7. A Little Blackmail

CHAPTER 7 A LITTLE BLACKMAIL Mr. Krupp sat back in his chair and chuckled to himself for a long, long time. Finally, George got up the courage to speak. "W-What are you going to do with that tape?" he said. "I thought you'd never ask," laughed Principal Krupp.

"I've thought long and hard about what to do with this tape," Mr. Krupp said. "At first, I thought I'd send copies to your parents." The boys swallowed hard and sank deeply into their chairs. "Then I thought I might send a copy to the school board," Mr. Krupp continued. "I could get you both expelled for this!" The boys swallowed harder and sank deeper into their chairs. "Finally, I came to a decision," Mr. Krupp concluded. "I think the football team would be very curious to find out just who was responsible for yesterday's fiasco. I think I'll send a copy to them!" George and Harold leaped out of their chairs and fell to their knees.

"No!" cried George. "You can't do that. They'll kill us!" "Yeah," begged Harold, "they'll kill us every day for the rest of our lives!" Mr. Krupp laughed and laughed. "Please have mercy," the boys cried. "We'll do anything!" "Anything?" asked Principal Krupp with delight. He reached into his desk, pulled out a list of demands, and tossed it at the boys. "If you don't want to be dead as long as you live, you'll follow these rules exactly!"

George and Harold carefully looked over the list. "This... this is blackmail!" said George. "Call it what you like," Principal Krupp snapped, "but if you two don't follow that list exactly, then this tape becomes the property of the Horwitz Knuckleheads!"