CHAPTER XLV
HOW THE VOTE WAS CARRIED
Hibbert's death caused a lull in the storm that recent events had raisedat Garside. Notwithstanding his illness, it was thought that he wasgetting better. It came, therefore, with a shock to the school when hewas found sleeping that afternoon in the garden. The little fellow waslaid to rest in a country churchyard, at some distance from the school,by the side of the mother whom he had so loved.
No one in the school, with the exception, perhaps, of Mr. Weevil, missedhim so much as Paul did. He had a great pity for Hibbert, and that pityhad grown to love. He never forgot that last scene in the garden--in thewarm sunshine, with the shadows creeping over it, and the Great Shadowof all drawing nearer and nearer, until it at last rested on the boy'shead.
Nor did he forget the interview he afterwards had with Mr. Weevil, when,with tones that were strangely uneven for Mr. Weevil, he had questionedhim about all that Hibbert had said in those last moments before he hadfallen asleep. When Paul told him what the boy had said about hismother--of his dream, and the awakening--the master's eyes blinked as hehad never seen them blink before.
"Ah! He has his wish; he is with her--with his mother," said the master,as one speaking to himself rather than to Paul. "He is at restand--happy."
Then he remained silent for so long, as one buried in deep thought, thathe seemed to have quite forgotten the presence of Paul. Paul knew ofwhom he was thinking; that he, too, was thinking of the boy'smother--the sister whom he had loved and reverenced; so he stolequietly from the room.
During this time Paul saw nothing of Hibbert's father. He wonderedwhether he was still carrying on his schemes in the cave, or whether thedeath of his son had altered his plans in any way. In any case, Paulfelt no cause for alarm. The letter of Mr. Moncrief had removed allcause for anxiety. None the less he could not help feeling anxious as towhat had become of the letter itself. Where had it gone to on that dayit had fallen from his pocket? Into whose hands had it fallen? Had itfallen into the hands of the enemy, Newall and his lot? If so, what usewere they making of it?
He was still left pretty much to himself, so he was able to put thefinishing touches to his essay on "The Invasion of Great Britain," asubject, as the reader knows, which had occupied some share of his timeand attention. Then the essay was sent in with others for thecompetition.
The breach between him and Stanley, as may be imagined, had not beenlessened by what had happened between them in the common room. Stanleyavoided him as much as possible, and they never spoke.
After the momentary lull in the storm caused by the death of Hibbert, itbroke out again more violently than ever. This was due to the fact thatMr. Weevil had made no inquiry, or seemed to have made no inquiry, intothe circumstances which had brought about the return of the flag. Newalland his parasite Parfitt said it was a disgrace to the school.
Thus the storm, which had momentarily lulled, broke out with freshvigour. While it was at its height, the Fifth once more assembled in theForum. Hasluck presided, as usual, and the rest of the Form, with oneexception--Paul--were present. Arbery and Leveson guarded the dooragainst invasion from "the little beggars of the Third and Fourth."
Hasluck mounted the rostrum, and brought his mallet down with a bang asa signal that the meeting had commenced.
"Now then, you fellows, order! I'm not going to spout a lot----"
"Couldn't if you tried!" put in Devey.
"Look here, Devey, are you in the chair, or am I? If you don't keepquiet, I'll chuck the mallet at you," said Hasluck, raising itthreateningly. "As I said before, till I was interrupted by an assbraying, I'm not going to spout a lot. What we've got to do is to get tobusiness, and most of you know what that business is."
"Hear, hear, hear!"
"Most of you were present in the common room when certain charges weremade against Percival by Moncrief major. He told Percival to his facethat the flag business was all a dodge; that it was engineered betweenhim and the champion of the Beetles. Percival denied it; but you knowwhat happened after that. Moncrief struck him, and Percival went awaywith his tail between his legs just as he did at the sand-pits. We wereall disgusted----"
"All!" echoed the others, with the exception of Waterman, who wasreclining languidly on a box, apparently quite unconcerned in what wasgoing on.
"We were all disgusted, and decided to take some action which wouldbring matters to a point. Unfortunately, Hibbert died just then, and wecould do nothing. We were obliged to wait a decent interval. The timefor waiting's past." (Cheers.) "We've got to get to business. Moncriefmajor will explain."
Stanley, with white, set face, was standing between Newall and Parfitt.After the charge he had made against Paul at Newall's instigation, andthe blow that had followed it, he had been forced into a position fromwhich it was impossible for him to retreat. First he had been adroitlyforced into the position of being Paul's accuser; and now, with no lessadroitness, he had been compelled to take a step which struck morecruelly at his friend.
"Oh, I haven't much to explain," he said, in a thick, unnatural voice."As Hasluck has said, we all decided to take action after what happenedin the common room. Hibbert's death prevented us. I think you know whatthat action is. We're going to call upon the Head to expel Percival fromthe school."
A loud cheer greeted this announcement. There could be no doubt as tothe feeling of the Form, and that Stanley had voiced it.
"Move, move!" came from several of the boys, when the cheers hadsubsided.
"Yes, we must have everything in order," said Hasluck. "It's about thefirst time that we've ever called upon the masters to expel a fellow."
Stanley hesitated. How was it possible for him to strike at Paulagain--this time behind his back!
"Get on--move! What are you stopping for?" demanded Parfitt, nudging himwith his elbow. "I'll back you up."
"Get on," repeated Newall, nudging him from the other side.
"I--I move," said Stanley, in faltering tones, "that we call upon theHead to expel Percival from the school."
"And I second!" cried Parfitt.
"And I support!" exclaimed Newall.
"Hands up for!" demanded Hasluck.
"One minute before you vote," came the languid voice of Waterman, as thehands shot up. "You don't want to be in such a hurry. It's bad for thenerves. People in a hurry have fits. They get themselves into knots andtangles which take no end of time to get out of, and leave them with alovely headache into the bargain. That's what you're going in for--fits,tangles, headaches. I gave Moncrief major credit for sense. You're notgoing to follow his lead, are you?"
The arms that were held up fell. The boys stared at Waterman inastonishment. It was not often that he took the trouble to speak atthese meetings, but when he did it was usually to the point.
"Of course we are. Why shouldn't we?" exclaimed Parfitt.
"You'll be bigger asses than I took you for--and that's saying a gooddeal, you know--if you do. I didn't hear all that took place afterMoncrief struck Percival. The atmosphere was getting bad, you see, and Idon't like breathing bad atmosphere, if I can help it; so I don't knowwhat passed between you fellows. I've no doubt it was something choice,and that I lost a great deal; so perhaps you wouldn't mind telling mewhy Percival's to be expelled."
This demand on Waterman's part, made in the most innocent manner, wasmet with howls of derision. They could never quite tell from Waterman'smanner whether he was serious or poking fun at them; but this time itseemed quite clear that he could only be poking fun.
"Yes, that's very musical," proceeded Waterman calmly, when the howlinghad subsided. "I couldn't do better myself, if I tried. You're going toexpel Percival because you believe he engineered the flag. That's it,isn't it?" (Cries of assent.) "Good! I like to get at things," retortedWaterman, still keeping his languid position on the box. "Engineeringthe flag means--what? It means that Percival, by trickery, got it awayfrom Garside. Is that it?"
"Yes, yes!" came the approving shout.
"Well, vote as you like. Here's one that's going to vote against you."
"Why? What's your reason?"
"Because I happen to remember what happened on the day the flag waslost. Seems to me most of you have forgotten."
Waterman had started up from his languid position on the box; his facehad lost its wearied, languid expression, and had become quite animated.
"I haven't, and never shall, though I never pretend to remember things;they're so beastly uninteresting, as a rule. This wasn't. That's why Iremember, I suppose. Well, on the afternoon the flag was lost I wasgoing from the school, when I nearly ran full tilt against a fellow whowas carrying a little chap, dripping wet, in his arms. The fellow wasPercival; the little chap was Hibbert. You know what happened, thoughyou seem to have forgotten it. Percival, at the risk of his own life,saved the little chap from the river."
Stanley's head fell to his breast. The scene came to him as Waterman wasspeaking. Had he not met Paul on that day staggering along with hisburden? Had he not avoided him, when he might have given a helping hand?
"What's that to do with it?" demanded Newall. "Supposing Percival didpull the youngster out of the river, what's that to do with the flag?"
"What's that to do with the flag!" repeated Waterman. "It's this to dowith it--how could Percival be playing tricks with the flag, and fishingat the same time a poor little chap out of the river? Besides, would afellow who'd done a splendid thing like that stoop to such a mean thingas the other?"
"Yes," retorted Newall boldly. "A fellow who would turn tail like he didat the sand-pits, and again in the common room, would do anything. It'syou who forget, Waterman. We've asked Percival for an explanation. Ifhe's innocent, why doesn't he explain?"
"I don't know, and what's more, I don't care. What I've seen of Percivalis quite good enough for me."
"Vote, Vote!" cried Parfitt. "We don't want any more twaddle."
Hasluck brought down his hammer as a signal that discussion was at anend. Then he put the motion moved by Stanley--"That the Form call uponthe Head to expel Percival from the school."
Stanley would have voted against his own proposal had it been possible.But it was impossible; so his hand went up with the rest--all save one.
"Against!" cried Hasluck.
Up went the hand of Waterman, amid the derisive cheers of those aroundhim.
"Phew! The atmosphere of this place is getting beastly, just like thecommon room on the day when the shindy was. Phew! I don't wish to beunpolite, but I'm sure you fellows won't mind if I get out of it."
And thrusting his hands into his pockets, Waterman sauntered out.
* * * * *
So the vote was carried that Paul Percival should be expelled fromGarside.
The Hero of Garside School Page 46