"I vote we hang about a bit and cheer him when he comes in.

There's no one to lag us for not going to bed, and we may as well stay and back him up." With which patriotic resolve we resumed our seats and occupied the interval with auditing the accounts of the club--a painful and tedious operation which gave rise to much dispute and recrimination, particularly when it was discovered that on paper we were 25 shillings to the good, whereas in the treasurer's pocket we were 6 shillings to the bad.
The treasurer had a bad quarter of an hour of it, till it was discovered that the auditors had accidentally forgotten to carry the total of one column to the top of the next, an oversight which nearly brought about the dissolution of the club, so fierce was the storm which raged over it.
More than half an hour was spent over these proceedings, and we began to wonder why Tempest had not come back.

It was certain he must have been stopped by somebody, or he would have been back in ten minutes.

Had he and Jarman had an encounter?
Was Mr Jarman at that moment begging for quarter?
or was our man answering for his riot to the head master?
Half an hour passed, three-quarters, an hour.

Then, just as we were giving him up, hurried footsteps came across the quadrangle, and Tempest, with pale face and disordered guise, carrying his blazer on his arm, entered and passed rapidly to his room.