CHAPTER XIV--THE BOYS APPOINT A COMMITTEE

Never before in the annals of Rivertown High had such a scene been witnessed in the chapel, and as the scholars realized that one of their number was openly defying the man who, for years had guided the destinies of those studying under him, they were dumfounded.

Mr. Larmore, himself, evidently shared the general astonishment for, as he heard Dawson's demand, his eyes flashed, he opened his mouth as though to speak, and then, evidently thinking better of it, closed it again.

The silence enveloping the chapel was so intense that the fall of a pin would have sounded loud.

Realizing that such a situation could not be tolerated, the principal at last exclaimed:

"Dawson, I am surprised that you should assume such an attitude in this matter.

"For obvious reasons, I cannot enter into an argument with you as to the source of my information. I will say, however, that I consider my authority reliable.

"It grieves me more than I can express to think that any of my boys should so far forget themselves in their sport as to do damage to the school's property.

"I shall go to my office directly after I have dismissed chapel, and I shall expect those boys who took part in the breaking of the apparatus to come to me and confess.

"Chapel is dismissed."

Instantly there was a hum of excited voices as the boys and girls filed from the assembly room where the chapel exercises were held.

Instead of going to their class rooms, however, the members of the Pi Eta society filed out of the schoolhouse and gathered about their leader who had challenged the principal.

"Did any Pi Eta smash the apparatus?" asked Dawson. "If he did, for the good of the society he must go to Larmore and take his medicine. I want to be sure of my facts before I take any further action."

But not a boy spoke up.

"I put you on your Pi Eta oath," announced Dawson.

But even this placing them on their most sacred honor had no additional effect upon the society boys.

Several of the members of the other Greek letter societies gathered about the Pi Etas--for they realized that a crisis had arisen that affected all the social organizations of the school--and they wanted to plan how to meet it.

When, therefore, they learned that none of the society members had been implicated in the trouble, they cheered loudly.

"The thing to do now, is to find out who told 'Princy'"--which was the nickname the boys applied to the principal of the school--"that it was the work of the Pi Etas," said Dawson.

"It strikes me that the best thing to do is for some of us to go in and have a talk with him," declared Longback, when none of the boys offered any suggestion as to who the bearer of the information might be.

"Why not let the Pi Etas settle it themselves?" proposed another boy.

"Because it concerns the rest of us just as much as it concerns them--as a matter of fact I believe it concerns us more; because I'm sure that not one of the Pi Etas had anything to do with it."

"Yes, and if any of us should go into Princy's office, he and everybody else in the school, would think we had come to confess," declared Paul.

This argument proved a clincher for the plan of sending a delegation to call on Mr. Larmore in his office, and without delay the boys expressed their preferences, the committee finally being composed of Dawson, Longback, Jerry, Harry and Misery.

The new member of the society objected to serving on the ground that it wouldn't look well for a boy who had just had the honor of coming into the Pi Eta to take such a prominent part in its affairs so soon.

"Well, you _must_ come with us," returned Dawson, "and I'll tell you why. There's no use in mincing matters. Princy and all the other profs think that as part of your initiation, the rest of us either made you break the apparatus, or that you did so in a spirit of bravado."

The case having been put to him thus plainly, Harry offered no further objection to serving on the committee, and without more ado the boys who had been chosen as delegates mounted the steps preparatory to going to the office of the principal.

"What is it? School for the rest of us?" called another boy, looking about at his companions.

"No, let's cut?" cried three or four, while one of them continued:

"It will show Princy and the other Profs that we don't like the deal he's handing to us."

Readily all the members of the Greek letter societies in the school agreed to the plan, and without even so much as going into the school house for their books, they hied themselves to their respective society rooms.