blurted out the dismal news. Jack was almost
hysterical in his rage against Raffles.

"Acton, I believe that filthy blackmailer meant Phil to get that letter:
he wanted to round on me and get me into trouble. Oh!" said Jack, in a
very explosion of futile rage, "if I could only pound his ugly face into
a jelly."

"Well, perhaps you'll have that pleasure one day, Jack. I hope so,
anyhow. Now, straight, Jack, you need not be frightened of your brother
saying a word. He could never risk Corker hearing of it, for he could
not bear the chance of expulsion, so he'll lie low as far as Corker is
concerned, take my word for it. He may hand you over to your father, but
that, too, I doubt. He may give you a thrashing himself, which I fancy
he will."

"I don't mind that," said Jack. "I deserve something."

"No, you don't, old man; and I'm fearfully sorry that I've got you into
this hole. But your brother will certainly interview me."

"I suppose so," said Jack, thoughtfully, even in his rage and shame. "I
hope there is no row between you;" for the idea of an open quarrel
between Phil and Acton made Jack rather qualmish.

"You'd better cut now, Jack, and lie low till you find out when the
hurricane is going to commence."

Jack went away, and as the door closed softly behind him Acton smiled
sweetly.

"Well, Raffles has managed it nicely, and carried out my orders to the
strokings of the t's. He is quite a genius in a low kind of way. And now
I'm ready for Philip Bourne, Esq. I bet I'm a sight more comfortable
than he is." Which was very true.

I, of course, knew nothing of all these occurrences at the time, and the
first intimation I had that anything was wrong was when Phil Bourne came
into my room and gave me a plain unvarnished account, _sans_ comment, of
Acton's and young Bourne's foolery in London.

"I'm awfully glad, old man, that I am able to tell you this, because,
although you're Captain of the school, you can't do anything, since
Acton is a monitor."

(It is an unwritten law at St. Amory's that one monitor can never, under
any circumstances, "peach" upon another.)

"Well, I'm jolly glad too, Bourne, since your brother's in it."

"What has to be done to Acton? Jack, of course, was only a tool in his
hands."

"Oh, of course. It is perfectly certain that our friend engineered the
whole business up to and including the letter, which _was_ meant for
you."

"Do you really think that?" said Phil.

"I'm as cer