In the riot of their feasting, the caution had been utterly neglected, and the boys were far from being sober when the sound of the prayer-bell ringing through the great hall, startled them into momentary consciousness.
"Good heavens!" shouted Graham, springing up; "there's the prayer-bell; I'd no notion it was so late.

Here, let's shove these brandy bottles and things into the cupboards and drawers, and then we must run down." There was no time to lose.

The least muddled of the party had cleared the room in a moment, and then addressed themselves to the more difficult task of trying to quiet Eric and Wildney, and conduct them steadily into the prayer-room.
Wildney's seat was near the door, so there was little difficulty in getting him to his place comparatively unobserved.

Llewellyn took him by the arm, and after a little stumbling, helped him safely to his seat, where he assumed a look of preternatural gravity.

But Eric sat near the head of the first table, not far from Dr.Rowlands' desk, and none of the others had to go to that part of the room.