"Please, sir, may I say something in open school? It is something of importance, something connected with the banknote which Mr. Delermain lost."
The words created quite a sensation amongst those who were ignorant of what had transpired, and the doctor answered—
"Would it not be better to speak with myself first, Rexworth? Then I can decide whether what you have to communicate should be made public."
"I would rather speak here, sir. In fact, I have promised to do so. It only concerns myself, please, sir."
"Then you may speak. Be brief and plain, and let us hear what you have to say."
So Ralph spoke, turning half to the Head, half to the school; and describing how he had thought that he took his pocket-book with him and how he had found it in his other coat, when he got back that morning; and how, also, the five-pound note had been seen to tumble from it, when it fell on the floor.
"I know, sir," he said, in conclusion, "that the thing looks as bad as bad can be, and that if every one here believes me to be a thief, it is only natural; but I can only say, sir, what I have said from the beginning. I am quite innocent. I never saw that banknote from the time when Mr. Delermain laid it on his desk until this morning, when it fell from my pocket-book and Warren picked it up."
The doctor listened in silence, his keen eyes fixed upon the face of the lad before him; and Dr. Beverly felt perfectly certain that Ralph Rexworth was speaking the truth.
And yet, if that were so, it meant not only that some other boy was a thief, but also that a boy must be deliberately trying to get Rexworth wrongly accused; and that seemed a very dreadful thing in the eyes of the noble, upright master of Marlthorpe.