“Now, then, you rascal,” said Ray. “What have you got to say for yourself?”
“Nothing at all,” answered Percy meekly. “I came here to give you a chance to have your say. I supposed you’d have lots of great big language saved up for me, and I am ready to take anything.”
“Oh, well, words won’t do any good,” said I.
“Then maybe you want to kick me,” rejoined Percy. “Go ahead. Help yourself. I deserve anything.”
“We don’t care for satisfaction of that kind,” answered Ray, with a laugh. “We can’t undo anything that has happened. We are in a nice mess on your account, and you can’t help us out, so we will have to make the best of it.”
“See here, Ray,” exclaimed Percy earnestly. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll go straight to Dr. Drayton and make a clean breast of it—tell him that I was responsible, and get him to suspend me and take you fellows back. I’ll offer to give him information as to the leader in the mischief, on condition that he lets you off your penalty, and then I’ll expose myself.”
“No, that wouldn’t work,” I answered. “Dr. Drayton would never make such a condition in the first place——”
“Well, I guess if he can make conditions for you, he can take them, too,” said Percy.
Ray shook his head.
“No,” he said. “It would be useless and foolhardy for you to do that. We appreciate your disposition, Percy, and we thank you for offering, but you must not think of going to Dr. Drayton. It would only get you into trouble, while it would do us no good whatever. They did not suspend us because they thought we were leaders in the trouble, but because we had a share in it, and that fact would not be altered by your confession.”