Once more Tom bowed. He could not speak. The beating of his heart was choking him.
“As a rule,” went on the proctor judicially, “I take no notice of the—er—the affairs between the different classes or student bodies. But this time I am obliged to. Dr. Churchill and myself have made an examination of the pavilion where this outrage occurred. We discovered the wires running from the electric light circuit to the hand rail. We discovered where a spring connection had been made, so that, by the burning away of a fuse, the parts of the spring closed, the wires came in contact and the current filled the hand rail. We also discovered something else.”
He paused, and Tom, for the first time, looked the proctor full in the face. Mr. Zane held out a small object.
“This knife was found near where the wires were fastened to the railing,” he said. “It has your name on it. Is it yours?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Tom.
“You took part in this affair?”
“I am a freshman.”
“That is answer enough. Did you attach the wires?”
“No, and I had nothing to do with that part of it.”