human
Do you mean, Fred, he said, in a low voice,
gpt
I should rather not say anything about it, Fred replied.
human
I hope with all my heart that Frank is not guilty, but----
gpt
What do you think? Captain Bayley repeated;
human
No, sir, and I do not wish you to be in the slightest degree influenced by what I said.
gpt
Well, sir, he went on hesitatingly,
human
I must own that, sad as it is to say so, I fear Frank did it.
gpt
Did he confess it to you?
human
No, uncle, not in so many words, but he said things which seemed to me to mean that. When I tried to dissuade him from running away, and urged him to remain till his innocence could be proved, he said angrily, 'What's the use of talking like that, when you know as well as I do that it can't be proved.' Afterwards he said, 'It is a bad job, and I have been an awful fool. But who could have thought that note would ever be traced back to Litter?' and other remarks of the same kind. He may be innocent, uncle--you know how deeply I wish we could prove him so--but I fear, I greatly fear, that we shall be doing Frank more service by letting the matter drop. You know the fellows in the school all believe him innocent, and though his going away has staggered some of them, the general feeling is still all in his favour; therefore they are sure to speak of him as a sort of victim, and when he returns, which of course he will do in a few years' time, the matter will have died away and have been altogether forgotten.