At breakfast time Henry went in search of George Prattleton, but could not see him; the probability was that Mr. George had gone to bed again, and was taking out his night's rest by daylight. He sought him again at dinner-time, and then he had gone out; the two Prattleton boys thought to the billiard rooms. In the afternoon, however, as Henry was passing through the cloisters to the school, after service in the cathedral, he met him. George Prattleton listened with an air of apparent incredulity to the tale; Henry had got locked up in the church, and seen him and a stranger go into the church at midnight, or thereabouts!--_him_, George Prattleton! Mr. George denied it _in toto_; and expressed his belief that Henry must have been dreaming. "It's of no use talking like that, George Prattleton," said Henry, in a vexed tone. "You know quite well you were there. I saw the same man with you in the Grounds, the previous night, when I was going home after the audit-dinner." "You must have seen double, then! I don't know whom you are talking of. Had you been drinking?" "It won't do, George Prattleton. I was in full possession of both my sight and senses. You know whom I mean. His name's Rolls." "Did he tell you his name?" "No; but you did. I heard you call him by his name two or three times in the church last night. I want to know what I am to do about it." "I don't know any Rolls; and I was not in the church last night; and my full persuasion is--if you really were locked in, as you say--that you fell asleep and dreamt this story." "Now look you here, George Prattleton; if you persist in this line of denial, I shall be obliged to tell Mr. Wilberforce. I don't like to do it; your family and mine are intimate, and we have received many kindnesses from them, and I assure you I'd almost rather cut my tongue out than speak. But I can't let things go on at this uncertainty. Do you know what that Rolls did?" "What did he do?" was the mocking rejoinder. "He cut a leaf out of the register book." "No?" shouted George Prattleton, the words scaring him to seriousness. "I declare he did. When the candle went out, you thought it went out of itself, didn't you; well, he blew it out. I saw him blow it, and he called out, 'What a beast of a candle,' and said it was the damp put it out, and he got you to go for the matches. Was it not so?" "Well?" said George Prattleton, too much alarmed to heed the half admission. "Well, you had no sooner gone than he somehow got the candle alight again; I didn't see how, I suppose he had matches; and he took out a penknife, and put what looked like a thin board behind the leaf he was looking at, and cut it out. I say I'm not sure! but it's transportation for life to rob a church register."