“Of course you put it there yourself, Roscoe. Your defense is very lame.”
Hector turned round to his fellow-scholars.
“Boys,” he said, “you have heard the charge that has been made against me. You know me pretty well by this time. Is there any one of you that believes it to be true?”
“No! No!” shouted the boys, with one exception. Jim Smith was heard to say distinctly, “I believe it!”
“Silence in the school!” shouted Socrates. “This is altogether irregular, and I won’t have it.”
Hector turned to the principal, and said, calmly:
“You see, Mr. Smith, that, in spite of your proof, these boys will not believe that your charge is well founded.”
“That is neither here nor there, Roscoe. Will anyone step up and prove your innocence?”
There was another sensation. In the second row back a boy was seen to rise.
“Mr. Smith,” said Ben Platt, “I can prove Roscoe’s innocence!”