“Got it straight from Chatterton. I can always pump him. He says Sterndale talked it over with the fellows. Most of them wanted to carry the thing through, but Dick said no, and he agreed to pay the damage himself. You know, he always has his own way, and so that settled it.”
Don drew a deep breath and sat down, feeling that some of the load had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Have a smoke,” invited Leon, grinning. “It will soothe you.”
Don took a cigarette and lighted it.
For a long time the boys sat and chatted in low tones. Don told how his father fancied he was still on the eleven, and how he had failed to confess about playing hookey.
“I don’t know how you’re going to keep the old man from finding out you’re not on the eleven,” said Leon, “but he needn’t know that you hooked away from school. All you have to do is to get me some paper and a sample of his writing. I’ll fix it. Just let me show you what I can do. You don’t have to carry the excuse if you don’t want to, you know.”
So Don went softly down the carpeted front stairs, discovered his father was not in his office, slipped in and took an old letter and some paper from the open desk, and scudded noiselessly back to the room where his tempter was smoking his fifth cigarette.
“Well, this is all right,” chuckled Bentley, as he prepared to write at Don’s desk. “You’ve brought some of the doctor’s letter paper, with his name and office hours printed at the top. Why, with that, and this letter to copy from, I can write an excuse that would fool the greatest handwriting expert in the country. I’ll have to practice a little and get on to the style of your dad’s chirography.”
The doctor’s son watched Leon imitating the formation of the letters and the general style of Dr. Scott’s handwriting, and then, after a while, saw the visitor slowly and carefully write out on one of the sheets of letter paper an excuse for Don’s absence from school signing it with the doctor’s name.
“There,” said the youthful rascal, surveying with great pride his handiwork. “I rather think that will do. Bad headache, stomach out of order, feverish symptoms, thought it best to let you remain away from school. Isn’t that a bird, old man?”