ON THE LAST NIGHT OF THE TERMS.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4627, 14 May 1915, Page 1 (Supplement)

ON THE LAST NIGHT OF THE TERMS.

It was the last night of tlie summer term, and the last night, too, of Tom Herbert’s life as head-boy at the Lees School. To-morrow ho was going home, his school days over, and with all the world before him. . , . I shall miss you, Herbert, said his chum. Bennet, who shared the same dormitory, and who had been Tom s friend for years; ‘‘it’ll be a long time before we meet again. - ’’ . . Don’t bo down-hearted,' rejoined Herbert cheerfully; “ we’ll arrange some thing somehow. To begin with, we’re not parted yet, and if we don t have a good stiff jaw over our good times when we’re in bed to-night my name’s not Tom Herbert!" Accordinglv the two boys, when all the rest of"their dormitory companions were fast asleep and snoring, still lay awake discussing old times and making plans for the future. “ You’ll be made head-boy next term; see if you aren’t, ' said Herbert to ms chum. . . .fust as he uttered the words the clocK from the church near by struck twelve, and the bovs lay and listened. “ Time for ghosts to prowl around, isn’t it?” said Bennet: “ what should vou do if vnu saw one now, Herbert. •‘Don’t‘be an ass,” said Herbert; “ and if you’re afraid of spooks the best thing you can do is to put head under the sheet and go to sleep. “ Good idea,” said his friend. Do the same yourself, my hoy, or you won t get much beauty-sleep,” . They both turned over on to thensides. and were ijuiet for a moment. Ha rill v sixty seconds had elapsed, however. when Tom cautiously put out his hand and pinched liis friend s arm goutAn answering pinch came from Bennot’s bed, but neither of the boys made a sound. ... In the darkness they had both seen a shadowy figure steal almost noiselessly across the dormitory, and then another equally quiet apparition followed the first one. In an instant both had disappeared through a tiny door that led up to the Tower where the hoys’ boxes were kept. “Ghosts, if you like;” said Bennet jit a dead whisper when the figures had disappeared; “did you see them?’ “ It was too dark to see anything but just figures,” said his friend. “By .love, who are they? I guess we’re m for a lark. They can’t come hack without our seeing them!” Thev lay and listened for a minute or two, but there was no return; only .stealthy movements and very quiet whispering was heard overhead from the Tower Boom. „ “Whoever it is isn’t up to any good, said Tom. “I say, Bennet, are yon game to go and see? ’ “Rather,” declared Ins chum through chattering teeth. , No sooner said than clone, ihe tuo |,ovs crept out of bod and up the steps to' the Tower. Arrived outside the Tower Room, they listened cautiously. There was a great deal of ejmet whispering going on, and boxes were being moved about inside with as little noise as possible. , . „ “I don’t understand what is up, sa-id Bennet to his friend; all our boxes were moved downstairs by the matron, and I didn’t think there v. a> anything left up here at all. “No, the room was empty when l looked in,” said Tom in an answering whisper. “There’s some game on, but what can it ho?” Fresh whispering from within, ami then they heard the German master s box is safe, you understand^” he was saying; “'I will leaf it up here under zees rafters.” “Sucks for us!” whispered Bennet;

“it’s onlv Hen- Schmidt getting his boxes. We’d best be off before he finds The boys decamped downstairs as quietly as they could, feeling that they had made asses of themselves. “Fancying ns not knowing who it

was,” said Bennet. “I vote wo keep this to ourselves.” Herbert said nothing, for somehow there was something about the matter that he did not like. He lay awake, and when his chum was asleep he crept upstairs again and listened to Herr Schmidt's whispered conversation with his friend. , , . . , ~ What he heard made him lock the Tower Room door on the outside heforo he went back to bed again, and it was a long time before he went to sleep. When he did he was so tired that he slept through a great deal of noise from above, as the occupants of the Tower

Room tried to make their way out. _ Before breakfast the next morning the head-boy went to the headmaster’s room. :, I ought to tell you, sir, what I heard last night,” he said, and poured out a strange story, to which the Doctor listened with amazement. “Boxes in the rafters!” he exclaimed; “and talk about documents and bombs and the German Secret Service; and you locked them in the Tower Room! I’m not at all sure that you have not been most unwise, but I will go up at once myself and see.” Arrived in the Tower Room, the place was empty; but the window was open, and the long knotted box-cord hanging there showed hew the prisoners had made their escape. Herr Schmidt was gone, and so was his companion. Nor was the German ever seen again in that part of the world. From Bennet and Herbert’s account, the headmaster made a search of the rafters, and There a box was found from which certainly the documents had been taken, hut in which there was explosive matter enough to blow up the whole village, as the constable said who was called in to investigate the matter. That Herr Schmidt was a spy in the pay of the German Government was conclusively proved; and when a few weeks later war was declared between England and Germany the boys understood better the importance of the discovery they had made.