“Better not mention my sister further,” he said huskily, shrugging his shoulders. “You touch me on a sore spot. I can’t bear to think of her having anything at all to do with you—even speaking to you.”
“You asked me a question, and I answered it truthfully. You are her brother, and she worries over you. It would hurt her to have you expelled from Fardale.”
“Expelled?”
“That is just what will happen to you if I cease to hold Joe Savage in check. That is what is almost certain to happen to you if I go before the athletic committee and tell what I know.”
“Hang you! You are bound to get me off that committee. You tried to keep me from getting on it.”
“I should have done so, but I did not. That was where I made a mistake. But I had promised your mother not to interfere with your ambitions, and I——”
“Bah! What did you care about such a promise to my mother?”
“My friends urged me to work against you and keep you from getting on the committee. I know you are a fellow who does not hesitate to break a promise, and so you cannot understand why I should desire to keep the promise I foolishly gave your mother. I refused to interfere in any way. Seeing that, many of the fellows who would have voted against you had I used my influence declined to vote at all. Some even voted for you, thinking it might be well to have a plebe on the committee. I was one who counted the votes. I could have prevented you from winning then without making a move. I did not suppose you would find a way to sway the whole committee if you got on, and I thought it might deepen your interest in the welfare of the team if you got on. I cannot understand a fellow who will let his personal feelings lead him into working for or even desiring the defeat of his school team in order to humiliate an enemy.”
“Oh, you’re such a wonderfully upright and honest fellow!” sneered Arlington. “You make me sick!”
“I shall not waste further words with you. I want your promise before I leave this room to resign from the committee, or I shall expose you.”