Rattleton dashed past the others, and ran to the fireplace. There was no excuse for a fire in September, but a tiny blaze was there, nevertheless. Rattleton put his hand upon it instantly, to beat the flame out, and stood up with a partially burned and charred fragment of paper in his hand. "What are you trying to do?" demanded Ford, indignantly. "Dock the loor--I mean lock the door," cried Rattleton, excitedly, to Browning. The latter immediately closed the door, turned the key, and stood with his back to it. "We'll settle this thing in a hurry," continued Rattleton, shaking the charred paper aloft; "this is a part of Babbitt's examination paper." "Well, what of it?" asked Ford, angrily; "why shouldn't a man burn up a piece of paper that he's got no further use for?" "Because you left the paper you've been at work on with your answers in the examination room!" retorted Rattleton, "and this is an extra sheet. It shows what became of the two sheets that Babbitt missed." Ford looked from one to another of the students and broke into a laugh. "Well," he said, "I don't feel called upon to make any explanation to you fellows, but as I understand it, your particular friend, Merriwell, will have a good deal to explain." "By all that's good," exclaimed Diamond; wrathfully, "you'll do the explaining for him." "Me?" "Yes, you, you skulking hound! You had those two papers; here's Dismal Jones, to whom you confessed to having got hold of them. You wanted Dismal to take one, hoping that he would give it away to Frank and the rest of us, so that if any exposure came we'd be mixed up in it. I know your sly trick!" Ford had turned very pale. He sank into a chair, shut his teeth together, and muttered: "You're doing a good deal of guesswork; but if you're trying to pick a row go right along; I'm not afraid of you." "We're not here to pick a row, Ford," said Page; "I'm beginning to see through the whole thing. "You're about the only one, except Merriwell, who knew how the chimney in my room communicated with Babbitt's, and I remember you were coming away from my room at one time when we were coming from dinner. You had been up there then to steal the papers. You managed to work one of them off on Merriwell's desk to-day. Rattleton there has got a part of the other." "Well, see here," said Ford. "What does it all mean? Ever since there were colleges, students have done their best to get ahead of the faculty, and if I've succeeded, what's the harm? It isn't hurting you fellows, and no student ever tells on another." He said this with a haughty air, as if to imply that they would be beneath contempt if they should report his doings to the faculty. "We're not going to do any tell-taleing--I mean tale-telling," blustered Rattleton. "We're here to make you do that." "What do you mean?"