“Somes, I hear from Mr. Buckman and Mr. Cobb that you have been doing very poorly in your studies of late, and my own observations bear out their report. What’s the trouble?”
Dick was silent, searching for a reply that would be at once truthful and not too self-incriminating.
“Maybe we made a mistake in putting you in the Second Senior Class. I was in doubt about the advisability of it at the time, you will remember. Perhaps you had better drop back a class. Does that appeal to you?”
“But if the lessons are too hard for you?”
“They’re not? Well, that’s a refreshing thing to hear, Somes. I’ve just been talking to several other boys and had begun to think that we were driving the students too hard here. Then you don’t find the lessons too difficult?”
“Then may I ask again what the trouble is? If they are not too difficult why can’t you learn them?”
“I can, sir,” answered Dick after a moment’s pause. “I--haven’t been studying very hard lately. I’m sorry, sir.”
“So am I. Because you are wasting your time, and you are wasting our time. When you came here you told me that you would abide by the rules and be diligent. Didn’t you, Somes?”
“Exactly. And you haven’t been doing it. For some two weeks or so you have been coming into class with your lessons half prepared. You haven’t kept your part of the agreement, my boy. Supposing I were to tell you that an agreement broken by one of the parties becomes void? You realize what that would mean?”
There followed a moment of silence during which the Doctor, leaning back in his chair and rolling his pen between his fingers, studied Dick attentively. Then:
“I believe you have lately bought some sort of an ice-boat, Somes. Is that correct?”
“Hum! Rather an expensive luxury for a boy of your age, it seems to me. Do you think that your father would approve of your buying it if he knew?”
“I see. How long have you been negotiating for this boat?”
“Rather a coincidence that, don’t you think, Somes? It looks to me as though that ice-boat explained matters. What do you think?”
“I guess it does explain. I was so--so busy thinking about it, sir, that I didn’t have time to study much,” answered Dick honestly.
The Doctor was silent a moment. Then, smiling slightly, he asked: