Mrs Hamilton sat in front of me. I am sure she could see how frightened I was! “I appreciate the fact that you have come forward, James,” she began. “It was very brave of you. I assure you absolutely no-one knows that you gave me the vandals’ names. The headmaster is calling their parents now, and the police are going to be informed. They will almost certainly be expelled from the school.”
There was a pause. Then: “I now have to decide what to do with you.” The pit of my stomach churned. Here it came, my sentencing!
“The school rules are clear, James – out of bounds in the vegetable garden is automatically a minimum of four strokes of the cane. The final number is down to my discretion.”