“Why, Malatesta, of course,” said Gus, with positive finality.
“Say, young fellow, you’ve got it. Good guesser. He must have some grudge against——”
“What said he? How explain?” demanded Tony, visibly excited, his dark eyes glittering with wrath.
“Not a word. Just grinned and turned away as cool as a glacier and mosied off. Said I: ‘Well, what are you after?’ But he made no reply and beat it.”
“If this isn’t the limit!” Bill exclaimed.
“It’ll be his limit! Come on! The Doctor is an early riser and we’ll see him at once,” Lambert urged.
“But we aren’t going to squeal on a—” Bill’s loyalty to school practices was extreme.
“Oh, yes you are in this case! This is no prank. It’s a crime, and it would be another to keep it to myself. Loyalty to the school demands that we squeal. To be sure we have only circumstantial evidence——”
“No, actual,” said Gus, holding up the hammer. “Let’s get the man and we’ll do the rest with some ink, a piece of paper and a magnifying glass.”
“Glory! That’s the cheese! I never thought of that,” Lambert said, leading the way out of the building and to the office, discussing the case further on the way. The boys met the Doctor returning from an early morning walk, which was a habit with him, and within the office he heard Lambert’s report calmly.