out half-past four, and climbed in unheard and
undetected through the window pane. They then stole upstairs with
beating hearts, and sate in Eric's room to wait for the other two. To
their great relief they heard them enter the lavatory about ten minutes
after.

"Were you twigged?" asked Wildney eagerly.

"No," said Graham; precious near it though. Old Gordon and some men
were after us, but at last we doubled rather neatly, and escaped them.
It's all serene, and we shan't be caught. But it's a precious long time
before I run such a risk again for a brace of rubbishing pigeons.

"Well, we'd best to bed now," said Eric; "and to my thinking, we should
be wise to keep a quiet tongue in our heads about this affair."

"Yes, we had better tell _no one_." They agreed, and went off to bed
again. So, next morning, they all four got up quite as if nothing had
happened, and made no allusion to the preceding night, although they
could not help chuckling inwardly a little when the Gordonites came to
morning school, brimful of a story about their house having been
attacked in the night by thieves, who after bagging some pigeons, had
been chevied by Gordon and the servants. Wildney professed immense
interest in the incident, and asked many questions, which showed that
there was not a shadow of suspicion in any one's mind as to the real
culprits.

Carter, the school-servant, didn't seem to have noticed that the
lavatory door was unlocked, and Mr Harley never alluded again to his
disturbance in the night. So the theft of the pigeons remained
undiscovered, and remains so till this day. If any old Roslyn boy reads
this veracious history, he will doubtless be astounded to hear that the
burglars on that memorable night were Eric, Pietrie, Graham, and
Wildney.

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER EIGHT.

SOWING THE WIND.

Praepediuntur
Crura vacillanti, tardescit lingua, madet mens,
Nant oculi.
_Lucretius_, Three, 417.

Next evening when preparation began, Pietrie and Graham got everything
ready for the carouse in their classroom. Wildney, relying on the
chance of names not being called over (which was only done in case any
one's absence was observed), had absented himself altogether from the
boarders' room, and helped busily to spread the table for the banquet.
The cook had roasted for them the fowls and pigeons, and Billy had
brought an ample supply of beer and some brandy for the occasion. A
little before eight o'clock