Part 11 (1/2)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

A REPRIMAND.

G.o.dfrey, as it happened, had time for his excitement to calm down, for, after listening intently for Waller's foot upon the last flight of stairs, one of which always gave out a now familiar crack, he found that he had allowed his imagination to invent, for he had not heard his companion coming up. In fact, a good ten minutes elapsed, during which the silence was profound, and, growing hotter than ever, lying there beneath the clothes, fully dressed, and after going through a great deal of exertion, the listener half raised himself to get out, either to undress or to sit down calmly and wait.

He was hesitating which to do, when there now came that unmistakable crack which made him nestle down in the bed again, and draw the clothes to his chin, just as there was the sharp rattle of the key in the door.

This was flung open, and Waller sprang in, to dash through the darkness and thrust his head out of the window and look down into the gloom beneath. Drawing back directly, he faced inwards.

”G.o.dfrey,” he whispered sharply, ”where are you? Are you there?”

There was no reply.

”Do you hear?” whispered Waller, a little more loudly. ”Where are you?

What have you been up to?”

Still no reply, and the boy crossed quickly to place his hand upon the bed, and say, in an excited whisper as if relieved by what he had found--

”Oh, you are here. I thought you had gone. You can't be asleep. Why don't you speak? There,” he cried, loudly now, ”you are shamming!” For his hands had been travelling over the clothes. ”Why, you are dressed!

There, out you come!” And catching hold of the coverlet, he stripped everything right down to the foot.

Startled at this unexpected action, G.o.dfrey sprang up, and, with hands rapidly following the gliding clothes, he seized them, threw himself back, and dragged them up to his chin again.

”There, I knew you were shamming! What game have you been up to?”

”Eh? What?” faltered the lad, trying to speak as if he were confused.

”Is anything the matter? Have the soldiers come?”

”No,” cried Waller hotly, ”but I have. There, it's no use to try and keep up that sham. What have you been doing? You may just as well confess. There, you have got your boots on, too. You have not been doing that for nothing.”

”What do you mean?”

”That you are trying to hide something, and you only got into bed to hide it when you heard me coming. What have you been doing?”

”What have I been doing?”

”Yes. I know.”

G.o.dfrey was silent.

”I did trust you. Thought you wouldn't attempt to do anything without confiding in me. You have been trying to do, something with the rope.”

”Well,” said G.o.dfrey sourly, ”suppose I have! What then? And how did you know?”

”How did I know? Why, I was just taking a walk round outside, and I thought I'd have a look up at your window, and I don't know how it was, but I seemed to have a fancy that you had been striking a light, and had got a candle burning; and that meant for one of the servants to see, perhaps Joe Hanson, when they all knew that I was downstairs. You didn't do such a mad thing, did you?”

”No, of course not,” said G.o.dfrey sulkily.