“I’d rather not say who they were, if you please, sir. But I know they intended it as a sort of joke on the school. I tried to stop them, and I did, but I was too late—”
“So you were on the side of law and order, were you?” asked Mr. Collins ironically. “Very fine of you, Burtis. Then you don’t deny that you were present at the time?”
“N-no, sir; that is, I was—was nearby.”
“Who did that electric torch you had belong to?”
“My roommate, Harold Towne.”
“Hm. Where was Towne at the time?”
“In bed, sir.”
“You’re certain of that?”
“Yes, sir. I waited until he was asleep before I went out.”