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"I know I mean to make a stand now," said Gilks. "He shan't stick up his sanctimonious nose over us all, now he's captain, if I can help it." "Why, what will you do?" asked Silk. "Do! I'll punch his head the first time he dare lecture me." "My dear fellow," said Silk, "don't be such a fool. You won't do a bit of good by that. If you do want to pay him out, pay him out in his own coin."
The crew consisted of Fairbairn, Porter, Coates, and Gilks, with Crossfield steering: the first time a complete schoolhouse crew had appeared on the river this year. The blood of the young Parretts was up, and the credit of their house was in question. "Put it on now," said Parson to his men, as the schoolhouse boat came up. "Show 'em what you can do! Now then, slide into it! Race 'em!"
And so the head master and his lieutenant separated. Little dreaming of the changes in store for them, Silk and Gilks were sitting together in the study of the latter, furtively consuming cigar- ends and looking decidedly glum as they conversed together in low and mysterious and not very amicable tones. "Think he'll do it?" said Silk.
"Have you?" inquired Silk. "Yes; I fancy I left it here last night. I say, have you heard Parrett's won't accept a new race?" "I wonder why?" asked Silk. "Because they say they won't have out their boat again till the fellow's found who cut the lines." "Well, I don't blame them do you, Gilks?" said Silk. "I suppose there's no idea who he is?"
He hardly liked not to go now, although he knew it would be hard to avoid letting out the wretched secret which he had promised Gilks and Silk to keep. Besides, uneasy as he was about this, he could not help feeling excited about what Cusack had just told him of the boat-race affair.
I couldn't make out what to do, that was it, so I stayed in bed. Was Silk there?" "Yes." "Did he say anything?" "No; the doctor told him to come again at four." Gilks took one or two uncomfortable turns up and down the room, and then said, "I may as well tell you, it's no use keeping it back any longer, for it's sure to come out. I was the fellow who cut the rudder-line. Did you know that?"
"Why he'd faint at the very idea." "Probably take him off to his study and have a prayer-meeting with Fairbairn and a few more of that lot upon the top of him," said Gilks, a schoolhouse monitor, and not a nice-looking fellow. "I guess I'd sooner get a hiding from old Bloomfield than that," laughed Wibberly. "I hope," said Game, "snivelling's not going to be the order of the day.
They would, I know, if they guessed how you have suffered already." "You are right. I have suffered," said Gilks. Another long pause followed, during which the minds of both were full. The one sensation in the captain's heart was pity. He forgot all about the crime in commiseration of the wretchedness of the criminal.
"Humph!" said the doctor, who also evidently considered it a curious coincidence that Gilks should be taken unwell the very morning when his presence was required in the library; "he had better have come. You say he is to be up after dinner?" "Yes, sir." "Then let him know he is to come here at four o'clock, and you, Silk, come too at that hour."
Indeed, it was a well-known fact in Willoughby that between these two precious friends there had been some sort of unpleasantness bordering on a row; and it was also reported that Gilks had come off worst in the affair. This was the secret of that unfortunate youth's toothache he had been jilted by his familiar friend. Who would not feel sad under the circumstances?
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