In A Separate Peace, the boys drag Gene into a mock court where they ask him some very pointed questions about Finny's 'accident'. As a coup de grace, they bring in Leper, whom they know will tell the truth, and he confesses that he saw Gene purposely knock Finney off of the tree. Gene believes that Finny organized the mock court to get back at him, rationalizing that only Finny had the personal charisma to organize everyone.