The King of the School, or, Who will Win? — page 57: 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 ¢ ol 1 ee CHAPTER XIV. FREDDY IS DOUBLY PUNISHED. THE next morning, when the names something or other that will give us an were called over, Doctor Whackley | idea.” ordered Freddy to come to the front. He then harangued the whole school on the sin of practical joking generally, and of Freddy’s joke in particular. The worthy doctor detailed every circumstance; how the rabbits were originally captured in the woods, how Webber had brought them home and confined them in this hutch, always taking care to leave the door open at night, a circumstance which the instinct of the animals led them to take advan- tage of, for the purpose of indulging in a scamper over the premises; the same instinctinducing them to return to their lair at daybreak. Having been thus solemnly reproved, poor Freddy was well birched, an oper- ation which brought the water into his eyes, However, hesoonrecovered his natural good spirits, and an hour after school, had, in all probability, forgotten his whipping. The King of the School and those who aided in the detection of the rabbit trick, had, after another consultation, come to the conclusion that the dozen strokes Freddy received were not a suffi- cient punishment for his offence. So, in spite of the doctor’s warning against practical joking, they resolved to victimise poor Webber. How to do it though was the great question. _ Stale dodges would be simply a waste of time, for Freddy would naturally be on the look out, and, therefore, would not be very easily trapped. Several plans were suggested, but all were found fault with. “Let us take a stroll through the town,” said the earl, ‘“ We may see The proposal was agreed to, and they set out. A shoemaker’s shop very naturally suggested wax, but that was over-ruled. “See!” exclaimed Frank, pausing before a fish-stall, on which some crabs were exhibited. “If we could only get some of those alive!” ‘What would you do with them ?” “ Put them in his bed.” “You can have some live ones this evening, sir,” said the proprietor of the fish establishment. “ That’s jolly. What time ?” “ About eight o’clock.” A bargain was immediately concluded. * * * % * * Evening came, and poor Freddy little knew what was in store for him. After supper, the Earl of Pembridge slipped away without being observed, and placed the live crabs beneath the covering of Freddy’s bed. Webber feared that something was intenced, and hastened away soon after. His room, however, appeared not to have been entered by any one. He waited for the boy who occupied the other bed, and who had returned from the sick department, and saw Hutchinson fairly beneath the sheets ere he himself attempted to undress. When he did commence to disrobe, it was not many seconds before he had divested himself of his clothing. Then he sprang into bed, leaving the light burning. He felt some foreign substance, and immediately put down his hand to feel what it was. This, of course, was a fine opportuuity tor crab number one, who immediately seized Freddy’s finger in its powerful EO DOC EO mn