"Oh, I don't care if I am!" replied Plum. "I—I wish—I wish I was dead!"
"Plum!"
"Yes, I do! I—I—but I can't talk about it. And to think you did this for me, you! Why, I thought you hated me!"
"Perhaps I did, Gus. But I didn't hate you when I saw you on the tracks unconscious."
"You did more for me than I should ever have done for you."
"Maybe not."
"I know it, Porter, for—well, you know how I have hated you. But I am not going to be that way any more—I couldn't!"
After this there was a silence. Each boy wanted to say something, but hardly knew how to get at it. Finally Dave broke the ice.
"Gus, what brought you to this spot this morning?" he questioned.
"Oh, don't ask me! I was crazy, I guess. I wanted to get away—I never wanted to see Oak Hall or anybody again!"