The King of the School, or, Who will Win? — page 41: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE KING OF THE SCHOOL; OR, WHO WILL WIN? CHAPTER IX, A LITTLE BIT OF MYSTERY. THAT evening, between the supper hour and bed-time, story-telling was the order of the day. Some of the smaller boys commenced by relating to each other scenes from the “ Arabian Nights,” and when the hour came at which they were all com- pelled to retire, half-a-dozen groups might have been seen eagerly listening to some wonderful yarn. Even our specialand particular friends | did not escape the mania, for young Webber came up and treated them toa ghost story, which, for accumulated horrors, could not be equalled. | As he proceeded with itdeserters came in from other groups, till at last nearly half the inhabitants of Lexicon Coilege were gathered round him. When he had finished, many a boy went away to bed shuddering; but, as a finishing touch, Freddy intimated that a barbarous murder had been com- mitted by one of the masters of Lexicon College many years ago. ‘Tell us about it,” said some of those who lingered about him. “ T don’t know how it was done, but the story goes that a boy was one day called into the doctor’s study — this happened more than two hundred years aco, mind—and he was never seen after- wards, till, during the holidays, some boys who did not go home wereassembled in the box-room, when they noticed the missing fellow’s box. — «Some one suggested that it should be opened to see what it contained. It was opened, and so horrible was the sight it presented, that three boys at once went into convulsions and died on the spot. ‘“ What was in the box?” asked a small boy. boy. The head opened its mouth, and said—‘ I was placed here by the head- master, Avenge me!’ The boys pro- mised to do so, and then the head be- came silent forever. Nothing was ever known of the real facts of the case, but it was conjectured that themaster locked the poor fellow up in his own box, where, rather than die of starvation, he gradu- ally devoured himself !” Egerton, Fitzgerald, and one or two others laughed heartily at this, but the majority of Freddy’s hearers were evi- dently inclined to receive the story as gospel, “Yon don’t expect us to swallow that ?” said Frank. “Tt would not be so difficult a task as the poor fellow I have been telling about had—to swallow his own leg bones.” “What was done to the master ?” inquired a junior. “Why, it happened that at the time his horrible crime was detected he was away in London. It is supposed that he heard of the discovery and thought proper to abscond to Central Africa, | where he lived for a time in a most magnificent style upon the interest of the pocket-money he took from his in- nocent victim, But during one week in the year the ghost of the poor fellow who died in the box is permitted to visit the old house. Let me see, it first comes on the—the——” Freddy pulled out his pocket-book and pretended to refer to some entries in it, “Tt begins its visits on the last night in July.” “Why, that is to-night,” whispered one of the youngsters. “Yes,” said Fred, solemnly; “and I “The head and arms of the missing | remember last year about this time EO DOC (CO mn