Page:Doctor Syn - A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh.djvu/92

 must be some mistake, and that having his duty to perform at the school he must beg to be excused.

"It's my opinion," replied the bo'sun in a hard voice, "that them lads will get a holiday to-day. The inquiry is going forward about this murder, and I have orders to see that you attend." So keeping his rough hand upon the teacher's shoulder he led him, still protesting vehemently, inside the Court House, with the jeers and jibes of the scholars ringing in his ears.

Jerk had by now worked his way to the front of the crowd, and there he stood looking with wonder at the two great seamen who with drawn cutlasses were guarding the open door. Dymchurch was having the excitement of its life, and no mistake, and a holiday for the school, even the tragedy of Sennacherib Pepper's death, was forgotten in the glory of that moment, and the hated schoolmaster had been publicly stopped thrashing the boys and had himself been ordered into the Court House.

"I wonder what for?" thought young Jerk. "I wonder?" He would have given a lot to see inside that upper room, where the inquiry was now about to proceed. Presently the captain himself came out of the hall and stood for a moment on the gravel outside, looking at the crowd. Now there were sailors keeping the crowd back; never had there been such formal times in Dymchurch. The captain glanced at the little knot of schoolboys with their satchels, and