“Sit down,” he said; “and tell me about it.”
“Yes, _it_,” returned the doctor, smiling. “You look as if something were wrong.”
“So there is,” replied Alex, anxiously knitting his brows; “and the worst of it is, I don’t know whether I have any business to be here, it seems so like telling tales.”
Dr. Flemming bent forward and laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Don’t you know, Alex, that I always want to hear all that concerns my boys, whether for good or ill? I can rely on your sense of honor, I am sure, for you have proved yourself far above the meanness of ordinary tale-bearing. If you wish, I promise you that whatever you say shall remain a secret between the two of us.”
“Thank you.” And Alex met the doctor’s steady gaze without flinching. “Of course you know how gossip flies, in a place like this, and won’t be a bit surprised when I tell you it’s common talk that you had an interview with Osborn this morning.”
“I didn’t expect it quite so soon,” replied the doctor quickly. “But go on.”
“Well, the boys all think it means expulsion for him and his set; but very likely that’s wrong. Now, what I wanted to ask you was—” Alex stopped for a moment, then went on in a lower voice; “whether you knew Max Eliot was at the spread last night.”
The doctor started; this was unexpected news.
“Please understand the reason I’m telling you this,” Alex continued hastily, as if to free himself from any charge of meddling with another’s concerns. “I knew you’d hear of it sooner or later, perhaps from Osborn himself, for he’s always spited our set, and would like to hurt us through Max. But if you heard it that way, you would never know what a mere chance it was that Max was there. If he was in the scrape, it’s the first time he’s done anything of that kind, for he isn’t a bit fast, like the others.”
“And what then?” asked the doctor kindly.
“Just this,” replied the boy, with a quiet dignity all his own; “if it should come to where you have to punish the other fellows, please remember that Max isn’t quite one of them. He’s gay and full of his pranks; but he’s not fast, and last night is the first time he’s ever been at one of their wine spreads. He’s broken off with them lately, and we were all surprised at his saying, yesterday afternoon, that the friendship was on again. But upon my honor, Dr. Flemming,” here the blue eyes were again fixed on the master’s face; “on my honor as a Flemming boy, it is Max’s first offence, and I hope you’ll be as easy on him as you can.”
