CHAPTER XIIIBEFORE THE FACULTY
I was not kept waiting long. Scarcely five minutes had passed when the door again opened, and Mr. Dikes reappeared.
“Come in, Mr. Elder,” he said quietly.
With considerable trepidation I followed him, and in a few seconds more I stood in the presence of the faculty.
There was an ominous hush as I took my stand in the middle of the room, facing the seven professors who sat opposite me in a row. I looked apprehensively from one to another with a view to ascertaining what was to be the nature of my reception. My glance was not encouraging. Severity was the predominant expression on every countenance. In the center, behind a small table, sat Dr. Drayton, the college president. He was a man habitually sober and impressive in manner, and, at this moment, his face was exceptionally grave. Gazing at me sharply over his glasses, he began:
“Mr. Elder, there was a riot among the students last night, which resulted, as you know, in the destruction of college property. It was conducted in aspirit of open revolt against our laws. Horns were blown, and the old cannons on the front campus were loaded and discharged, breaking a number of windows. Such culpable infringement of our rules has not been known in some time past, and we are determined to sift the matter to the bottom, and punish the offenders to the fullest extent of our laws. Proctor Murray reports that you were one of these offenders. Have you anything to say?”
My voice trembled somewhat as I answered:
“I was among the students on the campus last night.”
“Proctor Murray reports that masks were worn. Is this true?”
“Yes, sir.”
“He also said you were an exception to this—that while the rest wore masks, you had none.”
“I had no mask, sir. Knowing it to be against college laws, I refused to wear a mask.”
“We are glad to know this in your favor, Mr. Elder. The charge against you, however, is serious enough. You were one of this disorderly crowd, and you were associated with all its doings last night.”
“I was with them, sir,” I answered.
There was a pause for a moment, while Dr. Drayton said something in a low tone to Mr. Dikes. The latter left the room for a few seconds. On returning, he made an affirmative sign to Dr. Drayton, and stood by the door as if awaiting directions.
“Show him in,” said Dr. Drayton.
I turned in surprise as the door again opened. Could it be that some one else had been caught? I could not avoid a slight sense of relief at the thought, for I was becoming terribly depressed in my endeavor to support alone the whole weight of professional dignity arrayed against me. The thought of companionship was extremely welcome to me.
I was not kept long in doubt. I heard Mr. Dikes’ voice say, “This way, please.” A quick, firm step sounded in the outer office, the door was thrown wide open, andRay Wendellstood on the threshold. There was a mutual expression of surprised recognition between us, as he moved forward and stood beside me. Dr. Drayton’s tone was even more severe in addressing Ray than it had been to me.
“Mr. Wendell,” he said, “you are here to answer a charge of a very grave character. You are charged with taking an active part in the disorderly disturbances last night.”
Ray was perfectly calm.
“And may I ask, sir, on what ground that charge is brought against me?”
Dr. Drayton held up a small silver object which had been resting on his table, and which had escaped my notice.
“This is your match box, I believe,” said the president. “Your name is upon it.”
Ray started as he recognized the box, but recovered himself almost immediately.
“Yes, sir. It is my match box,” he answered quietly.
“It is, no doubt, from this box that the matches were taken to light the cannons last night,” continued Dr. Drayton, looking Ray steadily in the face.
Ray said nothing.
“Answer me, Mr. Wendell,” said Dr. Drayton after a pause. “Were you one of that party of students who created the disorder last night?”
“I was with them, sir,” said Ray, making the same answer as I had.
“And you were masked like the others?”
“No, sir.”
Dr. Drayton looked at him quickly.
“Mr. Wendell,” he said, in a still sharper tone of voice, “we are speaking upon information furnished us by Mr. Elder.”
Ray turned with a quick movement and looked at me. I shall never forget that look—a look of mingled surprise, disappointment, and reproach. It cut me like a knife, for I saw only too clearly what it meant. Coupling the display of the match box, which he remembered giving me the night before, with Dr. Drayton’s last words, Ray had concluded, as was only natural in the face of such evidence, that I had betrayed him. The thought that he should suspect me of such baseness, for one instant, was more than I could stand, so I hastened to correct the impression at once.
“Dr. Drayton,” I said quickly, “my words misledyou. When I said that I wore no mask I did not intend to imply thatallthe rest wore masks.”
“That was certainly the impression you gave me, sir,” answered Dr. Drayton, “and I think the other gentlemen of the faculty placed a similar construction upon your language.”
“I am very sorry, sir,” I stammered. “There were several others besides myself who wore no masks, and Mr. Wendell was one of them.”
I glanced quickly at Ray as I said this, in order to mark the effect of my words. He would not look at me, and it was only too evident from his manner that his doubts had not been cleared by my attempted explanation. Dr. Drayton’s positive tone, and my hesitancy and embarrassment, Ray had undoubtedly interpreted to my disadvantage. It must have seemed to him that Dr. Drayton was right, and that I had weakly shifted my position. I was distressed to see that I had not improved matters appreciably.
“I must wait till we are alone; then I can explain it,” I thought. Meanwhile I was in a far from enviable position—in disgrace with the faculty, and at the same time suspected of falseness by my best friend.
The inquiries were again directed toward Ray.
“Then youdid notwear a mask?” said Dr. Drayton.
“No, sir.”
“Was the match box in your possession when the cannons were discharged?”
“No, sir,” answered Ray. “I lent it to some one a short time before.”
Dr. Drayton leaned forward and continued with greater earnestness.
“Mr. Wendell, this match box was found this morning just beside one of the cannons. It was open, and the matches were scattered about, as if it had been dropped in haste immediately after the guns were discharged. We are confident that the man who lighted the cannons, held this match box in his hand.”
Ray was silent.
“Mr. Wendell, when was it that you lent the box?” asked Professor Fuller, speaking for the first time.
“About fifteen minutes before, while we were coming up the hill from the lake,” answered Ray.
“To whom did you lend it?” asked Dr. Drayton quickly.
It was not a fair question, and Ray made no immediate reply. He saw that a full and accurate answer would turn upon me the suspicion of having lighted the cannons. It was an excellent opportunity, had he been disposed to accept it, for him to retaliate upon me for my supposed falseness to him. But this, I knew, was the kind of retaliation which Ray Wendell despised. However much he may have doubted me at that moment, it could in no way affect his own sense of honor.
In answering, he measured his words carefully.
“It was dark, sir—too dark to recognize anybody, except close by. Some one behind me asked for mymatch box—I did not see him, but handed it back without turning around.”
“But you recognized his voice, did you not?” questioned Dr. Drayton, pushing the inquiry eagerly.
Ray hesitated.
“Dr. Drayton,” he said at length, “granted that I knew who it was, could I be expected to tell—to——”
I could stand it no longer, so I broke in again.
“It was tome, sir, that Mr. Wendell gave his match box.”
All, Ray included, looked at me in surprise.
“To you!” exclaimed Dr. Drayton.
“Yes, sir,” I answered, “to me, but only to pass it back. Some one of those behind me asked for the box, and I got it from Mr. Wendell. I only retained it for a moment, and I do not know to whom I gave it, for the rest were masked.”
Ray was looking at me with an expression of relief on his face. He was beginning to see that he had misunderstood the position of affairs.
Dr. Drayton was plainly disappointed. He had at first thought that his inquiries had unearthed the chief offender, but now he found himself as far astray as at the beginning.
Scanning us both sharply he asked:
“Had either of you gentlemen any idea of the purpose for which that match box was wanted?”
“No, sir,” we answered together.
“But you knew the cannons were to be discharged?”
“No, sir,” answered Ray, “not even that. It was a total surprise to us. We had no idea that masks were to be worn either.”
The professor looked at us incredulously.
“Then how came you to be identified with this party, Mr. Wendell?” asked Professor Fuller. “How is it that you, a prominent member of the Senior class, became associated with this masked company?”
“The object of our gathering last night,” said Ray, “was to regain the cannons which had been stolen by the Park College men. It was on that basis alone that I joined the party. I had no idea that there were any mischievous intentions until too late to withdraw.”
“Please recount to us what occurred, Mr. Wendell,” said Dr. Drayton.
Ray accordingly narrated the doings of the night before, while the professors listened with eager interest. When he had finished, Dr. Drayton said:
“I believe we have now all the facts before us, as far as they can be ascertained; and, while they do not by any means exculpate you, they throw a somewhat more favorable light upon your motives. You had no right, however, to take the law in your own hands, as you did in this undertaking, and you cannot free yourself from a share of the responsibility for what occurred.”
“But the cannons, sir,” urged Ray. “They were ours, and they had been stolen from us.”
“The cannons belong to the college,” said Dr. Drayton severely, “and the college authorities were the proper persons to take steps in the matter. We had already begun action for their recovery when this disorderly demonstration took place.”
Ray had nothing more to say.
“Young gentlemen, you may go now,” continued the president. “You will please present yourselves at my house this evening, when I will acquaint you with the action of the faculty in this matter.”
We bowed, and were shown out of the room by Mr. Dikes.