Hugh smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I say, you know, you’ve told me that before a number of times.”
“And I tell it to you again, you—you chump! If this ever gets out Bonner will scalp you and the school will chase you from here to the Junction!”
“Why should it get out, as you say? And—and what is there to get out, anyway?”
“There’s this. You wrote home and got your mother to send that telegram, and if that isn’t——”
“I didn’t!” denied Hugh.
“You didn’t! Look here, can you look me in the eyes and say you didn’t put your mother up to it?”
“I didn’t write home,” replied Hugh evasively.
“Oh, that’s it! You telegraphed! Of course you did! And that’s what you were thinking of when you said ‘Oh!’ or something when we were talking about Joe Leslie. That put the silly stunt into your head, didn’t it?”
“I say, what’s the good of getting all excited about it?” said Hugh soothingly. “It’s quite all right, old dear. All you’ve got to do, you know, is calm down and go in this afternoon and give ’em ballywhack!”