"I—I want to go with you alone," faltered the big lad.
"Very well—I shan't tell any of the others," returned Dave.
A fine snow was falling when the school session was over, but none of the pupils minded this. Dave took his skates and went to the river, and Plum followed. Soon the pair were skating by themselves. When they had turned a bend, Plum led the way to a secluded spot, under the wide-spreading branches of an oak, and with a deep sigh threw himself down on a rock.
"I suppose you've got your own opinion of me," he began, bitterly, and with his face turned away. "I don't blame you—it's what I deserve. I hadn't any right to promise you that I'd reform, for it doesn't seem to be in me. My appetite for liquor is too strong for me. Now, don't say it isn't, for I know it is."
"Why, Gus——"
"Please don't interrupt me, Dave; it's hard enough for me to talk as it is. But you've been my one good friend, and I feel I've got to tell you the whole truth. I want you to know it all—everything. Will you listen until I have finished?"
"Certainly. Go ahead."