Merritt came in rather late and some of the boys noticed that he looked excited over something.
It was nearly ten minutes before Herring took his seat and then it was seen that his face was wet and evidently lately washed and that there was a discoloration around his nose and another under one of his eyes.
“Hello! I guess he has been wrestling with something, too,” thought Percival. “I wonder if it had anything to do with Cæsar?”
“You are very late, Herring,” said the doctor. “What is the reason?”
“Fell down and bruised my face,” muttered Herring. “Had to wash up before I came in. My nose bled.”
“See that it does not occur again,” said Dr. Wise, using the customary phrase which had become a habit with him.
“It will if he fools with Jack Sheldon,” chuckled Percival. “I’ll bet anything that he was the one who put the Cæsar in Jack’s desk and got paid up for it.”
Neither Percival nor any of the other boys had a chance to speak to Jack about the matter until dinner when a knot of them interviewed him at the door of the dining hall.
“Were you the cause of Herring’s being late to class after recess, Jack?” asked Percival.
“Did you find out anything?” put in Harry. “I had a bet that it was Pete who tried to undermine you in his generally clumsy fashion.”