The Rival Pitchers Part 20

"As a rule," went on the proctor judicially, "I take no notice of the--er--the affairs between the different cla.s.ses or student bodies.

But this time I am obliged to. Dr. Churchill and myself have made an examination of the pavilion where this outrage occurred. We discovered the wires running from the electric light circuit to the hand rail. We discovered where a spring connection had been made, so that, by the burning away of a fuse, the parts of the spring closed, the wires came in contact and the current filled the hand rail. We also discovered something else."

He paused, and Tom, for the first time, looked the proctor full in the face. Mr. Zane held out a small object.

"This knife was found near where the wires were fastened to the railing,"

he said. "It has your name on it. Is it yours?"

"Yes, sir," replied Tom.

"You took part in this affair?"

"I am a freshman."

"That is answer enough. Did you attach the wires?"

"No, and I had nothing to do with that part of it."

"Your knife would seem to indicate that you had."

No answer from Tom.

"Did you use your knife to attach the wires?"

"No, sir."

"Do you know who did?"

"I think I do."

"Will you tell?"

Tom could almost hear his heart beating. There was a singing in his ears. Then he answered:

"No. I cannot tell, Mr. Zane. I--I----"

"That will do," said the proctor gravely. "I did not expect you would tell."

Tom turned and made his way from the room. There was a mist before his eyes. There came back to him the promise he had made to Langridge. On his honor as a freshman he had agreed not to give information. When he gave the promise he had not known how serious it would be. But, nevertheless, it was a promise.

Tom stumbled into his room. The Snail and Phil were gone. Sid sat with the light turned low. He jumped up as his chum came in.

"Tom," he cried, "what's the matter?"

"Nothing," was the answer in a dull, spiritless tone. Tom threw himself into a chair. The fussy little clock ticked away. Half an hour pa.s.sed and not a word was spoken.

"You'd better go to bed, old man," said Sid gently. "It'll be all right to-morrow."

Without a word Tom began to undress. The light was turned out. Sid was dozing off when he heard his chum tossing restlessly on his bed.

"Tom," he called through the darkness, "can I help you?"

"No," came the answer, and then Tom lay quiet. But he did not sleep.

CHAPTER XIII

A GIRL AND A GAME

There was a more complete investigation the next day. The report was also circulated that the two soph.o.m.ores were not so badly injured as had at first been feared. But there was something in the air which showed that stringent measures were likely to be taken by the faculty.

Dr. Churchill was ten minutes late in opening chapel that morning, and there was much stately moving to and fro on the part of the instructors.

On the face of Professor Emerson Tines there was a look of satisfaction, as if he was glad that some one had gotten into trouble.

"Look at Pitchfork!" said Sid to Tom, but Tom's face had not lost its anxious look.

"For Heaven's sake, cheer up!" whispered Phil Clinton. "They'll think you did the whole business if they see your face, Tom."

Dr. Churchill made an unusual prayer that morning. Though he did not directly refer to the happening of the previous night, it was in his pet.i.tion, and many a freshman, impressed by the solemn words, then and there resolved to abjure in the future unseemly pranks and to become a "grind."

"The freshman cla.s.s will remain after chapel this morning," announced the venerable head of Randall, and as the other cla.s.ses filed out there were commiserating looks cast at the unlucky first-years by the juniors and seniors and vindictive glances bestowed by the soph.o.m.ores.

The examination was a long and searching one. Tom was questioned at length, but all he would admit was that he took part in the affair, though he stated that he had had nothing to do with fixing the wires.

Nor did he tell of having brought the coil to Langridge. His knife was damaging evidence against him, and he was content to let it stand as such. Kerr manfully admitted lighting the fuse which sprung the wires together and sent the current sizzling into the hand rail, but he would go no further nor tell who had strung the conductors.

The faculty dismissed the cla.s.s and the instructors went into executive session.

"Maybe we'll all be in for it," predicted Phil as the lads strolled off to their cla.s.srooms. "They may suspend us all for a week."

"I don't believe they'd do that," was Sid's opinion. "They may forbid any of us taking part in athletics, though."

"Yes, they might do that," added Fenton. "My uncle says----"

The boys all stopped and looked at him. No one spoke a word. Fenton squirmed under their unflinching gaze.

"Well--well," he began hesitatingly, "he ought to know, for he was a coach here----"

"Yes, and you're a regular trolley car, with an automatic gong that rings up the same thing every time," exclaimed Langridge. "They wouldn't dare keep us out of athletics for such a little joke as that. Why, the whole student body would be up in arms. The ball team would go to pieces, and we'd lose the champions.h.i.+p. They wouldn't dare."

"Glad you think so," remarked Holly Cross calmly. "But I can see us giving a good imitation of a lot of fellows in trouble. Maybe we--that is, whoever strung those wires, for I don't know who it was--maybe we went a little too far. If I'd have known what was up, I'd have made a kick."

"Oh, is that so?" sneered Langridge. But he did not admit his part in the prank and he let Tom suffer for him, for that afternoon it was announced that Tom was to be suspended for two weeks and Kerr for three.

Every other member of the freshman cla.s.s was barred from leaving the college grounds for a week.

There arose a mighty protest over this, for there was a game scheduled with Fairview Inst.i.tute at the end of the week, and if the cla.s.s was kept within bounds it meant that many of the nine could not play and that all the freshmen would be barred from witnessing the second of the champions.h.i.+p struggles, as the contest was to take place at Fairview.

Then the faculty reconsidered the matter, being "almost human," as Phil said, and, with the possible exception of Professor Tines, having once been young and fond of sport themselves. They made a new ruling: That the cla.s.s was to keep within bounds until the day of the game, when all would be allowed to attend save Tom and Kerr. In their case no exception would be made.