when he got to the principal's office—a little late, which was not entirely by accident—he found that mallison and a few of his fellow-students were sitting opposite the desk in hard chairs.

the principal behind it gave dax a reprimanding look, and then one at his watch. on one side of him were a group of teachers and a member of the school board who dax remembered was mr. lightstone's especial crony. on the other were mrs. lightstone—a dour but subservient partner to her husband—and an empty chair.

the principal pointed to the chair and said, "we have been waiting for your arrival to begin, mr. dax." he turned to mallison as dax sat down, and said, "you are, i believe, what is known as a 'hep-cat'?" he waited but mallison said nothing. his face was very white and he looked sullen. "well, answer me, sir!" the principal said loudly.

"you didn't ask me anything," the boy said in a low voice. "you told me."

the principal pushed his lips out and breathed deeply. he took something from his pocket and held it up. dax saw it was the packet of alleged heroin.

"did you throw this out of the window of mr. dax's class room?"

the boy looked at it incomprehendingly and shook his head.

"do you know what it is? have you seen this packet before?"

"no, mr. lightstone...."

"you sound uncertain. think carefully, mallison." the principal put the packet on his desk and unfolded it. everyone bent forward and looked at it—including mallison, who shook his head again.

dax leaned across mrs. lightstone and whispered to her husband, "did you have it analyzed?"

the principal shook his head impatiently. "not yet! there was no one in the chemistry department!" he cleared his throat importantly. "well? what have you to say?"

mallison apparently had nothing to say. he swallowed and looked at one of the boys next him. mr. lightstone leaned back in his chair and turned to address the group on his right—the school board man in particular. "this," he said, tapping the packet, "was thrown out of a window of the physics class room today. these are the boys that sit next those windows. i have every reason to suspect mallison."

the group nodded. dax realized that they had been briefed in advance. the boy mallison had certainly a sulky and uncooperative air. he seemed the epitome of juvenile delinquency on the defensive, and yet....

"you," the principal said to the boys, "are a little band of trouble-makers. you cut classes, you stay up late and go to what i believe you call juke-joints. i have heard reports of your riding in hot-rods!" he paused significantly.

"none of us here's got a car," mallison said in a flat voice. he was definitely sneering now. "i've never even seen a real drag-race!"

mr. lightstone blinked. the word was unfamiliar to him, but it had a disreputable ring to it. "and i suppose you've never taken narcotics?"

there was a dead silence. mallison clamped his mouth shut, and his face became wooden.

mr. lightstone addressed the boy next him. "have you ever seen any of the boys use this?" he tapped the packet again. "did you see mallison throw it out of the window? you sit behind him!"

the boy looked blank and glanced at mallison. "no, sir," he said.

"but you couldn't have missed seeing him!"

"excuse me a minute," dax said. "these boys aren't a band exactly. they just happen to sit next the windows."

mr. lightstone looked offended but resourceful. "they picked those seats themselves. that's what a clique does. it—"

"i assign all the pupils to their desks," dax said, and felt he was turning pink.

the principal took this in his stride by ignoring it. "and you," he said to the boy on mallison's other side. "what have you to say?"

the boy frowned and stuttered.

dax was beginning to feel annoyed although he didn't know exactly why. for one thing, he had let himself seem to be defending mallison. it was his craze for accuracy, of course. "i don't understand why the parents of these boys aren't here," he was surprised to hear himself say. "it seems to me they ought to have some kind of defense counsel if there is going to be a trial."

the principal looked at him steadily. "would you care to act in that capacity?"

dax felt that he was getting redder than ever. "have you had a doctor examine mallison for ... for the effects of narcotics?" he said. "where are these policemen you said you spoke to? shouldn't they be informed of your suspicions, instead of holding a kind of star chamber inquisition? it's ... it's medieval!"

mr. lightstone glared at him in astonishment.

dax had a sudden thought. "the chemistry lab is right over my class room," he said. "why couldn't the packet have fallen from there?"

"what would they be doing with heroin?"

"but we don't know yet that—"

the principal interrupted him and swept his arm in a gesture of all-inclusive condemnation. "we will in good time! but if you have never seen guilt before, you see it now!" he looked at the startled young faces with abhorrence. "look at them!"

dax had a curious and violent revulsion, although he hadn't followed the line of reasoning in lightstone's last remark. in fact, he realized that he hadn't really heard the words. but the principal's angry face made his hackles rise.

the principal had a menacing look. he was the most dangerous looking thing he had ever seen. a convulsive shudder went through all of dax's muscles, and he leapt—straight across mrs. lightstone's lap, who fell over backwards, screaming. everyone was making loud, garbled noises, and he was on top of lightstone, scratching and biting.

he heard himself give a loud, warlike and triumphant yowl.