"As you please, sir," the man said, as he bowed himself out. "You cannot expect me to believe all that this young gentleman says after what I have heard of him from——-"
"You could have consulted me, at any rate," said the doctor. "I think I am best competent to judge of the characters of the boys put in my charge. Good morning, sir. Boys, the bugle has sounded."
The detective went away in a hurry, looking a good deal crestfallen, the boys getting into line with the rest, this operation preventing Percival from giving the man the send off that he had meant to give him.
"I'd like to know where that fellow got his information about you,
Jack," he said to his friend when they were seated at table.
"I don't care to know, Dick, so long as the doctor speaks well of me," Jack returned.
"Well, I'd like to know just the same. There are some boys here who would say all they could against you, and the man may have seen them before he saw the doctor, and heard what they had to say. You could see that he was prejudiced from the start."
"Yes, he presupposed my guilt before giving me a chance to speak for myself, Dick. However, it is fortunate that I have a good reputation."
"Which is what some of the Hilltop boys have not. I am not mentioning any names," and Percival began eating his soup with a good appetite.
An hour or two after dinner Jack asked Percival to go up the river in his boat, having one or two errands in town to do, and wanting company.
Dick was glad to go in Jack's boat, as the boy managed it so well, and he would have very little to do himself.