A VISIT TO THE OFFICE
Toby’s suspicions were confirmed the next morning. On the way back from
chapel he fell in with Sid Creel. Sid’s eyes were twinkling merrily as
he joined arms with Toby and fell into step. “Did you hear about Roy
Frick?” he demanded in a hushed but joyous voice.
Toby shook his head. He thought he knew what was coming, however.
“Some one beat him up,” said Sid, “beat him up beautifully! I haven’t
seen him, but that’s what Orlie Simpson says. He’s in his room and
won’t come out, and Orlie says he’s a sight!”
“When?”
“Last night. That’s all I know. Maybe it’s unkind to chortle, Tucker,
but he _did_ need it, didn’t he?”
“Maybe he did,” answered Toby gloomily.
“Well, what’s your trouble?” Sid observed him in surprise. “You sound
as if you were sorry for him!”
“Frick? No, I was only thinking that if there was any trouble about
it――whoever did it――――”
“Oh, he’s not likely to tell, I guess,” Sid chuckled. “Probably he will
say he fell downstairs or something! Well, see you later. Thought you’d
be interested in hearing the sad news. So long!”
After a two o’clock recitation Toby returned to Number 12 to leave his
books before going to the field and found a gray card awaiting him.
Toby had seen gray cards before and knew what they meant, but this time
his conscience was fairly untroubled and he wondered a good deal as he
read the printed form:
“The Principal desires to see Tobias Tucker in the School Office before
6 p.m.”
Even the clearest conscience will experience qualms on receipt of such
a document, and Toby sat down, card in hand, and asked himself what it
portended. It might be that bothersome Latin, although just of late it
hadn’t been going half badly and his instructor had even given him an
approving word but a day or two since. Of course it was conceivable
that a student might be summoned to the Office on some matter not
concerned with misdemeanors or derelictions. For instance, Toby told
himself, Doctor Collins might want to ask his advice regarding the
administration of Yardley Hall School!
Well, anyhow, he reflected presently, he had until six to keep the
appointment, and meanwhile it was getting close to practice time, and
whatever the matter might be it could wait. So he kicked off his shoes
in favor of a pair of rubber-soled “sneakers” and donned his oldest
jacket and set forth.
If troubles never come singly, as they say, the same may be said of
surprises. Toby’s second surprise that day came when the whistle had
put an end to a hard-fought battle with First Team in which he had
again kept the quarter-back position throughout. Possibly the fact
that Frick was not on hand may have had something to do with that, for
Rawson and Stair had been left well behind in the race for supremacy.
In any case, Toby put in forty minutes of actual playing and ran his
team well, although no score came to the Second to-day. Walking back
to the bench for his sweater, he heard his name called. Coaches Lyle
and Burtis were standing together nearby and it was Mr. Burtis who had
spoken. Toby joined them.
“You know Mr. Lyle, Tucker?” asked the Second Team coach. Wonderingly
Toby shook hands. “Mr. Lyle thinks he needs you on the First,”
continued Mr. Burtis. “Sorry to lose you, Tucker, but we’re almost
through, and I guess you may be able to help out over there.”
Toby looked bewildered. “You mean you want me――that I’m to go to the
First Team, sir?”
“Yes, Tucker, that’s the idea,” answered the First Team coach. “As you
know, we’ve lost Curran for the season. We still have a couple of good
quarters in Noyes and Winfield, but I’ll feel safer with another to
fall back on. I can’t promise you much glory, Tucker, for you may not
be needed this season. Perhaps all you’ll get is a lot of hard work, my
boy, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re doing your
bit for the School. Anyhow, there’s next year to look forward to. And
I dare say that, if you take hold the way I expect you to, you’ll get
your letter in the Broadwood game. Well, you report to me to-morrow,
will you?”
“Yes, sir, thanks!”
“Good!” Mr. Lyle shook hands again as though to seal the bargain, and
then Mr. Burtis shook hands in a way that conveyed the idea that he
was very pleased for Toby’s sake, and Toby escaped. Most of the First
and Second Team fellows had gone on ahead and he had the path pretty
much to himself on the way to the gymnasium. And he was glad, because
he wanted to think. He was a First Team man! That was wonderful, but
it was also disquieting. Suppose that by some strange and unforeseen
combination of events he was called on to play against St. John’s, or
even Broadwood! Gee, that would be pretty fierce! He guessed he just
couldn’t do it! No, sir, he’d be ill or something. Playing on the
Second was one thing and running up against a big team like St. John’s
was quite another. He would make a horrible mess of things, probably,
and die of disgrace! Then the comforting thought came to him that
there wasn’t the least chance of his getting into action in either of
the remaining contests, that all he would be required to do would be
to substitute now and then in practice. It would be pretty hard work,
of course, but it would be worth while. Even to be numbered among the
First Team was a proud privilege and cheap at any cost of labor. And
there was also the alluring possibility that he would get in for a
minute or two at the last of the big game, long enough to win the right
to wear the big blue Y!
He remembered Frick then and wondered if he would have been chosen
had Frick been out to-day. His modesty didn’t prevent his suspecting
that his work had pleased the coach better than Frick’s during the last
week or so, and he hoped that Frick’s absence from practice to-day was
not the reason for the choice falling where it had. But he couldn’t be
certain as to that, and in consequence he found no temptation to be
“swell-headed.”
It wasn’t until he had dressed and was leaving the gymnasium with
Sid Creel and Frank Lamson and one or two more that he remembered
that summons to the Office. Remembering, his heart sank. Suppose
something――he couldn’t think what it might be――but suppose something
had gone wrong and he was to learn that this new and wonderful good
fortune was to be denied him! Of course, that was perfect rot, for
he hadn’t done anything! Just the same he’d feel better when that
conference with the Principal was over.
The School Secretary waved him silently toward the inner office a few
minutes later and Toby confronted Doctor Collins. There was nothing
formidable about the Principal, but to-day Toby’s spine experienced the
sensation of becoming suddenly liquefied, for Doctor Collins fixed a
kind but stern look on him as he swung about in his chair.
“Ah, Tucker! Be seated, please.” The Doctor removed his glasses, held
them between him and the light from the broad windows, seemed satisfied
with their clarity and replaced them astride his nose. “One of our
fellows was set on last night by two other boys, Tucker, and badly
hurt. Perhaps you know him?”
“Roy Frick, sir? I know him a little. We’re――we were on the Second Team
together.”
“And you had heard of his――ah――injuries?”
“Yes, sir, Sid Creel told me this morning.”
“I see. Well, I’ve sent for you, Tucker, because Frick tells a strange
story of the event. At least, I find it strange. Perhaps you can throw
some light on it. According to Frick, he was returning from the village
last evening at about nine o’clock, perhaps a little after nine, and
just inside the main gate at the foot of the Prospect two boys jumped
out from the trees and seized him. That is to say, one boy seized him
and the other――ah――administered punishment. It appears to have been
rather a brutal affair, brutal and cowardly. You agree with me?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Toby troubledly. He had made up his mind by now
that no matter what happened he would not tell on Tubb.
“Yes. Now here is the strange――ah――feature of the story. Frick tells
us that the boy who punched and otherwise maltreated him was you,
Tucker.”
There was a moment of silence. Then: “_Me?_” gasped Toby.
The Principal nodded. “Yes, he says so. He declares that he saw you
well enough to recognize you, although the spot is a fairly dark one.
However, there is the possibility that he was mistaken. Doubtless you
can account for your time at that hour, Tucker.”
“Why, yes, sir! Of course I can! I wasn’t anywhere near the gate! I
wasn’t even outside Whitson! Besides, I’d have no reason to do it,
Doctor!”
“No? I gathered from Frick that there was a sort of feud existing
between you. However, that isn’t of consequence now. I’m very glad
indeed that you are in a position to disprove his accusation. Where
were you at that time, Tucker, and with whom?”
“Between nine and――――”
“Well, between nine and half-past, let us say. Frick thinks the time
was perhaps nine-ten or nine-fifteen.”
“I was in my room in Whitson, sir. I was doing some geometry.”
“Well occupied,” answered the Principal with a smile. “And your
roommate was with you, I presume?”
“Why, no, sir, he wasn’t,” stammered Toby. “Arnold was at a football
conference.”
“Oh!” Doctor Collins sounded disappointed. “Then between nine and, say,
a quarter-past nine you were quite alone? Did any one come into your
room about that time?”
“No, sir.” Toby’s heart sank. “I think it was a little after eight when
I came down from the third floor, and I studied until――I’m not just
certain, but I think it was about a quarter-past, sir.”
“Where were you on the third floor?”
“I went up to see George Tubb. He rooms in 31.”
“But that was, you say, shortly after eight. At what time did your
roommate return?”
Toby hesitated. Arnold had been in the room when he got back from that
second visit to Number 31, but how long he had been there Toby hadn’t
asked. Finally: “He was there a little before ten, sir.”
“Well, between the time you finished studying and his return where were
you, Tucker?”
Toby was prepared for that question. If he owned to having gone back to
Tubb’s room the Principal would probably suggest that Tubb be called
on to verify the statement, in which case it was more than likely
that Tubb’s absence from his room at the time when Frick was set upon
would become known. Perhaps, since Tubb was evidently not thought of
in connection with the affair, that was not dangerous, but to Toby it
seemed to offer a clew that any one would seize on. Toby’s reply came
without hesitation.
“I never left Whitson all the evening, sir, not for a moment,” he
said earnestly. “I was in the building from the time I came back from
practice until I went to chapel this morning.”
“I see. Well, I wish you had some one who could vouch for that, Tucker.
I think you are truthful, my boy, and that Frick made a mistake, but
I have no right to accept your word above his. We’ll let the matter
rest overnight. Perhaps you will think of some one who can testify
as to your whereabouts between nine and nine-thirty. Can you come
to me again at――――” the Doctor referred to a memorandum pad on the
desk――“eleven-thirty to-morrow?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well, do so. I’ve no doubt we can find a solution of the mystery
between us. Good afternoon, Tucker.”
Toby returned to Number 12 uneasy but not seriously troubled. It was
nonsense to suppose that Frick would persist in his silly story in the
face of his, Toby’s, denial, or that, even if he did, the Doctor would
hold the accused guilty on such slim evidence. Just the same, he felt
none too kindly toward George Tubb. Suppose the Principal did believe
Frick finally and――Toby frowned. “Gee, I’d get bounced maybe!” he
muttered. “Anyhow, they wouldn’t let me play. Oh, well, Tubb will just
have to ’fess up in that case and take his medicine!”
The thought that Tubb might refuse to do anything of the sort occurred
to him, but Toby put it resolutely aside. Tubb wasn’t that sort, he
assured himself. Whatever faults Tubb might have, at least he was
square.
Toby said nothing to Arnold or any one else that evening of what was
on his mind most of the time. He considered going up and telling Tubb
how matters stood, but he couldn’t see that anything was to be gained
by that and so he didn’t. At half-past eleven the next forenoon he went
back to the Office. Roy Frick, still bearing unmistakable signs of his
beating, was there before him. Doctor Collins got to business at once.
“Tucker, Frick says that he recognized you perfectly the night before
last. That is so, Frick?”
Frick nodded, glancing at Toby from discolored and still swollen eyes.
“Yes, sir. I saw him plainly twice. I couldn’t see the other fellow
very well, because he got me from behind. I just know that he was tall
and kind of slim. But I saw him all right.” Frick nodded toward Toby.
“What do you say, Tucker?”
“Why, I can’t say anything, sir,” answered Toby helplessly, “except
that he’s wrong. I wasn’t outside Whitson once that evening.”
The Doctor looked thoughtfully from one to the other. At last: “You
say, Frick, that there has been some sort of quarrel between you and
Tucker?”
“Yes, sir, sort of. He――he knocked me down one day when I hadn’t done
anything――――”
“Nothing but bounce a football off my be――off my head! And I didn’t
knock you down, and you know it. You tried to hit me and I gave you the
shoulder and you upset. Besides, I didn’t think any more about that.”
“Is there any one else who holds a grudge against you, Frick?” asked
the Principal.
“No, sir, not that I know of.” Then, catching Toby’s look and mistaking
its warning for an accusation, he qualified the statement. “Maybe Tubb
has it in for me a bit, but I know it wasn’t he.”
“Tubb?” asked the Doctor. “Who is Tubb?”
“George Tubb, sir. He’s on the First Team. We had――he thought I did
something to him intentionally when we were playing one day.”
“And you didn’t?”
“Not intentionally, sir.”
“And you’re certain the fellow who pummeled you was not Tubb?”
“Yes, sir. Tubb is thin, and this fellow was thickish and had red――had
hair like Tucker’s.”
“I see. Have you found any one, Tucker, who can confirm what you
told me yesterday as to your presence in your room between nine and
half-past?”
“No, sir, there isn’t any one.” Frick allowed himself the luxury of a
grin while the Principal was not looking, but it didn’t last long. It
still hurt him to move his mouth.
“Well, I don’t know,” said the Principal finally in tones almost as
helpless as Toby’s. “It sounds to me as if there might be what you
fellows would call a ‘catch’ in this business, but on the evidence I
don’t see but what I’ll have to hold you responsible, Tucker. If you
know anything bearing on the matter that you haven’t told me I think it
would be well to mention it, because, to be frank with you, I consider
this attack on Frick a particularly brutal and underhand affair
meriting severe punishment.”
Toby blinked but was silent. After a moment the Principal turned toward
Frick again. “From what you have told me I think it would be well for
you to be a little more careful in the future of your behavior toward
your fellows. I’m afraid you have a faculty for making trouble, my boy.
Should anything more of this sort reach my ears I shall be strongly
inclined to hold you partly to blame. That’s all for now. Good morning.”
Frick withdrew and the Doctor removed his glasses and polished them
deliberately and thoughtfully. At last, replacing them, he asked
gently: “Do you know who attacked Frick, Tucker?”
Toby hesitated. After all, he didn’t know, for Frick’s description
surely exonerated Tubb. So he shook his head and answered, “No, sir.”
“But you suspect some one?” the Principal insisted.
“I――I’d rather not answer, sir.”
“Even if I tell you that a severe punishment awaits the――ah――convicted
person?”
Toby shook his head again. Doctor Collins sighed.