“I—I wish I could, sir,” said Dan earnestly. “I’m sorry.”
Mr. Collins looked perplexed. Then,
“I fear you are trying to shield someone else, Vinton,” he said. But Dan shook his head.
“No, sir, truly!” he declared. There was a moment’s silence. Then Mr. Collins arose and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Vinton, you’ve done wrong and you’ve got to be punished. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that the Faculty is ‘down on you.’ It isn’t, my boy. We dislike to punish, believe me. Take this in the right way; make up your mind to profit by it, for one can profit by his mistakes if he is wise. Show us and the school that you are big enough to take your medicine without whining, no matter what it is. Will you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s right,” said Mr. Collins cheerfully. “Now you may go. I’ll see the Doctor and do what I can for you. Come to me again at noon.”
At noon Dan went on probation and Loring and Dyer came off.
Dan’s chief sentiment as he walked out of the Office was one of relief. All morning he had been in dread of being expelled. That would have been a big price to pay for what he was doing, and he wondered whether he would have the courage to play the game through and take his medicine if it was as nauseous as that. Luckily, he was not called on to decide. A month of probation was his punishment. Although Mr. Collins didn’t say so, Dan was certain that the Assistant Principal had been obliged to plead hard with the Doctor, and he went away very grateful to the former. He spent most of the afternoon in his room. He didn’t feel very guilty and ashamed, but it was necessary to appear so. Tubby’s behavior was eccentric, even for Tubby.