"Yes, sir." The boy beckoned to Ralph. "Please come with me," he said, in troubled tones, as if he doubted whether Ralph would care about sharing the study with him.
"Have we got to be chums?" asked Ralph; and the other boy nodded.
"Yes. That is what we call it. It means sharing studies; but you need not speak to me if you don't want to, and I will not be in the study much. I am not as it is, for they are always disturbing me and spoiling my things."
"They! Who?" demanded Ralph; and the lad answered--
"The other chaps and the Fifths. Dobson, in ours, and Elgert of the Fifth, are the worst. They go in and spoil my things."
"Go in? No, of course not--only the two who chum have any right in it. Here we are, and--there, they are in now!"--as a scuffling and burst of laughter came from the inside of the study before which the boy had halted. "Oh, what are they doing! Will you stop until they have gone?"
"Not I," answered Ralph grimly. "That study is mine as well as yours, and I mean to see that we have it to ourselves, Charlton. Come on, and we will see what is up." And saying this, Ralph threw open the door and walked into the little room, followed by his companion.
A burst of laughter greeted Ralph's ears as he opened the study door, and some one said:
"Look sharp. Here he comes! Hurry up there, Elgert!"
But the laughter died away somewhat awkwardly when the boys saw that Charlton was not alone, and one or two of the boys came up to Ralph.
"Hallo, you new fellow! They surely haven't put you to chum with Charlton, have they? What a shame! I should kick against it. Some one else must make room for you."
Such were the remarks of those who had taken a fancy to Ralph, but he paid no heed to it all. He just calmly gazed round, as if counting the number of boys there and taking their measure; and then he quite as calmly shut the door, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. Those present looked in surprise for a moment--some laughed, and one, a tall, handsome boy, came haughtily up to him.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. "How dare you lock that door?"
Ralph regarded him with the utmost coolness. No one had told him who the boy was, and yet he seemed to know--he felt sure that this was none other than Horace Elgert himself.