He did not know what to say.
"Going to spoil the cream, eh ?" came from Phil.

"It was a mighty dirty trick, Nat." "On a level with what you did to Professor Potts," added Dave.
"I--er--I wasn't going to do nothing!" cried Nat, with little regard for grammar.

"I--er--I was looking at the ice-cream, that's all." "A poor excuse is worse than none," answered Dave, grimly.

"You were going to put salt in the cream and spoil it, you needn't deny it." "See here, Dave Porter, I want you to understand----" "Don't talk, Nat, we know all about it," broke in Phil.

"You planned to come here yesterday, and we can prove it.