Hal was dumfounded. What could he say? He thought awfully hard. Finally he was able to say, “But I was with Hagner or with Hagner and Delvin all of the time I was in Boston, excepting during the five minutes it took me to call at the pawnshop about the watch. Besides, I haven’t any blue glasses. I didn’t have any and wouldn’t have had time to buy any while there.” “Are you sure you were only away from Hagner for five minutes? The pawnbroker said both visits took place within ten or fifteen minutes all told. The glasses might have been bought before you took the train. We are not trying to accuse you, Case, we are trying to keep from having to,” said Mr. Williams. “I am not sure that it was exactly five minutes,” said Hal. “I am not sure of anything except that I had nothing to do with the theft of the medal. And yet I can’t blame you gentlemen very much, because it certainly does look bad, especially when I was on my way to leave the University for good.” Hal had somewhat recovered his balance because he knew, of course, that it must come out all right somehow, although he had no idea what or how they were going to do him. He knew he was innocent yet here were a lot of circumstances that looked like evidence to them and until he could clear them up he would be under great suspicion. If they should decide that the evidence warranted action they could even have him locked up, and he began to think of the books he had read of people--men, women, and boys who had been unjustly accused of different crimes and had been locked up for years, many of them never having their innocence proved. It was a terrible fix for him. All this went through his mind while the others were consulting. Finally Dr. Lawrence, the president, turned to Hal and said: “Mr. Case, it is a terrible thing for all of us to have to consider a matter of this kind. It is one of the few occasions in my life when I would rather be anyone else than the President of Lowell University. Whoever it was who performed this theft may have to answer finally for the conviction of an innocent young man. We are loath to accuse you of this crime. In fact, I wish you to understand thoroughly that we do not accuse you now. At the same time the circumstances are such that we cannot, we regret to say, exonerate you until the matter is fully cleared up. You yourself admit that it looks bad for you. It does. But we will not permit ourselves to believe you guilty until every effort has been made to clear it up. Meantime, however, not as a punishment for the matter, but to put it on a basis which while not justifiable is nevertheless explainable, as the result of your intention to absent yourself from the University without leave, we have decided that you must consider yourself off the Varsity for the period of one week. We rely on you not to leave the University pending the investigation. I am sorry.” [Illustration: “You must consider yourself off the varsity.”]