“All right!” Then I explained the whole business—how we Sophs had planned to duck Eddie; how I was elected to call at his house and walk him past the trough; how Eddie got wise to our game and tipped off the Freshies who waited in the alley to waylay us; how I ran into Obadiah as I was going down to the trough to tell the fellows the plan fell through; how, in the darkness, the fellows mistook the head of the Student Government League for Eddie and flopped him in the trough before I could think of Jack Robinson, much less say it,—and how I jumped in when the Freshies came running up, to make it look like they’d ducked Obadiah and me.
“So if there’s any expelling to be done—you’d better begin on us,” I concluded.
It was so still for a few minutes that you could have heard a handkerchief drop. Obadiah looked like he’d been deprived of the opportunity of a life time. He and the principal went into a conference and they talked a long while ... so long that we all got restless and began to scrape our feet around on the floor.
At last Principal Sawyer stepped forward and Obadiah sank down in a chair, crestfallen.
There was a twinkle in the principal’s eyes as he started to speak. I believe he’d have laughed outright—now that he had the straight of things—if he hadn’t had lots of self control.
“Thanks to Ralph Duncan’s explanation the recommended action against Edward Summers has been withdrawn....”
The boys started to cheer ... they just couldn’t help it ... but the principal raised his hand.
“However, you are all placed on probation for the rest of the term,” he said, which didn’t sound so good. “Let this be a lesson to you. Report to your next hour classes!”
“You’re a swell class martyr, you are!” reproved Pete, as we left the room. “Tie the Freshies up in a bow knot last night and untie them this morning!”
There wasn’t anything I could say to that ... so I kept mum.