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diff --git a/old/52644-0.txt b/old/52644-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cac91f5..0000000 --- a/old/52644-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2951 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Who Was Paul Grayson?, by John Habberton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Who Was Paul Grayson? - -Author: John Habberton - -Release Date: July 25, 2016 [EBook #52644] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON? *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: PAUL AS A CHIEF’S SON. [_See p. 87._] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON? - - - - - BY - - _JOHN HABBERTON_ - - AUTHOR OF “HELEN’S BABIES” ETC. - - - - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - - - - NEW YORK - HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE - 1881 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by - - _HARPER & BROTHERS_, - - In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - - - ------- - - _All rights reserved._ - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _CONTENTS_. - - - CHAPTER I. PAGE - THE NEW PUPIL 9 - - CHAPTER II. - THE FIGHT 22 - - CHAPTER III. - MUSIC AND MANNERS 35 - - CHAPTER IV. - WHO WILL TELL? 50 - - CHAPTER V. - THOSE JAIL-BIRDS 65 - - CHAPTER VI. - THE BEANTASSEL BENEFIT 78 - - CHAPTER VII. - A BEAUTIFUL THEORY RUINED 90 - - CHAPTER VIII. - DARED 103 - - CHAPTER IX. - BENNY’S PARTY 117 - - CHAPTER X. - RECAPTURED 130 - - CHAPTER XI. - THE TRIAL 143 - - CHAPTER XII. - THE END OF IT 158 - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _ILLUSTRATIONS_. - - - PAGE - - Paul as a Chief’s Son Frontispiece - - Paul Grayson 13 - - Just in Time to see Grayson give Bert a Blow on the 27 - Chest - - The Reconciliation 31 - - Attack on the Organ-grinder 47 - - Benny Mallow in the Barn 53 - - “Mr. Morton, I was there” 61 - - The Window of the Counterfeiter’s Cell 75 - - “You’re a Chief’s Son, aren’t you?” 97 - - Paul Grayson and Benny Mallow 115 - - “De Counterfeiter done broke out ob de Jail” 125 - - Paul and the Counterfeiter 137 - - The Sheriff enforces Order 149 - - “Father!” 155 - - The Meeting in the School-yard 161 - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON? - - - ---------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - _THE NEW PUPIL._ - - -THE boys who attended Mr. Morton’s Select School in the village of -Laketon did not profess to know more than boys of the same age and -advantages elsewhere; but of one thing they were absolutely certain, and -that was that no teacher ever rang his bell to assemble the school or -call the boys in from recess until just that particular instant when the -fun in the school-yard was at its highest, and the boys least wanted to -come in. A teacher might be very fair about some things: he might help a -boy through a hard lesson, or give him fewer bad marks than he had -earned; he might even forget to report to a boy’s parents all the cases -of truancy in which their son had indulged; but when a teacher once laid -his hand upon that dreadful bell and stepped to the window, it really -seemed as if every particle of human sympathy went out of him. - -On one bright May morning, however, the boys who made this regular daily -complaint were few; indeed, all of them, except Bert Sharp, who had -three consecutive absences to explain, and no written excuse from his -father to help him out, were already inside the school-room, and even -Bert stood where he could look through the open door while he cudgelled -his wits and smothered his conscience in the endeavor to frame an -explanation that might seem plausible. The boys already inside lounged -near any desks but their own, and conversed in low tones about almost -everything except the subject uppermost in their minds, this subject -being a handsome but rather sober-looking boy of about fourteen years, -who was seated at a desk in the back part of the room, and trying, -without any success whatever, to look as if he did not know that all the -other boys were looking at him. - -It was not at all wonderful that the boys stared, for none of them had -ever before seen the new pupil, and Laketon was so small a town that the -appearance of a strange boy was almost as unusual an event as the coming -of a circus. - -“Let’s give it up,” said Will Palmer, who had for five minutes been -discussing with several other boys all sorts of improbabilities about -the origin of the new pupil; “let’s give it up until roll-call; then -we’ll learn his name, and that’ll be a little comfort.” - -“I wish Mr. Morton would hurry, then,” said Benny Mallow. “I came early -this morning to see if I couldn’t win back my striped alley from Ned -Johnston, and this business has kept us from playing a single game. -Quick, boys, quick! Mr. Morton’s getting ready to touch the bell.” - -The group separated in an instant, and every member was seated before -the bell struck; so were most of the other boys, and so many pairs of -eyes looked inquiringly at the teacher that Mr. Morton himself had to -bite his lower lip very hard to keep from laughing as he formally rang -the school to order. As the roll was called, the boys answered to their -names in a prompt, sharp, business-like way, quite unusual in -school-rooms; and as the call proceeded, the responses became so quick -as to sometimes get a little ahead of the names that the boys knew were -coming. - -Suddenly, as the names beginning with G were reached, and Charlie Gunter -had his mouth wide open, ready to say “Here,” the teacher called, “Paul -Grayson.” - -“Here!” answered the new boy. - -A slight sensation ran through the school; no boy did anything for which -he had to be called to order, yet somehow the turning of heads, the -catching of breath, and the letting go of breath that had been held in -longer than usual, made a slight commotion, which reached the ears of -the strange pupil, and made him look rather more ill at ease than -before. - -[Illustration: PAUL GRAYSON.] - -The answers to the roll became at once less spirited; indeed, Benny -Mallow was staring so hard, now that he had a name to increase his -interest in the stranger, that he forgot entirely to answer to his name, -and was compelled to sit on the chair beside the teacher’s desk from -that moment until recess. - -That recess seemed longer in coming than any other that the school had -ever known—longer even than that memorable one in which a strolling trio -of Italian musicians had been specially contracted with to begin playing -in the school-yard the moment the boys came down. Finally, however, the -bell rang half-past ten, and the whole roomful hurried down-stairs, but -not before Mr. Morton had called Joe Appleby, the largest boy in school, -and formally introduced Paul Grayson, with the expressed wish that he -should make his new companion feel at home among the boys. - -Appleby went about his work with an air that showed how fully he -realized the importance of his position: he introduced Grayson to every -boy, beginning with the largest; and it was in vain that Benny Mallow, -who was the youngest of the party, made all sorts of excuses to throw -himself in the way of the distinguished couple, even to the extent of -once getting his feet badly mixed up with those of Grayson. When, -however, the ceremony ended, and Appleby was at liberty, so many of the -boys crowded around him that the new pupil was in some danger of being -lonely. - -“Find out for yourselves,” was Appleby’s dignified reply to his -questioners. “I don’t consider it gentlemanly to tell everything I know -about a man.” - -At this rebuke the smaller boys considered Appleby a bigger man than -ever before, but some of the larger ones hinted that Appleby couldn’t -very well tell what he didn’t know, at which Appleby took offence, and -joined the group of boys who were leaning against a fence, in the shade -of which Will Palmer had already inveigled the new boy into -conversation. - -“By-the-way,” said Will, “there’s time yet for a game or two of ball. -Will you play?” - -“Yes, I’ll be glad to,” said Grayson. - -“Who else?” asked Will. - -“I!” shouted all of the boys, who did not forget their grammar so far as -to say “Me!” instead. Really, the eagerness of the boys to play ball had -never before been equalled in the memory of any one present, and Will -Palmer cooled off some quite warm friends by his inability to choose -more than two boys to complete the quartette for a common game of ball. -It did the disappointed boys a great deal of good to hear the teacher’s -bell ring just as Will Palmer “caught himself in” to Grayson’s bat. - -“You play a splendid game,” said Will to Grayson, as they went up-stairs -side by side. “Where did you learn it?” - -Joe Appleby, who was on the step in front of the couple, dragged just an -instant in order to catch the expected information, but all he got was a -bump from Palmer that nearly tumbled him forward on his dignified nose, -as Grayson answered, - -“Oh, in several places; nowhere in particular.” - -Palmer immediately determined that he would follow his new schoolmate -home at noon, and discover where he lived. Then he would interview the -neighbors, and try to get some information ahead of that stuck-up Joe -Appleby, who, considering he was only four months older than Palmer -himself, put on too many airs for anything. But when school was -dismissed, Palmer was disgusted at noting that at least half of the -other boys were distributing themselves for just such an operation as -the one he had planned. Besides, Grayson did not come down-stairs with -the crowd. Could it be possible that he was from the country, and had -brought a cold lunch to school with him? Palmer hurried up the stairs to -see, but met the teacher and the new boy coming down, and the two walked -away, and together entered the house of old Mrs. Bartle, where Mr. -Morton boarded. - -“He’s a boarding scholar,” exclaimed Benny Mallow. “I’ve read of such -things in books.” - -“Then he’ll be stuck up,” declared Joe Appleby. - -This opinion was delivered with a shake of the head that seemed to -intimate that Joe had known all the ways of boarding-scholars for -thousands of years; so most of the boys looked quite sober for a moment -or two. Finally Sam Wardwell, whose father kept a store, broke the -silence by remarking, “I’ll bet he’s from Boston; his coat is of just -the same stuff as one that a drummer wears who comes to see father -sometimes.” - -“Umph!” grunted Appleby; “do you suppose Boston has some kinds of cloth -all to itself? _You_ don’t know much.” - -The smaller boys seemed to side with the senior pupil in this opinion; -so Sam felt very uncomfortable, and vowed silently that he would bring a -piece of chalk to school that very afternoon, and do some rapid -sketching on the back of Appleby’s own coat. Then Benny Mallow said: -“Say, boys, this old school must be a pretty good one, after all, if -people somewhere else send boarders to it. His folks must be rich: did -you notice what a splendid knife he cut his finger-nails with?—’twas a -four-blader, with a pearl handle. But of course you didn’t see it, and I -did; he used it in school, and my desk is right beside his.” - -Will Palmer immediately led Benny aside, and offered him a young -fan-tail pigeon, when his long-expected brood was hatched, to change -desks, if the teacher’s permission could be obtained. Meanwhile Napoleon -Nott, who generally was called Notty, and who had more imagination than -all the rest of the boys combined, remarked, “I believe he’s a foreign -prince in disguise.” - -“He’s well-bred, anyhow,” said Will Palmer to Benny Mallow. “I hope -he’ll be man enough to stand no nonsense. He’s big enough, and smart -enough, if looks go for anything, to run this school, and I’d like to -see him do it—anything to get rid of Joe Appleby’s airs.” - -Then the various groups separated, moved by the appetites that boys in -good health always have. One boy, however—Joe Appleby—was man enough to -deny his palate when greater interests devolved upon him, so he made -some excuse to go back to the school-room, so as to be there when the -teacher and his new charge returned. Half an hour later Benny Mallow, -who had sneaked away from home as soon as the dessert had been brought -in, and had vulgarly eaten his pie as he walked along the street—Benny -Mallow walked into the school-room, and beheld the teacher, Joe Appleby, -and Paul Grayson standing together as if they had been talking. As Benny -went to his seat Joe followed him, and bestowed upon him a look of such -superiority that Benny determined at once that some marvellous mystery -must have been revealed, and that Joe was the custodian of the entire -thing. Benny was so full of this fancy that he slipped down-stairs and -told it as fact to each boy who appeared, the result being to make Joe -Appleby a greater man than ever in the eyes of the school, while Grayson -became a tormenting yet most invaluable mystery. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - _THE FIGHT._ - - -THE afternoon session of Mr. Morton’s Select School was but little more -promising of revelations about the new boy than the morning had been. -Most of the boys returned earlier than usual from their respective -dinners, and either hung about the school-room, staring at their new -companion, or waited at the foot of the stairs for him to come down. The -attentions of the first-named division soon became so distasteful to the -new-comer that he left the room abruptly, and went down the stairway two -steps at a time. At the door he found little Benny Mallow looking up -admiringly, and determining to practice that particular method of coming -down-stairs the first Saturday that he could creep unnoticed through a -school-room window. But Benny was not one of those foolish boys who -forget the present while planning about the future. Paul Grayson had -barely reached the bottom step when little Benny looked innocently up -into his face, and remarked, “Say!” - -“Well?” Paul answered. - -“You’re the biggest boy in school,” continued Benny. “I noticed it when -you stood beside Appleby.” - -Grayson looked as if he did not exactly see that the matter was worthy -of special remark. - -“I,” said Benny, “am the smallest boy—I am, really. If you don’t believe -it, look at the other boys. I’ll just run down the steps, and stand -beside some of them.” - -“Don’t take that trouble,” said Grayson, pleasantly. “But what is there -remarkable about my height and your shortness?” - -“Oh, nothing,” said Benny, looking down with some embarrassment, and -then looking up again—“only I thought maybe ’twas a good reason why we -should be friends.” - -“Why, so it is, little fellow,” said Grayson. “I was very stupid not to -understand that without being told.” - -“All right, then,” said Benny, evidently much relieved in mind. -“Anything you want to know I’ll tell you—anything that I know myself, -that is. Because I’m little, you mustn’t think I don’t know everything -about this town, because I do. I know where you can fish for bass in a -place that no other boy knows anything about: what do you think of that? -I know a big black-walnut tree that no other boy ever saw; of course -there’s no nuts on it now, but you can see last year’s husks if you -like. Have you got a sister?” - -Grayson suddenly looked quite sober, and answered, “No.” - -“I have,” said Benny, “and she is the nicest girl in town. If you want -to know some of the bigger girls, I suppose you’ll have to ask Appleby. -What’s the use of big girls, though? They never play marbles with a -fellow, or have anything to trade. Say—I hope _you’re_ not too big to -play marbles?” - -“Oh no,” said Grayson; “I’ll buy some, and we’ll have a royal game.” - -“Don’t do it,” said Benny; “I’ve got a pocketful. Come on.” And to the -great disgust of all the larger boys Benny led his new friend into the -school-yard, scratched a ring on the dirt, divided his stock of marbles -into two equal portions, and gave one to Grayson; then both boys settled -themselves at a most exciting game, while all the others looked on in -wonder, with which considerable envy and jealousy were mixed up. - -“That Benny Mallow is putting on more airs than so little a fellow can -carry; don’t you think so?” said Sam Wardwell to Ned Johnston. - -“I should say so,” was the reply; “and that isn’t all. The new fellow -isn’t going to be thought much of in this school if he’s going to allow -himself to belong to any youngster that chooses to take hold of him. -I’ll tell you one thing: Joe Appleby’s birthday party is to come off in -a few days, and I’ll bet you a fish-line to a button that Master Benny -won’t get near enough to it to smell the ice-cream. How will that make -the little upstart feel?” - -“Awful—perfectly awful,” said Sam, who, being very fond of ice-cream -himself, could not imagine a more terrible revenge than Ned had -suggested. Just then Bert Sharp sauntered up with his hands in his -pockets, his head craned forward as usual, and his eyes trying to get -along faster than his head. - -“See here,” said he, “if that new boy boards with the teacher, he’s -going to tell everything he knows. I think somebody ought to let him -know what he’ll get if he tries that little game. I’m not going to be -told on: I have a rough enough time of it now.” Bert spoke feelingly, -for he was that afternoon to remain at school until he had recited from -memory four pages of history, as a punishment for his long truancy. - -[Illustration: JUST IN TIME TO SEE GRAYSON GIVE BERT A BLOW IN THE -CHEST.] - -“Who’s going to tell him, though?” asked Sam. “It should be some fellow -big enough to take care of himself, for Grayson looks as if he could be -lively.” - -“I’ll do it myself,” declared Bert, savagely; saying which he lounged -over toward the ring at which Benny and Grayson were playing. The boys -had seen Bert in such a mood before, so at once there was some whispered -cautions to look out for a fight. Before Bert had been a minute beside -the ring, Grayson accidentally brushed against him as, half stooping, he -followed his alley across the ring. Bert immediately got his hands out -of his pockets, and struck Grayson a blow on the back of the neck that -felled him to the ground. All the boys immediately rushed to the spot, -but before they had reached it the new pupil was on his feet; and the -teacher reached the window, bell in hand, just in time to see Grayson -give Bert a blow on the chest that caused the young man to go reeling -backward, and yell “Oh!” at the top of his voice. Then the bell rang -violently, and all of the boys but Bert Sharp hurried up-stairs, Grayson -not even taking the trouble to look behind him. In the scramble toward -the seats Will Palmer found a chance to whisper to Ned Johnston, -“There’s no nonsense about him, eh?” - -And Ned replied, “He’s splendid!” - -All of the boys seemed of Ned’s opinion, for when Mr. Morton, just as -Bert Sharp entered, rang the school to order, and asked, “Who began that -fight?” there was a general reply of, “Bert Sharp.” - -“Sharp, Grayson, step to the front,” commanded the teacher. - -Bert shuffled forward with a very sullen face, while Grayson stalked up -so bravely that Benny Mallow risked getting a mark by kicking Sam -Wardwell’s feet under the desk to attract his attention, and then -whispering, “Just look at that!” - -Before the teacher could speak to either of the two boys in front of -him, Grayson said, “I’m very sorry, sir, but I was knocked down for -nothing, unless it was brushing against him by mistake.” - -“Was that the cause, Sharp?” asked Mr. Morton. - -[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION.] - -Bert hung his head a little lower, which is a way that all boys have -when they are in the wrong; so the teacher did not question him any -farther, but said: - -“Boys, Grayson is a stranger here. I know him to be a boy of good habits -and manners, and I give you my word that if you have any trouble with -him, you will have to begin it yourselves. And if you expect to be -gentlemen when you grow up, you must learn now to treat strangers as you -would like to be treated if away from your own homes. Grayson, Sharp, go -to your seats.” - -“May I speak to Sharp, sir?” asked Grayson. - -“Yes,” said Mr. Morton. - -“I’m sorry I hit you,” said the new boy. “Will you shake hands and be -friends?” - -Bert looked up suspiciously without raising his head, but Grayson’s hand -was outstretched, and as Bert did not know what else to do, he put out -his own hand; and then the two late enemies returned to their seats, -Bert looking less bad-tempered than usual, and Grayson looking quite -sober. - -Somehow at the afternoon recess every boy treated Grayson as if he had -known him for years, and no one seemed to be jealous when Grayson -invited Bert to play marbles with him, and insisted on his late -adversary taking the first shot. But the teacher’s remarks about Grayson -had only increased the curiosity of the boys about their new comrade, -and when Sam Wardwell remarked that old Mrs. Bartle, with whom the -teacher and his pupil boarded, bought groceries nearly every evening at -his father’s store, and he would just lounge about during the rest of -the afternoon and ask her about Grayson when she came in, at least six -other boys offered to sit on a board-pile near the store and wait for -information. - -As for Grayson, he sat in the school-room writing while the teacher -waited, for more than an hour after the general dismissal, to hear Bert -Sharp recite those detestable four pages of history, and Bert was a -great deal slower at his task than he would have been if he had not had -to wonder why Grayson had to do so much writing. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - _MUSIC AND MANNERS._ - - -THE boys at Mr. Morton’s Select School were not the only people at -Laketon who were curious about Paul Grayson. Although the men and women -had daily duties like those of men and women elsewhere, they found a -great deal of time in which to think and talk about other people and -their affairs. So all the boys who attended the school were interrogated -so often about their new comrade, that they finally came to consider -themselves as being in some way a part of the mystery. - -Mr. Morton, who had opened his school only several weeks before the -appearance of Grayson, was himself unknown at Laketon until that spring, -when, after an unsuccessful attempt to be made principal of the -grammar-school, he had hired the upper floor of what once had been a -store building, and opened a school on his own account. He had -introduced himself by letters that the school trustees and Mr. Merivale, -pastor of one of the village churches, considered very good; but now -that Grayson’s appearance was explained only by the teacher’s statement -that the boy was son of an old school friend who was now a widower, some -of the trustees wished they were able to remember the names and -addresses appended to the letters that the new teacher had presented. -Sam Wardwell’s father having learned from Mr. Morton where last he had -taught, went so far as to write to the wholesale merchants with whom he -dealt, in New York, for the name of some customer in Mr. Morton’s former -town; but even by making the most of this roundabout method of inquiry -he only learned that the teacher had been highly respected, although -nothing was known of his antecedents. - -With one of the town theories on the subject of Mr. Morton and Paul -Grayson the boys entirely disagreed: this was that the teacher and the -boy were father and son. - -“I don’t think grown people are so very smart, after all,” said Sam -Wardwell, one day, as the boys who were not playing lounged in the shade -of the school-building and chatted. “They talk about Grayson being Mr. -Morton’s son. Why, who ever saw Grayson look a bit afraid of the -teacher?” - -“Nobody,” replied Ned Johnston, and no one contradicted him, although -Bert Sharp suggested that there were other boys in the world who were -not afraid of their fathers—himself for instance. - -“Then you ought to be,” said Benny Mallow. Benny looked off at nothing -in particular for a moment, and then continued, “I wish I had a father -to be afraid of.” - -There was a short silence after this, for as no other boy in the group -had lost a father, no one knew exactly what to say; besides, a big tear -began to trickle down Benny’s face, and all the boys saw it, although -Benny dropped his head as much as possible. Finally, however, Ned -Johnston stealthily patted Benny on the back, and then Sam Wardwell, -taking a fine winter apple from his pocket, broke it in two, and -extended half of it, with the remark, “Halves, Benny.” - -Benny said, “Thank you,” and seemed to take a great deal of comfort out -of that piece of apple, while the other boys, who knew how fond Sam was -of all things good to eat, were so impressed by his generosity that none -of them asked for the core of the half that Sam was stowing away for -himself. Indeed, Ned Johnston was so affected that he at once agreed to -a barter—often proposed by Sam, and as often declined—of his Centennial -medal for a rather old bass-line with a choice sinker. - -Before the same hour of the next day, however, nearly every boy who -attended Mr. Morton’s school was wicked enough to wish to be in just -exactly Benny Mallow’s position, so far as fathers were concerned. This -sudden change of feeling was not caused by anything that Laketon fathers -had done, but through fear of what they might do. As no two boys agreed -upon a statement of just how this difference of sentiment occurred, the -author is obliged to tell the story in his own words. - -Usually the boys hurried away from the neighborhood of the school as -soon as possible after dismissal in the afternoon, but during the last -recess of the day on which the above-recorded conversation occurred Will -Palmer and Charley Gunter completed a series of a hundred games of -marbles, and had the strange fortune to end exactly even. The match had -already attracted a great deal of attention in the school—so much so -that boys who took sides without thinking had foolishly made a great -many bets on the result, and a deputation of these informed the players -that it would be only the fair thing to play the deciding game that -afternoon after school, so that boys who had bet part or all of their -property might know how they stood. Will and Charley expressed no -objection; indeed, each was so anxious to prove himself the best player -that in his anxiety he made many blunders during the afternoon -recitations. - -As soon as the school was dismissed the boys hurried into the yard, -while Grayson, who had lately seen as much of marble-playing as he cared -to, strolled off for a walk. The marble ring was quickly scratched on -the ground, and the players began work. But the boys did not take as -much interest in the game as they had expected to, for a rival -attraction had unexpectedly appeared on the ground since recess; two -rival attractions, more properly speaking, or perhaps three, for in a -shady corner sat an organ-grinder, on the ground in front of him was an -organ, and on top of this sat a monkey. Now to city boys more than ten -years of age an organ-grinder is almost as uninteresting as a scolding; -but Laketon was not a city, organ-grinders reached it seldom, and -monkeys less often; so fully half the boys lounged up to within a few -feet of the strangers, and devoured them with their eyes, while the man -and the animal devoured some scraps of food that had been begged at a -kitchen-door. - -Nobody can deny that a monkey, even when soberly eating his dinner, is a -very comical animal, and no boy ever lived, not excepting that good -little boy Abel, who did not naturally wonder what a strange animal -would do if some one disturbed him in some way. Which of Mr. Morton’s -pupils first felt this wonder about the organ-grinder’s monkey was never -known; the boys soon became too sick of the general subject to care to -compare notes about this special phase of it; but the first one who -ventured to experiment on the monkey was Bert Sharp, who made so skilful -a “plumper” shot with a marble, from the level of his trousers pocket, -that the marble struck the monkey fairly in the breast, and rattled down -on the organ, while the monkey, who evidently had seen boys before, made -a sudden jump to the head of his master, and then scrambled down the -Italian’s back, and hid himself so that he showed only as much of his -head as was necessary to his effort to peer across the organ-grinder’s -shoulder. - -“Maledetta!” growled the Italian, as he looked inquiringly around him. -As none of the boys had ever before heard this word, they did not know -whether it was a question, a rebuke, or a threat; but they saw plainly -enough that the man was angry; and although most of them stepped -backward a pace or two, they all joined in the general laugh that a -crowd of boys are almost sure to indulge in when they see any one in -trouble that any one of the same boys would be sorry about were he alone -when he saw it. - -The organ-grinder began munching his food very rapidly, as if in haste -to finish his meal, yet he did not forget to pass morsels across his -shoulder to his funny little companion, and the manner in which the -monkey put up a paw to take the food amused the boys greatly. Benny -Mallow thought that monkey was simply delightful, but he could not help -wondering what the animal would do if a marble were to strike his paw as -he put it up. Animals’ paws are soft at bottom, reasoned Benny to -himself, and marbles shot through the air cannot hurt much, if any; the -result of this short argument was that Benny tried a “plumper” shot -himself; but the marble, instead of striking the monkey’s paw, went -straight into the mouth of the organ-grinder, who was just about to take -a mouthful of bread. - -Up sprung the Italian, with an expression of countenance so perfectly -dreadful that Benny Mallow dreamed of it, for a month after, whenever he -ate too much supper. All the boys ran, and the Italian pursued them with -words so strange and numerous that the boys could not have repeated one -of them had they tried. Every boy was half a block away before he -thought to look around and see whether the footsteps behind him were -those of the organ-grinder or of some frightened boy. Sam Wardwell -stumbled and fell, at which Ned Johnston, who had been but a step or two -behind, fell upon Sam, who instantly screamed, “Oh, don’t, mister; I -didn’t do it—really I didn’t.” - -On hearing this all the other boys thought it safe to stop and look, and -when they saw the Italian was not in the street at all, they felt so -ashamed that there is no knowing what they would have done if they had -not had Sam Wardwell to laugh at. As for Sam, he was so angry about the -mistake he had made that he vowed vengeance against the Italian, and -hurried back toward the yard. Will Palmer afterward said that he -couldn’t see how the Italian was to blame, and Ned Johnston said the -very same thought had occurred to him; but somehow neither of the two -happened to mention the matter, as they, with the other boys, followed -Sam Wardwell to see what he would do. Looking through the cracks of the -fence, the boys saw the Italian, with his organ and monkey on his back, -coming down the yard; at the same time they saw nearly half a brick go -up the yard, and barely miss the organ-grinder’s head. The man said -nothing; perhaps he had been in difficulties with boys before, and had -learned that the best way to get out of them was to walk away as fast as -possible; besides, there was no one in sight for him to talk to, for Sam -had started to run the instant that the piece of brick left his hand. -The man came out of the yard, looked around, saw the boys, turned in the -opposite direction, and then turned up an alley that passed one side of -the school-house. - -He could not have done worse; for no one lived on the alley, so any -mischievous boy could tease him without fear of detection. He had gone -but a few steps when Sam, who had hidden in a garden on the same alley, -rose beside a fence, and threw a stick, which struck the organ. The man -stopped, turned around, saw the whole crowd of boys slowly following, -supposed some one of them was his assailant, threw the stick swiftly at -the party, and then started to run. No one was hit, but the mere sight -of a frightened man trying to escape seemed to rob the boys of every -particle of humanity. Charley Gunter, who was very fond of pets, devoted -himself to trying to hit the monkey with stones; Will Palmer, who had -once helped nurse a friendless negro who had cut himself badly with an -axe, actually shouted “Hurrah!” when a stone thrown by himself struck -one of the man’s legs, and made him limp; Ned Johnston hurriedly broke a -soft brick into small pieces, and threw them almost in a shower; and -even Benny Mallow, who had always been a most tender-hearted little -fellow, threw stones, sticks, and even an old bottle that he found among -the rubbish that had been thrown into the alley. - -Suddenly a stone—there were so many in the air at a time that no one -knew who threw that particular stone—struck the organ-grinder in the -back of the head, and the poor fellow fell forward flat, with his organ -on top of him, and remained perfectly motionless. - -[Illustration: ATTACK ON THE ORGAN-GRINDER.] - -“He’s killed!” exclaimed some one, as the pursuers stopped. In an -instant all the boys went over the fences on either side of the alley, -but not until Paul Grayson, crossing the upper end of the alley, had -seen them, and they had seen him. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - _WHO WILL TELL?_ - - -AS Benny Mallow hid himself in a barn in the yard into which he had -jumped, he had only one distinct thought in his mind: he wished that the -Italian had never come to Laketon at all—never come to the United -States, in fact. He wished that the Italians had never heard of such a -place as America: if one of the race had to discover it, he need not -have gone and let his fellow-countrymen know all about it, so that they -should come over with organs and monkeys, and get boys into trouble—boys -that weren’t doing a thing to that organ-grinder when he threw a stick -at them. What made the fellow go into the school-yard, anyway? No one -asked him to come. Now there would be a fuss made, of course; and if -there was anything that Benny hated more than all other things, it was a -fuss. - -But what if the organ-grinder should really prove to be dead? Oh! that -would be too dreadful; all the boys would have to be hanged, to be sure -of punishing the murderer, just as the whole class was sometimes kept in -for an hour because something wrong had been done, and no one would tell -who did it. - -Benny could not bear the thought of so dreadful a termination to his -life, for he knew of a great deal worth living for; besides, his mother -would need his help as soon as he grew old enough to earn anything. What -should he do? Wait until dark, and then run away, and tramp off to the -West, where other runaway boys went, or should he make for the -sea-board, and from there to South America, from which country he had -heard that criminals could not be brought back? - -But first he ought to learn whether the man was really dead; it might -not be necessary to run away at all. But how should he find out? -Suddenly he remembered that Mr. Wardwell’s barn, in which he was, had a -window opening on the alley; so he crept up into the loft, and spent -several moments in trying to look up the alley without putting his head -out of the window. Finally, he partly hid his face by holding a handful -of hay in front of it, and peered out. Between the stalks of hay he was -delighted to see the organ-grinder on his feet, although two men were -helping him. They were not both men, either, Benny saw, after more -careful looking, for one of them was Paul Grayson; but the other—horror -of horrors!—was Mr. Stott, a justice of the peace. Benny knew that -Justice Stott had sent many men to jail for fighting, and if Grayson -should tell who took part in the attack, Benny had not the slightest -doubt that half of Mr. Morton’s pupils would be sent to jail too. - -[Illustration: BENNY MALLOW IN THE BARN.] - -This seemed more dreadful than the prospect of being hanged had done, -but it could be done more quickly. Benny determined at once that he must -find out the worst, and be ready for it; so he waited until the injured -man and his supporters had turned the corner of a street, and were out -of sight; then he bounded into the alley again, hurried home, seized a -basket that was lying beside the back door, and a moment later was -sauntering along the street, whistling, and moving in a direction that -seemed to be that in which he might manage to meet the three as if by -accident. He did not take much comfort out of his whistling, for in his -heart he felt himself to be the most shameful hypocrite that had existed -since the days of Judas Iscariot, and the recollection of having been -told by his Sunday-school teacher within a week that he was the best boy -in his class seemed to make him feel worse instead of better; and his -mind was not relieved of this unpleasant burden until at a shady corner -he came suddenly upon the organ-grinder and his supporters, when he -instantly exchanged his load for a new one. - -“Why, what’s the matter, Paul?” asked Benny, with as much surprise in -his tone and manner as he could affect. - -Justice Stott had just gone into an adjacent yard for water for the -Italian, when Grayson answered, with a very sober face, “You know as -well as I do, Benny, and I saw the whole crowd.” - -“I don’t!” exclaimed Benny, in all the desperation of cowardice. “I -didn’t do or see—” - -“Sh—h!” whispered Grayson, “the Justice is coming back.” - -Benny turned abruptly and started for home. He felt certain that his -face was telling tales, and that Justice Stott would learn the whole -story if he saw him. There was one comfort, though: it was evident that -Grayson did not want the Justice to know that Benny had taken part in -the affair. - -There was a great deal of business transacted by the boys of Laketon -that night. How it was all managed no one could have explained, but it -is certain that before bedtime every boy who had taken part in the -assault on the Italian knew that the man was not dead, but had merely -been stunned and cut by a stone, and Paul Grayson knew who were of the -party that chased the man up the alley. Various plans of getting out of -trouble were in turn suggested and abandoned; but several boys for a -long time insisted that the only chance of safety lay in calling Grayson -out of his boarding-house, and threatening him with the worst whipping -that the boys, all working together, could give. Even this idea was -finally abandoned when Will Palmer suggested that as Grayson boarded -with the teacher, and seemed to be in some sort a friend of his, he -probably would already have told all he knew, if he was going to tell at -all. Some consolation might have been got out of a report of Benny’s -short interview with Grayson, had Benny thought to give it, but he had, -on reaching home, promptly feigned headache, and gone to bed; so such of -the boys as did not determine to play truant, and so postpone the evil -day, thought bitterly of the morrow as they dispersed to their several -homes. - -There was not as much playing as usual in the school-yard next morning; -and when the class was summoned into school, the teacher had no -difficulty in discovering, by the looks of the various boys, who were -innocent and who guilty. Immediately after calling the roll Mr. Morton -stood up and said: - -“Boys, a great many of you know what I am going to talk about. Usually -your deeds done out of school-hours are not for me to notice; but the -cowardly, shameful treatment of that organ-grinder began in the -school-yard, and before you had gone to your homes, so I think it my -duty to inquire into the matter. Justice Stott thinks so too. When any -one has done a wrong that he cannot amend, the only manly course is to -confess. I want those boys who followed the organ-grinder up the alley -to stand up.” - -No boy arose. Benny Mallow wished that some one would give the bottom of -his seat a hard kick, so that he would have to rise in spite of himself, -but no one kicked. - -“Be honest, now,” said Mr. Morton. “I have been a boy myself; I have -taken part in just such tricks. I know how bad you feel, and how hard it -is to confess; but I give you my word that you will feel a great deal -better after telling the truth. I will give you one minute more before I -try another plan.” - -Mr. Morton took out his watch, and looked at it; the boys who had not -been engaged in the mischief looked virtuously around them, and the -guilty boys looked at their desks. - -“Now,” exclaimed Mr. Morton, replacing his watch in his pocket. “Stand -up like men. Will none of you do it?” - -Benny Mallow whispered, “Yes, sir,” but the teacher did not hear him; -besides, Benny made no effort to keep his word, so his whispering -amounted to nothing. - -“Grayson,” said Mr. Morton, “come here.” - -Bert Sharp, who sat near the front of the room, where the teacher could -watch him, edged to the end of his seat, so as to be ready to jump up -and run away the moment Grayson told—if he dared to tell. Most of the -other boys found their hearts so high in their throats that they could -not swallow them again, as Grayson, looking very white and -uncomfortable, stepped to the front. - -“Grayson,” said the teacher, “I have known you for many months: have I -ever been unkind to you?” - -“No, sir,” replied Grayson; then he wiped his eyes; seeing which, Bert -Sharp thought he might as well run now as later, for boys who began by -crying always ended by telling. - -“You saw the attack made on the Italian; Justice Stott says you admitted -as much to him. Now I want you to tell me who were of the party.” - -“May I speak first, sir?” asked Grayson. - -“Yes,” said the teacher. - -“Boys,” said Grayson, half facing the school, “you all hate a tell-tale, -and so do I. Do you think it the fair thing to hold your tongues and -make a tell-tale of me?” - -[Illustration: “MR. MORTON, I WAS THERE.”] - -Grayson looked at Will Palmer as he spoke, but Will only looked sulky in -return; then Grayson looked at Benny Mallow, and Benny was fast making -up his mind that he would tell rather than have his friend do it, when -up stood Bert Sharp and said, - -“Mr. Morton, I was there.” - -“Bravo, Sharp!” exclaimed the teacher. “Grayson, you may take your seat. -Sharp, step to the front. Now, boys, who is man enough to stand beside -Sharp?” - -“I am,” piped Benny Mallow, and he almost ran in his eagerness. - -“It’s no use,” whispered Will Palmer to Ned Johnston, and the two boys -went to the front together; then there was a general uprising, and a -scramble to see who should not be last. - -“Good!” exclaimed Mr. Morton, looking at the culprits and then about the -school-room; “I believe you’re all here. I’m proud of you, boys. You did -a shameful thing in attacking a harmless man, but you have done nobly by -confessing. I cannot let you off without punishment, but you will suffer -far less than you would have done by successfully concealing your fault. -None of you are to go out at recess next week. Now go to your seats. -Sharp, you may take any unoccupied desk you like. After this I think I -can trust you to behave yourself without being watched.” - -The boys had never before seen Sharp look as he did as he walked to a -desk in the back of the room and sat down. As soon as the bell was -struck for recess Grayson hurried over to Sharp and said, - -“You helped me out of a terrible scrape, do you know it?” - -“I’m glad of it,” said Sharp. “And that isn’t all; I wish I could think -of something else to own up to.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - _THOSE JAIL-BIRDS._ - - -ALTHOUGH the people of Laketon could not forgive Mr. Morton and Paul -Grayson for not talking more about themselves and their past lives, they -could not deny that both the teacher and his pupil were of decided value -to the town. All the boys, whether in Mr. Morton’s school or the public -school, seemed to like Paul Grayson when they became acquainted with -him, and the parents of the boys sensibly argued that there could not be -anything very bad about a boy who was so popular. Besides, the other -boys in talking about Paul declared that he never swore and never lied; -and as lying and swearing were the two vices most common among the -Laketon boys, and therefore most hated by the parents, they felt that -there was at least no occasion to regard the new-comer with suspicion. - -As for Mr. Morton, he rapidly made his way among the more solid -citizens. He was willing to work, whether his services were required by -church, Sunday-school, or society, and he did not care to hold office of -any sort, so his sincerity was cheerfully admitted by all. When, -however, he had one day, soon after his arrival, asked several prominent -men why the town had no society, or even person, to visit the very poor -and the persons who might be in prison, he ran some risk of being -considered meddlesome. - -“We know our own people best,” said Sam Wardwell’s father. “The only -people here who suffer from poverty are those who won’t work, while the -few people who get into our jail are hard cases; half of them wouldn’t -listen to you if you talked to them, and the others would listen only to -have an excuse to beg tobacco or something. There’s a man in the jail -now for passing counterfeit money; he’s committed for trial when the -County Court sits in September; that man is just as smart as you or I. -He is as fine a looking fellow as you would wish to see, talks like a -straightforward business man, and yet he passed counterfeit bills at -four different places in this town. What would talk do for such a -fellow?” - -“No one knows until some one tries it,” replied the teacher, quietly. - -“Well, all I have to say is,” remarked Mr. Wardwell, in a tone that was -intended to be very sarcastic, “those who have plenty of time to waste -must do the trying. If you want such work done, why don’t you do it -yourself?” - -“I would cheerfully do it if it did not seem to be presumptuous on the -part of a stranger.” - -“Don’t trouble your mind about that,” said the store-keeper, with a -laugh; “the counterfeiter is a stranger too, so matters will be even. -There’s the sheriff, in front of the post-office; do you know him? No? -Let us step over, and I’ll introduce you; and I’ll wish you more luck -than you’ll have in the jail, if that will be of any consolation.” - -Mr. Morton found Sheriff Towler quite a pleasant man to talk to, and -perfectly willing to have his prisoners improve in body and mind by any -method except that of getting out of jail before their respective terms -of imprisonment had expired, or before they were by superior authority -ordered to some other place of confinement, as he, the sheriff, wished -might at once be the case with John Doe, the man who was awaiting trial -for passing bad bank-notes. All this the sheriff said as he walked with -Mr. Morton from the post-office to the jail. Arrived at the last-named -building, the sheriff instructed his deputy, who had charge of the -place, to admit Mr. Morton at any time that gentleman might care to -converse with any of the prisoners. - -The teacher walked first through the upper rooms, where a small but -choice assortment of habitual drunkards and petty thieves were confined; -these, as Sam Wardwell’s father had predicted, either declined to -converse or talked stupidly for a moment or two, and then begged either -tobacco or money to buy it with. Still, Mr. Morton thought he saw in -these wretched fellows some material to work upon, when time allowed. -Then he went below, and the deputy took him to the small grated window -in the door of the strong cell for desperate offenders, and said to John -Doe that a gentleman who was visiting the prisoners would like to speak -with him. The deputy went away immediately after saying this, and Mr. -Morton quickly put his face to the grated window. A face appeared on the -other side of the grating, and then, as Mr. Morton placed his hand -between the bars, which were barely wide enough apart to admit it, he -felt his fingers grasped most earnestly by the hand of the prisoner. If -Mr. Wardwell could have felt that grasp and seen the prisoner’s face, he -might have greatly changed his opinion of smart prisoners in general. - -Somehow John Doe preferred to restrict his remarks to whispers, and for -some reason Mr. Morton humored him. The interview lasted but a few -moments, and ended with a plea and a promise that another call should be -made. Meanwhile, Mr. Wardwell had stood on a corner that commanded the -jail, and when the teacher reappeared the merchant asked, “Well?” - -“They are a sad set,” Mr. Morton admitted. - -“I told you so,” said Wardwell, rubbing his hands, as if he were glad -rather than sorry that the prisoners were as bad as he had thought them. -“And how did you find that rascally counterfeiter? I’ll warrant he -didn’t care to see you?” - -“On the contrary,” replied the teacher, gravely, “he was very glad to -see me. He begged me to come again. He was so glad to see some one not a -jailer that he cried.” - -“Well, I never!” exclaimed the merchant. And he told the truth. - -It was soon after this first visit of a series that lasted as long as -Mr. Morton remained in the village that the boys changed their base-ball -ground. They had generally played in some open ground on the edge of the -town, but the teacher one day asked why they should go so far, when the -entire square on which the court-house and jail stood was vacant, except -for those two buildings. The boys spent a whole recess in considering -this suggestion; then they reported it favorably to the other boys of -the town, and it was adopted almost unanimously that very week; and -Canning Forbes could always remember even the day of the month on which -the first game was played, for he, as a “fielder,” caught the ball -exactly on the tip of the longest finger of his left hand, and he stayed -home with that finger, and woke up nights with it, for a full week -afterward. - -Paul Grayson had not attended Mr. Morton’s school a fortnight before -every one knew that ball was his favorite game. This preference on the -part of the new boy did not entirely please Benny Mallow, who preferred -to have his new friend play marbles, and with him alone, because then he -could talk to him a great deal; whereas at ball, even “town-ball,” which -needed but four boys to a game, there was not much opportunity for -talking, while at baseball the chances were less, even were Benny not so -generally out of breath when he met Grayson on a “base” that -conversation was impossible. - -But Grayson clung to ball; he did not seem to care much for it in the -school-yard, which, indeed, was rather small for such games, but after -school was dismissed in the afternoons he always tried to get up a game -on the new grounds, and he generally succeeded. Even boys who did not -care particularly for the sport had been told by Mr. Morton that about -the only diversion of the wretched men in the jail was to look out the -window while ball-playing was going on; and as Mr. Morton had begun to -attain special popularity through his work among the prisoners, the boys -who liked him, as most of them did, were glad to help him to the small -extent they were able. - -“I really can’t see why Grayson should be so fond of ball,” said Canning -Forbes one afternoon, as he and several other boys lay under the big -elm-tree behind the court-house and criticised the boys who were -playing. “He isn’t much of a pitcher, he doesn’t bat very well, and he -often loses splendid chances, while he’s catcher, by not seeming to see -the ball when it’s coming. I wonder if his eyes can be bad?” - -“I don’t believe they are,” said Will Palmer; “he is keen-sighted enough -about everything else. Absent-mindedness is his great trouble; every -once in a while he gets his eyes fixed on something as if he couldn’t -move them.” - -“He gets into a brown-study, you mean,” suggested Forbes. - -“That’s it,” assented Will. - -“He’s thinking about the splendors of the royal home that he is being -kept away from,” said Napoleon Nott. “You just ought to read what sort -of a place a royal home is,” continued Notty. “I’ll bring up a book -about it some day, and read it aloud to all of you fellows.” - -“No you won’t, Notty,” said Canning Forbes; “not if we have any legs -left to run away with.” - -Some internal hints that supper-time was approaching broke up the game, -and the boys moved off the ground, by twos and threes, until only Paul -and Benny remained. Paul seemed in no particular hurry to start, and as -Benny never seemed to imagine that Paul could see himself safely home -from any place, he remained too. - -“Benny,” said Paul, suddenly, “did you ever see any one in jail?” - -“No,” said Benny, “I never did.” - -“Neither did I,” said Paul, “but I’m curious to do so now. You needn’t -go with me; the sight might pain you too much.” - -“What! Just to go to the jail, and look up at the windows? Oh no; _that_ -won’t hurt me. I’ve done that lots of times.” - -“Very well,” said Paul, moving toward the jail. He looked up at the -windows as he walked; finally he stopped where he could look fairly at -the small window of the cell where the counterfeiter was. The sun was -not shining upon that side of the jail, so Benny could barely see there -was a face behind the window. Evidently the prisoner was standing on a -chair, for the little window was quite high. Paul’s eyes seemed better -than Benny’s, however, for he continued looking at that window for some -moments. When he finally turned away, it was because he could not see -any longer, for his eyes were full of tears. - -[Illustration: THE WINDOW OF THE COUNTERFEITER’S CELL.] - -“Why, you’re crying!” exclaimed Benny, in some astonishment. “What is -the matter?” - -“I’m so sorry for the poor fellow,” replied Paul. - -“I am too,” said Benny—“awfully sorry. I wish I could cry about it, but -somehow my eyes don’t work right to-day. Some days I can cry real -easily. Next time one of those days comes, I’ll come over here with you, -and let you see what I can do.” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - _THE BEANTASSEL BENEFIT._ - - -OF the many boys who were curious about Paul Grayson’s antecedents, no -one devoted more attention to the subject than Benny Mallow. Benny was -short, and Paul was tall; Benny was fat, and Paul was thin; Benny’s hair -was light, while Paul’s was black as jet; Benny had light blue eyes, -while those of Paul were of a rich brown; Benny always had something to -say about himself, while Paul never seemed to think his affairs of the -slightest interest to any one but himself: so, taking all things into -account, it is not wonderful that Benny Mallow spent whole half-hours in -contemplating his friend with admiration and wonder. - -Still more, as Benny had been accepted by every one as Paul’s particular -friend, he actually was besieged with all sorts of questions, and to -answer these without letting himself down in the estimation of the -school was no easy matter, when he did not know any more about Paul than -any one else did. One question, however, he settled to the entire -satisfaction of every one but Napoleon Nott—Grayson was not an exiled -prince. Benny was sure of this, because he had asked Paul if he had ever -been on the other side of the ocean, and Paul had answered that he had -not. Notty endeavored to make light of this evidence by showing how easy -it would have been to spirit the mysterious person away from his royal -home and to America while he was a baby, and therefore too young to know -anything about it; but Will Palmer told Notty that it was about time to -stop making a fool of himself, and the other boys present said they -thought so too, at which Notty became so angry that he vowed, in the -presence of at least a dozen boys, that when the truth came out, and all -the boys wanted to borrow his copy of “The Exiled Prince: a Tale of -Woe,” he would not lend it to them, even if it were to save them from -death; he would not even let them look at the cover, with its picture of -the prince and the name of the publisher. - -Meanwhile Mr. Morton had continued his visits to the prisoners and to -the poor of the town, and out of school hours he had so interested the -boys in some of the suffering families of worthless men or widowed -women, that it was agreed by the whole school that the teasing of any of -the boys of these families about the holes in their trousers, or -provoking fights with or between them, should entirely stop; indeed, as -this suggestion came from Bert Sharp, who was fonder of fighting than -any other boy in the town, the school could not well do otherwise. - -The boys went even farther: when one day old Peter Beantassel, whose -family was always on the verge of starvation, spent on drink the -accidental earnings of a week, and then fell into an abandoned well and -was drowned, it was decided by the school to give an exhibition for the -benefit of Mrs. Beantassel and her six children. Mr. Morton was -delighted, and promised to secure a church or hall without expense to -the boys, and to collect enough money from the public to pay for -printing the tickets. The boys at once began work in tremendous earnest; -they were for a fortnight so busy at determining upon a programme, and -studying, rehearsing, selling tickets, and exacting promises from people -who would not purchase in advance, that there was but little playing -before school and during recess, blackberry hedges were neglected, and -the trout in the single brook near the town had not the slightest excuse -for apprehension. - -Paul Grayson entered into the spirit of the occasion as thoroughly as -any one else; he volunteered to recite Longfellow’s “Psalm of Life,” and -when the farce of “Box and Cox” was about to be given up because no boy -was willing to dress up in women’s clothes, and be laughed at by all the -larger girls, for playing the part of Mrs. Bouncer, Paul volunteered for -that unpopular character, and saved the play. But this was not all. -There were to be some tableaux; and as Mr. Morton had been asked to -suggest some scenes, particularly one or two with Indians in them, and -was as fond of pointing a moral as teachers usually are, one of his -tableaux, to be called “Civilization,” was a scene in the interior of an -Indian’s wigwam. The squaw, who had just been killed, was lying dead on -the floor; her husband, with his hands tied, stood bleeding between two -soldiers, while between father and mother stood the half-grown son, -wondering what it all was about. As all of the boys wanted to see this -tragic picture, all of them declined to take part in it; Joe Appleby had -been heard to remark with a sneer that only very small and green boys -cared to look at Indians, so he was asked to take the part of the -wretched son himself; but he said that when any one saw him making a -fool of himself by browning his face and dressing up in rags, he hoped -some one would tell him about it: so Grayson, as the only other tall boy -who had dark hair that was not cut short, was cast for this part also, -and offered no objection. As for the bleeding chieftain, Napoleon Nott -fought hard to pose in that character, and was quieted only by being -allowed to play the dead squaw, which all the boys told him he ought -easily to see was the more romantic part, besides being one in which he -could by no chance make any mistake. - -The place selected for the entertainment was the lecture-room of the -Presbyterian church, and the boys had therefore to give up their darling -project of devoting half an hour of the evening to amateur negro -minstrelsy; for one of the deacons said that while he sometimes doubted -that even an organ was a proper musical instrument for use in sacred -buildings, he certainly was not going to tolerate banjos and bones. This -decision was a great disappointment to Benny Mallow, who had been -selected by the managers to perform upon the tambourine, but in the -revision of the programme Benny was assigned to duty in a tableau as a -little fat goblin, and this so tickled his fancy that he did not suffer -long by the disappointment. - -At last the eventful night arrived. Some of the boys did not leave the -lecture-room at all after the last rehearsal, not even to get their -suppers, for fear they should be late, and those who reached the room -barely in time to take their parts had all they could do to squeeze -through the crowd that blocked the doors and filled the aisles. The -spectacle of so crowded a house raised the boys to a high pitch of -excitement, which was increased by various peeps, from the curtains that -served as dressing-rooms, at the Beantassel children, who by some -thoughtful soul had been provided with free seats in the extreme front -bench; there they were, all but the baby; they had been provided with -clothing which, though old, was far more sightly than the rags they -usually wore, and although they did not seem as much at ease as some -others among the spectators, their eyes stood so very open, then and -throughout the evening, that even Joe Appleby, who had reluctantly -consented to pose, in his best clothes, with gloves, cane, and high hat, -as Young America in a tableau of “The Nations,” agreed with himself that -the exhibition was rather a meritorious idea after all, and that even if -the boys did as badly as he knew they would, he was glad it was sure to -pay. - -But the boys did not do badly; on the contrary, the general performance -would have been quite creditable to adults. The opening was somewhat -dismal; it was announced to consist of a duet for two flutes by Will -Palmer and Ned Johnston. The boys had practised industriously at several -airs in order to discover which would be best, and at last they supposed -they had fully agreed; but when seated Ned began the _Miserere_ from -“Trovatore,” while Will started “The Old Folks at Home;” and each was -sure the other was wrong, and would correct himself, which the other in -both cases failed to do; the two boys finally retired abruptly, amid -considerable laughter, and fought the matter out in the dressing-room. - -Paul Grayson soon restored order, however, by his rendering of the -“Psalm of Life.” He had a fine voice, and he spoke the lines as if he -meant them; so gloriously did his voice ring that even the boys in the -dressing-room kept silence and listened, though they had heard the same -verses a hundred times before. - -Most of the performances that followed went very smoothly, although -Benny Mallow, who played the Hatter’s part in “Box and Cox,” caused some -confusion by laughing frequently and unexpectedly, because Paul’s -disguise as Mrs. Bouncer affected him powerfully in spite of the efforts -made by Sam Wardwell, as the Printer, to restrain him. The tableaux -pleased the audience greatly; even that of “Prometheus,” with Ned -Johnston as the sufferer, and Mrs. Battle’s big red rooster as the -vulture, brought down the house. - -But the great tableau of the evening was the teacher’s “Civilization.” -When Paul Grayson had understood fully what the scene was to be, he -refused so earnestly to have anything to do with it that the boys were -startled. They did not excuse him from taking the part of the young -Indian, however; they pleaded so steadily that at last Paul consented, -but in worse temper than any one had ever seen him before. No one could -complain of the manner in which he acted on the stage, however. When the -curtain was drawn he was seen standing beside his dead mother, and -shaking a fist at the soldiers; in color, dress, pose, and spirit he -seemed to be a real Indian, if the audience was a competent judge; then, -when the applause justified a recall, as it soon did, the drawn curtain -disclosed Paul clinging to the wounded brave as if nothing should ever -tear him away. - -Napoleon Nott saw all this, although, as the Indian boy’s mother, he was -supposed to be dead beyond recall. Suddenly he felt himself to be -inspired, and when the curtain was down he flew into the dressing-room -and exclaimed, “I’ve got it!” - -“Be careful not to hurt it,” said Canning Forbes, sarcastically. - -“I’ve got it!” declared Notty, without noticing Canning’s cruel speech. -“Grayson is an Indian, a chief’s son. You don’t suppose he could have -made believe so well as all that, do you? That’s it. I knew he was a -great person of some sort. Sh—h! he’s coming.” - -Somehow the boys who had been able to peep out at the tableau did not -laugh at Notty this time. Paul, in his Indian dress, had greatly -impressed them all before he left the dressing-room, and certainly his -acting had been unlike anything the boys had seen other boys do. The -subject was talked over in whispers, so that Paul should not hear, -during the remainder of the evening, with the result that that very -night at least six boys told other boys or their own parents, in the -strictest confidence, of course, that there was more truth than -make-believe about Paul Grayson as an Indian. And the parents told the -same story to other parents, the boys told it to other boys, and within -twenty-four hours Paul Grayson was a far more interesting mystery than -before. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - _A BEAUTIFUL THEORY RUINED._ - - -WHEN Benny Mallow went to bed at night, after the great exhibition, he -suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask what the grand total of -the receipts for the Beantassel family had been. Under ordinary -circumstances he would have got out of bed, dressed himself, and scoured -the town for full information before he slept. On this particular night, -however, he did not give the subject more than a moment of thought, for -his mind was full of greater things. Paul Grayson an Indian? Why, of -course: how had he been so stupid as not to think of it before? Paul was -only dark, while Indians were red, but then it was easy enough for him -to have been a half-breed; Paul was very straight, as Indians always -were in books; Paul was a splendid shot with a rifle, as all Indians -are; Paul had no parents—well, the tableau made by Paul’s own friend, -Mr. Morton, who knew all about him, explained plainly enough how Indian -boys came to be without fathers and mothers. - -Even going to sleep did not rid Benny of these thoughts. He saw Paul in -all sorts of places all through the night, and always as an Indian. At -one time he was on a wild horse, galloping madly at a wilder buffalo; -then he was practising with bow and arrow at a genuine archery target; -then he stood in the opening of a tent made of skins; then he lay in the -tall grass, rifle in hand, awaiting some deer that were slowly moving -toward him. He even saw Paul tomahawk and scalp a white boy of his own -size, and although the face of the victim was that of Joe Appleby, the -hair somehow was long enough to tie around the belt which Paul, like all -Indians in picture-books, wore for the express purpose of providing -properly for the scalps he took. - -So fully did Benny’s dreams take possession of him, that, although he -had been awake for two hours the next morning before he met Paul, he was -rather startled and considerably disappointed to find his friend in -ordinary dress, without a sign of belt, scalp, or tomahawk about him. -Still, of course Paul was an Indian, and Benny promptly determined that -no one should beat him in getting information about the young man’s -earlier life; so Benny opened conversation abruptly by asking, “Where do -you begin to cut when you want to take a man’s scalp off?” - -“Why, who are you going to scalp, little fellow?” asked Paul. - -“Oh, nobody,” said Benny, in confusion. “I’d like to know, that’s all.” - -“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask some one else, then,” said Paul, with a -laugh. “Try me on something easier.” - -“Then how do you ride a wild horse without saddle or bridle?” asked -Benny. - -“Worse and worse,” said Paul. “See here, Benny, have you been reading -dime novels, and made up your mind to go West?” - -“Not exactly,” said Benny; “but,” he continued, “I wouldn’t mind going -West if I had some good safe fellow to go with—some one who has been -there and knows all about it.” - -“Well, I know enough about it to tell you to stay at home,” said Paul. - -This was proof enough, thought Benny; so, although he was aching to ask -Paul many other questions about Indian life, he hurried off to assure -the other boys that it was all right—that Paul was an Indian, and no -mistake. The consequence was that when Paul approached the school-house -half of the boys advanced slowly to meet him, and then they clustered -about him, and he became conscious of being looked at even more intently -than on the day of his first appearance. He did not seem at all pleased -by the attention; he looked rather angry, and then turned pale; finally -he hurried upstairs into the school-room and whispered something to the -teacher, at which Mr. Morton shook his head and patted Paul on the -shoulder, after which the boy regained his ease and took his seat. - -But at recess he again found himself the centre of a crowd, no member of -which seemed to care to begin any sort of game. Paul stopped short, -looked around him, frowned, and asked, “Boys, what is the matter with -me?” - -“Nothing,” replied Will Palmer. - -“Then what are you all crowding around me for?” - -No one answered for a moment, but finally Sam Wardwell said, “We want -you to tell us stories.” - -“Stories about Indians,” explained Ned Johnston. - -Paul laughed. “You’re welcome to all I know,” said he; “but I don’t -think they’re very interesting. Really, I can’t remember a single one -that’s worth telling.” - -This was very discouraging; but Canning Forbes, who was so smart that, -although he was only fourteen years of age, he was studying mental -philosophy, whispered to Will Palmer that people never saw anything -interesting about their own daily lives. - -“You can tell us something about birch canoes, can’t you?” asked Ned -Johnston, by way of encouragement. - -“Oh yes,” Paul replied; “they’re made out of bark, with hoops and strips -of wood inside, to give them shape and make them strong.” - -“How do they fasten up the ends?” asked Ned. - -“They first sew or tie them together with strings, and then they put -pitch over the seams to make them water-tight.” - -“Did you ever see the Indians race in birch canoes?” asked Sam. - -“Oh yes, often,” Paul replied; “and they make fast time too, I can tell -you.” - -“Did you ever race yourself?” asked Benny. - -“No,” said Paul, “but I learned to paddle a canoe pretty well. I’d -rather have a good row-boat, though, than any birch I ever saw. If you -run one of them on a sharp stone, it may be cut open, unless it’s pretty -new.” - -“How do the Indians kill buffaloes?” asked Will Palmer. - -“Why, just as white men do—they shoot them with rifles. Nearly all the -Indians have rifles nowadays.” - -This was very unromantic, most of the boys thought, for an Indian -without bows and arrows could not be very different from a white man. -Still, something wonderful would undoubtedly come before Paul was done -talking. - -“Are buffaloes really so terrible-looking as the story-papers say?” -asked Bert Sharp. - -“Well, they don’t look exactly like pets,” said Paul. “A bull buffalo, -in the winter season, when he has a full coat of hair, looks fiercer -than a lion.” - -“Do the Indians really kill or torture all the white people they catch?” -asked Canning Forbes. - -“I don’t know—I suppose so; but perhaps they’re not all as bad as some -white people say.” - -[Illustration: “YOU’RE A CHIEF’S SON, AREN’T YOU?”] - -Canning shook his head encouragingly at Will Palmer: evidently this -young Indian had a manly spirit, and was not going to have his people -abused. There was a moment or two of silence, each boy wondering what -next to ask. Finally, Napoleon Nott said, - -“You’re a chief’s son, aren’t you?” - -“What?” exclaimed Paul, so sharply that Notty dodged behind Will Palmer, -and put his hand to his head as if to protect his scalp. - -“I meant” said Notty, tremblingly—“I meant to ask what tribe you -belonged to.” - -“I? What tribe? Notty, what are you talking about?” - -Notty did not answer; so Paul looked around at the other boys, but they -also were silent. - -“Notty,” said Paul, “what on earth are you thinking about? Do you -imagine I’m an Indian?” - -“I thought you were,” said Notty, very meekly; “and,” he continued, “so -did all the other boys.” - -“Well, that’s good,” said Paul, laughing heartily. “What made you think -so, fellows?” - -“Benny told us,” explained Ned. - -“Benny?” exclaimed Paul. “What put that fancy into your head?” - -“I—I dreamed it,” said Benny, almost ready to cry for shame and -disappointment. - -“And you told all the other boys?” - -“Yes, I believed it; I really did, or I never would have said it.” - -Then Paul laughed again—a long, hearty laugh it was, but no one helped -him. Most of the boys felt as if in some way Paul had cheated them. As -for Ned Johnston, he evidently did not believe Paul, for he began to ask -questions. - -“If you’re not an Indian, how do you know so much about a birch canoe?” - -“Why, I’ve seen dozens of them in Maine, where I used to live; the -Indians make them there.” - -“Wild Indians?” asked Ned, and all the boys listened eagerly for the -answer. - -“No,” said Paul, contemptuously; “they’re the tamest kind of tame ones.” - -This was dreadful, yet Ned thought he would try once more. “How did you -come to know so much about buffaloes?” he asked. - -“I saw two in Central Park, in New York,” Paul replied. “Oh, boys! boys! -you’re dreadfully sold.” - -“Say, Paul,” said Benny, edging to the front, and looking appealingly at -his friend, “you’ve been away out West, anyhow, haven’t you?—because you -told me you knew about it.” Benny awaited the answer with fear and -trembling, for he felt he never would hear the end of the affair if he -did not get some help from Paul. - -“No, I’ve never been farther West than Laketon,” was the disheartening -reply. “All I know of the West I’ve learned from books and newspapers.” - -“Dear me!” sighed Benny; and for the first time in his life he wished -the bell would ring, and give him an excuse to get away. Within a moment -his wish was gratified, and he scampered up-stairs very briskly, but not -before Bert Sharp had caught up with him, and called him “Smarty,” and -asked him if he hadn’t some more dreams that he could go about telling -as truth. Poor Benny’s only consolation, as he took his seat, was that -Notty had been the first to suggest the Indian theory, and he ought -therefore to bear a part of whatever abuse might come of the mistake. - -At any rate, he had learned that Paul had been in Maine and New York; -certainly that was more than he had known an hour before. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - _DARED._ - - -FOR a day or two after the terrible collapse of the Indian theory Paul -Grayson kept himself aloof from the other boys to such an extent that he -made them feel very uncomfortable. Benny, in particular, was made most -miserable by such treatment from Paul, for Benny was not happy unless he -could talk a great deal; and as he could not even be near the other boys -without being reproached for his untruthful Indian story, the coolness -of Paul reduced him to the necessity of doing all his talking at home, -where he really could not spend time enough to tell all that was on his -mind. - -Besides, there were several darling topics on which Benny’s mother and -sister, although they loved the boy dearly, never would exhibit any -interest. Benny had lately learned, after months of wearisome practice -in Sam Wardwell’s barn, that peculiar gymnastic somersault known and -highly esteemed among boys of a certain age as “skinning the cat,” and -he was dying to have some one see him do it, and praise him for his -skill. But when he proposed to do it in the house, from the top of one -of the door frames, his mother called him inhuman, and his sister said -he was disgusting, the instant they heard the name of the trick; and -although Benny finally made them understand that cats had really nothing -to do with the trick, and that if he should ever want the skin taken off -a real cat he would not do the work himself, not even for the best -fishing-rod in town, he was still as far from succeeding as ever; for -when he afterward explained just what the trick consisted in, his mother -told him that he was her only boy, and while she liked to see him amuse -himself, she never would consent to stand still and look at him while he -was attempting to break his blessed little neck. - -And how unsatisfactory his sister was when consulted about fish bait! In -marbles she had been known to exhibit some interest, but a boy could not -always talk about marbles. When Benny explained how different kinds of -live bait kicked while on the hook, and asked her to think of some new -kind of bug or insect that he could try on the big trout that had -learned to escape trouble by letting alone the insects already used to -hide hooks with, she told him that she didn’t know anything about it, -and, what was more, she didn’t care to, and she didn’t think her brother -was a very nice boy to care for such dirty things himself. - -The change in the relations of the boys with Paul did not escape Mr. -Morton’s eyes; and when he questioned his newest pupil, and learned the -cause, he made an excuse to send Paul home for something, and then told -the boys that to pry into the affairs of other people was most -unmannerly, and that he thought Paul had been too good a fellow to -deserve such treatment at the hands of his companions. The boys admitted -to themselves that they thought so too; and when next they were -out-of-doors together most of them agreed with each other that there -should be no more questioning of Paul Grayson about himself. Still, Sam -Wardwell correctly expressed the sentiment of the entire school when he -said he hoped that Paul would soon think to tell without being asked, -because it was certain that there was something wonderful about him; -boys were not usually as cool, strong, good-natured, fearless, and -sensible as he. - -Pleasant relations were soon restored between the boys, but there was -not as much playing in the school-yard as before, for the weather had -become very hot; so the usual diversion of the boys was to sit in a row -on the lower rail of the shady side of the school-yard fence, and tell -stories, or agree upon what to do when the evening became cooler. Paul -Grayson occasionally begged for a game of ball; he could not bear to be -so lazy, he said, even if the sun did shine hotly. But the boys could -seldom agree with him to the extent of playing on the shadeless -ball-ground; so after dismissal in the afternoon Paul used to go alone -to the ball-ground behind the court-house, and practise running, -hopping, jumping, and tossing a heavy stone, until some of the boys, not -having promised to abstain from talking with each other about Paul, -wondered if their mysterious friend might not be the son of some great -clown, or circus rider, or trapeze performer, or something of the sort. -Paul’s exercises seemed to give a great deal of entertainment to the -prisoners in the jail, for some of them were always at the large barred -window, and the counterfeiter was sure to be at the small one the moment -he heard Paul come whistling by; and well he might, for that cell, -lighted only by a single very small window, must have been a dismal -place to spend whole days in. - -From occasionally looking at the prisoners from the play-ground Paul -finally came to stare at them for several minutes at a time. The other -boys could not see what there could be about such a lot of bad men to -interest a fine fellow like Paul; but Canning Forbes explained that -perhaps the spectacle would be interesting to them too if they were -strangers, and had not seen the prisoners in every-day life, and known -what a common, stupid, uninteresting set they were. All of the boys, -Canning reminded them, had been full of curiosity about the -counterfeiter when he had first been put into the jail; that, he -explained, was because the man was a stranger, and no one of them knew a -thing about him. Paul was in exactly the same condition about the other -prisoners, and the counterfeiter too. - -The explanation was satisfactory, but Paul’s interest in the prisoners -was not, for all the time he spent staring at the side of the jail might -otherwise have been spent with them, all of whom, excepting perhaps Joe -Appleby, felt that they never could see enough of Paul. Some of them -were shrewd enough to reason that if Paul could be made to understand -what a miserable set those jail-birds really were, he would soon cease -to have any interest in them; so they made various excuses to talk about -the prisoners by name, and tell what mean and dishonest and disgraceful -things they did. - -But somehow the scheme did not work; Paul himself talked about the -prisoners, and he reminded the boys that some of those men had wives who -were being unhappy about them; and others, particularly the younger -ones, were keeping loving mothers in misery; and perhaps some of them -had children that were suffering, even starving, because their fathers -were in jail. How could any fellow help being curious about men, asked -Paul, whose condition put such stories into a man’s mind? - -“Perhaps, too,” Paul argued, “some of those men are not as bad as they -seem. Every man has a little good of some sort in him; and although he -is to blame for not letting it, instead of his wrong thoughts, manage -him, perhaps some day he may change. I can’t help wishing so about all -of those fellows in the jail, and, what is more, I wouldn’t help it if I -could—would you?” - -No, they wouldn’t, the boys thought; still, they thought also, although -no one felt exactly like saying it aloud, that boys at Mr. Morton’s -school had some good in them, and were a great deal surer to appreciate -the thoughtful tendencies of a good fellow than a lot of worthless town -loafers were, to say nothing of a dreadful counterfeiter. - -“If you feel that way,” said Joe Appleby, somewhat sneeringly, after the -crowd had been silent for two or three moments, “why don’t you go with -Mr. Morton when he visits the prisoners? I would do it if I felt as you -do; I would think it very wrong to stay away.” - -Joe’s tone, as he said this, was so absolutely taunting that most of the -boys expected to see Paul spring at him and strike him; they certainly -would do so themselves, if big enough, and talked to in that way. But -Paul merely replied, “I don’t go, because he never asked me to.” - -“Oh, don’t let that stand in your way,” said Joe, quickly; “you can -easily do the asking yourself. I’ll ask for you, if you feel delicate -about putting in your own word.” - -At this the boys felt sure there would be a fight, but to their great -surprise Paul sat quietly on the rail, and replied, “I should be much -obliged if you would; that is, if you’re man enough to own that you -first taunted me about it.” - -Joe arose, and looked as proud as if he were about to lead a whole army -to certain victory. - -“I’ll do it,” said he, “and right away, too.” - -“And I,” said Canning Forbes, “will go along to see that you tell the -story correctly, and do full justice to Grayson.” - -Joe scowled terribly at this, but Canning, although a very quiet fellow, -had such a determined way in everything he undertook, that Joe knew it -was useless to remonstrate, so he strode sullenly along, with Canning at -his side. The other boys looked for a moment in utter astonishment; -then, as with one accord, all but Paul sprung to their feet and -followed. - -Mr. Morton was astonished at the irruption, as his bell had not been -sounded; but he listened to Joe’s request and to Canning’s statement, -which was supported by fragments volunteered by other boys; then he -replied, “I will gladly take Paul with me, but am sorry that the newest -pupil in the school should be the first to express a kind thought about -the unfortunates in the jail.” - -Then Joe Appleby hung his head, and Canning Forbes did likewise, and -most of the other boys followed their example; but Benny rushed to the -side window, thrust his head out, and shouted, “It’s all right, Paul; he -says you can go.” - -Then all the boys laughed at Benny, at which Benny blushed, and the -teacher rung his bell, which called in no one but Paul. Then the school -came to order; but most of the boys blundered over their lessons that -afternoon, for their minds were full of what they had to tell to boys -that attended other schools, or did not go to school at all. - -The visit of Paul to the prison was made that very afternoon, and before -night nearly every family in the town had heard of how it had come to -pass, and determined that Paul Grayson was a noble fellow, no matter how -much mystery there might be about him. Benny Mallow, having learned in -advance that the visit was contemplated—for Paul could not get rid of -him after school except by telling him—Benny waited at a corner near the -jail until Paul and the teacher came out. He hid himself for a moment or -two, so that Paul would not think he had been watching him; then he -hurried around a block, intercepted the couple, and made some excuse to -stop Paul for a moment. As soon as Mr. Morton had gone ahead a little -way, Benny, with his great blue eyes wider open than ever, asked, “How -was it?” - -“It was dreadful,” said Paul, whose eyes were red, as if he had been -crying. - -“Then you won’t ever go again, will you?” said Benny, giving his -friend’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. - -“Yes, I will,” exclaimed Paul, so sharply that Benny was frightened. He -looked up inquiringly, and saw Paul’s eyes filled with tears. “I’ll go -again, and often, now that I’ve been teased into doing it; but, Benny -Mallow, if you tell a single boy that I cried, I’ll never speak to you -again in this world.” - -“I won’t—oh, I won’t,” said Benny, and he kept his word—for weeks. - -[Illustration: PAUL GRAYSON AND BENNY MALLOW.] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - _BENNY’S PARTY._ - - -MR. Morton’s school closed on the last day of June, and the parents of -the pupils were so well pleased with the progress their sons had made -that almost all of them thanked the teacher, besides paying him, and -they hoped that he would open it again in the autumn. Mr. Morton thanked -the gentlemen in return, and said he would think about it; he was not -certain that he could afford to begin a new term unless more pupils were -promised, although he did not believe the entire county could supply -better boys than those he had already taught at Laketon. - -The boys, when they heard this, determined that they would not be -outdone in the way of compliment, so they resolved, at a full meeting -held in Sam Wardwell’s father’s barn, that Mr. Morton was a brick, and -the class would prove it by giving him as handsome a gold watch-chain as -could be bought by a contribution of fifty cents from each of the -twenty-three boys. Every boy paid in his fifty cents, although some of -them had to part with special treasures in order to get the money. Benny -Mallow sacrificed his whole collection of birds’ eggs, which included -forty-seven varieties, after having first vainly endeavored to raise the -money upon two mole-skins, his swimming tights, and a very large lion -that he had spent nearly a day in cutting from a menagerie poster. The -chain, suitably inscribed, was formally presented in a neat speech by -Joe Appleby; Paul Grayson absolutely refused to do it, insisting that -Joe was the real head of the school; indeed, Paul himself asked Joe to -make the speech, and from that time forth Joe himself pronounced Paul a -royal good fellow, and even introduced him to all girls of his -acquaintance who wore long dresses. - -For at least a month after school closed the boys were as busy at one -sort of play and another as if they had a great deal of lost time to -make up. Getting ready for the Fourth of July consumed nearly a week, -and getting over the accidents of the day took a week more. Some of the -boys went fishing every day; others tried boating; two or three made -long pedestrian tours—or started on them—and a few went with Mr. Morton -and Paul on short mineralogical and botanical excursions. - -Then, just as mere sport began to be wearisome, August came in, and the -larger fruits of all sorts began to ripen. Fruit was so plenty in and -about Laketon that no one attached special value to it; a respectable -boy needed only to ask in order to get all he could eat, so boys were -invited to each other’s gardens to try early apples or plums or pears, -and as no boy was exactly sure which particular fruit or variety he most -liked, the visits were about as numerous as the varieties. Later in the -month the peaches ripened; and as the boy who could not eat a hatful at -a sitting was not considered very much of a fellow, several hours of -every clear day were consumed by attention to peach-trees. - -Besides all these delightful duties, a great deal of talking had to be -done about the coming cold season. Boys who had spent unsatisfactory -autumns and winters in other years began in time to trade for such -skates, or sleds, or game bags, or other necessities as they might be -without, and the result was that some other boys who traded found -themselves in a very bad way when cold weather came. Between all the -occupations named, time flew so fast that September and the beginning of -another school term were very near at hand before any boy had half -finished all that he had meant to do during vacation. - -There were still some pleasant things to look forward to, though: court -would sit in the first week of September, and then the counterfeiter -would be tried, while on the very first day of September would come -Benny Mallow’s birthday party—an affair that every year was looked -forward to with pleasure; for Benny’s mother, although far from rich, -was very proud of her children, and always made their little companies -as pleasant as any ever given in Laketon for young people. When Benny’s -birthday anniversary arrived, every respectable boy who knew him was -sure to be invited, even if he had shamefully cheated Benny in a trade a -week before, and Benny generally was cheated when he traded at all, for -whatever thing he wanted seemed so immense beside what he had to offer -for it, that year by year he seemed to own less and less. - -At last the night of the party came, and even Joe Appleby, whose own -birthday parties were quite choice affairs, was manly enough to declare -that it was the finest thing of the year. The house was tastefully -dressed with flowers, which always grew to perfection in Mrs. Mallow’s -garden, and the lady of the house knew just how to use them to the best -advantage. Benny and his sister received the guests; and although Benny -was barely twelve years old that day, and rather small for his age, he -appeared quite graceful and manly in his new Sunday suit, which had not, -like the new suits of most of the Laketon boys, been cut with a view to -his growing within the year. His sister Bessie was only a month or two -beyond her tenth birthday, but in white muslin and blue ribbons, with -her flaxen hair in a long heavy braid on her back, and her bright blue -eyes and delicate pink cheeks, she was pretty enough to distract -attention from some girls who wore longer dresses, and, indeed, from -several girls in very long dresses, who had been invited out of respect -for the tastes of Joe Appleby, Will Palmer, and Paul Grayson. - -Mrs. Mallow was as successful at entertaining young people as she was in -dressing her children and ornamenting her little cottage. She had -prepared charades, and given Bessie a lot of new riddles to propose, and -she herself played on her rather old piano some airs that the boys -enjoyed far more than they did the “exercises” that their sisters were -continually drumming. Several of the boys were rather disappointed at -there being no kissing games, but they compromised on “choosing -partners;” and as there were some guessing tricks, in which the boys who -missed had each to select a girl, and retire to the hall with her until -a new “guess” was agreed upon, it is quite probable that most of the -boys enjoyed opportunities for kissing their particular lady friends at -least once or twice. - -As for the supper, a month passed before Sam Wardwell could think of it -without his mouth watering. There were chicken salad and three kinds of -cake, and ice-cream and water ices and lemonade, and oranges and bananas -that had come all the way from New York in a box by themselves, and -there were mottoes and mixed candies and figs and raisins and English -walnuts, while so many of the almonds had double kernels that every girl -in the room ate at least two philopenas, and therefore had enough to -busy her mind for a day in determining what presents she would claim. - -But, in spite of a well-supplied table and forty or fifty appetites that -never had been known to fail, full justice was not done to that supper, -for while at least half of the company had not got through with the -cream and ices, and Sam Wardwell had only had time to taste one kind of -cake (having helped himself three times to chicken salad), a small -colored boy, who knew by experience that news-carrying levels all ranks, -if only the news is great enough, knocked at the door, and asked for -Benny. While the door stood ajar, and Mrs. Mallow went in search of her -boy, the spectacle of a number of other boys standing in the hall was -too much for the colored boy, so he gasped, “De counterfeiter done broke -out ob de jail!” - -[Illustration: “DE COUNTERFEITER DONE BROKE OUT OB DE JAIL!”] - -Then there was a time. Two or three of the boys abandoned their partners -at once, and hurried to the door to ask questions, while one or two more -seized their hats, sneaked toward the back door, walked leisurely out, -as if they merely wished to cool off, and then started on a rapid run -for the jail. - -Benny wished to follow them—and not for the purpose of bringing them -back, either—and all of his mother’s reasoning powers and authority had -to be exerted to keep her son from forsaking his guests. Strangest of -all, Paul Grayson, who had throughout the evening made himself so -agreeable to at least half a dozen of the young ladies that he was -pronounced just too splendid for anything, had been among the first to -run away! Benny said he never would have thought it of Paul, and his -mother said the very same thing, while the girls, who but a few moments -before had been loud in his praise, now clustered together, with very -red cheeks, and agreed that if a mean old counterfeiter was more -interesting than a lot of young ladies, why, they were sure that -_Mister_ Paul Grayson was entirely welcome to all he could see of the -horrid wretch. - -Still, the party went on, after a fashion, although some of the girls -were rather absent-minded for a few moments, until they had determined -what particularly cutting speeches they would make to their beaux when -next they met them. They did not have long to wait, for soon the boys -came straggling back, Sam Wardwell being the first to arrive, for, as on -reaching the jail Sam could learn nothing, and found nothing to look at -but the open door of the empty cell, he shrewdly determined that there -might yet be time to get some more ice-cream if he hurried back. Somehow -none of the girls abused him; on the contrary, they seemed so anxious to -know all about the escape that Sam was almost sorry that he had not -remained away longer and learned more. - -Then Ned Johnston returned. He had been lucky enough to meet a man who -had wanted to be deputy-sheriff and jail-keeper, but had failed; he told -Ned that the jailer had stupidly forgotten to bolt the great door, after -having examined the inside of the cell, as he did every night before -retiring, to see if the prisoner had been attempting to cut through the -walls. The prisoner had been smart enough to listen, and to notice that -the bolts were not shot nor the key turned, so he had quietly walked -out; and had not Mr. Wardwell met him on the street, and recognized him -in spite of the darkness, and hurried off to tell the sheriff, no one -would have known of the escape until morning. There was not the -slightest chance of catching the prisoner again, the would-be deputy had -said to Ned; there wasn’t brains enough in the sheriff and all his staff -to get the better of a smart man; but things would be very different if -proper men were in office. - -When the party finally broke up, several boys were still missing; but as -their absence gave several other boys the chance to escort two girls -home instead of one, these faithful beaux determined that they had not -lost so very much by remaining, after all. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - _RECAPTURED._ - - -ON the morning after Benny Mallow’s party hardly a boy started for the -brook or the woods. This was not because the dissipation of the previous -night had made them over-weary, or too heavy and late a supper had -induced headaches, or the party itself had to be talked over. Each of -these reasons might have kept a boy or two at home, but the real cause -that prevented the majority going about their usual diversions was fear -of meeting the escaped counterfeiter. Where the information came from no -one thought to inquire; but the report was circulated among the boys -quite early in the morning that the criminal was armed with two heavy -revolvers that some secret confederate had passed through the window to -him, and that he would on no account allow himself to be captured alive. - -This story justified the stoutest-hearted boy, even if he owned a rifle, -in preferring to keep away from any and all places in which such a -person might hide; but the story seemed afterward to have been only half -told, for as it passed through Napoleon Nott’s lips a bowie-knife, a -sword-cane, a bottle of poison, and a long piece of a prison chain were -neatly added to the bad man’s armament; so no boy felt ashamed to -confess to any other boy that he really was afraid to venture beyond the -edge of the town. - -“You can never tell where such fellows may hide,” said Sam Wardwell to -several boys who had gathered at the school wood-pile, which was a -general rendezvous for boys who had nothing in particular to do. “I’ve -read in the police reports in the New York paper that father takes of -policemen finding thieves and murderers and other bad men in the -queerest kind of places. They’re very fond of hiding in stables.” - -“Then I know one thing,” said Ned Johnston, promptly—“our hens may steal -nests all over the hay-loft, and hatch all the late chickens they want -to, to die as soon as the frost comes, but I won’t go inside of our barn -again until that man is found.” - -“And I’ll stay out of our stable,” said Bert Sharp, “though it is fun to -go in there sometimes, when a fellow hasn’t anything else to do, and -tickle the horse’s flanks to see him kick.” - -“You ought to be kicked yourself for doing such a mean trick,” said -Charlie Gunter. “Where else do they hide, Sam?” - -“Oh, all sorts of places,” said Sam—“sometimes inside of barrels. And -just think of it! there’s at least twenty empty barrels in the yard of -our store, besides a great big hogshead that would hold six -counterfeiters.” - -“Perhaps he’s in that hogshead now, with his confederate,” suggested -Charlie Gunter. “Can’t we all get on the roof of the store and look down -into it?” - -“I won’t go,” said Ned Johnston, very decidedly; “they might shoot up at -us.” - -“One fellow,” continued Sam, “was found buried just under the top of the -ground; he just had his nose and mouth out so he could breathe, but he -had even those covered with some grass so as to hide them.” - -“How did he bury himself?” asked Canning Forbes. - -“The paper didn’t say,” answered Sam. “I suppose his pals dug the hole -and covered him up.” - -“My!” exclaimed Benny Mallow. “I won’t dare to go out into the garden to -gather tomatoes or pull corn for mother.” - -“Perhaps he’s behind that very fence,” suggested Napoleon Nott. “I had a -book that told about a Frenchman that laid so close against a fence that -the police walked right past him without seeing him, and then he got up -and killed them, and buried them, and—” - -“Keep the rest for to-morrow, Notty,” suggested Canning Forbes; “but put -plenty of salt on, so it won’t spoil. We’ve got as much of it as we can -swallow to-day.” - -“I wonder why Paul don’t come out?” said Will Palmer. - -“He isn’t at home,” said Benny; “and Mr. Morton is very much worried -about him, too; but I told him that he needn’t be afraid; that Paul -could take care of himself even in a fight with a counterfeiter.” - -“Good for you, Benny!” exclaimed Will Palmer. “If Paul only had his -rifle with him, I’d back him against the worst character in the world. -But say, boys, while we’re lounging about here the fellow may have been -captured and brought back to jail. Let’s go up and see.” - -All that could be learned, when the jail was reached, was that the -sheriff had sworn in ten special deputies, and these, with the sheriff -himself, were scouring the town and the adjacent country. The sheriff -had wanted to make a deputy of Mr. Morton, for men who were sure they -could recognize the prisoner at sight were very scarce; but the teacher -had excused himself by saying he was not yet legally a citizen of -Laketon. Mr. Wardwell said to two or three gentlemen that this was -undoubtedly a mere trick to cover the teacher’s foolish tenderness -toward the prisoner whom he had visited so often, and some of the -gentlemen said that they shouldn’t wonder if Mr. Wardwell was right. - -When dinner-time came, an unforeseen trouble occurred to the boys: they -could not go in a crowd to dinner unless some boy felt like inviting the -crowd to take dinner with him, and no boy felt justified in doing that -unless he first asked his mother whether she had enough for so many; so -the party divided, each boy retaining his trusty stick, and going with -beating heart past every fence and wood-pile behind which he could not -see. - -Benny Mallow had just reached home, with his heart away up in the top of -his throat, and stuck there so tight that he was sure he could not -swallow a mouthful, no matter how nice the dinner might be, when he saw, -crossing his street, and at least a quarter of a mile away, three -people, one of whom he was sure must be Paul. He shaded his eyes, looked -intently for an instant, and then became so certain that it was Paul, -whom he felt himself simply dying to see, that he forgot his heart and -his dinner, and even the danger that might lurk in any one of a dozen -places by the way; he even dropped his stick as he sped away as fast as -he could run. By the time he reached the place at which he had seen the -men the party was two squares farther to the left, and Benny was panting -terribly; but as he now knew that it was indeed Paul whom he had seen, -he continued to run. - -After gaining considerably on the trio, however, Benny suddenly stopped, -for he noticed that one of the three carried a pistol. What could it -mean? Could it be?—why, yes, certainly; the man was one of the -deputy-sheriffs, and the man beside whom Paul was walking—holding by one -arm, in fact, as if he were dragging him along—must be the prisoner. - -[Illustration: PAUL AND THE COUNTERFEITER.] - -Benny was no longer afraid. Paul, he was sure, could protect him against -at least six desperate criminals if necessary, even without the help of -a deputy-sheriff with a pistol. “Mister,” gasped Benny, as he overtook -the officer, who walked a little in the rear of the others, -“did—Paul—oh, my!—did Paul—catch the—the prisoner?” - -“No, Benny, no,” exclaimed Paul, who had looked backward on hearing -Benny’s voice; “I hadn’t anything to do with catching him.” - -“He would have done it, though; I’ll bet a hundred to one he would,” -said the deputy, “if he had met him before I did. I don’t believe that -boy knows what it is to be afraid.” - -“Of course he doesn’t,” said Benny, proudly. - -“Benny,” said Paul, “come around here by me; don’t be afraid.” - -Benny obeyed, though rather fearfully, for the prisoner, with his face -rather dirty, and bleeding besides, was not an assuring object to be -only a boy’s width away from. - -“Benny,” said Paul, “don’t you go to telling the boys that I had any -share in catching—in catching this man. You know how such stories get -about if there’s the slightest excuse for them.” - -“I won’t,” said Benny; “but I can tell that you helped bring him in, -can’t I? because you’re doing it, you know.” - -“Don’t say that either,” Paul replied. “I’m not helping at all—not to -bring him in, that is. The man is very tired; he’s been in the woods all -night, lying on the ground, and he’s had no breakfast; he is weak, and -I’m helping him, not the sheriff. Don’t you see how the poor fellow -leans against me?” - -“Yes,” said Benny. Then he dropped his voice to a whisper and said, -“Would you mind telling him that I’m sorry for him too, even if he did—” - -“Tell him yourself,” said Paul, quickly. “And go on the other side of -him and give him a lift.” - -Benny obeyed the last half of Paul’s instructions, but the strangeness -of his position made him entirely forget the first part, and he was -wicked enough to wish that, as they reached the more thickly settled -part of the town, people who saw them might think, if only for an hour -or two, that he and Paul, two boys, had caught the dreadful -counterfeiter. And his wish was gratified even more than he had dared to -hope, for suddenly they came face to face with Ned Johnston, who gave -them just one wondering look, and then flew about town and told every -boy that the prisoner had been caught, and that Paul and Benny did it. - -Arrived at the jail, the deputy pointed with his pistol to the still -open door. - -“One moment, please,” said the prisoner. “Boys, I am very much obliged -to you. Will you shake hands?” - -He put out his hand toward Benny as he spoke, and Benny took it; then he -gave a hand to Paul, and Paul looked him straight in the face so long -that Benny was sure he was going to make certain of the man’s looks in -case he ever broke loose again and had to be followed. Then the man went -into his cell, and Paul stood by until he saw the three great bolts -securely shot, after which he and Benny went together toward their -homes. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - _THE TRIAL._ - - -“WHAT do you think was the counterfeiter’s excuse for running away?” -asked Sam Wardwell of Canning Forbes, on meeting him at the Post-office, -to which both boys had been sent by their parents. - -“I give it up,” said Canning, who had not the slightest taste for -guessing. - -“He said he would have come back and given himself up after court had -met and adjourned, but he didn’t want to be tried now.” - -“He wanted to wait for some new evidence in his defence, perhaps,” -suggested Canning. - -“New grandfather!” ejaculated Sam, very contemptuously. “He wanted to -stay in jail here, doing nothing, for the next six months, rather than -go to the Penitentiary and work hard. That’s what my father says.” - -“Perhaps your father is right,” said Canning; “but what does he think of -Paul?” - -“What does he think?” answered Sam; “why, just what everybody else -thinks; he thinks Paul is the greatest boy that ever was, and he says he -wishes I would be just like him.” - -“Well, why don’t you?” asked Canning. - -“How can I?” said Sam, in an aggrieved tone. “I can’t do just as I -please, as Paul can, and I haven’t got any great mystery to keep me up, -as everybody knows Paul has.” - -“Didn’t you ever have a great mystery?” asked Canning. - -“Never but once,” said Sam; “that was when I hooked a big package of -loaf-sugar out of father’s store, and had to keep finding new places to -hide it in until it was eaten up.” - -“I suppose that mystery helped keep you up?” suggested Canning. - -“Well, you see——Oh, look! there comes father; I suppose he’s wondering -why I don’t bring his letters. Good-bye;” and Sam got away from that -very provoking question as fast as possible. - -As for the other boys, they simply sat on the sidewalk opposite old Mrs. -Bartle’s, and worshipped the house from which their hero had not been -successfully coaxed to come out. In spite of Paul’s caution to Benny, -and the promises that were made in return, the deputy had talked so -enthusiastically about Paul to all the men he met, that the story sped -about town that Paul had done as much toward recapturing the prisoner as -the officer had. This story might have been spoiled had Benny acted -according to the spirit of his promise, but the little fellow had been -so elated by the looks that people gave him, as he marched with Paul and -the counterfeiter through the street, that he could not bear to -deliberately rob himself of his fame, as of course he would do as soon -as Paul’s story had been told. So Benny refused to be seen; he went to -bed very early, and before breakfast he had hidden himself in the unused -attic of his mother’s cottage, where he nursed his glory until he felt -that he was simply starving for something to eat. - -And all this while his fictitious valor was nowhere in the eyes of the -populace, for Mr. Morton himself had gone out immediately after -breakfast, and had himself given Paul’s version of the affair to every -one, besides giving Benny a fair share of the credit for the -tender-heartedness displayed by the two boys toward the captive, so that -when Benny finally entered the world again he found he had lost some -hours of praise to which he was honestly entitled. As for Paul, the -teacher begged every one to say nothing at all to him about it. The boy -was somewhat peculiar, he said; the affair had made a very painful -impression upon him, and any one who really admired him could best prove -it by treating him just as before, and not reminding him in any way of -Laketon’s most famous day. - -Mr. Morton had not yet decided whether to open his school again, and the -boys, although they would have been sorry to have him go away from -Laketon, hoped he would not decide before court opened, for now that the -counterfeiter had been mixed up in some way with two of their own -number, the boys with one accord determined that they would have to -attend the trial; indeed, it seemed to some of them that the trial could -not go on without them, for did they not know the two boys who had -helped bring the prisoner back from the woods? They thought they did. - -When the day for the trial came, and the sheriff opened the court-room, -the doors of which had been kept locked because of the immense crowd -that threatened to fill the house in advance of the hour for the -session, he was surprised to find seventeen boys in the front seats of -the gallery. On questioning them, he learned that most of them had -entered through a window before sunrise, and that two had slept in the -gallery all night. He was about to remove the entire party, but the boys -begged so hard to be allowed to remain, and they reminded him so -earnestly that they all were particular friends of Paul, that the -sheriff, who once had been a boy himself, relented, and let them remain. - -It was about six in the afternoon, according to the boys, but only a -quarter before ten by the court-house clock, when the front doors were -opened and the crowd poured in. Within the next five minutes any boy in -that front gallery row could have sold his seat for a dollar, but not a -boy flinched from what he considered a public duty, although every one -knew just what to do with a dollar if he could get it. Soon the lawyers -flocked in by the judge’s door, and grouped themselves about the table -inside the rail, and at five minutes before ten his honor the judge -entered and took his seat. Then the sheriff allowed Mr. Morton and Paul -to enter by the judge’s door, because they were unable to get through -the crowd in front. At sight of Paul the whole front row of the gallery -burst into a storm of hand-clapping. - -[Illustration: THE SHERIFF ENFORCES ORDER.] - -The judge rapped vigorously with his little mallet, and exclaimed, “Mr. -Sheriff, preserve order. The court is now open.” - -The sheriff, first giving chairs in the lawyers’ circle to Paul and the -teacher, because there were no other seats vacant, went down in front of -the gallery, and shouted to the boys that if they made any more -disturbance he would throw them all out of the window and break their -heads on the pavement below. - -No lighter threat would have been of any avail, for a more restless set -of boys than they were during the next half-hour never was seen. It -seemed to them that the trial never would begin; the lawyers talked to -the judge about all sorts of things, and the judge looked over papers as -leisurely as if time were eternity; but finally his honor said, - -“Mr. Sheriff, bring in John Doe.” - -Every one in the front row of the gallery stood up, two or three minutes -later, as Ned Johnston, who sat where he could look through the open -door by which the judge had entered, signalled that the prisoner was -coming. Many other people stood up when the sheriff and the prisoner -entered, for all were curious to have a good look at the man whom but -few of them had seen. The sheriff placed John Doe in the prisoners’ box, -where, to the great disgust of the boys, only the back of a head and two -shoulders could be seen from the gallery. His honor nodded at the clerk, -and the clerk arose, cleared his throat, and said, - -“John Doe, stand up.” - -The prisoner obeyed; and as his head was slightly turned, so as to face -the clerk, the boys had a fair view of it. It did not seem a bad face; -indeed, it was rather handsome and pleasing, although there was a steady -twitching of the lips that prevented its looking exactly the same from -first to last. - -“John Doe,” said the clerk, turning over some of the sheets of a very -bulky document he held in his hand, “a Grand-jury appointed by this -Court has found a true bill of indictment against you for passing -counterfeit money, to wit, a five-dollar note purporting to have been -issued by the Founders’ National Bank of Mechanics’ Valley, State of -Pennsylvania, the same note having been offered in payment for goods -purchased from Samuel Wardwell, a merchant doing business in this town -of Laketon, and for passing similar bills upon other persons herein -resident. Are you guilty or not guilty?” - -“Guilty!” answered the prisoner. - -A sensation ran through the house, and at least half a dozen of the -fifty or more citizens who had hoped to be drawn on the jury whispered -to their neighbors that it was a shameful trick to appeal to the judge’s -sympathy, and get off with a light sentence; but they hoped that his -honor would not be taken in by any such hypocritical nonsense. - -“John Doe,” said his honor, solemnly, “I have been informed by an old -acquaintance of yours of your entire history. You are well born and well -bred; you had promising prospects in life, and a family that you should -have been proud of. But you gambled; you fell from bad to worse; and a -bullet aimed at you by an officer of the law, in the discharge of his -duty, struck and killed your loving, suffering wife. Such of your family -as remains to you would honor any one, even the highest man in the land, -and I am assured that you are sincerely desirous of forsaking evil -courses and devoting your life to this—family. Old friends, classmates -of yours, who are held in high respect wherever they are known, are -ready and willing to assist you to regain your lost manhood; so, in -consideration of your plea, your professions of penitence, and the -responsibilities which your misdeeds have increased instead of lessened, -I sentence you to confinement in the county jail for the shortest period -allowed by the law covering your offence, to wit, six months. Sheriff, -remove the prisoner.” - -The prisoner bowed to the judge, and then looked toward Mr. Morton and -Paul. He tried hard to preserve his composure as the sheriff led him -through the lawyers’ circle and toward the judge’s door, but somehow his -eyes filled with tears. Perhaps this was the reason that Paul, in spite -of Mr. Morton’s hand on his arm, sprung from his chair, threw his arms -around the prisoner’s neck, and exclaimed, - -“Father!” - -[Illustration: “FATHER!”] - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - _THE END OF IT._ - - -SO Paul Grayson’s secret was out at last, and now the boys wished there -never had been any secret at all. - -“I’ve had lots of fun trying to puzzle it out,” said Ned Johnston to -Napoleon Nott on the afternoon of the day of the trial, “but now I wish -that I hadn’t. Think of poor Paul!” - -“I wish he had been a prince in exile,” said Napoleon Nott, “for then he -wouldn’t have had a chance to tell on himself. Princes’ sons never have -their fathers tried for passing counterfeit money. But I’ll tell you -what; the way that Paul looked when he said ‘Father!’ that day was just -like a picture in a book I’ve got, named ‘Doomed to Death; or, the -Pirate’s Protégé.’ I’ll bring it to school some day and show it to you -all.” - -“I’ll break every bone in your body if you do,” said Will Palmer. - -Notty suddenly remembered that his mother had sent him to the market to -order something, so he hurried away from society that he had mistakenly -supposed might be congenial, while Ned Johnston made the round of the -residences of the various boys who had been at school with Paul. The end -of it all was that the entire school met in the school-yard that evening -after supper for the purpose of formally drafting resolutions of -sympathy. Condolence also was suggested by Sam Wardwell, but Canning -Forbes said that the meeting should not make a fool of itself if he -could prevent it. - -If the roll of Mr. Morton’s school had been called that evening at that -meeting, not a single absentee would have been reported. Even Charlie -Gunter, who had begun half an hour before to shake with a chill, was -present; and although his remarks were somewhat jerky, and his sentences -bitten all to pieces by his chattering teeth, he spoke so feelingly that -no one manifested the slightest inclination to laugh. - -It had been intended that the meeting should be organized in as grand -style as any town-meeting to consider the dog-tax question had ever -been, but somehow there was a general unloosening of tongues, and no one -thought to move that the assemblage should be called to order. - -“It’s easy enough now to see why Paul played so splendidly in that -tableau of ‘Civilization,’” said Will Palmer. - -“Yes, indeed, it is,” said Canning Forbes; “and easy, too, to understand -why he fought so hard against taking the part when every one asked him -to do it.” - -“No wonder he wasn’t afraid to walk beside the prisoner after the -deputy-sheriff had captured him,” said Sam Wardwell. “I don’t believe -I’d have been afraid myself, if my father had been the counterfeiter. -And say, Mr. Morton came into the store this morning and offered father -a five-dollar bill to make up his loss by the bad bill that Paul’s -father passed on him, and what do you think father said?” - -[Illustration: THE MEETING IN THE SCHOOL-YARD.] - -“We give it up,” said Canning Forbes, quickly. “Tell us what it was.” - -“Why,” Sam answered, “he said that he wouldn’t touch it for a thousand -dollars, and if ever the prisoner needed money or anything during his -six months, all he needed to do was to send to him. Father was telling -mother about the whole thing last night when I went home, and when I -went in he jumped up and hugged me and kissed me. He hasn’t done that -before since I was a little boy.” - -“Now I know why Paul used to forget his game and stare at the jail -windows so hard,” said Benny Mallow. - -“Ye-es,” chattered Charlie Gunter, “and why he—he was al-always -wh-wh-wh-whistling when he passed the jail.” - -“And why he never could be happy unless a game of ball was going on in -the lot by the jail,” resumed Benny. “If I’d only known all about it, I -would have sweated to death on the hottest day of the summer rather than -not have obliged him.” - -“Some of the girls thought it was very unmannerly for Paul to have been -the first to leave Benny’s party the night of the escape,” said Will -Palmer. “I’m going to call specially on each one of those girls and make -her take it back.” - -“And if either of them refuses,” said Sam Wardwell, “just you tell me. -She sha’n’t ever eat another philopena with me while she lives; not if -she lives for a thousand years.” - -“He begged me to tell all of you boys that he hadn’t anything to do with -the catching of the prisoner,” confessed Benny, for the first time. “I -wish I’d gone and done it right away! Oh dear; I do think I’m the very -wickedest boy that ever lived—except Cain.” - -“I wonder who told the judge so much about Paul’s father?” asked Ned -Johnston. - -“Why, Mr. Morton, of course,” replied Canning Forbes. “Haven’t you seen -through that yet? Mr. Morton told in school one day, you know, that Paul -was the son of an old friend of his.” - -At least half of the boys had not put the two ends of this thread -together before, but they all admitted that Canning had done it -correctly. - -“Certainly,” said Will Palmer, “and that explains why Mr. Morton was so -frequent in his visits to the prison.” - -“Yes, and why Paul felt so dreadful after _he_ had been there the first -time,” said Benny. “It just used him up completely; you’d hardly have -thought him the same boy.” - -Mention of that incident recalled to the boys the manner in which Paul -had come to go to the prison, so one after another looked at Joe -Appleby, who had not yet said a word, but Joe did not seem angry; on the -contrary, he said, - -“Boys, of course I didn’t know how what I said was affecting Paul, but I -know now, and I’m going to apologize to him the first chance I get. I’m -going to ask him to forgive me, or to take it out of me, if he’d rather; -and,” continued Joe, after a short pause, “I’m not going to wait for the -chance, but I’m going to make it.” - -“Hurrah for Appleby!” shouted Will Palmer, and as three cheers were -given Will crossed over to the big boy of whom he had long been jealous, -and shook hands with him, and all the other boys understood it; so when -Canning Forbes cried, “Three cheers for Palmer!” they too were given -with a will. - -“I want to make a suggestion,” said Canning Forbes, when the cheering -had ended. “We came here to adopt resolutions for Paul Grayson, but I’m -sure he’d be better pleased if we would say nothing about the matter; -any reference to it would be certain to give him pain. The best we can -do is to treat him with special kindness hereafter, if he stays, and -never, by any word or deed, make reference to the past. If there is any -one who insists on resolutions, let him adopt them for himself and about -himself. In spite of having had a father who was a gambler and a -criminal, Paul is the most sensible, honest, honorable, pleasant fellow -in this town. Let each one of us make a resolution that if a boy can -become what Paul is, in spite of such dreadful trouble, those of us who -have honest fathers and happy homes ought to do at least as well.” - -“I’ll do that,” said Benny Mallow, “right straight away, and I’ll write -it down in a book as soon as I get home, so as to be sure never to -forget it.” - -“So will I,” said Napoleon Nott. “I’ll write it on the first page of -‘The Exiled Prince,’ so I’ll be sure to see it often.” - -Such of the boys as did not agree verbally to Canning’s suggestion -seemed to be making the resolution quietly, and the meeting soon broke -up. As Benny started for home it suddenly occurred to him that, now the -secret was out, Paul might go away; he certainly would if Mr. Morton did -not open school. - -This was too dreadful an uncertainty to be endured, so Benny hurried to -old Mrs. Bartle’s and asked to see the teacher. Mr. Morton quickly -quieted his mind by saying that the school would continue for at least -the half-year that Paul’s father remained in the jail. Of course Paul -would be one of the class; indeed, Mr. Morton was willing that Benny -should tell every one that the only reason he had opened school at -Laketon at all was his desire to be near the old friend whom he could -not desert in his trouble, and to have near the prisoner, whose real -name was Paul Gray, the son for whom, since the death of his wife, Paul -Gray had felt an affection that Mr. Morton knew would make a good man of -him when again he had a chance to start in the world. - -When Paul Gray’s term of imprisonment expired he and Paul went away -together, and no one was so unmannerly as to ask them where they were -going. Some of the people of the town talked of taking up a subscription -for the unfortunate man, but Mr. Morton said it would not be necessary, -as Gray’s old friends had arranged to start him in business. All of the -boys were as sorry to part with Paul as if the boy had been going to his -grave, particularly because Canning Forbes had reminded them that it -would not do to ask him to write to them, because his father would -prefer that no one who had known his old history should know where he -began his new life. - -But every one begged Paul’s picture, which pleased Paul greatly; and -after a supper given expressly in Paul’s honor by Joe Appleby, Canning -Forbes arose and presented Paul an album containing the portraits of all -the members of the old class. The pictures were not remarkably good, -having been done by a carpenter who sometimes took “tin-types” merely to -oblige people, he said, but the album was handsome, having been ordered -from New York, regardless of expense, by Sam Wardwell’s father, and on -the cover was the inscription, in gold letters, “Don’t forget us, for we -can’t forget you.” - - - THE END. - - Transcriber's notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been corrected without mentioning. - -Spelling inconsistencies have been maintained. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Who Was Paul Grayson?, by John Habberton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON? *** - -***** This file should be named 52644-0.txt or 52644-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/6/4/52644/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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