"Why," whined Porter, "he promised to bring me back a rabbit this term,
and now he pretends he does not know anything about it. Make him say
what he's done with it!"

Mr. Bultitude was not usually ready of resource, but now he had what
seemed a happy thought.

"Gad!" he cried, pretending to recollect it, "so I did--to be sure, a
rabbit, of course, how could I forget it? It's--it's a splendid rabbit.
I'll go and fetch it!"

"Will you?" cried Porter, half relieved. "Where is it, then?"

"Where?" said Paul sharply (he was growing positively brilliant). "Why,
in my playbox to be sure; where should it be?"

"It isn't in your playbox, I know," put in Siggers: "because I saw it
turned out yesterday and there was no rabbit then. Besides, how could a
rabbit live in a playbox? He's telling lies. I can see it by his face.
He hasn't any rabbit!"

"Of course I haven't!" said Mr. Bultitude. "How should I? I'm not a
conjurer. It's not a habit of mine to go about with rabbits concealed on
my person. What's the use of coming to me like this? It's absurd, you
know; perfectly absurd!"

The crowd increased until there was quite a ring formed round Mr.
Bultitude and the indignant claimant, and presently Tipping came
bustling up.

"What's the row here, you fellows?" he said. "Bultitude again, of
course. What's he been doing now?"

"He had a rabbit he said he was keeping for me," explained little
Porter: "and now he won't give it up or tell me what he's done with it."

"He has some mice he ought to give us, too," said one or two new-comers,
edging their way to the front.

Mr. Bultitude was of course exceedingly annoyed by this unlooked-for
interruption, and still more by such utterly preposterous claims on him
for animals; however, it was easy to explain that he had no such things
in his possession, and after that of course no more could be said. He
was beginning to disclaim all liability, when Siggers stopped him.

"Keep that for the present," he said. "I say, we ought to have a regular
trial over this, and get at the truth of it properly. Let's fetch him
along to the goal-posts and judge him!"

He fixed upon the goal-posts as being somehow more formal, and, as his
proposal was well received, two of them grasped Mr. Bultitude by the
collar and dragged him along in procession to the appointed spot between
the two flags, while Siggers followed in what he conceived to be a
highly judicial manner, and evidently enjoying himself p