The Pothunters Read online

  [16]

  THE DISAPPEARANCE OF J. THOMSON

  Certainly the Head was surprised.

  He read the note again. No. There was no mistake. 'Thomson is not inthe House.' There could be no two meanings about that.

  'Go across to Mr Merevale's,' he said at last, 'and ask him if he wouldmind seeing me here for a moment.'

  The butler bowed his head gently, but with more than a touch of painedastonishment. He thought the Headmaster might show more respect forpersons. A butler is not an errand-boy.

  'Sir?' he said, giving the Head a last chance, as it were, of realizingthe situation.

  'Ask Mr Merevale to step over here for a moment.'

  The poor man bowed once more. The phantom of a half-smoked cigarfloated reproachfully before his eyes. He had lit it a quarter of anhour ago in fond anticipation of a quiet evening. Unless a miracle hadoccurred, it must be out by this time. And he knew as well as anybodyelse that a relighted cigar is never at its best. But he went, and in afew minutes Mr Merevale entered the room.

  'Sit down, Mr Merevale,' said the Head. 'Am I to understand from yournote that Thomson is actually not in the House?'

  Mr Merevale thought that if he had managed to understand anything elsefrom the note he must possess a mind of no common order, but he did notsay so.

  'No,' he said. 'Thomson has not been in the House since lunchtime, asfar as I know. It is a curious thing.'

  'It is exceedingly serious. Exceedingly so. For many reasons. Have youany idea where he was seen last?'

  'Harrison in my House says he saw him at about three o'clock.'

  'Ah!'

  'According to Harrison, he was walking in the direction of Stapleton.'

  'Ah. Well, it is satisfactory to know even as little as that.'

  'Just so. But Mace--he is in my House, too--declares that he sawThomson at about the same time cycling in the direction of Badgwick.Both accounts can scarcely be correct.'

  'But--dear me, are you certain, Mr Merevale?'

  Merevale nodded to imply that he was. The Head drummed irritably withhis fingers on the arm of his chair. This mystery, coming as it didafter the series of worries through which he had been passing for thelast few days, annoyed him as much as it is to be supposed the laststraw annoyed the proverbial camel.

  'As a matter of fact,' said Merevale, 'I know that Thomson started torun in the long race this afternoon. I met him going to thestarting-place, and advised him to go and change again. He was notlooking at all fit for such a long run. It seems to me that Welch mightknow where he is. Thomson and he got well ahead of the others after thestart, so that if, as I expect, Thomson dropped out early in the race,Welch could probably tell us where it happened. That would give us someclue to his whereabouts, at any rate.'

  'Have you questioned Welch?'

  'Not yet. Welch came back very tired, quite tired out, in fact and wentstraight to bed. I hardly liked to wake him except as a last resource.Perhaps I had better do so now?'

  'I think you should most certainly. Something serious must havehappened to Thomson to keep him out of his House as late as this.Unless--'

  He stopped. Merevale looked up enquiringly. The Head, after a moment'sdeliberation, proceeded to explain.

  'I have made a very unfortunate mistake with regard to Thomson, MrMerevale. A variety of reasons led me to think that he had hadsomething to do with this theft of the Sports prizes.'

  'Thomson!' broke in Merevale incredulously.

  'There was a considerable weight of evidence against him, which I havesince found to be perfectly untrustworthy, but which at the time seemedto me almost conclusive.'

  'But surely,' put in Merevale again, 'surely Thomson would be the lastboy to do such a thing. Why should he? What would he gain by it?'

  'Precisely. I can understand that perfectly in the light of certaininformation which I have just received from the inspector. But at thetime, as I say, I believed him guilty. I even went so far as to sendfor him and question him upon the subject. Now it has occurred to me,Mr Merevale--you understand that I put it forward merely as aconjecture--it occurs to me--'

  'That Thomson has run away,' said Merevale bluntly.

  The Head, slightly discomposed by this Sherlock-Holmes-like reading ofhis thoughts, pulled himself together, and said, 'Ah--just so. I thinkit very possible.'

  'I do not agree with you,' said Merevale. 'I know Thomson well, and Ithink he is the last boy to do such a thing. He is neither a fool nor acoward, to put it shortly, and he would need to have a great deal ofboth in him to run away.'

  The Head looked slightly relieved at this.

  'You--ah--think so?' he said.

  'I certainly do. In the first place, where, unless he went home, wouldhe run to? And as he would be going home in a couple of days in theordinary course of things, he would hardly be foolish enough to riskexpulsion in such a way.'

  Mr Merevale always rather enjoyed his straight talks with theHeadmaster. Unlike most of his colleagues he stood in no awe of himwhatever. He always found him ready to listen to sound argument, and,what was better, willing to be convinced. It was so in this case.

  'Then I think we may dismiss that idea,' said the Head with visiblerelief. The idea of such a scandal occurring at St Austin's had filledhim with unfeigned horror. 'And now I think it would be as well to goacross to your House and hear what Welch has to say about the matter.Unless Thomson returns soon--and it is already past nine o'clock--weshall have to send out search-parties.'

  Five minutes later Welch, enjoying a sound beauty-sleep, began to bepossessed of a vague idea that somebody was trying to murder him. Hissubsequent struggles for life partially woke him, and enabled him tosee dimly that two figures were standing by his bed.

  'Yes?' he murmured sleepily, turning over on to his side again, andpreparing to doze off. The shaking continued. This was too much. 'Lookhere,' said he fiercely, sitting up. Then he recognized his visitors.As his eye fell on Merevale, he wondered whether anything had occurredto bring down his wrath upon him. Perhaps he had gone to bed withoutleave, and was being routed out to read at prayers or do some work? No,he remembered distinctly getting permission to turn in. What then couldbe the matter?

  At this point he recognized the Headmaster, and the last mists of sleepleft him.

  'Yes, sir?' he said, wide-awake now.

  Merevale put the case briefly and clearly to him. 'Sorry to disturbyou, Welch. I know you are tired.'

  'Not at all, sir,' said Welch, politely.

  'But there is something we must ask you. You probably do not know thatThomson has not returned?'

  'Not returned!'

  'No. Nobody knows where he is. You were probably the last to see him.What happened when you and he started for the long run this afternoon?You lost sight of the rest, did you not?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Well?'

  'And Thomson dropped out.'

  'Ah.' This from the Headmaster.

  'Yes, sir. He said he couldn't go any farther. He told me to go on.And, of course, I did, as it was a race. I advised him to go back tothe House and change. He looked regularly done up. I think he ran toohard in the mile yesterday.'

  The Head spoke.

  'I thought that some such thing must have happened. Where was it thathe dropped out, Welch?'

  'It was just as we came to a long ploughed field, sir, by the side of abig wood.'

  'Parker's Spinney, I expect,' put in Merevale.

  'Yes, sir. About a mile from the College.'

  'And you saw nothing more of him after that?' enquired the Headmaster.

  'No, sir. He was lying on his back when I left him. I should think someof the others must have seen him after I did. He didn't look as if hewas likely to get up for some time.'

  'Well,' said the Head, as he and Merevale went out of the room, leavingWelch to his slumbers, 'we have gained little by seeing Welch. I hadhoped for something more. I must send the prefects out to look forThomson at once.'

  'It
will be a difficult business,' said Merevale, refraining--to hiscredit be it said--from a mention of needles and haystacks. 'We havenothing to go upon. He may be anywhere for all we know. I suppose it ishardly likely that he is still where Welch left him?'

  The Head seemed to think this improbable. 'That would scarcely be thecase unless he were very much exhausted. It is more than five hourssince Welch saw him. I can hardly believe that the worst exhaustionwould last so long. However, if you would kindly tell yourHouse-prefects of this--'

  'And send them out to search?'

  'Yes. We must do all we can. Tell them to begin searching where Thomsonwas last seen. I will go round to the other Houses. Dear me, this isexceedingly annoying. Exceedingly so.'

  Merevale admitted that it was, and, having seen his visitor out of theHouse, went to the studies to speak to his prefects. He found Charterisand Tony together in the former's sanctum.

  'Has anything been heard about Thomson, sir?' said Tony, as he entered.

  'That is just what I want to see you about. Graham, will you go andbring the rest of the prefects here?'

  'Now,' he said, as Tony returned with Swift and Daintree, the tworemaining House-prefects, 'you all know, of course, that Thomson is notin the House. The Headmaster wants you to go and look for him. Welchseems to have been the last to see him, and he left him lying in aploughed field near Parker's Spinney. You all know Parker's Spinney, Isuppose?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Then you had better begin searching from there. Go in twos if youlike, or singly. Don't all go together. I want you all to be back byeleven. All got watches?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Good. You'd better take lanterns of some sort. I think I can raise abicycle lamp each, and there is a good moon. Look everywhere, and shoutas much as you like. I think he must have sprained an ankle orsomething. He is probably lying somewhere unable to move, and too faraway from the road to make his voice heard to anyone. If you start now,you will have just an hour and a half. You should have found him bythen. The prefects from the other Houses will help you.'

  Daintree put in a pertinent question.

  'How about trespassing, sir?'

  'Oh, go where you like. In reason, you know. Don't go getting theSchool mixed up in any unpleasantness, of course, but remember thatyour main object is to find Thomson. You all understand?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Very good. Then start at once.'

  'By Jove,' said Swift, when he had gone, 'what an unholy rag! Thissuits yours truly. Poor old Jim, though. I wonder what the deuce hashappened to him?'

  At that very moment the Headmaster, leaving Philpott's House to go toPrater's, was wondering the same thing. In spite of Mr Merevale'sargument, he found himself drifting back to his former belief that Jimhad run away. What else could keep him out of his House more than threehours after lock-up? And he had had some reason for running away, forthe _conscia mens recti,_ though an excellent institution intheory, is not nearly so useful an ally as it should be in practice.The Head knocked at Prater's door, pondering darkly within himself.