He had not asked the boys to sit down, and as they stood in front of him, they began to get nervous, shifting uneasily in an embarrassed sort of way from one foot to another as though unable to bear his gaze—and realizing how uncomfortable he was making the boys, Mr. Larmore kept silent longer than he otherwise would have.
Resenting such treatment, Dawson fidgeted with his collar, and then exclaimed:
“Will you——”
“Just a moment, please,” interrupted the principal, raising his hand to stop the boy. “I should like to know on what grounds you make your assertion that none of the Pi Etas took part in the outrage.”
“Because they have told me so, sir,” replied Dawson.
“Of course! How stupid of me. I should have known that did the great Tom Dawson ask who broke the apparatus, the guilty boy would have run right up to him. I made a mistake in not asking you to——”
During this ironical remark, the senior who had taken upon himself to defend the members of the under class society, grew very red.
“That’s not fair, Mr. Larmore!” he exclaimed, interrupting the principal.
“Very well. Why should you expect the boys to admit their guilt to you?”
“Because I asked them under Pi Eta oath.”