"Drowned!" repeated the president, greatly shocked, "Drowned!" "Yes, sir ..." Benz pulled himself together with an effort, then began to explain as though it was a relief to get the matter off his mind. "You see the second team was havin' a celebration at the bend of the river last night because they beat the varsity. Well--I collected a bunch of fellows and we broke up the meeting. We caught Rube and McCabe an' we thought ... er ... er ... that is, I thought I'd like to scare Rube. So, as I was leader, I ordered the guys to carry him down to the old bridge an' hold him over the rail." "You!" broke in President Windell, excitedly. "Yes,--me!" cried Benz, bound to make a clean breast of it. "I didn't mean to do what I did but for some reason I ... I grabbed his feet an' ... an' when we held him over the rail ... I ... I let go!" "What!" "I don't know why I did it, sir. We only meant to scare him. I never intended that we should drop him in. Honest, I didn't!" Benz's tone turned to pleading. "Oh, it'll just about finish my folks, Mister Windell. What shall I do? ... What _shall_ I do?" President Windell was a highly strung, very excitable little man, well along in years. The sudden tragic news brought by Benz at such an early hour had done much to upset him. "How do you know that Judd's actually drowned?" he asked, after a moment of serious deliberation. "Why I ... we've searched the river ... as far as we could see he never even came up!" Benz answered, then added with conviction, "He's drowned all right!" "But he could swim, couldn't he?" persisted the professor, hopefully. "Perhaps he ..." "That's just it!" interrupted Benz, despairingly. "He might have had a good chance if he could ... but you see ... his feet were tied!" "Feet tied!" President Windell laid a hand upon Benz and shook him. "See here--what were you young men up to? ... That's not much short of murder!" "I know ... it sounds almost like it," admitted Benz. "It's apt to go pretty hard with you," snapped the president, "Wait here until I go and dress. I want you to take me to where this happened. And while you're waiting, put in a call for the sheriff at Tarlton. He'll have to investigate anyway and the sooner he's on the job the better." The professor disappeared upstairs. Benz hesitated a moment, his hands twitching nervously. Then he picked up the telephone and asked for long distance in a voice that faltered brokenly. * * * * * At breakfast that morning tense excitement reigned. News of the tragedy had just been spread broadcast and there were many vacant chairs. A great number of students had rushed for the river but a few of the calmer ones and those who loved their appetites above all else, answered the roll call and contented themselves in stowing away the usual number of pancakes.