Page:Nid and Nod (IA nidnod00barb).pdf/330

 had been sudden and unexpected, and he had said the first thing that came into his mind, but that didn't excuse the lie.

Ned's refusal to answer had been made in the effort to shift suspicion from Laurie to himself, but he wondered now if it would not have been as well to tell the truth. His self-sacrifice hadn't helped his brother much, after all, for Laurie was still suspected of complicity. The affair would probably end in the suspension of them both, perhaps in their expulsion. It was all a sorry mess, and Ned hadn't discovered any solution of it when ten o'clock came.

Rather to his surprise, he got through the examination, which lasted until past twelve, very well. Then came dinner, at which neither he nor Laurie displayed much of the exuberant spirit that possessed their table companions. After the meal Ned went over to the library for an hour. When he returned to No. 16 he found Laurie standing at the window that looked southward toward the distant ball-field, dejection in the droop of his shoulders. Ned felt very sorry for the other just then, and he tried to find some