i confess that i was appalled at the boldness and daring of my fellow-students, who had actually taken possession of the parkville liberal institute, and purposed to mete out justice to me and to bill poodles. there was a certain kind of solemnity in the proceedings, which was not without its effect upon me. my companions were thoroughly in earnest, and the affair was not to be a farce.
mr. parasyte, after prayer, had made a statement to the students in regard to the unpleasant event of the day, in which he represented me as a contumacious offender, one who desired to make all the trouble he could; an obstinate, self-willed fellow, whose example was dangerous to the general[79] peace, and who had refused to be guided by reason and common sense. he told the students that he had even offered to pay for my boat—a concession on his part which had had no effect in softening my obdurate nature. he appealed to them to sustain the discipline of the parkville liberal institute, which had always been celebrated as a remarkably orderly and quiet establishment. he then added that he should consult my uncle in regard to me, and be guided in some measure by his judgment.
the students heard him in silence; but bob hale assured me that it was with compressed lips, and a fixed determination to carry out the plan which had been agreed upon while the boys were watching the chase on the lake, and which had not been modified by the wilful destruction of the splash.
i glanced around at my fellow-students as i entered the hall; and though they smiled as their gaze met mine, there was a look of earnestness and determination which could not be mistaken. henry vallington, the chairman, judge, or whatever the name of his office was, had the reputation of being[80] the steadiest boy in the school. it was understood that he intended to become a minister. he was about eighteen, and was nearly fitted to enter college. he never joined in what were called the "scrapes" of the institute, but devoted himself with the closest attention to his studies. he was esteemed and respected by all who knew him; and when i saw him presiding over this irregular assemblage, i could not help regarding the affair as much more serious than it had before seemed, even to me, the chief actor therein.
poodles and pearl, i learned, had been captured in their rooms, and dragged by sheer force into the school-room, to be examined on the charges to be preferred against them. poodles looked timid and terrified, while pearl was dogged and resolute.
"thornton," said henry vallington, as my conductors paused before the judge, "i have sent for you in order that we may ascertain the truth of the charges brought against you by mr. parasyte. if you provoked the quarrel to-day noon with poodles, it is no more than fair and right that you should make the apology required of you. if[81] you did not, we intend to stand by you. have you anything to say?"
"i wish to say, in the first place, that, guilty or innocent, i am willing to submit to whatever penalty the principal imposes upon me."
"that is very well for you, but it won't do for us," interposed the judge. "if such gross injustice is done to one, it may be to another. we act in self-defence."
"i don't know what you intend to do; but i am opposed to any disorderly conduct, and to any violation of the rules of the institute."
"we know you are, thornton; and you shall not be held responsible for what we do to-night. if you are willing to tell us what you know about this affair, all right. if not, we shall go on without you."
"i am willing to tell the truth here, as i have done to-day. as there seems to be some mistake in regard to what transpired between mr. parasyte and myself, up stairs, i will state the facts as they occurred. he agreed to pay for my boat on condition that i would apologize, privately, to poodles,[82] and publicly to the principal. i offered to apologize to mr. parasyte, but not to poodles, who was the aggressor in the beginning. i told him, if poodles would perform half the examples now, i would make the apology to him."
"that's it!" shouted half a dozen boys.
"order!" interposed the judge, sternly.
"i think that would be a good way to prove that poodles did or did not tell the truth, when he said he had performed the examples," interposed bob hale.
"capital!" added tom rush.
"i approve the method; but let us have no disorder," replied vallington. "conduct poodles to the blackboard."
the custodians of the culprit promptly obeyed this order, and led him to the blackboard, which was cleaned for immediate use. the school-room was well lighted, and the expression on the faces of all could be distinctly seen.
"poodles, we desire to have justice done to all," said vallington, when the culprit had taken his place at the blackboard. "you shall have fair play[83] in every respect. you shall have a chance to prove that you were right, and thornton wrong."
"well, i was right," replied poodles.
"did you perform all the examples on your paper without any help?"
"of course i did."
"then of course you know how to perform them. here is an examination paper. if you can perform five of the ten examples you shall be acquitted."
"perhaps i don't choose to do them," said poodles, looking around for some way to escape his fate.
"are you not willing that the truth should come out?"
"i told the truth to-day."
"all right, if you did. you surely will not object to prove that you did. you shall have fair play, i repeat."
"suppose i don't choose to do them?" asked poodles, doubtfully.
"then we shall take it for granted that you did not do them, as you declared on your paper."[84]
"you can take it for granted, then, if you like," answered poodles, as he dropped the chalk.
"you refuse to perform the examples—do you?" demanded vallington, sternly.
"yes, i do."
"then you may take the consequences. either you shall be expelled from the institute, or at least fifty of us will petition our parents to take us from this school. we have done with you."
bill poodles smiled, and was pleased to get off so easily; but i noticed that dick pearl turned pale, and looked very much troubled. he was a relative of mr. parasyte, and it was generally understood that he was a free scholar, his parents being too poor to pay his board and tuition. while he expected to be ducked in the lake, or subjected to some personal indignity, after the manner in which boys usually treat such cases, his courage was good. now, it appeared that the boys simply intended to have poodles expelled, or to ask their parents and guardians to remove them; and as most of the students were from fourteen to eighteen years of age, they would probably have influence enough to effect their design.[85]
"pearl," said the judge, while the other culprit was apparently still attempting to figure out the result of the trial.
"i'm here," replied pearl.
"we are entirely satisfied that poodles had some assistance in performing his examples. it is believed that you gave him that assistance. if you did, own up."
"who says i helped poodles?"
"i say so, for one," added the judge, sharply.
"can you prove it?"
"i will answer that question after you have confessed or refused to confess. you shall have fair play, as well as poodles. if you wish to put yourself right on the record, you can do so; if not, you shall leave, or we will."
pearl looked troubled. he was under very great obligations to mr. parasyte. if he denied that he had helped poodles, and it was then proved against him, the boys would insist that he should be expelled. if he stood out, he must either be expelled or the institute be broken up. he did not appear willing to take such a responsibility.[86]
"you can do as you please, pearl; but tell the truth, if you say anything," continued vallington.
"i did help poodles," said he, looking down at the floor.
"how much did you help him?"
"i lent him my examination paper, and he copied all the solutions upon his own."
"and after that you were willing to declare that you had not assisted any one?" demanded the judge, with a look of supreme contempt on his fine features.
"i had not helped any one when i signed my paper."
"humph!" exclaimed vallington, with a withering sneer. "that is the meanest kind of a lie."
"i didn't mean to assist him; he teased me till i couldn't help myself," pleaded pearl.
a further examination showed that poodles had browbeaten and threatened him; and we were disposed to palliate pearl's offence, in consideration of his poverty and his dependent position, after he had confessed his error.
"are you willing to make this acknowledgment[87] to mr. parasyte?" asked the judge, in a tone of compassion.
"i don't want to; but i will. i suppose he will send me home then," replied the culprit.
"we will do what we can for you," added the judge.
pearl had been a pretty good fellow among the boys, was generally popular, and all were sorry for him. but his confession in a manner absolved him, and the students heartily declared that they would stand by him.
"our business is finished," said vallington, "unless poodles has something more to say."
poodles had listened with consternation to the confession of pearl, and he now appeared to be dissatisfied with himself rather than with the court.
"i didn't think dick pearl would let on in that way," said he, casting a reproachful glance at his fellow-culprit.
"he has told the truth. if he had not confessed, we could have proved that he helped you," added vallington. "i have seen the six papers that were all right myself. pearl performed the third exam[88]ple in a very peculiar and roundabout way; and poodles had it in the same way, while the other did it by the most direct method."
"i suppose it's of no use to stand out now," said poodles, timidly.
"will you confess now?"
"i will, if it will do any good."
"if you will tell the truth to mr. parasyte, that is all we want. the fellows haven't anything against you. will you do so?"
"i will if you say i shall not be expelled," whined poodles.
"i can only say that we will not ask for your expulsion. i suppose there is no danger of mr. parasyte expelling you," added the judge, with a dry humor, appreciated by all the students.
"mr. parasyte!" exclaimed one of the sentinels at the door.
there was an attempt on the part of the principal to pull the door open, but it was well secured upon the inside.
"let him in," said the judge.
the door opened, and mr. parasyte entered the school-room.
