“I did not, sir.”
“Ha! Did any one here put that powder in Fairfield’s pocket?” asked the professor.
Naturally the guilty Sam did not answer.
“There, you see!” exclaimed Mr. Skeel, triumphantly. “I knew you did it—ker-choo! But I have no doubt others may have been implicated, and I will punish the whole class. You will all of you write me out a hundred lines of Cæsar.”
“That is not fair, sir,” spoke Tom boldly.
“What! You dare to tell me that!” stormed Mr. Skeel.
“It is not fair,” insisted Tom. “Either I alone am responsible, which I deny, or some one else is. I assure you, sir, that no one in the class entered with me into any trick to do this thing.”
“I don’t believe you. The whole class will be punished unless the guilty one confesses—and that includes you!” and the professor looked angrily at Tom.
Sam, of course, would not admit his part in the affair, and as it was impossible to have the class remain longer in the powder-infested room, the students were dismissed. But Professor Skeel would not remit the punishment.