“For such a scoundrel,” continued Mr. Morton, “there is no hope greater than the penitentiary!  He is fit for nothing else.  Such a traitor would betray his best friend, or his country.  Such a sneak would be dead to all feelings of generosity.  The smallest meannesses must envelop his soul.  Why, sir, the sender of these copies of the signal code was so mean, so small minded, so sneaking and so utterly selfish”—–­how Phin squirmed in his seat!—–­“that, in sending the envelopes through the mail he was not even man enough to pay full postage.  Four cents was the postage required for each envelope, but this small-souled sneak, this ungenerous leech actually made the receivers pay half of the postage on ‘due-postage’ stamps.”

“I didn’t!” fairly screamed red-faced Phin, leaping up out of his chair.  “I stuck a four-cent stamp on each envelope myself!  I remem-----”

Of a sudden he stopped in his impetuous burst of language.  A great hush fell in the room.  Phin felt himself reeling with a new fright.

“Then,” demanded Mr. Morton, in a very low voice, his face white, “why did you deny having sent out these envelopes containing the copies of the code?”

There was a shuffling of feet.  Two or three of the Board laughed harshly.

“Oh, well!” burst almost incoherently from the trapped boy.  “When you employ such methods as these you make a fellow tell on himself!”

All his ‘brass’ was gone now.  He looked, indeed, a most pitiable object as he stood there, his lower jaw drooped and his cheeks twitching.

“I think you have said about all, Mr. Drayne, that it is necessary for you to say,” interposed the chairman.  “Still, in the interest of fair play we will allow you to make any further statements that you may wish to make.  Have you anything to offer?”

“No!” he uttered, at last, gruffly.

At a sign from the chairman the clerk stepped silently over, took Phin by one elbow, and led him to the door.  Phin passed on out of the building, stumbling blindly.  He got home, somehow, and into bed.

In the morning, however, even a sneak is braver.

“What can they do to me, anyway?” muttered Phin, as he dressed.  “I didn’t break any of the laws of the state!  All anyone can do is to cut me.  I’ll show ’em all how little I care for their contempt.”

So it was not wholly in awe that Phin Drayne entered the general assembly room the next morning, a few minutes before opening time.  Several of the students greeted him pleasantly enough.  Phin was quick to conclude that the news had not leaked anyway, beyond the members of the football squad.

Then came the opening of the session.  The singing books lay on the desks before the students.  Instead, however, of calling out the page on which the morning’s music would be found, Dr. Thornton held his little gavel in his hand, after giving a preliminary rap or two on his desk.