CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
A TREATY OF PEACE.
The captain's first impulse on receiving from Silk this astounding piece of information was to go at once to the schoolhouse and confront Gilks with his accuser.
But his second impulse was to doubt the whole story and look upon it as a mere fabrication got up in the vague hope of preventing him from reporting the fight to the doctor.
It was absurd to suppose Gilks had cut the rudder-lines.

Not that it was an action of which he would be incapable.

On that score the accusation was likely enough.

But then, Riddell remembered, Gilks, though a schoolhouse boy, had all along been a strong partisan of the Parretts' boat, and, ever since he had been turned out of his own boat, had made no secret of his hope that Parrett's might win.

He had even, if rumours spoke truly, lost money on the race.