Do you know who wrote it ?" "No.

No one knows.

And you believe it, of course ?" "No, I don't," said Heathcote, making up his mind at a bound on a question which had been distracting him for a week.
Pledge seemed neither pleased nor surprised by this avowal.
"Doesn't everybody say you ought to ?" "Perhaps they do," said Heathcote, getting into a corner.
"Doesn't your chum say so ?" "He only goes by what other fellows say." "You mean Cresswell ?" "I daresay Cresswell may have said something," said the new boy, getting deeper and deeper, and beginning to shuffle in spite of himself.
"You _know_ he has said something," said Pledge, sternly.

"The ghost didn't tell you to tell falsehoods, did it ?" "No.

Cresswell did say something." "And you think it was very friendly of him, don't you ?" "No, I don't," said the unhappy Heathcote.
"Is Cresswell very fond of you ?" asked Pledge.
"No.