“Won’t he?” said Monty grimly. “He hates me like he hates soap and water, and that’s some hate! I didn’t know last night that I’d gone and put the keys in Rumford’s room or that there’d be all this fuss about it. If I had I’d have made Standart promise not to squeal. Now, I guess it’s too late. He’s probably talked it all over the school.”
“I’m afraid so,” groaned Jimmy. “Say, you are one fine little criminal, aren’t you? Look here, though, Monty, why don’t you go and find Standart and see if he’s blabbed? There’s always the chance that he hasn’t. And if he hasn’t—” Jimmy paused eloquently. “You might be able to convince him that it would be a lot more healthy to forget it!”
“I guess I’d better,” agreed Monty, reaching for his hat. “It may just be that he hasn’t connected that key with the little affair yet.”
“Don’t bank on that, old dear. Standart’s no fool, if he is an ass. He knows, all right, all right, but he may be chewing it over and thinking out the best way to spring his little piece. Get after him and buy him off or scare him to death.”
“Buy him off!” said Monty scornfully. “I wouldn’t bargain with the beast. But I might show him two mighty good reasons for keeping quiet!”
Monty didn’t overtake Alvin until dinner-time. Then he encountered him on his way downstairs to the table. During the meal, during which the practical joke played on the second floor residents of Lothrop was the main subject of conversation, Monty cast many appraising glances across the board at his roommate without, however, being able to decide how much Alvin knew or guessed. At least, he offered no light on the problem that interested the gathering, which was who had had the beautiful effrontery to put those keys on Mr. Rumford’s cabinet. Monty gathered that it would have been far less rash to have rung Doctor Duncan’s doorbell and handed the keys to a maid with his compliments!
When dinner was over Monty trailed Alvin to the front steps. It almost seemed that the latter was aware of Monty’s espionage, for he appeared to take especial pains to avoid him. He sat down, and entered the conversation that was going on, while Monty grimly stood watch in the doorway. One by one, however, the other fellows got up and went indoors or wandered away toward the campus, and Alvin, finding himself threatened with being left alone with Monty, arose, too, and started upstairs. Monty followed him leisurely, and reached the next floor only in time to prevent Alvin from dodging into Number G.
“I want to see you a minute,” he said, laying a persuasive hand on Alvin’s shoulder. “Just a minute, hombre. Come on in here.”
Alvin expostulated haughtily, but evidently didn’t care to make a physical issue of it, and followed the other into F. Monty closed the door. Then he thrust his hands into his pockets—the right coming into startling contact with that horrible key—and faced his roommate. Alvin was eyeing him at once slyly and defiantly.
“What do you want?” he asked.