“It was in a letter to me, which I did not open till just now,” replied Tom.
“And why didn’t you open it before the ship sailed?” demanded Mr. Pelham, quite as much astonished as the fourth lieutenant had been.
“I didn’t care to open it, sir,” answered Tom, wondering how he could get out of the scrape without telling the whole truth.
“That is very strange.”
“I had some idea of what the letter contained,” added Tom, with a smile.
“And that was the reason you didn’t open it?”
“I was not interested in it.”
“There seems to be something under all this, Speers,” continued the vice-principal, looking into the honest face of the young man. “What is it?”
“A telegraph despatch, sir,” replied Tom, handing the document to Mr. Pelham.
Tom found, after due consideration, that there was no way out of the scrape; and he explained the whole matter in full.