“That’s my watch,” interrupted Ralph, shouting in his excitement, and full of delight he bounded toward Himski as if he had been fired out of a gun.
“And here’s several class rings,—Warren, Taylor,—come up and get them. Here’s a napkin ring. And here’s a watch and chain and several pins,—any of you fellows that have had any jewelry stolen from you come up and identify your property.”
Tremendous excitement now followed.
“Hold on, fellows, here’s a packet of letters. They are addressed to Creelton; he certainly is the thief we’re looking for but I don’t know that I have any right to read these letters.”
“Go on, read them, read them, go ahead,” came shouts from different parts of the room.
Himski paused, and then said looking to Creelton, “What do you say—do you object?”
Creelton threw open his arms in involuntary admission of complete surrender. Craven at heart, with no friend to encourage him, conscious of guilt and knowing he had been found out, he had no heart to attempt any defense. “Read them,” he said. “You’ll find out why I had to take Osborn’s watch; there’s somebody else as bad as I am.”
And Himski read letter after letter, the letters from Short which Creelton had saved for his own protection. There was but one burden, one theme to these letters; they were characterized by a malignant animosity toward Ralph Osborn that can be most expressively described as fiendish. Schemes were suggested, many of them never attempted, by which Ralph was to be disgraced and dismissed from the Academy. The theft of Bollup’s watch and the attempt to fasten it on Ralph, the writing on Professor Moehler’s blackboard, and the hazing of Mr. Chappell were all discussed.
In the earlier letters were forcible threats of what might happen to Creelton if the writer’s plans were not carried out, and the relations that existed between Creelton and the writer of the letters were clearly defined.
“These letters are all signed T. G. S.,” said Himski, “which may stand for Thomas G. Short. Do they?” he suddenly asked Creelton.