“Look here,” exclaimed Arthur. “Why not leave it to Gerald? If he thinks it will do him any good, why, I, for one, will trot over to Collins this minute.”
“It won’t,” answered Gerald, shaking his head. “And even if it would, I wouldn’t let you do it. It wasn’t your fault that I butted in and went along. It was my own. I can stand it, all right. I wish he would let me keep on with the Track Team, but he won’t. Still, my being out of it won’t make any difference, I guess, while, as Alf says, if you and Tom and Roeder were lost we would get beaten as sure as sure! And without Durfee and Alf and Dan the Baseball Team might as well go out of training.”
“Well, that’s a mighty decent way to look at it, Gerald,” said Tom, “but I think it’s the only fair one. I guess we are all of us ready to take our share of the blame and the punishment if it will do any one any good.”
“It won’t, though; no one, that is, but Collins,” said Alf, morosely. “I feel a good deal like a skunk for getting you fellows into such a mess.”
“Oh, forget it!” said Tom, heartily. “We aren’t kids to be led into trouble with our eyes shut. We all knew what we were doing, and we wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for the risk. It strikes me, though, that Collins may get us without our help. His mention of Dan and Alf looks as though he were getting warm.”
“I think he just guessed at them,” said Gerald.
“Did he say how long you were to be on?” Durfee asked.
“No. Until further notice.”