The Pothunters | Page 9

was true
in parts. His dignity was offended. He said 'Yes' to Barrett's observation
in a tone of reserved hauteur. Barrett did not notice.
'It's an awful nuisance. For one thing it makes them so jolly strict about
bounds.'
'Yes.'
'I wanted to go for a bike ride this afternoon. There's nothing on at the
School.'
'Why don't you?'
'What's the good if you can't break bounds? A ride of about a quarter of

a mile's no good. There's a ripping place about ten miles down the
Stapleton Road. Big wood, with a ripping little hollow in the middle,
all ferns and moss. I was thinking of taking a book out there for the
afternoon. Only there's roll-call.'
He paused. Ordinarily, this would have been the cue for Reade to say,
'Oh, I'll answer your name at roll-call.' But Reade said nothing. Barrett
looked surprised and disappointed.
'I say, Reade,' he said.
'Well?'
'Would you like to answer my name at roll-call?' It was the first time he
had ever had occasion to make the request.
'No,' said Reade.
Barrett could hardly believe his ears. Did he sleep? Did he dream? Or
were visions about?
'What!' he said.
No answer.
'Do you mean to say you won't?'
'Of course I won't. Why the deuce should I do your beastly dirty work
for you?'
Barrett did not know what to make of this. Curiosity urged him to ask
for explanations. Dignity threw cold water on such a scheme. In the end
dignity had the best of it.
'Oh, very well,' he said, and they went on in silence. In all the three
years of their acquaintance they had never before happened upon such a
crisis.
The silence lasted until they reached the form-room. Then Barrett
determined, in the interests of the common good--he and Reade shared
a study, and icy coolness in a small study is unpleasant--to chain up
Dignity for the moment, and give Curiosity a trial.
'What's up with you today?' he asked.
He could hardly have chosen a worse formula. The question has on
most people precisely the same effect as that which the query, 'Do you
know where you lost it?' has on one who is engaged in looking for
mislaid property.
'Nothing,' said Reade. Probably at the same moment hundreds of other
people were making the same reply, in the same tone of voice, to the
same question.

'Oh,' said Barrett.
There was another silence.
'You might as well answer my name this afternoon,' said Barrett,
tentatively.
Reade walked off without replying, and Barrett went to his place
feeling that curiosity was a fraud, and resolving to confine his
attentions for the future to dignity. This was by-product number one of
the Pavilion burglary.

[4]
CERTAIN REVELATIONS
During the last hour of morning school, Tony got a note from Jim.
'Graham,' said Mr Thompson, the master of the Sixth, sadly, just as
Tony was about to open it.
'Yes, sir?'
'Kindly tear that note up, Graham.'
'Note, sir?'
'Kindly tear that note up, Graham. Come, you are keeping us waiting.'
As the hero of the novel says, further concealment was useless. Tony
tore the note up unread.
'Hope it didn't want an answer,' he said to Jim after school. 'Constant
practice has made Thompson a sort of amateur lynx.'
'No. It was only to ask you to be in the study directly after lunch.
There's a most unholy row going to occur shortly, as far as I can see.'
'What, about this burglary business?'
'Yes. Haven't time to tell you now. See you after lunch.'
After lunch, having closed the study door, Jim embarked on the
following statement.
It appeared that on the previous night he had left a book of notes, which
were of absolutely vital importance for the examination which the Sixth
had been doing in the earlier part of the morning, in the identical room
in which the prizes had been placed. Or rather, he had left it there
several days before, and had not needed it till that night. At half-past
six the Pavilion had been locked up, and Biffen, the ground-man, had
taken the key away with him, and it was only after tea had been
consumed and the evening paper read, that Jim, thinking it about time
to begin work, had discovered his loss. This was about half-past seven.

Being a House-prefect, Jim did not attend preparation in the Great Hall
with the common herd of the Houses, but was part-owner with Tony of
a study.
The difficulties of the situation soon presented themselves to him. It
was only possible to obtain the notes in three ways--firstly, by going to
the rooms of the Sixth Form master, who lived out of College; secondly,
by borrowing from one of the other Sixth Form