Away out at the end of the springboard I saw some one sitting with his feet dangling over. When I got away out to the end I saw it was Hervey. Sitting right close beside him was Sandwich. Hervey had his bathrobe on but it was thrown off from his shoulders and I could see he only had his trousers on. He was kind of shivering.
I said, “You gave me a good scare, Herve. I saw you come out here, but I couldn’t see the platform under you, the mist is so thick. I thought you were a ghost or something. What are you doing out here anyway?”
“Oh, just sitting here,” he said. “You’d better go to bed; you know the rule.”
I said, “How about you?”
“I’m not a part of this outfit any more,” he said. “I’m through—almost through.”
I said, “You’re just as much of a scout as I am to-night. It’s a wonder you couldn’t keep one rule before you go away. What are you going to do? Go in swimming? And besides when you tell me I’d better go to bed that’s as much as saying I’m not as good as a dog. Do you say that—that I’m not as good as a dog?”
“Sandwich didn’t call me a liar,” he said.
“Did I call you a liar?” I shot back at him.
“You’re a scout,” he said, “and they’re all the same. They’re as much the same as a lot of clothes-pins.”
I said, “I know you’re different, Hervey. But I didn’t call you a liar and none of us fellows did. I admit they think you lied and——”