Page:Dave Porter at Oak Hall.djvu/279



was going straight to his dormitory when Dave hurried up to him, and caught him by the shoulder.

"Let me go!" said the sneak, doggedly. "You said you were willing to let it pass——"

"And I am, Chip. Come, take a walk with me. I want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk."

"You had better come. I'm not going to hurt you. I want to talk for your own good."

The younger boy hesitated for a moment, and then turned partly around.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Come up to the old lumber room. It's warm there and quiet, too," and Dave led the way to an apartment filled with odds and ends of all sorts. Here they sat down on some boxes.

"Chip, I am going right to the point, for I don't think it pays to beat around the bush," commenced Dave. "I want to know why you don't turn over a new leaf and be a better boy? Nobody likes a sneak, and it ought to be beneath you to toady to Gus Plum. If you'd give up your sneaking ways, Rh