“I was a pretty wild character,” admitted Tom’s cousin, “but I’m done with that sort of life now.”

“So I wrote several letters,” went on Tom, “asking my cousin to come and explain things.  It was some time before one reached him, as I sent to his last known address out West.”

“But I finally got one,” put in Ray, “and then I came on, as soon as I could.  It’s all explained now, and Tom’s name is cleared.”

“How do you suppose Sam Heller saw you—­or thought he saw you—­with your gay sweater on—­at the barn?” asked Jack.

“Give it up,” said Tom.  “Maybe we’ll find out that too.”

They did—­the next morning, when Tom and his cousin, in an interview with Doctor Meredith, told the whole story.  But it had leaked out before that, and when Sam Heller was sent for he was not to be found.  He had left Elmwood Hall in a hurry.

In order to clear himself of any part in the unjust accusation against Tom, Nick Johnson made a clean breast of the whole affair.  To him Sam had confided a plan of throwing suspicion, of some mean act against Mr. Appleby, on Tom.  Sam’s plan was to go to the barns, and damage some farm machinery, at the same time leaving behind some object with Tom’s name on it to implicate him.  Nick would have nothing to do with this, and Sam went off by himself.

That was the night the horses were poisoned, and Sam, seeing Crouse and Ray about the barns, became frightened and sneaked off without playing his mean trick.  It was Ray he had seen wearing the sweater, leaving the dormitory after Ray had borrowed it, and Sam thought it was Tom, for the cousins were much alike.  And it was Ray whom Mr. Appleby had seen, though the empty package of poison was dropped by Crouse, and not by Ray, so in that the farmer was mistaken.  And Sam testified against Tom, at the time believing him guilty.

Later, though, in one of the resorts of Elmwood, Sam overheard Crouse boasting to some boon companions of what he had done, but, instead of telling what he knew, and clearing our hero, Sam kept silent, letting the blame rest on Tom.  And it was Sam’s school pin the farmer found near the hay.

And it was also Sam and Nick who had bribed the farm boy to send Tom and his chums on the wrong road, thus leading them into the cornfield and causing the quarrel with Mr. Appleby.

“Well, all’s well that ends well,” said Tom’s cousin a few days later, when he made ready to go back to the West, where he promised to begin a new life.  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am Tom, for the trouble I made you.”

“Never mind,” answered our hero.  “It’s all right.”

“Tom’s pluck and luck won for him,” said Jack, and Tom was the hero of the school, for Doctor Meredith publicly commended the youth for his action, and Mr. Appleby was fair enough to beg Tom’s pardon before the whole school.

“But we’ve got to have a new quarterback,” said the perplexed football captain as the time approached for the last big game—­that for the championship.