“Speak out, Bob,” urged Miss Williams, but Bob was silent. He hung his head and tried to think out a great muddle in his mind.
“If you know anything about the missing list, Bob,” went on his teacher, “you must certainly tell me. If you suspect any one, it is right you should say so.”
“Miss Williams,” replied Bob, making up his mind and looking up now, “I could make a guess, but I won’t do it till I am sure I am right.”
“Bob,” said Miss Williams, “a week from Monday the school board meets. It is my duty to tell them what has happened. You know as well as I do that they will suspend or expel a scholar for using a key to any of the lessons.”
“But I haven’t used any key. I never heard of the list until this minute,” declared Bob.
“But you know who did take it. You will have to tell me whom to suspect, or I shall report to the board. That is all.”
Bob left the schoolroom without another word.
“It’s too bad!” he said, almost angrily, as he reached the outside. “I can guess who did it—and it’s too bad for him, too,” added Bob Bouncer, gloomily.