Sam met him and caught his arm.
“What’s the row?” he asked eagerly.
The Trojan hesitated. “I—I—there’s a mistake, a mix-up, somehow. It’s over my Cicero. They—somebody, that is—found it in the desk I sat at when we had the test the other day. Or they say that was where they found it. And the way the thing worked out—that was the worst of it—made me look as if I were lying about it. They began by asking where my Cicero was, and I said I supposed it was with the rest of my books. I thought it was; I hadn’t missed it—you know we’ve had no Latin recitation since the test. Then they sent me back to my seat, and—and”—he hesitated again, glancing almost apologetically at Sam—“and when they afterward took me to the principal’s office, they said they had evidence identifying the book as mine. They hadn’t shown it to me before then. If they had, I’d have claimed it, of course, no matter how they happened to get hold of it. But the way everything happened, you see, seemed to make it a pretty black case against me—lugging a text-book into an examination, and then trying to lie out of it, and——”
Step broke in hotly. “You say somebody identified the book as yours? Who was mean enough to do that?”
Once more Zorn laughed, and it was a taunting laugh. “Ho, ho! Don’t ask Walker that! Get it first-hand!”
Tom Orkney’s hand fell on his shoulder, and Tom spoke sternly:
“You’re aching to make trouble, somehow—anybody can see that. Cut it out! This isn’t your row, unless you’re the telltale—understand?”
Zorn wriggled free. He retreated a pace or two; for Orkney’s hand had been heavy.
“You’re a nice crowd!” he sneered. “They say you call yourselves the Safety First Club. Good name, that! Sure it is! Just fits in with the speed Sam Parker made in saving himself and giving Walker away. Safety First! You bet that’s the rule with every one of you, and the rest can go hang, for all you care!”
Orkney would have charged the enemy, but Sam held him back. The last minute or two had been a trying time for Parker, as any time must be which brings revelation that one has fallen into a most embarrassing predicament. Sam had had his flash of illumination. He saw, all too distinctly, the complications in which he had become involved. Innocently enough he had fallen into the rôle of chief witness against his friend and club-mate. And Zorn had not played eavesdropper without result. That the knowledge thus gained would be used for the annoyance and discomfiture of the clan, Sam had no doubt; but he realized that a fight then and there would in no wise mend matters.