The Tutor's Ghost.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13738, 31 October 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

The Tutor's Ghost.

*Bv CharW Herbert •» - • Scholar'.' possibly." >a»d ' He devn. with disgust. "butnot » £ ■ fikste :n iotncW>n w ... " "My governor ap^^orjac^^ enthu-W." Hi«orical Triposwben I selected «he He - S the 'Get raider Am worth. bv j oV e. he »" U en with nan »c« of Town A owing t» hl * pr °% m ia t b- smooth. «> ft " Gown his misch-vou, spoken rones that bei-*« nature, -,, r _n; t de him." , -1 vote we go and . . I<ndeyn; "he - What's the n~- it wuS aimed -cuttingly-" w ° nld **.*£ cbap . over the at Fellowes. or som* oth He . d dream iare a Bon » • o£ le 5 As he say*.. doe-. 1 fancy don't lt - ons an d fearfully the poor bwr* lagging hint we shall >fcy. and 11 * c 8 if fellows ragg* 4 * drive him to res gn- kind— I should gr*. L«~ 114,(1 g ," eTe .- wont have anvh>m alow - A °l ~- He walked to the S2?S&'&-w 1 »—»• •«" SSVfa tt.t «. r L Xow'noThin™ * a f ier ' J- T dZr be J discovered till next mornmg had topelW Mr Amwor.h to wr, e «n anportant lenrr and try «o get out to door, and then ,U^ covers! that tlie outer oak door, wh ch .i had "sported" a> usual, failed to more. Presentlv it dawned upon him that he a Fellow of the college—th* best known lectur*r in England on tbd first four wn* ■ At" 10 Bwnini. actttally 6uffer ' ing the humiliation of being "screwed vp "! He had suspecttd for a long time that, he was not popular with the men. It worried him a good deal really, but the worry only increased his reserve and made h'm still more unapproachable. He would have given worlds, for inttanc*-, to win the frientUhip of Ertor-King, whom he admired from a distance fo r posseting the Terr physical qualities he himself lacked. And now the King-Mordeyn set—for he had no doubc from whom this emanated—-hsd-.xpressed their disapproval of him in :i way which would expose his unpopularity to the whole college. The thought was unbearable to his proud spirit Hour after hour be sat there brooding. - his thoughts running back through the years behind, in which he had struggled to reach his present position by sheer hard work and research. The win of poor people, he had come up on a tcholatsh p a<t a non-residential student, and cpeedly gained others, which justified hi» entering St. Athelstane's. Xo one had come near him in his brilliant career, and it had been at length rewarded with a Fellow*hip. But it had all U-?n done at the expense of the social side of h x nature, and <he years only deepened hw shytH*s. Si-

lently he !ud lived his unit little unevuit- '' fill life, till that terrible penalty of iso-

la t ion—hr|)«rs<n»itirrn;>s had' at la.it ' Bailed mta out for *-tv prVr. - Xo setntitive plant levtr. ohrani'frtiw ,th* •touch —MM tloicSH than hie ftrrttt" iifttice; Ilct-e it was ihrust upm him T Wounded t<» the quick, Im> »at hurt ami «irtij*Hed. his mood changed to anger.

After all, thi« was jn outrage against Awthority. which must be vindicated. He to the windows, but before he threw up the rash the old sensitive shrinking reasserted i'»relf. He »iit down again.

"There ii one thing 1 I can do," he muttered at last. " I hav< the fite-escajw rope-ladder; I can get down by that, and ii 1 have u .screwdriver in the tool box I can eu»ily unscrew the thing outside. Bat face them afterwartU I can't. I'll go away by one of the early: morning trains. The knowledge that they were inwardly giggling would unnerve me. It would ■take some men commit nuicide."

"Suic : de!" He staggered back, seized, mastered by the horrible* idea that ohbe.<*>ed him. What a revenge it would be. It would throw a shadow ov.r his tormentor)! for th'a rest of their dav-s. A.s for hinirelf, life was not very sweet. His only passion was the teaching of history, and now even that seemed debarred him.

He stood a moment hesitating. Then the die was cast, the terrible d« csion taken by an ail-but crazed mind, crushed at it* humiliation and suddenly-realised loneliness.

He seized the miHe ladder, tecured it to th<? fastening* already let into the wall, and gently raised the window. Presently briggb. the gate porter, - wan roused by a drmxnd to open the wicket. On coining down, he found Mr Aroworth. pale of face —bent, so he ia'd, on going to terr a doctor. " So, thank.i. I'll go niyielf." he said, in antwer to the man's offer. " But • you might lend jne your gatekev," he wigjjested; "it will save your ge;ting up again." Ittiggs let hull have it Whoever was nu>-ing from Mr Amwotth.; leciuie_ next morning, the. KingMordeyn r*t felt it would not do for '.hem to be amongst the So. looking innocent they ttoope.l iu and tak iiig their ,»at dowu to await th--irrival of the eviilently unpuiistual le.turer. If he's been burning the uudiiiyht ■>:! ai u»ual. ' uhispeied hn»or King. " hwou't have iten very tally >o a« to tin-l out th-* pi>-vlicaii.< nl he i-i in. We must give him time!" After the la}*-? of a 'juaiter of an hour. Montevn exclaimed aloud after yawning "• "V« have heard of the pati-nie of Job: ' • , , "If he d«*»>n t mine >a,.>n. »a .1 t tie Hon. Arthur Fellow>•*. " 1 think we d b t ter aall vli to >* e if he is ill. l.e » «•«. aft-r .mother live unnute-: it will !0..U suUtteoUs.' Thv live uiinuu-* ant! still she. absent tutor had not ap[>eated. Siup went the iMMiki-. 1 he young m* n 'nn>p- -1 ' out. When they leached Mi Amworth'* itxKiis they found that the mnws had breu t'tni.V" 1. anil, as til- open dooi mvit'il ennuine*. bohl as brass Kn-or kuo»ked. The pyp r>[>*iifii t" hitn. "Is Mr Atiiwoith iii" en.iuiie.i la.ri .Monlevn s_vnipa'li-tt.;a'ly ' Can'; i~v. my lord. I t ctne n i< u*ual ihls momtl'if. but I altl t e ell li'ttiljl.fT of hitn "He *a.|j'T at I-.-t nr.- • i'htr." ot»- »v-l Kni.r King "That I why we all called Tell bun. Will you. when he return., that w- all h-pe be i. not s* r,..u«ly ind..pos c \ *i ben th*y .idjnurned t«» te!l«.wcs :i»oin». wh.tb wre itunf-diately .%lu.»e. - He's funking us. ,-aitl M«.r OfVE. " That th- sit- of il. Kvideut I* *ake. it lur.oing l'--tha}». be s g«in« ihr Ma«t*r to lodge a couiplallit and b«B ptr-aid*d to tive IreAfiat thfX«

J'y Jove!" looking «>uc of the window "there's ihe Master himself coining to hi* room.*, but Amwnrth's not with 'him. Something's up." - In x few minutes :h>-y saw the Master emerge again into the quadrangle. :hi, time with the gyp. The pair vanished n.und the cornei. " It's no good standing here." yawned Kn«or-King. ~ We'd better — A thundering rap on the door ! In answer to Fellowes' shou:. ToUemjche m tered exci'.e<lly. " I sav. vou chaps, do you know they're saving that one oi the lias comrni'tted suicide?" •• ; "" broke from Fellowes mvolmitatily. Mordeyn pulled him up with a checking, warning look as Tollemache continued : . •• At anv rate, they've found :i Don's cap and gown by '.he rirer. and metes i»-> end of fuss. And. I Amwouh's missing The young men looked at one another in silent dismay. " What rot!" Fellowes exclaimed. "Amworth wouldn't have had the pluck to do it!" "Perhaps," said Tollemaclie, in hi* superior way. " L'nless " "Unleb what?" challenged EivsorKing. " L'nless something happened that drove him to it." ~ Amworth's '-he last kind of man to be involved :n any scandal,"' Mordeyn drawled. " Still waters run deep," said Ensor- | King in his even tone.-). The rest laughed. '" Oh, you chaps understand well enough whit I mean." Tolletnache said impatiently. "Have you been ragging him? You know what you were planning la»« night. If yon have—l gave you warning then what would happen. But I never thought of anything like this. Why, man," —he looked towards Mordeyn—" if it should be he, you'd be murderer." " Here let's coma and see,' said En-sor-King abruptly, his unusual roughness betraying his deep feeling. In another moment Fellowes' rooms were empty, and the young men huriiedly joined the little knot that had gathered in front of the Masters residence. *' What's the excitement ?" drawled Mordeyn, striving to keep cool. " Amworth's gone off his head am? drowned himself, so they say," Wii* the answer. Suddenly a hush fell on the group. The Master, looking very anxious, came slowly out of the house, ncoompan'ed by two policeman. At the bight the whole afTuir in all itn tragic bearings assumed solemn pitiportions at last. Could it' be possible? . When the Master caught sight of Mordeyn, Fellowes, and Ensor-King. Ik* brightened visibly. "Gentleman, this is a very pad affair," be said. " Have any of you noticed anything at all strange in Mr Amworth's demeanour lately?"' " Nothing-out of the way, sir," Raid Mor"He was—you don't- mind my speaking frankly, sir—he was generally reserved- and shy." "Just the kind to do it. sir," intervened one of the policemen. "They suffers from imaginary grievances, broods over 'em. and then makes an end to it all quite sudden-l : ke." • -

The Master groaned involuntarily. Ahighly nervous, irritable man himself, grooved into regular habits and routine, he was half betiide him.x>lf this morning at the - jarring ■ interruption, and ashamed at its cause. What a disgrace to come on St. Atheistane'o! ""Suicide of a Cambridge. Don." He already saw it in imagination in the evening papers, and could have bitten his lipi; in sheer vexation. Then the terrible >nidness of :he thing came uppermost in h s thoughts again, and he turned.to the ]>oliceman :

" We must have the riv-r dragged!- The ) poor fellow has evidently mane away with I himself under sudden mental pressure. He -a. hard worker and—and—" turning | -to the Moideyn-King-group. with quiv'.iiog lip«, " iueli a gentle »oul." ! ■ Those- woiiU iang tli*ir'ihanges in the) memories of tin- men who .bad unwittingly j driven h'm to death through the days ! that immediately followed—riayn of excite- j riK-ni in which Town and Gown gathered L by the river, to .see the dragging opera f tiun*: days in which the m-n themselves. ;■ cursing themselves for having inflicted *uch i a jar on a .quivering in.is* of neivcs, crept..[ about with all the heart out of them. In Fellfiwes 1 rooms, that Incarnate conscience Tolletnache, lashes! them with unsparing accusation. . * Vou should have guessed what it would be to him. It wits a budden .strain, and he snapped. The lean you fellows can . do is to own up." "I don't see the good of that," said Mordeyn uncomfortably; "it has l>een given out a.s undue mental pressure, and he. must have been unbalanced or he wouldn't have done .such a thing. I'd give my right hand to have it- undone, but we can't bring hitn back by confessing. The porter said he went out becauv? he was ill, und there the matter rests. He meant | U> mme back, too, or he wouldn't have asked Hrigg* for the key. He must have made up hi* mind on the spur of the moment, or perhaps in hW rage hj« did it to »pite us, and. by Jove, lie has: 1 {Jul I never think of Cambridge without regretting my share in poor old Atnworlii's end." - Xor I," exclaimed the otheiti, " Ilegretting !' Oh, you stupid fools!" roared lolk-mache. "If you make up your minds to say nothing, 1 won't say a word ether. Hut please to understand that I don't wi«h to have anything more to iio with any of you." He stalked otf. " He come round," said Mordeyn. " Hut, I ear, you chaps, it was a beastly thing to do." Five nights after the disappearance of Mr Atnwurth, Hriggu. the poit«-r, who had long since retired to bed, suddeuly turned uneasily. A sound like the closing of the postern door disturbed him. Only half awake an he was, the impress'on faded, arid he slept on. On.- of the late workers, how.-v.-r, who had jifrt finished fur the night, threw up hi* windowi, for a breath of ail and a lim.l • uiok<- beforv he turned in. As he idly • r.itied from the window he rubbed bis r\-» with- amazement. He distinctly thought he saw the tigure of the missing tutor <ro-«i the quadrangle ami make it* war to his old rooms. IVing a dabbler : n ">pirituali.-m. In- never doubted for an instant that this was either a vision or ;i dear ca.«-e of nia:«tiali*m of the p«vi|»u body. lie well: '■<> bed shuddering. Next morning he reported what lie had *•-» n to fnends in si ric* i-onfid»-iK»* : but ihe tidiugn spreait. and «-ie long it »a> ~11 ( ,v.-r til** college that :h«- «.f :h.- ; uii'.de wa-. rev siting his old haunts. Sui ti wa., the iu-w- that pie- nt ly [„ i treated !<• the Hon. Arthur Fellow.*, who immediately wen: to hi« own nmmw pon--1 d'-rin" this new dev. lopm*-nt. Ai he climbed the stairs thai carried h.iu pa*'. ' th.- tutoiV. old chamlj>'t« -he niov.d more quickly, till, on :• aching h>» i«n tlooi. two stories above, he pa-.-ed in to await Mordeyn. who had promised to tome i over, lii another morn-nt. howewr. vv.m pale faiv an.l undignitied h.ist.- he simply > leaped down the "tair l ! olid rf- >1 into the quadrangle l.otd Mordeyn «.« jia.t I lowes into him : 'I v- sr-n it lny» it I've uit my »elf! lit- < -ttting ill mv ann.iiaii lii never al)':.> to lii> i:i th i-k-iik am tin.r«- " "Stuff ant " I'.'.S yout lam V. man ' Vou air I.V'I wrought." " i!o and }»•* for jourseh." au<».-n il t Feilowe*. d Mordeyn vrent. r-turuiu/ ;u a tubmen: i. (j »i* tLe;« Wa4 LJ'.i-iaf.

Fellowes. still upv-r and unconvinced suffered himf-eit t>» Ik-, taken u> Mordeyn'-. i •mm-. ■ •

''l wish IM never meddled with the husiiKj>»," lie ail id queiulously. . " Chambers declared he saw his ghfat last' night, and 1 was ju>; thinking about 11. when 1 «>»■ hiin. I i-li _vuu. sitting in my armchair. .I'm inn a neivy'chap. but. I couldn't s;jck that. Lord, man. 1 ■ an't go back. J— I daren't." " l-fei's g<«-ti> Kiarfit-King's." muttered Mordryn, ""and talk this infernal business over. l'retty thins if th- college i.gojng jo be haunted." To Ensor-KingV, th--y went. The door stood -.••lightly ajar. and they, found him fritting moodily in his .rooms- " Don't tc-U me anything.'' ho said miserably, .lifting his. hand depice.itingly. " I know all about it: I've t-een it mv■self. I saw the fac* of Aimvonh against his window as 1 passed through the ■•lliad' ju.st. lion- as plain as a pikestaff. 1 shall ikrwr g._-t over-it. I've .heaid of -such things in my time before and it's clear his poor wandering spiiit is ill at ea.«e. . 1 .shall, never get over it ! Xfw! I'm going down. .1 can't s:ojj here ! T simply can't !" " Xor I." said Fellowes.

• Meanwhile there was no tjinal! stji- in the Master's library, for Fellowrt,' gyp had brought him a note requesting that he' would step over to' Mr _ Am\vorth> rooms. Completely'mystified, ihe Master saw" tßat ir «■»',; in th'.- ad' inanV li.in.i writing '"Has the man. who lirounlit th" not* gone?" he impriti'ntly f.-ke.l ;h>- <>'iv:ini. " \ es, Ml': it was Ml Ft-limv. s' <;y|" The _ great mathrUiaticiaii stood there puzzling out the most perplexing problem that he had ever tried to tolve. Then he donned his cap, and went with firm tread to Mr Amworth's rooms, determined to find out. for himself. He knocked at the door, which was"immediately opened.

The Matter found himself face to face with the mUsing tutor.

" Amworth! Good God. man, we all thought you were dead !" "Hush!"- said Amwotth.' "Come in. doctor. ' ' I'll explain." Then followed the strangest story, somewhat shamefacedly told; how ihe ide.l had occurred to him to turn tlie tables on his' persecutors; how it had succeeded beyond his wildest, hopfes; how Fellowes had ' fled :from him in dismay, while he bat in his chambers, after sending Fellowes' gyp to the Doctor, his own gyp. of course., never coming near a supposed dead, man's rooms-'

'I believe En.sor-King caught sight of me. too." he said. " I let him have just a peep at my face as he pasted tile- : windows, and he looked 'thoroughly fiightened." ■ " "And you left your'-things by the riverside purposely?" demanded .the 'Doctor. "Amworth. you minit have terribly punished -them. What must they hav.e felt? : Why. I've bwn beside myself. The river'e been dragged to tind voit-"

."I know; I saw all about it. in the papers,'' said Amworth. apologetically. "I'm sorry: but I suggest. Doctor, .that it was .bettor than making, a . ftvs that would end in their being sent- down." ' " But what do you propose.to do. now " asked the Master. . r

"Justf -send round notes saying. • 'Mr Amworth will meet has class as- usual tomorrow morning !' And"—firmly—" I shall come into dinner in hall to-night. _ -There will lie no explanation!* on my part, and if you will see the Fellows you might tactfnlly suggest there should be ii(> que.s-' tions on theirs."

The Master stared. This !self-potsesse<l'. determined man, who fw laying, down the law to him. was not the shy. hes'tating. reserved cieatnre be knew before. Mr Ain worth' had come back a cha'nged man. *

Th<\ note-' were vnt. ' Hon- <jipy were received has nothing to do with this story ; however, wlieh Am worth firmly walked int'> Hall for dinner 'lint- night there 1 was a .•ilerice that could lie felt, but tlie tutor composedly gav<- back' glante for glance as he strode to lik) iseat. t ■ 'Two hours later tliarfe "atliered benfath his window a little gioup-of men. The'King-Mordeyn set had been- at work, t*nd Hiq .little kr)o£ brotlgbi with theip incVSased rapidly as f-ver"ybo<h\ curious to see what was going on. rtlshed to the scene. ■ • Then xudd-nly Eiieor-K'iig raleetf Ins hand and cried : - ' Thre£ cheers for-Mr Aniwnrth !" -In thos« cheers there wa.s' a ring of genuine feeling that might have fold any li*ten<-r what revulsion or sentiment and heart-relief tire cheerers -had experienced .since the morning. The tutor came* to the w'indow." I*tinging it up, he looked out and smiled grimly. Then the-curtain rang down ou the •students singing—an if they meant it, and they did—- " For he'* a. jolly good fellow." Never thereafter did Mr Aimvorth refer to the occurrence by so much as a word, neither did t-ho young men, bur there was a tacit understanding bet w.s-n the tutor and those who listened to his historical disquisitions which many another college lectuier bitterly envied.