open his bewildering eyes.

"Come up to my room." Evidently they were mollycoddles, for they obeyed
my command without a murmur. The day had become already clear.

I began questioning those two in my room, but,--you cannot pound out the
leopard's spots no matter how you may try,--they seemed determined to
push it through by an insistent declaration of "not guilty," that they
would not confess. While this questioning was going on, the students
upstairs came down, one by one, and began congregating in my room. I
noticed all their eyes were swollen from want of sleep.

"Blooming nice faces you got for not sleeping only one night. And you
call yourselves men! Go, wash your face and come back to hear what I've
got to tell you."

I hurled this shot at them, but none of them went to wash his face. For
about one hour, I had been talking and back-talking with about fifty
students when suddenly Badger put in his appearance. I heard afterward
that the janitor ran to Badger for the purpose of reporting to him that
there was a trouble in the school. What a weak-knee of the janitor to
fetch the principal for so trifling an affair as this! No wonder he
cannot see better times than a janitor.

The principal listened to my explanation, and also to brief remarks from
the students. "Attend school as usual till further notice. Hurry up with
washing your face and breakfast; there isn't much time left." So the
principal let go all the students. Decidedly slow way of handling, this.
If I were the principal, I would expel them right away. It is because
the school accords them such luke-warm treatment that they get "fresh"