BOB SAYS SO
Willard’s heart sank. There was no need to pick the thing up for closer
examination. Its crumpled, distasteful folds showed one border missing,
and, if evidence had still been lacking, closer inspection would have
elicited the fact that, half obliterated by a paint smudge, the word
“Harmon” was plainly printed on a corner. It was the handkerchief that
he had given to Bob Newhall Saturday night to wipe his hands on.
“Yes, sir,” replied Willard.
“When and where?” asked the Doctor quietly.
“Last Saturday night, sir, at Hillsport.”
The Doctor picked the object up gingerly and dropped it back in the
drawer. Then he closed the drawer slowly and gazed thoughtfully for a
short moment at the book he had laid aside.
“I have received a very indignant letter from Doctor Handley, at
Hillsport School,” he said presently. “He tells me that some time
during Saturday night the wall of his residence was defaced with black
paint in--um--in ill-advised celebration of Alton’s football victory
over Hillsport.”
Willard gasped. “We--I didn’t know it was his wall, sir!” he exclaimed.
“Is that true? You didn’t know that Doctor Handley’s residence stood at
the corner, across from the school entrance?”
“No, sir,” answered the boy earnestly. “I’d never been there before,
sir.”
“But the others? They must have known.”
“The others?” stammered Willard.
“Yes,” replied the Doctor gently. “You said ‘we’ a moment ago.”
Willard reddened. “I--I corrected myself,” he answered.
Doctor McPherson smiled whimsically and shook his head. “I wouldn’t
call it a correction, Harmon. You see, it’s extremely unlikely that you
would have engaged in such a--such an amusement by yourself. Defacing
property in that manner is ‘gang work’: I’ve never known it otherwise.”
Willard gulped. “Yes, sir. Well, none of us knew that wall was
Doctor--Doctor--”
“Handley’s?” asked the Principal helpfully.
“Yes, sir. We wouldn’t have done it for anything if we had known.
We--we just wanted to get even with those--fellows for what they did
to us last year. They painted green signs all around town here, sir,
and we thought it was perfectly fair to get back at them. That’s all
there was to it.”
“A very silly proceeding, Harmon. Defacing the property of others is a
particularly mean and contemptible form of mischief. And the fact that
the Hillsport boys indulged in it was no excuse. Indeed, the appearance
of your own town should have shown you how atrocious such vandalism
is. I sympathize with the resentment that was felt here last fall when
it was found that Hillsport had scrawled the score on our fences and
walls, but I do not sympathize in the least with the motive that led
you and your companions to commit the same indecency, Harmon. Another
thing is that Hillsport was careful not to deface school property.
Indeed, as I recall, she displayed some care in the selection of old
fences and such places for her--um--decorations. In your case you seem
to have tried to do as much damage as possible.”
“But we didn’t know, sir!” protested Willard again.
“And that I find hard to believe,” replied the Doctor, shaking his
head. “How many times did you paint the score up?”
“Only twice. The first time on a stable or something. We looked for
fences and things like that, but there weren’t any, sir. And we wanted
to put it where the Hillsport fellows would be sure to see it, and
finally we found that wall! It was outside the school grounds and we
didn’t any of us know it was the Principal’s house. We wouldn’t have
thought of doing it there if we’d known. It was just--just a joke, sir!”
“A frightfully poor one, Harmon! Who were the others with you?”
Willard dropped his gaze and a moment of silence passed. When he raised
his eyes again it was to look rather miserably at the Doctor and shake
his head. “I guess I oughtn’t to say, sir,” he answered in low tones.
“I shan’t insist,” said the Doctor gently. “I know how you fellows look
at such things. I can’t help reflecting, however, Harmon, that your
code of honor as regards matters amongst yourselves is somewhat finer
than you display in other matters. You don’t hesitate, it appears, to
daub black paint over a man’s brick wall, although that man has never
offended you in the least, but you’re outraged at the mere thought
of giving information against companions who have aided you in your
offenses. Well, you shall suit yourself. I think it my duty, though,
to point out to you that, in deciding on the proper punishment in your
case, the question of whether you knew or did not know that you were
defacing property belonging to the school and occupied by the school
Principal is important. You tell me that you did now know and that the
others did not know. If, as you say, you had not been in Hillsport
before, I am inclined to believe what you tell me of yourself, but I
cannot take your word for the others, Harmon. It seems to me extremely
unlikely that one or more of them did not know whose property it was.
If I knew their names I could question them and find out. As I don’t
know their names I am forced to give more credence to the probabilities
than to your testimony. You see, Harmon, the affair looks very much
like a deliberate insult to Doctor Handley, and it certainly calls for
an apology. In apologizing I’d like greatly to be able to assure him
that the affair was merely a schoolboy prank and that the depredators
were not aware that it was his property they were defiling. But I can’t
tell him that without more evidence than your unsupported testimony
affords me. Is that clear to you?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Willard unhappily.
“And you still prefer not to give me the names of the others? Remember
that I shall make every effort to find out and shall doubtless succeed.”
“I--I’d rather not, sir,” answered Willard steadily.
“In that case there is no more to be said. Pending a decision as to
what disciplinary measures shall be taken, Harmon, you will observe
hall restrictions. I am very sorry this has happened, my boy, and I
hope it will lead you to a--um--greater respect for the rights and
property of others. Good morning, Harmon.”
Willard stood up, rather pale but very straight. “I’m sorry I can’t
tell you about the others, sir,” he said earnestly, “but--but I don’t
believe you’d act any different yourself if you were in my place. And
I’ll take the punishment without kicking, Doctor McPherson. But, just
the same, it doesn’t seem fair to me that those fellows should get away
with what they did and we--I should get punished for doing no more.
We didn’t know we were painting up Doctor Handley’s wall. You needn’t
believe me unless you want to, but it’s so! What--what’s he want to
live outside the school for, anyway?” Willard ended in an indignant
wail and the Doctor’s mouth trembled in a smile.
“If your idea is to shift the blame to Doctor Handley,” answered the
Principal dryly, “I’m afraid it won’t work! You’ll hear from me later,
Harmon. Good morning.”
“Good morning, sir,” murmured Willard.
He found Martin hidden behind a newspaper when he got back to the room,
and so absorbed was the reader that not until the door had slammed shut
did he know of Willard’s entry. Then he showed perturbed countenance
above the Darlington _Daily Messenger_. “Seen this, Brand?” he asked
ominously. Willard shook his head and took the proffered paper. The
Hillsport correspondent had made quite a story of it.
VISITING VANDALS DEFACE PROPERTY
Saturday’s Football Game at Hillsport Commemorated
by Smears of Paint
“Hillsport, Nov. 4: This town awoke on Sunday morning to find
that some time during the preceding night vandals had been at
work with paint and brush. In a number of conspicuous places
the score of Saturday’s football game between Hillsport and
Alton Academy was set forth in great black figures. To the
youthful perpetrators of the outrage no place was sacred, for
the ornamental brick wall about Principal Handley’s residence,
adjoining the school campus, was one of the sites selected
for the derisive inscription. On Parker Street, the stable
belonging to Chief of Police Starbuck likewise tells the story
of Alton Academy’s football victory. Probably other instances
of property defacement will be found, but these so far are
the most glaring that have come to light. Indignation is
widespread and both town and school authorities propose to
use every effort to bring the guilty persons to justice.
While complete evidence is still lacking, it is generally
believed that certain of the visiting party of Alton Academy
students, over-excited by an unusual and unlooked for triumph
over the local school, remained behind on Saturday evening and
celebrated the victory in this reprehensible fashion. Indeed,
it has been already established that four or five Alton youths
were seen about town as late as half-past six or seven that
evening. Unfortunately for them, the miscreants left a clue
which if followed will undoubtedly lead to their apprehension.
This is now in the hands of Chief of Police Starbuck. We
understand that Principal Handley is already in correspondence
with the authorities at Alton Academy and that the wanton
defacement of school property will not be allowed to pass
unpunished.”
Willard handed the paper back in silence. Martin grinned. “Have you
anything to say before sentence is passed?” he asked sepulchrally.
“Sentence has been passed, so far as I’m concerned,” answered Willard.
Martin stared. Then:
“What do you mean?” he demanded anxiously.
“I mean that I’ve just come from a fine moment with Doctor McPherson.
That Principal over there, Handley or whatever his silly name is, has
written to the Doctor, and sent that clue along, too.”
“Wow!” muttered Martin awedly. “Wha--what was the clue?”
“My handkerchief.”
“_Good night!_”
“And sweet dreams,” added Willard ironically.
“What did he say?” asked Martin after a moment of painful thought.
Willard shrugged.
“He said a lot! He wasn’t so bad, though. I’ll have to say that for
him. I’m on hall bounds until the faculty gets together and decides
whether I’m to be boiled in oil or merely drawn and quartered. You
fellows may get by all right, though. I’m the only one they’re sure of
so far. Why the dickens didn’t someone say that that brick wall was the
Principal’s?”
“How were we to know?” demanded Martin. “Why doesn’t he live inside
where he ought to? Say, we managed to pick a couple of fine spots,
didn’t we? It was a clever idea to paint up the side of the Chief of
Police’s barn! Oh, we were a grand little bunch of nuts!” And Martin
laughed mirthlessly.
“Yes,” agreed Willard, “we surely managed to do things up brown while
we were doing!”
“Didn’t you tell ‘Mac’ that you didn’t have anything to do with it?”
“That would have been a fine song-and-dance!” jeered Willard. “What
if I didn’t do any of the actual painting? I went along, didn’t I?
Besides, there was my handkerchief, all stuck up with black paint. He
didn’t waste any time asking me whether I’d done it. All he wanted to
know was who the others were.”
“You might as well have told him,” said Martin gloomily. “He’ll find
out quick enough.”
“I don’t think so,” answered Willard. “No one saw us come back, and
short of taking the whole school over there and letting the restaurant
folks pick you fellows out, I don’t see how they’re going to tell.”
Martin brightened. Then his face fell again. “We’ll have to fess up,
Brand. It wouldn’t be fair to let you stand the whole racket.”
“That’s a swell idea,” answered the other derisively. “You and Bob off
the team would help a lot, wouldn’t it?”
“We-ell--” Martin scowled in concentrated study of the problem. Then:
“Look here,” he said, “a fellow’s got to eat, anyway. Let’s go to
dinner. Afterwards we’ll find Bob and--”
His remark was interrupted by a knock at the door followed by the
entrance of Bob himself, a somewhat troubled looking Bob who, without
noticing anything unusual in the looks of the roommates, plunged into
speech. “Say, fellows,” he announced, lowering himself into a chair
and viewing them frowningly, “I’m not quite easy in my mind about that
business the other night.”
“Really?” asked Martin. “How strange!”
The sarcasm was lost, however. Bob shook his head and went on. “No,
because I have a horrible suspicion that I tied that handkerchief to
the handle of the paint can, Brand. And if I did they’ll find it, sure
as shooting. I--I suppose it had your initials on it, eh?”
Willard shook his head. “No,” he answered gently.
“Honest?” Bob perked up. “Then it won’t matter if they do find it, will
it? Gee, I was getting sort of worried! You see, I thought first I’d
given it back to you, Brand, and then I thought I’d thrown it away, but
Cal said last night that he sort of remembered feeling it around the
handle and I sort of half remember putting it there. But if it didn’t
have any mark on it, we shouldn’t worry.”
“I didn’t say that,” corrected Willard. “I said it didn’t have any
initials, and it didn’t. All it had was ‘Harmon’, in nice big letters.”
“Great Scott!” gasped Bob.
“By the way, you haven’t cast your eye over the Darlington paper by any
chance, have you?” drawled Martin.
“No. Is there anything in it?” asked Bob anxiously.
“Why, yes, you might say so. Like to look at it?”
Bob viewed the others with growing disquiet. “What’s the joke?” he
demanded, scowling. “What are you two fellows so blamed creepy about?
Let’s see that paper!”
Willard and Martin said nothing until Bob had finished the story. Then:
“Looks like we might have a bit o’ weather,” drawled Martin.
Bob laid the paper down softly and grinned in sickly fashion.
“I’ll say so,” he answered.