"Black cloth jacket, with a wide collar," was the answer; "grey trousers, and a cloth cap with a leather peak." "Oh," said Tommy, "then I see 'im." "When--where?" "'Bout arf an 'our since." "Do you know where he is now?" "Well," said Tommy, to Paul's intense horror, for he was listening, quaking, to every word of this conversation, which was held just outside his cupboard door. "I dessay I could give a guess if I give my mind to it." "Out with it, Ing, now, if you know; no tricks," said the station-master, who had apparently just turned to go away. "Excuse me, sir, but I've some matters in there to see after." When he had gone, the Doctor said rather heatedly, "Come, you're keeping something from me, I _will_ have it out of you. If I find you have deceived me, I'll write to the manager and get you sent about your business--you'd better tell me the truth." "You see," said Tommy, very slowly, and reluctantly, "that young gent o' yourn _was_ a gent." "I tried my very best to render him so," said the Doctor stiffly, "here is the result--how did you discover he was one, pray?" "'Cos he acted like a gent," said Tommy; "he took and give me a 'arf-suffering." "Well, I'll give you another," said the Doctor, "if you can tell me where he is." "Thankee, sir, don't you be afraid--you're a gent right enough, too, though you do 'appen to be a schoolmaster." "Where is the unhappy boy?" interrupted the Doctor. "Seems as if I was a roundin' on 'im, like, don't it a'most, sir?" said Tommy, with too evident symptoms of yielding in his voice. Paul shook so in his terror that he knocked down a broom or two with a clatter which froze his blood. "Not at all," said the Doctor, "not at all, my good fellow; you're--ahem--advancing the cause of moral order." "Oh, ah," said Tommy, obviously open to conviction. "Well, if I'm a doin' all that, I can't go fur wrong, can I? And arter all, we mayn't like schools or schoolmasters, not over above, but we can't get on without 'em, I s'pose. But, look ye here, sir--if I goes and tells you where you can get hold of this here boy, you won't go and wallop him now, will ye?" "I can make no bargains," said the Doctor; "I shall act on my own discretion." "That's it," said Tommy, unaccountably relieved, "spoke like a merciful Christian gen'leman; if you don't go actin' on nothing more nor your discretion, you can't hurt him much, I take it. Well then, since you've spoke out fair, I don't mind putting you on his track like." If the door of the cupboard had not been locked, Paul would undoubtedly have burst out and yielded himself up, to escape the humiliation of being sold like this by a mercenary and treacherous porter. As it was, he had to wait till the inevitable words should be spoken.