"I was nigh "andy asleep that time," said he, rummaging in his pocket for a lucifer.
"It"s all right; we were doing our prep, you know. Now we"ve got to be called over. If you stick here, we"ll be back in a jiffy, and then we"ll take you to see the shop," said Wally.
"Thank"ee kindly," said the guest; "don"t put yourselves about for me.
Take your time, young gents."
"We shan"t be long. I say, wait for us, won"t you? Don"t you go out with any other chaps. They ain"t in it, you know."
"I ain"t a-going with n.o.body, don"t you make no mistake," was the visitor"s satisfactory a.s.surance.
They had some thoughts about locking him in, to make sure of him, but decided to trust his parole, and trooped down impatiently to call-over, binding one another to a.s.semble at the shop immediately afterwards, whither Wally and Percy were to conduct their guest.
To the satisfaction of these young gentlemen, the bird was safely in his cage when they returned, dimly visible through the smoke, looking at the pictures in the ill.u.s.trated paper. He meekly obeyed their summons, relieving their embarra.s.sment somewhat by putting his pipe away in his pocket as he rose.
"Where"s the rest of the pals?" asked he.
"Down at the shop. It"s not the regular hour, you know. But we can get in with the key. Come along, Mr Rollitt."
The old Watch-Tower, which, as the reader knows, is the oldest remaining portion of Fellsgarth, was rather an imposing-looking edifice for so mundane an establishment as the School shop. The shop, indeed, occupied only a small apartment on the ground floor, which had previously been used as a porter"s lodge, the remainder of the structure, including the disused belfry and watch-turret, being abandoned to the owls and ghosts and ivy, which accorded best with the ancient traditions of the place.
Mr Rollitt, whose profession sharpened his observation for specimens of bygone achievements in his own line of business, noted the venerable exterior before him with admiration.
"That there bit of bricks and mortar," said he, "warn"t built yesterday."
"Oh, it"s millions of years old," said Wally; "but our shop, you know, has only just been started."
"They don"t make copin"s like them to-day," repeated Mr Rollitt.
"We go in for good grub cheap," said Percy; "no shoe-leather, like Bob used to sell."
"I reckon them top courses is a hundred year after this here bottom part. Not much jerry there neither."
"We boss it among us, you know," said Wally, "and take turns to serve.
We don"t get a bad profit either."
Here they were joined by the rest of the party. But to their disappointment Mr Rollitt"s interest in the shop was small compared with that he showed in the lay of the bricks, the run of the beams, and the hardness of the mortar.
"They knowed their way about, straight, those days," said he, picking away between two of the bricks with his nail.
"Try one of our `Rollitt"s particular,"" pleaded D"Arcy, in the hope that this invitation at least would interest him.
But no. He went "nosing round," taking no notice of the stores, and putting off all invitations with a "Thank"ee kindly, not to-day."
It was a sore blow to his hosts. After what they had done for him, after the way they had nursed him all day, after the tea they had given him, and the pipes he had smoked in their study! They could have thrown him overboard in their mortification. But the dread lest some one else, some of the middle-boys, for instance, should get hold of him and "run"
him, decided them to pocket their feelings and back him up still.
"No offence, young gents," said he presently; "but if you"ve a ladder "andy, I"d like to take a look up there."
"Oh, there"s nothing up there--only bats and owls," said Wally, "and there"s no ladder."
But Mr Rollitt pointed out in a corner, behind the back of the shop, some protruding bits of stone let into the brick, evidently with a view to form a rude ladder or stair to the chambers above.
This promised well. An exploration of the Watch-tower offered some little compensation for the slight put on their shop.
"I never saw that before," said Wally. "I vote we go up."
Mr Rollitt led the way with all the agility of a practical hodman. The steps ended with a trap-door in the ceiling, which he pushed up before him.
"Mind how you go, young gents," said he to his followers; "one at a time on them stones."
The trap-door opened into a sort of pa.s.sage, at the end of which was a narrow brick corkscrew staircase.
It was too dark to do anything but feel their way up; Mr Rollitt leading, and testing every step as he went along.
"Why," said Wally suddenly, and with a touch of alarm in his voice, as they were halting a moment to allow Mr Rollitt to inspect with the end of a lucifer one of the loophole windows, "why, look up there--there"s a light!"
They looked. And there, struggling apparently from under a door which closed the head of the stairs, came a streak of light.
"I say--it"s ghosts," said Fisher minor. "Let"s go back."
"More likely it"s my Alf," said Mr Rollitt. "I know"d he was somewheres not fur off."
He went up, followed at a more respectful distance than before by the boys, and pushed open the door.
They heard the sound of an exclamation within, and a noise as of some one starting to his feet. Next moment, as the light streamed down the staircase, they heard a familiar voice say--
"Father!"
"That"s me, Alf, my boy; I know"d you was somewheres "andy."
"I say," said Wally, in an excited whisper to his followers, "we"d best cut back, you chaps. They don"t want us up there."
The delicate suggestion was appreciated by the party, who forthwith made a precipitate retreat.
"We as good as found him, that"s one thing, and n.o.body else was in it,"
said Percy triumphantly.
"Rather not. Keep it mum. Let"s go and light the fire in his room, and have some grub ready for him. Good old Rollitt, I"m jolly glad he"s turned up!"
"That"s how he got the Abernethys," said D"Arcy. "Jolly honest to pay for them."
"You don"t suppose anybody would collar things out of the shop and not pay for them, you lout, do you?"
Whereat, leaving the door on the latch, they marched arm in arm across the School Green kicking every junior they met, and mystifying everybody by whistling at the top of their voices, "See the conquering hero comes."
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.