enough.

Nothing was got out of him, however; and, getting between the boys and
the door of the shed, Slegge tortured one after the other, but could not
find a traitor to impeach the rest. And at last, in a fit of rage, he
stepped back and with a furious kick sent the lid of the locker flying
upwards; while, tearful though some of the eyes of the lookers-on were,
they were full of a strange kind of exultation as they glanced at one
another and waited for the _denouement_ that was to come.

As Slegge saw the result of his kick to the heavy lid, he stepped
quickly forward and thrust in his right hand to withdraw the bat; but he
uttered a yell, for the great cover rebounded and came down with a bang,
sending one of the little fellows skimming out of the shed to get round
to the back so that his laughter should not be seen.

"That's one for you, Burton, when I get hold of you again," cried
Slegge. "I shan't forget it. And--here, what's the meaning of this?
Where's my practice-bat?"

There was a dead silence in the shady, wooden room, and three or four of
the boys stood looking as if they were going to have apoplectic fits,
for their eyes started and their teeth were clenched together, and they
seemed as if they were trying to swallow something.

But there was no danger. It was only bottled-up mirth that they were
striving hard to suppress.

"Ugh-h-h-ugh!" snarled Slegge, making a rush at the boys, who scattered
at once, dashed out of the door before any of them were seized, and ran
as if for their lives, to begin shrieking with laughter as soon as they
were out of reach.

In his rage at what he looked upon as a theft, Slegge chased first one
and then another; but he was too big, heavy, and clumsy to catch the
delighted imps, who, as active as monkeys, dodged him at every turn,
till at last he stood panting.

"All right," he said. "I am not going to make myself hot with running
after you; but the Doctor's going to know that he has got thieves in the
school. I am not going to be robbed for nothing, and if my practice-bat
is not back in its place before night I shall go and tell Bewley that
he's got blackguards and fellows who use false keys in his school. So
you'd better look sharp and bring that bat back. And here, mind this;
the carpenter will charge six or seven shillings for putting on a new
lock here, so you have got to find sixpence apiece before Saturday night
and hand it over to me."

But in spite o