“Oh, don’t mention it again,” I broke in. “It disturbed me enough at the time to think that you suspected me of such meanness. It is all right now, so let it go.”
“I owe you a thousand apologies,” he said.
“Well, I’ll give you a receipted bill of them, and call it square,” I answered, laughing. “The question that agitates me most just at this moment, is what are the ‘potent, grave, and reverend signiors’ inside there going to do with us.”
“I give it up,” answered Ray. “It is unfortunate all around. Here we are, the least offending in the lot, hauled up to be made examples of, while scapegraces like Percy Randall go at large, as if they were spotless innocents. I could wring his neck for getting us into this fix.”
“The faculty seem to be disposed to favor us somewhat,” I said, as I recalled Dr. Drayton’s words.
Ray shook his head.
“We can’t get much encouragement, I fear, from that. It only means that we won’t be expelled for good, as we would have been, undoubtedly, if we had been ringleaders.”
It was with anxious hearts that we awaited the hour to go to Dr. Drayton’s house. I did not go to dinner. I had no appetite, and I did not care to face a club of noisy companions in my present mood. About a quarter of eight o’clock Ray came to my room, where I was pacing the floor impatiently, and we went over to the president’s residence.
We were ushered into his study, where presently Dr. Drayton joined us. Inviting us to be seated, in his usual grave manner, he took his place at his desk, which was situated in the middle of the room, and began forthwith:
“Young gentlemen, I may as well say at once that I sincerely regret your connection with this unfortunate affair. You are both young men of high standing and good reputation in your separate classes, and I am very sorry that anything should injure your record. It seems quite evident to us that you were not ringleaders in the disorderly and mischievous behavior of last night, and that you carried yourselves as well as could be expected under the circumstances. But you were concerned in these disgraceful doings; you deliberately joined a party bent on taking the law into its own hands and setting our authority at naught, and you must therefore stand the consequences.”