He spoke before he thought,
thus admitting his guilt and Dodge's.
"You idiot!" hissed Bert.
"You're both of you idiots," retorted the captor, who had now
released both young men. "Besides being a mean, detestable trick,
it's as old as the world. That red-pepper trick was invented
by some stupid lout who lived thousands of years before the Flood."
"What shall we do with these imps?" demanded a voice.
"There must be some High School boys here," said the man who had
first seized the humiliated pair by their collars. "Let the High
School boys decide what is to be done with them."
"We don't care what's done with a pair of simpletons like them,"
spoke up Ben Tozier. "Let the crowd go as far as it likes with
such a pair."
"Don't you dare do anything to us" screamed Ripley, now beside
himself with rage. "It will go hard with any one who interferes
with us.
"Ha! ha! Ho! ho!" roared some of the crowd. "Listen to the
half-witted pair!"
While another man spoke up jovially:
"I'll tell you what to do with them. They came here to spoil
the fun of the Grammar School boys. Let the Grammar School boys
dispose of these stupid fellows as they choose."
"I tell you," raged Ripley, "that it will go hard with any one
who interferes with our comfort.
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