“What’s the matter, Fred?” exclaimed Teddy, leaping to his feet in alarm, as he saw the blank misery in his brother’s eyes.
“They think I’m a thief,” moaned Fred.
“Who thinks so? What do you mean?” and Teddy fairly shouted.
“Doctor Rally and Professor Raymond,” was the answer. “They think I stole the examination papers.”
“Stole! Stole!” roared Teddy. “Why, they’re crazy! What makes them think anything like that?”
“They’d been taken from Professor Raymond’s desk, and they found them in my locker.”
He blurted out the whole story and Teddy was wild with grief and rage. But in the absence of the slightest clue, they were unable to do anything but await events while they ate their hearts out in silence.
A week went by without results. The winter had set in in earnest, and the lake was coated with ice, thick enough for skating.
Fred had been looking forward to hockey and skating, in both of which he took great delight. But now, he had little interest in them, and kept as much as possible to himself.
The boys, of course, saw that something had happened, and did all they could to cheer him up.