I suppose, was that you took it up
without thinking and didn't realise you had it when you came back."

Steve stared at him incredulously. "Well, of all the cheek!" he gasped.

"What do you mean?" asked Tom.

"I mean that that's a fine thing for you to get off," answered Steve
indignantly. "You'll be saying next that you saw me bring the book in
here that night!"

"I didn't, but--hang it, Steve, the thing _was_ here! You told me so
yourself. I thought you confessed that you brought it up without
knowing."

"Oh, cut it," said Steve wearily. "I'm willing to be decent about it,
Tom, but I don't want to listen to drivel like that."

"Drivel?" repeated the other, puzzled. "Say, what's the matter with you,
anyway, Steve? I don't say you meant to cheat with the old book; I know
mighty well you didn't; I told Telford so and convinced him of it, too;
but I don't see why you need to get so hot under the collar when I--when
I simply remind you that you _did_ bring the book up here!"

"So _I_ brought it up, did I?" asked Steve with an ugly laugh.

"Well, didn't you? Who did, then? You know well enough I didn't."

"Do I? How do I know it? Look here, Tom, we might as well have a
show-down right now. I did not bring that blue-book into this room. I
did not take it out of 'Horace's'. But 'Horace' found it on this table,
poked under a pile of books. Now, then, what do _you_ know about it?"

Tom stared in wide-eyed amazement for a moment. "You--you mean to say
you think I did it!" he gasped finally.

Steve shrugged his shoulders.

"But--but you were here when I came back from downstairs, Steve! You saw
that I didn't have it!"

"I didn't see anything of the sort. I didn't notice whether you had
anything in your hands when you came in. Why should I? You might have
slipped it under your coat. There's no use trying that game, Tom."

"Then why--why did you tell 'Horace' you took the book yourself if you
knew you didn't?"

"Because one of us must have, you idiot."

"Oh, I see," answered Tom thoughtfully. "You wanted to keep me out of
it, eh? Look here, Steve, what would I want with Upton's composition? My
own was written two days before."

Steve shrugged his shoulders again impatiently. "That puzzled me. I
didn't know. You did say afterwards, though, that your own comp. was
pretty rotten. I didn't know but what----"

"You have a fine opinion of me, haven't you?" asked Tom bitterly.
"You've known me ever since we were kids