as did Amy, who, blaming himself
bitterly for Tom's fix, had done everything he could do to atone.
Following that edict in chapel, Amy had sought audience with Mr. Fernald
and begged clemency for the others.

"You see, sir," Amy had pleaded earnestly, "I was the one who started
it. The others would never have gone into it if I hadn't just simply
made them. Why----"

Mr. Fernald smiled faintly. "You're trying to convince me, Byrd, that
boys like Draper and Hall and Stearns and Westcott are so weak-willed
that they allowed you to drag them into this thing against their better
judgment and inclinations?"

"Yes, sir! At least--perhaps not exactly that, Mr. Fernald, but I--I
nagged them and dared them, you see, sir, and they didn't like to be
dared and they just did it to shut me up."

"It's decent of you, Byrd, to try to assume all the blame, but your
story doesn't carry conviction. Even if it did, I should be sorely
tempted to let the verdict stand, for I should consider boys who were so
easily dragged into mischief badly in need of discipline. I do wish
you'd tell me one thing, Byrd. How could a fellow, a manly, decent
fellow like you, think up such a caddish trick? Wounding another man's
feelings, Byrd, isn't really funny, if you stop to consider it."

"I didn't mean to hurt Mr. Moller's feelings, sir," replied Amy
earnestly. "We--I thought it would just be a--a sort of a good joke to
dress like him, sir, and--and get a laugh from the class. I'm sorry. I
guess it was a pretty rotten thing to do, sir. Only I didn't think about
it that way."

"I believe that. Since you've been here, Byrd, you've been into more or
less mischief, but I've never known you to be guilty before of anything
in such utterly bad taste. Unfortunately, however, I can't excuse you
because you didn't think. You should have thought."

"Yes, sir," agreed Amy eagerly, "and I don't expect to be excused, sir.
I only thought that maybe you'd let up on the others if you knew how it
all happened. I thought maybe it would do just as well if you expelled
me, sir, and let the other fellows off easy. Tom Hall----"

"I see. It's Hall who's worrying you, is it? You're afraid Hall's
absence from the team may result disastrously! Possibly it will. If it
does I shall be sorry, but Hall will have to take his medicine just like
the rest of you. Perhaps this will teach you all to think a little
before you act. No, Byrd, I shall have to refuse your offer. Expelli