The first thing he did was to take down one of the canes that lay on the top of the bookshelves, Harry narrowly watching him the while, and then he said—
"Campbell, I am exceedingly sorry to be obliged to punish you."
Harry shivered; the doctor was a powerful man; and the cane looked very lithe and lissome.
"But I cannot pass over such a serious fault, even though you have always hitherto, so far as I have seen, conducted yourself well. There can be not the slightest doubt that the book is yours. It was found in your desk, and has your name in it."
"It isn't mine, sir. I declare it isn't. Some one must have put it there; and I saw,"—and here Harry paused.
Dr Palmer looked at him narrowly.
"Some one must have put it there? And do you mean to say, then, that you accuse one of your schoolfellows, not only of putting it there, but also of—"
Harry could endure no longer, and with excited and stammering tones, he told the whole tale.
"This is a most serious charge for you to bring," said Dr Palmer, laying down the cane and ringing the bell. "Send Master Egerton here," he said, when William appeared.
After a pause of about three minutes, which seemed like an hour to Harry, and during which not a word was uttered, Egerton entered, cool and collected, and said respectfully to Dr Palmer: