"Rather," said Coote.
"Besides," said d.i.c.k, "he"s such a cad, no one would believe him if he did tell of us. My father would shut him up. He"ll be down, you know, on Tuesday."
Heathcote breathed hard. But when it came to a question of choosing between Pledge and the "Firm," it needed no very desperate inward battle to decide.
"What had I better do?" he asked.
"Cut him," said d.i.c.k.
"But suppose I"ve promised him?"
"That"s a nuisance. Never mind, we"re all in it, so we"ll send him a letter from the "Firm" and tell him you cry off. It"s a bad job, of course, but it can"t be helped, and we"ll back you up, won"t we, Coote?"
"I should rather say so," replied the genial junior partner.
So, that quiet Sunday afternoon, in an unpretentious and unsentimental way, a very good stroke of work was done, not only for the soul of Georgie Heathcote, but for Templeton generally.
The "Firm" were by no means elated at their decision, for they had yet to learn what revenge the senior would take upon them. Still, the effort and the common peril knit them together in bonds of closer brotherhood, and enabled them to face the future, if not cheerily, at least, with grim determination.
Pledge was considerably astounded that evening, just as he was speculating on the reason of Heathcote"s non-appearance, to see Coote"s round head suddenly thrust in at the door, and a small billet tossed on to the table.
Pledge was getting used to small billets by this time, and was rather tired of them. Coote, as he knew, was Cartwright"s f.a.g; he therefore concluded that Cartwright was the writer of the note, and that being so, he pitched the paper unopened into the empty fireplace with a sneer.
He waited for another half-hour, and still Heathcote did not appear.
Pledge didn"t like it, and began to grow concerned. Was it possible, after all, he had made too sure of his young friend?
Partly to pa.s.s the time, and partly with the vague idea that might throw some light on the matter, he had the curiosity to pick the neglected billet out of the hearth and open it.
His face went through a strange series of emotions as he read its extraordinary contents:--
Our Dear Pledge,--We think you will like to hear that Heathcote can"t f.a.g for you. He doesn"t believe he really promised, but must be excused. We"ve made him do it because we don"t want him to be made a cad. He is very sorry, and hopes you won"t be a cad and let out about the row we are in. Excuse this short letter, and, with kind regards, believe us, our dear Pledge, your affectionate young friends, B.
Richardson, G. Heathcote, A.D. Coote. Sunday afternoon.
This masterpiece of conciliatory firmness, which had cost the "Firm" an hour"s painful labour to concoct, brought out the angry spots on Pledge"s cheeks and forced some bad language from his lips.
The letter he had received from Mansfield a week ago had been nothing to this. Mansfield and he were equals, and a reverse at Mansfield"s hands was at least an ordinary misfortune of war.
But to be coolly flouted, and to have all the work of a term upset by three wretched youngsters, who called themselves his affectionate young friends, was a drop too much in the bucket of the "spider"s"
humiliation.
He stared at the letter in a stupid way, like one bewildered. Even its quaint phrases and artless attempts at conciliation failed to raise a sneer on his lips. Something told him it was the hardest hit yet, and that out of the mouths of these honest babes and sucklings his confusion had reached its climax.
If Richardson, Heathcote, and Coote snapped their fingers at him in the face of all Templeton, who else would care a fig about him?
The one grain of comfort was in the possession of the secret of Mr Webster"s pencil, to which Pledge clung as his last and winning card.
How to make the most of it was the important question Pledge decided not to be impatient. Wednesday was to be the great election for the "Sociables," and, if our heroes" names appeared on the list, as rumour already said they would, his blow would tell best if held over till then.
So he sat down, and acknowledged the "Firm"s" note as follows:--
My Dear Richardson, Heathcote, and Coote,--Pray do as you like.
Promises are never made to be kept by "Select Sociables" of your high character. I do not understand what you mean about your row. What row are you in? _Are_ you in a row? You don"t call that little matter that I am expecting to talk to the "Sociables" about on Wednesday a row, do you? Please give my kind regards to Georgie Heathcote, and tell him he will need to beg hard before I trouble him to lay my cloth. No doubt he has given you many interesting stories of the miserable week he spent with me last holidays in London. I"m not surprised at his turning against me after that. I hope I shall not have to tell anyone some of the stories he has told me of Richardson and Coote. Excuse this long letter, and believe me, my dear young jail-birds, your "affectionate" P. Pledge.
This bitter effusion was read next morning by the "Firm" as they walked down to the "Tub." Its full sting did not come out till after three or four careful perusals, and then the "Firm" looked blankly at one another with lengthened faces.
"I couldn"t believe any fellow could be such a cad," said d.i.c.k.
"It"s jolly awkward!" said Heathcote. "You know he was awfully civil to me in London, and it does seem low to be cutting him now."
"Civil, be hanged!" said d.i.c.k. "He tried to get hold of you to make a cad of you, that"s what he did; and you were precious near being one, too, when you came back, weren"t you?"
"Was I?" asked the humble Georgie.
"Rather," said Coote; "everybody said so."
"Well, of course," said Georgie, "if that"s what he was driving at, it doesn"t matter so much."
"Except that it makes him all the bigger a cad."
"What on earth shall we do about the other thing?" asked Georgie.
"The row? We must cheek it, that"s all. If he does us over the "Sociable" election, we can"t be helped."
"And suppose he gets us transported?"
"Can"t do it, I tell you; my father will be up here, you know."
There was a pause, and the "Firm" walked on. Then Georgie said:--
"I say, what does he mean about the stories I told about you and Coote.
I never told any stories, that I remember. I never had any to tell."
"Ah, I was wondering what that meant," said d.i.c.k. "He speaks as if you"d been blabbing all sorts of things."
"I really don"t think I ever did," said Heathcote, ransacking his memory. "I may have said once I thought Coote was rather an a.s.s, but that was all."
"What made you tell him that?" said Coote.
"He asked me if I didn"t think so," said Georgie, apologetically, "and of course I was bound to say what I thought."
"Rather," said Coote.
"But he"s telling crams about you, d.i.c.k," said Georgie; "I"m quite sure of that. He used to try and make out you were a sneak and a prig; and perhaps I believed him once or twice, but that was while I was a cad, you know."
"Oh, yes, that"s all right!" said d.i.c.k, putting his arm in that of his friend.
Pledge would have had very little consolation out of this short discussion, and if for the next two days he sat up in his study expecting that every footstep belonged to the "Firm" on its way to capitulate, he must have been sorely disappointed. Capitulation was the one consideration which had never once entered the heads of the honest fraternity.
That afternoon the town of Templeton was startled by an incident, which had it come to the ears of our heroes, as they sat and groaned over their "Select Dialogues of the Dead," would have effectually driven every letter of the Greek alphabet out of their heads for the time being.