"I--I know it, sir. I admit it," confessed the captain. "Only--only----"
"We didn't know it was your hat, sir," went on Sid. "I'm afraid it's quite--quite unfit to wear, sir," and Sid tried to put the flapping piece back into place, for the professor had dropped the tile, and Sid had picked it up.
"Unfit to wear! I should say it was. Fit to wear! Why I intend delivering a lecture on 'The Art of Repose as an Aid to High Thinking' and now, sir--now, you young vandals have ruined the hat I was going to wear! It's infamous--infamous! I shall have you expelled! I shall let your parents know of your shameless conduct! I shall have you dismissed at once!" and the irate professor shook his fist first at Tom, then at Sid and then at Phil. "Your conduct is a disgrace to the school!" he went on. "Here, give me my hat!" and he fairly snatched it from Sid. "Come with me at once to Dr. Churchill. He shall know about this outrage!"
"If you please, Professor Tines, we didn't know it was your hat," was about all Phil could think of to say.
"So much the worse. You thought it belonged to some defenseless student, and that you could ruin it with impunity. But I shall soon show you how mistaken you were. Come with me at once!" and Professor Tines, holding his hat in one hand, seized Tom's coat sleeve in the other, and led him toward the president's office, followed by Phil and Sid.
"I--I have a tall hat, which I'll give you, until you can have this one fixed," spoke Sid, as they walked along.
"Until I get this one fixed? It is beyond fixing!" declared Mr. Tines wrathfully.
Good Dr. Churchill looked pained when the three culprits were ushered into his presence.
"Look here, sir! Look here!" spluttered Professor Tines, his voice fairly trembling as he thrust the battered hat close to the president, who was near-sighted. "Just look at that, sir!"
"Ha! Hum!" murmured the doctor. "Very interesting, I should say. Very interesting."
"Interesting?" and Mr. Tines stood aghast.
"Yes. I presume you have been illustrating to your class the effect of some explosive agent on soft material. I should say it was a very complete and convincing experiment--very complete, convincing and interesting. I congratulate you."