"At it again?" said Shelby, coming in. "You two never have an out and out row, but you're always bickering. Thorpe, you ought to mend your ways--it is a confounded nuisance to have other people using your things."
"Oh, Blair's an old granny. It does him good to get stirred up once in a while. That paper of his----"
"I know," said Shelby, quietly, "it's a special paper that he bought for his prize drawings--it's not only expensive, but he wants the sheets uniform. You knew this, Thorpe, and yet you grab it and use it for your trial sketches."
"Now, now, Kit," and Blair smiled good-naturedly, "you needn't take up my quarrel. I'm jumping on Thorpe myself."
"You jumping! You'd lie down and let him walk over you!"
"Not much, he wouldn't!" Thorpe growled; "he's been ballyragging me for half an hour! Not only about the paper, but he----"
"Let up, Thorpe," Blair spoke angrily, "at least let's keep our skeletons in our closet!"
"Oh, is there a real row on?" Shelby inquired.
"No, no," Blair declared, but Thorpe jumped up, and, going into his bedroom, closed the door behind him.
"Drop it," commanded Blair, quietly, and Shelby changed the subject.
"Mr. Crane says you had an old letter from Joshua," he began, "let's see it, will you?"
"Sure, if I can find it," and Blair began rummaging in his desk. "Confound it, Kit, if Thorpe hasn't been poking in here among my letters!"
"I wouldn't stand for it, Gilbert. What would he do that for?"
"Hush," with a glance toward Thorpe's closed door, "never mind now. But, anyway, I can't find that letter. What do you want it for?"
"Mr. Crane thinks the one I received from Joshua looks so different that I wanted to compare them."
"Let me see yours. I can tell at once. Joshua wrote a small cramped hand----"
"This one was rather large and of loosely formed letters, but, of course, some one may have written it for him."
"Well, never mind, don't hunt for it any more. Pretty queer thing about that tobacco pouch of Peter's, don't you think?"
Blair looked up quickly. "No, I don't. I know, or at least I think I know, the explanation of that."
"No, not now," and Blair gave a significant glance toward Thorpe's door. "But I've had my suspicions roused, and I'm going to verify them, and then I'm going to expose somebody. I can't stand any more of this sort of thing. I tell you, Kit, I know!"