The Cock-House at Fellsgarth Part 33

"I don't blame them," said Ashby; "they've not much to be proud of, those Modern chaps."

"Never mind," said Fisher minor, "Fellsgarth can get on well enough without them."

The party came to a halt and regarded one another seriously, and Percy said--

"Whoever told you we weren't going to turn up, told crams. We're coming. We'll see you don't have it all to yourselves, rather!"

"My eye, won't you get licked for it! Nice to belong to a house where you mayn't sneeze unless your senior lets you."

"Go on! Shut up! See if you can't canva.s.s a bit. That's what you're best at--that, and getting it hot on the hands for cheating." Whereupon the troops separated.

The taunts of the Cla.s.sics made their rivals wince, despite their affected contempt. To-morrow was the day of the meeting; and between now and then they must decide whether or not they would obey their own seniors and stay away, or revolt and take the consequences. The unanimous opinion was in favour of revolt, unless Clapperton made it uncommonly worth their while to obey.

They were not destined to remain long in doubt, for the senior invaded their quarters that very evening.

"Just remember, you youngsters," said he, "no one is going to the meeting to-morrow from our side."

"Oh?"

"Any fellow who goes will get it hot, I promise him."

"Ah! What about our conditions? What have you done about them?"

"Put them in the coal-scuttle; and I've a good mind to put all five of you there too, for your impudence."

"Ah!"

The captain turned on his heel, with a final warning.

"That settles it, you chaps," said Percy, when he had gone. "We go."

"Rather," replied everybody.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

SOMETHING WRONG IN THE ACCOUNTS.

Fisher major sat in his study after morning cla.s.s, next morning, the picture of boredom and perplexity. Lists of names, receipt-books, cash- box, bills, and account-books were littered on the table before him.

Between these and a cobweb on the ceiling his troubled looks travelled, as he gnawed the end of his pen, and pa.s.sed his fingers aimlessly through his hair.

There was something wrong; and what it was he could not for the life of him make out. To any one familiar with Fisher major's business--or, rather, unbusiness--habits, there was nothing wonderful in that. He was happy-go-lucky in all his dealings. He could receive a subscription one day, and only remember, in a panic, to enter it a week after. His money he kept all over the place; some in his desk, some in the cash-box, some in the drawer of his inkstand. He had a vague idea that he had a special reason for dividing it thus--that one lot may have belonged to the School clubs, another to the House clubs, and another to something else. But which was which it pa.s.sed his wit to remember.

He had had his doubts of the business all along. His friends had urged him to take the office, and with their help he had persuaded himself its duties were simple and easily discharged. He had determined he would do the thing thoroughly well. He had bought these account-books out of his own private purse, and spent an evening in beautifully ruling them in red ink, with one column for the date, one for the name, and three for pounds, shillings, and pence. He had procured two letter-files, labelled respectively "Club" and "House," into which to put his receipts. And he had provided himself with a dozen elastic bands and an equal number of paper-fasteners. What more could a treasurer desire?

Alas! the beautiful account-books got mixed up with one another, the letter-files remained empty, and the elastic bands somehow did duty as football garters. The Club accounts were scrawled, for the most part, in pencil on the backs of envelopes, awaiting a grand transcription into the books; and the receipts, pending a similar fortunate time, where huddled away in the drawer with Greek verses and letters from the people at home.

Things had now come to a pa.s.s. The captain had yesterday suggested that, in view of the meeting to-day, it would be well to have the accounts made up, so as to be able, if called upon, to state exactly how they stood financially.

"All serene," said Fisher; "I'll let you have the lot in ten minutes."

It was now considerably more than ten hours since the rash undertaking had been given, and the accounts were considerably more confused than they had been when Fisher sat down to square them.

The Club and House accounts were hopelessly mixed. Some fellows appeared to have paid several times over to both funds, and others not once to either. Worse than that, Fisher could not find his memorandum of what he had paid out in small disburs.e.m.e.nts since term began. Still worse, when he did come in desperation to lump both funds together, and deduct the total amount he had spent, he found himself between 4 and 5 out of pocket!

That was the serious discovery which, on this particular morning, was preying on his spirits and making him look a picture of bewilderment.

"I'm bothered if I can make it out," said he to himself. "Everybody's marked down as paid--I remember noticing that weeks ago. At that rate I ought to have 25 for the Clubs, and 9 12 shillings for the House.

Yes, that's right--I had that; there's a note of it; three lots--15 7 shillings 6 pence on September 1, 7 2 shillings 6 pence on September 13, and 12 2 shillings on another day--that makes the total. There you are. Why on earth did I put them away in separate lots? Then I paid 5 for the new goals, and something else--what was it? Oh, that was for the House b.a.l.l.s--oh, but we are lumping the two together. What was it?

I know, 17 shillings 6 pence--that's 5 17 shillings 6 pence; and something else, I know, came to a pound--6 17 shillings 6 pence. Take that from 34 12 shillings, leaves 27 14 shillings 6 pence--and I've only got 22 18 shillings 6 pence! Where, in the name of wonder, has the rest gone?"

And once more the dismal operation of adding up, counting, and subtracting began anew, with the same, or almost the same, result--there was a mistake of something like 4 10 shillings, whichever way you looked at it.

Dalton, who came in presently, could throw no further light on the problem. He added up the columns, counted the money, subtracted the payments and arrived at the same result.

Had the difference been smaller, it might have been accounted for by a few subscriptions omitted or a few payments not entered. But 4 10 shillings was too big a sum to leak away by accident; and, with the exception of the new goals, Fisher major was confident nothing had been spent approaching the figure.

Dalton then proposed a fresh hunt through the study, in case the missing sum might be hidden for safety in some corner. So the room was turned upside down; the bed-clothes were shaken out, pockets searched, books turned over, tea-pots peered into; but all to no purpose.

The captain looked in while the search was proceeding.

"Have you got the-- Hullo, what's up?"

"Why," said Fisher major, "there's a discrepancy. We ought to have 27 14 shillings 6 pence, and there's about 4 10 shillings short."

"Do you mean that's missing in the Club accounts?"

"Well, either in that or the House clubs, or in both lumped together. I say, I wish you'd add that up, there's a good fellow. The addition may be wrong."

But no; the captain made it the same as Dalton.

Ranger and Ridgway dropped in while the audit was in progress, and were promptly pounced upon to add the columns too. Evidently the mistake was not there. They made the total precisely the same.

"It must be in the payments, then," said Fisher. So the whole party sat down, and scrutinised the hapless treasurer's bills and vouchers, and, after allowing him the benefit of every imaginable doubt, still brought the deficit out at the same uncompromising figure.

"Let's have another look round," suggested Fisher. So once more the study was turned topsy-turvy, and every nook and cranny searched. But no money was there, nor any sign of it.

The captain looked grave.

"It's precious awkward," said he.

"It's sure to turn up," said Fisher. "I'll go over the whole thing again, and have the room searched."

"Meanwhile," said Ranger, "it's to be hoped no questions are asked by the fellows opposite."

"Not much chance; I hear they are none of them going to turn up," said Dalton.