Gordon thought for a moment. Had he? It was quite likely he had; but he could not remember. Then the scene came back. The crowd in front of the pavilion. Burgoyne: Hazlitt in the offing.
"Yes, sir," he replied, after the instant's hesitation.
"You seem rather doubtful about it."
"Well, sir, I was trying to remember whether I had or not."
The Chief was nettled by such apparent callousness.
"You talk as if you were in the habit of offering such rewards. Are you?"
"Well, sir, it is the sort of thing any fellow might do."
"That is neither here nor there. I doubt the truth of your statement very much. But even if the school had become so generally demoralised as you suggest, that would not be any excuse for you. As a matter of fact, how much did you offer the boy?"
"A shilling, sir."
"Was that a genuine offer, now? If he had done what you wanted him to, would you have paid him?"