THE EMPTY BOTTLE
"Great Caesar's grandmother, Jack, why didn't you think of that before?"
"I don't know, Bert. It just seemed to come to me as I sat here
thinking about it."
"Well, it's a good thing you think once in a while."
"Why don't you help out then, if you think I don't do enough of it?"
asked Jack rather snappily.
"Oh, come now," went on Bert. "I was only joking. I sure am glad you
thought of it. It's a wonder some of us didn't fall to that idea
before this. We'll tell Tom, as soon as he comes in, and I'll wager
that if we go about it right we can clear this thing up in a day or so."
"I'm sure I hope so," assented Jack. "It's getting on my nerves as
well as on Tom's."
"Yes, and I guess every fellow in college will be glad to know the
truth of it. Why, the team's going to pieces just on account of this
miserable horse-poisoning case, and the burning of a little hay."
"Still, it did look black for Tom, especially when he had that quarrel
with Appleby over the trampled corn, and made some remarks about
getting even because he had to pay for it."
"Yes, that was where Tom made a mistake. I guess he's ready to admit
that himself," and Bert paced the room. "I wish he'd come, so we could
tell him," he added. "Do you know where he is?"
"No, except that he said he was going off alone to take a walk, as he's
done several times of late. I offered to go along, but he said he
wanted to be by himself, so I didn't urge it."
"Off getting clews, I expect."
"Yes," assented Jack.
The two chums sat silent in the room, waiting for the lad whom they
both loved even better than a brother. The past days had been trying
on all of them--on every one in Elmwood Hall--from the most lordly
Senior, or calm post-graduate, to the "fuzziest" Freshman, who thought
he bore the weight of the whole school on his narrow shoulders.
For one and all felt the stigma that rested upon the institution--Tom
most of all. True, as it happened, the affair was not as serious as
had at first seemed. Only one of the farmer's horses died, and that
was not a very valuable beast. The others had been very sick, though.
Fortunately, however, most of the fall crops were in, and the fact of
not having his steeds to work for him did not seriously inconvenience
Mr. Appleby. His neighbors helped him with the loan of their horses.
Still the farmer was a vindictive man, and he determined to have
punished, if possible, the guilty person. That it was Tom, with whom
he had quarreled, he had no doubt.
And, it might be added, though most of the students bore in mind the
injunction of Dr. Meredith not to talk about the matter, and make
useless accusations, Sam Heller and his cronies, did not observe that
silence. Indeed, Sam even went to the trouble of repeating to Mr.
Appleby all the evidence he had discovered against our hero.
"Oh, I know he's guilty!" the vindictive farmer had said, when Sam and
his crony called at the house one day, ostensibly to ask for a drink of
water, but in reality to talk of Tom. "I know he's guilty, but my
lawyer won't let me have him up on charges. He says I might get sued."
"Oh, I guess you could win the case," asserted Sam. He was aching to
see Tom humiliated further. But the farmer shook his head.
"I've lost a heap of money already," he complained, "an' I ain't
a-goin' t' lose no more!"
And thus the case stood when Jack had his inspiration, as he sat in the
gloaming with his chum Bert.
"Here he comes!" exclaimed the latter, as a footfall was heard in the
corridor.
"Yes, that's Tom. Now to tell him."
"Well, Tom, how goes it?" asked Jack, as he arose to open the door in
response to the code knock. "Anything new?"
"I don't know, yet, but I think--why, what's up?" he asked quickly,
surprised at the looks on the faces of his chums.
"You tell him, Jack," insisted Bert generously. "You thought of it."
"It's only this," said Jack modestly. "I've been thinking over this
confounded thing, as of course you have, and I've come to the sudden
conclusion that it was Sam Heller who poisoned those horses."
"Sam Heller?" cried Tom. "What makes you think so?"
"Several reasons," insisted Jack. "Sit down and I'll tell you about
'em.
"Now, to begin at the beginning, who else but Sam would want to throw
the blame on you, Tom?"
"No one, I suppose, unless it was Nick. And even he hasn't the grudge
against me that Sam has."
"Right. It was all to Sam's interest to make it appear that you were
guilty, and things just fitted in with his scheme. There was your
quarrel with the farmer, your threats to get even which you foolishly
uttered in public------"
"Yes, that's where I was wrong," admitted Tom with a sigh.
"And there's another thing, Tom," went on Jack. "About your school
pin. Where is it?"
"Well, to tell you the truth," said Jack with a smile and a blush, "I
loaned it to a girl I met at a dance. She took quite a fancy to it."
"Then you didn't drop it at the hay stacks?"
"No, indeed! Was that why you made believe you couldn't find yours?"
asked Tom.
"Sure it was. I thought------"
"You old Damon and Pythias!" cried Tom, obviously much pleased. "But
it was a useless sacrifice."
"Then whose pin was it that Appleby found?" asked Bert.
"Give it up," spoke Tom.
"But then there's that sweater business," went on Jack, after a pause.
"If you'd only explain that," put in Bert. Tom shook his head.
"I can't--not yet," he said. "But go on. What other evidence have you
that Sam is guilty?"
"No other direct evidence, perhaps," admitted Jack, "but, somehow I
just feel in my bones that Sam poisoned those horses, and threw the
blame on you. He must have seen you leave here with that sweater on,
and come back without it. It was just pie for him to say what he did."
Tom slowly shook his head.
"What? Don't you believe Sam guilty?" asked Bert.
"No, I can't say that I do."
"But he is!" asserted Jack. "It was his sweater the farmer saw instead
of yours. You're both about the same height and build. Of course Sam
did it, Tom."
"No, I can't agree with you. I'll admit I did wear my sweater when I
left here the night the horses were poisoned, and I came back without
it, but------"
"What in the world happened to it?" demanded Jack.
"That I can't say--yet."
"Will you ever be able to?" Bert wanted to know.
"I hope to in time--perhaps soon now. Mr. Appleby picked it up--that
much I'll have to admit."
"And can you clear your name?" asked Jack, rather rueful that the fine
theory he had built up was thus easily passed over by his chum.
"I hope to, Jack."
"Have you any new clews?" asked Bert. "I presume that's what you've
been looking for?"
"Yes, I did go off hunting for them," said Tom slowly.
"Well, did you find any?" burst out Jack. "Can't you relieve the
suspense?"
"I found this," said Tom, placing an empty bottle on the table.
"Why--why, there's nothing in it!" exclaimed Jack, looking at it. "How
can that form a clew?"
"Not because of what is in it but what _was_ in it," said Tom with a
smile. "Unless I'm mistaken this will help to prove my innocence--that
is, if the experiment I'm going to try works out. We'll soon see. I
wonder if the laboratory is closed," and he went out into the corridor.