Part 20 (1/2)
She would _never_ come back if they thought she cheated! As in a dream she mounted the stairs and rounded the hall toward the office of the a.s.sistant princ.i.p.al. Several pupils were about the central hall, some of them leaving the office toward which she was making her way. Jakey Bechstein was slapping a cap upon his quite good-looking head and starting for the big outer doors with two companions. His big dark eyes were upon the nearest boy and he did not see Betty, though he closely pa.s.sed her.
”What did he say to you, Jakey?” the boys was asking. It was one of the other freshman boys.
”'Lo, Betty, going home?” asked a girl behind her. Betty turned and waved pleasantly to the girl, whom she knew slightly. ”Not now, Adelaidesorry. I have to stop at the office a minute.”
”Been into mischief, I suppose,” laughed Adelaide.
”Of course,” returned Betty, knowing that Adelaide was only in fun. But alas, it was only too true that something was wrong.
As Betty entered the office a boy was just leaving the desk, going out with tense mouth and a frown. But the a.s.sistant princ.i.p.al looked up in a friendly way at Betty, whose face showed plainly her troubled mind.
”Sit down, Betty. This is Betty Lee, I suppose.” Mr. Franklin, who as a.s.sistant princ.i.p.al usually saw all the offenders in school discipline before his chief, now came from behind his desk and drew up a chair not far from Betty's. He looked tired as he stretched out a pair of long legs, crossed his feet and leaned back, one hand reaching the desk, the other dropped in his lap. Here was only an innocent-looking child, whom he did not recall meeting.
”Yes, sir; I am Betty Lee. Miss Masterman told me that I was to come here.”
”M-m. Tell you why you were to come?”
”She said that she thought II cheated in examination.”
The tears which Betty thought she would be able to keep back sprang quickly to her eyes, but she set her lips, wiped her eyes hastily, and continued. ”But I did not cheat and I did not see it if the whole room cheated. I tried to make a good paper for Miss Heath!”
”You like Miss Heath, do you?”
”Oh, yes sir! If she had only” Betty stopped, for she would not imply anything against the subst.i.tute.
”Sometimes it is a temptation to try to do well for some one.” Mr.
Franklin was looking at her kindly, but soberly.
”I've been taught that it is wrong to cheat, sir; and I don't believe it pays in the long run. Father says that the teacher usually finds out what you know or don't know.”
”Usually, but not always when there are so many. Tell me about it, Betty.”
”But there isn't anything to tell! I can't think why anybody _thinks_ I cheated. I worked hard on the review and went over the things I was weakest on, I thought, and ran over the vocabulary we've had, the night before. But I'm pretty good on vocabulary.”
”Girls sometimes are,” joked Mr. Franklin, at which Betty took heart.
”Won't you tell me what happened, Mr. Franklin, to make her think I cheated?”
”Not yet. Near whom did you sit, Betty?”
”Why, Dora Jenkins sits in front of me; and on the aisle next, to the right, Mickey Carlin is across from Dora and Sim, James Simmonds, I mean, sits across from me and on the other aisle, across from me, there's Sally Wright, a colored girl, and Peggy Pollard back of her. The alphabet is all mixed up in this cla.s.s.”
”Who is back of you?”
”Andyoh, no, Mr. Franklin, it was all different that day. I remember the boys changedbut I shouldn't tell you!”
”Go on. One of the boys told me that they changed seats for fun on the day you had a subst.i.tute and it was not an exactly criminal act, though I don't stand for it. Then they didn't change back?”
”I suppose they thought they'd better not since she had seen them there, though I imagine Miss Heath's roll is made out that way.”
”Never mind. Haven't you the least remembrance who sat behind you or to the side back?”
”Seems to me it was Jakey Bechstein behind me and the boys seemed to be all mixed up around there. But I wasn't thinking about it.”