"Yes," agreed Dick, "but Jim wasn't taking any 'Send me to prison for life if you like,' said Jim; 'I shan't confess to what I didn't do!'"
"Good old Jim!" cried Alec Macdonald. "He always was a plucky beggar." And the others echoed his cry.
Few of them believed he was mixed up in the robbery, and Dick's story was received with acclamation. A sudden revulsion of feeling took place, and those who had looked rather coldly on Jim since the fatal accident to Braithwaite now spoke loudly in his defence.
Just as the bell rang he was seen coming in at the gate, and quite a number of boys ran across to meet him.
Once more Alec Macdonald voiced the general sentiment.
"We're jolly glad you got out of that mess, Jim," he exclaimed, "and we know it wasn't your fault."
Jim blushed like a peony; his eyes were suspiciously moist, and he felt a choking sensation in his throat. This reception differed altogether from what he had expected. He looked at the group of boys and tried to answer, but his words were very stammering.
"This is—very—kind—of you chaps," he managed to say, "and I didn't expect it."
"Come on!" cried Dick; "there's Mr. Laythorne! He'll be giving us an extra half-hour's grind." And they scudded away to their places like so many rabbits into a warren.
Jim's class-fellows were not alone in expressing their belief in his innocence. After prayers, and before beginning morning work, Mr. Laythorne, standing before his class, said, "I am glad to see you in your place again, Hartland. We have all heard of your trouble, and we all rejoice that you have come through it so triumphantly. I am speaking not only for myself and the boys, but for all the masters, including Mr. Holmore. Let me say for all of us that we are quite convinced of your honesty."