“Corkran, McTurk, and Co., I see. Bounds as usual. Hullo! What the deuce is this? Suspicion of drinking. Whose charge??” “Mr. King’s, sir. I caught ’em out of bounds, sir: at least that was ’ow it looked. But there’s a lot be’ind, sir.” The Sergeant was evidently troubled. “Go on,” said the Head. “Let us have your version.” He and the Sergeant had dealt with one another for some seven years; and the Head knew that Mr. King’s statements depended very largely on Mr. King’s temper. “I thought they were out of bounds along the cliffs. But it come out they wasn’t, sir. I saw them go into Colonel Dabney’s woods, and--Mr. King and Mr. Prout come along--and the fact was, sir, we was mistook for poachers by Colonel Dabney’s people--Mr. King and Mr. Prout and me. There were some words, sir, on both sides. The young gentlemen slipped ’ome somehow, and they seemed ’ighly humorous, sir. Mr. King was mistook by Colonel Dabney himself--Colonel Dabney bein’ strict. Then they preferred to come straight to you, sir, on account of what--what Mr. King may ’ave said about their ’abits afterwards in Mr. Prout’s study. I only said they was ’ighly humorous, laughin’ an’ gigglin’, an’ a bit above ’emselves. They’ve since told me, sir, in a humorous way, that they was invited by Colonel Dabney to go into ’is woods.” “I see. They didn’t tell their house-master that, of course?” “They took up Mr. King on appeal just as soon as he spoke about their--’abits. Put in the appeal at once, sir, an’ asked to be sent to the dormitory waitin’ for you. I’ve since gathered, sir, in their humorous way, sir, that some’ow or other they’ve ’eard about every word Colonel Dabney said to Mr. King and Mr. Prout when he mistook ’em for poachers. I--I might ha’ known when they led me on so that they ’eld the inner line of communications. It’s--it’s a plain do, sir, if you ask _me_; an’ they’re gloatin’ over it in the dormitory.” The Head saw--saw even to the uttermost farthing--and his mouth twitched a little under his mustache. “Send them to me at once, Sergeant. This case needn’t wait over.”