Held Fast For England | Page 3

him, as he lay in bed, to command a
general, if somewhat faint view of the dormitory. Five minutes after Mr.
Purfleet had disappeared behind the curtain, the watching eyes saw the

clothes at the end of the bed pulled down, and caught a partial view of
Mr. Purfleet as he climbed in. A second later there was a yell of terror,
and the usher leapt from the bed. Instantly, the dormitory was in an
uproar.
"What is it, Mr. Purfleet--what is the matter, sir?" and several of the
boys sprang from their beds, and ran towards him; the only exceptions
to the general excitement being the four or five who were in the secret.
These lay shaking with suppressed laughter, with the bedclothes or the
corner of a pillow thrust into their mouths, to prevent them from
breaking out into screams of delight.
"What is it, sir?"
It was some time before the usher could recover himself sufficiently to
explain.
"There is a snake in my bed," he said.
"A snake!" the boys repeated, in astonishment, several of the more
timid at once making off to their beds.
"Certainly, a snake," Mr. Purfleet panted. "I put my legs down, and
they came against something cold, and it began to twist about. In a
moment, if I had not leapt out, I should no doubt have received a fatal
wound."
"Where did it come from?"
"What is to be done?"
And a variety of other questions burst from the boys.
"I will run down and get three or four hockey sticks, Mr. Purfleet," one
of the elder boys said.
"That will be the best plan, Mason. Quick, quick! There, do you see it
moving, under the clothes?"

There was certainly something wriggling, so there was a general
movement back from the bed.
"We had better hold the clothes down, Mr. Purfleet," Bob Repton said,
pushing himself forward. "If it were to crawl out at the top, and get on
to the floor, it might bite a dozen of us. I will hold the clothes down
tight, on one side, if someone will hold them on the other."
One of the other boys came forward, and the clothes were stretched
tightly across the bed, by the pillow. In a minute or two, Mason ran up
with four hockey sticks.
"Now, you must be careful," Mr. Purfleet said, "because if it should get
out, the consequences might be terrible. Now, then, four of you take the
sticks, and all hit together, as hard as you can--now."
The sticks descended together. There was a violent writhing and
contortion beneath the clothes, but the blows rained down fast and, in a
very short time, all movement ceased.
"It must be dead, now," Bob Repton said. "I think we can look at it now,
sir."
"Well, draw the clothes down very gently; boys, and be ready to strike
again, if you see the least movement."
The clothes were drawn down, till the creature was visible.
"It must be a cobra," the usher said, looking at it from a distance. "It is
thick and short. It must have escaped from somewhere. Be very careful,
all of you."
Mason approached cautiously, to get a nearer view; and then
exclaimed:
"Why, sir, it is an eel!"
There was a moment's silence, and then a perfect yell of laughter from
the boys. For a moment the usher was dumbfounded, then he rallied.

"You will all go to your beds, at once," he said. "I shall report the
matter to Mr. Tulloch, in the morning."
The boys retired, laughing, to their beds; but above the din the usher
heard the words, in a muffled voice:
"A man should always be calm, in sudden danger."
Another voice, equally disguised, said:
"Yes, he should first ask himself 'What is this?' then 'What had best be
done, under the circumstances?'"
A third voice then took it up:
"It follows that a man of courage will deal coolly with the danger."
Then there was a chorus of half a dozen voices:
"I should despise myself, if I were to act otherwise."
"Silence!" the usher shouted, rushing down the line between the beds.
"I will thrash the first boy who speaks."
As Mr. Purfleet had one of the hockey sticks in his hand, the threat was
sufficient to ensure silence.
To the relief of the two or three boys engaged in the affair, Mr. Purfleet
made no report in the morning. Mr. Tulloch by no means spared the
cane, but he always inquired before he flogged and, as the usher felt
sure that the snake story would be brought forward, by way of excuse
for the trick played upon him, he thought it better to drop it; making a
mental note, however, that he would get even with