What could he do?
To do nothing would be simply adding his own crime to that of another.

If only the boy would confess voluntarily! Could that have possibly been the object which brought him there that evening?
The last time they had talked together, even in the midst of his contrition, he had been strangely reserved about something in the past.

Might not this be the very secret he had now come to confide?
"How have you been getting on the last week ?" he asked, gravely.

"Have you been able to keep pretty straight ?" "Yes, I hope so," said Wyndham.

"You see, this cricket doesn't give a fellow much chance of going wrong." "No; but of course one needs to do more than merely not go wrong," said the captain.
"What do you mean ?" "I suppose when any of us _has_ done wrong we ought to try to make up for it somehow." "Oh, yes, of course," said Wyndham, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"The worst of it is, you can't always do that except by keeping right in future." "Supposing you had owed some fellow a sovereign last term, you would consider that all you had to do was not to owe him any more this term ?" said Riddell.
"No; of course not! I'd have to pay him, I know," said Wyndham.
"Well, what I mean," said the captain, "is that--that--why, the fact is, Wyndham," said he, "I'm afraid you have still some old scores you ought to clear up." Wyndham looked hard at the captain, and coloured.
"I see what you mean," he said, in a low voice.