yourself? Speak, Tim, speak," came the pleadingtones.
For once Mr. Weevil's self-control had given way. He was strangelymoved. Paul was too moved himself at the time to take much notice, buthe recalled every incident in that strange scene after. Then, as noanswer came to his appeal, the master seemed to wander in his talk, andbabbled words in an unknown tongue.
He was still kneeling by the bed, talking in this way, when Dr. Clack,the school doctor, entered. His face remained very grave as he examinedhis patient.
"It's been a very near thing with him," he said, when he had finishedhis examination; "but with careful nursing he may pull round."
Paul heard the news with a thankful heart, for he had begun to fear thatthe case was hopeless. Mr. Weevil had now quite recovered hisself-possession, and, leaving the patient in the hands of the doctor andthe matron, beckoned Paul to follow him to his room.
On entering it he closed the door, and questioned Paul minutely as tothe cause of the accident. Paul explained to him what he had seen, themore readily because the little he had seen threw no particular blame onany one.
"And you don't know how it happened?"
"No, sir; I haven't the least idea."
"You weren't in any way concerned in it?" demanded Mr. Weevil, suddenlyopening his half-closed eyes and fixing them on Paul.
Paul felt indignant. He had made as little as possible of his share inrescuing Hibbert; and as a result the master seemed to have a lurkingsuspicion that he was in league in some way with the boys who had causedthe accident.
"No, sir, I was in no way concerned in it," he flashed back. "It wasquite by chance that I was at the river-side this afternoon."
"Well, the matter must be further inquired into. It is quite certainthat there is something that needs explanation."
"I know nothing about that, sir; but if you've no more questions to askme, I'd like to change my things."
Paul's clothes had nearly dried on him. He had taken no heed of himselfin thinking of Hibbert; but now that Hibbert was in bed, and in thehands of those who could take care of him, he began to think a little ofhis own condition, which was not altogether so comfortable as might havebeen desired.
"I'm sorry. I really had forgotten that you were in damp clothes. Whydidn't you mention it before? You must change them at once."
Mr. Weevil seemed really sorry that he had not given a thought to Paul'scondition before. Paul hastened off to change his damp cloth for dryones. While he was thus engaged, Plunger and Baldry entered for the samepurpose. Otherwise they seemed none the worse for the cold bath.Plunger, in fact had got on good terms with himself again, and was asperky as ever.
"I should have punted across the river all right if it hadn't been forHibbert," he explained. "The scream he gave threw me off my stroke. Itwas jolly good of you all the same to come to us, Percival. We shan'tforget it in a hurry--shall we, Baldry?"
"No," was Baldry's emphatic answer. "By the by, how is Hibbert goingon?"
"I was just going to ask the same thing. I would rather have gone undermyself than that he should. Has the doctor been to him?"
Plunger spoke with unusual earnestness.
"Yes, Dr. Clack's been to him. He's with him now."
"And what does he say?"
"He says that it's been a near thing, but with careful nursing he maypull round."
Plunger paused with one arm in the sleeve of the jacket he was puttingon, and sat down on the side of the bed. He was beginning to realize hownear the Crusoe expedition had been to a tragedy--nay, the danger wasnot yet over. Silence fell on the room for some moments. Each was busywith his own thoughts.
"I haven't yet heard how it all happened," Paul at length inquired.
Plunger told him the origin of the "Crusoe expedition," and all that hadhappened up to the moment of the accident.
"I don't know anything about the savages that boarded us on the raft.Baldry can tell you that part," he concluded.
"Oh, we found out all about the expedition, and didn't like being leftout of it. We thought that we'd have a cut in on our own account. SoSedgefield, Bember, Viner, and myself got down to the plantation beforePlunger, Moncrief minor, and Hibbert reached it on the raft. While theylanded and got ready for their part, we got ready for ours. What was theuse of Crusoe without the noble savages? So we got up as savages, andfrightened the life out of Plunger and the other two by swooping down on'em just like Indians would, you know."
"You didn't frighten me, I tell you," protested Plunger.
"Of course not; but Crusoe, when he first saw savages, never sprintedalong half so quickly as you did, I'll warrant! Greased lightning wasn'tin it with you, Plunger."
Plunger did not answer, but diligently set to work getting his other arminto the sleeve of his coat.
"Well, but what's become of the other fellows on the raft--Moncrief,Sedgefield, and the others?" inquired Paul.
"Oh, they were still on the raft, floating gaily along, when we left.Goodness knows when they would get ashore," says Baldry.
"It's a bit unfortunate, you see, for none of the fellows now left onthe raft understand anything about punting," put in Plunger. "It'srather a pity I couldn't have got back to them."
"It's just that that makes me feel easy. There's a good chance of theirpulling through, now you're not with them, Plunger," was Baldry'sungracious response. "Why, here they are!"
As he was speaking, in fact, three of the four entered--Bember,Sedgefield, and Harry Moncrief. After they had spent some time on theraft, drifting aimlessly on the river, a boatman had towed them ashore.Fixing the raft in its place by the bridge, they had returned in allhaste to the school, anxious to know what had happened to theircompanions. When they had learned all particulars, Sedgefield exclaimed:
"I don't care what those Fifth Form fellows say or think, but will youtake my hand, Percival?"
Paul willingly gripped the hand extended to him. Bember and the others,with the exception of Harry, followed suit. Harry struggled with himselffor a moment. He could not help remembering, in spite of his effort toforget it, that Paul was responsible for the thrashing that his cousinhad received at the hands of a Beetle, and that he had seen him shakinghands with the same obnoxious creature. Yet what could have been nobler,Harry told himself, than the way in which, at the risk of his own life,Paul had gone to the rescue of Hibbert, and had returned a few minuteslater to save Plunger and Baldry? He had witnessed it all from the raft,with his heart in his mouth. Yes, it was a noble deed. He had never seena nobler. What was the defeat of Stanley--the wound of hispride--compared with it? Instinctively his hand went out to Paul as theother hands had done, when Viner entered the room.
"Have you heard the news?" he questioned, greatly excited.
"The news! What news?" demanded Sedgefield.
"The school flag. It's gone!"
"Gone!" they echoed, as with one voice.
Paul's mind went back with a rush to when he had entered the groundswith Hibbert in his arms. His eyes had not deceived him, then. The flaghad really gone.
"Nonsense!" cried Sedgefield.
"Not much nonsense about it. If you don't believe me, you'd better goand look for yourself."
The intelligence was so remarkable, that Plunger and Harry raced intothe grounds. A minute later they returned.
"Viner's quite right. It's gone,"
they exclaimed in a breath.
"But how--where--when?" questioned Sedgefield. "Who has taken it?"
"No one knows. It must have happened while we were on the river, so wecould know nothing about it. Somebody must have stolen up the turretstair and got on to the roof. That's the only possible way it could bedone. The senior Forms are in a rare wax over it."
"I should think so," burst out Plunger. "What fellow can rest easy nowthat our flag's been hauled down? I only wish that I had hold of the onewho did it."
"You'd give him a lesson in punting, wouldn't you, Freddy?" observedBaldry, with a wink at those around him.
Plunger glared at Baldry. He would have brought his knuckles down on hishead, only he remembered what Baldry had done for him.
"Seriously," said Sedgefield, "it can't have walked. There's not afellow in Garside who would have pulled down the old flag, even for ajoke; I'm certain of that."
"And I." "And I." "And I," came in a chorus.
"A Beetle must have sneaked in. It must be the work of a Beetle."
"That's what I've been thinking," said Bember. "It's only one of thosecads could have done a sneakish trick like that."
"Supposing it is a Beetle, which of them could have done it? Which ofthem could have made his way into the school without being seen, andthen got to the door in the turret?" asked Baldry.
"Mellor knows all about the building. He could easily describethe way to any of the Beetles," said Viner. "That champion oftheirs--Wyndham--has made us eat enough dirt already. He made our pickedman turn tail"--every eye went to Paul as Viner spoke withbitterness--"and Moncrief eat dirt. Now we've lost the flag. Really,we're getting on. We can't sink much lower."
The atmosphere in the dormitory was getting oppressive. Every one feltuncomfortable. That allusion to Paul was true enough. He had turnedaway, like a frightened cur, from Wyndham; but who could accuse him ofbeing a coward after what had happened that day? It was altogetherinexplicable.
Baldry was the first to speak.
"You know what has happened this afternoon, Viner. Percival saved mylife, and you're not going to fling mud at him while I'm standing by."
"And I say ditto to Baldry," blustered Plunger.
"Oh, I deserve it," said Paul, for the first time breaking silence."It's true--every word that Viner said. I did turn tail. It was the actof a coward. And Stanley Moncrief suffered through me, and through meall the school has eaten dirt. But if the school has suffered throughme, through me it shall be lifted up again. If the Beetles have takenour flag, by God's help I will get it back again, and again it shall flyin its old place on the turret. If I fail----"
But Baldry cut him short, and shouted:
"Three cheers for Percival!"
The cheers were given very heartily, though Viner took little part inthe cheering; but ere the last cheer had died away, a messenger camefrom the sick-room. Hibbert was still in a very critical condition, buthe had recovered consciousness, and was asking for Paul.