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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. McDonald Oxley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Bert Lloyd's Boyhood
+       A Story from Nova Scotia
+
+Author: J. McDonald Oxley
+
+Illustrator: J. Finnemore
+
+Release Date: May 6, 2008 [EBook #25358]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charlene Taylor, Janet Blenkinship and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD.
+
+[Illustration: "The whole crowd then precipitated themselves upon him,
+and proceeded to pummel any part of his body they could reach."--_Page
+165._
+
+_Frontispiece._]
+
+BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD
+
+A Story from Nova Scotia
+
+BY
+
+J. MACDONALD OXLEY, LL.D.
+
+_WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. FINNEMORE_
+
+London
+
+HODDER AND STOUGHTON
+
+27, PATERNOSTER ROW
+
+MDCCCXCII.
+
+   EDINBURGH:
+   PRINTED BY LORIMER AND GILLIES.
+   31 ST. ANDREW SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There is something so pleasing to the author of this volume--the first
+of several which have been kindly received by his American cousins--in
+the thought of being accorded the privilege of appearing before a new
+audience in the "old home," that the impulse to indulge in a foreword or
+two cannot be withstood.
+
+And yet, after all, there would seem to be but two things necessary to
+be said:--Firstly, that in attempting a picture of boy life in Nova
+Scotia a fifth of a century ago, the writer had simply to fall back upon
+the recollections of his own school-days, and that in so doing he has
+striven to depart as slightly as possible from what came within the
+range of personal experience; and, Secondly, while it is no doubt to be
+regretted that Canada has not yet attained that stage of development
+which would enable her to support a literature of her own, it certainly
+is no small consolation for her children, however ardent their
+patriotism, who would fain enter the literary arena, that not only
+across the Border, but beyond the ocean in the Motherland, there are
+doors of opportunity standing open through which they may find their way
+before the greatest and kindliest audience in the world.
+
+   J. MACDONALD OXLEY.
+
+   OTTAWA, CANADA,
+   _29th August, 1892_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+   CHAPTER                                                          PAGE
+
+   I. BERT IS INTRODUCED,                                              5
+
+   II. FIREMAN OR SOLDIER,                                            11
+
+   III. NO. FIVE FORT STREET,                                         17
+
+   IV. OFF TO THE COUNTRY,                                            21
+
+   V. THE RIDE IN THE COACH,                                          29
+
+   VI. AT GRANDFATHER'S,                                              39
+
+   VII. COUNTRY EXPERIENCES,                                          47
+
+   VIII. TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH,                                      57
+
+   IX. LOST AND FOUND,                                                67
+
+   X. BERT GOES TO SCHOOL,                                            81
+
+   XI. SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S,                                 93
+
+   XII. A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE,                                     107
+
+   XIII. BERT AT HOME,                                               117
+
+   XIV. AN HONOURABLE SCAR,                                          127
+
+   XV. A CHANGE OF SCHOOL,                                           139
+
+   XVI. THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S,                            151
+
+   XVII. THE HOISTING,                                               163
+
+   XVIII. SCHOOL EXPERIENCES,                                        175
+
+   XIX. VICTORY AND DEFEAT,                                          187
+
+   XX. A NARROW ESCAPE,                                              203
+
+   XXI. LEARNING TO SWIM,                                            217
+
+   XXII. HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED,                                 227
+
+   XXIII. PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING,                                  239
+
+   XXIV. A CHAPTER ON PONIES,                                        253
+
+   XXV. ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES,                                   263
+
+   XXVI. VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT,                                    273
+
+   XXVII. ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW,                                  287
+
+   XXVIII. WELL DONE, BOYS!                                          301
+
+   XXIX. THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW,                                   315
+
+   XXX. HOME MISSIONARY WORK,                                        325
+
+   XXXI. NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED,                                   335
+
+   XXXII. A BOY NO LONGER,                                           349
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+BERT IS INTRODUCED.
+
+
+If Cuthbert Lloyd had been born in the time of our great grandfathers,
+instead of a little later than the first half of the present century,
+the gossips would assuredly have declared that the good fairies had had
+it all their own way at his birth.
+
+To begin with, he was a particularly fine handsome baby; for did not all
+the friends of the family say so? In the second place, he was an only
+son, which meant that he had no big brothers to bully him. Next, his
+birthplace was the stirring seaport of Halifax, where a sturdy,
+energetic boy, such as Cuthbert certainly gave good promise of being,
+need never lack for fun or adventure. Finally, he had plenty of
+relations in the country to whom he might go in the summer time to learn
+the secrets and delights of country life.
+
+Now, when to all these advantages are added two fond but sensible
+parents in comfortable circumstances, an elder sister who loved little
+Cuthbert with the whole strength of her warm unselfish heart, and a
+pleasant home in the best part of the city, they surely make us as fine
+a list of blessings as the most benevolent fairy godmother could
+reasonably have been expected to bestow.
+
+And yet there was nothing about Master Cuthbert's early conduct to
+indicate that he properly appreciated his good fortune. He was not half
+as well-behaved a baby, for instance, as red-headed little Patsey Shea,
+who, a few days after his first appearance, brought another hungry mouth
+to the already over-populated cottage of the milkwoman down in
+Hardhand's lane. As he grew older, it needed more whippings than the sum
+total of his own chubby fingers and toes to instil into him a proper
+understanding of parental authority. Sometimes his mother, who was a
+slight small woman, stronger of mind than of body, would feel downright
+discouraged about her vigorous, wilful boy, and wonder,
+half-despairingly, if she were really equal to the task of bringing him
+up in the way he should go.
+
+Cuthbert was in many respects an odd mixture. His mother often said that
+he seemed more like two boys of opposite natures rolled into one, than
+just one ordinary boy. When quite a little chap, he would at one time be
+as full of noise, action, and enterprise as the captain of an ocean
+steamer in a gale, and at another time be as sedate, thoughtful, and
+absentminded as the ancient philosopher who made himself famous by
+walking into a well in broad daylight.
+
+Cuthbert, in fact, at the age of three, attracted attention to himself
+in a somewhat similar way. His mother had taken him with her in making
+some calls, and at Mrs. Allen's, in one of his thoughtful moods, with
+his hands clasped behind him, he went wandering off unobserved.
+Presently he startled the whole household by tumbling from the top to
+the bottom of the kitchen stairs, having calmly walked over the edge in
+an absorbed study of his surroundings.
+
+The other side of his nature was brilliantly illustrated a year later.
+Being invited to spend the day with a playmate of his own age, he built
+a big fire with newspapers in the bath room, turned on all the taps,
+pretending that they were the hydrants, and then ran through the hall,
+banging a dustpan and shouting "fire" at the top of his voice.
+
+"He is such a perfect 'pickle,' I hardly know what to do with him,
+Robert," said Mrs. Lloyd to her husband, with a big sigh, one evening at
+dinner.
+
+"Don't worry, my dear, don't worry. He has more than the usual amount of
+animal spirits, that is all. Keep a firm hand on him and he'll come out
+all right," answered Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly.
+
+"It's easy enough to say, 'Keep a firm hand on him,' Robert, but my hand
+gets pretty tired sometimes, I can assure you. I just wish you'd stay at
+home for a week and look after Bert, while I go to the office in your
+place. You'd get a better idea of what your son is like than you can by
+seeing him for a little while in the morning and evening."
+
+"Thank you, Kate, I've no doubt you might manage to do my work at the
+office, and that my clients would think your advice very good; but I'm
+no less sure that I would be a dismal failure in doing your work at
+home," responded Mr. Lloyd, with a smile, adding, more seriously:
+"Anyway, I have too much faith in your ability to make the best of Bert
+to think of spoiling your good work by clumsy interference."
+
+"It's a great comfort to have you put so much faith in me," said Mrs.
+Lloyd, with a grateful look, "for it's more than Bert does sometimes.
+Why, he told me only this morning that he thought I wasn't half as good
+to him as Frankie Clayton's mother is to him, just because I wouldn't
+let him have the garden hose to play fireman with."
+
+"Just wait until he's fifteen, my dear," returned Mr. Lloyd, "and if he
+doesn't think then that he has one of the best mothers in the world,
+why--I'll never again venture to prophesy, that's all. And here comes my
+little man to answer for himself," as the door opened suddenly and Bert
+burst in, making straight for his father. "Ha! ha! my boy, so your
+mother says you're a perfect pickle. Well, if you're only pickled in a
+way that will save you from spoiling, I shall be satisfied, and I think
+your mother may be, too."
+
+Mrs. Lloyd laughed heartily at the unexpected turn thus given to her
+complaint; and Bert, seeing both his parents in such good humour, added
+a beaming face on his own account, although, of course, without having
+the slightest idea as to the cause of their merriment.
+
+Climbing up on his father's knee, Bert pressed a plump cheek lovingly
+against the lawyer's brown whiskers and looked, what indeed he was, the
+picture of happy content.
+
+"What sort of a man are you going to make, Bert?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+quizzingly, the previous conversation being still in his mind.
+
+"I'm going to be a fireman," replied Bert, promptly; "and Frankie's
+going to be one too."
+
+"And why do you want to be a fireman, Bert?"
+
+"Oh, because they wear such grand clothes and can make such a noise
+without anybody telling them to shut up," answered Bert, whose knowledge
+of firemen was based upon a torchlight procession of them he had seen
+one night, and their management of a fire that had not long before taken
+place in the near neighbourhood, and of which he was a breathless
+spectator.
+
+Mr. Lloyd could not resist laughing at his son's naive reply, but there
+was no ridicule in his laugh, as Bert saw clearly enough, and he was
+encouraged to add:
+
+"Oh, father, please let me be a fireman, won't you?"
+
+"We'll see about it, Bert. If we can't find anything better for you to
+do than being a fireman, why we'll try to make a good fireman of you,
+that's all. But never mind about that now; tell me what was the best fun
+you had to-day." Thus invited, Bert proceeded to tell after his own
+fashion the doings of the day, with his father and mother an attentive
+audience.
+
+It was their policy to always manifest a deep interest in everything
+Bert had to tell, and in this way they made him understand better
+perhaps than they could otherwise have done how thoroughly they
+sympathised with him in both the joys and sorrows of his little life.
+They were determined that the most complete confidence should be
+established between them and their only boy at the start, and Bert never
+appeared to such advantage as when, with eyes flashing and graphic
+gestures, he would tell about something wonderful in his eyes that had
+happened to him that afternoon.
+
+By the time Bert had exhausted his budget and been rewarded with a lump
+of white sugar, the nurse appeared with the summons to bed, and after
+some slight demur he went off in good humour, his father saying, as the
+door closed upon him:
+
+"There's not a better youngster of his age in Halifax, Kate, even if he
+hasn't at present any higher ambition than to be a fireman."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIREMAN OR SOLDIER.
+
+
+Halifax has already been mentioned as a particularly pleasant place for
+a boy to be born in; and so indeed it is. Every schoolboy knows, or
+ought to know, that it is the capital of Acadia, one of the Maritime
+Provinces of the Dominion of Canada. It has a great many advantages,
+some of which are not shared by any other city on the continent.
+Situated right on the sea coast, it boasts a magnificent harbour, in
+which all the war vessels of the world, from the mightiest iron-clad to
+the tiniest torpedo boat, might lie at anchor. Beyond the harbour,
+separated from it by only a short strait, well-named the "Narrows," is
+an immense basin that seems just designed for yachting and excursions;
+while branching out from the harbour in different directions are two
+lovely fiords, one called the Eastern Passage, leading out to the ocean
+again, and the other running away up into the land, so that there is no
+lack of salt water from which cool breezes may blow on the torrid days.
+
+The city itself is built upon the peninsula that divides the harbour
+from the north-west arm, and beginning about half-a-mile from the point
+of the peninsula, runs northward almost to the Narrows, and spreads out
+westward until its farthest edge touches the shore of the arm. The
+"Point" has been wisely set aside for a public park, and except where a
+fort or two, built to command the entrance to the harbour, intrudes upon
+it, the forest of spruce and fir with its labyrinth of roads and paths
+and frequent glades of soft waving grass, extends from shore to shore,
+making a wilderness that a boy's imagination may easily people with
+Indians brandishing tomahawk and scalping knife, or bears and wolves
+seeking whom they may devour.
+
+Halifax being the chief military and naval station for the British
+Colonies in America, its forts and barracks are filled with red-coated
+infantry or blue-coated artillery the whole year round. All summer long
+great iron-clads bring their imposing bulks to anchor off the Dockyard,
+and Jack Tars in foolish, merry, and alas! too often vicious companies,
+swagger through the streets in noisy enjoyment of their day on shore.
+
+On either side of the harbour, on the little island which rests like an
+emerald brooch upon its bosom, and high above the city on the crown of
+the hill up which it wearily climbs, street beyond street, stand
+frowning fortresses with mighty guns thrusting their black muzzles
+through the granite embrasures. In fact, the whole place is pervaded by
+the influences of military life; and Cuthbert, whose home overlooked a
+disused fort, now serving the rather ignoble purpose of a dwelling-place
+for married soldiers, was at first fully persuaded in his mind that the
+desire of his life was to be a soldier; and it was not until he went to
+a military review, and realised that the soldiers had to stand up
+awfully stiff and straight, and dare not open their mouths for the
+world, that he dismissed the idea of being a soldier, and adopted that
+of being a fireman.
+
+Yet there were times when he rather regretted his decision, and inclined
+to waver in his allegiance. His going to the Sunday school with his
+sister had something to do with this. A favourite hymn with the
+superintendent--who, by the way, was a retired officer--was--
+
+   "Onward, Christian soldiers."
+
+The bright stirring tune, and the tremendous vigour with which the
+scholars sang it, quite took Cuthbert's heart. He listened eagerly, but
+the only words he caught were the first, which they repeated so often:
+
+   "Onward, Christian soldiers."
+
+Walking home with his sister, they met a small detachment of soldiers,
+looking very fine in their Sunday uniforms:
+
+"Are those Christian soldiers, Mary?" he asked, looking eagerly up into
+her face.
+
+"Perhaps so, Bert, I don't know," Mary replied. "What makes you ask?"
+
+"Because we were singing about Christian soldiers, weren't we?" answered
+Bert.
+
+"Oh! is that what you mean, Bert? They may be, for all I know. Would you
+like to be a Christian soldier?"
+
+"Yes," doubtfully; then, brightening up--"but couldn't I be a Christian
+fireman, too?"
+
+"Of course you could, Bert, but I'd much rather see you a Christian
+soldier. Mr. Hamilton is a Christian soldier, you know."
+
+This reply of his sister's set Bert's little brain at work. Mr.
+Hamilton, the superintendent of the Sunday school, was a tall, erect
+handsome man, with fine grey hair and whiskers, altogether an impressive
+gentleman; yet he had a most winning manner, and Bert was won to him at
+once when he was welcomed by him warmly to the school. Bert could not
+imagine anything grander than to be a Christian soldier, if it meant
+being like Mr. Hamilton. Still the fireman notion had too many
+attractions to be lightly thrown aside, and consequently for some time
+to come he could hardly be said to know his own mind as to his future.
+
+The presence of the military in Halifax was far from being an unmixed
+good. Of course, it helped business, gave employment to many hands,
+imparted peculiar life and colour to society, and added many excellent
+citizens to the population. At the same time it had very marked
+drawbacks. There was always a great deal of drunkenness and other
+dissipation among the soldiers and sailors. The officers were not the
+most improving of companions and models for the young men of the place,
+and in other ways the city was the worse for their presence.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd presently found the soldiers a source of danger to her boy.
+Just around the corner at the entrance to the old fort, already
+mentioned, was a guardhouse, and here some half-dozen soldiers were
+stationed day and night. They were usually jolly fellows, who were glad
+to get hold of little boys to play with, and thereby help to while away
+the time in their monotonous life. Cuthbert soon discovered the
+attractions of this guardhouse, and, in spite of commands to the
+contrary, which he seemed unable to remember, wandered off thither very
+often. All the other little boys in the neighbourhood went there
+whenever they liked, and he could not understand why he should not do so
+too. He did not really mean to defy his parents. He was too young for
+that, being only six years old. But the force of the example of his
+playmates seemed stronger than the known wishes of his parents, and so
+he disobeyed them again and again.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd might, of course, have carried her point by shutting Bert up
+in the yard, and not allowing him out at all except in charge of
+somebody. But that was precisely what she did not wish to do. She knew
+well enough that her son could not have a locked-up world to live in. He
+must learn to live in this world, full of temptations as it is, and so
+her idea was not so much to put him out of the way of temptation, as to
+teach him how to withstand it. Consequently, she was somewhat at a loss
+just what to do in the matter of the guardhouse, when a letter that came
+from the country offered a very timely and acceptable solution of the
+difficulty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+NO. FIVE FORT STREET.
+
+
+Cuthbert Lloyd's home was a happy one in every way. The house was so
+situated that the sunshine might have free play upon it all day, pouring
+in at the back windows in the morning and flooding the front ones with
+rich and rare splendour at evening. A quiet little street passed by the
+door, the gardens opposite being filled with noble trees that cast a
+grateful shade during the dog days. At the back of the house was the old
+fort, its turfed casemates sloping down to a sandy beach, from whose
+centre a stone wharf projected out into the plashing water. Looking over
+the casemates, one could see clear out to the lighthouse which kept
+watch at the entrance to the harbour, and could follow the ships as they
+rose slowly on the horizon or sped away with favouring breeze.
+
+A right pleasant house to live in was No. Five Fort Street, and right
+pleasant were the people who lived in it. Cuthbert certainly had no
+doubt upon either point, and who had a better opportunity of forming an
+opinion? Mr. Lloyd, the head of the household, was also the head of one
+of the leading legal firms in Halifax. His son, and perhaps his wife and
+daughter, too, thought him the finest-looking man in the city. That was
+no doubt an extravagant estimate, yet it was not without excuse; for
+tall, erect, and stalwart, with regular features, large brown eyes that
+looked straight at you, fine whiskers and moustache, and a kindly
+cordial expression, Mr. Lloyd made a very good appearance in the world.
+Especially did he, since he never forgot the neatness and good taste in
+dress of his bachelor days, as so many married men are apt to do.
+
+Cuthbert's mother was of quite a different type. Her husband used to
+joke her about her being good for a standard of measurement because she
+stood just five feet in height, and weighed precisely one hundred
+pounds. Bert, one day, seemed to realise what a mite of a woman she was;
+for, after looking her all over, he said, very gravely:
+
+"What a little mother you are! I will soon be as big as you, won't I?"
+
+Brown of hair and eyes, like Mr. Lloyd, her face was a rare combination
+of sweetness and strength. Bert thought it lovelier than any angel's he
+had ever seen in a picture. Indeed, there was much of the angelic in his
+mother's nature. She had marvellous control over her feelings, and never
+by any chance gave way to temper openly, so that in all his young life
+her boy had no remembrance of receiving from her a harsh word, or a
+hasty, angry blow. Not that she was weak or indulgent. On the contrary,
+not only Bert, but Bert's playmates, and some of their mothers, too,
+thought her quite too strict at times, for she was a firm believer in
+discipline, and Master Bert was taught to abide by rules from the
+outset.
+
+The third member of the household was the only daughter, Mary, a tall,
+graceful girl, who had inherited many of her father's qualities,
+together with her mother's sweetness. In Bert's eyes she was just simply
+perfect. She was twice as old as he when he had six years to his credit,
+and the difference in age made her seem like a second mother to him,
+except that he felt free to take more liberties with her than with his
+mother. But she did not mind this much, for she was passionately fond of
+her little brother, and was inclined to spoil him, if anything.
+
+As for Bert himself--well, he was just a stout, sturdy, hearty boy, with
+nothing very remarkable about him, unless, perhaps, it was his
+superabundant health and spirits. Nobody, unless it was that most
+partial judge, Mary, thought him handsome, but everybody admitted that
+he was good-looking in every sense of the term. He promised to be
+neither tall, like his father, nor short, like his mother, but of a
+handy, serviceable medium height, with plenty of strength and endurance
+in his tough little frame. Not only were both eyes and hair brown, as
+might be expected, but his face, too, as might also be expected, seeing
+that no bounds were placed upon his being out of doors, so long as the
+day was fine, and he himself was keeping out of mischief.
+
+Father, mother, daughter, and son, these four made up a very
+affectionate and happy family, pulling well together; and, so far as the
+three older ones were concerned, with their faces and hearts set toward
+Jerusalem, and of one mind as to taking Bert along with them. Mr. Lloyd
+and his wife were thoroughly in accord with Dr. Austin Phelps as to
+this:--That the children of Christians should be Christian from the
+cradle. They accordingly saw no reason why the only son that God had
+given them should ever go out into sin, and then be brought back from a
+far off land. Surely, if they did their duty, he need never stray far
+away. That was the way they reasoned; and although, of course, little
+Bert knew nothing about it, that was the plan upon which they sought to
+bring him up. The task was not altogether an easy one, as succeeding
+chapters of Bert's history will make plain. But the plan was adhered to,
+and the result justified its wisdom.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OFF TO THE COUNTRY.
+
+
+The letter which came in such good time to relieve Mrs. Lloyd from the
+difficulty about Bert's fondness for the guardroom and its hurtful
+influences, was from her father, and contained an invitation so pressing
+as to be little short of a demand, for her to pay him a long visit at
+the old homestead, bringing Bert with her.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd very readily and gladly accepted the invitation. Midsummer
+was near at hand. She had not visited her old home for some years. Her
+father and mother were ageing fast; and then, naturally enough, she was
+eager to show them what a fine boy Bert was growing to be.
+
+When Bert heard of it he showed the utmost delight. Three years before,
+he had spent a summer at grandfather's; but, then, of course, he was too
+young to do more than be impressed by the novelty of his surroundings.
+The huge oxen, the noisy pigs, the spirited horses, even the clumsy
+little calves, bewildered, if they did not alarm him. But now he felt
+old enough to enjoy them all; and the very idea of going back to them
+filled him with joy, to which he gave expression after his own
+boisterous fashion.
+
+"Mother, are we going to grandfather's to-morrow?" he would eagerly ask,
+day after day, his little heart throbbing with impatience.
+
+"We're going soon, Bert dear. You must be patient, you know," his mother
+would gently reply; and the little fellow would make a very heroic
+effort to control himself.
+
+At length the day of departure arrived. Too full of importance and great
+expectations to manifest a proper amount of sorrow at leaving his father
+and sister, who felt very reluctant, indeed, to part with him, Master
+Bert took his place in the cab and drove up to the railway station.
+Hardly had he entered it than he made a dash for the train, climbed up
+on the rear platform with the agility of a monkey, much to the amusement
+of the conductor, whose proffer of assistance he entirely ignored; and
+when Mr. Lloyd entered the train a minute later, he found his
+enterprising son seated comfortably upon a central seat, and evidently
+quite ready for the train to start.
+
+"Would you go away without saying good-bye to your father and to Mary?"
+asked Mr. Lloyd, in a deeply reproachful tone.
+
+Bert blushed violently on being thus reminded of his apparent
+selfishness and, with the threat of a tear in his eye, was about to
+make some sort of a defence, when his father put him all right again by
+saying brightly:
+
+"Never mind, my boy. It isn't every day you go off on a
+hundred-and-fifty-miles' journey. Mary and I will forgive you for
+forgetting us this time, won't we, Mary?"
+
+The lunch basket, the wraps, and their other belongings were placed on
+the seat, the engine whistled, "all aboard," the bell rang, the
+conductor shouted, affectionate farewells were hastily exchanged, and
+presently the train rolled noisily out of the dark station into the
+bright sunshine; and Bert, leaning from the window, caught a last
+glimpse of his father and sister as they stood waving the handkerchiefs
+which one of them, at least, could not refrain from putting to another
+use, as the last car swept round the turn and vanished.
+
+But Bert was in no mood for tears. In fact, he never felt less like
+anything of the kind. He felt much more disposed to shout aloud for very
+joy, and probably would have done so, but for the restraining influence
+exercised by the presence of the other passengers, of whom there were a
+good many in the carriage. As it was, he gave vent to his excited
+feelings by being as restless as a mosquito, and asking his mother as
+many questions as his active brain could invent.
+
+"You'll be tired out by mid-day, Bert, if you go on at this rate," said
+his mother, in gentle warning.
+
+"Oh, no, I won't, mother; I won't get tired. See! What's that funny big
+thing with the long legs in that field?"
+
+"That's a frame for a hay stack, I think. You'll see plenty of those at
+grandfather's."
+
+"And what's that queer thing with arms sticking out from that building?"
+
+"That's a wind-mill. When the wind blows hard those arms go round, and
+turn machinery inside the barn."
+
+"And has grandpapa got a wind-mill, mother?"
+
+"Yes; he has one on his big barn."
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad; I can watch it going round, and stand quite close,
+can't I?"
+
+"Yes, but take care not to go too close to the machinery. It might hurt
+you very much, you know."
+
+And so it went on all through the morning. Mrs. Lloyd would have liked
+very much to read a little in an interesting book she had brought with
+her, but what with watching Bert's restless movements, and answering his
+incessant questions, there seemed slight hope of her succeeding in this
+until, after they had been a couple of hours on their journey, a
+good-natured gentleman on the opposite seat, who had finished his paper,
+and had nothing particular to do, took in the situation and came to her
+relief.
+
+"Won't you come over and keep me company for a while, my little man?" he
+said, pleasantly, leaning across the seat. "I will try and answer all
+your questions for you."
+
+Bert looked curiously at the speaker, and then, the inspection proving
+satisfactory, inquiringly at his mother. She nodded her assent, so
+forthwith he ran over to his new friend, and climbed up beside him. He
+was given the corner next the window, and while his bright eyes took in
+everything as the train sped on, his tongue wagged no less swiftly as
+question followed question in quick succession. Mrs. Lloyd, thoroughly
+at ease now, returned to her book with a grateful sigh of relief, and an
+hour slipped away, at the end of which Bert's eyes grew heavy with
+sleep. He no longer was interested in the scenery; and at last, after a
+gallant struggle, his curly head fell over on the cushion, and he went
+into a deep sleep, from which he did not waken until at mid-day the
+train drew up at the station, beyond which they could not go by rail.
+
+"Come, Bert, wake up! We must get out here," cried his mother, shaking
+him vigorously.
+
+Rubbing his eyes hard, yawning as though he would put his jaws out of
+joint, and feeling very uncomfortable generally, Bert nevertheless
+managed to pull himself together sufficiently to thank the gentleman who
+had been so kind to him, before he followed his mother out of the car.
+
+They had dinner at Thurso, and by the time it was ready Bert was ready
+too. He had been altogether too much excited at breakfast time to eat
+much then, but he made up for it now. Mrs. Lloyd laughed as he asked
+again and again for more, but she did not check him. She knew very well
+that the contented frame of mind produced by a good dinner was just the
+right thing with which to enter upon the second part of their journey.
+This was to be by coach, and as even the best of coaches is a pretty
+cramped sort of an affair unless you have it all to yourself, the
+quieter Bert was disposed to be the better for all concerned.
+
+"What are we to ride in now, mother?" asked Bert, after the vacancy
+underneath his blue blouse had been sufficiently filled to dispose him
+to conversation.
+
+"In a big red coach, dear, with six fine horses to draw us," answered
+Mrs. Lloyd.
+
+"Oh, mother, won't that be splendid? And may I sit up with the driver?"
+
+"Perhaps you may, for a little while, anyway, if he will let you."
+
+"Hooray!" cried Bert, clapping his hands with delight; "I'm sure the
+driver will let me, if you'll only ask him. You will, won't you,
+mother?"
+
+"Yes, I will, after we get out of the town. But you must wait until I
+think it's the right time to ask him."
+
+"I'll wait, mother, but don't you forget."
+
+Forget! There was much likelihood of Mrs. Lloyd forgetting with this
+lively young monkey before her as a constant reminder.
+
+They had just finished dinner, when, with clatter of hoofs, rattle of
+springs, and crush of gravel under the heavy wheels, the great Concord
+coach drew up before the hotel door in dashing style.
+
+Bert was one of the first to greet it. He did not even wait to put on
+his hat, and his mother, following with it, found him in the forefront
+of the crowd that always gathers about the mail coach in a country town,
+gazing up at the driver, who sat in superb dignity upon his lofty seat,
+as though he had never beheld so exalted a being in his life before.
+
+There was something so impassive, so indifferent to his surroundings,
+about this big, bronzed, black-moustached, and broad-hatted driver, that
+poor Bert's heart sank within him. He felt perfectly sure that _he_
+could never in the world muster up sufficient courage to beg for the
+privilege of a seat beside so impressive a potentate, and he doubted if
+his mother could, either.
+
+Among the passengers Bert was glad to see the gentleman who had
+befriended him on the train, and when this individual, after having the
+audacity to hail the driver familiarly with, "Good-morning, Jack; looks
+as if we were going to have a pleasant trip down," sprang up on the
+wheel, and thence to the vacant place beside Jack Davis, just as though
+it belonged to him of right, a ray of hope stole into Bert's heart. If
+his friend of the train, whose name, by the way, he told Bert, was Mr.
+Miller, was on such good terms with the driver, perhaps he would ask him
+to let a little boy sit up in front for a while.
+
+Taking much comfort from this thought, Bert, at a call from his mother,
+who was already seated, climbed up into the coach, and being allowed the
+corner next the window, with head thrust forth as far as was safe he
+awaited eagerly the signal to start.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE RIDE IN THE COACH.
+
+
+The last passenger had taken his seat, the last trunk been strapped on
+behind, and the canvas covering drawn tightly over it, the mail bags
+safely stowed away in the capacious boot; and then big Jack Davis,
+gathering the reins of his six impatient steeds skilfully into one hand,
+and grasping the long-lashed whip in the other, sang out to the men who
+stood at the leaders' heads:
+
+"Let them go!"
+
+The men dropped the bridles and sprang aside, the long lash cracked like
+a pistol shot, the leaders, a beautiful pair of grey ponies, perfectly
+matched, reared, curvetted, pranced about, and then would have dashed
+off at a wild gallop had not Jack Davis' strong hands, aided by the
+steadiness of the staider wheelers, kept them in check: and soon brought
+down to a spirited canter, they led the way out of the town.
+
+The coach had a heavy load. It could hold twelve passengers inside, and
+every seat was occupied on top. Besides Mr. Miller, who had the coveted
+box seat, there were two other men perched upon the coach top, and
+making the best of their uncomfortable position; and there was an extra
+amount of baggage.
+
+"Plenty of work for my horses to-day, Mr. Miller," said Jack Davis,
+looking carefully over the harnessing to make sure that every strap was
+securely buckled, and every part in its right place.
+
+"Yes, indeed; you'll need to keep the brake on hard going down the
+hills," replied Mr. Miller.
+
+Bending over, so that those behind could not hear him, the driver said,
+under his breath:
+
+"Don't say anything; but, to tell the truth, I'm a little shaky about my
+brake. It is none too strong, and I won't go out with it again until
+it's fixed; but it can't be mended this side of Riverton, and I'm going
+to push through as best I can."
+
+"Well, if anything happens, just let us know when to jump," returned Mr.
+Miller, with a reassuring smile, for he felt no anxiety, having perfect
+confidence in Davis' ability to bring his coach safely to the journey's
+end.
+
+It was a lovely summer day, and in the early afternoon the coach bowled
+smoothly along over the well-kept road, now rolling over a wooden bridge
+on whose timbers the rapid tramp of the horses' feet sounded like
+thunder, climbing the slope on the other side, then rattling down into
+the valley, and up the opposite hill, almost at full speed, and so on in
+rapid succession. Bert, kneeling at the window, with arms resting on
+the ledge, and just able to see the three horses on his side, was so
+engrossed in watching them, or peering into the forest through which the
+road cut its way, that he quite forgot his desire to be up on top of the
+coach.
+
+Having gone fifteen miles at a spanking pace, the coach drove into a
+long--covered barn for the horses to be changed, and everybody got out
+to stretch their legs; while this was being done, Bert's longing came
+back in full force. As he stood watching the tired foam-flecked horses
+being led away, and others, sleek, shining, and spirited put in their
+places, who should pass by but Mr. Miller. Recognising at once his
+little acquaintance of the morning, he greeted him with a cheery:
+
+"Hallo! my little man, are we fellow-travellers still? And how do you
+like riding in a coach?"
+
+"I think it's just splendid, sir," replied Bert; and then, as a bright
+thought flashed into his mind,--"but I do so want to be up where the
+driver is."
+
+Mr. Miller looked down at the little face turned up to his, and noting
+its eager expression asked, kindly:
+
+"Do you think your mother would let you go up there?"
+
+"Oh, yes; she said I might if I would only wait a little, and it is a
+good deal more than a little while now."
+
+"Very well, Bert, you run and ask her if you may get up now, and I'll
+try and manage it," said Mr. Miller.
+
+Bert was not long in getting his mother's sanction, and when he returned
+with beaming face, Mr. Miller taking him up to Jack Davis, said:
+
+"Jack, this little chap is dying to sit up with us. He wants to see how
+the best driver in Acadia handles his horses, I suppose."
+
+There was no resisting such an appeal as this. Tickled with the
+compliment, Jack said, graciously:
+
+"All right, Mr. Miller, you can chuck him up, so long as you'll look
+after him yourself."
+
+And so when the fresh horses were harnessed, and the passengers back in
+their places, behold Cuthbert Lloyd, the proudest, happiest boy in all
+the land, perched up between the driver and Mr. Miller, feeling himself
+as much monarch of all he surveyed, as ever did Robinson Crusoe in his
+island home. It was little wonder if for the first mile or two he was
+too happy to ask any questions. It was quite enough from his lofty, but
+secure position, to watch the movements of the six handsome horses
+beneath him as, tossing their heads, and making feigned nips at one
+another, they trotted along with the heavy coach as though it were a
+mere trifle. The road ran through a very pretty district;
+well-cultivated farms, making frequent gaps in the forest, and many a
+brook and river lending variety to the scene. After Bert had grown
+accustomed to the novelty of his position, his tongue began to wag
+again, and his bright, innocent questions afforded Mr. Miller so much
+amusement, that with Jack Davis' full approval, he was invited to remain
+during the next stage also. Mrs. Lloyd would rather have had him with
+her inside, but he pleaded so earnestly, and Mr. Miller assuring her
+that he was not the least trouble, she finally consented to his staying
+up until they changed horses again.
+
+When they were changing horses at this post, Mr. Miller drew Bert's
+attention to a powerful black horse one of the men was carefully leading
+out of the stable. All the other horses came from their stalls fully
+harnessed, but this one had on nothing except a bridle.
+
+"See how that horse carries on, Bert," said Mr. Miller.
+
+And, sure enough, the big brute was prancing about with ears bent back
+and teeth showing in a most threatening fashion.
+
+"They daren't harness that horse until he is in his place beside the
+pole, Bert. See, now, they're going to put the harness on him."
+
+And as he spoke another stable hand came up, deftly threw the heavy
+harness over the horse's back, and set to work to buckle it with a speed
+that showed it was a job he did not care to dally over. No sooner was it
+accomplished than the other horses were hastily put in their places, the
+black wheeler in the meantime tramping upon the barn floor in a seeming
+frenzy of impatience, although his head was tightly held.
+
+"Now, then, 'all aboard' as quick as you can," shouted Jack Davis,
+swinging himself into his seat. Mr. Miller handed up Bert and followed
+himself, the inside passengers scrambled hurriedly in, and then with a
+sharp whinny the black wheeler, his head being released, started off,
+almost pulling the whole load himself.
+
+"Black Rory does not seem to get over his bad habits, Jack," remarked
+Mr. Miller.
+
+"No," replied Jack; "quite the other way. He's getting worse, if
+anything; but he's too good a horse to chuck over. There's not a better
+wheeler on the route than Rory, once he settles down to his work."
+
+After going a couple of miles, during which Rory behaved about as badly
+as a wheeler could, he did settle down quietly to his work and all went
+smoothly. They were among the hills now, and the steep ascents and
+descents, sharp turns, and many bridges over the gullies made it
+necessary for Davis to drive with the utmost care. At length they
+reached the summit of the long slope, and began the descent into the
+valley.
+
+"I'd just as soon I hadn't any doubts about this brake," said Davis to
+Mr. Miller, as he put his foot hard down upon it.
+
+"Oh, it'll hold all right enough, Jack," replied Mr. Miller,
+reassuringly.
+
+"Hope so," said Davis. "If it doesn't, we'll have to run for it to the
+bottom."
+
+The road slanted steadily downward, and with brake held hard and
+wheelers spread out from the pole holding back with all their strength,
+the heavy coach lumbered cautiously down. Now it was that Black Rory
+proved his worth, for, thoroughly understanding what was needed of him,
+he threw his whole weight and strength back upon the pole, keeping his
+own mate no less than the leaders in check.
+
+"We'll be at Brown's Gully in a couple of minutes," said the driver.
+"Once we get past there, all right; the rest won't matter."
+
+Brown's Gully was the ugliest bit of road on the whole route. A steep
+hill, along the side of which the road wound at a sharp slant, led down
+to a deep, dark gully crossed by a high trestle bridge. Just before the
+bridge there was a sudden turn which required no common skill to safely
+round when going at speed.
+
+As they reached the beginning of the slant, Jack Davis' face took on an
+anxious look, his mouth became firm and set, his hand tightened upon the
+reins, and his foot upon the brake, and with constant exclamation to his
+horses of "Easy now!--go easy!--hold back, my beauties!" he guided the
+great coach in its descent.
+
+Mr. Miller put Bert between his knees, saying:
+
+"Stick right there, my boy; don't budge an inch."
+
+Although the wheelers, and particularly Black Rory, were doing their
+best, the coach began to go faster than Davis liked, and with a shout of
+"Whoa there! Go easy, will you!" he had just shoved his foot still
+harder against the brake, when there was a sharp crack, and the huge
+vehicle suddenly sprang forward upon the wheelers' heels.
+
+"God help us!" cried Jack, "the brake's gone. We've got to run for it
+now."
+
+And run for it they did.
+
+It was a time of great peril. Mr. Miller clung tightly to the seat, and
+Bert shrank back between his knees. Davis, with feet braced against the
+dashboard, and reins gathered close in his hands, put forth all his
+great strength to control the horses, now flying over the narrow road at
+a wild gallop. Brown's Gully, already sombre with the shadows of
+evening, showed dark and deep before them. Just around that corner was
+the bridge. Were they to meet another carriage there, it would mean
+destruction to both. Davis well knew this, and gave a gasp of relief
+when they swung round the corner and saw that the road was clear. If
+they could only hit the bridge, all right; the danger would be passed.
+
+"Now, Rory, _now_," shouted Davis, giving a tremendous tug at the
+horse's left rein, and leaning far over in that direction himself.
+
+[Illustration: "Davis put forth all his strength to control the horses,
+now flying over the road at a wild gallop." _Page 36._]
+
+Mr. Miller shut his eyes; the peril seemed too great to be gazed upon.
+If they missed the bridge, they must go headlong into the gully. Another
+moment and it was all over.
+
+As the coach swung round the corner into the straight road beyond, its
+impetus carried it almost over the edge, but not quite. With a splendid
+effort, the great black wheeler drew it over to the left. The front
+wheels kept the track, and although the hind wheels struck the side rail
+of the bridge with a crash and a jerk that well-nigh hurled Bert out
+upon the horses' backs, and the big coach leaned far over to the right,
+it shot back into the road again, and went thundering over the trembling
+bridge uninjured.
+
+"Thank God!" exclaimed Mr. Miller, fervently, when the danger was
+passed.
+
+"Amen!" responded Jack Davis.
+
+"I knew He would help us," added Bert.
+
+"Knew who would, Bert?" inquired Mr. Miller, bending over him tenderly,
+while something very like a tear glistened in his eye.
+
+"I knew God would take care of us," replied Bert, promptly. "The driver
+asked Him to; and didn't you ask Him, too?"
+
+"I did," said Mr. Miller, adding, with a sigh, "but I'm afraid I had not
+much right to expect Him to hear me."
+
+They had no further difficulties. The road ran smoothly along the rest
+of the way, and shortly after sundown the coach, with great noise and
+clatter, drove into the village of Riverton, where grandpapa was to meet
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert, and take them home in his own carriage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+AT GRANDFATHER'S.
+
+
+Easily distinguished in the crowd gathered to welcome the coach, whose
+arrival was always the event of the evening, was Bert's grandfather,
+Squire Stewart, a typical old Scotchman, from every point of view. As
+the passengers got out, he stood watching them in silent dignity, until
+Mrs. Lloyd, catching sight of him, ran impulsively up, and taking his
+face between her two hands, gave him a warm kiss on each cheek, saying:
+
+"Dear father, I'm so glad to see you looking so well."
+
+"And I'm well pleased to see you, Kate," responded the Squire, in a tone
+of deep affection, adding: "And is this your boy?" as Bert, who in the
+meantime had been lifted down from his place, came to his mother's side.
+
+"He's a fine big boy, and not ill-looking, either. I trust his manners
+have not been neglected."
+
+"You'll have to judge of that for yourself, father," replied Mrs. Lloyd.
+"He's by no means perfect, but he's pretty good, upon the whole."
+
+"Well, daughter, I'll go and get the carriage, if you'll just wait here
+a moment," said Mr. Stewart, going off toward the stables.
+
+Presently he returned, driving an elegant carriage with a fine pair of
+well-matched bays, which, old man though he was, he held in complete
+control.
+
+"We won't mind the trunks now, Kate; I will send in for them in the
+morning," said he, as he helped them into their seats.
+
+Maplebank, Squire Stewart's place, was situated about four miles from
+Riverton, and on the way out father and daughter had much to say to one
+another. As for Bert, he sat in silence on his seat. He felt very much
+awed by his grandfather. There was something so stern and severe about
+his time-worn countenance, he seemed so stiff in his bearing, and his
+voice had such a deep, rough tone in it, that, to tell the truth, Bert
+began to feel half sorry he had come. But this feeling disappeared
+entirely when, on arriving at Maplebank, he found himself in the arms of
+Aunt Sarah before he had time to jump out of the carriage, and was then
+passed over to his grandmother, who nearly smothered him with kisses.
+
+If his grandfather filled him with awe, his grandmother inspired him
+with love, from the very start. And no wonder, indeed, for she was the
+very poetry of a grandmother. A small woman, with slender frame, already
+stooping somewhat beneath the burden of years, her snow-white hair and
+spotless cap framed one of the sweetest faces that ever beamed on this
+earth. Bert gave her his whole heart at once, and during all the days he
+spent at Maplebank she was his best loved friend.
+
+Yet he did not fail to be very fond of his two aunts, likewise. With an
+uncle, who remained at home, assisting his father in the management of
+the property, they comprised the household, and the three apparently
+conspired to do their best to spoil Master Bert during that summer. Bert
+took very kindly to the spoiling, too, and under the circumstances it
+was a wonder he did not return to Halifax quite demoralised, as regards
+domestic discipline. But of this further.
+
+They were a merry party sitting down to tea that evening, and Bert,
+having appeased his hunger and found his tongue, amused them all very
+much by his account of what he had seen from the coach top. The narrow
+escape they had had at Brown's Gully was of course much discussed.
+Squire Stewart had nothing but censure for the driver.
+
+"The man had no business to go out with anything likely to break. Better
+for you to have waited a day than run any such risks. I shall certainly
+bring the matter to the attention of Mr. Lindsay," he said.
+
+Nobody ventured to say anything to the contrary; but Bert, who was
+sitting by his mother, turned an anxious face up to hers, and whispered:
+"Grandpapa won't hurt Mr. Davis, will he? He was so good to me, and he
+asked God to save us; and He did."
+
+"It will be all right, dear," his mother whispered back. "Don't worry
+yourself about it." And Bert, reassured, said nothing more.
+
+Bedtime for him soon came, and then, to his great delight, he found that
+instead of being banished to a room somewhere away upstairs, he was to
+be put in a curious bed, that filled a corner of the parlour in which
+the family sat. Bert had never seen anything like that bed before. It
+looked just like a closet, but when you opened the closet door, behold,
+there was a bed, and a very comfortable one, too. Just behind the
+parlour, with a door between, was the best bedroom, which his mother
+would have, and there Bert undressed, returning in his night-gown to say
+goodnight to all before tumbling into bed.
+
+With the closet door wide open, he could see everything that went on in
+the room; and it was so delightful to lie there watching the family
+reading or talking, until at last, sleep came to claim him.
+
+"Now, if you're a good boy, and don't attempt to talk after your head's
+on the pillow, I'll leave the door open, so you can see us all," said
+Aunt Sarah, as she tucked Bert snugly in; and he had sense enough to be
+a good boy, so that not a sound came from him ere his brown eyes closed
+for the night.
+
+Many a night after that did he lie there luxuriously, watching his
+grandfather reading the newspaper, with a candle placed between his
+face and the paper, in such close proximity to both, that Bert's
+constant wonder was that one or the other of them never got burned; his
+grandmother, whose eyes no longer permitted her to read at night,
+knitting busily in her arm-chair, or nodding over her needles; Aunt
+Sarah, reading in the book that always lay at hand for leisure moments;
+Aunt Martha, stitching away, perhaps on some of his own torn garments;
+his mother writing home to Mr. Lloyd, or to Mary; while from the
+kitchen, outside, came the subdued sound of the servants' voices, as
+they chattered over their tasks. Bert thought it a lovely way to go to
+sleep, and often afterward, when at home, going up alone to bed in his
+own room, wished that he was back at grandfather's again.
+
+Bert slept late the next morning, for he was a very tired boy when he
+went to bed; and for this once he was indulged. But as he entered the
+dining-room, his grandfather, who had finished breakfast a full hour
+before, looking at him with that stern expression which was habitual to
+him, said:
+
+"City boys must keep country hours when they come to the country. Early
+to bed, early to rise, is the rule of this house, my boy."
+
+Poor Bert was rather disconcerted by this reception, but managed to say:
+
+"All right, grandpapa, I'll try," as he took his seat.
+
+The day was full of novelty and delight to the city boy, as, under Uncle
+Alec's guidance, he went about the farm, and visited the horses in the
+stable, the cattle in the pasture, the pigs in the stye; and then, with
+Aunt Martha, inspected the dairy, a big cool room in a small building,
+well shaded by trees, where long rows of shallow pans stood filled with
+rich milk or golden cream; while just before tea, Aunt Sarah claimed him
+for a walk in the garden, where tiger lilies, hollyhocks, mock oranges,
+peonies, and other old-fashioned flowers grew in gay profusion.
+
+Grandmother was too much engrossed with her daughter to pay much
+attention to Bert that day. Yet he had more than one token of affection
+at her hands; and, taken altogether, it was a very happy day.
+
+After tea, Mrs. Lloyd took her son off for a little chat alone, wishing
+to draw him out as to his first impressions.
+
+"Have you had a happy day, Bert?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, indeed, mother. It has been just splendid. I think grandmamma and
+uncle and my aunties are lovely, but"--and here Bert hesitated as if
+afraid to finish his remark.
+
+"But what, Bert?" asked Mrs. Lloyd. "What were you going to say when you
+stopped?"
+
+"I don't like grandpapa, mother," said Bert, after a little pause,
+bringing the words out slowly, and then adding, almost in a whisper,
+"I'm afraid of grandpapa, mother."
+
+"Hush, Bert. You shouldn't say that you don't like your grandfather.
+But, tell me, why are you afraid of him?"
+
+"Oh, because he seems so cross, and isn't kind to me like the others."
+
+"But he isn't really cross, Bert. He loves you quite as much as the
+others do, but then he is an old man and has a great deal to think
+about. Now, Bert darling, I want you to learn to love your grandpapa,
+and to try and never be any bother to him. You will, won't you?"
+
+"I'll try not to be a bother to him, mother, but I don't think it's much
+use my trying to love him unless he stops looking so cross."
+
+"Well, try your best, at all events, Bert," said Mrs. Lloyd, giving her
+son a tender kiss. "And now come, let's see if we can find
+grandmother."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+COUNTRY EXPERIENCES.
+
+
+Bert had come to Maplebank just in time for the haying season. The long
+slopes of upland and the level stretches of intervale waved before the
+breeze their russet and green wealth, awaiting the summons of the scythe
+and reaper. A number of extra hands had been hired to help in gathering
+the crop, which this year was unusually abundant, and a few days after
+Bert's coming the attack was begun.
+
+The mowing machine had not yet reached Maplebank. The papers were
+talking about it a good deal, but Squire Stewart was not the man to
+quickly adopt new inventions, and nobody else in the neighbourhood could
+afford to do so. Consequently, the West River Valley still continued to
+witness the good, old-fashioned way of mowing with the scythe; and Bert,
+accompanying Uncle Alec to the field, was filled with admiration for the
+stalwart "Rorys" and "Donalds" and "Sandys" as they strode along through
+the thick grass, cutting a wide swath before them. There was something
+in the work that appealed to the boy's bump of destructiveness, and
+filled him with eagerness to join in it.
+
+"Oh, Uncle Alec, mayn't I mow?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly, Bert, if you know how; but if you don't, I wouldn't advise
+you to try it," was the smiling reply.
+
+Not at all discouraged, Bert waited patiently until one of the mowers
+stopped to sharpen his scythe, and then stepping to him, asked, in his
+most engaging way:
+
+"Please, sir, won't you let me mow a little?"
+
+The man looked down at him in surprise.
+
+"You couldn't hold a scythe, sonny," he said, with a grin of amusement.
+
+"Oh, yes, I could. Please let me try; won't you?" pleaded Bert.
+
+The man yielded, and placing his scythe in Bert's hands, told him to go
+ahead.
+
+With much difficulty Bert succeeded in grasping the two short handles
+which projected from the long curved shaft, and, summoning all his
+strength, he tried to move the scythe in the way the mowers were doing.
+But at the first attempt the sharp point stuck in the turf, and
+instantly the long handle flew up, turned over, and hit him a hard
+crack, square between the eyes, that felled him to the ground.
+
+The stars were dancing before his eyes, and the next moment the tears
+would have been there too, had he not, as he picked himself up, caught
+sight of the men laughing heartily over his mishap.
+
+"They shan't see me cry," said he to himself; and, putting forth a
+heroic effort, he swallowed his tears, though the gulping them down was
+positively painful, and, standing up straight, looked bravely about him.
+Uncle Alec saw it all and understood just how Bert felt.
+
+"Well done, my little hero," said he, clapping him on the back. "You
+have the right stuff in you."
+
+"That he has, sir," said Big Sandy, with an admiring look. "He would
+make a right good laddie for the farm."
+
+Bert's heart was filled with joy at these praises, and he determined
+that nobody on the farm should ever see him cry, unless he really
+couldn't at all help it.
+
+The scythe handle gave him quite an ugly bruise, which caused many a
+question when he went back to the house; and Aunt Sarah, who was as
+nervous as she was loving and sympathetic, made much ado over it, and
+insisted on a bandage, which made Bert look like a little soldier who
+had been in action. Mrs. Lloyd took the matter much more quietly. She
+knew her son had to get his share of bumps and bruises, and that each
+one would bring wisdom with it; so she contented herself with a kiss of
+sympathy, and the hope that he would have better fortune next time.
+
+The succeeding days were full of surprises and enjoyments to Bert.
+
+His mother gave him full liberty to go and come as he pleased, so long
+as he did not roam beyond the borders of the homestead, except when
+with Uncle Alec. The hay mows, the carriage loft, the sheep pens, the
+cattle stalls, were all explored; and ever so many cosy little nooks
+discovered, that seemed just made for "hide and seek" or "I spy." Squire
+Stewart had three barns on his homestead; one very large double barn,
+and two smaller ones. Each of these had its own attractions; but the big
+barn, that stood to your left, half way between the red gate and the
+house, was the best of all. It contained great hay mows, in which vast
+quantities of hay could be stored; a row of stalls where the horses
+stood when not out at pasture; queer dark pens, into which the sheep
+were gathered at winter time; and then, down underneath, great ranges of
+uprights, between which the patient cattle were fastened, and fed with
+hay, in the months when the snow lay deep upon their accustomed
+pastures. There was an air of shadowy mystery about this huge, rambling
+structure, with its lichen-patched roof, that fascinated Bert, and that
+even the saucy chirpings of the sparrows, which boldly built their nests
+in its dusty corners, could not dispel.
+
+Bert often wished that his city playmates could come and share with him
+the enjoyments of "grandfather's." He was not without companions,
+however. Cameron, the big blacksmith at the cross-roads, had three
+freckle-faced boys that were very glad to play with the little gentleman
+at Squire Stewart's, when they could get away from the numerous duties
+they were required to do at home; and other playmates soon turned up.
+Bert was at first not very much inclined to be sociable with them. Not
+only did they seem to have no shoes and stockings, but their entire
+clothing was usually limited to a battered straw hat, an unbleached
+cotton shirt, and a pair of rough homespun trousers; and the city boy
+was inclined to look upon the country lads with some contempt, until his
+Aunt Martha cured him effectually one day by a remark made in a quiet
+way.
+
+Bert had been making some unflattering comments upon the barefooted
+youngsters, when Aunt Martha interrupted him:
+
+"You had better not make fun of those boys, Bert," said she, with a
+curious smile. "They may look as though they were poor, but remember
+that their fathers have all of them their own carriage and horses, and
+your father has not."
+
+Bert saw the point at once, and never again ventured to ridicule boys
+who were the sons of "real carriage folk." Not only so, but he began at
+once to feel a respect for them, which wrought such a change in his
+bearing toward them, that they, who were not at all favourably impressed
+at first, changed their minds and decided that he was a "right smart
+little fellow."
+
+It was while playing "hide and seek" in the big barn with half-a-dozen
+of these youngsters, that Bert had a narrow escape from serious injury,
+if not, indeed, from death. The great, gaping mows were being filled
+with hay, which was pitched in any way, and not, of course, packed
+firmly. Consequently, it was in some places like snow upon the Alpine
+slopes--ready to fall in an avalanche, at the slightest temptation.
+
+In endeavouring to reach a far corner of the barn, where he felt sure no
+one could possibly find him, Bert tried to cross a hill of hay, that had
+piled up in one division of the mow. His hasty movements were just what
+was needed to bring the whole mass toppling down in confusion to the
+bottom of the mow. Unfortunately for him, he was involved in the
+overthrow, and without a moment's warning was buried beneath a huge mass
+of hay. As he went sliding helplessly down he uttered a cry of terror,
+which startled little Rory Chisholm, who sprang out from his
+hiding-place just in time to see poor Bert disappear.
+
+"Hi! Hi! boys--come here; Bert Lloyd's under the hay."
+
+The boys quickly gathered, and with eager hands set to work, to rescue
+their imperiled playmate. But, vigorously though they toiled, it was
+slow progress they made; and in the meantime the little fellow, pressed
+upon by many hundredweight of hay, was fast losing breath and
+consciousness. He could hear them very indistinctly, but could not make
+a sound himself.
+
+By a fortunate accident, one of the men happened along, just as the
+boys were near giving up the task as too great for them.
+
+"Donald! Donald! Quick! Bert Lloyd's under the hay. Dig him out, or
+he'll die," cried Rory, at the top of his voice.
+
+Seizing a pitchfork, Donald attacked the hay like a giant, getting more
+and more careful as he drew near the bottom of the mow, until at last,
+with a shout of "I've got him," he stooped down and dragged the
+senseless form of Bert from the very bottom of the pile. Taking him in
+his arms, he ran with him to the house, and gave Aunt Sarah a great
+fright by suddenly plumping him into her lap, as she sat on the verandah
+reading, saying, breathlessly:
+
+"Here, miss, bring him to, and he'll be none the worse for it."
+
+Aunt Sarah screamed for hartshorn, spirits of wine, and the dear knows
+what, but Mrs. Lloyd, bringing a glass of water, dashed it freely over
+her boy's pale face, and in a minute or two he opened his eyes again. As
+Donald said, he was none the worse for his experience, for no bones were
+broken, nor muscles strained; yet all felt thankful that he had escaped
+so well.
+
+It was not long after this that Bert had another adventure, which also
+came near costing him his life. He was not only very fond of water, but
+as fearless about it as a Newfoundland puppy. The blue sea, calm as a
+mirror or flecked with "white caps," formed part of his earliest
+recollections. He would play at its margin all day long, building forts
+out of sand for the advancing billows of the tide to storm and
+overwhelm. He was never happier than when gliding over it in his
+father's skiff. It was the last thing in nature he looked upon before
+lying down at night, and the first thing to which he turned on awaking
+in the morning. Thus he got so used to the great salt sea, that when he
+came to Maplebank and looked at the quiet stream, which glided along so
+noiselessly at the bottom of the slope before the house, he thought it a
+mere plaything, and could hardly be made to understand that, innocent as
+the river appeared, there was water enough in it to drown him ten times
+over.
+
+One day some of the village folk came out to spend the day at Maplebank,
+and the weather being decidedly warm, Uncle Alec proposed that the men
+of the party should go with him for a bathe. They gladly assented, and
+Bert having begged to accompany them was given leave to do so. Uncle
+Alec took them to a lovely spot for a bath--a tempting nook in which one
+might almost have expected to surprise a water nymph or two, if you drew
+near quietly enough. On one side, the bank rose high and steep,
+affording perfect seclusion; a narrow beach of gravel made a fine place
+for undressing. The river rolled gently along with plenty of depth, and
+beyond it was another beach, and then the swelling intervale.
+
+Amid much laughter and excitement the men undressed, Uncle Alec allowing
+Bert to do the same, as he had promised to carry him across the river on
+his back. So soon as they were ready the bathers dived in; and, with
+much splashing and noise, swam races to the opposite bank, leaving Bert
+alone upon the shore. Skylarking with one another there they quite
+forgot their little companion until Uncle Alec looking across, gave a
+start, and cried out:
+
+"Hallo! What's become of the boy?"
+
+Not a sign of Bert was to be seen. His little pile of clothes, with hat
+placed carefully on top, was plain enough but no Bert. Full of anxiety,
+Uncle Alec sprang into the water, and with great sweeping strokes made
+for the other side. The water fairly foamed about his broad, white
+shoulders as he tore through it. He steered straight for the spot where
+he had seen Bert last. Three-fourths of the distance had been covered,
+when suddenly he stopped, and reaching down into the water, pulled
+up--What do you think? Why, Bert, of course, whose big brown eyes had
+startled him as they looked up at him through the clear, cool water. But
+how did Bert get there? Well, easily enough. He had got tired waiting
+for his uncle to come back for him. He wanted to be over there where the
+men were all having such fun. He could not swim across, so he just
+coolly accepted the only alternative, and started to walk across! When
+Uncle Alec found him there was a clear foot of water over his head. A
+step or two more and he would certainly have lost his footing, been
+carried away by the current, and drowned perhaps before Uncle Alec could
+have found him.
+
+The men all voted him a young hero when they were told of his attempt,
+and Uncle Alec vowed he'd teach him to swim the next time he paid a
+visit to Maplebank.
+
+Aunt Sarah was greatly excited when she heard of her darling Bert's
+second escape, and had Mrs. Lloyd taken her advice the poor boy would
+have been tied to somebody's apron strings for the rest of the summer.
+But Mrs. Lloyd thought it better to do no more than caution Bert, and
+trust to the Providence that protects children to keep him from harm. He
+would have to learn to take care of himself sooner or later, and the
+sooner the better.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH.
+
+
+The one day in the week that Bert did not like at Maplebank was Sunday;
+and, indeed, under the circumstances, he was not without excuse. At
+home, the Lord's Day was always made as bright and cheerful as possible.
+The toys and playthings of the week-days were of course put aside, and
+wading by the seashore or coasting down the lane was not to be thought
+of, but in their place Bert had his father's company, of which he never
+had enough, and Mr. Lloyd made it a point, whether he really felt in
+good spirits himself or not, to appear to be so to Bert; and, in
+consequence, the little chap never thought his father quite so
+delightful as on the day of rest, that was so welcome to the lawyer,
+tired by a week's toil at his profession.
+
+Then mother had more leisure, too; and besides the pleasure of going
+with his parents to church, dressed in his best clothes, a privilege
+Bert fully appreciated, there was the enjoyment of having her read to
+him wonderfully interesting stories from the Bible or Pilgrim's
+Progress, and explaining to him whatever puzzled his brain.
+
+If the day was fine, Mary would take him with her to the Sunday school,
+where, with a number of youngsters like himself, the hour would pass
+quickly enough, as Miss Brightley entertained them with song and story,
+and pictures bearing upon the lesson. And then, after Sunday school, in
+summer time, his father would lead him off to the old fort, where they
+would sit on the grassy ramparts, watching the white sailed ships
+cleaving the blue waters, that never seemed more beautiful than on
+Sunday afternoon.
+
+But at Maplebank it was all very different. Squire Stewart was a
+Presbyterian of the stern old Covenanter stock. To him the Lord's Day
+meant a day to be spent in unsmiling strictness of conversation and
+demeanour. No laughter, no bright talk, no semblance of joyousness was
+sanctioned; nor, indeed, could have existed within the range of his
+solemn countenance. He was a grave and silent man at any time, but on
+Sunday the gravity of his appearance was little short of appalling. One
+meeting him for the first time would certainly have thought that he had
+just been visited by some overwhelming affliction. Bert, on the morning
+of his first Sunday, coming out of his mother's room, after receiving
+the finishing touches to his dress, and dancing along the hall, in
+joyous anticipation of the drive in the big carriage to the village, ran
+right into his grandfather. Laying a strong hand on the boy's shoulder,
+Squire Stewart looked down at him, with disapproval written on every
+line of his stern face.
+
+"My boy," said he, in his deepest tones, "know you not that this is the
+Sabbath day, and that you are to keep it holy, and not be dancing along
+the hall?"
+
+Poor Bert shrank away, with a trembling, "I didn't mean to, sir," and
+thenceforth avoided his grandfather as completely as though he were a
+criminal and the Squire was a policeman.
+
+Not only at the house, but at the church, did Bert find Sunday a day of
+dreariness. And here again, who could blame him? He was only a boy and a
+very restless, active boy, at that, to whom one half-hour's sitting
+still was about as much as he could endure. How, then, could he be
+expected to be equal to four whole hours of stillness? Yet that was what
+his grandfather required of him whenever he went to church.
+
+The order of the day was as follows:--Leaving the house about ten
+o'clock in the big covered carriage, of which the Squire felt duly
+proud, as being the only one in the county, they drove leisurely into
+the village, where the horses were put up, and after the ladies had
+dropped in at a friend's to make sure their bonnets and dresses were as
+they ought to be, they wended their way to the church, which, standing
+right in the centre of the village, was noisily summoning its
+worshippers to its seats as the big bell swung to and fro high up in the
+steeple.
+
+The church service began at eleven o'clock, and was of the most
+old-fashioned orthodox type. No organ had yet profaned the sanctity of
+that holy place, but instead thereof, a quartette of singers, selected
+seemingly more for the strength than the sweetness of their voices,
+occupied a large box right under the pulpit, and thence led the
+congregation by a whole bar at least, in the rendering of Tate and
+Brady's metrical version of the Psalms. Very weird and sorrowful were
+many of the tunes. None were bright and inspiring like those Bert was
+wont to hear at home, and as choir and congregation vied with one
+another in the vigour of their singing, the little fellow was sometimes
+half-frightened at the bewildering noise they made.
+
+A saintlier pastor than the Reverend Mr. Goodman, D.D., few
+congregations possessed; but only those members of his audience who were
+of like age with himself thought him a good preacher. He had, indeed,
+some gifts in expounding the Bible, and even Bert would be interested if
+the lesson happened to be one of those stirring stories from the Old
+Testament which seem so full of life and truth. But when it came to
+preaching a sermon--well, it must be confessed there were then few dryer
+preachers throughout the whole Province of Acadia. Bending low over his
+manuscript, for his eyesight was poor, and lifting his head only now
+and then to wipe his brow, or relieve his throat, with a dry, hard
+cough, Mr. Goodman pursued his way steadily and monotonously from
+"firstly" to "lastly" every Sunday.
+
+And not only once, but twice on every Sunday. For be it understood, that
+although many of the congregation lived too far away from the church to
+make two trips to it from their homes, they were not thereby going to be
+deprived of two services. Accordingly, after the morning service--which
+usually lasted until one o'clock--was over, a recess of one hour for
+lunch and fresh air followed, and at two o'clock a second service,
+precisely similar in character, was entered upon, which occupied two
+hours more. And then, having thus laid in a supply of sound theology for
+the rest of the week, the good people of Calvin church, after indulging
+in a little harmless gossiping at the church door--of which indulgence,
+by the way, Squire Stewart strongly disapproved, and would have
+prohibited, had he been able--harnessed up their horses and drove away
+home.
+
+Four hours of church service of so unattractive a character, and that in
+mid-summer! Poor little Bert! He did not want to shock his grandfather,
+or bring his mother's discipline into condemnation; but really, how
+could he be all that the Squire, who, if he ever had been a boy himself,
+must have quite forgotten about it, expected him to be? If he went to
+sleep, Aunt Sarah or Aunt Martha, in obedience to signals from
+grandfather, shook or pinched him awake again. If he stayed awake, he
+felt that he must wriggle or die. Sometimes the temptation to scream out
+loud was so strong that it seemed little short of a miracle he did not
+yield to it. Mrs. Lloyd fully sympathised with her son's troubles, but
+accustomed from infancy to obey her father unquestioningly, she would
+not venture to do more than softly plead for Bert, now and then, when he
+was more restless than usual. Her pleadings were not altogether vain,
+and frequently they had the result of securing for Bert a boon that he
+highly appreciated.
+
+Squire Stewart was bothered by a troublesome chronic cough. He did not
+mind it very much when at home, but at church he felt it to be a
+nuisance both to himself and his neighbours. To ease it somewhat he
+always carried to church with him a number of black currant lozenges, a
+supply of which he kept in his big mahogany desk at home. Occasionally,
+either as encouragement to him to try and be a better boy, or as a token
+of relenting for being over severe, he would pass Bert one of these
+lozenges, and Bert thought them the most delicious and desirable
+sweetmeat ever invented. Not that they were really anything wonderful,
+though they were very expensive; but the circumstances under which he
+received them gave them a peculiar relish; and it was in regard to them
+that Bert fought and won the sharpest battle with the tempter of all his
+early boyhood. It happened in this way:
+
+As already mentioned, Squire Stewart kept a supply of these lozenges in
+his big mahogany desk, that had a table to itself in the parlour. This
+desk was always kept locked, and Bert had many a time, when alone in the
+room, gone up to it, and passed his hand over its polished surface,
+thinking to himself how nice it would be if the package of lozenges was
+in his pocket instead of shut up in there where nobody could get at it.
+
+One morning, as Bert was playing about the house, a message came that
+the Squire was wanted at once at the farthest barn, as one of the horses
+had been hurt by another. He went out hastily, and shortly after, Bert,
+going into the parlour, saw the desk wide open, his grandfather having
+been looking for a paper when so suddenly called away. The moment his
+eyes fell upon the open desk, a thought flashed into his mind that set
+every nerve tingling. As though the old desk exerted some strange and
+subtle fascination, he drew near it; slowly, hesitatingly, almost on
+tiptoe, yet steadily. His heart beat like a trip-hammer, and his ears
+were straining to catch the slightest sound of any one's approach. The
+house was wonderfully quiet. He seemed to be quite alone in it; and
+presently he found himself close beside the desk. Although open, the
+inner lids were still shut, and ere Bert put out his hand to lift the
+one under which he thought the package of lozenges lay, the thought of
+the wrong he was doing came upon him so strongly as well-nigh to
+conquer the temptation. For a moment he stood there irresolute; and then
+again the hand that had dropped to his side was stretched forth. As it
+touched the desk lid a thrill shot through his heart; and again he
+hesitated and drew back.
+
+It was really a tremendous struggle, and one upon which great issues
+hung, so far as that boy, alone in that room with the tempter, was
+concerned. Bert fully realized how wrong it would be for him to touch
+the lozenges; but, oh! what a wonderful fascination they had for him!
+
+Reaching forward again, he lifted up the desk lid, and there, fully
+exposed to view, lay the package temptingly wide open, displaying its
+toothsome contents. The crisis of the temptation had come. An instant
+more, and Bert would have yielded; when suddenly his better nature got
+the upper hand, and with a quick resolution, the secret of which he
+never fully understood, he cried out:
+
+"No, I won't." And slamming down the desk lid, he tried to run out of
+the room, and ran right into the arms of his grandfather, who, unseen
+and unsuspected, had witnessed the whole transaction from the door.
+
+Overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and terror at having been detected by
+the one person of all others whom he dreaded most, Bert sank down on the
+floor, sobbing as though his heart would break. But, strange to say, the
+stern old man had no harsh words for him now. On the contrary, he bent
+down and lifting the little fellow gently to his feet said, in tones of
+deepest tenderness:
+
+"No tears, laddie; no tears. You've fought a grand fight, and glad am I
+that I was there to see you win it. God grant you like success to the
+end of your days. I'm proud of you, Bert boy; I'm proud of you."
+
+Scarce able to believe his ears, Bert looked up through his tears into
+his grandfather's face. But there was no mistaking the expression of
+that rugged old countenance. It fairly beamed with love and pride, and
+throwing himself into his arms, Bert for the first time realised that
+his grandfather loved him.
+
+He never forgot that scene. Many a time after it came back to him, and
+helped him to decide for the right. And many a time, too, when
+grandfather seemed unduly stern, did the remembrance of his face that
+morning in the parlour drive away the hard feelings that had begun to
+form against him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+LOST AND FOUND.
+
+
+The summer days passed very quickly and happily for Bert at Maplebank,
+especially after the surprising revelation of the love and tenderness
+that underlay his grandfather's stern exterior. No one did more for his
+comfort or happiness than his grandmother, and he loved her accordingly
+with the whole strength of his young heart. She was so slight and frail,
+and walked with such slow, gentle steps, that the thought of being her
+protector and helper often came into his mind and caused him to put on a
+more erect, important bearing as he walked beside her in the garden, or
+through the orchard where the apples were already beginning to give
+promise of the coming ripeness.
+
+Mrs. Stewart manifested her love for her grandson in one way that made a
+great impression upon Bert. She would take him over to the dairy, in its
+cool place beneath the trees, and, selecting the cooler with the
+thickest cream upon it, would skim off a teaspoonful into a large spoon
+that was already half filled with new oatmeal, and then pour the
+luscious mixture into the open mouth waiting expectantly beside her.
+
+"Is not that fine, Bertie boy?" she would say, patting him
+affectionately upon the head; and Bert, his mouth literally too full for
+utterance, would try to look the thanks he could not speak.
+
+Maplebank had many strange visitors. It stood a little way back from the
+junction of three roads, and the Squire's hospitality to wayfarers being
+unbounded, the consequence was that rarely did a night pass without one
+or more finding a bed in some corner of the kitchen. Sometimes it would
+be a shipwrecked sailor, slowly finding his way on foot to the nearest
+shipping port. Sometimes a young lad with pack on back, setting out to
+seek his fortune at the capital, or in the States beyond. Again it would
+be a travelling tinker, or tailor, or cobbler, plying his trade from
+house to house, and thereby making an honest living.
+
+But the most frequent visitors of all--real nuisances, though, they
+often made themselves--were the poor, simple folk, of whom a number of
+both sexes roamed ceaselessly about. Not far from Maplebank was what the
+better class called a "straglash district"--that is, a settlement
+composed of a number of people who had by constant intermarriage, and
+poor living, caused insanity of a mild type to be woefully common.
+Almost every family had its idiot boy or girl, and these poor creatures,
+being, as a rule, perfectly harmless, were suffered to go at large, and
+were generally well treated by the neighbours, upon whose kindness they
+were continually trespassing.
+
+The best known of them at the time of Bert's visit, was one called
+"Crazy Colin," a strange being, half wild, half civilised, with the
+frame of an athlete, and the mind of a child. Although more than thirty
+years of age, he had never shown much more sense than a two-year-old
+baby. He even talked in a queer gibberish, such as was suitable to that
+stage of childhood. Everybody was kind to him. His clothes and his food
+were given him. As for a roof, he needed none in summer save when it
+stormed, and in winter he found refuge among his own people. His chief
+delight was roaming the woods and fields, talking vigorously to himself
+in his own language, and waving a long ash staff that was rarely out of
+his hands. He would thus spend whole days in apparent content, returning
+only when the pangs of hunger could be borne no longer.
+
+Bert took a great deal of interest in these "straglash" people, and
+especially in Crazy Colin, who was a frequent visitor at the Squire's
+kitchen, for Mrs. Stewart never refused him a generous bowl of porridge
+and milk, or a huge slice of bread and butter. At first he was not a
+little afraid of Crazy Colin. But soon he got accustomed to him, and
+then, boy-like, presuming upon acquaintance, began to tease him a bit
+when he would come in for a "bite and sup." More than once the idiot's
+eyes flashed dangerously at Bert's prank; but, fool though he was, he
+had sense enough to understand that any outbreak would mean his prompt
+expulsion and banishment, and so he would restrain himself. One
+memorable day, however, when Bert least expected or invited it, the
+demon of insanity broke loose in a manner that might have had serious
+consequences.
+
+It was on a Sunday. The whole family had gone off to church, except
+Bert, who had been left at home in the charge of the cook. She was a
+strapping big Scotch lassie, and very fond of Bert. About an hour after
+the family left, Crazy Colin sauntered along and took his seat in the
+kitchen. Neither Kitty nor Bert was by any means pleased to see him, but
+they thought it better to keep their feelings to themselves. Bert,
+indeed, made some effort to be entertaining, but Crazy Colin seemed in
+rather a sulky mood, an unusual thing for him, so Bert soon gave it up,
+and went off into the garden.
+
+The roses were blooming beautifully there, and he picked several before
+returning to the kitchen. When he came back, he found the unwelcome
+visitor alone, Kitty having gone into the other part of the house. He
+was sitting beside the table with his head bent forward upon his hands,
+apparently in deep dejection. Upon the table was a large knife which
+Kitty had just been using in preparing the meat for dinner. Thinking it
+would please poor Colin, Bert selected the finest rose in his bunch and
+handed it to him, moving off toward the door leading into the hall as
+he did so. Colin lifted his head and grasped the rose rudely. As his big
+hand closed upon it, a thorn that hid under the white petals pierced
+deep into the ball of his thumb. In an instant the sleeping demon of
+insanity awoke. With eyes blazing and frame trembling with fury, he
+sprang to his feet, seized the knife, and with a hoarse, inarticulate
+shout, turned upon Bert, who, paralysed with terror, stood rooted to the
+spot half-way between the idiot and the door. It was a moment of
+imminent peril, but ere Crazy Colin could reach the boy, his hoarse cry
+was echoed by a shrill shriek from behind Bert, and two stout arms
+encircling him, bore him off through the door and up the stairs, pausing
+not until Squire Stewart's bedroom was gained and the door locked fast.
+Then depositing her burden upon the floor, brave, big Kitty threw
+herself into a chair, exclaiming, breathlessly:
+
+"Thank God, Master Bert, we're safe now. The creature darsen't come up
+those stairs."
+
+And Kitty was right; for although Crazy Colin raged and stormed up and
+down the hall, striking the wall with the knife, and talking in his
+wild, unintelligible way, he did not attempt to set foot upon the
+stairs. Presently he became perfectly quiet.
+
+"Has he gone away, Kitty?" asked Bert, eagerly, speaking for the first
+time. "He's not making any noise now."
+
+Kitty stepped softly to the door, and putting her ear to the crack,
+listened intently for a minute.
+
+"There's not a sound of him, Master Bert. Please God, he's gone, but we
+hadn't better go out of the room until the folks come home. He may be
+waiting in the kitchen."
+
+And so they stayed, keeping one another company through the long hours
+of the morning and afternoon until at last the welcome sound of wheels
+crushing the gravel told that the carriage had returned, and they might
+leave their refuge.
+
+The indignation of Squire Stewart when he heard what had occurred was a
+sight to behold. Sunday though it was, he burst forth into an
+unrestrained display of his wrath, and had the cause of it ventured
+along at the time, he certainly would have been in danger of bodily
+injury.
+
+"The miserable trash!" stormed the Squire. "Not one of them shall ever
+darken my threshold again. Hech! that's what comes of being kind to such
+objects. They take you to be as big fools as themselves, and act
+accordingly. The constable shall lay his grip on that loon so sure as I
+am a Stewart."
+
+There were more reasons for the Squire's wrath, too, than the fright
+Crazy Colin had given Bert and Kitty, for no dinner awaited the hungry
+church-goers, and rejoiced as they all were at the happy escape of the
+two who had been left at home, that was in itself an insufficient
+substitute for a warm, well-cooked dinner. But Kitty, of course, could
+not be blamed, and there was nothing to be done but to make the best of
+the situation, and satisfy their hunger upon such odds and ends as the
+larder afforded.
+
+As for poor Crazy Colin, whether by some subtle instinct on coming to
+himself he realised how gravely he had offended, or whether in some way
+or other he got a hint of the Squire's threats, cannot be said. Certain
+it was, that he did not present himself at Maplebank for many days
+after, and then he came under circumstances, which not only secured him
+complete forgiveness, but made him an actual hero, for the time, and won
+him a big place in the hearts of both Bert and his mother.
+
+Although Bert had been forbidden to leave the homestead, unless in
+company with some grown-up person, he had on several occasions forgotten
+this injunction, in the ardour of his play, but never so completely as
+on the day that, tempted by Charlie Chisholm, the most reckless, daring
+youngster in the neighbourhood, he went away off into the back-lands, as
+the woods beyond the hill pasture were called, in search of an eagle's
+nest, which the unveracious Charlie assured him was to be seen high up
+in a certain dead monarch of the forest.
+
+It was a beautiful afternoon, toward the end of August, when Bert, his
+imagination fired by the thought of obtaining a young eagle, Charlie
+having assured him that this was entirely possible, broke through all
+restraints, and went off with his tempter. Unseen by any of the
+household, as it happened, they passed through the milk yard, climbed
+the hill, hastened across the pasture, dotted with the feeding cows, and
+soon were lost to sight in the woods that fringed the line of settlement
+on both sides of the valley, and farther on widened into the great
+forest that was traversed only by the woodsman and the hunter.
+
+On and on they went, until at length Bert was tired out. "Aren't we far
+enough now, Charlie?" he asked, plaintively, throwing himself down upon
+a fallen tree to rest a little.
+
+"Not quite, Bert; but we'll soon be," answered Charlie. "Let's take a
+rest, and then go ahead," he added, following Bert's example.
+
+Having rested a few minutes, Charlie sprang up saying:
+
+"Come along, Bert; or we'll never get there." And somewhat reluctantly
+the latter obeyed. Deeper and deeper into the forest they made their
+way, Charlie going, ahead confidently, and Bert following doubtfully;
+for he was already beginning to repent of his rashness, and wish that he
+was home again.
+
+Presently Charlie showed signs of being uncertain as to the right route.
+He would turn first to the right and then to the left, peering eagerly
+ahead, as if hoping to come upon the big dead tree at any moment.
+Finally he stopped altogether.
+
+"See here, Bert; I guess we're on the wrong track," said he, coolly.
+"I've missed the tree somehow, and it's getting late, so we'd better
+make for home. We'll have a try some other day."
+
+Poor little Bert, by this time thoroughly weary, was only too glad to
+turn homeward, and the relief at doing this gave him new strength for a
+while. But it did not last very long, and soon, footsore and exhausted,
+he dropped down upon a bank of moss, and burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, Charlie, I wish we were home," he sobbed. "I'm so tired, and
+hungry, too."
+
+Charlie did not know just what to do. It was getting on toward sundown;
+he had quite lost his way, and might be a good while finding it again,
+and he felt pretty well tired himself. But he put on a brave face and
+tried to be very cheerful, as he said:
+
+"Don't cry, Bert. Cheer up, my boy, and we'll soon get home."
+
+It was all very well to say "cheer up," but it was another thing to do
+it. As for getting home soon, if there were no other way for Bert to get
+home than by walking the whole way, there was little chance of his
+sleeping in his own bed that night.
+
+How thoroughly miserable he did feel! His conscience, his legs, and his
+stomach, were all paining him at once. He bitterly repented of his
+disobedience, and vowed he would never err in the same way again. But
+that, while it was all very right and proper, did not help him homeward.
+
+At length Charlie grew desperate. He had no idea of spending the night
+in the woods if he could possibly help it, so he proposed a plan to
+Bert:
+
+"See here, Bert," said he, "you're too played out to walk any more. Now,
+I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll run home as fast as I can, and saddle
+the old mare and bring her here, and then we'll ride back again
+together. What do you say?"
+
+"Oh, don't leave me here alone?" pleaded Bert. "I'll be awfully
+frightened."
+
+"Chut! Bert. There's nothing to frighten you but some old crows. Stay
+just where you are, and I'll be back inside of an hour." And without
+waiting to argue the point, Charlie dashed off into the woods in the
+direction he thought nearest home; while Bert, after crying out in vain
+for him to come back, buried his face in the moss and gave himself up to
+tears.
+
+One hour, two hours, three hours passed, and still Bert was alone. The
+sun had set, the gloaming well-nigh passed, and the shadows of night
+drew near. All kinds of queer noises fell upon his ear, filling him with
+acute terror. He dared not move from the spot upon which Charlie had
+left him, but sat there, crouched up close against a tree, trembling
+with fear in every nerve. At intervals he would break out into vehement
+crying, and then he would be silent again. Presently the darkness
+enveloped him, and still no succour came.
+
+Meantime, there had been much anxiety at Maplebank. On Bert's being
+missed, diligent inquiry was made as to his whereabouts, and at length,
+after much questioning, some one was found who had seen him, in company
+with Charlie Chisholm, going up through the hill pasture toward the
+woods. When Mrs. Lloyd heard who his companion was, her anxiety
+increased, for she well knew what a reckless, adventurous little fellow
+Charlie was, and she determined that search should be made for the boys
+at once. But in this she was delayed by Uncle Alec and the men being off
+at a distance, and not returning until supper time. So soon as they did
+get back, and heard of Bert's disappearance, they swallowed their
+supper, and all started without delay to hunt him up.
+
+The dusk had come before the men--headed by Uncle Alec, and followed, as
+far as the foot of the hill, by the old Squire--got well started on
+their search; but they were half-a-dozen in number, and all knew the
+country pretty well, so that the prospect of their finding the lost boy
+soon seemed bright enough.
+
+Yet the dusk deepened into darkness, and hour after hour passed--hours
+of intense anxiety and earnest prayer on the part of the mother and
+others at Maplebank--without any token of success.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd was not naturally a nervous woman, but who could blame her if
+her feelings refused control when her darling boy was thus exposed to
+dangers, the extent of which none could tell.
+
+The Squire did his best to cheer her in his bluff blunt way:
+
+"Tut! tut! Kate. Don't worry so. The child's just fallen asleep
+somewhere. He'll be found as soon as it's light. There's nothing to harm
+him in those woods."
+
+Mrs. Lloyd tried hard to persuade herself that there wasn't, but all
+kinds of vague terrors filled her mind, and refused to be allayed.
+
+At length, as it drew toward midnight, a step was heard approaching, and
+the anxious watchers rushed eagerly to the door, hoping for good news.
+But it was only one of the men, returning according to arrangement to
+see if Bert had been found, and if not to set forth again along some new
+line of search. After a little interval another came, and then another,
+until all had returned, Uncle Alec being the last, and still no news of
+Bert.
+
+They were bidden to take some rest and refreshment before going back in
+to the woods. While they were sitting in the kitchen, Uncle Alec, who
+was exceedingly fond of Bert, and felt more concerned about him than he
+cared to show, having no appetite for food, went off toward the red gate
+with no definite purpose except that he could not keep still.
+
+Presently the still midnight air was startled with a joyful "Hurrah!"
+followed close by a shout of "Bert's all right--he's here," that brought
+the people in the house tumbling pell-mell against each other in
+their haste to reach the door and see what it all meant.
+
+[Illustration: "Crazy Colin strode up the road, bearing Bert high upon
+his shoulder."--_Page 79._]
+
+The light from the kitchen streamed out upon the road, making a broad
+luminous path, up which the next moment strode Crazy Colin, bearing Bert
+high upon his broad shoulders, while his swarthy countenance fairly
+shone with a smile of pride and satisfaction that clearly showed he did
+not need Uncle Alec's enthusiastic clappings on the back, and hearty
+"Well done, Colin! You're a trump!" to make him understand the
+importance of what he had done.
+
+The two were at once surrounded by the overjoyed family. After giving
+her darling one passionate hug, Mrs. Lloyd took both of Crazy Colin's
+hands in hers, and, looking up into his beaming face, said, with a deep
+sincerity even his dull brain could not fail to appreciate: "God bless
+you, Colin. I cannot thank you enough, but I'll be your friend for
+life;" while the Squire, having blown his nose very vigorously on his
+red silk handkerchief, grasped Colin by the arm, dragged him into the
+house, and ordered that the best the larder could produce should be
+placed before him at once. It was a happy scene, and no one enjoyed it
+more than did Crazy Colin himself.
+
+The exact details of the rescue of Bert were never fully ascertained;
+for, of course, poor Colin could not make them known, his range of
+expression being limited to his mere personal wants, and Bert himself
+being able to tell no more than that while lying at the foot of the
+tree, and crying pretty vigorously, he heard a rustling among the trees
+that sent a chill of terror through him, and then the sound of Crazy
+Colin's talk with himself, which he recognised instantly. Forgetting all
+about the fright Colin had given him a few days before, he shouted out
+his name. Colin came to him at once, and seeming to understand the
+situation at a glance, picked him up in his strong arms, flung him over
+his shoulder, and strode off toward Maplebank with him as though he were
+a mere feather-weight and not a sturdy boy. Dark as it was, Colin never
+hesitated, nor paused, except now and then to rest a moment, until he
+reached the red gate where Uncle Alec met him, and welcomed him so
+warmly.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd did not think it wise nor necessary to say very much to Bert
+about his disobedience. If ever there was a contrite, humbled boy, it
+was he. He had learned a lesson that he would be long in forgetting. As
+for his tempter, Charlie Chisholm, he did not turn up until the next
+morning, having lost himself completely in his endeavour to get home;
+and it was only after many hours of wandering he found his way to an
+outlying cabin of the backwoods settlement, where he was given shelter
+for the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+BERT GOES TO SCHOOL.
+
+
+With the waning of summer came the time for Mrs. Lloyd to return to the
+city. Both she and Bert felt very sorry to leave Maplebank, and the
+family there was unanimous in seeking to persuade her to allow Bert to
+remain for the winter. But this was not practicable, because, in the
+first place, Mr. Lloyd had been writing to say that he was quite tired
+of being without his boy, and would like to have him back again as soon
+as was convenient; and, in the second place, Bert had reached the age
+when he ought to begin his schooling, and must return home for that
+purpose.
+
+So at length, after more than one postponement, the day of departure
+arrived. Grandmother and Aunt Martha, and Aunt Sarah, could not restrain
+their tears, and big, kind Kitty was among the mourners too, as Bert and
+his mother took their seat in the carriage beside the Squire and Uncle
+Alec, to drive in to the village where the coach would be met.
+
+With many a promise to come back ere very long, and many a fond
+"Good-bye! God bless you, my darling!" the travellers started on their
+homeward journey. The village was reached in good time, the coach found
+awaiting its passengers, the trunks safely stowed behind, the last
+good-bye to grandfather and Uncle Alec said, and then, amid cracking of
+whips and waving of handkerchiefs, the big coach rolled grandly off, and
+Bert had really parted with dear, delightful Maplebank, where he had
+spent such a happy summer.
+
+The homeward journey was a very pleasant one, and marked by no exciting
+incidents. Jack Davis was in his place on the box, and, recognising Bert
+when the passengers got out at the first change of horses, hailed him
+with a hearty: "Holloa, youngster! Are you on board? Would you like to
+come up on top with me again?"
+
+It need hardly be said that Bert jumped at the invitation, and, his
+mother giving her consent, he rode on the box seat beside Davis the
+greater part of the day as happy as a bird. The weather was perfect, it
+being a cool, bright day in early September, and Bert enjoyed very much
+recognising and recalling the different things that had particularly
+interested him on the way down. "Black Rory" was as lively as ever, and
+seemed determined to run away and dash everything to pieces as they
+started out from his stable, but calmed down again after a mile or two,
+as usual, and trotted along amiably enough the rest of his distance.
+
+It happened that Davis had no one on the outside with whom he cared to
+talk, so he gave a good deal of attention to Bert, telling him about the
+horses and their peculiarities, and how they were in so many ways just
+like people, and had to be humoured sometimes, and sometimes punished,
+and how it was, upon the whole, so much better to be kind than cruel to
+them.
+
+"If your father ever lets you have a pony, Bert," said Davis, "take my
+word for it it'll pay you to treat that ere pony like a brother. Just
+let him know you're fond of him from the start; give him a lump of sugar
+or a crust of bread now and then--it's wonderful how fond horses are of
+such things--and he'll follow you about just like a dog. Horses have got
+a good deal more human nature in 'em than folks generally give 'em
+credit for, I can tell you, and I think I know what I am talking about,
+for I've had to do with them ever since I've been as big as you."
+
+Bert listened to this lecture with very lively interest, for his father
+had more than once hinted at getting him a pony some day if he were a
+good boy, and showed he could be trusted with one. He confided his hopes
+to his friend, and received in return for the confidence a lot more of
+good advice, which need not be repeated here.
+
+The sun was setting as the coach drove up to the hotel at Thurso, where
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert were to remain for the night, taking the train for
+Halifax the next morning. Bert felt quite sorry at parting with his big
+friend, the driver, and very gladly promised him that the next time he
+was going to Maplebank he would try to manage so as to be going down on
+Jack Davis' day that their friendship might be renewed.
+
+Both Bert and his mother were very glad to get to bed that night.
+Coaching is fine fun in fine weather, but it is fatiguing, nevertheless.
+You cannot ride all day in a coach without more or less backache, and
+Bert was so sleepy that, but for his mother preventing him, he would
+have flung himself upon his bed without so much as taking off his boots.
+He managed to undress all right enough, however, and then slept like a
+top until next morning.
+
+Bright and early they took the train, and by mid-day were at Halifax,
+where Mr. Lloyd and Mary received them with open arms and many a glad
+kiss.
+
+After allowing him a few days to settle down to home life again, the
+question of Bert's going to school was raised. He was now full eight
+years of age, and quite old enough to make a beginning. His mother and
+sister had between them given him a good start in the "three R's" at
+home, for he was an apt pupil, and he was quite ready to enter a larger
+sphere.
+
+At first his parents were somewhat undecided as to whether they would
+send him to a school presided over by a woman or a man. It was usual in
+Halifax for those who preferred the private to the public schools to
+send their boys for a year or two to a dame's school as a sort of easy
+introduction to school life; and in the very same street as that in
+which the Lloyds lived there was such a school where two rather gaunt
+and grim old-maid sisters aided one another in the application of primer
+and taws. To this institution Mrs. Lloyd thought it would be well for
+Bert to go. His father had no very decided views to the contrary, but on
+Bert himself being consulted, it became very clear that his mind was
+quite made up.
+
+"Please don't send me to 'Old Goggles'' school, father," pleaded he,
+earnestly.
+
+"'Old Goggles!' Why, Bert, what do you mean by calling Miss Poster by
+such a name as that?"
+
+"It's most disrespectful," interrupted his mother, with a very much
+shocked expression, while Mr. Lloyd tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to
+conceal a smile beneath his moustache.
+
+"Well, mother, that's what they all call her," explained Bert.
+
+"Even though they do, Bert, you should not. Miss Poster is a lady, and
+you must act the gentleman toward her," replied Mrs. Lloyd. "But why
+don't you want to go to school there? Several boys about your own age
+are going."
+
+"Oh, because a lot of girls go there, and I don't want to go to school
+with girls," was Master Bert's ungallant reply.
+
+Mr. Lloyd, who had evidently been much amused at the conversation, now
+joined in it by drawing Bert toward him and asking, in a half-serious,
+half-humorous tone:
+
+"Is my boy Bert afraid of little girls?"
+
+Bert's face flushed till it was crimson, and dropping his head upon his
+breast, he muttered:
+
+"I'm not afraid of them, but I don't like 'em, and I don't want to go to
+school with 'em."
+
+The fact of the matter was that Bert not only had his full share of the
+repugnance to the other sex common to all boys of his age, but he had
+besides a strong notion that it was not a manly thing to go to school
+with girls, and if there was one thing more than another that he aspired
+after, it was manliness.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thoroughly understood his son's feelings, and felt disposed to
+humour them. Accordingly, lifting up his head, he gave him a kiss on the
+forehead, saying:
+
+"Very well, Bert; we'll see about it. Since you have such decided
+objections to Miss Goggles'--I beg her pardon, Miss Poster's--excellent
+establishment, I will make inquiry, and see if I cannot find something
+that will suit you better. I want you to like your school, and to take
+an interest in it."
+
+Bert's face fairly beamed at these words, and he heaved a huge sigh of
+relief which brought another smile out on his father's countenance.
+
+"You're such a good father," said Bert, hugging his knees, and there
+the matter dropped for a few days.
+
+When it came up again, Mr. Lloyd had a new proposition to make. In the
+interval he had been making some inquiries, and had been recommended to
+send his boy to a school just lately established by an accomplished
+young lawyer, who had adopted that method of earning an honest penny
+while waiting for his practice to become more lucrative. It was a good
+deal of an experiment, Mr. Lloyd thought but possibly worth trying.
+
+Accordingly, one fine morning in October, behold Master Bert in a rather
+perturbed frame of mind trotting along beside his father, who pretended
+not to be aware of his son's feelings, although at the same time seeking
+in every way to divert him. But it was not with much success. Bert felt
+thoroughly nervous over the new experience that awaited him. He had
+never seen Mr. Garrison, who was to be his teacher, and imagined him as
+a tall, thin man with a long beard, a stern face, a harsh voice, and an
+ever-ready "cat-o'-nine tails." As for his future schoolmates, they were
+no doubt a lot of rough, noisy chaps, that would be certain to "put him
+through a course of sprouts" before they would make friends with him.
+
+If, then, such thoughts as these filled Bert's mind, it must not be
+wondered at that he lagged a good deal both as to his talking and
+walking, although he was always spry enough with both when out with his
+father. Much sooner than he wished they reached the building, a large
+rambling stone structure, only one room of which was occupied by the
+school; they climbed the broad free-stone staircase to the upper storey,
+knocked at a door from behind which came a confused hum of voices, and
+being bidden "Come in," entered a big room that at first seemed to Bert
+to be completely filled by a misty sea of faces with every eye turned
+right upon him. He cowered before this curious scrutiny, and but for his
+father's restraining grasp would probably have attempted a wild dash for
+the still unclosed door, when he heard his father saying:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Garrison; I have brought my boy to place him in your
+care for a while, if you will have him as a pupil." Looking up, Bert
+beheld a person approaching very different from the schoolmaster of his
+gloomy anticipations.
+
+Mr. Garrison was indeed tall, but there the similarity ended. He was
+youthful, slight, and very attractive in appearance, his manner being
+exceedingly graceful and easy, as he came forward with a winning smile
+upon his countenance, and extending his right hand to Mr. Lloyd, placed
+the other upon Bert's shoulder, and said, in a mellow, pleasant voice:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I shall be very glad indeed to have your boy
+in my school, and if he is anything like as good a man as his father,
+he will make one of my very best pupils."
+
+Mr. Lloyd laughed heartily at this flattering remark.
+
+"Listen to that, Bert," said he. "When you are in any doubt just how to
+behave, you have only to ask yourself what I would do under the same
+circumstances, and act accordingly." Then, turning to Mr. Garrison, he
+said: "Perhaps you would like me to join your school, too, so as to set
+a good example to the other boys."
+
+"Right glad would I be to have you, Mr. Lloyd," answered Mr. Garrison,
+with a cordial smile. "Many a time I find my boys almost too much for
+one man to handle."
+
+Bert, clinging fast to his father's hand, and half-hoping he was in
+earnest, felt a pang of disappointment when he replied:
+
+"I'm afraid it's too late, Mr. Garrison. My school-days are past;
+except so far as I may be able to live them over with this little chap
+here. I will leave him with you now; do your best with him. He can learn
+well enough when he likes, but he is just as fond of fun as any
+youngster of his age." Then giving Bert an affectionate pat on the
+shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "Now, be a man, Bert," Mr. Lloyd
+went away, and Bert followed Mr. Garrison up to the desk, where his
+name, age, and address were duly entered in the register book.
+
+The next business was to assign him a seat. A few questions as to what
+he knew showed that his proper place was in the junior class of all, and
+there accordingly Mr. Garrison led him. A vacancy was found for him in a
+long range of seats, extending from the door almost up to the desk, and
+he was bidden sit down beside a boy who had been eyeing him with lively
+curiosity from the moment of his entrance into the room. So soon as Mr.
+Garrison went away, this boy opened fire upon the new-comer.
+
+"Say, sonny, whats yer name?" he asked, with unhesitating abruptness.
+
+Bert looked the questioner all over before replying. He was a short,
+stout, stubble-haired chap, evidently a year or two older than himself,
+with a broad, good-humoured face, and the inspection being, upon the
+whole, satisfactory, Bert replied, very pleasantly:
+
+"Bert Lloyd--and what's yours?"
+
+Ignoring the question put to him, the other boy gave a sort of grunt
+that might be taken as an expression of approval of his new schoolmate's
+name, and then said:
+
+"Guess you don't live down our way; never seen you before, that I know
+of."
+
+"I live in Fort Street. Where do you live?" replied Bert, giving
+question for question.
+
+"I'm a West-ender," said the other, meaning that his home was in the
+western part of the city.
+
+"But whats your name?" asked Bert again.
+
+"Oh, my name's Frank Bowser," was the careless reply. "But everybody
+calls me 'Shorty,' and you may as well, too."
+
+"All right," said Bert. And the two began to feel quite good friends at
+once.
+
+As the morning passed, and Bert came to feel more at home, he took in
+the details of his surroundings. Mr. Garrison's school consisted of some
+fifty boys, ranging in age from sixteen downward, Bert being about the
+youngest of them all. They all belonged to the better class, and were,
+upon the whole, a very presentable lot of pupils. Scanning their
+countenances curiously as they sat at their desks or stood up in rows
+before the teacher to recite, Bert noticed more than one face that he
+instinctively liked, and, being charmed with Mr. Garrison, and well
+pleased with his new friend "Shorty," his first impressions were
+decidedly favourable.
+
+He had, of course, nothing to do that morning, save to look about him,
+but Mr. Garrison gave him a list of books to be procured, and lessons to
+be learned in them before the school broke up for the day; and with this
+in his pocket he went home in excellent spirits, to tell them all there,
+how well he had got on his first day in school.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S.
+
+
+Bert had not been long at Mr. Garrison's school before he discovered
+that it was conducted on what might fairly be described as
+"go-as-you-please" principles. A sad lack of system was its chief
+characteristic. He meant well enough by his pupils, and was constantly
+making spurts in the direction of reform and improvement, but as often
+falling back into the old irregular ways.
+
+The fact of the matter was that he not only was not a schoolmaster by
+instinct, but he had no intention of being one by profession. He had
+simply adopted teaching as a temporary expedient to tide over a
+financial emergency, and intended to drop it so soon as his object was
+accomplished. His heart was in his profession, not in his school, and
+the work of teaching was at best an irksome task, to be got through with
+each day as quickly as possible. Had Mr. Lloyd fully understood this, he
+would never have placed Bert there. But he did not; and, moreover, he
+was interested in young Mr. Garrison, who had had many difficulties to
+encounter in making his way, and he wished to help him.
+
+In the first place, Mr. Garrison kept no record of attendance, either of
+the whole school, or of the different classes into which it was divided.
+A boy might come in an hour after the proper time, or be away for a
+whole day without either his lateness or his absence being observed. As
+a consequence "meeching"--that is, taking a holiday without leave from
+either parents or teachers--was shamefully common. Indeed, there was
+hardly a day that one or more boys did not "meech." If by any chance
+they were missed, it was easy to get out of the difficulty by making
+some excuse about having been sick, or mother having kept them at home
+to do some work, and so forth. Schoolboys are always fertile in excuses,
+and, only too often, indifferent as to the quantity of truth these may
+contain.
+
+Another curious feature of Mr. Garrison's system, or rather lack of
+system, was that he kept no record of the order of standing in the
+classes; and so, when the class in geography, for instance, was called
+to recite, the boys would come tumbling pell-mell out of their seats,
+and crowd tumultuously to the space in front of the desk, with the
+invariable result that the smaller boys would be sent to the bottom of
+the class, whether they deserved to be there or not. Then as to the
+hearing of the lesson, there was absolutely no rule about it. Sometimes
+the questions would be divided impartially among the whole class.
+Sometimes they would all be asked of a single boy, and if he happened to
+answer correctly,--which, however, was an extremely rare
+occurrence,--the class would be dismissed without one of the others
+being questioned.
+
+Another peculiarity of Mr. Garrison's was his going out on business for
+an hour or more at a time, and leaving the school in charge of one of
+the older boys, who would exercise the authority thus conferred upon him
+in a lax and kindly, or severe and cruel manner, according to his
+disposition. One of the boys generally chosen for this duty was a big,
+good-hearted fellow named Munro; another was an equally big, but
+sour-dispositioned chap named Siteman; and whenever Mr. Garrison showed
+signs of going out, there was always intense excitement among the boys,
+to see who would be appointed monitor, and lively satisfaction, or deep
+disappointment, according to the choice made.
+
+It was a little while, of course, before Bert found all this out, and in
+the meantime he made good headway in the school, because his father took
+care that his lessons were well learned every evening before he went to
+bed; and Mr. Garrison soon discovered that whoever else might fail,
+there was one boy in Bert's classes that could be depended upon for a
+right answer, and that was Bert himself.
+
+There was another person who noticed Bert's ready accuracy, and that was
+"Shorty" Bowser.
+
+"Say, Bert," said he one day, "how is that you always have your lessons
+down so fine? You never seem to trip up at all."
+
+"Because father always sees that I learn 'em," answered Bert. "If I
+don't learn 'em in the evening, I've got to do it before breakfast in
+the morning."
+
+"I wish my dad 'ud do as much for me; but he don't seem to care a cent
+whether I ever learn 'em or not," said poor Shorty, ruefully. For he was
+pretty sure to miss two out of every three questions asked him, and Mr.
+Garrison thought him one of his worst scholars.
+
+"Won't your mother help you, then?" asked Bert, with interest.
+
+"Got no mother," was the reply, while Shorty's eyes shone suspiciously.
+"Mother's been dead this good while."
+
+"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Bert, in tones of genuine sympathy that went
+right to Frank Bowser's heart, and greatly strengthened the liking he
+had felt from the first for his new schoolmate.
+
+It was not long before he gave proof of what he thought of Bert in a
+very practical way. They were for the most part in the same classes, and
+it soon became evident that Shorty felt very proud of his friend's
+accuracy at recitation. That he should remain at the foot while Bert
+worked his way up steadily toward the head of the class, did not arouse
+the slightest feeling of jealousy in his honest heart; but, on the
+contrary, a frank admiration that did him infinite credit.
+
+But it was just the other way with Bob Brandon, an overgrown, lanky boy,
+who seemed to have taken a dislike to Bert from the first, and seized
+every opportunity of acting disagreeably toward him. Being so much
+smaller, Bert had to endure his slights as best he could, but he found
+it very hard, and particularly so that Bob should prevent him from
+getting his proper place in his class. Again and again would Bert pass
+Bob, who, indeed, rarely knew his lessons; but so sure as the class
+reassembled, Bob would roughly shoulder his way toward the top and Bert
+would have to take a lower position, unless Mr. Garrison happened to
+notice what was taking place and readjusted matters, which, however, did
+not often occur.
+
+This sort of thing had been going on for some time, until at last one
+day Bert felt so badly over it that when he went back to his seat he
+buried his head in his hands and burst out crying, much to the surprise
+of Shorty, who at once leaned over and asked, with much concern:
+
+"What's the matter, Bert? Missed your lesson?"
+
+Bert checked his tears and told his trouble.
+
+"Sho! that's what's the matter, hey? I guess I'll fix Bob as sure as my
+name's Bowser."
+
+"What'll you do?" asked Bert. "Tell the master?"
+
+"No, sir. No tattling for me," replied Shorty, vigorously. "I'll just
+punch his head for him, see if I don't."
+
+And he was as good as his word. Immediately after the dismissal of the
+school, while the boys still lingered on the playground, Shorty stalked
+up to Bob Brandon, and told him if he didn't stop shoving Bert Lloyd out
+of his proper place in the classes he would punch his head. Whereat Bob
+Brandon laughed contemptuously, and was rewarded with a blow on the face
+that fairly made him stagger. Then, of course, there was a fight, the
+boys forming a ring around the combatants, and Bert holding his
+champion's coat and hat, and hardly knowing whether to cry or to cheer.
+The fight did not last long. Bob was the taller, but Frank the stouter
+of the two. Bob, like most bullies, was a coward, but Frank was as
+plucky as he was strong. Burning with righteous wrath, Frank went at his
+opponent hammer and tongs, and after a few minutes' ineffective parrying
+and dodging, the latter actually ran out of the ring, thoroughly beaten,
+leaving Frank in possession of the field, to receive the applause of his
+companions, and particularly of Bert, who gave him a warm hug, saying
+gratefully:
+
+"Dear, good Shorty. I'm so glad you beat him."
+
+That fight united the two boys in firmer bonds of friendship than ever,
+especially as it proved quite effective so far as Bob Brandon was
+concerned, as he needed no other lesson. It was curious how Bert and
+Frank reacted upon one another. At first the influence proceeded mainly
+from Bert to Frank, the latter being much impressed by his friend's
+attention to his lessons and good behaviour in school, and somewhat
+stirred up to emulate these virtues. But after Bert had been going to
+the school for some little time, and the novelty had all worn off, he
+began to lose some of his ardour and to imitate Frank's happy-go-lucky
+carelessness. Instead of being one of the first boys in the school of a
+morning, he would linger and loiter on the playground until he would be
+among those who were the last to take their places. He also began to
+take less interest in his lessons, and in his standing in the classes,
+and but for the care exercised at home would have gone to school very
+ill prepared.
+
+Frank Bowser was not by any means a bad boy. He had been carelessly
+brought up, and was by nature of rather a reckless disposition, but he
+generally preferred right to wrong, and could, upon the whole, be
+trusted to behave himself under ordinary circumstances, at all events.
+His influence upon Bert, while it certainly would not help him much,
+would not harm him seriously. He did get him into trouble one day,
+however, in a way that Bert was long in forgetting.
+
+The winter had come, and over in one corner of the playground was a
+slide of unusual length and excellence, upon which the Garrison boys had
+fine times every day before and after school. Coming up one morning
+early, on purpose to enjoy this slide, Bert was greatly disappointed to
+find it in possession of a crowd of roughs from the upper streets, who
+clearly intended to keep it all to themselves so long as they pleased.
+While Bert, standing at a safe distance, was watching the usurpers with
+longing eyes, Shorty came up, and, taking in the situation, said:
+
+"Let 'em alone, Bert; I know of another slide just as good, a couple of
+squares off. Let's go over there."
+
+"But, isn't it most school time?" objected Bert.
+
+"Why, no," replied Shorty. "There's ten minutes yet. Come along." And
+thus assured, Bert complied.
+
+The slide was farther away than Shorty had said, but proved to be very
+good when they did reach it, and they enjoyed it so much that the time
+slipped away unheeded, until presently the town clock on the hill above
+them boomed out ten, in notes of solemn warning.
+
+"My sakes!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "There's ten o'clock. What will we
+do?"
+
+"Guess we'd better not go to school at all. Mr. Garrison will never miss
+us," suggested Shorty.
+
+"Do you mean to meech?" asked Bert, with some indignation.
+
+"That's about it," was the reply. "What's the harm?"
+
+"Why, you know it ain't right; I'm not going to do it if you are." And
+Bert really meant what he said.
+
+But, as luck would have it, on their way back to the school, what should
+they meet but that spectacle, one of the most attractive of the winter's
+sights in the eyes of a Halifax schoolboy, a fireman's sleigh drive.
+Driving gaily along the street, between lines of spectators, came sleigh
+after sleigh, drawn by four, six, or even eight carefully matched and
+brightly decked horses, and filled to overflowing with the firemen and
+their fair friends, while bands of music played merry tunes, to which
+the horses seemed to step in time.
+
+Bert and Shorty had of course to stop and see this fine sight, and it
+chanced that when it was about one-half passed, one of the big eight
+horse teams got tangled up with a passing sleigh, and a scene of
+confusion ensued that took a good while to set right. When at length all
+was straightened out, and the procession of sleighs had passed, Shorty
+asked a gentleman to tell him the time.
+
+"Five minutes to eleven, my lad," was the startling reply.
+
+Shorty looked significantly at Bert. "Most too late now, don't you
+think?"
+
+Bert hesitated. He shrank from the ordeal of entering the crowded
+schoolroom, and being detected and punished by Mr. Garrison, in the
+presence of all the others. Yet he felt that it would be better to do
+that than not go to school at all--in other words, meech.
+
+"Oh, come along, Bert," said Shorty; "old Garrison can do without us
+to-day."
+
+Still Bert stood irresolute.
+
+"Let's go down and see the big steamer that came in last night,"
+persisted Shorty, who was determined not to go to school, and to keep
+Bert from going too.
+
+Yielding more to Shorty's influence than to the attraction of the
+steamer, Bert gave way, and spent the rest of the morning playing about,
+until it was the usual time for going home.
+
+He said nothing at home about what he had done, and the next morning
+went back to school, hoping, with all his heart, that his absence had
+not been noted, and that no questions would be asked.
+
+But it was not to be.
+
+Soon after the opening of the school when all were assembled and quiet
+obtained, Mr. Garrison sent a thrill of expectation through the boys by
+calling out, in severe tones, while his face was clouded with anger:
+
+"Frank Bowser and Cuthbert Lloyd come to the desk."
+
+With pale faces and drooping heads the boys obeyed, Frank whispering in
+Bert's ear as they went up:
+
+"Tell him you were kept at home."
+
+Trembling in every nerve, the two culprits stood before their teacher.
+Mr. Garrison was evidently much incensed. A spasm of reform had seized
+him. His eyes had been opened to the prevalence of "meeching," and he
+determined to put a stop to it by making an example of the present
+offenders. He had missed them both from school the day before, and
+suspected the cause.
+
+"Young gentlemen," said he, in his most chilling tones, "you were absent
+yesterday. Have you any reason to give?"
+
+Frank without answering looked at Bert, while the whole school held
+their breath in suspense. Bert remained silent. It was evident that a
+sharp struggle was going on within. Becoming impatient, Mr. Garrison
+struck the desk with his hands, and said, sternly:
+
+"Answer me this moment. Have you any excuse?"
+
+With a quick, decided movement, Bert lifted his head, and looking
+straight into Mr. Garrison's face with his big brown eyes, said,
+clearly:
+
+"No, sir. I meeched."
+
+Quite taken aback by this frank confession, Mr. Garrison paused a
+moment, and then, turning to Frank, asked:
+
+"And how about you, sir?"
+
+Without lifting his head, Frank muttered, "I meeched, too," in tones
+audible only to his questioner.
+
+So pleased was Mr. Garrison with Bert's honesty, that he would have been
+glad to let him off with a reprimand; but the interests of good
+discipline demanded sterner measures. Accordingly, he called to one of
+his monitors:
+
+"Munro, will you please go over to the Acadian School and get the
+strap?"
+
+For be it known that Mr. Garrison shared the ownership of a strap with
+his brother, who taught a school in an adjoining block, and had to send
+for it when a boy was to be punished.
+
+While Munro was gone, Bert and Frank stood before the desk, both feeling
+deeply their position, and dreading what was yet to come. When Munro
+returned, bearing the strap--a business-like looking affair, about two
+feet in length--Mr. Garrison laid it on the desk, and seemed very
+reluctant to put it in use. At length, overcoming his disinclination, he
+rose to his feet, and, taking it up, said:
+
+"Cuthbert Lloyd, come forward!"
+
+Bert, his head drooping upon his breast, and his face flushed and pale
+by turns, moved slowly forward. Grasping the strap, Mr. Garrison raised
+it to bring it down upon Bert's outstretched hand, when suddenly a
+thought struck him that brought a look of immense relief to his
+countenance, and he arrested the movement. Turning to the boys, who were
+watching him with wondering eyes, he said:
+
+"Boys, I ask for your judgment. If Bert and Frank say, before you all,
+that they are sorry for what they have done, and will promise never to
+do it again, may I not relieve them of the whipping?"
+
+A hearty and unanimous chorus of "Yes, sir," "Yes, sir," came from the
+school at once.
+
+"Now, my lads, do you hear that?" continued Mr. Garrison in a kindly
+tone, turning to the two offenders. "Will you not say you are sorry, and
+will never meech again."
+
+"I am sorry, and promise never to do so again," said Bert, in a clear
+distinct voice, as the tears gathered in his eyes.
+
+"I'm sorry, and won't do it again," echoed Frank, in a lower tone.
+
+"That's right, boys," said Mr. Garrison, his face full of pleasure. "I
+am sure you mean every word of it. Go to your seats now, and we will
+resume work."
+
+It took the school some little time to settle down again after this
+unusual and moving episode, the effect of which was to raise both Mr.
+Garrison and Bert a good deal higher in the estimation of every one
+present, and to put a check upon the practice of "meeching" that went
+far toward effecting a complete cure.
+
+Although the result had been so much better than he expected, Bert felt
+his disgrace keenly, and so soon as he got home from school he told the
+whole story from the start to his mother, making no excuses for himself,
+but simply telling the truth.
+
+His mother, of course, was very much surprised and pained, but knew well
+that her boy needed no further reproaches or censure to realise the full
+extent of his wrong-doing. Bidding him, therefore, seek forgiveness of
+God as well as of her, she said that she would tell his father all about
+it, which was a great relief to Bert, who dreaded lest he should have to
+perform this trying task himself; and so the matter rested for the
+time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE.
+
+
+When Mr. Lloyd heard the story of Bert's "meeching," it was evident that
+it hurt him sorely. He was quite prepared for a reasonable amount of
+waywardness in his boy, but this seriously exceeded his expectations. He
+could not, of course, put himself exactly in Bert's place, and he was
+inclined to think him guilty of far more deliberate wrong than poor Bert
+had for a moment contemplated.
+
+Then, again, he was much puzzled as to what should be done with
+reference to Frank Bowser. He had evidently been Bert's tempter, and
+Bert ought, perhaps, to be forbidden to have any more to do with him
+than he could possibly help. On the other hand, if Bert were to be
+interdicted from the companionship of his schoolmates, how would he ever
+learn to take care of himself among other dangerous associations? This
+was a lesson he must learn some day. Should he not begin now?
+
+So Mr. Lloyd was not a little bewildered, and his talk with Bert did
+not give him much light; for while Bert, of course, was thoroughly
+penitent and ready to promise anything, what he had to tell about Frank
+was simply how good-natured and generous and plucky he was, and so
+forth.
+
+The three of them, father, mother, and sister, held a consultation over
+the matter that night after Bert had gone to bed.
+
+"I wish I felt more sure as to what is the wisest thing to do," said Mr.
+Lloyd. "We can't keep Bert in a glass case, and yet it seems as if we
+should do our best to protect him from every evil influence. I would
+like to know more about that Bowser boy."
+
+"Bert tells me he has no mother," said Mrs. Lloyd, in sympathetic tones,
+"and from what he says himself, his father does not seem to take much
+interest in him. Poor boy! he cannot have much to help him at that
+rate."
+
+"He's a good, sturdy little chap," put in Mary. "He came down from
+school with Bert one day. He seems very fond of him."
+
+"Well, what had we better do?" asked Mr. Lloyd. "Forbid Bert to make a
+companion of him, or say nothing about it, and trust Bert to come out
+all right?"
+
+"I feel as though we ought to forbid Bert," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "Frank
+Bowser's influence cannot help him much, and it may harm him a good
+deal."
+
+"Suppose you put that the other way, mother," spoke up Mary, her face
+flushing under the inspiration of the thought that had just occurred to
+her. "Frank Bowser has no help at home, and Bert has. Why, then, not say
+that Bert's influence cannot harm Frank, and it may help him a good
+deal?"
+
+"Mary, my dear," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, bending over to pat her
+affectionately on the shoulder, "that's a brilliant idea of yours.
+You're right. Bert should help Frank, and not let Frank harm him. We
+must make Bert understand that clearly, and then there will be nothing
+to fear."
+
+And so the consultation closed, with Mary bearing off the honours of
+having made the best suggestion.
+
+It was acted upon without delay. Calling Bert to him next morning while
+they were awaiting breakfast, Mr. Lloyd laid the matter before him:
+
+"Bert," said he, kindly, "we were talking about you last night, and
+wondering whether we ought to forbid your making a companion of Frank
+Bowser. What do you think?"
+
+"Oh, father, don't do that," answered Bert, looking up with a startled
+expression. "He's been so good to me. You remember how he served Bob
+Brandon for shoving me down in class?"
+
+"Yes, Bert; but I'm afraid he's leading you into mischief, and that is
+not the sort of companion I want for you."
+
+Bert dropped his head again. He had no answer ready this time.
+
+"But then there are always two sides to a question, Bert," continued Mr.
+Lloyd, while Bert pricked up his ears hopefully. "Why should you not
+help Frank to keep out of mischief, instead of his leading you into it?
+What do you say to that?"
+
+Bert did not seem quite to understand, so his father went on:
+
+"Don't you see, Bert? You must either help Frank to be better, or he
+will cause you to be worse. Now, which is it to be?"
+
+Bert saw it clearly now.
+
+"Why, father," he cried, his face beaming with gladness at this new turn
+to the situation, "I'll do my best to be a good boy, and I know Shorty
+will, too, for he always likes to do what I do."
+
+"Very well then, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd, "that's a bargain. And now,
+suppose you invite Frank, or 'Shorty,' as you call him, to spend next
+Saturday afternoon with you, and take tea with us."
+
+"Oh, father, that will be splendid," cried Bert, delightedly. "We can
+coast in the fort all the afternoon and have fun in the evening. I'm
+sure Shorty will be so glad to come."
+
+The question thus satisfactorily settled, Bert took his breakfast, and
+went off to school in high glee and great impatience to see Frank, for
+the invitation he bore for him fairly burned in his mouth, so to speak.
+
+As he expected, Frank needed no pressing to accept it. He did not get
+many invitations, poor chap! and the prospect of an afternoon at Bert's
+home seemed very attractive to him. He did enjoy himself thoroughly,
+too, even if he was so shy and awkward that Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were
+afraid to say very much to him; he seemed to find it so hard to answer
+them.
+
+But Mr. Lloyd got on much better with him. Although his boyhood was a
+good way in the past, he kept its memories fresh, and could enter
+heartily into the discussion of any of the sports the younger generation
+delighted in. He knew all the phrases peculiar to baseball, cricket,
+marbles, and so forth, and fairly astonished Frank by his intimate
+knowledge of those amusements, so that ere long Frank, without knowing
+just how it happened, was chatting away as freely as though he were out
+on the Garrison playground instead of being in Mr. Lloyd's parlour.
+
+Having once got him well started, Mr. Lloyd led him on to talk about
+himself and his home, and his way of spending his time, and thus learned
+a great deal more about him than he had yet known. One fact that he
+learned pointed out a way in which Bert's influence could be exerted for
+good at once. Frank attended no Sunday school. He went to church
+sometimes, but not very often, as his father took little interest in
+church-going, but he never went to Sunday school; in fact, he had not
+been there for years. Mr. Lloyd said nothing himself on the subject to
+Frank. He thought it better to leave it all to Bert.
+
+After Frank had gone, leaving behind him a very good impression upon the
+whole, Mr. Lloyd told Bert of the opportunity awaiting him.
+
+"Wouldn't you like to ask Frank to go with you to Sunday school, Bert?"
+he inquired.
+
+"Of course, I would, father," replied Bert, promptly; "and I'm sure he'd
+go, too, and that Mr. Silver would be very glad to have him in our
+class."
+
+When Bert, however, came to talk to Frank about it, he found him not
+quite so willing to go as he had been to accept the invitation for
+Saturday.
+
+"I'm not anxious to go to Sunday school, Bert," said he. "I shan't know
+anybody there but you, and it'll be awfully slow."
+
+"But you'll soon get to know plenty of people," urged Bert; "and Mr.
+Silver is so nice."
+
+And so they argued, Frank holding back, partly because his shyness made
+him shrink from going into a strange place, and partly because, having
+been accustomed to spend his Sunday afternoons pretty much as he
+pleased, he did not like the idea of giving up his liberty. But Bert was
+too much in earnest to be put off. The suggestion of his father that he
+should try to do Frank some good had taken strong hold upon his mind,
+and he urged, and pleaded, and argued until, at last, Frank gave way,
+and promised to try the Sunday school for a while, at any rate.
+
+Bert reported the decision at home with much pride and satisfaction. He
+had no doubt that when once Frank found out what a pleasant place the
+Sunday school was, and how kind and nice Mr. Silver--his teacher
+there--was, he would want to go every Sunday.
+
+The Sunday school of Calvary Baptist Church certainly had about as
+pleasant and cheery quarters as could be desired. For one thing, it was
+not held in a damp, dark, unventilated basement as so many Sunday
+schools are.
+
+And, oh, what a shame--what an extraordinary perversion of sense this
+condemning of the children to the cellars of the churches is! Just as
+though anything were good enough for them, when in them lies the hope of
+the Church, and every possible means should be employed to twine their
+young affections about it! But these words do not apply to the Calvary
+Sunday School, for it was not held in a dingy basement, but in a
+separate building that united in itself nearly every good quality such
+an edifice should possess. It was of ample size, full of light and air,
+had free exposure to the sunshine, and was so arranged that every
+convenience was offered for the work of the school. Around the central
+hall were arranged rooms for the Bible classes, the infant class, and
+the library, so planned that by throwing up sliding doors they became
+part of the large room. The walls were hung with pictures illustrating
+Bible scenes, and with mottoes founded upon Bible texts; and finally,
+the benches were of a special make that was particularly comfortable.
+
+All this was quite a revelation to Frank when, after some little
+coaxing, Bert brought him to the school. His conception of a Sunday
+school was of going down into a gloomy basement, and being lectured
+about the Bible by a severe old man with a long grey beard. Instead of
+that, he found himself in one of the brightest rooms he had ever seen,
+and receiving a cordial welcome from a handsome young gentleman, to whom
+Bert had just said:
+
+"This is my friend Frank, Mr. Silver. He's going to come to school with
+me after this."
+
+"Very glad indeed to have you, Frank," said Mr. Silver, giving him a
+warm grasp of the hand. "Sit right down with Bert, and make yourself at
+home."
+
+And Frank sat down, so surprised and pleased with everything as to be
+half inclined to wonder if he was not dreaming. Then the fine singing,
+as the whole school, led by an organ and choir, burst forth into song,
+the bright pleasant remarks of the superintendent, Mr. Hamilton, Bert's
+ideal of a "Christian soldier," and the simple earnest prayer
+offered,--all impressed Frank deeply.
+
+No less interesting did he find Mr. Silver's teaching of the lesson. Mr.
+Silver attached great importance to his work in the Sunday school.
+Nothing was permitted to interfere with thorough preparation for it, and
+he always met his class brimful of information, illustration, and
+application, bearing upon the passage appointed for the day. And not
+only so, but by shrewd questioning and personal appeal he sent the
+precious words home to his young hearers and fixed them deep in their
+memories. He was a rare teacher in many respects, and Bert was very fond
+of him. Frank did not fail to be attracted by him. As he and Bert left
+the school together, Bert asked:
+
+"Well, Frank, how do you like my Sunday school?"
+
+"First rate," replied Frank, heartily. "Say, but isn't Mr. Silver nice?
+Seems as though I'd known him for ever so long instead of just to-day."
+
+"Guess he is nice," said Bert. "He's just the best teacher in the
+school. You'll come every Sunday now, won't you, Frank?"
+
+"I think so," answered Frank; "I might just as well be going there as
+loafing about on Sunday afternoon doing nothing."
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much pleased when he heard of Bert's success in
+getting Frank to the Sunday school. He recognised in Bert many of those
+qualities which make a boy a leader among his companions, and his desire
+was that his son's influence should always tell for that which was
+manly, pure, and upright. To get him interested in recruiting for the
+Sunday school was a very good beginning in church work, and Mr. Lloyd
+felt thankful accordingly.
+
+Neither was he alone in feeling pleased and thankful. Mr. John Bowser,
+Frank's father, although he showed great indifference to both the
+intellectual and moral welfare of his boy, was, nevertheless, not
+opposed to others taking an interest in him. He cared too little about
+either church or Sunday school to see that Frank was a regular
+attendant. But he was very willing that somebody else should take an
+interest in the matter. Moreover, he felt not a little complacency over
+the fact that his son was chosen as a companion by Lawyer Lloyd's son.
+Engrossed as he was in the making of money, a big, burly, gruff,
+uncultured contractor, he found time somehow to acquire a great respect
+for Mr. Lloyd. He thought him rather too scrupulous and straightforward
+a man to be _his_ lawyer, but he admired him greatly, nevertheless; and,
+although he said nothing about it, secretly congratulated himself upon
+the way things were going. He had little idea that the circle of
+influence Bert had unconsciously started would come to include him
+before its force would be spent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+BERT AT HOME.
+
+
+It was an article of faith in the Lloyd family that there was not a
+house in Halifax having a pleasanter situation than theirs, and they
+certainly had very good grounds for their belief. Something has already
+been told about its splendid view of the broad harbour, furrowed with
+white-capped waves, when of an afternoon the breeze blew in smartly from
+the great ocean beyond; of its snug security from northern blasts; of
+the cosy nook it had to itself in a quiet street; and of its ample
+exposure to the sunshine. But, perhaps, the chief charm of all was the
+old fort whose grass-grown casemates came so close to the foot of the
+garden, that ever since Bert was big enough to jump, he had cherished a
+wild ambition to leap from the top of the garden fence to the level top
+of the nearest casemate.
+
+This old fort, with its long, obsolete, muzzle-loading thirty-two
+pounders, was associated with Bert's earliest recollection. His nurse
+had carried him there to play about in the long, rank grass underneath
+the shade of the wide-spreading willows that crested the seaward slope
+before he was able to walk; and ever since, summer and winter, he had
+found it his favourite playground.
+
+The cannons were an unfailing source of delight to him. Mounted high
+upon their cumbrous carriages, with little pyramids of round iron balls
+that would never have any other use than that of ornament lying beside
+them, they made famous playthings. He delighted in clambering up and
+sitting astride their smooth, round bodies as though they were horses;
+or in peering into the mysterious depths of their muzzles. Indeed, once
+when he was about five years old he did more than peer in. He tried to
+crawl in, and thereby ran some risk of injury.
+
+He had been playing ball with some of the soldier's children, and seemed
+so engrossed in the amusement that his mother, who had taken him into
+the fort, thought he might very well be left for a while, and so she
+went off some little distance to rest in quiet, in a shady corner. She
+had not been there more than a quarter of an hour, when she was startled
+by the cries of the children, who seemed much alarmed over something;
+and hastening back to where she had left Bert, she beheld a sight that
+would have been most ludicrous if it had not been so terrifying.
+
+Protruding from the mouth of one of the cannons, and kicking very
+vigorously, were two sturdy, mottled legs that she instantly recognised
+as belonging to her son, while from the interior came strange muffled
+sounds that showed the poor little fellow was screaming in dire
+affright, as well he might in so distressing a situation. Too young to
+be of any help, Bert's playmates were gathered about him crying lustily,
+only one of them having had the sense to run off to the carpenter's shop
+near by to secure assistance.
+
+[Illustration: "Fortunately, a big soldier came along, and, slipping
+both hands as far up on Bert's body as he could reach, with a strong,
+steady pull drew him out of the cannon."--_Page_ 119.]
+
+Mrs. Lloyd at once grasped Bert's feet and strove to pull him out, but
+found it no easy matter. In his efforts to free himself he had only
+stuck the more firmly, and was now too securely fastened for Mrs. Lloyd
+to extricate him. Fortunately, however, a big soldier came along at this
+juncture, and, slipping both hands as far up on Bert's body as he could
+reach, grasped him firmly, and with one strong, steady pull, drew him
+out of the cannon.
+
+When he got him out, Bert presented so comical a spectacle that his
+stalwart rescuer had to lay him down and laugh until the tears rolled
+down his cheeks. Mrs. Lloyd, too, relieved from all anxiety, and feeling
+a reaction from her first fright, could not help following his example.
+His face, black with grime, which was furrowed with tears, his hands
+even blacker, his nice clothes smutched and soiled, and indeed, his
+whole appearance suggested a little chimney-sweep that had forgotten to
+put on his working clothes before going to business. Bert certainly was
+enough to make even the gravest laugh.
+
+Beyond a bruise or two, he was, however, not a whit the worse for his
+curious experience, which had come about in this way:--While they were
+playing with the ball, one of the children had, out of mischief, picked
+it up and thrown it into the cannon, where it had stayed. They tried to
+get it out by means of sticks, but could not reach it. Then Bert, always
+plucky and enterprising to the verge of rashness, undertook to go after
+the ball himself. The other boys at once joined forces to lift him up
+and push him into the dark cavern, and then alarmed by his cries and
+unavailing struggles to get out again, began to cry themselves, and thus
+brought Mrs. Lloyd to the scene.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much amused when he heard about Bert's adventure.
+
+"You've beaten Shakespeare, Bert," said he, after a hearty laugh, as
+Mrs. Lloyd graphically described the occurrence. "For Shakespeare says a
+man does not seek the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth, until he
+becomes a soldier, but you have found it, unless I am much mistaken,
+before you have fairly begun being a schoolboy."
+
+Bert did not understand the reference to Shakespeare, but he did
+understand that his father was not displeased with him, and that was a
+much more important matter. The next Sunday afternoon, when they went
+for their accustomed stroll in the fort, Bert showed his father the big
+gun whose dark interior he had attempted to explore.
+
+"Oh, but father, wasn't I frightened when I got in there and couldn't
+get out again!" said he earnestly, clasping his father's hand tightly,
+as the horror of the situation came back to him.
+
+"You were certainly in a tight place, little man," answered Mr. Lloyd,
+"and the next time your ball gets into one of the cannons you had better
+ask one of the artillerymen to get it out for you. He will find it a
+much easier job than getting you out."
+
+Bert loved the old fort and its cannons none the less because of his
+adventure, and as he grew older he learned to drop down into it from the
+garden fence, and climb back again, with the agility of a monkey. The
+garden itself was not very extensive, but Bert took a great deal of
+pleasure in it, too, for he was fond of flowers--what true boy, indeed,
+is not?--and it contained a large number within its narrow limits, there
+being no less than two score rose bushes of different varieties, for
+instance. The roses were very plenteous and beautiful when in their
+prime, but at opposite corners of the little garden stood two trees that
+had far more interest for Bert than all the rose trees put together.
+These were two apple trees, planted, no one knew just how or when, which
+had been allowed to grow up at their own will, without pruning or
+grafting, and, as a consequence, were never known to produce fruit that
+was worth eating. Every spring they put forth a brave show of pink and
+white blossoms, as though this year, at all events, they were going to
+do themselves credit, and every autumn the result appeared in
+half-a-dozen hard, small, sour, withered-up apples that hardly deserved
+the name. And yet, although these trees showed no signs of repentance
+and amendment, Bert, with the quenchless hopefulness of boyhood, never
+quite despaired of their bringing forth an apple that he could eat
+without having his mouth drawn up into one tight pucker. Autumn after
+autumn he would watch the slowly developing fruit, trusting for the
+best. It always abused his confidence, however, but it was a long time
+before he finally gave it up in despair.
+
+At one side of the garden stood a neat little barn that was also of
+special interest to Bert, for, besides the stall for the cow, there was
+another, still vacant, which Mr. Lloyd had promised should have a pony
+for its tenant so soon as Bert was old enough to be trusted with such a
+playmate.
+
+Hardly a day passed that Bert did not go into the stable, and, standing
+by the little stall, wonder to himself how it would look with a pretty
+pony in it. Of course, he felt very impatient to have the pony, but Mr.
+Lloyd had his own ideas upon that point, and was not to be moved from
+them. He thought that when Bert was ten years old would be quite time
+enough, and so there was nothing to do but to wait, which Bert did, with
+as much fortitude as he could command.
+
+Whatever might be the weather outside, it seemed always warm and sunny
+indoors at Bert's home. The Lloyds lived in an atmosphere of love, both
+human and Divine. They loved one another dearly, but they loved God
+still more, and lived close to Him. Religion was not so much expressed
+as implied in their life. It was not in the least obtrusive, yet one
+could never mistake their point of view. Next to its sincerity, the
+strongest characteristic of their religion was its cheeriness. They saw
+no reason why the children of the King should go mourning all their
+days; on the contrary, was it not rather their duty, as well as their
+privilege, to establish the joy of service?
+
+Brought up amid such influences, Bert was, as a natural consequence,
+entirely free from those strange misconceptions of the true character of
+religion which keep so many of the young out of the kingdom. He saw
+nothing gloomy or repellent in religion. That he should love and serve
+God seemed as natural to him as that he should love and serve his
+parents. Of their love and care he had a thousand tokens daily. Of the
+Divine love and care he learned from them, and that they should believe
+in it was all the reason he required for his doing the same. He asked no
+further evidence.
+
+There were, of course, times when the spirit of evil stirred within him,
+and moved him to rebel against authority, and to wish, as he put it
+himself one day when reminded of the text, "Thou God seest me," that
+"God would let him alone for a while, and not be always looking at him."
+But then he wasn't an angel by any means, but simply a hearty, healthy,
+happy boy, with a fair share of temper, and as much fondness for having
+his own way as the average boy of his age.
+
+His parents were very proud of him. They would have been queer parents
+if they were not. Yet they were careful to disguise it from him as far
+as possible. If there was one thing more than another that Mr. Lloyd
+disliked in children, and, therefore, dreaded for his boy, it was that
+forward, conscious air which comes of too much attention being paid them
+in the presence of their elders. "Little folks should be seen and not
+heard," he would say kindly but firmly to Bert, when that young person
+was disposed to unduly assert himself, and Bert rarely failed to take
+the hint.
+
+One trait of Bert's nature which gave his father great gratification was
+his fondness for reading. He never had to be taught to read. He learned,
+himself. That is, he was so eager to learn that so soon as he had
+mastered the alphabet, he was always taking his picture books to his
+mother or sister, and getting them to spell the words for him. In this
+way he got over all his difficulties with surprising rapidity, and at
+five years of age could read quite easily. As he grew older, he showed
+rather an odd taste in his choice of books. One volume that he read from
+cover to cover before he was eight years old was Layard's "Nineveh."
+Just why this portly sombre-hued volume, with its winged lion stamped in
+gold upon its back, attracted him so strongly, it would not be easy to
+say. The illustrations, of course, had something to do with it, and then
+the fascination of digging down deep into the earth and bringing forth
+all sorts of strange things no doubt influenced him.
+
+Another book that held a wonderful charm for him was the Book of
+Revelation. So carefully did he con this, which he thought the most
+glorious of all writings, that at one time he could recite many chapters
+of it word for word. Its marvellous imagery appealed to his imagination
+if it did nothing more, and took such hold upon his mind that no part of
+the Bible, not even the stories that shine like stars through the first
+books of the Old Testament, was more interesting to him.
+
+Not only was Bert's imagination vivid, but his sympathies were also very
+quick and easily aroused. It was scarcely safe to read to him a pathetic
+tale, his tears were so certain to flow. The story of Gellert's hound,
+faithful unto death, well-nigh broke his heart, and that perfect pearl,
+"Rab and His Friends," bedewed his cheeks, although he read it again and
+again until he knew it almost by heart.
+
+No one ever laughed at his tenderness of heart. He was not taught that
+it was unmanly for a boy to weep. It is an easy thing to chill and
+harden an impressionable nature. It is not so easy to soften it again,
+or to bring softness to one that is too hard for its own good.
+
+With such a home, Bert Lloyd could hardly fail to be a happy boy, and no
+one that knew him would ever have thought of him as being anything else.
+He had his dull times, of course. What boy with all his faculties has
+not? And he had his cranky spells, too. But neither the one nor the
+other lasted very long, and the sunshine soon not only broke through the
+clouds, but scattered them altogether. Happy are those natures not given
+to brooding over real or fancied troubles. Gloom never mends matters: it
+can only make them worse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+AN HONOURABLE SCAR.
+
+
+Bert was not learning very much at Mr. Garrison's school. He had some
+glimmering of this himself, for he said to Frank one day, after they had
+returned to their seats from having gone through the form--for really it
+was nothing more--of saying one of their lessons:
+
+"It's mighty easy work getting through lessons at this school, isn't it,
+Shorty?" And Shorty, being of the same opinion, as he had happened not
+to be asked any questions, and, therefore, had not made any mistakes,
+promptly assented.
+
+"That's so, Bert," said he, "and the oftener he asks Munro and you to
+say the whole lesson, and just gives me the go-by, the better I like
+it."
+
+But Bert was not the only one who noticed that his education was not
+making due progress. His father observed it too, and, after some
+thinking on the subject, made up his mind that he would allow Bert to
+finish the spring term at Mr. Garrison's, and then, after the summer
+holidays, send him to some other school.
+
+The winter passed away and spring drew near. Spring is the most dilatory
+and provoking of all the seasons at Halifax. It advances and retreats,
+pauses and progresses, promises and fails to perform, until it really
+seems, sometimes, as though mid-summer would be at hand and no spring at
+all. With the boys it is a particularly trying time of the year. The
+daily increasing heat of the sun has played havoc with the snow and ice,
+and winter sports are out of the question. Yet the snow and ice--or
+rather the slush they make--still lingers on, and renders any kind of
+summer sport impossible. For nearly a month this unsatisfactory state of
+affairs continues, and then, at length, the wet dries up, the frost
+comes out of the ground, the chill leaves the air, and marbles,
+rounders, baseball, and, later on, cricket make glad the hearts and tire
+the legs of the eager boys.
+
+This spring was made memorable for Bert by an occurrence that left its
+mark upon him, lest, perhaps, he might be in danger of forgetting it. In
+front of the large building, in one room of which Mr. Garrison's school
+was held, there was a large open square, known as the Parade. It was a
+bare, stony place kept in order by nobody, and a great resort for the
+roughs of the city, who could there do pretty much what they pleased
+without fear of interruption from the police. On the upper side of this
+square, and over toward the opposite end from Mr. Garrison's, was
+another school, called the National, and having a large number of
+scholars, of a somewhat commoner class than those which attended Mr.
+Garrison's. It need hardly be said that the relations between the two
+schools were, to use a diplomatic phrase, "chronically strained." They
+were always at loggerheads. A Garrison boy could hardly encounter a
+National boy without giving or getting a cuff, a matter determined by
+his size, and riots, on a more or less extensive scale, were continually
+taking place when groups of boys representing the two schools would
+happen to meet.
+
+Bert was neither quarrelsome nor pugnacious by nature. He disliked very
+much being on bad terms with anyone, and could not understand why he
+should regard another boy as his natural enemy simply because he
+happened to go to a different school. More than once he had quite an
+argument with Frank Bowser about it. Frank was always full of fight. He
+hated every National boy as vigorously as though each one had
+individually done him some cruel injury. As sure as a collision took
+place, and Frank was present, he was in the thick of it at once, dealing
+blows right and left with all his might.
+
+In obedience to the dictation of his own nature, strengthened by his
+father's advice, Bert kept out of these squabbles so far as he possibly
+could, and as a natural consequence fell under suspicion of being a
+coward. Even Frank began to wonder if he were not afraid, and if it were
+not this which kept him back from active participation in the rows. He
+said something about it to Bert one day, and it hurt Bert very much.
+
+"I'm not afraid, Shorty; you know well enough I'm not," said he,
+indignantly. "But I'm not going to fight with fellows who never did me
+any harm. It's wrong, that's what it is, and I'm not going to do it. I
+don't care what you say."
+
+"But you ought to chip in sometimes, Bert, or the boys will think that
+you're a coward," urged Frank.
+
+"I can't help it if they do, Shorty," was Bert's unshaken reply. "I
+don't feel like it myself, and, what's more, father doesn't want me to."
+
+The very next day there was a row of unusual dimensions, brought about
+by one of the Garrison boys at the noon recess having started a fight
+with one of the National boys, which almost in a twinkling of an eye
+involved all the boys belonging to both schools then in the Parade. It
+was a lively scene, that would have gladdened the heart of an Irishman
+homesick for the excitement of Donnybrook Fair. There were at least one
+hundred boys engaged, the sides being pretty evenly matched, and the
+battle ground was the centre of the Parade. To drive the other school in
+ignominious flight from this spot was the object of each boyish
+regiment, and locked in hostile embrace, like the players in a football
+match when a "maul" has been formed, they swayed to and fro, now one
+side gaining, now the other, while shouts of "Go in, Nationals!" "Give
+it to them, Garrisons!" mingling with exclamations of anger or pain,
+filled the air.
+
+Bert was not present when the struggle began. In fact, it was well under
+way before he knew anything about it, as he had lingered in the
+schoolroom to ask Mr. Garrison some question after the other boys had
+run out. On going out upon the Parade, he was at first startled by the
+uproar, and then filled with an intense desire to be in the midst of the
+battle. But, remembering his father's injunctions, he paused for a
+moment irresolute. Then he noticed that the National boys were gaining
+the advantage, and the Garrison boys retreating before them. The next
+instant he caught sight of Frank Bowser, who had, of course, been in the
+forefront of the fight, left unsupported by his comrades, and surrounded
+by a circle of threatening opponents. Bert hesitated no longer. With a
+shout of "Come on, boys!" he sprang down the steps, rushed across the
+intervening space, and flung himself into the group around Frank with
+such force that two of the Nationals were hurled to the ground, and
+Frank set at liberty. Inspirited by Bert's gallant onset, the Garrisons
+returned to the charge, the Nationals gave way before them, and Bert was
+just about to raise the shout of victory when a big hulk of a boy who
+had been hovering on the outskirts of the Nationals, too cowardly to
+come to any closer quarter, picked up a stone and threw it with wicked
+force straight at Bert's face. His aim was only too good. With a sharp
+thud, the stone struck Bert on his left temple, just behind the eye, and
+the poor boy fell to the ground insensible.
+
+Instantly the struggle and confusion ceased, but not before Frank, in a
+passion of fury, had dealt Bert's cowardly assailant a blow that sent
+him reeling to the ground, and had then sprung to his friend's side.
+
+"Get a doctor, some fellow," he shouted, holding up the pale, calm face,
+down which the blood was trickling from an ugly wound. "Let's carry him
+into the school!"
+
+A dozen eager volunteers came forward. Carefully and tenderly Bert was
+lifted up, and carried into the schoolroom, which, fortunately, Mr.
+Garrison had not yet left. Placed upon one of the benches, with Frank's
+coat for a pillow, his head was bathed with cold water, and presently he
+revived, much to the relief and delight of the anxious boys standing
+round. A few minutes later the doctor arrived. With quick, deft fingers
+he stanched the wound, covered it with plaster, enveloped it with
+bandages, and then gave directions that Bert should be sent home in a
+cab without delay.
+
+"Why, Bert darling, what does this mean?" exclaimed Mrs. Lloyd, as she
+opened the door for him.
+
+"Ask Frank, mother; my head's aching too bad to tell you," replied
+Bert, putting up his hand with a gesture of pain. And so, while Bert lay
+on the sofa, with his mother close beside him, and Mary preparing him a
+refreshing drink, Frank told the story in his own, rough,
+straightforward fashion, making it all so clear, with the help of a word
+now and then from Bert, that when he ended, Mrs. Lloyd, bending over her
+son, kissed him tenderly on the forehead, saying:
+
+"You know, Bert, how I dislike fighting, but I cannot find it in my
+heart to blame you this time. You acted like a hero."
+
+In this opinion Mr. Lloyd, when he came home, fully concurred. He had
+not a word of blame for Bert, but made the boy's heart glad by telling
+him to always stand by his friends when they were in trouble, and then
+he would never be without friends who would stand by him.
+
+Bert's wound took some time to heal, and when it did heal, a scar
+remained that kept its place for many years after. But he did not suffer
+for nought. The incident was productive of good in two directions. It
+established Bert's character for courage beyond all cavil, and it put an
+end to the unseemly rows between the schools. The two masters held a
+consultation, as a result of which they announced to their schools that
+any boys found taking part in such disturbances in future would be first
+publicly whipped, and then expelled; and this threat put an effectual
+stop to the practice.
+
+The days and weeks slipped by, and the summer vacation, so eagerly
+looked forward to by all schoolboys, arrived. None were more delighted
+at its arrival than Bert and Frank. Their friendship had grown steadily
+stronger from the day of their first acquaintance. They had few
+disagreements. Frank, although the older and larger of the two, let Bert
+take the lead in almost all cases, for Bert had the more active mind,
+and his plans were generally the better. Happily for the serenity of
+their relations, Bert, while he was fond enough of being the leader,
+never undertook to "boss" his companions. If they did not readily fall
+into line with him, why he simply fell into line with them, and that was
+an end of it. His idea of fun did not consist in being an autocrat, and
+ordering others about. He very much preferred that all should work
+together for whatever common purpose happened to be in their minds at
+the time; and thus it was, that of the boys who played together in the
+old fort, and waded in the shallow water that rippled along the sand
+beach at its foot, no one was more popular than Bert Lloyd.
+
+They had fine fun during this summer vacation. Neither Frank nor Bert
+went out of the city, and they played together every day, generally in
+the fort; but sometimes Bert would go with Frank to the Horticultural
+Gardens, where a number of swings made a great attraction for the young
+folk, or down to the point where they would ramble through the woods,
+imagining themselves brave hunters in search of bears, and carrying bows
+and arrows to help out the illusion.
+
+The greatest enjoyment of all, however, was to go out upon the water. Of
+course, they were not allowed to do this by themselves. They were too
+young for that yet, but very often Mr. Lloyd would leave his office
+early in the afternoon in order to take them out in the pretty skiff he
+kept at the fort, or the whole family would spend the long summer
+evenings together on the water.
+
+Bert was at his happiest then. Under his father's directions he was
+vigorously learning to row, and it was very stimulating to have his
+mother and sister as spectators. They took such a lively interest in his
+progress, that he did not mind if they did laugh heartily, but of course
+not unkindly, when sometimes in his eagerness to take an extra big
+stroke he would "catch a crab," and roll over on his back in the bottom
+of the boat, with his feet stuck up like two signals of distress. Bert
+accomplished this a good many times, but it did not discourage him. He
+was up and at it again immediately.
+
+"Don't look at your oar, boys! Don't look at your oar! Keep your faces
+toward the stern," Mr. Lloyd would call out as Bert and Frank tugged
+away manfully, and they, who had been watching their oars to make sure
+that they went into the water just right, would answer "Ay, ay, sir!"
+in true sailor fashion; and then for the next few moments they would
+keep their eyes fixed straight astern, only to bring them back again
+soon to those dripping blades that had such a saucy way of getting
+crooked unless they were well watched.
+
+A more delightful place than Halifax harbour of a fine summer evening
+could hardly be desired. The wind, which had been busy making "white
+caps" all the afternoon, went to rest at sundown. The ruffled waters
+sank into a glassy calm, the broad harbour becoming one vast mirror in
+which the rich hues of the sunset, the long dark lines of the wharves,
+and the tall masts of the ships sleeping at their moorings were
+reflected with many a quaint curve and curious involution. Boats of
+every kind, the broad-bottomed dory, the sharp-bowed flat, the trim
+keel-boat, the long low whaler, with their jolly companies, dotted the
+placid surface, while here and there a noisy steam launch saucily puffed
+its way along, the incessant throb of its engine giving warning of its
+approach. Far up the harbour at their moorings off the dockyard, the
+huge men-of-war formed centres around which the boats gathered in
+numerous squads, for every evening the band would play on board these
+floating castles, and the music never seemed more sweet than when it
+floated out over the still waters. Sometimes, too, after the band had
+ceased, the sailors would gather on the forecastle and sing their songs,
+as only sailors can sing, winning round after round of applause from
+their appreciative audience in the boats.
+
+All of this was very delightful to Bert. So, too, was the paddling about
+on the beach that fringed the bottom of the fort's grassy slope, and the
+making of miniature forts out of the warm, dry sand, only to have them
+dissolve again before the advancing tide. Just as delightful, too, was
+the clambering over the boulders that marked the ruins of an old pier,
+searching for periwinkles, star-fish, and limpets, with never-ceasing
+wonder at the tenacity with which they held on to the rocks. Playing
+thus in the sunshine almost from dawn to dark, Bert grew visibly bigger
+and browner and sturdier, as the days slipped swiftly by.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+A CHANGE OF SCHOOLS.
+
+
+With the coming of September the holidays ended, and the question of
+schools once more was earnestly discussed in the Lloyd household.
+
+"I have quite made up my mind not to send Bert back to Mr. Garrison,"
+said Mr. Lloyd. "He seems to be learning little or nothing there. The
+fact of the matter is, what he does learn, he learns at home, and Mr.
+Garrison simply hears him recite his lessons."
+
+"That's very true," assented Mrs. Lloyd. "I am only too glad to help
+Bert all I can in his studies, but I do not see the propriety of our
+having the greater part of the work of teaching him ourselves when we
+are at the same time paying some one else to do it. Do you, Mary?" she
+added, turning to her daughter.
+
+"No, mother," replied Mary. "I suppose it is not quite fair. Yet I would
+feel sorry if Bert went to a school where everything was done for him,
+and nothing left for us to do. I like to help him. He gets hold of an
+idea so quickly; it is a pleasure to explain anything to him."
+
+"It seems to me that a school where there is a good deal of healthful
+rivalry among the boys would be the best place for Bert. He is very
+ambitious, and eager to be at the top, and in a school of that kind his
+energies would be constantly stimulated," said Mr. Lloyd. "What do you
+think, Kate?" addressing his wife.
+
+"I think that would be very good, indeed," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "But do
+you know of any such school?"
+
+"I have been hearing good accounts of Dr. Johnston's school, and he
+certainly seems to have a great deal of system in his methods, so that I
+am inclined to give him a trial."
+
+"Oh, Dr. Johnston's is a splendid school," spoke up Mary, with
+enthusiasm. "Both of Edie Strong's brothers go there, and I have often
+heard them tell about it. But isn't Bert too young for it yet? He's only
+nine, you know, and they are mostly big boys who go to Dr. Johnston's."
+
+"Not a bit!" said Mr. Lloyd, emphatically. "Not a bit! True, Bert is
+only nine, but he looks more like twelve, and thinks and acts like it,
+too. It will be all the better for him to be with boys a little older
+than himself. He will find it hard to hold his own among them, and that
+will serve to strengthen and develop him."
+
+"Poor little chap!" said Mrs. Lloyd, tenderly. "I expect he will have a
+pretty hard time of it at first. I wish Frank were going with him, for
+he thinks all the world of Bert, and is so much older and bigger that he
+could be a sort of protector for him."
+
+"I'm glad you mentioned Frank, Kate," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd. "You've given
+me an idea. If I decide to send Bert to Dr. Johnston's, I will make a
+point of seeing Mr. Bowser, to ask him if he will not consent to send
+Frank, too. I hardly expect he will make any objection, as it is not
+likely there will be any difference in the expense."
+
+"Oh, I do hope Frank will go, too," cried Mary, clapping her hands. "If
+he does, I shall feel ever so much easier about Bert. Frank is so fond
+of him that he won't let him be abused, if he can help it."
+
+"Very well, then," said Mr. Lloyd, bringing the conversation to a close.
+"I will make some further inquiries about Dr. Johnston's, and if the
+results are satisfactory I will see Mr. Bowser, and do what I can to
+persuade him to let Frank accompany Bert."
+
+A few days after, Mr. Lloyd called Bert to him, while they were all
+sitting in the parlour, just after dinner.
+
+"Come here, Bert," said he. "I want to have a talk with you about going
+to school. You know I don't intend you to go back to Mr. Garrison's.
+Now, where would you like to go yourself?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father," replied Bert. "I don't want to go to the
+Acadian or National school anyway."
+
+"You need not feel troubled on that score. So far as I can learn, they
+are no better than the one you have been going to. But what do you think
+of Dr. Johnston's school? How would you like to become a pupil there?"
+
+"Oh, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up, with a face expressive of both
+surprise and concern, "I'm not big enough for that school. They're all
+big boys that go there."
+
+"But you're a big boy,--for your age, at all events,--Bert," returned
+Mr. Lloyd, with a reassuring smile, "and you'll soon grow to be as big
+as any of them."
+
+"But, father," objected Bert, "they're awfully rough there, and so hard
+on the new fellows. They always hoist them."
+
+"Hoist them?" inquired Mr. Lloyd. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, they hang them up on the fence, and then pound them. It hurts
+awfully. Robbie Simpson told me about it. They hoisted him the first
+day."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Lloyd. "I must say I don't like that, but at the worst
+I suppose you can survive it, just as the others have done. Is there any
+other reason why you wouldn't like to go to Dr. Johnston's?"
+
+"Well, father, you know he has a dreadful strap, most a yard long, and
+he gives the boys dreadful whippings with it."
+
+"Suppose he has, Bert; does he whip the boys who know their lessons, and
+behave properly in school?" asked Mr. Lloyd, with a quizzical glance at
+his son.
+
+Bert laughed. "Of course not, father," said he. "He only whips the bad
+boys."
+
+"Then why should his long strap be an objection, Bert? You don't propose
+to be one of the bad boys, do you?"
+
+"Of course not, father; but I might get a whipping, all the same."
+
+"We'll hope not, Bert; we'll hope not. And now, look here. Would you
+like it any better going to Dr. Johnston's if Frank were to go with
+you?"
+
+"Oh, yes indeed, father," exclaimed Bert, his face lighting up. "If
+Frank goes too, I won't mind it."
+
+"All right then, Bert; I am glad to say that Frank is going, too. I went
+to see his father to-day, and he agreed to let him go, so I suppose we
+may consider the matter settled, and next Monday you two boys will go
+with me to the school." And Mr. Lloyd, evidently well-pleased at having
+reconciled Bert to the idea of the new school, took up his paper, while
+Bert went over to his mother's side to have a talk with her about it.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd felt all a mother's anxiety regarding this new phase of life
+upon which her boy was about to enter. Dr. Johnston's was the largest
+and most renowned school in the city. It was also in a certain sense the
+most aristocratic. Its master charged high rates, which only well-to-do
+people could afford, and as a consequence the sons of the wealthiest
+citizens attended his school. Because of this, it was what would be
+called select; and just in that very fact lay one of the dangers Mrs.
+Lloyd most dreaded. Rich men's sons may be select from a social point of
+view, but they are apt to be quite the reverse from the moral
+standpoint. Frank Bowser, with all his clumsiness and lack of good
+manners, would be a far safer companion than Dick Wilding, the graceful,
+easy-mannered heir of the prosperous bank president.
+
+On the other hand, the school was undoubtedly the best in the city. A
+long line of masters had handed down from one to the other its fame as a
+home of the classics and mathematics with unimpaired lustre. At no other
+school could such excellent preparation for the university be obtained,
+and Bert in due time was to go to the university. Many a long and
+serious talk had Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd over the matter. True, they had
+great confidence in their boy, and in the principles according to which
+they had sought to bring him up. But then he was their only boy, and if
+their confidence should perchance be found to have been misplaced, how
+could the damage be repaired? Ah! well, they could, after all, only do
+their best, and leave the issue with God. They could not always be
+Bert's shields. He must learn to fight his own battles, and it was as
+well for him to begin now, and at Dr. Johnston's school.
+
+Bert himself took quite a serious view of the matter, too. He was a more
+than ordinarily thoughtful boy, and the prospect of going to Dr.
+Johnston's made his brain very busy. While the school was not without
+its attractions for him, there were many reasons why he shrank from
+going to it. The most of the boys were, as he knew from often seeing
+them when on his way to and from Mr. Garrison's, older and bigger than
+himself, and, still worse, they were strangers to him with one or two
+exceptions. Of course, since Frank was to go with him, he would not mind
+that so much, but it counted for a good deal, notwithstanding.
+
+Then he had heard startling stories of Dr. Johnston's severity; of his
+keeping boys in after school for a whole afternoon; of the tremendous
+whippings he gave with that terrible strap of his, the tails of which
+had, according to popular rumour, been first soaked in vinegar, and then
+studded with small shot; of the rigorous care with which the lessons
+were heard, every boy in the class having to show that he was well
+prepared, or to take the consequences. These, and other stories which
+had reached Bert's ears, now perturbed him greatly.
+
+At the same time, he had no idea of drawing back, and pleading with his
+father to send him somewhere else. He saw clearly enough that both his
+father and mother had quite made up their minds that it would be the
+best thing for him, and he knew better than to trouble them with vain
+protests. He found his sister an inexpressible comfort at this time. He
+confided in her unreservedly, and her sweet, serene, trustful way of
+looking at things cleared away many a difficulty for him. It was easy to
+look at the bright side of affairs with Mary as an adviser, and the more
+Bert talked with her, the more encouraged he became. It was a happy
+coincidence, that on the Sunday preceding Bert's entrance into Dr.
+Johnston's school, the lesson for the Sabbath school should contain
+these ringing words: "Quit you like men; be strong." Mr. Silver had much
+to say about them to his class:
+
+"Only six simple words of one syllable each, boys," said he, as he
+gathered his scholars close about his chair, "but they mean a great
+deal. And yet, we do not need to look into some wise old commentator to
+tell us just what they do mean, for we can all understand them
+ourselves. They are not intended solely for grown-up people, either.
+They are for boys just like you. Now, let us look into them a bit. 'Quit
+you like men.' What kind of men, Bert? Any kind at all, or some
+particular kind?"
+
+"Like good men, of course," replied Bert, promptly.
+
+"Yes, Bert, that's right. And what does it mean to quit yourself like a
+good man?" asked Mr. Silver, again.
+
+"To be always manly, and not be a baby," answered Walter Thomson, with a
+vigour that brought a smile to Mr. Silver's face.
+
+"Right you are, Walter; but is that all?"
+
+"No," said Will Murray, "it means to do only what is right."
+
+"That's it, Will. To be always manly, and to do only what is right. Now,
+boys, do you know that you are very apt to confuse these two things, and
+by forming mistaken notions as to what constitutes the first, you fail
+to do the second? Many boys think that it is manly to swear, to use
+tobacco, to be out late at night hanging round the street corners, and
+so they do all these things, although they are not right things to do.
+Have they the right ideas of manliness, boys?"
+
+"No, sir; no, sir," answered the thoroughly interested class, in full
+chorus.
+
+"No, indeed, boys, they have not," continued Mr. Silver. "There is over
+a hundred times more manliness in refusing to form those bad habits than
+in yielding to them. And that is just the kind of manliness I want all
+the boys of my class to have. 'Quit you like men,' boys, and then, 'be
+strong.' What does that mean?"
+
+"To keep up your muscle," spoke out Frank, much to the surprise of
+everybody, for, although he listened attentively enough, he very rarely
+opened his mouth in the class.
+
+Mr. Silver smiled. It was not just the answer he wanted, but he would
+not discourage Frank by saying so.
+
+"That's part of the answer, but not quite the whole of it," he said,
+after a pause. "It's a good thing for boys to keep up their muscle. God
+wants what is best in this world, and we can often serve Him with our
+muscle as well as with our minds. If Samson and Gideon and David had not
+been men of muscle, they could not have done such grand work for God as
+they did. I like to see a boy with legs and arms 'as hard as nails,' as
+they say. But the words 'be strong' here mean more than that, don't
+they, Bert?"
+
+"They mean to be strong in resisting temptation, don't they, Mr.
+Silver?" replied Bert.
+
+"Yes; that's just it. Quit you like men--be manly, and be strong to
+resist temptation. Now, boys, some people think that young chaps like
+you don't have many temptations. That you have to wait until you grow up
+for that. But it's a tremendous mistake, isn't it? You all have your
+temptations, and lots of them, too. And they are not all alike, by any
+means, either. Every boy has his own peculiar difficulties, and finds
+his own obstacles in the way of right doing. But the cure is the same in
+all cases. It is to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
+might. That is the best way of all in which to be strong, boys. When the
+Philistines were hard pressed by the Israelites, they said one to
+another, 'Be strong and quit yourselves like men ... quit yourselves
+like men, and fight.' And they fought so well that Israel was smitten
+before them, and the ark of God was taken. And so, boys, whenever, at
+home, at school, or at play, you feel tempted to do what is wrong, I ask
+you to remember these words, 'Quit yourselves like men, be strong, and
+fight.' If you do, so sure as there is a God in heaven who loves you
+all, you will come off conquerors."
+
+Mr. Silver's words made a deep impression upon Bert. The great ambition
+of his boyish heart was to be esteemed manly. Nor was he entirely free
+from the mistaken notions about manliness to which his teacher had
+referred. He had more than once been sneered at, by some of the boys at
+Mr. Garrison's, for refusing to do what seemed to him wrong. They had
+called him "Softy," and hinted at his being tied to his mother's
+apron-strings. Then, big, coarse Bob Brandon, always on the look-out to
+vent his spite, had nicknamed him "Sugar-mouth" one day, because he had
+exclaimed to one of the boys who was pouring out oaths:
+
+"Oh, Tom! how can you swear so? Don't you know how wicked it is to take
+God's name in vain?"
+
+These and other incidents like them had troubled Bert a good deal. He
+dreaded being thought a "softy," and had even at times felt a kind of
+envy of the boys whose consciences did not trouble them if they swore,
+or indulged in sly smokes, or defiled their mouths with filthy quids.
+Mr. Silver's words now came in good time to give a changed current to
+these thoughts. They presented to his mind a very different idea of
+manliness from the confused conception which had been his hitherto.
+
+"That's a good motto for a fellow, Shorty," said he, as the two friends
+walked home together from the school. "Mother asked me the other day to
+take a text for a motto. I think I'll take 'Quit you like men, be
+strong.'"
+
+"I think I will, too, Bert," said Frank. "It's no harm if we have the
+same one, is it?"
+
+"Why no, of course not," answered Bert. "We'll both have the same, and
+then we'll help one another all we can to do what it says."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S.
+
+
+It was a fine, bright September morning when Mr. Lloyd, with Bert on one
+side of him and Frank on the other--for Frank had come down, so that he
+might go with Bert--made his way to Dr. Johnston's school. The school
+occupied a historic old building, whose weather-beaten front faced one
+of the principal streets of the city. This building had in times long
+past been the abode of the governor of the province, and sadly as it had
+degenerated in appearance, it still retained a certain dignity, and air
+of faded grandeur, that strongly suggested its having once been applied
+to a more exalted use than the housing of a hundred boys for certain
+hours of the day. So spacious was it, that Dr. Johnston found ample room
+for his family in one half, while the other half was devoted to the
+purposes of the school. At the rear, a cluster of shabby outbuildings
+led to a long narrow yard where tufts of rank, coarse grass, and bunches
+of burdocks struggled hard to maintain their existence in spite of
+fearful odds.
+
+The boys' hearts were throbbing violently as Mr. Lloyd rang the bell.
+The door was opened readily by a boy, who was glad of the excuse to
+leave his seat, and he entered the schoolroom, followed by his charges.
+The room was long, narrow, and low-ceilinged, and was divided into two
+unequal portions by a great chimney, on either side of which a passage
+had been left. At the farther end, occupying the central space between
+two windows, was the doctor's desk, or throne it might more properly be
+called; for never did autocrat wield more unquestioned authority over
+his subjects than did Dr. Johnston over the hundred and odd scholars who
+composed his school. In front of him, running down the centre of the
+room, and on either hand, following the walls, were long lines of desks,
+at which sat boys of all sorts, and of all ages, from ten to eighteen.
+As Mr. Lloyd entered, those nearest the door looked up, and seeing the
+new-comers, proceeded to stare at them with a frank curiosity that made
+Bert feel as though he would like to hide in one of his father's
+coat-tail pockets.
+
+They turned away pretty quickly, however, when Dr. Johnston, leaving his
+desk, came down to meet Mr. Lloyd, and as he passed between the lines,
+every head was bent as busily over the book or slate before it, as
+though its attention had never been distracted.
+
+Considering that Dr. Johnston was really a small, slight man, it was
+surprising what an idea of stately dignity his appearance conveyed. He
+could hardly have impressed Bert with a deeper feeling of respect from
+the outset, if he had been seven feet high, instead of only a little
+more than five. He was a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, and wore at
+all times a long black gown, reaching nearly to his ankles, which set
+off to the best advantage the spare, straight figure, and strong dark
+face. The habitual expression of that face when in repose was of
+thoughtful severity, and yet if one did but scan it closely enough, the
+stern mouth was seen to have a downward turn at its corners that hinted
+at a vein of humour lying hid somewhere. The hint was well-sustained,
+for underneath all his sternness and severity the doctor concealed a
+playful humour, that at times came to the surface, and gratefully
+relieved his ordinary grimness.
+
+As he walked down from his desk to meet Mr. Lloyd, he looked very
+pleasant indeed; and Bert felt his nervousness a little calmed as,
+holding out his thin, white and yet muscular hand, Dr. Johnston said,
+cordially:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I presume these are the two boys you spoke to
+me about."
+
+"They are, Dr. Johnston," Mr. Lloyd replied. "I brought them in good
+time so that they might learn as much as possible about the ways of the
+school the first day."
+
+"You did well, Mr. Lloyd. It is important to have a good beginning in
+everything that is worth doing," said the doctor; then, turning to
+Bert, he slipped his hand under his chin, and lifting his head so that
+he might look him full in the face, added, with a smile, "I need hardly
+ask which of these boys is yours, for this one betrays his paternity in
+every feature."
+
+"You have hit the mark, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling in his turn.
+"This is my son Cuthbert, at your service, and this is Frank Bowser, his
+inseparable companion."
+
+"Quite a case of Damon and Pythias, eh?" said the doctor, whose devotion
+to the classics was such that his one great regret was that he had not
+lived in the time of Horace.
+
+"Yes, something of the kind," rejoined Mr. Lloyd; "and I would be very
+glad if you could manage to let them sit together so long as they behave
+themselves."
+
+"We'll see, we'll see," was the doctor's non-committal response.
+
+"Very well, then, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, turning to leave. "I'll hand
+them over to you now. I am sure you will make the best of them, and that
+I am leaving them in very good hands. Good-bye, boys." And then, bending
+down, he whispered in Bert's ear, "Remember--quit you like men--be
+strong," and then left them.
+
+As Mr. Lloyd disappeared through the door, the air of geniality the
+doctor had been wearing during the brief interview vanished from his
+countenance, and it relapsed into its wonted look of resigned severity.
+
+"Lloyd and Bowser, come with me to my desk," said he, turning his back
+upon them, and walking down the room. The boys followed very meekly, and
+on arriving at the desk the doctor entered their names in a huge book
+that lay open before him, using an old-fashioned quill pen that
+scratched so harshly as to send a shudder through Bert, who was very
+sensitive to such things.
+
+"We will now see about seats for you both," continued the doctor. Then,
+raising his voice, he called out, "Mr. Snelling, will you please come
+here," and from the far end of the room a respectful voice responded
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Looking in the direction whence the voice came, Bert saw an odd-looking
+man approaching, who, of course, was Mr. Snelling. He was of medium
+height, but quite as slight as the doctor himself. Many years at the
+schoolmaster's desk had given a stoop to his shoulders and a pallor to
+his face, that were in marked contrast to his chief's erect figure and
+swarthy countenance. But if his face was pale, his hair made a brave
+attempt to atone for this lack of colour, for it was the richest, most
+uncompromising red; and as though he delighted in its warm tints, Mr.
+Snelling allowed it to grow in uncropped abundance, and his favourite
+gesture was to thrust his fingers through its tangled mass. Beneath a
+white and narrow forehead were two small sharp eyes, that peered out
+keenly through a pair of gold-bowed spectacles, and were ever on the
+watch to detect the slightest misbehaviour among the urchins gathered
+around him.
+
+Bert's first impression of Mr. Snelling was not a favourable one, and as
+he stood by and heard Dr. Johnston say: "Mr. Snelling, here are two more
+pupils. This is Lloyd, and this is Bowser. They will go into your room
+for the present. Will you please see that desks are assigned them?"--he
+thought to himself that in spite of the doctor's grim appearance he
+would rather stay in his room than be handed over to Mr. Snelling.
+
+However, he was not to be consulted in the matter, so he followed in the
+wake of Mr. Snelling, who, by the way, it should be explained, was the
+assistant master, having special charge of all the younger scholars, and
+the drilling of them in the English branches of learning. The classics
+and mathematics the doctor reserved for himself, and a better teacher of
+the former particularly there was not in all Halifax.
+
+Mr. Snelling's portion of the room differed from the doctor's only in
+that it was not so well lighted and the seats were not quite so
+comfortable. The school being pretty full at the time, the securing of
+seats for the two new-comers required some rearranging, in the course of
+which changes had to be made that evidently did not by any means meet
+with the approbation of those who were immediately concerned; and
+Bert's spirits, already at a low ebb, were not much elevated by sundry
+scowling looks directed at him, and by one red-faced, irritable-looking
+chap seizing the opportunity when Mr. Snelling's back was turned to
+shake his fist at Bert and Frank, and mutter loudly enough for them to
+hear:
+
+"I'll punch the heads of you both at recess, see if I don't."
+
+At length, with some little difficulty, Mr. Snelling got matters
+arranged, and the two boys were placed in the farthest corner of the
+room, and, to their profound delight, side by side. Their accommodations
+were the reverse of luxurious. A wooden bench, destitute of back, and
+shiny from the friction of dear knows how many restless sitters; a
+sloping desk, cut and carved by careless knives, and having underneath
+an open shelf upon which the books, slate, cap, and lunch might be
+put--that was the sum total. Yet, after all, what more do schoolboys
+really need, or can be safely intrusted with?
+
+Feeling very strange and nervous, Bert and Frank took their seats, and
+slipping their caps under the desk--they were both wearing that
+serviceable form of headgear known as the Glengarry--they did their best
+to seem composed, and to take in their surroundings. The gaunt, unlovely
+room was soon inspected, and from it they turned their attention to its
+occupants. Mr. Snelling has already been described. To the left of his
+desk, and extending row upon row, one behind the other, were desks
+filled with boys of different ages and sizes. In front of him was an
+open space, in which the classes stood when reciting lessons to him, and
+across this space was another line of desks placed close to the wall,
+which were assigned to the oldest boys in the room.
+
+Not a familiar or friendly face could the new-comers find, but instead,
+they saw many that seemed to take pleasure in making them feel, if
+possible, still more ill at ease, by fixing upon them a cold,
+indifferent stare, or even an ugly grimace. The only ray of light was
+that which came from the sweet countenance of a blue-eyed, fair-haired
+boy, who, catching Bert's eye, nodded pleasantly at him, as though to
+say, "I'm glad you've come; make yourself at home." And Bert resolved
+that he would make his acquaintance at the very first opportunity.
+
+Having nothing to do but watch the other boys as they studied and
+recited, the morning dragged along very slowly for Bert and Frank, and
+they were immensely relieved when the noon recess was announced, and the
+whole school poured tumultuously out into either the yard or the street,
+according to their preference. The majority of the boys went into the
+street, and the two friends followed them, feeling not a little anxious
+as to what sort of treatment they might expect at the hands of their new
+companions. As it proved, however, they had nothing to fear, for it was
+an unwritten law of the Johnston school, that new boys should be left
+in peace for the first day; and accordingly Frank and Bert were
+permitted to stand about and watch the others enjoying themselves
+without interruption. No one asked them to join in the games, although,
+no doubt, had they done so of their own accord, no one would have
+objected. After they had been there a few minutes, Bert heard a soft
+voice behind him saying:
+
+"It's horrid to be a new boy, isn't it? When I was a new boy I felt so
+frightened. Do you feel frightened?" And turning round he saw beside him
+the blue-eyed, fair-haired boy whose pleasant face had attracted his
+attention in the school.
+
+"I don't think I feel just frightened," he answered, with a smile. "But
+I can't say I feel very much at home yet."
+
+"Oh, my! But it will be very much worse to-morrow," said the new
+acquaintance.
+
+"And why will it be worse?" inquired Bert, eagerly.
+
+"Because they'll hoist you," said the other, with a nervous glance
+around, as though he feared being overheard.
+
+"Does it hurt dreadfully to be hoisted?" asked Bert, while Frank drew
+near, awaiting the reply with intense interest.
+
+"Oh, yes; it does hurt dreadfully! But"--with a more cheerful air--"you
+get over it after a little while, you know."
+
+"Well, then, I guess I can stand it. If you got over it all right, so
+can I," spoke up Bert, manfully; then, turning to Frank, "And you can,
+too, can't you, Shorty?"
+
+Frank shook his head doubtfully. "I _can_ all right enough, but I don't
+know that I _will_. I've a mind to give them a fight for it, anyhow."
+
+"Not a bit of use," said the blue-eyed boy, whose name, by the way, as
+he presently told the others, was Ernest Linton. "Not a bit of use.
+They'll only beat you the harder if you fight."
+
+"We'll see," said Frank, with a determined air. "We'll see when the time
+comes."
+
+Bert and Frank found Ernest a very bright and useful friend, and they
+had so many questions to ask him that they were very sorry when the
+ringing of a bell summoned them back to their seats, where they were
+kept until three o'clock in the afternoon, when school was over for the
+day.
+
+At home that evening Bert recounted his experiences to three very
+attentive listeners, and his face grew very grave when he came to tell
+what Ernest had said about the "hoisting." Having never witnessed a
+performance of this peculiar rite by which for many years it had been
+the custom of the school to initiate new members, Bert had no very clear
+ideas about it, and, of course, thought it all the more dreadful on that
+account. But his father cheered him a great deal by the view he took of
+it.
+
+"See, now, Bert," said he. "It's just this way. Every boy in Dr.
+Johnston's school has been hoisted, and none of them, I suppose, are any
+the worse for it. Neither will you be. Take my advice and don't resist.
+Let the boys have it all their own way, and they'll like you all the
+better, and let you off all the easier."
+
+"Very well, father, I'll do just as you say," responded Bert. "And when
+I come home to-morrow afternoon I'll tell you all about it." And feeling
+in much better spirits than he had been in all day, Bert went off to
+bed, and to sleep, as only a tired schoolboy in sturdy health can
+sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE HOISTING.
+
+
+Mrs. Lloyd gave Bert a more than usually affectionate kiss as he started
+off for school next morning, and his father called after him:
+
+"Remember, Bert, quit you like a man."
+
+Yet who could blame the little fellow if his heart throbbed with
+unwonted vigour all that morning, and that he watched the clock's hands
+anxiously as they crept slowly, but steadily, round the dial, yellow
+with age and service.
+
+Frank had adopted an unconcerned, if not defiant air, which told plainly
+enough that he had no idea of submitting quietly to the inevitable
+ordeal. He was a born fighter. Strength, endurance, courage were
+expressed in every line of his body. Indeed, as was seen in the matter
+of the rows between the Garrison and the National boys, he thought a
+good lively tussle to be fine fun, and never missed a chance of having
+one.
+
+The two boys were carefully examined by both Dr. Johnston and Mr.
+Snelling as to the extent of their learning in the course of the
+morning, and assigned to classes accordingly. They were given the same
+work: English grammar and history, arithmetic, geography, Latin grammar,
+&c., and a list given them of the books they would need to procure. They
+were glad to find themselves in the same classes with Ernest Linton, who
+had been only half-a-year at the school before them, for he seemed such
+a kind, willing, obliging little chap that they both became fond of him
+at once.
+
+When recess came he slipped up to Bert and whispered in his ear:
+
+"Stay in school, and then they can't get at you. Mr. Snelling always
+stays, and they daren't come in for you."
+
+"Not a bit of it," said Bert, emphatically. "The sooner it's over the
+better. Come along, Shorty." And they marched bravely out, with Ernest
+following closely behind.
+
+As they stepped into the street, they found fifty or more of the boys
+gathered about the door, evidently awaiting them. Instantly the cry was
+raised, "The new boys--hoist them! hoist them!" And half-a-dozen hands
+were laid upon Bert, who led the van, while others seized Frank to
+prevent his running away. Bert made no resistance. Neither did Frank,
+when he saw that his time had not yet come, as they were going to hoist
+Bert first. Clinching his fists, and hunching his shoulders in readiness
+for a struggle, he stood in silence watching Bert's fate.
+
+What that would be was not long a matter of uncertainty. In the midst of
+a noisy rabble of boys, many of whom were larger, and all older than
+himself, he was borne along to the foot of the high fence that shut in
+the yard which, as already described, was at the back of the school
+building. Perched on top of this fence, and leaning down with
+outstretched arms, were four of the largest lads, shouting at the top of
+their voices, "Bring him along; hoist him up, hoist him!" The
+unresisting Bert was brought underneath this quartette, and then his
+hands were lifted up until they could grasp them in their own. So soon
+as this was done, a pull all together on their part hoisted him up from
+the ground, three feet at least, and then his legs were seized, lest he
+should be tempted to kick. The next moment, as perfectly helpless, and
+looking not unlike a hawk nailed to a barn-door by way of warning to
+kindred robbers, Bert hung there, doing his best to keep a smile on his
+face, but in reality half frightened to death. The whole crowd then
+precipitated themselves upon him, and with tight-shut fists proceeded to
+pummel any part of his body they could reach. Their blows were dealt in
+good earnest, and not merely for fun, and they hurt just as much as one
+might expect. Poor Bert winced, and quivered, and squirmed, but not a
+cry escaped from his close-set lips. The one thought in his mind was,
+"Quit you like men," and so buoyed up by it was he, that had the blows
+been as hard again as they were, it is doubtful if his resolution to
+bear them in silence would have faltered.
+
+He did not know how long he hung there. It seemed to him like hours. It
+probably was not longer than a minute. But, oh! the glad relief with
+which he heard one of the leaders call out:
+
+"That's enough, fellows; let him down. He stood it like a brick."
+
+The blows ceased at once; those holding his hands swung him a couple of
+times along the fence after the manner of a pendulum, and then dropped
+him to the ground, where he was surrounded by his late persecutors, who
+now, looking pleasant enough, proceeded to clap him on the back, and
+tell him very emphatically that he was "a plucky little chap"; "one of
+the right sort"; "true grit," and so forth.
+
+Feeling sore and strained, from his neck to his heels, Bert would have
+been glad to slip away into some corner and have a good cry, just to
+relieve his suppressed emotions; but as he tried to separate himself
+from the throng about him, he heard the shout of "Hoist him! Hoist him!"
+again raised, and saw the leaders in this strange sport bear down upon
+Frank Bowser, who, still in the hands of his first captors had looked on
+at Bert's ordeal with rapidly rising anger.
+
+The instant Frank heard the shout, he broke loose from those who held
+him, and springing up a flight of steps near by, stood facing his
+pursuers with an expression upon his countenance that looked ill for the
+first that should attempt to touch him. A little daunted by his
+unexpected action, the boys paused for a moment, and then swarmed about
+the steps. One of the largest rushed forward to seize Frank, but with a
+quick movement the latter dodged him, and then by a sudden charge sent
+him tumbling down the steps into the arms of the others. But the
+advantage was only momentary. In another minute he was surrounded and
+borne down the steps despite his resistance.
+
+The struggle that ensued was really heroic--on Frank's part, at all
+events. Although so absurdly outnumbered, he fought desperately, not
+with blows, but with sheer strength of arm and leg, straining to the
+utmost every muscle in his sturdy frame. Indeed, so tremendous were his
+efforts, that for a time it seemed as if they would succeed in freeing
+him. But the might of numbers prevailed at length, and, after some
+minutes' further struggling, he was hoisted in due form, and pounded
+until the boys were fairly weary.
+
+When they let him go, Frank adjusted his clothes, which had been much
+disordered in the conflict, took his cap from the hands of a little
+chap, by whom it had thoughtfully been picked up for him, and with
+furious flaming face went over to Bert, who had been a spectator of his
+friend's gallant struggle with mingled feelings of admiration for his
+courage and regret at his obstinacy.
+
+"They beat me, but I made them sweat for it," said he. "I wasn't going
+to let them have their own way with me, even if you did."
+
+"You might just as well have given in first as last," replied Bert.
+
+"But I didn't give in," asserted Frank. "That's just the point. They
+were too many for me, of course, and I couldn't help myself at last, but
+I held out as long as I could."
+
+"Anyway, it's over now," said Bert, "and it won't bother us any more.
+But there's one thing I've made up my mind to: I'm not going to have
+anything to do with hoisting other new boys. I don't like it, and I
+won't do it."
+
+"No more will I, Bert," said Frank. "It's a mean business; a whole crowd
+of fellows turning on one and beating him like that."
+
+Just then the bell rang, and all the boys poured back into the
+schoolroom for the afternoon session.
+
+Each in his own way, Bert and Frank had made a decidedly favourable
+impression upon their schoolmates. No one mistook Bert's passive
+endurance for cowardice. His bearing had been too brave and bright for
+that. Neither did Frank's vigorous resistance arouse any ill-feeling
+against him. Boys are odd creatures. They heartily admire and applaud
+the fiery, reckless fellow, who takes no thought for the consequences,
+and yet they thoroughly appreciate the quiet, cool self-command of the
+one who does not move until he knows just what he is going to do. And so
+they were well pleased with both the friends, and quite ready to admit
+them into the full fellowship of the school.
+
+The Lloyds were greatly interested by Bert's account of the hoisting.
+They praised him for his self-control, and Frank for his plucky fight
+against such odds, and they fully agreed with Bert that hoisting was a
+poor business at best, and that he would be doing right to have nothing
+to do with it.
+
+"Perhaps some day or other you'll be able to have it put a stop to,
+Bert," said his mother, patting his head fondly. "It would make me very
+proud if my boy were to become a reformer before he leaves school."
+
+"I'm afraid there's not much chance of that, mother," answered Bert.
+"The boys have been hoisting the new chaps for ever so many years, and
+Dr. Johnston has never stopped them."
+
+That was true. Although he feigned to know nothing about it, the doctor
+was well aware of the existence of this practice peculiar to his school,
+but he never thought of interfering with the boys. It was a cardinal
+principle with him that the boys should be left pretty much to
+themselves at recess. So long as they did their duty during the school
+hours, they could do as they pleased during the play hour. Moreover, he
+was a great admirer of manliness in his boys. He would have been glad to
+find in everyone of them the stoical indifference to pain of the
+traditional Indian. Consequently, fair stand-up fights were winked at,
+and anything like tattling or tale-bearing sternly discouraged. He had
+an original method of expressing his disapprobation of the latter, which
+will be illustrated further on. Holding those views, therefore, he was
+not likely to put his veto upon "hoisting."
+
+As the days went by, Bert rapidly mastered the ways of the school, and
+made many friends among his schoolmates. He found the lessons a good
+deal harder than they had been at Mr. Garrison's. And not only so, but
+the method of hearing them was so thorough that it was next to
+impossible for a boy who had come ill-prepared to escape detection. Dr.
+Johnston did not simply hear the lesson; he examined his scholars upon
+it, and nothing short of full acquaintance with it would content him. He
+had an original system of keeping the school record, which puzzled Bert
+very much, and took him a good while to understand.
+
+On the doctor's desk lay a large book, something like a business ledger.
+One page was devoted to each day. At the left side of the page was the
+column containing the boys' names, arranged in order of seniority, the
+boy who had been longest in the school being at the head, and the last
+new boy at the foot. Each boy had a line to himself, running out to the
+end of the page, and these parallel lines were crossed by vertical ones,
+ruled from the top to the bottom of the page, and having at the top the
+names of all the different classes; so that the page when ready for its
+entries resembled very much a checker board, only that the squares were
+very small, and exceedingly numerous. Just how these squares, thus
+standing opposite each name, should be filled, depended upon the
+behaviour of the owner of that name, and his knowledge of his lessons.
+
+If Bert, for instance, recited his grammar lesson without a slip, the
+letter B--standing for _bene_, well--was put in the grammar column. If
+he made one mistake, the entry was V B, _vix bene_--scarcely well; if
+two mistakes, Med, _mediocriter_--middling; and if three, M,
+_male_--badly, equivalent to not knowing it at all. The same system
+prevailed for all the lessons, and in a modified form for the behaviour
+or deportment also. As regards behaviour, the arrangement was one bad
+mark for each offence, the first constituting a V B, the second a Med,
+the third an M, and the fourth a P, the most ominous letter of all,
+standing, as it did, for _pessime_--as bad as possible--and one might
+also say for punishment also; as whoever got a P thereby earned a
+whipping with that long strap, concerning which Bert had heard such
+alarming stories.
+
+It will be seen that, by following out the line upon which each boy's
+name stood, his complete record as a scholar could be seen, and upon
+this record the doctor based the award of prizes at the close of the
+term. For he was a firm believer in the benefits of prize-giving, and
+every half-year, on the day before the holidays, a bookcase full of fine
+books, each duly inscribed, was distributed among those who had come out
+at the head in the different classes, or distinguished themselves by
+constant good behaviour.
+
+Once that Bert fully understood the purpose of this daily record, and
+the principle upon which the prize-giving was based, he determined to be
+among the prize winners at the end of the term. His ambition was fired
+by what the older boys told him of the beautiful books awarded, and the
+honour it was to get one of them. He knew that he could not please his
+father or mother better than by being on the prize list, and so he
+applied himself to his lessons with a vigour and fidelity that soon
+brought him to the notice of the observant doctor.
+
+"I am glad to see you taking so much interest in your work," said he one
+morning, pausing, in his round of inspection, to lay his hand kindly
+upon Bert's shoulder as the latter bent over his slate, working out a
+problem in proportion. "A good beginning is a very important thing."
+
+Bert blushed to the roots of his hair at this unexpected and, indeed,
+unusual compliment from the grim master, who, before the boy could
+frame any reply, passed out of hearing.
+
+"We'll do our best, won't we, Shorty?" said Bert, turning to his friend
+beside him.
+
+"I suppose so," answered Frank, in rather a doubtful tone. "But your
+best will be a good deal better than mine. The lessons are just awful
+hard; it's no use talking."
+
+"They are hard, Shorty, and no mistake. But you'll get used to them all
+right," rejoined Bert, cheerfully.
+
+"I guess I'll get used to being kept in and getting whipped, first,"
+grumbled Frank.
+
+"Not a bit of it," Bert insisted. "You just stick at them and you'll
+come out all right."
+
+The fact of the matter was, that poor Frank did find the lessons a
+little more than he could manage, and there were a good many more "V
+B's" and "Med's" opposite his name than "B's." He was a restless sort of
+a chap, moreover, and noisy in his movements, thus often causing Mr.
+Snelling to look at him, and call out sharply:
+
+"Bowser, what are you doing there?" And Frank would instantly reply, in
+a tone of indignant innocence:
+
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+Whereupon Mr. Snelling would turn to Dr. Johnston, with the request:
+
+"Will you please put a mark to Bowser for doing nothing, sir?" And down
+would go the black mark against poor Bowser, who, often as this
+happened, seemed unable ever to learn to avoid that fatal reply:
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+SCHOOL EXPERIENCES.
+
+
+By the time autumn had made way for winter, Bert felt thoroughly at home
+at Dr. Johnston's, and was just about as happy a boy as attended this
+renowned institution. In spite of the profound awe the doctor inspired,
+he ventured to cherish toward him a feeling of love as well as of
+respect; and although Mr. Snelling did not exactly inspire awe, nor even
+much respect, he managed to like him not a little also. As for the
+boys--well, there were all sorts and conditions of them; good, bad, and
+indifferent; boys who thought it very fine and manly to smoke, and
+swear, and swap improper stories, and boys who seemed as if they would
+have been more appropriately dressed in girls' clothes, so lacking were
+they in true manly qualities; while between these two extremes came in
+the great majority, among whom Bert easily found plenty of bright,
+wholesome companions.
+
+There were some odd chaps at the school, with whose peculiarities Bert
+would amuse the home circle very much, as he described them in his own
+graphic way. There was Bob Mackasey, called by his companions, "Taffy
+the Welshman," because he applied the money given him by his mother
+every morning to get some lunch with, to the purchase of taffy; which
+toothsome product he easily bartered off for more sandwiches and cakes
+than could have been bought for ten cents, thus filling his own stomach
+at a very slight cost to his far-seeing mother.
+
+A big fat fellow in knickerbockers, by name Harry Rawdon, the son of an
+officer in the English army, had attained a peculiar kind of notoriety
+in the school, by catching flies and bottling them.
+
+Then there was Larry Saunders, the dandy of the school, although
+undoubtedly one of the very plainest boys in it, who kept a tiny square
+of looking-glass in his desk, and would carefully arrange his toilet
+before leaving the school in the afternoon, to saunter up and down the
+principal street of the city, doing his best to be captivating.
+
+Two hot-tempered, pugnacious chaps, by name Bob Morley and Fred Short,
+afforded great amusement by the ease with which they could be set at
+punching one another. It was only necessary for some one to take Bob
+Morley aside and whisper meaningly that Fred Short had been calling him
+names behind his back, or something of that sort equally aggravating, to
+put him in fighting humour. Forthwith, he would challenge Master Fred in
+the orthodox way--that is, he would take up a chip, spit on it, and toss
+it over his shoulder. Without a moment's hesitation, Fred would accept
+the challenge, and then the two would be at it, hammer and tongs,
+fighting vigorously until they were separated by the originators of the
+mischief, when they thought they had had enough of it. They were very
+evenly matched, and as a matter of fact did not do one another much
+harm; but the joke of the thing was that they never seemed to suspect
+how they were being made tools of by the other boys, who always enjoyed
+these duels immensely.
+
+Another character, and a very lovable one this time, was a nephew of the
+doctor's, Will Johnston by name, but universally called "Teter," an odd
+nickname, the reason of which he did not seem to understand himself.
+This Teter was one of those good-natured, obliging, reckless,
+happy-go-lucky individuals who never fail to win the love of boys. His
+generosity was equalled only by his improvidence, and both were
+surpassed by his good luck.
+
+Bert conceived a great admiration for Teter Johnston. His undaunted
+courage, as exhibited in snowball fights, when, with only a handful of
+followers he would charge upon the rest of the school, and generally put
+them to flight; his reckless enterprise and amazing luck at marbles and
+other games; his constant championing of the small boys when tormented
+by the larger ones, more than one bully having had a tremendous
+thrashing at his hands;--these were very shining qualities in Bert's
+eyes, and they fascinated him so, that if "fagging" had been permitted
+at Dr. Johnston's, Bert would have deemed it not a hardship, but an
+honour, to have been Teter's "fag."
+
+In strong contrast to his admiration for Teter Johnston was his
+antipathy to Rod Graham. Rod was both a sneak and a bully. It was in his
+character as a sneak that he showed himself to Bert first, making
+profuse demonstrations of goodwill, and doing his best to ingratiate
+himself with him, because from his well-to-do appearance he judged that
+he would be a good subject from whom to beg lunch, or borrow marbles,
+and so on. But Bert instinctively disliked Rod, and avoided him to the
+best of his ability. Then Rod revealed the other side of his nature.
+From a sneak he turned into a bully, and lost no opportunity of teasing
+and tormenting Bert, who, being much smaller than he, felt compelled to
+submit, although there were times when he was driven almost to
+desperation. It was not so much by open violence as by underhanded
+trickery that Rod vented his spite, and this made it all the harder for
+Bert, who, although he was never in any doubt as to the identity of the
+person that stole his lunch, poured ink over his copy-book, scratched
+his slate with a bit of jagged glass, tore the tails off his glengarry,
+and filled the pockets of his overcoat with snow, still saw no way of
+putting a stop to this tormenting other than by thrashing Rod, and this
+he did not feel equal to doing. Upon this last point, however, he
+changed his mind subsequently, thanks to the influence of his friend
+Teter Johnston, and the result was altogether satisfactory as will be
+shown in due time.
+
+Bert's feelings toward Dr. Johnston himself were, as has been already
+stated, of a mixed nature. At first, he was simply afraid of him, but
+little by little a gentler feeling crept into his heart. Yet, there was
+no doubt, the doctor was far more likely to inspire fear than love. He
+wielded his authority with an impartial, unsparing hand. No allowance
+was ever made for hesitancy or nervousness on the part of the scholar
+when reciting his lesson, nor for ebullitions of boyish spirits when
+sitting at the desk. "Everything must be done correctly, and in order,"
+was the motto of his rule. The whippings he administered were about as
+impressive a mode of school punishment as could be desired. The unhappy
+boy who had behaved so ill, or missed so many lessons as to deserve one,
+heard the awful words, "Stand upon the floor for punishment," uttered in
+the doctor's sternest tones. Trembling in every limb, and feeling cold
+shivers running up and down his back, while his face flushed fiery red,
+or paled to ashy white by turns, the culprit would reluctantly leave his
+seat, and take his stand in the centre aisle, with the eyes of the whole
+school upon him variously expressing pity, compassion, or perhaps
+unsympathetic ridicule.
+
+After he had stood there some time, for be it known this exposure was
+an essential part of the punishment, he would see the doctor slowly rise
+from his seat, draw forth from its hiding-place the long black strap
+that had for so many years been his sceptre, and then come down toward
+him with slow, stately steps. Stopping just in front of him, the order
+would be issued: "Hold out your hand." Quivering with apprehension, the
+boy would extend his hand but half way, keeping his elbow fast at his
+side. But the doctor would not be thus partially obeyed. "Hold _out_
+your hand, sir!" he would thunder; and out would go the arm to its
+fullest length, and with a sharp swish through the air, down would come
+the strap, covering the hand from the wrist to finger tip, and sending a
+thrill of agony through every nerve in the body. Ten, twenty, thirty, or
+in extreme cases, even forty such stripes would be administered, some
+boys taking them as fast as the doctor could strike, so that the torture
+might soon be over, and others pausing between each blow, to rub their
+stinging palms together, and bedew them with their tears.
+
+It was a terrible ordeal, no doubt, and one that would hardly be
+approved of to-day, the publicity uniting with the severity to make it a
+cruel strain upon a boy's nervous system. In all the years that Bert
+spent at Dr. Johnston's school he was called upon to endure it only
+once, but that once sufficed. The way it came about was this:
+
+Bert one morning happened to be in a more than usually frolicsome mood,
+and was making pellets out of the soft part of the rolls he had brought
+for lunch, and throwing them about. In trying to hit a boy who sat
+between him and Mr. Snelling's desk, he somehow or other miscalculated
+his aim, and to his horror, the sticky pellet flew straight at the bald
+spot on top of Mr. Snelling's head, as the latter bent his shortsighted
+eyes over a book before him, hitting it in the centre, and staying there
+in token of its success.
+
+With angry face, Mr. Snelling sprang to his feet, and brushing the
+unlucky pellet from his shiny pate, called out so fiercely as to attract
+the doctor's attention:
+
+"Who threw that at me?"
+
+The few boys who were in the secret looked very hard at their books,
+while those who were not glanced up in surprise, and tried to discover
+the cause of Mr. Snelling's excitement.
+
+"Who threw that at me?" demanded Mr. Snelling, again.
+
+Bert, who had at first been so appalled by what he had done that his
+tongue refused to act, was about to call out "It was I, sir," when Rod
+Graham was seen to hold up his hand, and on Mr. Snelling turning
+inquiringly toward him, Rod, in a low, sneaking voice, said:
+
+"It was Lloyd, sir; I saw him do it."
+
+Mr. Snelling immediately called out, "Lloyd, come to my desk;" and
+Bert, feeling hot and cold by turns, went up to the desk, and stood
+before it, the picture of penitence.
+
+"Did you throw that pellet?" asked Mr. Snelling, in indignant tones.
+
+"Yes, sir; but I didn't mean to hit you, sir," answered Bert, meekly.
+
+"I know nothing about that," answered Mr. Snelling, too much excited to
+listen to any defence. "Follow me to Dr. Johnston."
+
+Hastening into the presence of the stern headmaster, Mr. Snelling stated
+what had happened, and pointed to the trembling Bert as the culprit.
+
+"How do you know he is the offender, Mr. Snelling?" inquired the doctor,
+gravely.
+
+"Graham said he saw him do it, sir, and Lloyd confesses it himself,"
+replied Mr. Snelling.
+
+"Oh! indeed--that is sufficient. Leave Lloyd with me." And thus
+dismissed, Mr. Snelling returned to his desk.
+
+"Lloyd, I am sorry about this. You must stand upon the floor for
+punishment," said the doctor, turning to Bert; and Bert, chilled to the
+heart, took his place upon the spot where he had so often pitied other
+boys for being.
+
+Presently, drawing out his strap, the doctor came toward him:
+
+"Hold out your hand, sir."
+
+Bert promptly extended his right hand to the full. Swish! and down came
+the cruel strap upon it, inflicting a burning smart, as though it were a
+red-hot iron, and sending a thrill of agony through every nerve. Swish!
+And the left hand was set on fire. Swish! Swish! right and left; right
+and left, until twenty stripes had been administered; and then, turning
+on his heel, the doctor walked solemnly back to his desk.
+
+During all this torture not a sound had escaped Bert. He felt that the
+doctor could not do otherwise than punish him, and he determined to bear
+the punishment bravely; so closing his lips tightly, and summoning all
+his resolution, he held out one hand after the other, taking the blows
+as fast as the doctor could give them. But when the ordeal was over he
+hurried to his seat, and burying his head in his burning hands, burst
+into a passion of tears--for he could control himself no longer.
+
+A few minutes later his attention was aroused by hearing the doctor call
+out, in a loud, stern voice:
+
+"Graham, come forward."
+
+Graham got out of his seat, and in a half-frightened way, slunk up to
+the doctor's desk.
+
+"I understand, Graham," said the doctor, with his grimmest expression,
+"that you volunteered to tell Mr. Snelling who it was that threw that
+pellet. You know, or ought to know, the rule of this school as to
+informers. You will receive the same punishment that I have just given
+Lloyd. Stand upon the floor."
+
+Completely taken aback at this unexpected turn in affairs, Rod Graham
+mechanically took up his position, looking the very picture of abject
+misery. The doctor kept him there for full half-an-hour, and then
+administered twenty stripes, with an unction that showed, clearly
+enough, his profound contempt for that most contemptible of beings, an
+informer.
+
+Now, Bert was not an angel, but simply a boy--a very good boy, in many
+respects, no doubt, but a boy, notwithstanding. It would, therefore, be
+doing him an injustice to deny that he took a certain delight in seeing
+his tormentor receive so sound a whipping, and that it brought, at
+least, a temporary balm to his own wounded feelings. But the wound was
+altogether too deep to be cured by this, or by Frank Bowser's heartfelt
+sympathy, or even by the praise of his schoolmates, many of whom came up
+to him at recess and told him he was "a brick," "a daisy," and so forth,
+because he had taken a whipping without crying.
+
+All this could not hide from him what he felt to be the disgrace of the
+thing. So ashamed was he of himself that he could hardly find courage to
+tell them about it at home; and although, easily appreciating the whole
+situation, Mr. Lloyd had only words of cheer for him, and none of
+condemnation, Bert still took it so much to heart that the following
+Sunday he pleaded hard to be allowed to remain away from the Sunday
+school, as he did not want to face Mr. Silver and his classmates so
+soon. But his father wisely would not suffer this, and so, much against
+his will, he went to school as usual, where, however, he felt very ill
+at ease until the session was over, when he had a long talk with Mr.
+Silver, and told him the whole story.
+
+This relieved his mind very much. He felt as if he were square with the
+world again, and he went back to Dr. Johnston's far lighter in heart on
+Monday morning than he had left it on Friday afternoon. He had learned a
+lesson, too, that needed no reteaching throughout the remainder of his
+school days. That was the first and last time Bert Lloyd stood upon the
+floor for punishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+VICTORY AND DEFEAT.
+
+
+As may be easily imagined, Dr. Johnston's severe punishment of Rod
+Graham for having taken upon himself the part of an informer did not
+tend to make that young gentleman any more pleasant in his bearing
+toward Bert. By some process of reasoning, intelligible only to himself,
+he held Bert accountable for the whipping he had received, and lost no
+opportunity of wreaking his vengeance upon him. Every now and then
+during that winter Bert had bitter proof of his enemy's unrelenting
+hate. It seemed as though there were no limit to Rod's ingenuity in
+devising ways of annoying him, and many a hot tear did he succeed in
+wringing from him.
+
+As spring drew near, this persecution grew more and more intolerable,
+and, without Bert himself being fully conscious of it, a crisis was
+inevitable. This crisis came sooner, perhaps, than either Bert or Rod
+anticipated. One bright spring morning, as Bert, with satchel strapped
+upon his back, approached the school, feeling in high spirits, and
+looking the very picture of a sturdy schoolboy, Rod, who had been in
+hiding behind a porch, sprang out upon him suddenly, snatched the cap
+off his head, and, with a shout of, "Fetch it, doggy; go, fetch it,"
+flung it into the middle of the street, that was now little better than
+a river of mud.
+
+This proved to be the last straw upon the back of Bert's endurance, and
+it broke it. With a quickness that gave his tormentor no chance to dodge
+or defend himself, he doubled up his fist, shut his eyes tight, and,
+rushing at him, struck out with all his might. The blow could hardly
+have been more effective if Bert had been an expert in boxing, for his
+fist landed full on Rod's left eye, sending him staggering backward
+several paces, with his hands clapped over the injured optic. But he
+soon recovered himself, and, with clenched fists, was rushing upon Bert,
+to pummel him fiercely, when Teter Johnston, who had just come up,
+sprang in between, and, catching Rod's uplifted arm, cried out, sternly:
+
+"Stop, now! none of that! This must be a fair fight, and you shan't
+begin until Lloyd is ready."
+
+Then turning to Bert, while Rod, who had too much respect for Teter's
+prowess not to obey him, gave way with a malignant scowl, Teter said,
+encouragingly:
+
+"You must fight him, Bert. It's the only way to settle him. You'll
+thrash him all right enough. I'll see you through."
+
+Bert had a good many doubts about his thrashing "him all right enough,"
+but he was still too angry to think calmly, and, moreover, he was not a
+little elated at the surprising success of his first blow, which,
+although struck at a venture, had gone so straight to the mark, and so
+he nodded his head in assent.
+
+"Very well, then, it's a fight," said Teter to Rod. "In the yard at the
+noon recess. You bring your second, Graham; I'll look after Bert
+myself."
+
+The words were hardly uttered when the bell rung, and the boys had all
+to hurry to their places in the schoolroom.
+
+That morning was one of the most miserable poor Bert had ever spent. He
+was a prey to the most diverse feelings, and it was with the utmost
+difficulty that he could bring his mind to bear sufficiently upon his
+lessons to keep his place in the classes. In the first place, he really
+dreaded the fight with Rod Graham. Graham was older, taller, and much
+more experienced in such affairs, and Bert could see no reason why he
+should hope for a victory over him. It was all well enough for dear old
+Frank to say from time to time, as he noticed Bert's depression:
+
+"Keep up your spirit, Bert; you'll thrash him sure. And if you don't, I
+will, as sure as I'm alive."
+
+But that did not make the matter any clearer, for Bert would rather not
+get a thrashing at Rod's hands, even though Rod should get one at
+Frank's hands shortly after.
+
+Then, again, he did not feel at all certain that his father and mother
+would approve of his having a fight with one of his schoolmates. They
+disliked anything of the kind, he knew well enough, and perhaps they
+would not be willing to make an exception in this case. He wished very
+much he could ask their permission, but that, of course, was out of the
+question. The mere mention of such a thing would assuredly raise a howl
+of derision from the other boys, and even Teter Johnston would no doubt
+ask contemptuously if "he was going to back out of it in that way."
+
+No, no; he must take the chances of his parents' approval, and
+likewise--and here came in the third difficulty--of Dr. Johnston's also,
+for he could not help wondering what the doctor would think when he
+heard of it, as he was certain to do.
+
+Thus perplexed and bewildered, the morning dragged slowly along for
+Bert, who would one moment be wishing that recess time could be
+postponed indefinitely, and the next, impatient for its arrival.
+
+At length twelve o'clock struck, and the boys, who were by this time all
+fully aware of what was in the wind, crowded out into the yard and
+quickly formed a ring in the corner farthest away from the schoolroom.
+Into this ring presently stepped Rod Graham, looking very jaunty and
+defiant, supported by Harry Rawdon, the fly catcher, the one friend he
+had in the school. A moment later came Bert Lloyd, pale but determined,
+with Teter and Frank on either side of him, Frank wearing an expression
+that said as plainly as possible:
+
+"Whip my friend Bert, if you dare."
+
+It is neither necessary nor expedient to go into the details of the
+fight, which did not last very long. Acting on Teter's sage advice, Bert
+made no attempt to defend himself, but rushing into close quarters at
+once, sent in swinging blows with right and left hands alternately,
+striking Rod upon the face and chest, while the latter's blows fell
+principally upon his forehead; until finally, in the fourth round,
+Graham, whose face had suffered severely, gave up the contest, and
+covering his head, with his hands, ran away from Bert, who was too tired
+to pursue him.
+
+Great was the cheering at this conclusive result; and Bert, panting,
+perspiring, and exhausted, found himself the centre of a noisy throng of
+his schoolmates, who wrung his hand, clapped him upon the back, called
+him all sorts of names that were complimentary, and, in fact, gave him a
+regular ovation. After he had gone to the tap and bathed his hot face,
+Bert was very much pleased to find that the brunt of the battle had
+fallen upon his forehead, and that, consequently, he would hardly be
+marked at all. To be sure, when he tried to put his cap on, he
+discovered that it would be necessary to wear it very much on the back
+of his head, but he felt like doing that, anyway, so it didn't matter.
+
+He would have liked to shake hands with Rod, and make it all up, but Rod
+was not to be found. After fleeing from his opponent, he had snatched up
+his coat, and, deserted even by Rawdon; who was disgusted at his running
+away, he had gone out into the street, and did not appear again for the
+rest of the day.
+
+His victory worked a great change in Bert's feelings. He was no longer
+troubled about what his parents would think of the fight. He felt sure
+they would applaud him, now that he had come out of it with banners
+flying, so to speak. And he was not far from right, either. Mrs. Lloyd,
+it is true, was a good deal shocked at first, and Mr. Lloyd questioned
+him very closely; but when they heard the whole story, much of which,
+indeed, was already familiar to them, they both agreed that under the
+circumstances Bert could not have acted otherwise, without placing
+himself in a false position.
+
+"At the same time, Bert, dear," said his father, laying his hand upon
+his shoulder, "as it is your first, so I hope it will be your last
+fight. You have established your reputation for courage now. You can
+sustain it in other ways than by your fists."
+
+Dr. Johnston's method of showing that he was fully cognisant of the
+event was highly characteristic. The next morning when Bert, with
+swollen forehead, and Rod, with blackened eyes, came before him in the
+same class, he said, with one of his sardonic smiles:
+
+"Ah, Graham, I see Lloyd has been writing his autograph on you. Well,
+let that be an end of it. Shake hands with one another."
+
+Bert immediately put out his hand and grasped Rod's, which was but half
+extended.
+
+"Very good," said the doctor. "We will now proceed with the lesson."
+
+One of the most interested and excited spectators of the fight had been
+Dick Wilding, a boy who will require a few words of description. He was
+the son of one of the merchant princes of the city, and was accustomed
+to everything that the highest social station and abundant wealth could
+procure. He was a handsome young fellow, and although thoroughly spoiled
+and selfish, was not without his good points, a lavish generosity being
+the most noteworthy. This, of course, supplemented by his reckless
+daring as regards all schoolboy feats, and natural aptitude for
+schoolboy sports, made him very popular at the school, and he had a
+large following. Previous to Bert's decisive victory over Rod Graham, he
+had not shown any particular interest in him, beyond committing himself
+to the opinion that he was a "regular brick" on the occasion of the
+hoisting, and again, when Bert bore his whipping so manfully. But since
+the fight, he had exhibited a strong desire to have Bert join the circle
+of his companions, and to this end cultivated his society in a very
+marked way.
+
+Now, this same Dick Wilding had been in Mrs. Lloyd's mind when she had
+hesitated about Bert's going to Dr. Johnston's. She knew well what his
+bringing up had been, and had heard several stories about him, which
+made her dread his being a companion for Bert. She had accordingly
+spoken to Bert about Dick, and while taking care not to be too pointed,
+had made it clear that she did not want them to be intimate. This was
+when Bert first went to the school, and as there had seemed no prospect
+of anything more than a mere acquaintance springing up between the two
+boys, nothing had been said on the subject for some time, so that it was
+not fresh in his mind when Dick, somewhat to his surprise, showed such a
+desire for his society.
+
+Dick's latest enterprise was the organisation of a cricket club, into
+which he was putting a great deal of energy. As the bats and balls and
+other necessary articles were to be paid for out of his own pocket, he
+found no difficulty in getting recruits, and the list of members was
+fast filling up. Bert had heard a good deal about this club, and would
+have liked very much to belong to it, but as nobody belonged except
+those who had been invited by Dick, his prospects did not seem very
+bright. Great then was his delight when one day at recess, Dick came up
+to him and said in his most winning way:
+
+"Say, Bert, don't you want to join my cricket club? I'd like to have you
+in."
+
+Bert did not take long to answer.
+
+"And I'd like to join ever so much," he replied, in great glee.
+
+"All right, then; consider yourself a member, and come round to the
+field behind our house this afternoon. We practise there every day."
+
+Bert was fairly dancing with joy. Yet he did not forget his friend
+Frank. If Frank were not a member of the club, too, half the pleasure of
+it would be gone. So before Dick went off, he ventured to say:
+
+"Frank Bowser would like to belong, too, I know. Won't you ask him?"
+
+"Certainly. No objection at all," replied Dick, in an off-hand way.
+"Bring him along with you this afternoon."
+
+With beaming face, Bert rushed over to where Frank was busy playing
+marbles, and drawing him aside, shouted rather than whispered in his
+ear:
+
+"I've got something splendid to tell you. Dick Wilding has asked us both
+to join his cricket club, and we're to go to his field this very
+afternoon."
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Frank, his face now beaming as brightly as
+Bert's. "Isn't that just splendid! I wanted to belong to that club ever
+so much, but was afraid Dick wouldn't ask me."
+
+They had a capital game of cricket that afternoon in the Wilding field,
+which made a very good ground indeed, and not only that afternoon, but
+for many afternoons as spring passed into summer and the days grew
+longer and warmer. Bert told them at home about the club, but somehow
+omitted to mention the prominent part Dick Wilding played in it. In
+fact, he never mentioned his name at all, nor that it was his father's
+field in which the club met. This was the first step in a path of wrong,
+the taking of which was soon to lead to serious consequences.
+
+His reason for suppressing Dick Wilding's name was plain enough. He knew
+that in all probability it would put an end to his connection with the
+club. Now this club had every attraction for a boy like Bert that such
+an organisation could possibly possess. It was select and exclusive, for
+none could belong except those who were invited by Dick. The field was a
+lovely place to play in, and they had it all to themselves. The balls
+and bats and stumps were first-class, a fine set of cricket gear having
+been one of Dick's Christmas presents; and, finally, Dick was always
+bringing out to the players iced lemonade, or ginger beer, or spruce
+beer, or something of the kind, which was wonderfully welcome to them
+when hot and tired and thirsty.
+
+With such strong arguments as these, Bert did not find it difficult to
+quiet his conscience when it troubled him, as it did now and then, and
+he continued to be a great deal in Dick Wilding's society until
+something happened which caused him to bitterly regret that he had not
+heeded the inward monitor, and kept away from the associations his wise
+mother wished him to avoid.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd had good reason for dreading Dick Wilding's companionship for
+her boy, as Dick could hardly fail to do Bert harm, while the chances of
+Bert doing him any good were very small, since he was quite a year older
+and well set in his own ways. Dick's parents were thorough people of the
+world. Their religion consisted in occupying a velvet-cushioned pew in a
+fashionable church on Sunday morning, and doing as they pleased the rest
+of the day. They made no attempt to teach their son anything more than
+good manners, taking it quite for granted that the other virtues would
+spring up of themselves. Dick was not much to be blamed, therefore, if
+he had rather hazy views about right and wrong. He had not really an
+evil nature, but he had a very easy conscience, and the motto by which
+he shaped his conduct might well have been: "Get your own way. Get it
+honestly, if you can. But--get it."
+
+Now, this cricket club had taken a great hold upon his fancy, and his
+whole heart was wrapped up in it. He was captain, of course, and all the
+other boys obeyed him implicitly. Their docility ministered to his
+pride, and he showed his appreciation by fairly showering his bounty
+upon them. There positively seemed no end to his pocket money. All sorts
+of expenses were indulged in. A fine tent was set up for the boys to
+put their hats and coats in and sit under when not playing, the
+ginger-beer man had orders to call round every afternoon and leave a
+dozen bottles of his refreshing beverage, and more than once the club,
+instead of playing, adjourned, at Dick's invitation, to an ice-cream
+saloon, and had a regular feast of ice-cream. When some indiscreet
+companion would express his astonishment at the length of Dick's purse,
+the latter would answer, carelessly:
+
+"Plenty of funds. Father, and mother, and uncle all give me money.
+There's lots more where this came from," jingling a handful of silver as
+he spoke. So, indeed, there was; but had it any business to be in Master
+Dick's pocket?
+
+This delightful state of affairs went on for some weeks, no one enjoying
+it more than Bert, and then came a revelation that broke upon the boys
+like a thunder-clap out of a clear sky.
+
+One evening, Mr. Wilding came over to see Mr. Lloyd, looking very grave
+and troubled. They had a long talk together in Mr. Lloyd's study, and
+when he went away Mr. Lloyd looked as grave and troubled as his visitor.
+After showing Mr. Wilding out, he called his wife into the library, and
+communicated to her what he had just heard, and it must have been
+sorrowful news, for Mrs. Lloyd's face bore unmistakable signs of tears,
+when presently she went out for Bert, who was hard at work upon his
+lessons in the dining-room.
+
+The moment Bert entered the room he saw that something was the matter.
+The faces of his father and mother were very sorrowful, and an
+indefinable feeling of apprehension took hold of him. He was not long
+left in uncertainty as to the cause of the trouble.
+
+"Bert," said his father, gravely, "have you seen much of Dick Wilding
+lately?"
+
+Bert blushed, and hesitated a moment, and then answered:
+
+"Yes, father; a good deal. He's the captain of our cricket club, you
+know."
+
+"I did not know until now that you have told me, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd,
+looking meaningly at him. "You never told me before, did you?"
+
+The colour deepened on Bert's face.
+
+"No, father; I don't think I did," he murmured.
+
+"Had you any reason for saying nothing about him, Bert? Were you afraid
+we would not let you belong to the club if we knew that Dick Wilding was
+its captain?" asked Mr. Lloyd.
+
+Bert made no reply, but his head drooped low upon his breast, and his
+hands playing nervously with the buttons of his coat told the whole
+story more plainly than words could have done. Mr. Lloyd sighed deeply
+and looked at his wife as though to say: "There's no doubt about it; our
+boy has been deceiving us," while Mrs. Lloyd's eyes once more filled
+with tears, which she turned away to hide.
+
+After a pause, during which Bert seemed to hear the beating of his own
+heart as distinctly as the ticking of the big clock upon the mantel, Mr.
+Lloyd said, in tones that showed deep feeling:
+
+"We would have been sorry enough to find out that our boy had been
+deceiving us, but what shall we say at finding out that he has been a
+sharer in pleasures purchased with stolen money?"
+
+Bert looked up in surprise. Stolen money! What could his father mean?
+Mr. Lloyd understood the movement, and anticipated the unasked question.
+
+"Yes, Bert; stolen money. The beer, the candy, and the ice cream, which
+Dick Wilding lavished upon you so freely, were paid for with money
+stolen from his mother's money drawer. He found a key which fitted the
+lock, and has taken out, no one knows just how much money; and you have
+been sharing in what that stolen money purchased."
+
+Bert was fairly stunned. Dick Wilding a thief! And he a sharer in the
+proceeds of his guilt! He felt as though he must run and hide himself.
+That Dick should do wrong was not entirely a surprise to him, but that
+his sin in being a companion of Dick's on the sly should be found out in
+this way, this it was which cut him to the heart. Without a word of
+excuse to offer, he sat there, self-condemned and speechless. The
+silence of the room was appalling. He could not bear it any longer.
+Springing from his chair, he rushed across the room, threw himself on
+his knees before his mother, and putting his head in her lap, burst into
+a paroxysm of tears, sobbing as though his heart would break.
+
+"Poor Bert, poor Bert!" murmured his mother, tenderly, passing her hand
+softly over the curly head in her lap.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was deeply moved, and put his hand up to his eyes to conceal
+the tears fast welling from them. For some minutes the quiet of the room
+was broken only by Bert's sobs, and the steady ticking of the clock upon
+the mantelpiece.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was the first to speak.
+
+"You had better get up and go to your room, Bert. We both know how sorry
+you are, and we forgive you for having so disobeyed us. But we are not
+the only ones of whom you must ask forgiveness. Go to your knees, Bert,
+and ask God to forgive you."
+
+Bert rose slowly to his feet, and, not venturing to look either his
+father or mother in the face, was going out of the door, when his father
+called him back.
+
+"Just one word more, Bert. It is not long since you won a brave fight,
+and now you have been sadly defeated by a far worse enemy than Rod
+Graham. You can, in your own strength, overcome human foes, but only by
+Divine strength can you overcome the tempter that has led you astray
+this time. Pray for this strength, Bert, for it is the kind the Bible
+means when it says, 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"
+
+And with a look of deep affection, Mr. Lloyd let Bert go from him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+A NARROW ESCAPE.
+
+
+So keenly did Bert feel his disgrace, that it was some time before he
+regained his wonted spirits; and his continued depression gave his
+mother no little concern, so that she took every way of showing to him
+that her confidence in him was unimpaired, and that she asked no further
+proof of his penitence than he had already given. But Bert's sensitive
+nature had received a shock from which it did not readily recover. From
+his earliest days he had been peculiarly free from the desire to take
+what did not belong to him; and as he grew older, this had developed
+into a positive aversion to anything that savoured of stealing in the
+slightest degree. He never could see any fun in "hooking" another boy's
+lunch, as so many others did, and nothing could induce him to join in
+one of the numerous expeditions organised to raid sundry unguarded
+orchards in the outskirts of the city.
+
+His firmness upon this point led to a curious scene one afternoon.
+School was just out, and a group of the boys, among whom were Bert,
+and, of course, Frank Bowser, was discussing what they should do with
+themselves, when Ned Ross proposed that they should go out to the
+Hosterman orchard, and see if they could not get some apples. A chorus
+of approval came from all but Bert, who immediately turned away and made
+as though he would go home.
+
+"Hallo! Bert," cried Ned Ross, "aren't you coming?"
+
+"No," replied Bert, very decidedly. "I'm not."
+
+"Why not?" inquired Ned. "What's the matter?"
+
+"Those are not our apples, Ned, and we've got no right to touch 'em,"
+answered Bert.
+
+"Bosh and nonsense!" exclaimed Ned. "All the boys take them, and nobody
+ever hinders them. Come along."
+
+"No," said Bert, "I can't."
+
+"Can't? Why can't you?" persisted Ned, who was rapidly losing his
+temper.
+
+Bert hesitated a moment, and the colour mounted high in his cheeks. Then
+he spoke out his reason bravely:
+
+"Because I'm a Christian, Ned; and it would not be right for me to do
+it."
+
+"A Christian?" sneered Ned. "You'd be nearer the truth if you said a
+coward."
+
+The words had hardly left his lips before Frank Bowser was standing
+before him, shaking in his face a fist that was not to be regarded
+lightly.
+
+"Say that again," cried Frank, wrathfully, "and I'll knock you down!"
+
+Ned looked at Frank's face, and then at his fist. There was no mistaking
+the purpose of either, and as Frank was fully his match, if not more, he
+thought it prudent to say nothing more than: "Bah! Come on, fellows. We
+can get along without him."
+
+The group moved off; but Bert was not the only one who stayed behind.
+Frank stayed too; and so did Ernest Linton. And these three sought their
+amusement in another direction.
+
+That scene very vividly impressed Bert, and over and over again he
+thought to himself: "What will the boys who heard me refuse to go to the
+orchard, because I am a Christian, think of me when they hear that I
+have been helping to spend stolen money?"
+
+This was the thought that troubled him most, but it was not the only
+one. He felt that he could not be at ease with his beloved Sunday-school
+teacher again, until he had made a full confession to him. But, oh! this
+did seem so hard to do! Several Sundays passed without his being able to
+make up his mind to do it. At length he determined to put it off no
+longer, and one Sunday afternoon, lingering behind after the school had
+been dismissed, he poured the whole story into Mr. Silver's sympathetic
+ear.
+
+Mr. Silver was evidently moved to the heart, as Bert, without sparing
+himself, told of his disobedience, his concealment, and the
+consequences that followed; and he had many a wise and tender word for
+the boy, whose confidence in him made him proud. From that day a
+peculiar fondness existed between the two, and Mr. Silver was inspired
+to increased fidelity and effort in his work because of the knowledge
+that one at least of his boys looked upon him with such affection and
+confidence.
+
+Once that summer had fairly come to stay, the wharves of the city became
+full of fascination for the boys, and every afternoon they trooped
+thither to fish for perch and tommy cods; to board the vessels lying in
+their berths, and out-do one another in feats of rigging climbing; to
+play glorious games of "hide-and-seek," and "I spy," in the great
+cavernous warehouses, and when tired to gather around some idle sailor,
+and have him stir their imagination with marvellous stories of the sea.
+
+For none had the wharves more attraction than for Bert and Frank, and
+although Mrs. Lloyd would not allow the former to go down Water Street,
+where he would be far from home, she did not object to his spending an
+afternoon now and then on a wharf not far from their own house. So
+thither the two friends repaired at every opportunity, and fine fun they
+had, dropping their well-baited hooks into the clear green water, to
+catch eager perch, or watching the hardworking sailors dragging huge
+casks of molasses out of dark and grimy holds, and rolling them up the
+wharf to be stored in the vast cool warehouses, or running risks of
+being pickled themselves, as they followed the fish-curers in their work
+of preparing the salt herring or mackerel for their journey to the hot
+West Indies. There never was any lack of employment, for eyes, or hands,
+or feet, on that busy wharf, and the boys felt very proud when they were
+permitted to join the workers sometimes and do their little best, which
+was all the more enjoyable because they could stop whenever they liked,
+and hadn't to work all day as the others did.
+
+Nor were these the only attractions. The principal business done at this
+wharf was with the West Indies, and no vessel thought of coming back
+from that region of fruits without a goodly store of oranges, bananas,
+and pine-apples, some of which, if the boys were not too troublesome,
+and the captain had made a good voyage, were sure to find their way into
+very appreciative mouths. Bert's frank, bright manner, and plucky
+spirit, made him a great favourite with the captains, and many a time
+was he sent home with a big juicy pine, or an armful of great golden
+oranges.
+
+One day, when Bert and Frank went down to the wharf, they found a
+strange-looking vessel made fast to the piles that filled them with
+curiosity. She was a barquentine, and was sparred, and rigged, and
+painted in a rather unusual way, the explanation of it all being that
+she was a Spanish vessel, of an old-fashioned type. Quite in keeping
+with the appearance of the vessel was the appearance of the crew. They
+were nearly all Lascars, and with their tawny skins, flashing eyes, jet
+black hair, and gold-ringed ears, seemed to fit very well the
+description of the pirates, whose dreadful deeds, as graphically
+described in sundry books, had given the boys many a delicious thrill of
+horror. This resemblance caused them to look upon the foreigners with
+some little fear at first, but their curiosity soon overcame all
+considerations of prudence, and after hanging about for a while, they
+bashfully accepted the invitation extended them by a swarthy sailor,
+whose words were unintelligible, but whose meaning was unmistakable.
+
+On board the _Santa Maria_--for that was the vessel's name--they found
+much to interest them, and the sailors treated them very kindly, in
+spite of their piratical appearance. What delighted them most was a
+monkey that belonged to the cook. He was one of the cutest, cleverest
+little creatures that ever parodied humanity. His owner had taught him a
+good many tricks, and he had taught himself even more; and both the boys
+felt that in all their lives they had never seen so entertaining a pet.
+He completely captivated them, and they would have given all they
+possessed to make him their own. But the cook had no idea of parting
+with him, even had it been in their power to buy him; so they had to
+content themselves with going down to see him as often as they could.
+
+Of course, they told their schoolmates about him, and of course the
+schoolmates were set wild with curiosity to see this marvellous monkey,
+and they flocked down to the _Santa Maria_ in such numbers, and so
+often, that at last the sailors got tired of them. A mob of schoolboys
+invading the deck every afternoon, and paying uproarious homage to the
+cleverness of a monkey, was more or less of a nuisance. Accordingly, by
+way of a gentle hint, the rope ladder, by which easy access was had to
+the vessel, was removed, and a single rope put in its place.
+
+It happened that the first afternoon after this had been done, the crowd
+of visitors was larger than ever; and when they arrived at the _Santa
+Maria's_ side, and found the ladder gone, they were, as may be easily
+imagined, very much disgusted. A rope might be good enough for a sailor,
+but the boys very much preferred a ladder, and they felt disposed to
+resent the action of the sailors in thus cutting off their means of
+ascent. The fact that it was high tide at the time, and the tall sides
+of the ship towered above the wharf, constituted a further grievance in
+the boys' minds. They held an impromptu indignation meeting forthwith.
+But, although they were unanimous in condemning the conduct of the
+foreigners, who evidently did not know any better, they were still no
+nearer the monkey.
+
+"Why not try to shin up the rope?" asked Frank Bowser, after a while.
+
+"All right, if you'll give us a lead," replied one of the others.
+
+"Very well--here goes!" returned Frank. And without more ado he grasped
+the rope, planted his feet firmly against the vessel's side, and began
+to ascend. It was evidently not the easiest thing in the world to do,
+but his pluck, determination, and muscle conquered; and presently,
+somewhat out of breath, he sat upon the bulwark, and, waving his cap to
+the boys below, gasped out:
+
+"Come along, boys! It's as easy as winking."
+
+Not to be outdone, several others made the attempt and succeeded also.
+Then came Bert's turn. Although so many had got up all right, he somehow
+felt a little nervous, and made one or two false starts, climbing up a
+little way and then dropping back again. This caused those who were
+waiting to become impatient, and while Bert was about making another
+start, one of them who stood behind him gave him a sharp push, saying:
+
+"Hurry up there, slow coach."
+
+As it happened, Bert was just at that moment changing his grip upon the
+rope, and balancing himself upon the extreme edge of the stringer, which
+formed the edge of the wharf. The ill-timed push caught him unawares. He
+threw out his arms to steady himself, and the rope slipped altogether
+from his grasp. The next instant, with a cry of fear that was taken up
+by the boys standing helplessly about, he fell over into the dark,
+swirling water, between the vessel's side and the wharf.
+
+Down, down, down he went, while the water roared in his ears with the
+thunders of Niagara, and filled his mouth with its sickening brine, as
+instinctively he opened it to cry for help. He could not swim a stroke,
+but he had a good idea of what the motions were, and so now, in a
+desperate effort to save his life, he struck out vigorously with his
+hands. It must have helped him, too; for out of the darkness into which
+he had been plunged at first, he emerged into a lighter place, where,
+through the green water, he could see his hands looking very white, as
+they moved before his face.
+
+But this did not bring him to the surface; so he tried another plan.
+Doubling his sturdy legs beneath him, he shot them out as he had seen
+other boys do when "treading water." A thrill of joy inspired him as the
+effort succeeded, and, his head rising above the surface, he got one
+good breath before sinking again. But the pitiless water engulfed him
+once more, and, though he struggled hard, he seemed unable to keep
+himself from sinking deeper still. Then the desire to struggle began to
+leave him. Life seemed no longer a thing to be fiercely striven for. A
+strange peace stole over his mind, and was followed by a still stranger
+thing; for while he floated there, an unresisting prey to the deep, it
+appeared as though all the events of his past life were crowding before
+him like some wonderful panorama. From right to left they followed one
+another in orderly procession, each as clear and distinct as a painted
+picture, and he was watching them with absorbed, painless interest, when
+something dark came across his vision; he felt himself grasped firmly
+and drawn swiftly through the water, and the next thing he knew, he was
+in the light and air again, and was being handed up to the top of the
+wharf by men who passed him carefully from one to the other. In the very
+nick of time rescue had come, and Bert was brought back to life.
+
+Now, who was his rescuer, and what took place while Bert was struggling
+for his life in the cold, dark water? The instant he disappeared the
+boys shouted and shrieked in such a way as to bring the whole crew of
+the _Santa Maria_ to the bulwarks, over which they eagerly peered, not
+understanding what was the matter. Frank, who was in a frenzy of anxiety
+and alarm, tried hard to explain to them; but his efforts were
+unavailing until the reappearance of Bert's head made the matter plain
+at once, and then he thought they would, of course, spring to the
+rescue. But they did not. They looked at one another, and jabbered
+something unintelligible, but not one of them moved, though Frank seized
+the liveliest of them by the arm, and, pointing to the place where Bert
+vanished, again indicated, by unmistakable gestures, what he wanted him
+to do. The man simply shook his head and moved away. He either could
+not swim, or did not think it worth while to risk his precious life in
+trying to rescue one of the foreign urchins that had been bothering the
+_Santa Maria_ of late. Had Bert's life depended upon these men, it might
+have been given up at once.
+
+But there was other help at hand. John Connors, the good-natured Irish
+storekeeper, by whose sufferance the boys were permitted to make a
+playground of the wharf, had heard their frantic cries, although he was
+away up in one of the highest flats of the farthest store. Without
+stopping to see what could be the matter, Connors leaped down the long
+flights of stairs at a reckless rate, and ran toward the shrieking boys.
+
+"Bert's overboard--save him!" they cried, as he burst into their midst.
+
+"Where?" he asked, breathlessly, while he flung off his boots.
+
+"There--just there," they replied, pointing to where Bert had last been
+seen.
+
+Balancing himself for an instant on the end of the stringer, Connors,
+with the spring of a practised swimmer, dived into the depths and
+disappeared; while the boys, in the silence of intense anxiety, crowded
+as close as they dared to the edge of the wharf, and the Lascars looked
+down from their bulwarks in stolid admiration. There were some moments
+of harrowing uncertainty, and then a shout arose from the boys, which
+even the swarthy sailors imitated, after a fashion; for cleaving the
+bubbled surface came the head of brave John Connors, and, close beside
+it, the dripping curls of Bert Lloyd, the faces of both showing great
+exhaustion.
+
+The sailors were all alert now. Ropes were hastily flung over the side,
+and swarming down these with the agility of monkeys, they took Bert out
+of his rescuer's hands and passed him up to the wharf; Connors followed
+unassisted, so soon as he had recovered his breath.
+
+Once upon the wharf, they were surrounded by a noisy group of boys,
+overjoyed at their playmate's happy escape from death, and overflowing
+with admiration for his gallant rescuer. Bert very quickly came to
+himself--for he had not indeed entirely lost consciousness--and then
+Connors told him just how he had got hold of him:
+
+"When I dived down first I couldn't see anything of you at all, my boy,
+and I went hunting about with my eyes wide open and looking for you. At
+last, just as I was about giving you up, I saw something dark below me
+that I thought might, p'r'aps, be yourself. So I just stuck out my foot,
+and by the powers if it didn't take you right under the chin. As quick
+as a wink I drew you toward me, and once I had a good grip of you, I put
+for the top as hard as I could go; and here we are now, safe and sound.
+And, faith, I hope you won't be trying it again in a hurry."
+
+[Illustration: BERT RESCUED.--_Page_ 214.]
+
+Bert was very much in earnest when he assured him he would not, and
+still more in earnest when he tried to express his gratitude. But
+Connors would none of it.
+
+"Not at all, not at all, my boy," said he, with a laugh. "A fine young
+chap like you is well worth saving any day, and it's not in John Connors
+to stand by and see you drown, even if those black-faced furriners don't
+know any better."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+LEARNING TO SWIM.
+
+
+Bert's appearance, when he made his way home with dripping clothes, and
+face still pale from what he had undergone, created no small
+consternation. His sister was particularly alarmed, and it took some
+time to convince her that, once having got out of the grasp of the
+greedy water, he was really in no more danger. Had she been permitted to
+have her own way, she would have bundled him off to bed forthwith, and
+filled up any little corners inside of him that the sea water had left
+unoccupied, with warm raspberry vinegar. But Bert would none of it, and
+Mrs. Lloyd, although a good deal startled at first, soon recovered her
+self-possession sufficiently to agree with him, when he insisted that
+all he wanted was some dry clothes and a rest.
+
+The dry clothes were quickly furnished, and having put them on, he
+returned to the sitting-room to tell them all about his rescue, Frank
+being at hand to fill in any details that he missed in the recital. The
+tears stood in his mother's eyes, as he related what he had felt and
+thought during those eventful moments when his life hung in the balance;
+tears of distress, of sympathy, of joy, and finally of gratitude, as in
+glowing words he described how noble John Connors had dived away down
+into the dark green depths to rescue him just in the nick of time.
+
+"Oh, Bert, darling," she exclaimed, when he had finished, folding him to
+her breast, "how good God was to send dear, brave Connors to your help!
+We cannot praise Him enough, and, dearest, don't you think He must
+intend you to be something good and great for Him, when He thus spared
+your life? And that dear man Connors!--I feel as though I could kiss the
+hands that drew you from the water. Your father must go to-night, and
+tell him how grateful we are; and he must do more than that--he must
+reward him well for running such a risk to save our boy."
+
+When Mr. Lloyd came home and learned what had happened, he made no
+pretence of concealing his emotion. The very thought of losing in that
+dreadful way the boy who was the joy and pride of his life filled him
+with horror, and no words could express his fervent gratitude to
+Connors, and to God, for sending so courageous a rescuer. So soon as
+dinner was over he set off in search of him, taking Bert with him.
+Connors's home was easily found, and Connors himself sat smoking his
+evening pipe upon the door-step, as unconcernedly as though he had done
+nothing out of the way that afternoon.
+
+The object of Mr. Lloyd's visit was soon made known, but he found more
+difficulty than he expected in giving such expression as he desired to
+the gratitude he felt. Connors was quite willing to be thanked, and
+accepted Mr. Lloyd's fervent words with a respectful acquiescence that
+well became him, but when Mr. Lloyd broached the subject of a more
+tangible reward, Connors quite as respectfully, but very firmly,
+refused.
+
+"I want no reward for saving your boy, sir. It's proud I am of pulling
+so fine a boy as that out of the water. I did no more than you'd do for
+my boy, sir, if he were in the same scrape," said he, in reply to Mr.
+Lloyd's delicately worded offer.
+
+"That may be, Connors. I'm sure I would do as you say, but all the same
+I would feel much more comfortable if you would accept this purse as
+some expression of my gratitude," urged Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"And, thanking you kindly, sir, I'd feel much more comfortable if I
+didn't take it," returned Connors, in a tone there was no mistaking. So
+Mr. Lloyd, resolving in his mind that he would find out some other way
+of rewarding the worthy fellow, said no more then, and shortly after
+took his leave.
+
+As Bert and his father walked home together they were still talking
+about the event of the afternoon.
+
+"If you had been drowned, Bert, it would to some extent have been my
+fault," said Mr. Lloyd; "for I should not have so long neglected
+teaching you to swim. A boy of your age ought to be well able to take
+care of himself in the water, and I should have seen that you were.
+However, now that this escape of yours has waked me up, I will attend to
+the matter at once. So we will begin to-morrow morning, Bert, and have a
+swimming lesson every day before breakfast."
+
+"Oh, father; I'm so glad," exclaimed Bert, skipping about joyfully. "I
+want to know how to swim ever so much, and I'll soon learn if you'll
+teach me."
+
+"All right, my boy. You see to waking me in good time, and I'll see that
+you learn to swim," replied Mr. Lloyd, clapping Bert affectionately on
+the back.
+
+The next morning at six o'clock Bert was rapping loudly on his father's
+door, and calling upon him to get up, and a quarter of an hour later the
+pair with towels on their arms were off in the direction of a secluded,
+deserted wharf that would just suit their purpose.
+
+On arriving at this place, Mr. Lloyd showed Bert how he proposed to
+teach him to swim, and it certainly was about as excellent a way as
+could well have been devised. He had brought with him two things besides
+the towels: a piece of rope about the thickness of a clothes line, and
+ten yards or more in length, and a strong linen band, two yards in
+length. The linen band he put round Bert's shoulders in such a way that
+there was no possibility of its slipping, or interfering with the action
+of his arms; and then the rope was so fastened to the band that when
+Bert was in the water his father, standing on the wharf above him, could
+hold him in just the right position for swimming.
+
+The preparations having been completed, Bert was bidden descend the
+steps and plunge into the water. He started off bravely enough, but when
+he reached the bottom step he hesitated. The water was at least ten feet
+in depth beneath him, and he had never been "over his head," as they
+say, before, except when he came so near being drowned. Naturally,
+therefore, he shrank from committing himself to the deep in this
+fashion.
+
+"Well, Bert, what's the matter? Are you afraid the water is too cold?"
+asked his father, as he noticed his hesitation.
+
+"No, father; not exactly," answered Bert, feeling half ashamed of
+himself.
+
+"You're afraid it's too deep, then?" suggested Mr. Lloyd. And Bert
+looked up with a smile that showed he had hit the mark.
+
+"Never mind, my boy," said Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly. "You're all right. I
+won't let go of you. Jump in like a man."
+
+Bert hung back a moment; then, shutting his mouth tightly and closing
+his eyes, he sprang boldly into the cool, green water. He went under a
+little at first, but a slight tug on the rope brought him quickly to the
+top, and recovering his breath and his self-possession at the same time,
+he struck out with his arms and kicked with his legs, according to the
+best of his ability. His motions were sadly unskilful, as may be easily
+imagined, and although they used up his strength pretty rapidly, they
+would not have kept his head above water for a minute; but a gentle
+pressure on the rope in Mr. Lloyd's hand made that all right, and,
+feeling quite at his ease, Bert struggled away until he was tired out,
+and then his father, who had all the time been cheering and directing
+him, drew him back to the steps, and the lesson was over.
+
+"You did very well, Bert; very well, indeed," said he, in tones of warm
+approval, as Bert proceeded to rub off the salt water and get into his
+clothes again. "I don't think it will take a great many lessons to make
+a swimmer of you."
+
+And Mr. Lloyd's confidence was well founded; for so earnestly did Bert
+give himself to the business of learning to swim that by the end of a
+fortnight he could go ten yards out and back without any help from the
+rope at all. Another fortnight and the rope was no longer needed. Mr.
+Lloyd now went into the water with Bert, and swimming out to the middle
+of the dock, would have the boy come to him, and after resting upon his
+broad shoulders a moment, make his way back to the steps again.
+
+Thus, in little more than a month, Bert became quite able to take care
+of himself in the water under ordinary circumstances; and his father,
+feeling well satisfied with his proficiency, gave him liberty to go to
+the wharves as often as he pleased--a boon Bert highly appreciated.
+
+A pleasure unshared by his faithful Frank was but half a pleasure to
+Bert. Next in importance to his being able to swim himself was Frank's
+acquiring the same invaluable accomplishment. Invaluable? Yes, one might
+indeed rightly use a stronger term, and say indispensable; for the
+education of no boy is complete until he has mastered the art of
+swimming. And if the boys knew their own interests as thoroughly as
+their parents and guardians ought to know them, they would agitate all
+over the land for the provision of swimming baths in connection with
+their schools, or in some other way that would ensure them the
+opportunity of learning what to do with themselves in the water, as well
+as upon the land.
+
+Frank could swim a stroke or two before Bert took him in hand, and
+consequently was soon able to dispense with the rope; but timid little
+Ernest Linton, who was the next pupil, took a lot of teaching, and there
+seemed small prospect of his conquering his timidity sufficiently to "go
+it alone" before the swimming season would be over.
+
+The fame of Bert's swimming school spread among his playmates to an
+extent that threatened to be embarrassing. By the time they were half
+way through the mid-summer holidays, a crowd of boisterous youngsters
+gathered every morning at the old wharf, and struggled for the use of
+band and rope, until at last there had to be several of these provided.
+Then they had fine fun. A dozen boys would be in the water at the same
+time--some of them expert swimmers, the others in all stages of
+learning--and there would be races, splashing matches, unexpected
+duckings, sly tricks upon the nervous learners, and all sorts of capers,
+such as might be expected from boys of their age and enterprise.
+
+By way of deepening the interest in this healthful amusement, they
+organised a competition, the prizes being supplied by their parents, who
+were duly waited upon by a properly-authorised committee; and one fine
+August afternoon, the sleepy old wharf was made to fairly tremble with
+excitement, as race followed race in quick succession, amid the cheering
+and shouting of some two-score vigorous boys. Much to his delight, Frank
+succeeded in carrying off the first prize. He was a persistent,
+painstaking fellow when his interest was thoroughly aroused, and while
+other chaps were skylarking about in the water, he had been practising
+long swims, the consequence of which was that at the competition--when,
+of course, the best prize was given for the longest race; the course,
+in this instance, being out to the head of the wharf, and back--Frank
+left all the other contestants behind, and came in an easy winner.
+
+Bert was exceedingly pleased. He had not won any prizes himself, except
+an unimportant little second one; but Frank's success more than consoled
+him, and he bore him off home with him in high glee, that the family
+might share in the joy of the occasion.
+
+Nearly two years now had passed since the two friends first made one
+another's acquaintance, and the course of events had fully confirmed the
+expectation of Bert's parents, that he would be far more likely to
+influence Frank for good than Frank would be to influence him for evil.
+There had been unmistakable improvement in Frank, both in manners and
+morals. Constant association with a playmate brought up under home
+influences so different from his own; the wise and kindly words that Mr.
+and Mrs. Lloyd lost no opportunity of speaking to him; the refinement
+and brightness of their home; the atmosphere of sunny religion that
+pervaded it; and all these supplemented by an ever-interesting
+presentation of common-sense Christianity at the hands of Mr. Silver
+every Sunday afternoon, had worked deep into Frank's strong, steadfast
+nature, and without being distinctly conscious of it himself, he was
+growing refined, pure, and religious in thought and desire, like those
+with whom it was the joy of his life to associate. The current of his
+being had been turned Godward, and in him, though he knew it not, Bert
+had won the first star for his crown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED.
+
+
+The month of September was close at hand, and Bert would soon begin his
+second year with Dr. Johnston. Mr. Lloyd, though well content with the
+progress his son had been making in his studies, thought it would be a
+wise thing to hold out some extra inducement that might incite him to
+still greater diligence, and so one evening, while the family were
+sitting together, he broached the subject:
+
+"Dr. Johnston gives a lot of prizes at the end of the term, doesn't he,
+Bert?"
+
+"Yes, father, a good many; always books, you know," answered Bert.
+
+"Why didn't you get a prize of some kind last term?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+with a smile.
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father. Didn't try hard enough, I suppose," replied
+Bert, smiling in his turn.
+
+"Well, do you intend to try this term, Bert?"
+
+"Indeed I do; and Frank's going to try, too. My best chance is in the
+arithmetic, so I'm going to try for that; and he's going in for
+grammar."
+
+"Very well, then, Bert, do your best; and if you win a prize I will give
+you what you have wanted so long--a pony."
+
+The expression of Bert's countenance at this quite unexpected
+announcement was a study. His eyes and mouth, the former with surprise,
+the latter with a smile, opened to their fullest extent, and for a
+moment he stood motionless. Then, springing across the floor, he leaped
+into his father's lap, put both arms around his neck, and burying his
+happy face in the brown whiskers, ejaculated, fervently:
+
+"You dear, dear father, you dear, dear father, how I do love you!"
+
+Mr. Lloyd returned the affectionate hug with interest, and then, holding
+Bert out on his knee, said, in a playful tone:
+
+"Aren't you in too much of a hurry about thanking me, Bert? You haven't
+won your pony yet, you know."
+
+"That's all right, father," returned Bert. "I mean to win it, and what's
+more, I'm going to."
+
+It need hardly be said that the first item of news Bert had for his
+friend Frank next morning was his father's offer.
+
+"Won't it be splendid to have a pony of my very own!" he exclaimed, his
+eyes dancing with delight at the prospect. "Perhaps your father will
+give you a pony, too, if you win a prize; hey, Frank?"
+
+Frank shook his head dubiously:
+
+"Not much chance of that, Bert. That's not his way of doing things."
+
+"Oh, well, never mind. You can ride turn about with me on mine, and
+we'll have just splendid fun."
+
+As the boys were talking together, little Ernest Linton approached,
+looking as if he had something on his mind. Getting close to Bert, he
+touched him gently on the arm to attract his attention, and, turning a
+very earnest, appealing face to his, said:
+
+"Bert, I want to ask a favour."
+
+"Hallo, Ernie, what's up?" asked Bert, in his kindest tones.
+
+Ernest then proceeded to tell him that his younger brother, Paul, was to
+come to the school in a few days, and that he was a very timid, delicate
+little chap that would be sure to be half frightened out of his life if
+they hoisted him; and what Ernest wanted was that Bert and Frank should
+see if they could not, in some way or other, save Paul from being
+hoisted.
+
+The two boys were filled with the idea at once. It was good enough fun
+to hoist sturdy fellows like themselves, who were none the worse for it;
+but if Paul were the sort of chap his brother said he was, it would be a
+real shame to give him such a scare, and they would do their best to
+prevent its being done. Accordingly, they promised Ernest they would
+protect his brother if they could, and Ernest felt very much relieved at
+their promise.
+
+But how were they going to carry it out? No exceptions had been made as
+to the hoisting since they had come to Dr. Johnston's, but all new boys
+were hoisted with perfect impartiality. They would be powerless by
+themselves, that was certain. Their only plan was to persuade a lot of
+the boys to join them, and they did not feel entirely sure about being
+able to do this. However, the first thing to be done was to ask Teter
+Johnston. If they could enlist his sympathies, their task would be a
+good deal easier. Accordingly, at recess, they made directly for Teter,
+and laid the whole matter before him. Like themselves, he took hold of
+it at once. It was just the sort of thing that would appeal to his big,
+warm, manly heart, and without hesitation he promised the boys he would
+give them all the help in his power.
+
+The next step was to secure recruits for their party. In this Teter
+helped them greatly, and Frank was very active too, because big Rod
+Graham, whom he disliked none the less, though Bert had thrashed him so
+soundly, always headed the hoisting party, and Frank looked forward with
+keen delight to balking this tormenting bully by means of the
+anti-hoisting party they were now organising.
+
+Of course, the movement could not be kept a secret. It soon leaked out,
+and then Rod Graham and Dick Wilding--who, by the way, since the stolen
+money episode, had been as cool in his relations with Bert as he had
+previously been cordial, evidently resenting very much Bert's
+withdrawal from his companionship--these two, with their associates,
+began to organise in their turn, so that it was not long before the
+school was divided into two parties, both of which were looking forward
+eagerly to the event which should decide which would have their own way.
+
+On the Monday following the opening of the school Ernest Linton brought
+his brother with him, a slight, pale, delicate little fellow, not more
+than eight years old, who clung close to his brother's side, and looked
+about with a frightened air that was sufficient in itself to arouse
+one's sympathies. Bert and Frank had known him before, but Teter had
+never seen him, and his kind heart prompted him to go up and slap the
+little fellow kindly on the back, saying:
+
+"So you're Linton's brother Paul, eh? Cheer up, little chap; we'll see
+they're not too hard upon you."
+
+Paul's pale face brightened, and looking up with a grateful glance, he
+said, softly:
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+Teter laughed at being "sirred," and went off, feeling quite pleased
+with himself.
+
+According to the custom of the school, Paul would be hoisted at the
+mid-day recess of the following day, and the boys looked forward eagerly
+to the struggle for which they had been preparing. During the morning
+their thoughts clearly were not upon the lessons, and so many mistakes
+were made that the shrewd doctor suspected there must be something
+brewing, but preferred to let it reveal itself rather than to interfere
+by premature questions. He was a profound student of human nature, and
+especially of boy nature. He knew his boys as thoroughly as an Eastern
+shepherd ever knew his sheep. They were like open books before him, and
+in this perhaps more than in anything else lay the secret of his rare
+success as a teacher.
+
+When the eagerly expected recess came, all the boys, with the exception
+of a small group, poured out tumultuously into the street, and ranged
+themselves in two bands in close proximity to the door. The group that
+remained consisted of the two Lintons, Bert, Frank, and Teter, the
+latter three constituting a sort of body-guard for poor timorous little
+Paul, who shrank in terror from the ordeal, the nature of which in truth
+he did not fully understand. Having consulted together for a minute or
+two, the body-guard then moved out through the door, taking care to keep
+Paul in the middle. As they emerged into the street, a kind of hum of
+suppressed excitement rose from the crowd awaiting them, followed
+immediately by cries of "Hoist him! hoist him!" uttered first by Graham
+and Wilding, and quickly taken up by their supporters.
+
+Pale with fright, Paul cowered close to Teter, while Bert and Frank
+stood in front of him, and their supporters quickly encircled them. Then
+came the struggle. Graham and Wilding and their party bore down upon
+Paul's defenders, and sought to break their way through them to reach
+their intended victim. Of course, no blows were struck. The boys all
+knew better than to do that; but pushing, hauling, wrestling, very much
+after the fashion of football players in a maul, the one party strove to
+seize Paul, who indeed offered no more resistance than an ordinary
+football, and the other to prevent his being carried off. For some
+minutes the issue was uncertain, although the hoisting party
+considerably outnumbered the anti-hoisting party. More than once did
+Graham and Wilding force their way into the centre of Paul's defenders,
+and almost have him in their grasp, only to be thrust away again by the
+faithful trio that stood about him like the three of whom Macaulay's
+ringing ballad tells:
+
+   "How well Horatius kept the bridge,
+   In the brave days of old."
+
+Shouting, struggling, swaying to and fro, the contest went on, much to
+the amusement of a crowd of spectators, among which the tall,
+blue-coated form of a policeman loomed up prominently, although he
+deigned not to interfere. At length the weight of superior numbers began
+to tell, and despite all their efforts the anti-hoisting party were
+borne slowly but surely toward the fence, upon which some of the boys
+had already taken their positions, ready to have Paul handed up to them.
+The case was looking desperate, and Teter, heated and wearied with his
+exertions, had just said, in his deepest tones, to Bert and Frank,
+"Come, boys, all together, try it once more," when suddenly a silence
+fell upon the noisy mob, and their arms, a moment before locked in tense
+struggling, fell limply to their sides; for there, standing between them
+and the fence, his keen, dark face lighted with a curious smile, and
+holding his hand above his head by way of a shield from the hot sun,
+stood Dr. Johnston!
+
+A genuine ghost at midnight could hardly have startled the boys more.
+Absorbed in their struggle, they had not seen the doctor until they were
+fairly upon him. For aught they knew he had been a spectator of the
+proceedings from the outset. What would he think of them? Rod Graham and
+Dick Wilding, slaves to a guilty conscience, slunk into the rear of
+their party, while Bert, and Frank, and Teter, glad of the unexpected
+relief, wiped their brows and arranged their disordered clothing, as
+they awaited the doctor's utterance. It soon came.
+
+"I desire an explanation of this unseemly disturbance. The school will
+follow me immediately into the schoolroom," said he, somewhat sternly;
+and turning upon his heel went back to his desk, the boys following at a
+respectful distance.
+
+When all had been seated, and the room was quiet, Dr. Johnston asked:
+
+"Will the leaders in the proceedings outside come to my desk?"
+
+There was a moment's pause, and then Teter rose from his seat, Bert
+immediately imitating him, and the two walked slowly down to the open
+space before the master's desk.
+
+Having waited a minute, and no one else appearing, the doctor leaned
+forward and said to his nephew:
+
+"You and Lloyd were on the same side, were you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Teter.
+
+"Well, who were the leaders of the other side? I wish to know."
+
+"Graham and Wilding, sir," answered Teter.
+
+"Graham and Wilding, come forward," called the doctor, sternly; and the
+two boys, looking very conscious and shamefaced, reluctantly left their
+seats and took their places before the throne.
+
+"Now, then, I wish to be informed of the whole matter," said the doctor.
+
+Bert looked at Teter, and Teter looked at Bert.
+
+"You tell him," he whispered; "you know most about it."
+
+Thereupon, with the utmost frankness, Bert proceeded to tell his story,
+beginning at his first talk with Ernest Linton.
+
+The doctor listened intently, his inscrutable face revealing nothing as
+to how the story impressed him. When Bert had finished, he turned to
+Graham and Wilding, and asked them:
+
+"Is Lloyd's statement correct? or have you anything to add?"
+
+They hung their heads, and were silent.
+
+The doctor looked very hard at them for a moment, during which the
+silence was so intense that the fall of a pin upon the floor would have
+been heard; then, turning to the school, he spoke as follows:
+
+"The events that have just transpired have hastened a decision that has
+been forming in my mind for some time past. I was not unaware of this
+practice of which Lloyd has just spoken, but deemed it well not to
+interfere until my interference should seem necessary. That time, in my
+judgment, has arrived, and I have determined that there shall be no more
+of this hoisting. Be it, therefore, distinctly understood by the pupils
+of this school, that any future attempts at the hoisting of new boys
+will incur punishment, and possibly even expulsion from the school. You
+will now resume work."
+
+A subdued murmur of applause arose from the anti-hoisting party at the
+conclusion of the doctor's announcement. They had more than carried
+their point; for, intending only to protect Paul Linton, they had
+obtained the complete abolition of the practice. Bert was greatly
+elated, and could talk of nothing else when he got home. Father, and
+mother, and sister, had to listen to the fullest details of the struggle
+and its surprising issue, and Bert fairly outdid himself in the vigour
+and minuteness of his description. When the fountain of his eloquence at
+last ran dry, Mr. Lloyd had a chance to say, with one of his expressive
+smiles:
+
+"And so my boy has come out as a reformer. Well, Bert, dear, you have
+taken the first step in the most thankless and trying of all careers,
+and yet I would not discourage you for the world. I would a thousand
+times rather have you a reformer than an opposer of reforms. I wonder
+what work God has in store for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING.
+
+
+There were many ways in which the methods employed at Dr. Johnston's
+school were unique. The system of registering attendance, proficiency,
+and conduct has been already fully explained. It was hardly possible
+that this could have been more perfect. No boy could be absent without
+being missed, and an explanation or excuse of a thoroughly satisfactory
+nature was required the next day. No mistake could occur as to the
+standing of the pupils in the different classes. The record of each day
+was all comprehensive. It constituted a photograph, so to speak, of each
+pupil's doings, in so far as they related to his school, and the doctor
+was exceedingly proud of the journals, which he kept with scrupulous
+care and neatness.
+
+Another feature of the school, peculiar to itself, was the system by
+which a knowledge of arithmetic was fostered, and the faculty of using
+it quickly was developed. The whole of one morning each week was devoted
+to this. The scholars were grouped in classes according to their
+varying proficiency, care being taken to give each one a fair chance by
+associating him with those who were about as far advanced as himself.
+These classes were then arranged upon seats very much after the fashion
+of a Sunday school, save that instead of a teacher being in their
+centre, they were placed around a backless chair, in such a manner that
+it was equally convenient of access to all. Each boy had his slate and
+pencil in readiness.
+
+The school having been called to order, the doctor then proceeded to
+read out to the senior class a problem in proportion or compound
+interest, or whatever it might be, and this they hurriedly scribbled
+down on their slates. If they did not understand it fully at first, he
+would read it again, but of course never gave any explanations. So soon
+as a scholar had clearly grasped the problem to be solved he set to work
+at its solution with all his might, and it was a most interesting
+spectacle to watch when the whole class, with heads bent close to the
+slates, made their squeaking, scratching pencils fly over them. Every
+possible shade of mental condition, from confident knowledge to
+foreboding bewilderment, would be expressed in their faces. The instant
+one of them had completed his work, he banged his slate down upon the
+backless chair, with the writing turned under. The others followed as
+best they could, and all the slates being down, they awaited the
+doctor's coming around to their class again.
+
+When Dr. Johnston had completed the round of the classes, and given each
+a problem, he would, after a pause, call upon each in turn to read the
+answers as set down upon the slate. The boy whose slate was first on the
+chair, and therefore at the bottom of the pile, would read his answer
+first. If it were correct, he scored a point, and none of the others
+were called upon. If incorrect, the next to him would read his answer,
+and so on until a correct answer was given, and a point scored by
+somebody. Only one point could be made each round, and so the
+unsuccessful ones had to console themselves with the hope of having
+better luck next time. Not more than four or five rounds would be had
+each day, and it rarely happened that the same boy would be successful
+in all of them. Three points were considered a very good day's work, and
+if a boy made four points he was apt to feel that the prize in that
+class was as good as his, until some other boy made four points also,
+and thereby lessened his chances.
+
+It did not always happen that being first down with his slate assured
+the scholar of scoring a point. A slight mistake in his addition,
+subtraction, or division might have thrown him off the track, and then
+number two, or maybe number three, would come in with a correct answer
+and triumphantly score the point, success being all the sweeter, because
+of being somewhat unexpected.
+
+Now this kind of competition suited Bert thoroughly. He was as quick as
+any of his companions, cooler than many of them, and had by this time
+acquired a very good understanding of the chief principles of
+arithmetic. He greatly enjoyed the working against time, which was the
+distinctive feature of the contest. It brought out his mental powers to
+their utmost, and he looked forward to "arithmetic day," with an
+eagerness that was not caused entirely by what his father had promised
+him in the event of his being successful in carrying off a prize.
+
+In the same class with him were Frank Bowser, Ernest Linton, and a
+half-dozen other boys of similar age and standing in the school. He had
+no fear of Frank or Ernest. They were no match for him either as to
+knowledge, or rapidity of work; but there was a boy in the class who
+seemed fully his equal in both respects. This was Levi Cohen, a
+dark-skinned, black-haired chap, whose Jewish features were in entire
+harmony with his Jewish name. He was indeed a Jew, and, young though he
+was, had all the depth, self-control, and steadfastness of purpose of
+that strange race. He also had, as the sequel will show their
+indifference as to the rightness of the means employed so long as the
+end in view was gained.
+
+The school had been in session for more than a month, and those who were
+particularly interested in the arithmetic competitions were already
+calculating their chances of success. In Bert's class it was clear
+beyond a doubt that the contest lay between him and Levi Cohen. It
+rarely happened that they did not monopolise the points between them,
+and so far, they had divided them pretty evenly. One day Bert would
+score three and Levi two, and then the next week Levi would have three,
+and Bert two, and so it went on from week to week.
+
+As the second month drew to a close, Bert began to gain upon his rival.
+He nearly always made the majority of the points, and was now at least
+six ahead. Then suddenly the tide turned and Levi seemed to have it all
+his own way. The quickness with which he got the answers was
+bewildering. Nay, more, it was even suspicious. One familiar with the
+details of the problems given, and the amount of work a full working out
+would require, could not help being struck by the fact that Cohen seemed
+to arrive at his answer after a remarkably small expenditure of
+slate-pencil. Time and again he would have his slate down at least
+half-a-minute before Bert did his, although previous to this sudden
+change in his fortunes, the difference in time between them had been
+rarely more than a few seconds. Then again it was noticeable that he
+took the utmost care that none of the others should see what was on his
+slate. He did his work in a corner, hunched up over it so that it was
+well concealed, and he snatched his slate away from the pile at the very
+first opportunity.
+
+Bert noticed all these things, and they perplexed him quite as much as
+Cohen's rapid gain alarmed him. He soon became convinced that there was
+something wrong, that Cohen was doing crooked work; but, puzzle his
+brains as he might, he could not get at the bottom of the mystery. Frank
+and Ernest fully shared his suspicions, and they had many a talk over
+the matter. Frank thought that Cohen must have the answers written on a
+piece of paper which he managed to peep at somehow while all the other
+boys were absorbed in working out the problems; but although he on
+several occasions purposely refrained from doing anything himself in
+order to watch Cohen the more closely, he failed to find the slightest
+ground for his suspicions in that direction. Then Bert put forward his
+theory.
+
+"I'll tell what it is Frank: Cohen must learn the answers off by heart,
+and then he sets them down without working out the whole sum."
+
+"Shouldn't wonder a bit," said Frank. "He's got a great memory, I know,
+and we always can tell from what part of the arithmetic Dr. Johnston is
+going to get the sums."
+
+"But how can we make sure of it, Frank?" inquired Bert, anxiously.
+
+"The only way is to get hold of his slate, and see how he works his sums
+out," replied Frank.
+
+"Yes; but he takes precious good care not to let anybody see how he does
+them."
+
+"So he does; but we've got to find out some way, and I'm going to do it,
+so sure as my name's Frank Bowser."
+
+"How'll you manage it, Frank?" asked Bert, brightening up; for he really
+was a good deal troubled over Cohen's continued success, particularly as
+he felt so strongly that there was something wrong at the bottom of it.
+
+"I don't know yet, Bert; but I'll find out a way somehow. See if you
+can't think of a plan yourself."
+
+"I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll ask father about it," said Bert, in a
+tone that implied perfect confidence in Mr. Lloyd's ability to furnish a
+solution for any difficulty.
+
+Accordingly, that evening, Bert laid the whole case before his father,
+who listened with judicial gravity, and then proceeded to ask a question
+or two:
+
+"You feel quite sure that Cohen does not take the time to work out the
+sums properly?"
+
+"Yes, father; perfectly sure."
+
+"Then why don't you inform Dr. Johnston of your suspicions, and he will
+make an examination into the matter?"
+
+"Oh, father!" exclaimed Bert, with a look of profound surprise. "You
+wouldn't have me turn tattle-tale, would you?"
+
+"No, Bert, dear; indeed, I would not, although you should lose a dozen
+prizes. I said that simply to see what you would think of it, and I am
+glad you answered me as I expected you would. But, Bert, you have asked
+my advice in this matter. Did you think of asking somebody else who is
+infinitely wiser than I am?"
+
+Bert understood his father at once.
+
+"No, father; I did not. I never thought of it," he answered, frankly.
+
+"Then had you not better do so when you are saying your prayers
+to-night?"
+
+"I will, father. I'm so glad you reminded me." And with that Bert
+dropped the subject for the time.
+
+That night, ere he went to bed, Bert laid the matter before his Father
+in heaven, just as he had done before his father upon earth. He had
+imbibed his ideas of prayer from what he heard from his own father at
+family worship. Mr. Lloyd's conception of prayer was that it could not
+be too simple, too straightforward. It often seemed as though God were
+present in the room, and he was talking with him, so natural, so
+sincere, so direct were his petitions. And Bert had learned to pray in
+the same manner. A listener might at times be tempted to smile at the
+frankness, the naïvete of Bert's requests; but they were uttered not
+more in boyish earnest than in truest reverence by the petitioner.
+
+The next morning, when Bert came down to the breakfast-room, he was
+evidently in the best of spirits.
+
+"It's all right, father," said he. "I asked God to show me what's the
+best thing to do, and I'm sure He will."
+
+"That's it, Bert; that's the way to look at it," replied Mr. Lloyd, with
+a smile of warm approval.
+
+On reaching the school Bert found Frank awaiting him.
+
+"I've got it! I've got it!" he shouted, so soon as Bert appeared. "I
+know how Levi manages it now."
+
+"How is it?" asked Bert, eagerly.
+
+"Why, he learns all the answers off by heart, and then doesn't work out
+the sums at all, but just pretends to, and slaps down the answer before
+the rest of us fellows are half through," explained Frank.
+
+"To be sure, Frank; you know I thought of that before. But how are we
+going to stop him?"
+
+"That's just what I'm coming to. When the time comes to read the answers
+I'm going to take up the slates, just as if mine was down first; and
+then, if Levi's been playing sharp on us, I'll expose him."
+
+"What a brick you are!" exclaimed Bert, admiringly, patting Frank on the
+back. "That's a grand plan of yours, and I do believe it's the way God
+is going to answer my prayer."
+
+"Answer your prayer, Bert? Why, what do you mean?" inquired Frank.
+
+"Why, you know, Frank, last night when I was saying my prayers, I told
+God all about it, and now I believe He's going to make it all right. You
+just see if He doesn't."
+
+Frank was evidently very much struck with the idea of his being chosen
+by God to answer Bert's prayer. It was quite a new thought, and made a
+deep impression upon him. He was a clear and strong, if not very rapid,
+reasoner, and his reasoning in this case led him to the conclusion that
+if God thought that much of him he certainly ought to think more of God.
+He did not talk about it to anyone, but for many days his mind was
+occupied with thoughts of this nature, and their direct result was to
+lead him nearer to the kingdom.
+
+At the very first opportunity Frank put his plan into execution.
+Arithmetic day came round, the class gathered in its place, the first
+sum was read out to them, and before Bert was half through working it
+out, Levi Cohen placed his slate softly upon the chair, and leaned back
+in his seat with a sly smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. Frank
+glanced up from his work, gave Bert a meaning look, and then dropped his
+slate upon Cohen's with a loud bang. The others followed more slowly,
+and presently the time came for the answers to be read.
+
+Before Cohen could leave his corner, Frank rose up, seized the pile of
+slates, turned them over, and examined the first intently, while Bert
+watched him with breathless expectancy, and Cohen, at first too
+surprised to act, sprang forward to wrest it from his hands. But Frank
+moved out of his reach, and at the same time, with a triumphant smile,
+exhibited the face of the slate to the rest of the class, saying, in a
+loud whisper:
+
+"Look, boys, that's the way he works them out."
+
+Dr. Johnston noticed the slight commotion this created, but he was too
+far away to see clearly what it meant, so he called out:
+
+"Why does not class six read their answers?"
+
+Cohen stood up, and held up his hand.
+
+"Well, Cohen, what is it?" asked the doctor.
+
+"Please, sir, Bowser has taken my slate, and won't give it to me,"
+answered Cohen, in a whining voice.
+
+"Bowser, what's the meaning of this? What are you doing with Cohen's
+slate?" demanded the doctor, frowning darkly.
+
+Frank did not look a bit frightened, but still holding on to the slate,
+which Cohen was making ineffectual efforts to regain, replied, in
+respectful tones:
+
+"May I hand you the slate first, sir?"
+
+At these words Cohen turned ashy pale, and Dr. Johnston, realising that
+there must be something going on that required explanation, ordered
+Frank to bring all the slates up to him.
+
+With radiant face Frank proceeded to obey, giving Bert a triumphant look
+as he passed by him, while Cohen shrank back into his corner, and bit
+his nails as though he would devour his finger tips. Taking up Cohen's
+slate, the doctor scrutinised it carefully. One glance was sufficient. A
+deep flush spread over his dark face, his eyes lighted up threateningly,
+and in his sternest tones he called out:
+
+"Cohen, come here!"
+
+Amid the expectant hush of the school, none but class six knowing what
+was the matter, Cohen, looking as though he would give his right hand to
+be able to sink through the floor, walked slowly up into the dreadful
+presence of the angered master. Holding up the slate before him, Dr.
+Johnston asked:
+
+"Is this your slate, sir?"
+
+Cohen gave it a cowering glance, and said, faintly:
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"How long has this been going on?" thundered the doctor.
+
+Cohen made no reply.
+
+"Answer me, sir, at once. How long has this been going on?" repeated the
+doctor.
+
+"I don't quite know, sir; but not very long," faltered out Cohen.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust, Dr. Johnston turned from him, and,
+holding the slate up high so that all the school might see it, relieved
+the curiosity of the scholars, now at fever pitch, by addressing them
+thus:
+
+"Cohen has just been detected in one of the most contemptible tricks
+that has come under my observation since I have been master of this
+school. He has evidently been committing to memory the answers to the
+problems that would be given out, and instead of doing the work properly
+has been scratching down a few figures, then writing the answers, and so
+finishing long before any of the other scholars. I need hardly say that
+this is not only a most contemptible trick, as I have already said, but
+a serious blow at the principles of fair play and justice which should
+regulate the winning of prizes in this school. I therefore feel bound to
+express my indignation at Cohen's offence in the most decided manner."
+
+Turning to Cohen: "You, sir, shall stand upon the floor for punishment.
+All the points scored by you already this term will be taken from you,
+and you will not be permitted to compete for any prize until I shall so
+determine."
+
+A kind of subdued whistle rose from the boys when they heard the
+doctor's severe, and yet not too severe, sentence. Cohen was no
+favourite with them; and yet they could not help some pity for him, as
+thoroughly cowed and crushed he stood before them all, the very picture
+of misery. Bert's tender heart was so touched by his abject appearance,
+that he half relented at his exposure. But Frank was troubled by no such
+second thoughts. The unexpectedly complete success of his scheme filled
+him with delight. It had accomplished two objects, both of which gave
+him keen pleasure. Bert's most dangerous rival for the prize had been
+put out of the way, and Cohen, whom he cordially disliked, had been well
+punished for his knavery.
+
+With Cohen disqualified, Bert had a comparatively easy time of it for
+the rest of the term. He usually managed to secure four out of the five
+points obtainable, and steadily added to his score until at last there
+was no chance of anyone beating him, and he could look forward with
+comfortable confidence to the prize that meant so much in his case. A
+few days before Christmas the results were declared, and the prizes
+awarded, and although Bert gained only the one upon which his heart had
+been set, while other boys carried off two, and even three, he envied
+none of them. Their prizes meant nothing more perhaps than the
+brightly-bound books which the doctor selected with special reference to
+boyish preferences. But _his_ prize meant more than a book. It meant a
+pony. And so if he was the happiest boy in all the land of Acadia it was
+not without good reason. Frank was hardly less jubilant, for he had
+gained his prize, and there was a hope taking strong hold upon his
+heart, that if fortune was kind to him, there might be a pony for him as
+well as for Bert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+A CHAPTER ON PONIES.
+
+
+It was a proud day for Bert when he came home from school, bearing a
+handsome volume of Captain Gordon Cumming's Adventures in Africa, and he
+felt as though he could scarcely wait for his father's return from the
+office, so eager was he to show him his prize. As it was, he watched
+impatiently for him, and so soon as he came in sight rushed toward him,
+holding the book above his head, and shouting:
+
+"I've won it. I've won the prize."
+
+The Lloyds were all quite as proud as Bert himself over his success, and
+they made a very merry quartette as they sat around the dinner-table
+that evening.
+
+"Dear me! I suppose I'll have to keep my promise now, though it takes my
+last cent to pay for it," said Mr. Lloyd, with a pretence of looking
+rueful.
+
+"Indeed you will, father. I'm not going to let you off, of that you may
+be sure," exclaimed Bert, gleefully, knowing very well that his father
+was only in fun, and that it would take the cost of a good many ponies
+to reach his last cent.
+
+"Well, then, sir, since you insist upon it, may I venture to inquire
+what sort of a pony you would like."
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father."
+
+"I suppose you're not very particular, Bert, so long as he'll let you
+stay on his back," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling.
+
+"That's about it, father," assented Bert.
+
+"Be sure and get a nice, quiet pony that won't run away with Bert, or
+give him a nasty kick some time," interposed Mrs. Lloyd, with an anxious
+look, as she contemplated the possibility of some accident happening to
+her darling.
+
+"Never fear, mother, I'll make sure of that," answered Mr. Lloyd, with a
+reassuring smile. "And for that very reason," he continued, addressing
+himself to Bert, "I may be some time in finding one just to suit. So you
+must be patient, my little man, and be willing to wait, so that when
+your pony does come, he may be a good one."
+
+As it turned out, Bert had to wait several months, and the chill winter
+had given way to the warm sunshine of spring, and the boy's patience had
+almost given way altogether, when at last his father, on coming home one
+evening, announced, to his immense joy, that after much searching he had
+secured a pony that thoroughly suited him, and that this equine treasure
+would be brought to the house the next morning early.
+
+If Bert was too much excited to sleep for more than half-an-hour at a
+time that night, who cannot sympathise with him? And if, when he did
+fall into a troubled doze, he had nightmare visions which soon woke him
+up again, who would dare laugh at him? In all his young life he had
+never been in such a fever of expectation, and long before dawn he was
+wide awake, with no hope of again closing his eyes, and tossed and
+tumbled about until it was light enough to get up and dress himself.
+
+As soon as he had dressed he went down to the barn to assure himself for
+the twentieth time that the little stall was in perfect readiness; that
+there was no lack of oats in the bin or hay in the loft; that the
+brand-new halter was hanging in its place, waiting to be clasped upon
+the head of the coming pony, and thus he managed to while away the time
+until the breakfast bell rang.
+
+The pony was to arrive shortly after breakfast, and, hungry as he was,
+Bert could scarcely be persuaded to taste his porridge, toast, or
+coffee, and he made the others laugh by jumping up to run to the door at
+the slightest suspicion of a sound in the street. At length, just when
+he had settled down again after one of these excursions, the door bell
+rang vigorously. Bert rushed through the hall, opened the door, and
+immediately there was a glad shout of "Hurrah! Here he is! Isn't he a
+beauty?" which brought the whole family to the door, and there they
+beheld the overjoyed boy with his arms clasped tightly round the neck
+of a brown pony that seemed to quite appreciate this little
+demonstration, while the groom looked on with a superior smile at Bert's
+enthusiasm.
+
+The pony was indeed a beauty. He was of a rich brown colour, without a
+white spot upon him, just high enough for Bert to see comfortably over
+his back, and as round and plump as the best master could wish. His head
+was small and perfectly shaped, his neck beautifully arched, and he had
+large brown eyes that looked out upon the world with an intelligence
+almost human. He had the highest testimonials as to soundness of wind
+and limb, and sweetness of temper, and was altogether just the very kind
+of a pony to make a boy happy.
+
+And yet all of his good points have not been recounted. He had a list of
+accomplishments quite as long as his list of virtues, for at some
+previous stage of his life he had, on account of his beauty and great
+docility, been put in training for the circus; and although for some
+reason or other he had never got so far as to make his appearance in the
+saw-dust arena, he had been taught a great many tricks, and these he was
+generally willing to perform, provided an apple or lump of sugar were
+held out as a reward.
+
+All this the groom explained while they were standing at the door, and
+then the pony, having been sufficiently introduced, was led round to the
+yard, and duly installed in his corner of the stable, Bert clinging as
+close to him as if he feared he had wings like the fabled Pegasus,
+and might fly away if not carefully watched.
+
+[Illustration: "The pony was a beauty, just high enough for Bert to see
+comfortably over his back."--_Page_ 256.]
+
+The days that followed were days of unalloyed happiness to Bert. He, of
+course, had to learn to ride "Brownie," as the pony was christened by
+Mary, to whom was referred the question of a name. But it was an easy
+matter learning to ride so gentle and graceful a creature. First at a
+walk, then at a trot, then at a canter, and finally at full gallop, Bert
+ere long made the circuit of the neighbouring squares; and as he became
+more thoroughly at home he extended his rides to the Point, where there
+were long stretches of tree-shaded road that seemed just intended for
+being ridden over.
+
+The best of it was that, as Bert prophesied, the wish being in his case
+father to the thought, Mr. Bowser did follow Mr. Lloyd's example.
+
+"I reckon I can stand a pony for my boy about as well as Lawyer Lloyd
+can for his," said he to himself, pressing his hand upon a fat wallet in
+his pocket, after Frank had been earnestly petitioning him, without
+eliciting any favourable response. "There's no point in Frank's going on
+foot while Bert's on horseback. I must see about it."
+
+He gave poor disappointed Frank, however, no hint of what he had in
+mind; and then one day he made him fairly wild with delight, by sending
+home a pretty bay pony with a star in his forehead, which, although he
+was not quite as handsome or accomplished as "Brownie," was an
+excellent little animal, nevertheless. Oh, what proud, happy boys the
+two friends were, the first day they rode out together! It was a lovely
+afternoon, not too warm to make it hard upon the ponies, and they rode
+right round the Point, and along the road skirting the arm of the sea,
+going much farther than Bert had ever been before; now pattering along
+the smooth dry road at a rattling pace, and now jogging on quietly with
+the reins hanging loosely on the ponies' necks. If Bert's pony knew the
+more tricks, Frank's showed the greater speed, so they both had
+something to be especially proud of, and were content accordingly.
+
+Brownie's performances were very amusing indeed, and after he and his
+young master had become thoroughly acquainted, he would go through them
+whenever called upon to do so. Often when the Lloyds had guests, they
+would entertain them by having Bert put Brownie through his programme.
+Then the cute little fellow would be at his best, for he evidently
+enjoyed an appreciative audience quite as much as they did his feats. He
+would begin by making a very respectful bow to the spectators, lifting
+his pretty head as high as he could, and bringing it down until his nose
+touched his breast. He would then, as commanded, "say his prayers,"
+which he did by kneeling with his forefeet, and dropping his head upon
+his knees; "knock at the door," which meant going up to the nearest
+door, and knocking at it with his hoof until some one opened it; "walk
+like a gentleman"--that is, rear up on his hind legs, and walk up and
+down the yard; "go to sleep," by lying down and shutting his big brown
+eyes tight; shake hands by gracefully extending his right hoof; allow a
+cap to be placed on his head, and then sidle up and down the yard in the
+most roguish way; and other little tricks no less amusing, which never
+failed to elicit rounds of applause from the delighted spectators.
+
+There were many ways in which Brownie endeared himself to every member
+of the Lloyd family. If Mrs. Lloyd or Mary happened to come into the
+yard when, as often happened, he was roaming about loose, he would go up
+to them and rub his nose gently against their shoulder, thus saying as
+plainly as could be, "Haven't you got a crust for me?" and the moment
+Mr. Lloyd showed himself, Brownie's nose would be snuffing at his coat
+pockets for the bit of apple or lump of sugar that rarely failed to be
+there. As for his bearing toward Bert, it showed such affection,
+obedience, and intelligence, that it is not to be wondered at, if the
+boy sometimes asked himself if the "Houyhnhnms" of Gulliver's Travels
+had not their counterpart in nature, after all.
+
+Great, then, was the concern and sorrow when, after he had been just a
+year with them, Brownie fell sick, and the veterinary surgeon said that
+he must be sent away to the country to see if that would make him well
+again. Bert sobbed bitterly when the little invalid was led away. He
+would have dearly loved to accompany Brownie, but that could not be
+managed, so there was nothing for it but to wait patiently at home for
+the news from the sick pony.
+
+Unhappily, the reports were not cheering. Each time they were less
+hopeful, and at last one dull rainy day that Bert was long in
+forgetting, the farmer came himself to say that despite his utmost care
+dear little Brownie had died, and was now buried beneath a willow tree
+in a corner of the pasture. Poor Bert! This was the first great grief of
+his life. Had Brownie been a human companion, he could hardly have felt
+his loss more keenly or sorrowed more sincerely. The little, empty
+stall, the brass-mounted bridle, and steel-stirruped saddle hanging up
+beside it, brought out his tears afresh every time he looked upon them.
+Frank did his best to console him by offering him the use of his pony
+whenever he liked; but, ah! though "Charlie" was a nice enough pony, he
+could not fill the blank made by Brownie's loss.
+
+In the meantime Mr. Lloyd had been making diligent inquiry about a
+successor to Brownie, and had come to the conclusion to await the annual
+shipment from Sable Island, and see if a suitable pony could not be
+picked out from the number. The announcement of this did much to arouse
+Bert from his low spirits, and as Mr. Lloyd told him about those Sable
+Island ponies he grew more and more interested. They certainly have a
+curious history. To begin with, nobody knows just how they got on that
+strange, wild, desolate, sand bank that rises from the ocean about a
+hundred miles to the east of Nova Scotia. Had they the power of speech,
+and were they asked to give an account of themselves, they would
+probably reply with Topsy that "they didn't know--they 'spects they
+grow'd." There they are, however, to the number of several hundred, and
+there they have been ever since anybody knew anything about Sable
+Island. And such a place for ponies to be! It is nothing but a bank of
+sand, not twenty-five miles long, by about one and a-half wide, covered
+here and there with patches of dense coarse grass, wild pea vine, and
+cranberry swamps. There are no trees, no brooks, no daisied meadows, and
+through all seasons of the year the ponies are out exposed to the
+weather, whether it be the furious snow storms of winter, the burning
+heat of summer, or the mad gales of the autumn.
+
+Once a year the Government officials who live upon the island, having
+charge of the lighthouses and relief stations, for it is a terrible
+place for wrecks, have what the Western ranchmen would call a "round-up"
+of the ponies. They are all driven into a big "corral" at one end of the
+island, and the best of the younger ones carefully culled out, the rest
+being set free again. Those selected are then at the first opportunity
+put on board a ship and carried off to Halifax, where rough, shaggy,
+ungroomed, and untamed, they are sold at auction to the highest
+bidders.
+
+It was one of these ponies that Mr. Lloyd proposed to purchase for Bert.
+The latter was an expert rider now, and could be intrusted with a much
+more spirited animal than dear, little Brownie. The arrival of the
+annual shipment was accordingly looked forward to by both Bert and his
+father with a good deal of interest, Bert wondering if on the whole
+shipload there would be anything to compare with Brownie, and Mr. Lloyd
+hoping that he would be able to obtain a pony big enough to carry him if
+he felt in the humour for a ride on a bright summer morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES.
+
+
+In due time the Sable Island ponies arrived, and were announced to be
+sold by auction, at the Government Wharf. Taking Bert with him, Mr.
+Lloyd went down in time to have a good look at the shipment before the
+sale commenced, so that he might have his mind made up before beginning
+to bid. They certainly were a queer lot of little creatures. Not a
+curry-comb had touched their hides since they were born, nor had the
+shears ever been near their manes or tails. Their coats were long,
+thick, and filled with dirt; their manes and tails of prodigious length,
+and matted together in inextricable knots. They were of all colours, and
+within certain limits of all sizes. Brown, bay, black, piebald, grey,
+and sorrel. There was no lack of variety; and Mr. Lloyd and Bert
+wandered up and down the long line as they stood tethered to the wall,
+scrutinising them closely, and sorely puzzled as to which to decide
+upon.
+
+It was, of course, quite impossible to tell anything as to disposition,
+for all the ponies seemed equally wild and terrified at their novel
+situation; but, after going over them carefully, Mr. Lloyd decided upon
+a very promising-looking black pony that stood near the middle of the
+row. He was of a good size, seemed to be in better condition than many
+of those around him, had a well-shaped head, and altogether presented
+about as attractive an appearance as any in the lot.
+
+There were numerous bidders at the auction, and Bert grew deeply
+interested in the selling, as pony after pony was put up, and after a
+more or less spirited contest, according to his looks, was knocked down
+to the person that bid the highest for him. By the time the pony his
+father had selected was reached, he was fairly trembling with
+excitement. He was full of apprehension lest somebody else should take
+him away from them, and when the bidding began, he watched every
+movement and word of the auctioneer with breathless anxiety, raising
+quite a laugh at one time, by answering his oft-repeated question "Will
+anybody give me five? I have thirty--will anybody give me five?" with an
+eager "I will!" that was easily heard by everybody in the crowd. It was
+an immense relief to him, when, at length, after what seemed to him most
+unnecessary persistence in trying to get more, the auctioneer called out
+"Going, going, going, at thirty-five dollars. Will you give me any more?
+Going at thirty-five--going, going, _gone_; and sold to Mr. Lloyd."
+
+Thirty-five dollars does not seem very much to give for a pony; but
+considering that this pony had everything to learn, and nobody to
+guarantee his good behaviour, it was a fair enough price for him. The
+getting him home proved to be quite a serious undertaking. The strange
+sights and sounds of the city streets did not merely frighten him--they
+positively crazed him for the time; and it took two strong men, one on
+either side of his head, to guide him in safety to the stable. Once
+securely fastened in the stall, he quieted down in time, but not one
+bite of food would he touch that day, nor the next, although Bert tried
+to tempt him with everything of which Brownie had been fond. This
+troubled Bert very much. He began to fear his new pony would starve to
+death. But his father reassured him.
+
+"Don't be alarmed, my boy. The pony will find his appetite all right so
+soon as he gets used to his new quarters," said Mr. Lloyd.
+
+And sure enough on the third morning, Bert, to his great relief, found
+the oat box licked clean, and the pony looking round wistfully for
+something more to eat. After that, the difficulty lay rather in
+satisfying than in tempting his appetite. He proved an insatiable eater.
+But then nobody thought of stinting him, especially as his bones were
+none too well covered.
+
+It was with great difficulty that he could be persuaded to allow himself
+to be groomed. He would start at the touch of the curry-comb, as though
+it gave him an electric shock, and Michael, who combined in himself the
+offices of groom and gardener, declared that "of all the pesky, fidgety
+critters that ever stood on four legs, he never did see the like of this
+'ere Sable Islander." Michael's opinion was not improved when he came to
+break the little Sable Islander in, for he led him such a dance day
+after day that his stout heart was well-nigh broken before the pony's
+will showed any signs of being broken. However, patience and kindness,
+combined with firmness, eventually won the day; and Michael, with
+considerable pride announced that "Sable," as it had been decided to
+call him, was ready for use.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thought it best to ride Sable for a week or two before Bert
+should mount him, and to this arrangement Bert was nothing loath, for
+the pony's actions while in process of being broken in had rather
+subdued his eagerness to trust himself upon him. As it chanced, Mr.
+Lloyd came very near paying a severe penalty for his thoughtfulness. He
+had been out several mornings on Sable, and had got along very well. One
+morning while he was in the act of mounting, the gate suddenly slammed
+behind him with a loud bang. The pony at once started off at full
+gallop. Mr. Lloyd succeeded in throwing himself into the saddle, but
+could not get his feet into the stirrups, and when the frightened
+creature upon which he had so insecure a hold swerved sharply round at
+the end of the street, he was hurled from his seat like a stone from a
+catapult, and fell headlong, striking his right temple upon the hard
+ground.
+
+A few minutes later Mrs. Lloyd was startled by a hasty rap at the door,
+and on opening it beheld her husband supported between two men, his face
+ghastly pale, and stained with blood from a wound on his forehead. She
+was a brave woman, and although her heart almost stood still with
+agonised apprehension, she did not lose control of herself for an
+instant. Directing Mr. Lloyd to be carried into the parlour and laid
+gently upon the sofa, Mrs. Lloyd bathed his head and face while Mary
+chafed his hands; and presently, to their unspeakable joy, he recovered
+consciousness. Fortunately, his injuries proved to be comparatively
+slight. Beyond a cut on his forehead, a bad headache, and a general
+shaking up, he had suffered no material injury, and he would not listen
+to Mrs. Lloyd's finding any fault with Sable for the accident.
+
+"Tut! tut! Kate," said he; "the pony was not to blame at all. Any horse
+might have been frightened by a gate banging to at his heels. The fault
+was mine in not seeing that the gate was shut before I mounted. No; no,
+you must not blame poor, little Sable."
+
+Curiously enough, Bert had a somewhat similar experience shortly after
+he began to ride Sable. At a little distance from the house was a hill
+up which the street led, and then down the other side out into the
+country. The ascent was pretty steep, the descent not so much so, and
+Bert liked to walk his pony up to the top, and then canter down the
+other side. One afternoon, just as he reached the summit, a little
+street boy, probably by way of expressing the envy he felt for those who
+could afford to ride, threw a stone at Sable, which struck him a
+stinging blow on the hindquarters. Like an arrow from the bow, the pony
+was off. Taking the bit in his teeth, and straightening his head out, he
+went at full speed down the hill, Bert holding on for dear life with his
+heart in his mouth, and his hat from his head.
+
+In some way or other, he himself never knew exactly how, he got both his
+feet out of the stirrups, and it was well for him he did, for just at
+the bottom of the hill, when he was going like a greyhound, Sable
+stopped short, lowered his head, flung up his heels, and, without the
+slightest protest or delay, Bert went flying from the saddle, and landed
+in the middle of the dusty road in a sitting posture with his legs
+stretched out before him. The saucy pony paused just long enough to make
+sure that his rider was disposed of beyond a doubt, and then galloped
+away, apparently in high glee.
+
+Bert was not hurt in the least. He had never sat down quite so
+unexpectedly before, but the thick dust of the road made an excellent
+cushion, and he was soon upon his feet, and in full cry after the
+runaway. Thanks to a gentleman on horseback who had witnessed the whole
+scene, and went immediately in chase of Sable, the latter was soon
+recaptured, and Bert, having thanked his friend in need, and brushed
+some of the dust from his clothes, remounted his mischievous steed, and
+rode him for the rest of the afternoon.
+
+After those two somewhat unpromising performances, Sable settled down
+into very good habits, and during all the rest of the time that he was
+in Bert's possession did not again disgrace himself by running away or
+pitching anyone off his back. He never became the pet that Brownie had
+been, but he was, upon the whole, a more useful animal, so that Bert
+came to feel himself well compensated for his loss.
+
+About this time Bert made the acquaintance of a pony of a very different
+sort. How, indeed, it came to have this name does not seem to be very
+clear, for what natural connection can be established between a
+diminutive horse, and a discreditable method of reducing the
+difficulties of a lesson in Latin or Greek? It would appear to be a very
+unjust slur upon a very worthy little animal, to say the least.
+
+Bert's first knowledge of the other kind of pony was when in the course
+of his study of Latin he came to read Sallust. Cæsar he had found
+comparatively easy, and with no other aid than the grammar and lexicon
+he could, in the course of an hour or so, get out a fair translation of
+the passage to be mastered. But Sallust gave him no end of trouble.
+There was something in the involved obscure style of this old historian
+that puzzled him greatly, and he was constantly being humiliated by
+finding that when, after much labour, he had succeeded in making some
+sort of sense out of a sentence, Dr. Johnston would pronounce his
+translation altogether wrong, and proceed to read it in quite another
+way.
+
+As it happened, just when Bert was in the middle of those difficulties,
+Mr. Lloyd was called away from home on important business which entailed
+an absence for many weeks, and consequently Bert was deprived of his
+assistance, which was always so willingly given.
+
+He had been struggling with Sallust for some time, and was making but
+very unsatisfactory headway, when one day, chancing to express to Regie
+Selwyn his envy of the seeming ease with which the latter got along,
+Regie looked at him with a knowing smile, and asked:
+
+"Don't you know how I get my translation so pat?"
+
+"No," replied Bert; "tell me, won't you?"
+
+"Why, I use a pony, of course," responded Regie.
+
+"A pony!" exclaimed Bert, in a tone of surprise. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, come now," said Regie, with an incredulous smile. "Do you mean to
+say that you don't know what a pony is?"
+
+"I do, really," returned Bert. "Please tell me, like a good fellow."
+
+"Come along home with me after school, and I'll show you," said Regie.
+
+"All right," assented Bert; "I will."
+
+Accordingly, that afternoon when school had been dismissed, Bert
+accompanied Regie home, and there the latter took him to his room, and
+produced a book which contained the whole of Sallust turned into clear,
+simple English.
+
+"There," said he, placing the volume in Bert's hands; "that's what I
+mean by a pony."
+
+Bert opened the book, glanced at a page or two, took in the character of
+its contents, and then, with a feeling as though he had touched a
+serpent, laid it down again, saying:
+
+"But do you think it's right to use this book in getting up your
+Sallust, Regie?"
+
+Regie laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Where's the harm, my boy. If you can't translate old Sallust by
+yourself, you can't, that's all, and you've got to wait for Dr. Johnston
+to do it for you. Now, mightn't you just as well get it out of this book
+at once, and save all the trouble," he argued, glibly.
+
+This was very fallacious reasoning, but somehow or other it impressed
+Bert as having a good deal of force in it. The simple truth was that he
+was willing to be convinced. But he did not feel quite satisfied yet.
+
+"Then, of course, you never look at it until you have done your best to
+get the lesson out without it?" he asked.
+
+"That depends. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't," answered Regie,
+in a tone that implied very plainly that the latter "sometimes" occurred
+much more frequently than the former.
+
+Bert took up the book again and fingered it thoughtfully.
+
+"Could I get one if I wanted to?" he asked, presently.
+
+"Why, of course," answered Regie. "There are many more at Gossip's where
+I got this, I guess."
+
+Bert said no more; and the two boys soon began talking about something
+else.
+
+For some days thereafter Bert was in a very perplexed state of mind. It
+seemed as though "the stars in their courses" were fighting not against,
+but in favour of his getting a "pony" for himself. His father's absence
+was indefinitely prolonged, the Sallust grew more and more difficult,
+and demanded so much time, that Bert's chance of winning one of the
+prizes for general proficiency was seriously jeopardised.
+
+Instead of dismissing the subject from his mind altogether, he fell to
+reasoning about it, and then his danger really began, for the more he
+reasoned, the weaker his defences grew. There seemed so much to be said
+in favour of the pony; and, after all, if he did not resort to it until
+he had done his best to work out the translation unaided, what would be
+the harm?
+
+Clearly Bert was in a perilous position. Right and wrong were strongly
+contending for the victory, and much would depend upon the issue of the
+conflict.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT.
+
+
+Bert had reached an age and stage of development when the raising of a
+decided issue between right and wrong was a matter of vital consequence.
+Although he had little more than rounded out a dozen years of life, his
+natural bent of mind and the influences surrounding him had been such as
+to make him seem at least two years older when compared with his
+contemporaries. He thought much, and, considering his age, deeply. His
+parents had always admitted him into full fellowship with themselves,
+and he had thus acquired their way of thinking upon many subjects. Then
+his religious training had been more than ordinarily thorough. The
+influences and inspiration of a Christian home had been supplemented and
+strengthened by the teaching at Sunday school of one who possessed a
+rare gift in the management of boys. Mr. Silver not only understood his
+boys: he was in hearty and complete sympathy with them; and the truth
+came from him with peculiar force, as he met them Sunday after Sunday.
+
+Bert therefore would appear to have everything in his favour when set
+upon by the tempter, and it might seem strange that in this case he
+should dally so long with the danger. But the fact is there were unusual
+elements in this temptation, such as have been already set forth, and
+Bert's course of action from the time when he first saw the translation
+of Sallust in Regie Selwyn's room, until when at length after days of
+indecision, of halting between two opinions, of now listening to, and
+again spurning the suggestions of the tempter, he had a copy of the same
+book hidden away in his own room, was but another illustration of the
+familiar experience, that he who stops to argue with the tempter, has as
+good as lost his case.
+
+He tried hard to persuade himself that it was all right, and that it
+would be all right, but nevertheless it was with none too easy a
+conscience that he slipped into Gossip's one afternoon, and timidly
+inquired for the Sallust translation. The clerk did not understand at
+first, and when he asked Bert to repeat his question a cold shiver went
+down the boy's back, for he felt sure the man must have divined his
+purpose in procuring the book. But, of course, it was only an
+unnecessary alarm, and soon with the volume under his arm, and breathing
+much more freely, he was hastening homeward.
+
+At first he kept very faithfully to the programme he had laid down of
+not resorting to the "pony" until he had done his best without it. Then
+little by little he fell into the way of referring to it whenever he
+was at a loss regarding a word, until at last he came to depend upon it
+altogether, and the fluent translations that won Dr. Johnston's
+approbation day after day were really nothing better than stolen matter.
+
+Yet all this time he was far from having peace of mind. That troublesome
+conscience of his acted as though it would never become reconciled to
+this method of studying the classics. On the contrary, it seemed to grow
+increasingly sensitive upon the point. Finally the matter was brought to
+a head in a very unsuspected manner.
+
+No mention has been made in these pages of one who occupied a very large
+place in Bert's affection and admiration--namely, the Rev. Dr. Chrystal,
+the pastor of Calvary Church. Dr. Chrystal was a man of middle age and
+medium height, with a countenance so winning and manners so attractive,
+that Mr. Lloyd was wont to call him St. John, the beloved disciple,
+because his name was John, and everybody who knew him loved him. It was
+not merely by the elders of his congregation, who could fully appreciate
+the breadth and soundness of his scholarship, the richness of his
+rhetoric, and the warmth of his eloquence, but by the younger members
+also, who loved his sunny smile, and hearty laugh, that Dr. Chrystal was
+little short of worshipped.
+
+Bert had been his warm admirer ever since the time when on his pastoral
+visits he would take the little fellow up on his knee, and draw him out
+about his own amusements and ambitions, giving such interested attention
+to his childish prattle that Bert could not fail to feel he had in him a
+real friend. As he grew older, his liking for the minister deepened. He
+never had that foolish fear of "the cloth" which is so apt to be found
+in boys of his age. Dr. Chrystal was a frequent visitor at Bert's home.
+Mr. Lloyd was one of the main supporters of his church, and the two men
+had much to consult about. Besides that, the preacher loved to discuss
+the subjects of the day with the keen-witted, far-seeing lawyer, who
+helped him to many a telling point for the sermon in preparation.
+
+This, of course, was quite beyond Bert, but what he could and did fully
+appreciate was the skill and strength with which Dr. Chrystal, having
+laid aside his clerical coat, would handle a pair of sculls when he went
+out boating with them, in the fine summer evenings.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Frank," said he, enthusiastically to his friend
+one day. "There's nothing soft about our minister. He can pull just as
+well as any man in the harbour. That's the sort of minister I like.
+Don't you?"
+
+One Sunday evening, after Bert had been using his "pony" some little
+time--for although his father had returned, he had come so to depend
+upon it, that he continued to resort to it in secret--Dr. Chrystal
+preached a sermon of more than usual power from the text, "Provide
+things honest in the sight of all men." It was a frank, faithful
+address, in which he sought to speak the truth in tenderness, and yet
+with direct application to his hearers. If any among them were
+disbelievers in the doctrine that honesty is the best policy, and acted
+accordingly, they could hardly hope to dodge the arrows of argument and
+appeal shot forth from the pulpit that evening.
+
+Bert was one of the first to be transfixed. When the text was announced
+he wriggled a bit, as though it pricked him somewhere; but when, further
+on, Dr. Chrystal spoke in plain terms of the dishonesty of false
+pretences, of claiming to be what you really are not, of seeking credit
+for what is not actually your own work, Bert's head sank lower and
+lower, his cheeks burned with shame, and, feeling that the speaker must
+in some mysterious way have divined his guilty secret, and be preaching
+directly at him, he sank back in his seat, and wished with wild longing
+that he could run away from those flashing eyes that seemed to be
+looking right through him, and from the sound of that clear, strong
+voice, whose every tone went straight to his heart.
+
+But, of course, there was no escape, and he had to listen to the sermon
+to the end, although, had it been possible, he would gladly have thrust
+his fingers in his ears that he might hear no more. He felt immensely
+relieved when the service was over, and he could go out into the cool,
+dark evening air. He was very silent as he walked home with his parents,
+and so soon as prayers were over went off to his room, saying that he
+was tired.
+
+For the next few days there was not a more miserable boy in Halifax than
+Cuthbert Lloyd. He was a prey to contending feelings that gave him not
+one moment's peace. His better nature said, "Be manly, and confess." The
+tempter whispered, "Be wise, and keep it to yourself." As for the cause
+of all this trouble, it lay untouched in the bottom drawer of his
+bureau. He could not bear to look at it, and he worked out his Sallust
+as best he could, causing Dr. Johnston much surprise by the unexpected
+mistakes he made in translating. He became so quiet and sober that his
+mother grew quite concerned, and asked him more than once if he felt
+ill, to which, with a pretence of a laugh, he replied:
+
+"Not a bit of it. I'm all right."
+
+But he wasn't all right, by any means, as his father's keen eyes soon
+discovered. Mr. Lloyd, like his wife, thought at first that Bert's queer
+ways must be due to ill health; but after watching him awhile he came to
+the conclusion that the boy's trouble was mental, rather than physical,
+and he determined to take the first opportunity of probing the matter.
+The opportunity soon came. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were out for the evening,
+leaving Bert and his father at home. Bert was studying his lessons at
+the table, while his father sat in the arm-chair near by, reading the
+paper. Every now and then, as he bent over his books, Bert gave a deep
+sigh that seemed to well up from the very bottom of his heart. Mr. Lloyd
+noted this, and presently, laying his paper down, said, pleasantly:
+
+"Bert, dear, put your lessons aside for a few minutes, and come over
+here. I want to have a talk with you."
+
+Bert started and flushed slightly, but obeyed at once, drawing his chair
+close up beside his father's. Laying his hand upon Bert's knee, and
+looking him full in the face, Mr. Lloyd asked:
+
+"Now, Bert, tell me what's the matter with you? There's something on
+your mind, I know; and it has not been your way to keep any secrets from
+me. Won't you tell me what is troubling you?"
+
+Bert fidgeted in his chair, the flush deepened in his face, his eyes
+dropped before his father's searching gaze, and his hands worked
+nervously. At last, with an apparent effort, he replied, in a low tone:
+
+"There's nothing the matter with me, father."
+
+Mr. Lloyd sighed, and looked troubled.
+
+"Yes, there is, Bert. You know there is. Now, don't conceal it from me,
+but speak right out. Remember your motto, Bert: 'Quit you like men.'"
+
+The working of Bert's countenance showed clearly the struggle that was
+going on within, and there was silence for a moment, while Mr. Lloyd
+awaited his answer, praying earnestly the while that his boy might be
+helped to do the right. Then, suddenly, Bert sprang up, darted toward
+the door, and heeding not his father's surprised exclamation of--"Bert,
+Bert, aren't you going to answer me?" ran up the stairs to his own room.
+An instant more and he returned, bearing a volume which he placed in Mr.
+Lloyd's hands; and then, throwing himself on the sofa, he buried his
+head in the cushions, and burst into a passion of tears.
+
+Bewildered by this unexpected action, Mr. Lloyd's first impulse was to
+take his boy in his arms and try to soothe him. Then he bethought
+himself of the book lying in his lap, and turned to it for an
+explanation of the mystery. It was an innocent-enough looking volume,
+and seemed at first glance to make matters no clearer, but as he held it
+in his hands there came back to him the recollection of his own
+schoolboy days, and like a flash the thing was plain to him. Bert had
+been using a "pony," and in some way had come to realise the extent of
+his wrong-doing.
+
+With feelings divided between sorrow that his boy should fall a victim
+to this temptation, and gladness that he should have the courage to
+confess it, Mr. Lloyd went over to the sofa, lifted Bert up gently, and
+placed him on the chair beside him.
+
+"Come, now, Bert, dear," said he, in his tenderest tones, "don't be
+afraid, but just tell me all about it."
+
+In a voice much broken by sobs, Bert then told the whole story,
+beginning with the first conversation with Regie Selwyn, and leaving out
+nothing. His father listened intently, and it was clear the recital
+moved him deeply. When it ended, he silently lifted up his heart in
+praise to God that his darling boy had been delivered from so great a
+danger, and he determined that Dr. Chrystal should not fail to hear how
+effective his faithful preaching had been.
+
+"I need not tell you, Bert, how sad this makes my heart, but I will not
+add my reproaches to the remorse you already feel," said he, gravely.
+"You have done very, very wrong, dear, and it is now your duty to make
+that wrong right again, so far as is in your power. What do you think
+yourself you ought to do?"
+
+"I must ask God to forgive me, father," answered Bert, almost in a
+whisper.
+
+"But is that all? Is there no one else of whom you should ask
+forgiveness?"
+
+"Yes, of you."
+
+"I have forgiven you already, Bert, for I know that you are sincerely
+sorry. But I think there is some one else still. Ought you not to ask
+Dr. Johnston's forgiveness?"
+
+"Why, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up with an expression of
+surprise, "Dr. Johnston does not know anything about it."
+
+"Ah, yes, Bert, true enough; but remember that ever since you've been
+using the translation you've been getting credit from him for work you
+had not really done. Was that providing things honest in the sight of
+all men, do you think?"
+
+Bert flushed and looked down again. He was silent for a little while,
+and then said:
+
+"But, father, I could never tell Dr. Johnston. He is so stern and
+severe."
+
+"Do you think God will ever fully forgive you while you are concealing
+from Dr. Johnston what you ought in common honesty to tell him?"
+
+This question evidently staggered him, and Mr. Lloyd, seeing what a
+struggle was going on within him, put his hand upon his shoulder, and
+said, with tender emphasis:
+
+"Remember, Bert: 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"
+
+For a moment longer Bert seemed irresolute. Then suddenly his
+countenance brightened, his features settled into an expression of firm
+determination, and rising to his feet, with hands clenched and eyes
+flashing, he stood before his father, and almost shouted:
+
+"Yes, father, I will; I'll tell him. I don't care what he does to me."
+
+"God bless you, my brave boy!" exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, as, almost
+over-mastered by his emotions, he threw his arms around his neck, and
+hugged him to his heart, the big tears pouring down his happy face.
+
+Just at that moment the door opened, and Mrs. Lloyd and Mary entered.
+Great was their surprise at the scene they witnessed. But they soon
+understood it all, and when the whole story was known to them they were
+no less thankful than Mr. Lloyd that Bert had come off conqueror in this
+sharp struggle with the enemy of souls.
+
+It was a hard task that lay before Bert, and he would have been
+something more than mortal if his resolution did not falter as he
+thought about it. But he strengthened himself by repeating the words
+"Quit you like men, be strong," laying much emphasis on the latter
+clause. His father thought it best for him to go very early the next
+morning, taking the book with him, and to seek an interview with Dr.
+Johnston before he went into the school.
+
+Accordingly, in the morning, with throbbing heart and feverish pulse,
+Bert knocked at the doctor's private entrance. On asking for the master
+he was at once shown into the study, where the dread doctor was glancing
+over the morning paper before he took up the work of the day.
+
+"Well, Lloyd, what brings you here so early?" he asked, in some
+surprise.
+
+With much difficulty, and in broken sentences, Bert explained the object
+of his visit, the doctor listening with an impassive countenance that
+gave no hint of how the story affected him. When he had ended, Dr.
+Johnston remained silent a moment as if lost in reflection, then placing
+his hand upon the boy's shoulder, and looking at him with an expression
+of deep tenderness such as Bert had never seen in his countenance
+before, he said, in tones whose kindness there could be no mistaking:
+
+"You have done well, Lloyd, to tell me this. I honour you for your
+confession, and I feel confident that never so long as you are a pupil
+in this school will you fall into like wrong-doing. You may tell your
+father what I have said. Good-morning." And he turned away, perhaps to
+hide something that made his eyes moist.
+
+Feeling much as Christian must have felt when the burden broke from his
+back and rolled into the sepulchre gaping to receive it, Bert went to
+his seat in the schoolroom. The ordeal was over, and his penance
+complete.
+
+His frank penitence was destined to exert a far wider influence than he
+ever imagined, and that immediately. The volume he placed in Dr.
+Johnston's hands set the master thinking. "If," he reasoned, "Bert
+Lloyd, one of the best boys in my school, has fallen into this
+wrong-doing, it must be more common than I supposed. Perhaps were I to
+tell the school what Lloyd has just told me, it might do good. The
+experiment is worth trying, at all events."
+
+Acting upon this thought, Dr. Johnston, shortly after the school had
+settled down for the day's work, rapped upon his desk as a signal that
+he had something to say to the scholars, and then, when the attention of
+all had been secured, he proceeded to tell, in clear, concise language,
+the incident of the morning. Many eyes were turned upon Bert while the
+doctor was speaking, but he kept his fixed closely upon his desk, for he
+knew that his cheeks were burning, and he wondered what the other boys
+were thinking of him. In concluding, Dr. Johnston made the following
+appeal, which was indeed his chief purpose in mentioning the matter at
+all:
+
+"Now, scholars," said he, in tones of mingled kindliness and firmness,
+"I feel very sure that Lloyd is not the only boy in this school who has
+been using a translation to assist him in his classical work, and my
+object in telling you what he told me is that it may perhaps inspire
+those who have been doing as he did to confess it in the manly, honest
+way that he has done, and for which we must all honour him. Boys, I
+appeal to your honour," he continued, raising his voice until it rang
+through the room, startling his hearers by its unaccustomed volume. "Who
+among you, like Bert Lloyd, will confess that you have been using a
+translation?"
+
+There was a thrilling silence, during which one might almost have heard
+the boys' hearts beat as the doctor paused, and with his piercing eyes
+glanced up and down the long rows of awe-stricken boys. For a moment no
+one moved. Then there was a stir, a shuffling of feet, and Regie Selwyn,
+with cheeks aflame, rose slowly in his seat, and said in a low but
+distinct voice:
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+A gleam of joy flashed in the doctor's dark eyes as he looked toward the
+speaker, but he said nothing. Then another and another rose and made a
+like confession, until some six in all had thus acknowledged their
+fault. There was no mistaking the pleasure that shone in the master's
+face at this answer to his appeal. When it became clear that, however
+many more might be no less guilty, no more were going to confess it, he
+spoke again:
+
+"While it grieves me to know that the use of translations has been so
+extensive, I am also glad to find that so many of my boys possess the
+true spirit of manliness. I ask them to promise me that they will never
+look at those books again, and if there be others in the school who
+might have admitted the same impropriety, but have not, I appeal to you
+to show by your contempt of such helps your determination that nothing
+but what is honest, fair, and manly shall characterise the actions of
+the scholars of this school."
+
+And with this the doctor resumed his seat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW.
+
+
+Five years had passed since Cuthbert Lloyd's name was first inscribed in
+the big register on Dr. Johnston's desk, and he had been surely,
+steadily rising to the proud position of being the first boy in the
+school, the "_dux_," as the doctor with his love for the classics
+preferred to call it.
+
+And yet there were some branches of study that he still seemed unable to
+get a good hold upon, or make satisfactory progress with. One of these
+was algebra. For some reason or other, the hidden principles of this
+puzzling science eluded his grasp, as though a and x had been eels of
+phenomenal activity. He tried again and again to pierce the obscurity
+that enshrouded them, but at best with imperfect success; and it was a
+striking fact that he should, term after term, carry off the arithmetic
+prize by splendid scores, and yet be ingloriously beaten at algebra.
+
+Another subject that became a great bugbear to him was what was known as
+composition. On Fridays the senior boys were required to bring an
+original composition, covering at least two pages of letter paper, upon
+any subject they saw fit. This requirement made that day "black Friday"
+for Bert and many others besides. The writing of a letter or composition
+is probably the hardest task that can be set before a schoolboy. It was
+safe to say that in many cases a whipping would be gratefully preferred.
+But for the disgrace of the thing, Bert would certainly rather at any
+time have taken a mild whipping than sit down and write an essay.
+
+At the first, taking pity upon his evident helplessness, Mr. Lloyd gave
+him a good deal of assistance, or allowed Mary--the ever-willing and
+ever-helpful Mary--to do so. But after a while he thought Bert should
+run alone, and prohibited further aid. Thus thrown upon his own
+resources, the poor fellow struggled hard, to very little purpose. Even
+when his father gave him a lift to the extent of suggesting a good
+theme, he found it almost impossible to write anything about it.
+
+One Friday he went without having prepared a composition. He hoped that
+Dr. Johnston would just keep him in after school for a while, or give
+him an "imposition" of fifty lines of Virgil to copy as a penalty, and
+that that would be an end of the matter. But, as it turned out, the
+doctor thought otherwise. When Bert presented no composition he inquired
+if he had any excuse, meaning a note from his father asking that he be
+excused this time. Bert answered that he had not.
+
+"Then," said Dr. Johnston, sternly, "you must remain in after school
+until your composition is written."
+
+Bert was a good deal troubled by this unexpected penalty, but there was
+of course no appeal from the master's decision. The school hours passed,
+three o'clock came, and all the scholars save those who were kept in for
+various shortcomings went joyfully off to their play, leaving the big,
+bare, dreary room to the doctor and his prisoners. Then one by one, as
+they met the conditions of their sentence, or made up their deficiencies
+in work, they slipped quietly away, and ere the old yellow-faced clock
+solemnly struck the hour of four, Bert was alone with the grim and
+silent master.
+
+He had not been idle during that hour. He had made more than one attempt
+to prepare some sort of a composition, but both ideas and words utterly
+failed him. He could not even think of a subject, much less cover two
+pages of letter paper with comments upon it. By four o'clock despair had
+settled down upon him, and he sat at his desk doing nothing, and waiting
+he hardly knew for what.
+
+Another hour passed, and still Bert had made no start, and still the
+doctor sat at his desk absorbed in his book and apparently quite
+oblivious of the boy before him. Six o'clock drew near, and with it the
+early dusk of an autumn evening. Bert was growing faint with hunger,
+and, oh! so weary of his confinement. Not until it was too dark to read
+any longer did Dr. Johnston move; and then, without noticing Bert, he
+went down the room, and disappeared through the door that led into his
+own apartments.
+
+"My gracious!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "Surely he is not going to
+leave me here all alone in the dark. I'll jump out of the window if he
+does."
+
+But that was not the master's idea, for shortly he returned with two
+candles, placed one on either side of Bert's desk, then went to his
+desk, drew forth the long, black strap, whose cruel sting Bert had not
+felt for years, and standing in front of the quaking boy, looking the
+very type of unrelenting sternness, said:
+
+"You shall not leave your seat until your composition is finished, and
+if you have not made a beginning inside of five minutes you may expect
+punishment."
+
+So saying, he strode off into the darkness, and up and down the long
+room, now filled with strange shadows, swishing the strap against the
+desks as he passed to and fro. Bert's feelings may be more easily
+imagined than described. Hungry, weary, frightened, he grasped his pen
+with trembling fingers, and bent over the paper.
+
+For the first minute or two not a word was written. Then, as if struck
+by some happy thought, he scribbled down a title quickly and paused. In
+a moment more he wrote again, and soon one whole paragraph was done.
+
+The five minutes having elapsed, the doctor emerged from the gloom and
+came up to see what progress had been made. He looked over Bert's
+shoulder at the crooked lines that straggled over half the page, but he
+could not have read more than the title, when the shadows of the great
+empty room were startled by a peal of laughter that went echoing through
+the darkness, and clapping the boy graciously upon his back, the master
+said:
+
+"That will do, Lloyd. The title is quite sufficient. You may go now;"
+for he had a keen sense of humour and a thorough relish of a joke, and
+the subject selected by Bert was peculiarly appropriate, being
+"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."
+
+Mr. Lloyd was so delighted with Bert's ingenuity that thenceforth he
+gave him very effective assistance in the preparation of his weekly
+essays, and they were no longer the bugbear that they had been.
+
+It was not long after this that Bert had an experience with the law not
+less memorable.
+
+In an adjoining street, there lived a family by the name of Dodson, that
+possessed a very large, old, and cross Newfoundland dog, which had, by
+its frequent exhibitions of ill-temper, become quite a nuisance to the
+neighbourhood. They had often been spoken to about their dog's readiness
+to snap at people, but had refused to chain him up, or send him away,
+because they had a lively aversion to small boys, and old Lion was
+certainly successful in causing them to give the Dodson premises a wide
+berth.
+
+One afternoon Bert and Frank were going along the street playing catch
+with a ball the former had just purchased, when, as they passed the
+Dodson house, a wild throw from Frank sent the ball out of Bert's reach,
+and it rolled under the gate of the yard. Not thinking of the irascible
+Lion in his haste to recover the ball, Bert opened the gate, and the
+moment he did so, with a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek.
+
+Bert shrieked with fright and pain, and in an instant Frank was beside
+him, and had his strong hands tight round Lion's throat. Immediately the
+old dog let Bert go, and slunk off to his kennel, while Frank, seizing
+his handkerchief, pressed it to the ugly wound in Bert's cheek. Great
+though the pain was, Bert quickly regained his self-possession, and
+hastening home had his wounds covered with plaster. Fortunately, they
+were not in any wise serious. They bled a good deal, and they promised
+to spoil his beauty for a time at least, but, as there was no reason to
+suppose that the dog was mad, that was the worst of them.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much incensed when he saw Bert's injuries, and heard
+from him and Frank the particulars of the affair. He determined to make
+one more appeal to the Dodsons to put the dog away, and if that were
+unsuccessful, to call upon the authorities to compel them to do so.
+
+[Illustration: "With a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him, and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek."--_Page_ 292.]
+
+Another person who was not less exercised about it was Michael, the man
+of all work. He was very fond and proud of the young master, as he
+called Bert, and that a dog should dare to put his teeth into him filled
+him with righteous wrath. Furthermore, like many of his class, he firmly
+believed in the superstition that unless the dog was killed at once,
+Bert would certainly go mad. Mr. Lloyd laughed at him good-humouredly
+when he earnestly advocated the summary execution of Lion, and refused
+to have anything to do with it. But the faithful affectionate fellow was
+not to be diverted from his purpose, and accordingly the next night
+after the attack, he stealthily approached the Dodson yard from the
+rear, got close to old Lion's kennel, and then threw down before his
+very nose a juicy bit of beefsteak, in which a strong dose of poison had
+been cunningly concealed. The unsuspecting dog took the tempting bait,
+and the next morning lay stiff and stark in death, before his kennel
+door.
+
+When the Dodsons found their favourite dead, they were highly enraged;
+and taking it for granted that either Mr. Lloyd or some one in his
+interest or his employ was guilty of Lion's untimely demise, Mr. Dodson,
+without waiting to institute inquiries, rushed off to the City Police
+Court, and lodged a complaint against the one who he conceived was the
+guilty party.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was not a little surprised when, later in the morning, a
+blue-coated and silver-buttoned policeman presented himself at his
+office, and, in the most respectful manner possible, served upon him a
+summons to appear before the magistrate to answer to a complaint made by
+one Thomas Dodson, who alleged that he "had with malice prepense and
+aforethought killed or caused to be killed a certain Newfoundland dog,
+the same being the property of the said Thomas Dodson, and thereby
+caused damage to the complainant, to the amount of one hundred dollars."
+
+So soon as Mr. Lloyd read the summons, which was the first intimation he
+had had of Lion's taking off, he at once suspected who was the real
+criminal. But of course he said nothing to the policeman beyond assuring
+him that he would duly appear to answer to the summons.
+
+That evening he sent for Michael, and without any words of explanation
+placed the summons in his hand. The countenance of the honest fellow as
+he slowly read it through and took in its import was an amusing study.
+Bewilderment, surprise, indignation, and alarm were in turn expressed in
+his frank face, and when he had finished he stood before Mr. Lloyd
+speechless, but looking as though he wanted to say: "What will you be
+after doing to me now, that I've got you into such a scrape?"
+
+Assuming a seriousness he did not really feel, Mr. Lloyd looked hard at
+Michael, as he asked:
+
+"Do you know anything about this?"
+
+Michael reddened, and dropped his eyes to the ground, but answered,
+unhesitatingly:
+
+"I do, sir. It was meself that gave the old brute the dose of medicine
+that fixed him."
+
+"But, Michael," said Mr. Lloyd, with difficulty restraining a smile, "it
+was not right of you to take the law into your own hands in that way.
+You knew well enough that I could not approve of it."
+
+"I did, indeed, sir," answered Michael, "but," lifting up his head as
+his warm Irish heart stirred within him, "I couldn't sleep at night for
+thinking of what might happen to the young master if the dog weren't
+killed; and, so unbeknownst to anybody, I just slipped over the fence,
+and dropped him a bit of steak that I knew he would take to kindly. I'm
+very sorry, sir, if I've got you into any trouble, but sure can't you
+just tell them that it was Michael that did the mischief, and then they
+won't bother you at all."
+
+"No, no, Michael. I'm not going to do that. You meant for the best what
+you did, and you did it for the sake of my boy, so I will assume the
+responsibility; but I hope it will be a lesson to you not to take the
+law into your own hands again. You see it is apt to have awkward
+consequences."
+
+"That's true, sir," assented Michael, looking much relieved at this
+conclusion. "I'll promise to be careful next time, but--" pausing a
+moment as he turned to leave the room--"it's glad I am that that cross
+old brute can't have another chance at Master Bert, all the same." And
+having uttered this note of triumph, he made a low bow and disappeared.
+
+Mr. Lloyd had a good laugh after the door closed upon him.
+
+"He's a faithful creature," he said, kindly; "but I'm afraid his
+fidelity is going to cost me something this time. However, I won't make
+him unhappy by letting him know that."
+
+The trial was fixed for the following Friday, and that day Bert was
+excused from school in order to be present as a witness. His scars were
+healing rapidly, but still presented an ugly enough appearance to make
+it clear that worthy Michael's indignation was not without cause.
+
+Now, this was the first time that Bert had ever been inside a
+court-room; and, although his father was a lawyer, the fact that he made
+a rule never to carry his business home with him had caused Bert to grow
+up in entire ignorance of the real nature of court proceedings. The only
+trials that had ever interested him being those in which the life or
+liberty of the person most deeply concerned was at stake, he had
+naturally formed the idea that all trials were of this nature, and
+consequently regarded with very lively sympathy the defendants of a
+couple of cases that had the precedence of "Dodson _v._ Lloyd."
+
+Feeling quite sure that the unhappy individuals who were called upon to
+defend themselves were in a very evil plight, he was surprised and
+shocked at the callous levity of the lawyers, and even of the
+magistrate, a small-sized man, to whom a full grey beard, a pair of
+gold-bowed spectacles, and a deep voice imparted an air of dignity he
+would not otherwise have possessed. That they should crack jokes with
+each other over such serious matters was something he could not
+understand, as with eyes and ears that missed nothing he observed all
+that went on around him.
+
+At length, after an hour or more of waiting, the case of "Dodson _v._
+Lloyd" was called, and Bert, now to his deep concern, beheld his father
+in the same position as had been the persons whom he was just pitying;
+for the magistrate, looking, as Bert thought, very stern, called upon
+him to answer to the complaint of Thomas Dodson, who alleged, &c., &c.,
+&c.
+
+Mr. Lloyd pleaded his own cause, and it was not a very heavy
+undertaking, for the simple reason that he made no defence beyond
+stating that the dog had been poisoned by his servant without his
+knowledge or approval, and asking that Bert's injuries might be taken
+into account in mitigation of damages. The magistrate accordingly asked
+Bert to go into the witness-box, and the clerk administered the oath,
+Bert kissing the greasy, old Bible that had in its time been touched by
+many a perjured lip, with an unsophisticated fervour that brought out a
+smile upon the countenances of the spectators.
+
+He was then asked to give his version of the affair. Naturally enough,
+he hesitated a little at first, but encouraged by his father's smiles,
+he soon got over his nervousness, and told a very plain, straightforward
+story. Mr. Dodson's lawyer, a short, thick man with a nose like a
+paroquet's, bushy, black whiskers, and a very obtrusive pair of
+spectacles, then proceeded, in a rough, hard voice, to try his best to
+draw Bert into admitting that he had been accustomed to tease the dog,
+and to throw stones at him. But although he asked a number of questions
+beginning with a "Now, sir, did you not?" or, "Now, sir, can you deny
+that?" &c., uttered in very awe-inspiring tones, he did not succeed in
+shaking Bert's testimony in the slightest degree, or in entrapping him
+into any disadvantageous admission.
+
+At first Bert was somewhat disconcerted by the blustering, brow-beating
+manner of the lawyer, but after a few questions his spirits rose to the
+occasion, and he answered the questions in a prompt, frank, fearless
+fashion, that more than once evoked a round of applause from the
+lookers-on. He had nothing but the truth to tell and his cross-examiner
+ere long came to the conclusion that it was futile endeavouring to get
+him to tell anything else; and so, with rather bad grace, he gave it up,
+and said he might go.
+
+Before leaving the witness-box Bert removed the bandages from his
+cheek, and exhibited the marks of the dog's teeth to the magistrate, the
+sight of which, together with the boy's testimony, made such an
+impression upon him that he gave as his decision that he would dismiss
+the case if Mr. Lloyd would pay the costs, which the latter very readily
+agreed to do; and so the matter ended--not quite to the satisfaction of
+Mr. Dodson, but upon the whole in pretty close accordance with the
+strict principles of right and justice.
+
+Michael was very greatly relieved when he heard the result, for he had
+been worrying a good deal over what he feared Mr. Lloyd might suffer in
+consequence of his excess of zeal.
+
+"So they got nothing for their old dog, after all," he exclaimed, in
+high glee. "Well, they got as much as he was worth at all events,
+and"--sinking his voice to a whisper--"between you and me, Master Bert,
+if another dog iver puts his teeth into you, I'll be after givin' him
+the same medicine, so sure as my name's Michael Flynn."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+WELL DONE, BOYS!
+
+
+There comes a time in the life of nearly every boy who attends Sunday
+school when, no matter how faithful to it he may have been, he finds
+gradually stealing in upon him the feeling that he is growing too old
+for it, and he becomes restive under its restraints. He sees other boys
+of the same age going off for a pleasant walk, or otherwise spending the
+afternoon as they please, and he envies them their freedom. He thinks
+himself already sufficiently familiar with Bible truth for all practical
+purposes, and the lessons lose their interest for him. He has perhaps no
+ambition for becoming a teacher, nor even of being promoted to a chair
+in the Bible class.
+
+How best to meet the case of this boy, and save him to the Sunday school
+is one of the most difficult questions that present themselves to those
+engaged in that work. You must not scold him or you will infallibly
+drive him away at once and for ever. Neither is it wise to seek to bring
+into play influences that will compel him to attend _nolens volens_, for
+that will but deepen his dislike, and make him long the more eagerly
+for the time when he will be his own master in the matter.
+
+There seem to be but two possible solutions of the problem. You must
+either appeal to the boy's natural sense of independence, and desire for
+importance by making some special provision for him that will mark a
+distinction between him and the younger folk, or you must, by going far
+deeper, reach the spiritual side of his nature, and through it secure
+his fidelity to the school.
+
+To Bert this temptation had not presented itself. He no more thought of
+tiring of the Sunday school than he did of his own home. He had attended
+regularly ever since his sister Mary would take him with her, and put
+him in the infant class, and it might be said to have become second
+nature with him.
+
+With Frank, however, it was different. He had never gone to Sunday
+school until Bert invited him, and although for some years he was very
+fond of it, that fondness in time had fallen into an indifference, and
+of late he had a decided disinclination to go at all. This was not due
+so much to any resistance to the claims of religion itself, but rather
+to a foolish idea that he was now too old and too big for Sunday school.
+
+Bert took his friend's change of feeling very much to heart, and he
+pleaded with him so earnestly, that for some time Frank continued in
+his place just to please him. But this of course could not last, and he
+was in danger of drifting away altogether, when an event occurred which
+turned the current of his life and set it flowing once more in the right
+direction, this time with a volume it had never known before.
+
+It was a pleasant custom at Calvary Church to give the Sunday school a
+picnic every summer, and these picnics were most enjoyable affairs. A
+better place than Halifax Harbour for the holding of a picnic could
+hardly be conceived. You go, of course, by steamer, and then have the
+choice of some half-dozen different routes, each having its own
+attractions. You might go right up to the head of the big basin that
+stretched away eight miles or more beyond the north end of the city, and
+there land, amid the meadows that are bordered by the unbroken forest,
+or you might stop half-way, and invade the old estate that had once been
+proud to claim a prince as its possessor.
+
+Steering in the opposite direction, you might go around the Point, and
+piercing the recesses of the ever-beautiful arm of the sea, find a
+perfect picnic ground at its farthest bend; or, crossing the harbour,
+there were lovely spots to be secured on the big, tree-clad island that
+well-nigh filled the harbour mouth.
+
+This year it had been decided to hold the picnic at the head of the arm.
+The time was August, just when the cool sea-breeze and the balmy breath
+of the pines are most grateful to the dwellers in cities. To the number
+of four hundred or more, a happy crowd of Sunday-school scholars and
+teachers, and their friends gathered upon the broad deck of the clumsy
+old _Mic-mac_, an excursion steamer that had done duty on this line for
+a generation, at least. Each class had its own banner, as a sort of
+rallying point, and these, with the pretty dresses and bright ribbons of
+the girls, imparted plenty of colour to the scene, while the boys gave
+life to it by being incessantly on the move, and never in one spot for
+more than one minute at a time.
+
+Bert and Frank were in the midst of the merry crowd, and in the highest
+spirits. They were neither of them by any means indifferent to the
+fascination of feminine beauty and grace, and it was easy to secure the
+most delightful companionship on board the boat, which they did not fail
+to do. Then they had the games and sports to look forward to, after the
+picnic ground should be reached, and altogether their cup of happiness
+seemed well-nigh brimming over. They little dreamed how ere the day
+closed they would both be brought face to face with the deadliest peril
+of their lives.
+
+Joyous with music and laughter, the big boat pushed her way onward over
+the white-capped waves, past the fort and the gas works, and the long
+stretch of the Point road; and then giving the point itself a wide
+berth--for the shallows extend far out--around it, and up the winding
+arm, with its line of stately homes on one side, and scattered clusters
+of white-washed cottages on the other, until almost at its very end, the
+landing-place was reached, and the gay passengers gladly deserted the
+steamer to seek the cool shelter of the woods.
+
+There was a wonderful amount of happiness crowded into that day. All who
+wanted to be useful found plenty of scope for their talents in the
+transporting of the provisions, the arranging of the tables, the hanging
+of the swings, and the other work that had to be done, while those who
+preferred play to work, could go boating, or swimming, or play ball, and
+so forth.
+
+The two friends went in for both work and play. They gave very efficient
+help to the ladies in preparing for the dinner, but they did not miss a
+grand swim in the cool, clear water of a sequestered cove, nor an
+exciting game of baseball in the open field.
+
+After dinner came the sports, consisting of competitions in running,
+jumping, and ball throwing, for which prizes in the shape of knives,
+balls, and bats were offered. Bert and Frank took part in several of
+them with satisfactory results, Frank winning a fine knife in the long
+distance race, and Bert a good ball for the best throw, so that there
+was nothing to mar their pleasure in this regard.
+
+By sunset all were making for the boat again, and in the soft summer
+gloaming the old _Mic-Mac_ steamed steadily down the arm on her
+homeward trip. Many of the children were weary now, and inclined to be
+cross and sleepy. Others were still full of life and spirits, and could
+not be restrained from chasing one another up and down the deck and
+among the benches. But their merriment was ere long suddenly ended by an
+event which came near casting a dark cloud over the whole day, that had
+hitherto been no less bright with happiness than with sunshine.
+
+Bert and Frank had joined a group of charming girls gathered at the
+stern of the steamer, and while pleasantly employed in making themselves
+agreeable were more than once disturbed by the noisy youngsters, who
+would persist in playing "chase."
+
+"Some of you will be falling overboard if you don't take care," said
+Bert, warningly, to them. "Why don't you keep in the middle of the
+steamer?"
+
+There was good ground for Bert's warning, as, across the stern of the
+old steamer, which had been a ferry boat in her early days, there was
+only a broad wooden bar placed so high that a child might almost walk
+under it without stooping.
+
+But the careless children continued their play as the _Mic-Mac_ ploughed
+her way back to the city. Presently a troop of them came racing down to
+the stern in chase of a golden-haired sprite, that laughingly ran before
+them. She was closely pursued by a boy about her own age, and in her
+eagerness to escape him she dodged underneath the bar that marked the
+line of safety. As she did so, the steamer gave a sudden lurch; and,
+poised perilously near the edge as the girl already was, it proved too
+much for her balance. She uttered a terrified shriek, grasped vainly at
+the bar now quite out of her reach, and, to the horror of those looking
+helplessly on, toppled over into the frothing, foaming water of the
+steamer's wake.
+
+Instantly there was wild confusion on board the steamer. Scream after
+scream went up from the women, and all who could crowded madly toward
+the stern. If the girl was to be saved, immediate action was necessary.
+Bert did not stop to think. He could swim strongly and well. He would
+attempt her rescue.
+
+"Frank, I'm after her," he cried, as he flung off his coat and hat.
+
+"I'm with you," answered Frank, imitating his action; and before anyone
+else had thought of moving, the two boys, almost side by side, sprang
+into the heaving water with faces set toward the spot where a cloud of
+white showed them the little girl still floated. Putting forth all their
+speed, they reached her ere the buoyancy had left her clothing, and each
+seizing an arm of the poor child, who had just fainted through excess of
+fright, they prepared to battle for her life and their own.
+
+They realised at once that it was to be no easy struggle. The steamer
+had been going at full speed, and although the engines were reversed at
+the first alarm, the impetus of her awkward bulk had carried her far
+away from the spot where the girl fell; and now the boys could just
+barely discern her through the deepening dusk. The harbour had been
+rough all day, and the waters still rolled uneasily. Fortunately, it was
+not very cold, or the swimmers' case had been well-nigh hopeless. As it
+was, the only chance of their deliverance hung upon their endurance. If
+their strength held out, they and the little one they had put themselves
+in peril to rescue would be saved.
+
+She continued to be unconscious, her pretty face, that was so bright and
+rosy a few minutes before, now looking strangely white and rigid, and
+her golden curls clinging darkly about her neck, her broad straw hat,
+all water-soaked and limp, hanging over on one side.
+
+"Surely she can't be dead already?" exclaimed Bert, anxiously, to Frank,
+as the two boys kept her and themselves afloat by treading water, one at
+either arm.
+
+"No," replied Frank, "only fainted. But if the steamer doesn't come
+soon, she will be; and so will we too."
+
+"Never fear, Frank, the steamer will be back for us soon. I think I can
+hear her paddles now," said Bert, in cheering tones; and they listened
+intently for a moment, but heard nothing save the soft lapping of the
+waves all around them. Then Frank spoke:
+
+"Bert," he asked, "are you afraid to die?"
+
+Bert started at the question. He had not thought of dying, and life was
+so precious to him.
+
+"We're not going to die, Frank. God will take care of us," he answered,
+quickly.
+
+"Yes, but if the steamer shouldn't get back to us in time, Bert,"
+persisted Frank, who seemed to be already losing hope, "aren't you
+afraid to die?"
+
+"I don't want to, but I'm not afraid to," Bert replied, after a pause;
+for it was not easy to talk when every exertion had to be put forth to
+keep above the water.
+
+"But, Bert, I am afraid," said Frank, with a groan. "I've been so
+wicked."
+
+"No, you haven't, Frank; and even if you have, God will forgive you now.
+Ask Him right away."
+
+"Oh, I can't--it's too late; I cannot pray now," cried poor Frank, in a
+voice that sounded like a wail of despair.
+
+"It's not too late. Come, Frank, dear, we'll both pray to God to have
+mercy upon us," urged Bert; and inspired by his earnestness, Frank
+obeyed. And there, in the midst of the waves, with their senseless
+burden between them, the two boys lifted up their souls in supplication
+to their Omnipotent Father--Bert with the confidence that came of past
+experience, Frank with the agonised entreaty of one praying in sore
+need, and, for the first time, with the whole heart. A strange place for
+a prayer meeting, indeed; but they were as near the great heart of God
+as though they had been in His grandest cathedral, and the answer to
+their earnest pleading was already on its way.
+
+When the two young heroes leaped into the water, there had at first been
+great confusion on board the _Mic-Mac_, but a minute or two later the
+captain's gruff voice was heard roaring out orders. The paddles that had
+been thrashing the waves so vigorously suddenly stopped, were silent for
+a moment, and then recommenced; but now they were bearing the steamer
+backward instead of forward.
+
+"Get ready the boat for launching," thundered the captain. And
+half-a-dozen men sprang to obey.
+
+"Light a couple of lanterns," he shouted again. And in an instant it was
+done.
+
+"Reeve a long line round one of them life preservers, and stand ready
+for a throw," he cried to the mate. And almost before he had finished
+speaking the mate stood ready.
+
+"Now, then, clear away there all of you," he growled at the excited
+crowd that pressed toward the stern, and they fell back, allowing him
+clear space, while he swung the lantern out before him, and peered into
+the dusk that obscured his view.
+
+"Let her go easy now," he shouted, and the steamer moved slowly on, a
+profound silence falling upon the crowd of passengers as they watched
+with throbbing eagerness for the first sign of the imperiled ones being
+sighted.
+
+Gazing hard into the gloom, the keen-eyed captain caught sight of a
+gleam of white upon the water.
+
+"Stop her!" he roared, with a voice like that of the north wind. "Hand
+me that life preserver!"--turning to the mate who stood near him. The
+mate obeyed, and coiling the long rope ready for a throw the captain
+waited, while the steamer drew nearer to the speck of white.
+
+"Look out there!" he cried to the boys in the water. "Lay hold of this."
+And swinging the big life preserver around his head as though it had
+been a mere toy, he hurled it far out before him, where the beams of
+light from the lantern showed not one but three white objects scarce
+above the surface of the water.
+
+"Look sharp now! lay hold there!" he cried again, and then: "All right.
+Keep your grip, and we'll have you in a minute." Then turning to those
+behind him: "Lower that boat--quick!"
+
+The davits creaked and groaned as the ropes spun through the blocks;
+there was a big splash when the boat struck the water, a few fierce
+strokes of the oars, and then a glad shout of, "All right; we've got
+them," in response to which cheer upon cheer rang out from the throng
+above, now relieved from their intense anxiety.
+
+A few minutes later, three dripping forms were carefully handed up the
+side, and taken into the warm engine room, the little girl still
+unconscious, and the boys so exhausted as to be not far from the same
+condition.
+
+Their rescue had been effected just in time. A little more, and utterly
+unable to keep themselves afloat any longer, they would have sunk
+beneath the pitiless waves.
+
+"It seemed awful to have to die that way," said Bert, when telling his
+parents about it. "I was getting weaker and weaker all the time, and so,
+too, was Frank, and I thought we'd have to let the poor little girl go,
+and strike out for ourselves. But we kept praying hard to God to help
+us; and then all of a sudden I saw a light, and I said to Frank,
+'There's the steamer--hold on a little longer;' and then I could hear
+the sound of the paddles, and the next thing the captain shouted to us
+and flung us a life preserver, and we got a good grip of that, and held
+on until the boat took us all in."
+
+The heroic action of the two boys made them famous in Halifax. The
+newspapers printed columns in their praise, a handsome subscription was
+taken up in a day to present them each with a splendid gold medal
+commemorating the event; important personages, who had never noticed
+them before, stopped them on the street to shake hands with them, and
+what really pleased them most of all, Dr. Johnston gave the school a
+holiday in their honour, having just delivered an address, in which,
+with flashing eyes and quivering lips, he told the other scholars how
+proud he felt of Frank and Bert, and how he hoped their schoolmates
+would show the same noble courage if they ever had a like opportunity.
+
+The parents of the little one they rescued were plain people of limited
+means, but they could not deny themselves the luxury of manifesting
+their gratitude in some tangible form. Accordingly, they had two
+pictures of their daughter prepared, and placed in pretty frames,
+bearing the expressive inscription, "Rescued," with the date beneath;
+and the mother herself took them to the boys, the tears that bathed her
+cheeks as she presented them telling far better than any words could do,
+how fervent was her gratitude.
+
+Deeply as Frank had been moved at being brought through his own generous
+impulse into such close quarters with death, the excitement and bustle
+of the days immediately following the event so filled his mind that the
+impression bade fair to pass away again, leaving him no better than he
+had been before. But it was not God's purpose that this should be the
+result. Before the good effects of that brief prayer meeting in the
+water were entirely dissipated, another influence came to their support.
+Although he knew it not, he was approaching the great crisis of his
+life, and by a way most unexpected; he was shortly to be led into that
+higher plane of existence, toward which he had been slowly tending
+through the years of his friendship with Bert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
+
+
+A day or two after the rescue Bert began to show signs of what he took
+to be simply a slight cold in the chest. At first there was only a
+little pain, and a rather troublesome feeling of oppression, which did
+not give him much concern, and having applied to his mother, and had her
+prescribe for him, he assumed that it was the natural consequence of his
+sudden plunge into the cold water, and would soon pass away. But instead
+of doing so the pain and oppression increased, and the family doctor had
+to be called in for his opinion. Having examined the young patient
+carefully, Dr. Brown decided that he was threatened with an attack of
+inflammation of the lungs, and that the best thing for him to do was to
+go right to bed, and stay there until the danger was over.
+
+Here was a new experience for Bert. He had never spent a day in bed
+before, his only previous sickness having been a siege of the mumps, and
+they merely made him a prisoner in the house until his face regained
+its usual size. But now he was to really go upon the sick list, and
+submit to be treated accordingly until the doctor should pronounce him
+well again. He did not like the idea at all. To what boy, indeed, would
+it have been welcome in that glorious summer weather when there was
+bliss in merely being alive and well. But he had too much sense to
+rebel. He knew that Dr. Brown was no alarmist, and that the best thing
+to do was to obey his injunctions unquestioningly. Moreover, he now
+began to feel some slight anxiety himself. The trouble in his chest
+increased. So much so, indeed, that he found difficulty in speaking for
+any length of time. Symptoms of fever, too, appeared; and by the close
+of another day no doubt remained that the attack was of a serious
+nature, and that the utmost care would be necessary in order to insure
+his recovery.
+
+When Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd learned this, they were sorely distressed. Such
+perfect health had their sturdy boy enjoyed all through his life
+hitherto, that they could hardly realise his being laid upon a bed of
+sickness, and it seemed especially trying just after he had passed
+safely through so great a peril. But they did not murmur. They committed
+Bert to the Divine care, and with countenances full of cheer for his
+sake, and hearts strengthened from above, awaited the revealing of the
+Lord's will.
+
+Day by day Bert grew worse, until each breath became an effort; and the
+fever burned all through his veins, as though it would consume him.
+Fortunately, no cloud came over his consciousness; and although he could
+not speak without a painful effort, and therefore said little, his
+grateful looks showed how fully he appreciated the unremitting care with
+which his father and mother and Mary watched over him. His bedside was
+never without one of them; and there was yet another who vied with them
+in their devotion--and that was Frank. Had Bert been his twin brother he
+could not have felt more concern. He was moved to the very depths of his
+heart, and with tears in his eyes begged of Mr. Lloyd permission to take
+turns with them in watching by the bedside through the long hours of the
+night. He was so affectionate, so thoughtful, so gentle, so trustworthy,
+and Bert seemed so glad to have him, that Mr. Lloyd willingly consented;
+and thus the four whom Bert loved best shared the burden of care and
+anxiety between them.
+
+Bert had never made much parade of his religion. It was the controlling
+force in his life, yet it had not been in any way obtrusive. It had
+grown with his growth, and strengthened with his expanding strength; and
+although there had of course been many slips and falls--for what was he
+but an impulsive boy?--there had been no decline, but steadfast progress
+as the years of his boyhood glided past. It stood him in good stead when
+death waited for him in the depths of Halifax harbour, and it was with
+him now, as hour by hour he drew nearer the dark valley of the shadow.
+
+It seemed strange for the Lloyd's home, which Bert and Mary had
+brightened with laughter and song, to be so silent now, and for big Dr.
+Brown, whose visits previously had been mainly of a social nature, to be
+calling every day, with a serious countenance that betokened his
+concern. Never were mother and sister more devoted and untiring than
+Bert's. Their loving care anticipated his simplest wants; and but for
+the dreadful feeling in his chest, and the fever that gave him no
+relief, the novelty of being thus assiduously tended was so great, that
+he would hardly have minded being their patient for a little while, at
+least.
+
+It was an unspeakable comfort to them all that his reason continued
+perfectly clear, no matter how high the fever raged; and not only his
+reason, but his faith was clear also. He did not despair of his
+recovery, yet he shrank not from looking the darker alternative fairly
+in the face, and preparing to meet it. His father's strong, serene faith
+was a wonderful help to him. In the quiet evening, as the dusk drew on,
+Mr. Lloyd would sit beside him, and, taking his hot hand in his, talk
+with him tenderly, repeating Scripture passages of hope and comfort, or
+verses from the sacred songs they both loved.
+
+One afternoon, Frank was alone with him, Mrs. Lloyd and Mary having gone
+off to take much needed rest, and Bert for the first time spoke to his
+friend of the possibility of his never getting well again.
+
+"I am very ill, Frank, dear," said he, reaching over to lay his burning
+hand upon Frank's knee, as the latter sat close beside his bed. "I may
+never be any better."
+
+"Oh, yes, you will!" returned Frank, cheerfully. "You'll come round all
+right."
+
+"I hope so, Frank, but sometimes as I lie here in the middle of the
+night, it seems as though it would soon be all over with me."
+
+"Never fear, Bert, you'll live to be an old man yet, see if you don't."
+
+Bert was silent for a while as if thinking just how he would say
+something that was on his mind. Then turning to Frank, and, looking
+earnestly into his face, he asked:
+
+"Frank, do you love Jesus?"
+
+Frank started at the question, the blood mounted to his forehead, and
+his head dropped. He seemed reluctant to reply, and it was some time
+before he answered, almost in a whisper:
+
+"I'm afraid I don't, Bert."
+
+A look of sorrow came over Bert's countenance, but was quickly
+dissipated by one of hope, and despite the pain the utterance of every
+word gave him he took Frank's hand between both of his, and pressing it
+affectionately, said:
+
+"Dear, dear Frank, you will love Him, won't you?"
+
+Frank's sturdy frame trembled with the emotion he strove hard to
+suppress; his lips quivered so that he could not have spoken if he
+would, and at length, unable to control himself any longer, he fell on
+his knees at the bedside, and burying his face in his hands burst into
+tears.
+
+The ineffable glory of the sun setting into the golden haze of the west
+filled the room, and enfolded the figures of the two boys, the one
+kneeling at the bedside, and the other with eyes lifted heavenward, and
+lips moving in earnest prayer, touching softly the brown curls half
+buried in the bed beside him. For some minutes there was a solemn
+silence. Then Bert spoke:
+
+"Frank, Frank," he called, gently.
+
+Frank lifted his tear-stained face.
+
+"Won't you begin to love Him now?" Bert asked. "If God should take me
+away, I could not be happy unless I felt sure that you would meet me
+above. We've been such friends, Frank, and you've been so good to me
+always."
+
+[Illustration: "'Frank, Frank,' he called gently. Frank lifted his
+tear-stained face."--_Page_ 320.]
+
+Frank's tears flowed afresh. It was not the first time that the question
+of surrender to Christ had presented itself to him. He had debated it
+with himself over and over again, and always with the same result,
+concluding to remain undecided a little longer. But now the time for
+indecision seemed altogether passed. The Christ Himself seemed present
+in that room awaiting an answer to the question he had inspired Bert
+to put. Never in all his life before had the issue between God and
+himself appeared so inevitable. He had evaded it more than once, but a
+decision could no longer be delayed. No sooner did he see this clearly
+than the powers of the strong, deep nature asserted itself. Brushing
+aside his tears, and looking right into Bert's expectant eyes, he seized
+both his hands, and, with a countenance almost glorified by the
+expression of lofty purpose the rays of the setting sun revealed upon
+it, said, in clear, firm tones:
+
+"Yes, Bert, I will love Jesus, and I will begin right away."
+
+"Oh, Frank, I'm so happy!" murmured Bert, as he fell back on his pillow,
+for the stress of emotion had told hard upon him in his weak state, and
+he felt exhausted. He lay there quietly with his eyes closed for a
+while, and then sank into a gentle slumber, and before he awoke again
+Mrs. Lloyd had come into the room so that their conversation could not
+be resumed before Frank went away.
+
+The next day Bert was decidedly worse. The suffering in his chest
+increased until he could hardly speak. With great difficulty he could
+get out a word at a time, and that was all. The fever showed no signs of
+abating, and he tossed upon his bed hour after hour, while with ice and
+fan and cooling applications Mrs. Lloyd and Mary strove hard to give him
+ease.
+
+Dr. Brown made no attempt to conceal his anxiety.
+
+"The crisis is near at hand," he said. "There is nothing more that I can
+do for him. He has reached a point where your prayers can do more for
+him than my poor medicines."
+
+Although her heart was torn with anguish unspeakable, Mrs. Lloyd's
+fortitude never for a moment faltered. So serene was her bearing in the
+sick chamber that Mary, from whom the gravity of her brother's case had
+been so far as possible concealed, had yet no thought but that he would
+infallibly win his way back to health.
+
+As he grew weaker and his sufferings more intense, Bert evidently felt
+easiest when all three of his own household were with him at once, and
+when Frank was there also, his satisfaction seemed complete. He spoke
+but little, and then only a word or two at a time. Dr. Chrystal came to
+see him frequently, and was always greeted with a glad smile of welcome.
+Taking the Bible, he would, in his rich mellow voice, read some
+comforting passage, and then pray with deep trustful earnestness,
+inspiring and strengthening the anxious watchers, and leaving behind him
+an atmosphere of peace.
+
+On Friday night the crisis came. After tossing and tumbling about
+feverishly all day, as the evening shadows fell, Bert sank into a deep
+stupor, and Dr. Brown, with a lump in his throat that almost choked his
+utterance, said plainly that unless he rallied before morning there
+would be no further hope. In an agony of prayer Mrs. Lloyd knelt by her
+darling's bedside, while in an adjoining room Mr. Lloyd, and Mary, and
+Dr. Chrystal, and Frank sat together, praying and waiting, and striving
+to comfort one another. The long hours of agonising uncertainty dragged
+slowly by. Every few minutes some one would steal on tiptoe to the sick
+chamber, and on their return met fond faces full of eager questioning
+awaiting them, only to answer with a sad shake of the head that meant no
+ray of hope yet.
+
+At length the dawn began to flush the east, and with crimson radiance
+light up the great unmeasured dome, putting out the stars that had shone
+as watch fires throughout the night. Mrs. Lloyd had risen from her
+knees, and was sitting close beside the bed, watching every breath that
+Bert drew; for who could say which one would be the last? The daylight
+stole swiftly into the room, making the night-light no longer necessary,
+and she moved softly to put it out. As she returned to her post, and
+stood for a moment gazing with an unutterable tenderness at the beloved
+face lying so still upon the pillow, a thrill of joy shot through her,
+for a change seemed to have taken place; the flushed features had
+assumed a more natural hue, and the breath came more easily. Scarcely
+daring to hope, she stood as if entranced. Presently a tremor ran
+through Bert's frame, he stirred uneasily, sighed heavily, and then, as
+naturally as a babe awaking, opened wide his big, brown eyes.
+
+Seeing his mother just before him, he gave a glad smile, lifted up his
+hands as though to embrace her, and said, without any apparent
+difficulty:
+
+"You dear, darling mother."
+
+Completely overcome with joy, Mrs. Lloyd threw herself down beside her
+boy and kissed him passionately, exclaiming: "Thank God! Thank God! He's
+saved;" and then, springing up, hastened out to tell the others the good
+news.
+
+Dr. Brown, who had been resting in the study, was instantly summoned,
+and the moment he saw Bert his face became radiant. Turning to Mrs.
+Lloyd, he shook her hand warmly, saying:
+
+"The worst is over. He'll come round all right now, and you may thank
+your prayers, madam, and not my medicines."
+
+Great was the rejoicing in the Lloyd household. No words would express
+their gladness; and when school-time came Frank, utterly unable to
+contain himself, rushed off to Dr. Johnston's, and astonished the
+assembled pupils by shouting at the top of his voice:
+
+"Hurrah, boys! Bert's not going to die. He'll soon be well again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+HOME MISSIONARY WORK.
+
+
+Bert's recovery was as rapid as his illness had been sudden and severe.
+A fortnight after that memorable morning, when with the dawn came
+deliverance, he was as vigorous and lively as ever. He found the days of
+his convalescence not at all unpleasant. When the pain had passed, the
+long hours of suffering seemed like a dreadful dream, and the present,
+with its sweet relief and increasing strength, a blissful awaking. At
+his home all was joy and brightness: there were silence and anxiety no
+longer. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary went singing from room to room, Mr. Lloyd
+came back from his office whistling merrily, and sure to be ready with
+something to make Bert laugh. Frank ran in and out, the very type of
+joyous boyhood, and each day brought its stream of callers, with warm
+congratulations upon Bert's happy restoration to health.
+
+It would be a queer boy that would not enjoy this, seeing that it all
+centred upon him, and Bert fully appreciated the important position he
+held for the time being. Then what could be more delightful than the
+sense of returning strength, of enlarging activity?--to find one's-self
+with a clearer head, a sharper appetite, and a more vigorous frame, as
+one glorious summer day succeeded another; while the birds sang blithely
+in the apple tree, and the blue waters of the ever-beautiful harbour
+rippled gently before the morning zephyrs, or were stirred into white
+caps by the afternoon breeze?
+
+Bert's illness left no trace behind so far as his physical nature was
+concerned, and yet he was not altogether the same boy as before it laid
+him low. Deep solemn thoughts had been his as he lay upon his bed, not
+knowing whether he should ever rise from it again. His life had been in
+many respects a more than ordinarily blameless one, and yet when he had
+little else to do save look back upon it, an almost overwhelming sense
+of his worthlessness came upon him, and he was filled with wonder that
+God could love him at all.
+
+But that He did love him, and for His Son's sake had accepted him, he
+never for a moment doubted. Now that he was restored to health and
+strength, he did not seek to forget those feelings, nor would he allow
+his convictions of great obligations Godward to lead him nowhere. He
+resolved to do some definite work for his Divine Master, and to seize
+the first opportunity that presented itself.
+
+His friendship with Frank passed into a deeper, stronger phase than
+ever before. It might with much truth have been said of them as it was
+of two friends of old, that the soul of Bert was knit with the soul of
+Frank, and that Bert loved him as his own soul. They had so much in
+common now, and they found it so delightful to strengthen one another's
+hands in the Lord by talking together of His goodness.
+
+There was one matter that troubled Frank deeply, and that formed the
+subject of many a long and earnest conversation. His father was a man
+about whose lack of religion there could be no doubt. He was a big,
+bluff, and rather coarse-grained man, not over-scrupulous in business,
+but upon the whole as honest and trustworthy as the bulk of humanity. By
+dint of sheer hard work and shrewdness he had risen to a position of
+wealth and importance, and, as self-made men are apt to do, laid much
+more stress upon what he owed to himself than upon what he owed to his
+Creator. In his own rough way, that is to say in somewhat the same
+fashion as we may suppose a lion loves his whelp, he loved the only
+child the wife long since dead had left him. He was determined that he
+should lack nothing that was worth having, and in nothing did Mr. Bowser
+show his shrewdness more clearly than in fully appreciating the
+advantage it was to Frank to be the chosen friend and constant companion
+of Lawyer Lloyd's son. He had manifested his satisfaction at the
+intimacy by having Frank make Bert handsome presents at Christmas time,
+and in other ways. In all this, however, his only thought had been for
+Frank. He made no attempt to cultivate intimate relations with the
+Lloyds on his own account. He thought them both too refined, and too
+religious for him, and accordingly declined so far as he civilly could,
+Mr. Lloyd's overtures toward a better acquaintance.
+
+Such a man was Frank's father; and now that the boy's heart was full of
+joy and light, because the peace that passeth understanding was his, he
+longed that his father should share the same happy experience.
+
+"If father were only a Christian, like your father, Bert, I would be the
+happiest boy in all the world," said he, one day. "Oh, Bert, what can I
+do to make him interested in religion?"
+
+"Why don't you ask Dr. Chrystal to go and talk with him?" inquired Bert.
+
+"It wouldn't be a bit of use. He won't go to church to hear Dr.
+Chrystal, nor any other minister, and he wouldn't listen to them if they
+came to see him. He says he has no faith in parsons, anyway."
+
+"Well, do you think he would listen to father?" suggested Bert.
+
+Frank's face lighted up. He had been thinking of this himself.
+
+"Perhaps he would, Bert," he said, eagerly. "I know he thinks a great
+deal of your father. I've heard him say that he practised better than
+many of the parsons preached."
+
+Bert flushed with pleasure at this frank compliment to his father.
+
+"Then suppose we ask him to speak to your father about religion," he
+said.
+
+"Oh, yes; let us," assented Frank. Accordingly, that evening the two
+boys brought the matter before Mr. Lloyd, who listened to them very
+attentively. Then he asked a question or two.
+
+"Are you quite sure, Frank, that I am the very best person to speak to
+your father on this important subject?"
+
+"Yes, Mr. Lloyd; I'm quite sure you are."
+
+"Well, do you know, Frank, I don't agree with you. I think I know of
+somebody that can do it much better than I can," said Mr. Lloyd, with a
+meaning smile.
+
+Frank's face fell. He had set his heart upon having Mr. Lloyd do it, and
+could not believe that anybody else would do as well. After a little
+pause, he asked:
+
+"Who is this somebody else, Mr. Lloyd?"
+
+"He's not very far away from us now, Frank," answered Mr. Lloyd, still
+with that curious smile.
+
+"You don't mean Bert, do you?" cried Frank, looking a little bewildered.
+
+"No; I don't mean Bert," responded Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"Then----." He stopped short, a deep blush spread over his features; he
+caught his breath, and then, as if hoping that the answer would be in
+the negative, exclaimed:
+
+"Do you mean _me_?"
+
+"Yes, I do mean just you; and nobody else, Frank."
+
+Frank threw himself back in his chair with a despairing gesture, saying:
+
+"Oh, I could never do it, Mr. Lloyd. I know I never could."
+
+Mr. Lloyd looked at him with tender sympathy, and laying his hand upon
+his knee, said, gently:
+
+"Do you remember the motto, Frank: 'Quit you like men, be strong'?"
+
+Frank heaved a heavy sigh. "But how can I go about it, Mr. Lloyd?" he
+asked.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thought a moment.
+
+"I have an idea, Frank," he said, presently. "Suppose you were to start
+family prayer in the mornings. I believe it would be the means of doing
+your father good."
+
+At first Frank could not be persuaded that such a thing was possible as
+his presuming to conduct family prayer in his father's presence, but
+they talked long and earnestly about it, and finally he went away
+promising to think it over very seriously.
+
+As he turned the matter over in his mind, however, little by little his
+courage strengthened until at length he felt himself equal to the
+undertaking. It was a Sunday morning that he chose upon which to make
+the venture. So soon as breakfast was finished, and his father had
+moved away from the table, wishing to himself that there was a paper
+published on Sundays as well as upon other days, for he had time to read
+it comfortably, Frank took up his Bible, and said, very hesitatingly:
+
+"Father, do you mind if we have family prayers?"
+
+"Eh! What's that? What do you mean?" asked Mr. Bowser, looking up as if
+he could hardly believe his ears.
+
+"Why, father," answered Frank, timidly, "you know they have prayers at
+Mr. Lloyd's every morning, and I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind our
+having them, too."
+
+Mr. Bowser scanned his son's face with a hard searching gaze, but Frank
+looked back at him with so much love and respect in his clear, brown
+eyes, that all suspicion was banished from his mind, and his heart
+melted not a little.
+
+"Who's going to have the prayers? You don't expect me to, do you?" he
+asked, gruffly.
+
+"Well, father, if you don't care to, I'll try, if you've no objection,"
+replied Frank, modestly.
+
+Mr. Bowser was silent for a moment. He had noted a change in Frank of
+late, and had been impressed by the increased interest he took in church
+and Sunday school as proven by the regularity and punctuality of his
+going off to the services. Had Frank become a Christian like Mr. Lloyd?
+He would not be sorry if he had, although it was rather a pity that he
+had not waited until he had had his fling first, sowed a few wild oats,
+seen something of the world, and then settled down. Here was a good
+chance to find out. So with some relaxing of his gruffness, Mr. Bowser
+said:
+
+"All right, my boy. I've no objections so long as you're not too
+long-winded. Go ahead."
+
+Thus encouraged, Frank, with beating heart and trembling lips, proceeded
+to read one of the Psalms; and then, kneeling down, offered up a simple,
+fervent, faith-filled prayer.
+
+Mr. Bowser did not kneel. He sat sturdily upright in his chair, looking
+straight before him. But he could not prevent strange emotions awaking
+within him as he heard his boy, whom he was still inclined to look upon
+as hardly more than a child, though he was now sixteen years of age,
+address himself in reverent, earnest tones to the Great Being that he
+had so utterly neglected himself.
+
+When Frank had finished, his father rose and left the room without
+saying a word. That evening Frank took tea with Bert, and they went to
+church together. Shortly after the service began Bert happened to glance
+about the church, and his eye fell upon somebody that caused him to give
+a little start of surprise, and then nudge Frank violently. On Frank's
+turning round to see what Bert meant, he too started, and an expression
+of joy that was beautiful to witness came over his countenance, for
+there, in a pew not far behind him, and evidently trying hard to look
+entirely at his ease, sat Mr. Bowser, this being his first appearance in
+church for many long years.
+
+Dr. Chrystal preached one of his very best sermons that night, and all
+the time he was speaking Frank was praying that his earnest words might
+go straight home to his father's heart. That was the beginning of the
+good work. Thenceforward every Sunday evening found Mr. Bowser an
+attentive listener; and Frank, continuing the morning prayers
+faithfully, was surprised and delighted when one day his father brought
+home the finest family Bible he could find in the city, and handing it
+to him, said, in his kindest manner:
+
+"Here, my boy, if we're going to have family prayers, we may just as
+well do it in proper style."
+
+Frank joyfully reported all this to the Lloyds, who rejoiced with him
+over the prospect there was of his prayers for his father being fully
+answered ere long, and Mr. Lloyd was therefore not at all surprised when
+one evening Mr. Bowser called, and in an agitated, confused way begged
+the favour of an interview with him in the privacy of his study.
+
+It was as Mr. Lloyd anticipated. Frank's simple, but sincere efforts at
+home missionary work had been crowned with success. His father's hard,
+worldly nature had been stirred to its depths. A longing the world could
+not appease had been awakened within him, and he had come to Mr. Lloyd
+as one in whom he placed implicit confidence, that he might guide him
+toward the light. The conversation, which Mr. Bowser found wonderfully
+helpful to him in his bewildered, anxious state of mind, was followed by
+many others, and the result was made evident when, ere that year closed,
+Mr. Bowser publicly united himself with the Church; and there were few
+who were familiar with the circumstances that could restrain a tear of
+sympathetic joy when Dr. Chrystal made the event the occasion for a
+beautiful and inspiring sermon upon the place of the young in the
+vineyard of the Lord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED.
+
+
+Mr. Bowser was not a man to do anything by halves. When he was worldly,
+he was worldly out and out, and now that he had broken with the world
+and entered into the service of God, he took up the business of religion
+with a thoroughness and ardour that was entirely characteristic. He
+found himself wofully ignorant of the simplest Scripture truths. Until
+his conversion, he had not opened his Bible since he left his mother's
+care. He, therefore, determined to become a scholar. So one Saturday he
+asked Frank:
+
+"Frank, what is it you do at Sunday school?"
+
+"Well, father, we sing, and pray, and study the Bible, that's about
+all," answered Frank, wondering to himself what his father had in mind.
+
+"Do any grown-up people go there, Frank?" inquired Mr. Bowser,
+innocently.
+
+Frank smiled, partly at his father's lack of knowledge, and partly
+because he thought he caught a glimpse of his purpose.
+
+"Why, of course, father," he exclaimed, "lots of them. Mr. Lloyd goes
+there, and Mr. Silver, and ten or twelve other gentlemen."
+
+"Does Mr. Lloyd go to Sunday school?" asked Mr. Bowser, eagerly. "Why,
+what does he do there?"
+
+"He teaches, father. He has charge of the men's Bible class."
+
+"So Mr. Lloyd has a Bible class there," mused Mr. Bowser aloud; then,
+turning again to Frank, "Do you think, Frank, he would mind if I joined
+it."
+
+Frank could not help smiling at the idea of Mr. Lloyd being otherwise
+than glad at having a new member in his class.
+
+"Indeed, he won't. On the contrary, he'll be mighty glad, I'm sure," he
+answered, warmly.
+
+"Very well, then, Frank, I'll go with you to Sunday school to-morrow. I
+don't know anything about the Bible, and I think there's no better place
+for me to learn," said Mr. Bowser, as he went off, leaving Frank so
+happy at the prospect of having his father go to school with him that he
+could hardly contain himself.
+
+Very deep was Mr. Lloyd's pleasure when on Sunday afternoon burly Mr.
+Bowser walked into his class room and took his seat in the most remote
+corner. He went up to him at once, and gave him a cordial greeting.
+
+"I've come as a learner, Mr. Lloyd," said Mr. Bowser. "I know little or
+nothing about the Bible, and I want you to teach me."
+
+"I am sure I shall be most happy to do anything that lies in my power,
+Mr. Bowser," responded Mr. Lloyd, heartily, "and there are others in the
+class that you will find will help you also."
+
+And so Mr. Bowser, putting aside all foolish notions about pride or
+self-importance, became one of the most faithful and attentive
+attendants of the Bible class. Rain or shine, the whole year round, his
+chair was rarely vacant, until Mr. Lloyd came to look upon him as his
+model member, and to feel somewhat lost, if for any reason he was
+compelled to be absent.
+
+But Mr. Lloyd was not his only guide and instructor. Dr. Chrystal had
+attracted him from the very first. The sermon he preached on that
+eventful Sunday evening, when, yielding to an impulse which seemed to
+him little better than curiosity, he had attended church for the first
+time in so many years, had been followed by others, each one of which
+met some need or answered some question springing up in Mr. Bowser's
+heart, and his admiration and affection for the eloquent preacher had
+increased with a steady growth.
+
+In truth, Dr. Chrystal was a man of no common mould. He united in
+himself characteristics that might seem to have belonged to widely
+different natures. He was deeply spiritual, yet intensely alive to the
+spirit of the times. He was as thoroughly conversant with modern
+thought as he was with the history of God's ancient people. Although a
+profound student, he was anything but a Dr. Dry-as-Dust. On the
+contrary, the very children heard him gladly because he never forgot
+them in his sermons. There was always something for them as well as for
+the older folks. Indeed, perhaps one of the best proofs of his singular
+fitness for his work was the way the young people loved him. Boys like
+Bert and Frank, for instance, probably the hardest class in the
+congregation for the minister to secure to himself, while they never for
+a moment felt tempted to take any liberties with him, yet, on the other
+hand, never felt ill at ease in his presence, nor sought to avoid him.
+He made them feel at home with him, and the consequence was that the
+proportion of boys belonging to his church exceeded that of any other
+church in the city.
+
+Dr. Chrystal had of late been causing his friends no small concern by
+showing signs of failing health. His heart began to give him trouble. So
+much so, indeed, that now and then he would be obliged to pause in the
+midst of his sermon, and rest a little before resuming. His physician
+told him he had been working too hard, and that what he needed was to
+take things more easily, or, better still, to lay aside his work for a
+season, and recuperate by a good long vacation.
+
+At first he would not listen to any such proposition. There seemed so
+much to be done all around him that would be undoubtedly left undone
+unless he did it himself, that he felt as if he could not desert his
+post. But it soon became clear to him that the warnings he had received
+must be heeded, and ere long he was able to make up his mind to follow
+the physician's advice, and indulge himself with an ocean voyage, and
+prolonged vacation in Europe.
+
+As the time for his temporary separation from his congregation drew near
+there was a marked increase of fervour and loving earnestness on the
+part of Dr. Chrystal toward his people. It was as though he thought he
+might perhaps never return to them, and it therefore behoved him not
+only to preach with special unction, but to lose no opportunity of
+saying to each one with whom he came in contact something that might
+remain with them as a fruitful recollection in the event of its proving
+to be his last word to them. Meeting Bert upon the street one day, he
+linked his arm with his, and entered at once into a conversation
+regarding the boy's spiritual interests. Bert felt perfectly at home
+with his pastor, and did not hesitate to speak with him in the same
+spirit of frank unreserve that he would with his father.
+
+"I have been thinking much about you, Bert," said Dr. Chrystal, in tones
+of warm affection, "and saying to myself that if, in the providence of
+God, I should never come back to my work, I would like to leave
+something with you that would linger in your memory after I am gone."
+
+"But you're coming back again all right, Dr. Chrystal," said Bert,
+looking up with much concern in his countenance, for he had never
+thought of its being otherwise.
+
+"I am sure I hope and pray so with all my heart," replied Dr. Chrystal,
+fervently. "But there are many things to be considered, and God alone
+knows how it will be with me a few months hence. I am altogether in His
+hands."
+
+"Well, God knows right well that we couldn't have a better minister than
+you, sir, and so there's no fear but He'll send you back to us all
+right," returned Bert, his eager loyalty to his pastor quite carrying
+him away.
+
+Dr. Chrystal smiled sympathetically at the boy's enthusiasm.
+
+"There are just as good fish in the sea as have ever yet been caught,
+Bert," he answered.
+
+"I thoroughly appreciate your kind, and I know sincere, compliment, but
+it was not to talk about myself that I joined you, but about yourself. I
+have been thinking that it is full time you took up some definite work
+for your Heavenly Master. Don't you think so, too?"
+
+"Yes, I do, sir; and so does Frank, and we're both quite willing to make
+a beginning, but we don't just know what to go at."
+
+"I have been thinking about that, too, Bert, and I have an idea I want
+to discuss with you. You know the streets that lie between the north and
+south portions of our city, and how densely they are packed with people,
+very few of whom make any pretensions to religion at all. Now, would it
+not be possible for you and Frank to do a little city missionary work in
+those streets. The field is white unto the harvest, but the labourers
+are so few that it is sad to see how little is being done. What do you
+think about it?"
+
+Bert did not answer at once. He knew well the locality Dr. Chrystal had
+in mind, and the class of people that inhabited it. For square after
+square, tenement houses, tall, grimy, and repulsive, alternated with
+groggeries, flaunting, flashy, and reeking with iniquity. The residents
+were of the lowest and poorest order. Filth, vice, and poverty, held
+high carnival the whole year round. In the day time crowds of tattered
+roughs played rudely with one another in the streets, and after dark,
+drunken soldiers, sailors, and wharf men, made night hideous with their
+degraded revelry or frenzied fighting.
+
+And yet these people had souls to save, and even though they might seem
+sunken in sin beyond all hope of recovery, they had children that might
+be trained to better ways and a brighter future. It was these children
+that Dr. Chrystal had in mind when he spoke to Bert. A union mission
+school had lately been established in the very heart of this
+unattractive district, and it was sorely in need of workers.
+
+Both Bert and Frank were quite competent to undertake work of this kind,
+did they but give their minds to it, and Dr. Chrystal was anxious to
+have their interest in it thoroughly aroused before he went away.
+
+After a few moments' silence, during which his brain had been very busy
+with conflicting thoughts, Bert looked up into his pastor's face, and
+said, in a doubtful way:
+
+"Don't you think, sir, that is rather hard work to put us at at first?"
+
+Dr. Chrystal gave him a tender smile. "It is hard work, I know, Bert,"
+said he. "I would not for a moment try to argue that it is anything
+else, but I am none the less desirous of seeing you engaged in it. You
+and Frank would make splendid recruiting sergeants for the little
+mission school, and you could be very helpful in keeping order, or even
+in teaching at the morning session. By doing this you would not
+interfere with either your church-going or your own Sunday school in the
+afternoon. I wish you would talk the matter over with Frank, and, of
+course, consult your parents about it."
+
+Bert readily promised that he would do this, for although he, as was
+natural enough, shrank from undertaking what could not be otherwise than
+trying and difficult work, yet he felt that if his father fully
+approved of it, and Frank took it up heartily, he would be able at least
+to give it a trial. Dr. Chrystal was evidently well pleased with the
+result of the conversation, and in parting with Bert took his hand in
+his, and pressing it warmly, said:
+
+"God's best blessings be upon you, Bert. You are fitted to do good work
+for Him. May you ever be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
+
+Little did Bert imagine that these would be the last words Dr. Chrystal
+would address to him personally, or that, as he turned away with a
+seraphic smile upon his face, he would see him but once more alive.
+
+The following Sunday was the last that Dr. Chrystal would spend with his
+congregation previous to his going away, and as he appeared before them
+at the morning service it was the general opinion that his abstention
+from work was taking place none too soon, for he certainly seemed to
+sorely need it.
+
+In spite of evident weakness, he preached with unabated eloquence and
+fervour. Indeed, he was perhaps more earnest than usual, and his sermon
+made a profound impression upon the congregation that thronged the
+church. In the afternoon he visited the Sunday school, and said a word
+or two to each one of the teachers as he passed up and down the classes.
+The evening service found the church filled to its utmost capacity, and
+a smile of inexpressible love and sweetness illuminated the pastor's
+pale face as he came out from the study, and beheld the multitude
+gathered to hear the Gospel from his lips.
+
+"Doesn't he look like an angel?" whispered Bert to Frank, as the boys
+sat together in their accustomed place.
+
+"He doesn't simply look like one. He is one," Frank whispered back, and
+Bert nodded his assent.
+
+The service proceeded with singing, and prayer, and Bible reading, and
+then came the sermon. Dr. Chrystal was evidently labouring under strong
+emotion. His words did not at first flow with their wonted freedom, and
+some among his listeners began to think it would have been well if he
+had not attempted to preach. But presently all this hesitation passed
+away, and he launched out into an earnest impassioned appeal to his
+people to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
+Lord. Although he did not say expressly that this might be the last time
+he would ever speak to them from the pulpit, there was something in his
+manner that showed this thought was present in his mind.
+
+He had got about half through his sermon, and every eye in that
+congregation was fixed upon him, and every ear attent to his burning
+words, when suddenly he stopped. A deadly pallor took possession of his
+face; he pressed his left hand with a gesture of pain against his heart,
+while with the other he strove to steady himself in the pulpit. For a
+moment he stood there silent, and swaying to and fro before the startled
+congregation; and then, ere Mr. Lloyd, who had been watching him
+intently all through the service, could spring up the steps to his side,
+he fell back with a dull thud upon the cushioned seat behind him, and
+thence sank to the floor.
+
+When Mr. Lloyd reached him, and bending down lifted him in his strong
+arms from the floor, Dr. Chrystal opened his eyes, looked upon his
+friend with a smile that seemed a reflection from heaven, breathed
+softly the words: "The Lord be with you," and then, with a gentle sigh,
+closed his eyes to open them again in the presence of the Master he had
+served so well.
+
+It is not possible to describe the scene that followed, when all present
+became aware that their beloved pastor had gone from them upon a journey
+from which there could be no returning. They were so stunned, saddened,
+and bewildered that they knew not what to do with themselves. The men
+and women sat weeping in their seats, or wandered aimlessly about the
+aisles to speak with one another, while the children, not realising the
+full import of what had happened, looked on in fear and wonder. It was
+some time before the congregation dispersed. Dr. Chrystal's body was
+tenderly carried into the study, and there was nothing more to do; and
+yet they lingered about as if hoping that perhaps it might prove to be
+only a faint or trance, after all, for it seemed so hard to believe the
+dreadful truth.
+
+As Bert and Frank walked home together, with hearts full to overflowing
+and tear-stained faces, Mr. Silver caught up to them, and pushing them
+apart, took an arm of each. For a few steps he said nothing; and then,
+as if musing to himself:
+
+"'God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.' Our pastor has gone. He
+is not--because God has taken him--not dead, but translated. Upon whom
+will his mantle fall, boys?"
+
+"I am sure I don't know, Mr. Silver," replied Bert. "But this I do know,
+that we can never have a better minister."
+
+"No, I suppose not--according to our way of thinking, at all events; but
+we must not let that thought paralyse our energies. The vacant pulpit
+has its lesson for each one of us, boys," returned Mr. Silver.
+
+"Yes, it means work, and it seems so strange that Dr. Chrystal should
+have spoken to me as he did the very last time he saw me," said Bert.
+And then he proceeded to repeat the conversation concerning the city
+mission work.
+
+"I am so glad he spoke to you about that," said Mr. Silver. "I had
+intended doing so myself, but it has been far better done now. You will
+do what you can, both of you?"
+
+"Yes, we will," replied Bert and Frank together, in tones of
+unmistakable purpose.
+
+"Perhaps, then," said Mr. Silver, reflectively, "the question I asked a
+moment ago may yet be answered by you, dear boys. Would you like to
+think that Dr. Chrystal's mantle should fall upon you, and that in due
+time you should take up the glorious work he has just laid down? To what
+nobler career can a man aspire than that of being one of the Master's
+shepherds?"
+
+The boys were silent. The thought was new to them, and altogether too
+great to be grasped at once. And Mr. Silver wisely did not press them
+for an answer before he bade them "Good-night, and God bless you both."
+
+But his question remained in their minds. It proved a seed thought that
+in the case of one of them was later on destined to find itself in good
+ground, and to spring up and bear goodly fruit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A BOY NO LONGER.
+
+
+Frank and Bert put their hearts into the city mission work, just as they
+did into everything else that they undertook, and it was well they did.
+For surely nothing save genuine zeal, and fidelity to a strong purpose
+could have carried them through the experiences that awaited them. The
+mission school was still small and struggling. But for the almost heroic
+energies of its superintendent, a clerk in a city banking house, it
+could not have been carried on at all. He was a small, slight,
+fragile-looking man, but he had a heart big enough for a giant, and
+having consecrated his spare hours to this most unattractive of all
+phases of Christian work, he carried it on with a self-denying
+earnestness that no difficulties could dampen, nor obstacles appal. He
+was as ready with his purse, to the extent of its slender ability, as he
+was with his Bible, and his splendid unselfishness was so well
+appreciated by the dangerous degraded beings among whom he toiled, that
+alone and unprotected he might go among them at any hour of the day or
+night, and meet with nothing but respect and rude courtesy.
+
+Such a man was David McMaster, under whose direction Bert and Frank lost
+no time in placing themselves; and a right glad welcome they had from
+him, his pale, thin face fairly glowing with pleasure at the addition to
+his force of two such promising recruits. With him they went the rounds
+of squalid tenements, hideous back alleys, and repulsive shanties, the
+tattered children gazing at them with faces in which curiosity was
+mingled with aversion, and their frousy parents giving them looks of
+enmity and mistrust, no doubt because they were so clean and well
+dressed.
+
+But apparently noting nothing of this, Mr. McMaster led the way from one
+rookery to another, introducing his new workers to their wretched
+inhabitants with an easy grace that disarmed all suspicion, and made
+them feel that so long as he was the presiding genius of the school,
+they had nothing to fear in the worst locality.
+
+The following Sunday morning they began work on their own account. The
+school was held at ten o'clock, closing just in time to permit the
+teachers to get to church, and the part assigned to Bert and Frank was
+to go out into the highways and byways, and invite the children playing
+in the dirt to come to the school, or else to go to the homes, if such
+they could be called, of those whose names were already upon the roll,
+and secure their attendance at the service.
+
+Then when the school opened they found plenty to do, distributing the
+hymn books, helping in the singing, keeping a sharp look-out for unruly
+behaviour, watching the door lest any scholar should take it into his
+head to bolt, insuring an equitable division of the picture papers, and
+so on until the hour came to close the school, and they turned their
+steps churchward, feeling with good reason that they had really been
+doing work for God, and hard work, too.
+
+They soon grew to love Mr. McMaster as much as they admired his zeal. He
+was in many ways a quaint, curious character. His body seemed so small
+and insignificant, and his spirit so mighty. He knew neither fear nor
+despair in the prosecution of his chosen work, and it was impossible to
+be associated with him without being infected by his unquenchable
+ardour. For some time no special incident marked their work, and then
+Bert had an experience that might have brought his part with it to an
+end had he been made of less sturdy stuff.
+
+In company with Mr. McMaster he was making the usual round previous to
+the opening of the school, beating up unreliable scholars, and had
+entered a damp, noisome alley, lined on either side with tumble-down
+apologies for houses. Mr. McMaster took one side and Bert the other, and
+they proceeded to visit the different dwellers in this horrible place.
+Bert had knocked at several doors without getting any response, for the
+people were apt to lie in bed late on Sunday morning, and then his
+attention was aroused by sounds of crying mingled with oaths, that came
+from the garret of a villainous-looking tenement. He could hear the
+voices of a woman and of a child raised in entreaty and terror, and
+without pausing to consider the consequences, sprang up the broken
+stairs to the room from which they issued.
+
+On opening the door a scene presented itself that would have stirred the
+sympathies of a man of stone. Pat Brannigan, the big wharf labourer, had
+devoted the greater portion of his week's wages to making himself and
+his boon companions drunk with the vile rum dealt out at the groggery
+hard by. At midnight he had stumbled home, and throwing himself upon his
+bed sought to sleep off the effects of his carouse. Waking up late in
+the morning with a raging headache, a burning tongue, and bloodshot
+eyes, he had become infuriated at his poor, little girl, that cowered
+tremblingly in a corner, because she would not go out and get him some
+more drink. Half-crazed, and utterly reckless, he had sprung at the
+child, and might have inflicted mortal injury upon her had not the
+mother interposed, and kept him at bay for a moment, while she joined
+her shrieks to those the girl was already uttering.
+
+It was just at this moment that Bert entered the room. As quick as a
+flash he sprang to Pat Brannigan's side, and seized his arm now uplifted
+to strike down the unhappy wife. With a howl of rage the big brute
+turned to see who had thus dared to interfere. He did not know Bert, and
+his surprise at seeing a well-dressed stranger in the room made him
+hesitate a moment. Then with an oath he demanded:
+
+"Who may you be, and what's your business here?"
+
+Bert looked straight into his eyes, as he answered, quietly:
+
+"I heard the noise, and I came in to see what was the matter."
+
+"Then you can just be taking yourself off again as fast as you like,"
+growled the giant, fiercely.
+
+Bert did not stir.
+
+"Be off with you now. Do you hear me?" shouted Brannigan, raising his
+clenched fist in a way there was no mistaking.
+
+Still Bert did not move.
+
+"Then take that," yelled Brannigan, aiming a terrible blow at the boy.
+But before it could reach him the poor wife, with a wild shriek, sprang
+in between them, and her husband's great fist descended upon her head,
+felling her to the floor, where she lay as though dead.
+
+At this moment, Mr. McMaster rushed in through the open door. Pat
+Brannigan knew him well, and when sober held him in profound respect.
+Even now his appearance checked his fury, and he stood swaying in the
+centre of the room, looking with his bleared, bloodshot eyes, first at
+Mr. McMaster, and then at the motionless heap upon the floor at his
+feet.
+
+Advancing a step or two, Mr. McMaster looked into Brannigan's fiery
+face, and asked, sternly, as he pointed to the insensible woman lying
+between them:
+
+"Is that your work?"
+
+The giant quailed before the fearless, condemning glance of the man who
+seemed like a pigmy beside him. His head fell upon his breast, and
+without attempting a reply, he slunk over to the other end of the room,
+flung himself into a chair, and buried his face in his hands.
+
+"Come, Bert, let us lift her up on the bed," said Mr. McMaster, and
+between them Mrs. Brannigan was lifted gently, and placed upon the
+miserable bed.
+
+"Now, Katie, get us some cold water, quick," said he, turning to the
+little girl, who watched him with wondering eyes. As if glad to get out
+of the room, she sped away, and presently returned with a tin of water,
+with which Mr. McMaster tenderly bathed Mrs. Brannigan's forehead, and
+soon the poor sufferer recovered consciousness. Mr. McMaster and Bert
+then went away, the former promising to look in again after school was
+over, and see if further help might be required.
+
+When Bert told of the morning's experience at home, his mother became
+very much agitated, and seemed strongly inclined to oppose his
+continuing the work. But Mr. Lloyd was not of the same opinion at all.
+He thought it a very admirable training for Bert, and Bert himself had
+no disposition to give it up. Accordingly, he went on as though nothing
+had happened, meeting with many discouragements, and few real successes,
+yet sustained by a steady impulse to willing service, strengthened by a
+real interest in the work itself.
+
+The days of Bert's boyhood were rapidly passing by. The time was
+approaching for him to enter college, and once enrolled as an
+undergraduate he could of course be counted a boy no longer. Not indeed
+that he was growing old in the sense of becoming too prim or particular
+to indulge in boyish sports and pranks. There was nothing premature in
+his development. He was in advance of many boys of his age, it is true,
+but that was only because he strove to be.
+
+He was not content unless he stood among the leaders, whether in study
+or sport. He looked forward to college with ardent expectation. Ever
+since the days of Mr. Garrison's school he had been accustomed to see
+the students in their Oxford caps and flowing black gowns going to and
+from the university which had its home in a handsome free-stone building
+that stood right in the heart of the city, and he had felt impatient for
+the time to come when he might adopt the same odd and striking costume.
+
+During the past year his studies had been directed with special
+reference to the matriculation examination. As regards the classics, he
+could not have had a better teacher than Dr. Johnston, and his progress
+in knowledge of them had been sure and steady. In mathematics, however,
+he was hardly up to the mark, partly because they were not taught with
+the same enthusiasm at Dr. Johnston's, and partly because he did not
+take to them very kindly himself. Mr. Lloyd accordingly thought it wise
+to engage a tutor who would give him daily lessons during the mid-summer
+holidays.
+
+Bert, as was quite natural, did not altogether relish the idea of
+mingling work with play in this fashion in the glorious summer weather
+when the days seemed all too short for the enjoyment that was to be had;
+but when Frank, who was of course to go to college also, entered
+heartily into the plan, and Mr. Scott, the tutor, proved to be a very
+able and interesting instructor, full of enthusiasm about the
+university, in which he was one of the most brilliant students, Bert's
+indifference soon disappeared, and the three lads--for Mr. Scott was
+still in his teens--had a fine time together that summer, studying hard
+for two hours each morning, and spending the rest of the day in boating,
+or cricket, or some other pleasant fashion.
+
+As the heat of summer yielded to the cool breezes of autumn, and the
+time for the opening of the college drew near, Bert grew very excited.
+There were two scholarships offered at each matriculation examination,
+one open to those coming from the city, the other to those from the
+country. He had fixed his ambition upon the city scholarship, and
+determined to do his best to win it. He had caught some of his tutor's
+enthusiasm, and fully appreciated the importance of a brilliant
+beginning. Accordingly, he gave diligent heed to the good advice Mr.
+Scott delighted to give him, as well as to the studies he set for him,
+and looked forward hopefully to the approaching examination.
+
+Toward the end of October the examination took place. It was the boys'
+first experience of a written examination, and it is little wonder if
+they felt nervous about it.
+
+With Mr. Scott as guide they made their way to the university building,
+where he led them along the echoing stone corridors to a door inscribed,
+"Library;" and then, wishing them the best of fortune, bade them enter
+and try their fate. They found themselves in a large bright room whose
+floor was covered with desks, and the walls lined with bookcases, and
+having at one end a baize-covered table, around which sat several
+spectacled gentlemen attired in long black gowns, and chatting busily
+with one another. They took no notice of the two boys, who sat down at
+the nearest desk, and awaited developments. They were the first
+candidates in the room, but others presently came in until more than a
+score had gathered.
+
+All evidently felt more or less nervous, although some tried very hard
+to appear unconcerned. They varied in age from Bert, who was
+undoubtedly the youngest, to a long-bearded, sober-visaged Scotchman,
+who might almost have been his father; their appearance was as different
+as their ages, some being spruce, well-dressed city lads, and others the
+most rustic-looking of youths, clad in rough homespun. They each sat
+down in the first seat they could find, and then stared about them as if
+they would like very much to know what was going to happen next.
+
+They had not long to wait in uncertainty. A short, stout, pleasant-faced
+professor disengaged himself from the group at the table, and stepping
+up to the platform, said, in a smooth voice, with a strong Scotch
+accent:
+
+"If you are ready to begin, gentlemen, will you please arrange
+yourselves so as to occupy only every alternate desk."
+
+There was a little noise and bustle as this order was being carried out,
+and then they settled down again, with a vacant desk between each pair
+as a precaution against whispered assistance. The next proceeding was to
+distribute paper to the candidates, they being expected to supply their
+own pens and ink. And then came what all were awaiting with beating
+pulse--viz., the examination paper. Each one as he received his paper
+ran his eye eagerly down the list of questions, his countenance growing
+bright or gloomy according as, to this hasty survey, the questions
+seemed easy or difficult.
+
+Bert scanned his list rapidly, gave a great sigh of relief, and then
+turned to Frank with a meaning smile, which said more plainly than
+words:
+
+"I'm all right."
+
+Frank smiled back, in token that he was all right, too, and then the two
+boys bent to their work.
+
+They did not get along very fast at the start. It was their first
+written examination, and this, added to their natural nervousness, kept
+both their ideas and their ink from flowing freely. But after a few
+minutes they forgot themselves in their eagerness to commit to paper the
+answers to the questions before them, and for an hour or more they
+scribbled away until the first paper, which was upon the classics, had
+nothing unanswered left upon it.
+
+Bert finished first, and the professor, noticing him unemployed, brought
+him another paper, this time the mathematical one. As he expected, he
+did not do quite as well with it. But he felt sure of being right in his
+answers to six out of the ten questions, and very hopeful about two
+others, so that altogether he was well satisfied.
+
+The third and last paper was upon the English branches--history,
+grammar, geography, and so forth, and he polished this off with little
+difficulty, making a clean sweep of the dozen questions. All this took
+until after one o'clock, and when he laid down his pen with his task
+finished, he felt pretty tired, and anxious to get out and stretch
+himself. Frank, however, was not quite through, so he waited for him,
+and then the friends hurried off to compare notes, and estimate their
+chances.
+
+The results would not be declared for two days at least, and Bert found
+it very hard to keep his impatience in check. He could think of nothing
+else than those examinations. Having answered so many questions, he felt
+not the slightest uneasiness as to passing; but the scholarship--ah!
+that was the point. Mr. Scott had made it very clear what an important
+position a scholarship winner held in his class. It gave him the lead at
+once, and was in every way an honour to be highly coveted.
+
+Well, the longest days have their ending, and the two days of excited
+uncertainty dragged themselves past, and on Friday morning with a heart
+beating like a trip hammer, Bert hastened to the university. The results
+would be posted up on a huge blackboard that hung in the central
+corridor, and on entering he found an eager crowd thronging about this
+board, through which he had some difficulty in making his way. But by
+dint of pushing and elbowing, he soon got near enough to make out what
+was written on the long sheets of paper that occupied the centre of the
+board, and then--how shall be described the bound of wild delight his
+heart gave, when he read: "_The City Scholarship_--CUTHBERT LLOYD."
+
+Then underneath the word "_Passed_," in large letters, the name
+"CUTHBERT LLOYD," and a few names lower down "FRANK BOWSER," while
+below them were the rest of the candidates.
+
+Frank was beside him, and by a common impulse of joy the two friends
+threw their arms about each other, and hugged one another like two
+enthusiastic young bears. Then they ran off as fast as their legs could
+carry them to tell the good news.
+
+There was not a happier, prouder family in all Acadia that night than
+the Lloyds. Mr. Bowser and Frank came in to exchange congratulations,
+and they rejoiced together over the boys' success. Mr. Bowser was as
+delighted over Frank's passing as Mr. Lloyd was over Bert's scholarship.
+Like many men of defective education, he had very vague views about
+college. It was all a mystery to him, and that Frank, whom he was just
+finding out to be something more than a boy, should so easily penetrate
+these mysteries, and take a good place among the candidates for
+admission, was a source of unbounded satisfaction to him.
+
+After the first exuberance of joy had subsided, the conversation sobered
+down somewhat, and they began to talk about the future.
+
+"Now, young gentlemen--for I suppose I dare not call you boys any
+longer," said Mr. Lloyd, smilingly--"you should soon be making up your
+minds as to what part in life you intend to take, because, once you have
+decided, your studies at college should be carried on with that end in
+view. Don't you think so, Mr. Bowser?"
+
+"I most certainly do, sir," replied Mr. Bowser, promptly.
+
+"Well, of course, it is not a question to be decided off hand,"
+continued Mr. Lloyd," nor one which we should decide for you, unless you
+turn it over to us. So we will leave it with you for a while, if you
+like."
+
+"I don't think that's necessary, father," spoke up Bert. "Frank and I
+have pretty well made up our minds already--that is, of course, if there
+is no objection."
+
+"And what is your choice, Frank?" asked Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"I would like to follow my father's business, if he will have me, sir,"
+answered Frank, giving his father a look of inquiry.
+
+Mr. Bowser's face flushed with pleasure. He rose from his chair, and
+crossing the room to where his son sat, he put his big hand upon his
+shoulder, and said, in his heartiest tones:
+
+"Ay--that I will, my lad, and all that I have shall be yours when I am
+gone."
+
+"I hope that won't be for a long time yet, father," said Frank, looking
+up affectionately into his father's beaming face.
+
+"So do I, my boy, so do I; but when it does happen, God knows what a
+comfort it will be to me to leave such a son behind me." And the tears
+slipped down his broad cheeks as he went back to his chair.
+
+There was a moment's silence, for all had been affected by this touching
+little scene; and then, Mr. Lloyd, turning to Bert, inquired of him:
+
+"And what is your choice, Bert?"
+
+"Well, father, if you think I can ever become fit for it, I would like
+to be a minister," he answered, modestly.
+
+It was now Mr. Lloyd's turn to become radiant.
+
+"My darling boy, you could not have delighted me more," he cried. "It
+has been my desire and prayer for you, that this should be your choice,
+but I have said nothing to you, because I wanted you to be perfectly
+free and unbiassed by any thought of pleasing me. I see clearly now that
+this is the Lord's doing, and my heart is full to overflowing with joy.
+God bless you both, my boys. I am sure that the hope and prayer of us
+all is that in your manhood may be fulfilled the promise of your boyhood
+that has been so bright, and to which you have now bidden farewell."
+
+THE END.
+
+LORIMER AND GILLIES, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. Macdonald Oxley, LL.D.
+    </title>
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+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. McDonald Oxley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Bert Lloyd's Boyhood
+       A Story from Nova Scotia
+
+Author: J. McDonald Oxley
+
+Illustrator: J. Finnemore
+
+Release Date: May 6, 2008 [EBook #25358]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charlene Taylor, Janet Blenkinship and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="432" height="600" alt="" title="cover" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h1>BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD.</h1>
+
+<h2>A Story from Nova Scotia</h2>
+
+<h4>BY</h4>
+
+<h2>J. MACDONALD OXLEY, LL.D.</h2>
+
+<h4><i>WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. FINNEMORE</i></h4>
+
+<p class="center">London<br />
+
+HODDER AND STOUGHTON<br />
+
+27, PATERNOSTER ROW<br /><br />
+
+MDCCCXCII.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+EDINBURGH:<br />
+PRINTED BY LORIMER AND GILLIES.<br />
+31 ST. ANDREW SQUARE.<br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 381px;">
+<img src="images/image003.jpg" width="381" height="600" alt="&quot;The whole crowd then precipitated themselves upon him,
+and proceeded to pummel any part of his body they could reach.&quot;
+
+" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;The whole crowd then precipitated themselves upon him,
+and proceeded to pummel any part of his body they could reach.&quot;&mdash;<br /><i>Page</i>
+<a href='#Page_165'><b><i>165</i></b></a>.
+
+<i>Frontispiece.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There is something so pleasing to the author of this volume&mdash;the first
+of several which have been kindly received by his American cousins&mdash;in
+the thought of being accorded the privilege of appearing before a new
+audience in the "old home," that the impulse to indulge in a foreword or
+two cannot be withstood.</p>
+
+<p>And yet, after all, there would seem to be but two things necessary to
+be said:&mdash;Firstly, that in attempting a picture of boy life in Nova
+Scotia a fifth of a century ago, the writer had simply to fall back upon
+the recollections of his own school-days, and that in so doing he has
+striven to depart as slightly as possible from what came within the
+range of personal experience; and, Secondly, while it is no doubt to be
+regretted that Canada has not yet attained that stage of development
+which would enable her to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span> support a literature of her own, it certainly
+is no small consolation for her children, however ardent their
+patriotism, who would fain enter the literary arena, that not only
+across the Border, but beyond the ocean in the Motherland, there are
+doors of opportunity standing open through which they may find their way
+before the greatest and kindliest audience in the world.</p>
+
+<p class="author">
+J. MACDONALD OXLEY.</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><span class="smcap">Ottawa, Canada</span>,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>29th August, 1892</i>.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='centered'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="65%" cellspacing="0" summary="CONTENTS">
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>CHAPTER</td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>BERT IS INTRODUCED,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_5'><b>5</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>FIREMAN OR SOLDIER,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_11'><b>11</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>NO. FIVE FORT STREET,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_17'><b>17</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>OFF TO THE COUNTRY,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_21'><b>21</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>THE RIDE IN THE COACH,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_29'><b>29</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>AT GRANDFATHER'S,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_39'><b>39</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>COUNTRY EXPERIENCES,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_47'><b>47</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_57'><b>57</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>LOST AND FOUND,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_67'><b>67</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>BERT GOES TO SCHOOL,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_81'><b>81</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_93'><b>93</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'>A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_107'><b>107</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td align='left'>BERT AT HOME,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_117'><b>117</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td align='left'>AN HONOURABLE SCAR,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_127'><b>127</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>XV.</td><td align='left'>A CHANGE OF SCHOOL,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_139'><b>139</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td align='left'>THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_151'><b>151</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td align='left'>THE HOISTING,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_163'><b>163</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVIII.</td><td align='left'>SCHOOL EXPERIENCES,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_175'><b>175</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIX.</td><td align='left'>VICTORY AND DEFEAT,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_187'><b>187</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XX.</td><td align='left'>A NARROW ESCAPE,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_203'><b>203</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXI.</td><td align='left'>LEARNING TO SWIM,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_217'><b>217</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXII.</td><td align='left'>HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_227'><b>227</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIII.</td><td align='left'>PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_239'><b>239</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIV.</td><td align='left'>A CHAPTER ON PONIES,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_253'><b>253</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXV.</td><td align='left'>ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_263'><b>263</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVI.</td><td align='left'>VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_273'><b>273</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVII.</td><td align='left'>ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_287'><b>287</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVIII.</td><td align='left'>WELL DONE, BOYS!</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_301'><b>301</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIX.</td><td align='left'>THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_315'><b>315</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXX.</td><td align='left'>HOME MISSIONARY WORK,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_325'><b>325</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXI.</td><td align='left'>NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_335'><b>335</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXII.</td><td align='left'>A BOY NO LONGER,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_349'><b>349</b></a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>BERT IS INTRODUCED.</h3>
+
+
+<p>If Cuthbert Lloyd had been born in the time of our great grandfathers,
+instead of a little later than the first half of the present century,
+the gossips would assuredly have declared that the good fairies had had
+it all their own way at his birth.</p>
+
+<p>To begin with, he was a particularly fine handsome baby; for did not all
+the friends of the family say so? In the second place, he was an only
+son, which meant that he had no big brothers to bully him. Next, his
+birthplace was the stirring seaport of Halifax, where a sturdy,
+energetic boy, such as Cuthbert certainly gave good promise of being,
+need never lack for fun or adventure. Finally, he had plenty of
+relations in the country to whom he might go in the summer time to learn
+the secrets and delights of country life.</p>
+
+<p>Now, when to all these advantages are added two fond but sensible
+parents in comfortable circumstances, an elder sister who loved little
+Cuthbert with the whole strength of her warm unselfish heart, and a
+pleasant home in the best part of the city, they surely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> make us as fine
+a list of blessings as the most benevolent fairy godmother could
+reasonably have been expected to bestow.</p>
+
+<p>And yet there was nothing about Master Cuthbert's early conduct to
+indicate that he properly appreciated his good fortune. He was not half
+as well-behaved a baby, for instance, as red-headed little Patsey Shea,
+who, a few days after his first appearance, brought another hungry mouth
+to the already over-populated cottage of the milkwoman down in
+Hardhand's lane. As he grew older, it needed more whippings than the sum
+total of his own chubby fingers and toes to instil into him a proper
+understanding of parental authority. Sometimes his mother, who was a
+slight small woman, stronger of mind than of body, would feel downright
+discouraged about her vigorous, wilful boy, and wonder,
+half-despairingly, if she were really equal to the task of bringing him
+up in the way he should go.</p>
+
+<p>Cuthbert was in many respects an odd mixture. His mother often said that
+he seemed more like two boys of opposite natures rolled into one, than
+just one ordinary boy. When quite a little chap, he would at one time be
+as full of noise, action, and enterprise as the captain of an ocean
+steamer in a gale, and at another time be as sedate, thoughtful, and
+absentminded as the ancient philosopher who made himself famous by
+walking into a well in broad daylight.</p>
+
+<p>Cuthbert, in fact, at the age of three, attracted attention to himself
+in a somewhat similar way. His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> mother had taken him with her in making
+some calls, and at Mrs. Allen's, in one of his thoughtful moods, with
+his hands clasped behind him, he went wandering off unobserved.
+Presently he startled the whole household by tumbling from the top to
+the bottom of the kitchen stairs, having calmly walked over the edge in
+an absorbed study of his surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>The other side of his nature was brilliantly illustrated a year later.
+Being invited to spend the day with a playmate of his own age, he built
+a big fire with newspapers in the bath room, turned on all the taps,
+pretending that they were the hydrants, and then ran through the hall,
+banging a dustpan and shouting "fire" at the top of his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"He is such a perfect 'pickle,' I hardly know what to do with him,
+Robert," said Mrs. Lloyd to her husband, with a big sigh, one evening at
+dinner.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry, my dear, don't worry. He has more than the usual amount of
+animal spirits, that is all. Keep a firm hand on him and he'll come out
+all right," answered Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly.</p>
+
+<p>"It's easy enough to say, 'Keep a firm hand on him,' Robert, but my hand
+gets pretty tired sometimes, I can assure you. I just wish you'd stay at
+home for a week and look after Bert, while I go to the office in your
+place. You'd get a better idea of what your son is like than you can by
+seeing him for a little while in the morning and evening."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Kate, I've no doubt you might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> manage to do my work at the
+office, and that my clients would think your advice very good; but I'm
+no less sure that I would be a dismal failure in doing your work at
+home," responded Mr. Lloyd, with a smile, adding, more seriously:
+"Anyway, I have too much faith in your ability to make the best of Bert
+to think of spoiling your good work by clumsy interference."</p>
+
+<p>"It's a great comfort to have you put so much faith in me," said Mrs.
+Lloyd, with a grateful look, "for it's more than Bert does sometimes.
+Why, he told me only this morning that he thought I wasn't half as good
+to him as Frankie Clayton's mother is to him, just because I wouldn't
+let him have the garden hose to play fireman with."</p>
+
+<p>"Just wait until he's fifteen, my dear," returned Mr. Lloyd, "and if he
+doesn't think then that he has one of the best mothers in the world,
+why&mdash;I'll never again venture to prophesy, that's all. And here comes my
+little man to answer for himself," as the door opened suddenly and Bert
+burst in, making straight for his father. "Ha! ha! my boy, so your
+mother says you're a perfect pickle. Well, if you're only pickled in a
+way that will save you from spoiling, I shall be satisfied, and I think
+your mother may be, too."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd laughed heartily at the unexpected turn thus given to her
+complaint; and Bert, seeing both his parents in such good humour, added
+a beaming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> face on his own account, although, of course, without having
+the slightest idea as to the cause of their merriment.</p>
+
+<p>Climbing up on his father's knee, Bert pressed a plump cheek lovingly
+against the lawyer's brown whiskers and looked, what indeed he was, the
+picture of happy content.</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of a man are you going to make, Bert?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+quizzingly, the previous conversation being still in his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to be a fireman," replied Bert, promptly; "and Frankie's
+going to be one too."</p>
+
+<p>"And why do you want to be a fireman, Bert?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, because they wear such grand clothes and can make such a noise
+without anybody telling them to shut up," answered Bert, whose knowledge
+of firemen was based upon a torchlight procession of them he had seen
+one night, and their management of a fire that had not long before taken
+place in the near neighbourhood, and of which he was a breathless
+spectator.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd could not resist laughing at his son's naive reply, but there
+was no ridicule in his laugh, as Bert saw clearly enough, and he was
+encouraged to add:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father, please let me be a fireman, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see about it, Bert. If we can't find anything better for you to
+do than being a fireman, why<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> we'll try to make a good fireman of you,
+that's all. But never mind about that now; tell me what was the best fun
+you had to-day." Thus invited, Bert proceeded to tell after his own
+fashion the doings of the day, with his father and mother an attentive
+audience.</p>
+
+<p>It was their policy to always manifest a deep interest in everything
+Bert had to tell, and in this way they made him understand better
+perhaps than they could otherwise have done how thoroughly they
+sympathised with him in both the joys and sorrows of his little life.
+They were determined that the most complete confidence should be
+established between them and their only boy at the start, and Bert never
+appeared to such advantage as when, with eyes flashing and graphic
+gestures, he would tell about something wonderful in his eyes that had
+happened to him that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>By the time Bert had exhausted his budget and been rewarded with a lump
+of white sugar, the nurse appeared with the summons to bed, and after
+some slight demur he went off in good humour, his father saying, as the
+door closed upon him:</p>
+
+<p>"There's not a better youngster of his age in Halifax, Kate, even if he
+hasn't at present any higher ambition than to be a fireman."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>FIREMAN OR SOLDIER.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Halifax has already been mentioned as a particularly pleasant place for
+a boy to be born in; and so indeed it is. Every schoolboy knows, or
+ought to know, that it is the capital of Acadia, one of the Maritime
+Provinces of the Dominion of Canada. It has a great many advantages,
+some of which are not shared by any other city on the continent.
+Situated right on the sea coast, it boasts a magnificent harbour, in
+which all the war vessels of the world, from the mightiest iron-clad to
+the tiniest torpedo boat, might lie at anchor. Beyond the harbour,
+separated from it by only a short strait, well-named the "Narrows," is
+an immense basin that seems just designed for yachting and excursions;
+while branching out from the harbour in different directions are two
+lovely fiords, one called the Eastern Passage, leading out to the ocean
+again, and the other running away up into the land, so that there is no
+lack of salt water from which cool breezes may blow on the torrid days.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The city itself is built upon the peninsula that divides the harbour
+from the north-west arm, and beginning about half-a-mile from the point
+of the peninsula, runs northward almost to the Narrows, and spreads out
+westward until its farthest edge touches the shore of the arm. The
+"Point" has been wisely set aside for a public park, and except where a
+fort or two, built to command the entrance to the harbour, intrudes upon
+it, the forest of spruce and fir with its labyrinth of roads and paths
+and frequent glades of soft waving grass, extends from shore to shore,
+making a wilderness that a boy's imagination may easily people with
+Indians brandishing tomahawk and scalping knife, or bears and wolves
+seeking whom they may devour.</p>
+
+<p>Halifax being the chief military and naval station for the British
+Colonies in America, its forts and barracks are filled with red-coated
+infantry or blue-coated artillery the whole year round. All summer long
+great iron-clads bring their imposing bulks to anchor off the Dockyard,
+and Jack Tars in foolish, merry, and alas! too often vicious companies,
+swagger through the streets in noisy enjoyment of their day on shore.</p>
+
+<p>On either side of the harbour, on the little island which rests like an
+emerald brooch upon its bosom, and high above the city on the crown of
+the hill up which it wearily climbs, street beyond street, stand
+frowning fortresses with mighty guns thrusting their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> black muzzles
+through the granite embrasures. In fact, the whole place is pervaded by
+the influences of military life; and Cuthbert, whose home overlooked a
+disused fort, now serving the rather ignoble purpose of a dwelling-place
+for married soldiers, was at first fully persuaded in his mind that the
+desire of his life was to be a soldier; and it was not until he went to
+a military review, and realised that the soldiers had to stand up
+awfully stiff and straight, and dare not open their mouths for the
+world, that he dismissed the idea of being a soldier, and adopted that
+of being a fireman.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there were times when he rather regretted his decision, and inclined
+to waver in his allegiance. His going to the Sunday school with his
+sister had something to do with this. A favourite hymn with the
+superintendent&mdash;who, by the way, was a retired officer&mdash;was&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Onward, Christian soldiers."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The bright stirring tune, and the tremendous vigour with which the
+scholars sang it, quite took Cuthbert's heart. He listened eagerly, but
+the only words he caught were the first, which they repeated so often:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Onward, Christian soldiers."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Walking home with his sister, they met a small detachment of soldiers,
+looking very fine in their Sunday uniforms:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Are those Christian soldiers, Mary?" he asked, looking eagerly up into
+her face.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so, Bert, I don't know," Mary replied. "What makes you ask?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because we were singing about Christian soldiers, weren't we?" answered
+Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! is that what you mean, Bert? They may be, for all I know. Would you
+like to be a Christian soldier?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," doubtfully; then, brightening up&mdash;"but couldn't I be a Christian
+fireman, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you could, Bert, but I'd much rather see you a Christian
+soldier. Mr. Hamilton is a Christian soldier, you know."</p>
+
+<p>This reply of his sister's set Bert's little brain at work. Mr.
+Hamilton, the superintendent of the Sunday school, was a tall, erect
+handsome man, with fine grey hair and whiskers, altogether an impressive
+gentleman; yet he had a most winning manner, and Bert was won to him at
+once when he was welcomed by him warmly to the school. Bert could not
+imagine anything grander than to be a Christian soldier, if it meant
+being like Mr. Hamilton. Still the fireman notion had too many
+attractions to be lightly thrown aside, and consequently for some time
+to come he could hardly be said to know his own mind as to his future.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of the military in Halifax was far from being an unmixed
+good. Of course, it helped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> business, gave employment to many hands,
+imparted peculiar life and colour to society, and added many excellent
+citizens to the population. At the same time it had very marked
+drawbacks. There was always a great deal of drunkenness and other
+dissipation among the soldiers and sailors. The officers were not the
+most improving of companions and models for the young men of the place,
+and in other ways the city was the worse for their presence.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd presently found the soldiers a source of danger to her boy.
+Just around the corner at the entrance to the old fort, already
+mentioned, was a guardhouse, and here some half-dozen soldiers were
+stationed day and night. They were usually jolly fellows, who were glad
+to get hold of little boys to play with, and thereby help to while away
+the time in their monotonous life. Cuthbert soon discovered the
+attractions of this guardhouse, and, in spite of commands to the
+contrary, which he seemed unable to remember, wandered off thither very
+often. All the other little boys in the neighbourhood went there
+whenever they liked, and he could not understand why he should not do so
+too. He did not really mean to defy his parents. He was too young for
+that, being only six years old. But the force of the example of his
+playmates seemed stronger than the known wishes of his parents, and so
+he disobeyed them again and again.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd might, of course, have carried her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> point by shutting Bert up
+in the yard, and not allowing him out at all except in charge of
+somebody. But that was precisely what she did not wish to do. She knew
+well enough that her son could not have a locked-up world to live in. He
+must learn to live in this world, full of temptations as it is, and so
+her idea was not so much to put him out of the way of temptation, as to
+teach him how to withstand it. Consequently, she was somewhat at a loss
+just what to do in the matter of the guardhouse, when a letter that came
+from the country offered a very timely and acceptable solution of the
+difficulty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>NO. FIVE FORT STREET.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Cuthbert Lloyd's home was a happy one in every way. The house was so
+situated that the sunshine might have free play upon it all day, pouring
+in at the back windows in the morning and flooding the front ones with
+rich and rare splendour at evening. A quiet little street passed by the
+door, the gardens opposite being filled with noble trees that cast a
+grateful shade during the dog days. At the back of the house was the old
+fort, its turfed casemates sloping down to a sandy beach, from whose
+centre a stone wharf projected out into the plashing water. Looking over
+the casemates, one could see clear out to the lighthouse which kept
+watch at the entrance to the harbour, and could follow the ships as they
+rose slowly on the horizon or sped away with favouring breeze.</p>
+
+<p>A right pleasant house to live in was No. Five Fort Street, and right
+pleasant were the people who lived in it. Cuthbert certainly had no
+doubt upon either point, and who had a better opportunity of forming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> an
+opinion? Mr. Lloyd, the head of the household, was also the head of one
+of the leading legal firms in Halifax. His son, and perhaps his wife and
+daughter, too, thought him the finest-looking man in the city. That was
+no doubt an extravagant estimate, yet it was not without excuse; for
+tall, erect, and stalwart, with regular features, large brown eyes that
+looked straight at you, fine whiskers and moustache, and a kindly
+cordial expression, Mr. Lloyd made a very good appearance in the world.
+Especially did he, since he never forgot the neatness and good taste in
+dress of his bachelor days, as so many married men are apt to do.</p>
+
+<p>Cuthbert's mother was of quite a different type. Her husband used to
+joke her about her being good for a standard of measurement because she
+stood just five feet in height, and weighed precisely one hundred
+pounds. Bert, one day, seemed to realise what a mite of a woman she was;
+for, after looking her all over, he said, very gravely:</p>
+
+<p>"What a little mother you are! I will soon be as big as you, won't I?"</p>
+
+<p>Brown of hair and eyes, like Mr. Lloyd, her face was a rare combination
+of sweetness and strength. Bert thought it lovelier than any angel's he
+had ever seen in a picture. Indeed, there was much of the angelic in his
+mother's nature. She had marvellous control over her feelings, and never
+by any chance gave way to temper openly, so that in all his young<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> life
+her boy had no remembrance of receiving from her a harsh word, or a
+hasty, angry blow. Not that she was weak or indulgent. On the contrary,
+not only Bert, but Bert's playmates, and some of their mothers, too,
+thought her quite too strict at times, for she was a firm believer in
+discipline, and Master Bert was taught to abide by rules from the
+outset.</p>
+
+<p>The third member of the household was the only daughter, Mary, a tall,
+graceful girl, who had inherited many of her father's qualities,
+together with her mother's sweetness. In Bert's eyes she was just simply
+perfect. She was twice as old as he when he had six years to his credit,
+and the difference in age made her seem like a second mother to him,
+except that he felt free to take more liberties with her than with his
+mother. But she did not mind this much, for she was passionately fond of
+her little brother, and was inclined to spoil him, if anything.</p>
+
+<p>As for Bert himself&mdash;well, he was just a stout, sturdy, hearty boy, with
+nothing very remarkable about him, unless, perhaps, it was his
+superabundant health and spirits. Nobody, unless it was that most
+partial judge, Mary, thought him handsome, but everybody admitted that
+he was good-looking in every sense of the term. He promised to be
+neither tall, like his father, nor short, like his mother, but of a
+handy, serviceable medium height, with plenty of strength and endurance
+in his tough little frame. Not only were both eyes and hair brown, as
+might be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> expected, but his face, too, as might also be expected, seeing
+that no bounds were placed upon his being out of doors, so long as the
+day was fine, and he himself was keeping out of mischief.</p>
+
+<p>Father, mother, daughter, and son, these four made up a very
+affectionate and happy family, pulling well together; and, so far as the
+three older ones were concerned, with their faces and hearts set toward
+Jerusalem, and of one mind as to taking Bert along with them. Mr. Lloyd
+and his wife were thoroughly in accord with Dr. Austin Phelps as to
+this:&mdash;That the children of Christians should be Christian from the
+cradle. They accordingly saw no reason why the only son that God had
+given them should ever go out into sin, and then be brought back from a
+far off land. Surely, if they did their duty, he need never stray far
+away. That was the way they reasoned; and although, of course, little
+Bert knew nothing about it, that was the plan upon which they sought to
+bring him up. The task was not altogether an easy one, as succeeding
+chapters of Bert's history will make plain. But the plan was adhered to,
+and the result justified its wisdom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>OFF TO THE COUNTRY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The letter which came in such good time to relieve Mrs. Lloyd from the
+difficulty about Bert's fondness for the guardroom and its hurtful
+influences, was from her father, and contained an invitation so pressing
+as to be little short of a demand, for her to pay him a long visit at
+the old homestead, bringing Bert with her.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd very readily and gladly accepted the invitation. Midsummer
+was near at hand. She had not visited her old home for some years. Her
+father and mother were ageing fast; and then, naturally enough, she was
+eager to show them what a fine boy Bert was growing to be.</p>
+
+<p>When Bert heard of it he showed the utmost delight. Three years before,
+he had spent a summer at grandfather's; but, then, of course, he was too
+young to do more than be impressed by the novelty of his surroundings.
+The huge oxen, the noisy pigs, the spirited horses, even the clumsy
+little calves, bewildered, if they did not alarm him. But now he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> felt
+old enough to enjoy them all; and the very idea of going back to them
+filled him with joy, to which he gave expression after his own
+boisterous fashion.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother, are we going to grandfather's to-morrow?" he would eagerly ask,
+day after day, his little heart throbbing with impatience.</p>
+
+<p>"We're going soon, Bert dear. You must be patient, you know," his mother
+would gently reply; and the little fellow would make a very heroic
+effort to control himself.</p>
+
+<p>At length the day of departure arrived. Too full of importance and great
+expectations to manifest a proper amount of sorrow at leaving his father
+and sister, who felt very reluctant, indeed, to part with him, Master
+Bert took his place in the cab and drove up to the railway station.
+Hardly had he entered it than he made a dash for the train, climbed up
+on the rear platform with the agility of a monkey, much to the amusement
+of the conductor, whose proffer of assistance he entirely ignored; and
+when Mr. Lloyd entered the train a minute later, he found his
+enterprising son seated comfortably upon a central seat, and evidently
+quite ready for the train to start.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you go away without saying good-bye to your father and to Mary?"
+asked Mr. Lloyd, in a deeply reproachful tone.</p>
+
+<p>Bert blushed violently on being thus reminded of his apparent
+selfishness and, with the threat of a tear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> in his eye, was about to
+make some sort of a defence, when his father put him all right again by
+saying brightly:</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, my boy. It isn't every day you go off on a
+hundred-and-fifty-miles' journey. Mary and I will forgive you for
+forgetting us this time, won't we, Mary?"</p>
+
+<p>The lunch basket, the wraps, and their other belongings were placed on
+the seat, the engine whistled, "all aboard," the bell rang, the
+conductor shouted, affectionate farewells were hastily exchanged, and
+presently the train rolled noisily out of the dark station into the
+bright sunshine; and Bert, leaning from the window, caught a last
+glimpse of his father and sister as they stood waving the handkerchiefs
+which one of them, at least, could not refrain from putting to another
+use, as the last car swept round the turn and vanished.</p>
+
+<p>But Bert was in no mood for tears. In fact, he never felt less like
+anything of the kind. He felt much more disposed to shout aloud for very
+joy, and probably would have done so, but for the restraining influence
+exercised by the presence of the other passengers, of whom there were a
+good many in the carriage. As it was, he gave vent to his excited
+feelings by being as restless as a mosquito, and asking his mother as
+many questions as his active brain could invent.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be tired out by mid-day, Bert, if you go on at this rate," said
+his mother, in gentle warning.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, I won't, mother; I won't get tired. See!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> What's that funny big
+thing with the long legs in that field?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's a frame for a hay stack, I think. You'll see plenty of those at
+grandfather's."</p>
+
+<p>"And what's that queer thing with arms sticking out from that building?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's a wind-mill. When the wind blows hard those arms go round, and
+turn machinery inside the barn."</p>
+
+<p>"And has grandpapa got a wind-mill, mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he has one on his big barn."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm so glad; I can watch it going round, and stand quite close,
+can't I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but take care not to go too close to the machinery. It might hurt
+you very much, you know."</p>
+
+<p>And so it went on all through the morning. Mrs. Lloyd would have liked
+very much to read a little in an interesting book she had brought with
+her, but what with watching Bert's restless movements, and answering his
+incessant questions, there seemed slight hope of her succeeding in this
+until, after they had been a couple of hours on their journey, a
+good-natured gentleman on the opposite seat, who had finished his paper,
+and had nothing particular to do, took in the situation and came to her
+relief.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you come over and keep me company for a while, my little man?" he
+said, pleasantly, leaning across the seat. "I will try and answer all
+your questions for you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert looked curiously at the speaker, and then, the inspection proving
+satisfactory, inquiringly at his mother. She nodded her assent, so
+forthwith he ran over to his new friend, and climbed up beside him. He
+was given the corner next the window, and while his bright eyes took in
+everything as the train sped on, his tongue wagged no less swiftly as
+question followed question in quick succession. Mrs. Lloyd, thoroughly
+at ease now, returned to her book with a grateful sigh of relief, and an
+hour slipped away, at the end of which Bert's eyes grew heavy with
+sleep. He no longer was interested in the scenery; and at last, after a
+gallant struggle, his curly head fell over on the cushion, and he went
+into a deep sleep, from which he did not waken until at mid-day the
+train drew up at the station, beyond which they could not go by rail.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Bert, wake up! We must get out here," cried his mother, shaking
+him vigorously.</p>
+
+<p>Rubbing his eyes hard, yawning as though he would put his jaws out of
+joint, and feeling very uncomfortable generally, Bert nevertheless
+managed to pull himself together sufficiently to thank the gentleman who
+had been so kind to him, before he followed his mother out of the car.</p>
+
+<p>They had dinner at Thurso, and by the time it was ready Bert was ready
+too. He had been altogether too much excited at breakfast time to eat
+much then, but he made up for it now. Mrs. Lloyd laughed as he asked
+again and again for more, but she did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> check him. She knew very well
+that the contented frame of mind produced by a good dinner was just the
+right thing with which to enter upon the second part of their journey.
+This was to be by coach, and as even the best of coaches is a pretty
+cramped sort of an affair unless you have it all to yourself, the
+quieter Bert was disposed to be the better for all concerned.</p>
+
+<p>"What are we to ride in now, mother?" asked Bert, after the vacancy
+underneath his blue blouse had been sufficiently filled to dispose him
+to conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"In a big red coach, dear, with six fine horses to draw us," answered
+Mrs. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, mother, won't that be splendid? And may I sit up with the driver?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you may, for a little while, anyway, if he will let you."</p>
+
+<p>"Hooray!" cried Bert, clapping his hands with delight; "I'm sure the
+driver will let me, if you'll only ask him. You will, won't you,
+mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I will, after we get out of the town. But you must wait until I
+think it's the right time to ask him."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll wait, mother, but don't you forget."</p>
+
+<p>Forget! There was much likelihood of Mrs. Lloyd forgetting with this
+lively young monkey before her as a constant reminder.</p>
+
+<p>They had just finished dinner, when, with clatter of hoofs, rattle of
+springs, and crush of gravel under the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> heavy wheels, the great Concord
+coach drew up before the hotel door in dashing style.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was one of the first to greet it. He did not even wait to put on
+his hat, and his mother, following with it, found him in the forefront
+of the crowd that always gathers about the mail coach in a country town,
+gazing up at the driver, who sat in superb dignity upon his lofty seat,
+as though he had never beheld so exalted a being in his life before.</p>
+
+<p>There was something so impassive, so indifferent to his surroundings,
+about this big, bronzed, black-moustached, and broad-hatted driver, that
+poor Bert's heart sank within him. He felt perfectly sure that <i>he</i>
+could never in the world muster up sufficient courage to beg for the
+privilege of a seat beside so impressive a potentate, and he doubted if
+his mother could, either.</p>
+
+<p>Among the passengers Bert was glad to see the gentleman who had
+befriended him on the train, and when this individual, after having the
+audacity to hail the driver familiarly with, "Good-morning, Jack; looks
+as if we were going to have a pleasant trip down," sprang up on the
+wheel, and thence to the vacant place beside Jack Davis, just as though
+it belonged to him of right, a ray of hope stole into Bert's heart. If
+his friend of the train, whose name, by the way, he told Bert, was Mr.
+Miller, was on such good terms with the driver, perhaps he would ask him
+to let a little boy sit up in front for a while.</p>
+
+<p>Taking much comfort from this thought, Bert, at a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> call from his mother,
+who was already seated, climbed up into the coach, and being allowed the
+corner next the window, with head thrust forth as far as was safe he
+awaited eagerly the signal to start.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE RIDE IN THE COACH.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The last passenger had taken his seat, the last trunk been strapped on
+behind, and the canvas covering drawn tightly over it, the mail bags
+safely stowed away in the capacious boot; and then big Jack Davis,
+gathering the reins of his six impatient steeds skilfully into one hand,
+and grasping the long-lashed whip in the other, sang out to the men who
+stood at the leaders' heads:</p>
+
+<p>"Let them go!"</p>
+
+<p>The men dropped the bridles and sprang aside, the long lash cracked like
+a pistol shot, the leaders, a beautiful pair of grey ponies, perfectly
+matched, reared, curvetted, pranced about, and then would have dashed
+off at a wild gallop had not Jack Davis' strong hands, aided by the
+steadiness of the staider wheelers, kept them in check: and soon brought
+down to a spirited canter, they led the way out of the town.</p>
+
+<p>The coach had a heavy load. It could hold twelve passengers inside, and
+every seat was occupied on top. Besides Mr. Miller, who had the coveted
+box seat,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> there were two other men perched upon the coach top, and
+making the best of their uncomfortable position; and there was an extra
+amount of baggage.</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty of work for my horses to-day, Mr. Miller," said Jack Davis,
+looking carefully over the harnessing to make sure that every strap was
+securely buckled, and every part in its right place.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed; you'll need to keep the brake on hard going down the
+hills," replied Mr. Miller.</p>
+
+<p>Bending over, so that those behind could not hear him, the driver said,
+under his breath:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't say anything; but, to tell the truth, I'm a little shaky about my
+brake. It is none too strong, and I won't go out with it again until
+it's fixed; but it can't be mended this side of Riverton, and I'm going
+to push through as best I can."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if anything happens, just let us know when to jump," returned Mr.
+Miller, with a reassuring smile, for he felt no anxiety, having perfect
+confidence in Davis' ability to bring his coach safely to the journey's
+end.</p>
+
+<p>It was a lovely summer day, and in the early afternoon the coach bowled
+smoothly along over the well-kept road, now rolling over a wooden bridge
+on whose timbers the rapid tramp of the horses' feet sounded like
+thunder, climbing the slope on the other side, then rattling down into
+the valley, and up the opposite hill, almost at full speed, and so on in
+rapid succession. Bert, kneeling at the window, with arms<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> resting on
+the ledge, and just able to see the three horses on his side, was so
+engrossed in watching them, or peering into the forest through which the
+road cut its way, that he quite forgot his desire to be up on top of the
+coach.</p>
+
+<p>Having gone fifteen miles at a spanking pace, the coach drove into a
+long&mdash;covered barn for the horses to be changed, and everybody got out
+to stretch their legs; while this was being done, Bert's longing came
+back in full force. As he stood watching the tired foam-flecked horses
+being led away, and others, sleek, shining, and spirited put in their
+places, who should pass by but Mr. Miller. Recognising at once his
+little acquaintance of the morning, he greeted him with a cheery:</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo! my little man, are we fellow-travellers still? And how do you
+like riding in a coach?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's just splendid, sir," replied Bert; and then, as a bright
+thought flashed into his mind,&mdash;"but I do so want to be up where the
+driver is."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Miller looked down at the little face turned up to his, and noting
+its eager expression asked, kindly:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think your mother would let you go up there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes; she said I might if I would only wait a little, and it is a
+good deal more than a little while now."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Bert, you run and ask her if you may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> get up now, and I'll
+try and manage it," said Mr. Miller.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was not long in getting his mother's sanction, and when he returned
+with beaming face, Mr. Miller taking him up to Jack Davis, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Jack, this little chap is dying to sit up with us. He wants to see how
+the best driver in Acadia handles his horses, I suppose."</p>
+
+<p>There was no resisting such an appeal as this. Tickled with the
+compliment, Jack said, graciously:</p>
+
+<p>"All right, Mr. Miller, you can chuck him up, so long as you'll look
+after him yourself."</p>
+
+<p>And so when the fresh horses were harnessed, and the passengers back in
+their places, behold Cuthbert Lloyd, the proudest, happiest boy in all
+the land, perched up between the driver and Mr. Miller, feeling himself
+as much monarch of all he surveyed, as ever did Robinson Crusoe in his
+island home. It was little wonder if for the first mile or two he was
+too happy to ask any questions. It was quite enough from his lofty, but
+secure position, to watch the movements of the six handsome horses
+beneath him as, tossing their heads, and making feigned nips at one
+another, they trotted along with the heavy coach as though it were a
+mere trifle. The road ran through a very pretty district;
+well-cultivated farms, making frequent gaps in the forest, and many a
+brook and river lending variety to the scene. After Bert had grown
+accus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>tomed to the novelty of his position, his tongue began to wag
+again, and his bright, innocent questions afforded Mr. Miller so much
+amusement, that with Jack Davis' full approval, he was invited to remain
+during the next stage also. Mrs. Lloyd would rather have had him with
+her inside, but he pleaded so earnestly, and Mr. Miller assuring her
+that he was not the least trouble, she finally consented to his staying
+up until they changed horses again.</p>
+
+<p>When they were changing horses at this post, Mr. Miller drew Bert's
+attention to a powerful black horse one of the men was carefully leading
+out of the stable. All the other horses came from their stalls fully
+harnessed, but this one had on nothing except a bridle.</p>
+
+<p>"See how that horse carries on, Bert," said Mr. Miller.</p>
+
+<p>And, sure enough, the big brute was prancing about with ears bent back
+and teeth showing in a most threatening fashion.</p>
+
+<p>"They daren't harness that horse until he is in his place beside the
+pole, Bert. See, now, they're going to put the harness on him."</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke another stable hand came up, deftly threw the heavy
+harness over the horse's back, and set to work to buckle it with a speed
+that showed it was a job he did not care to dally over. No sooner was it
+accomplished than the other horses were hastily put in their places, the
+black wheeler in the mean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>time tramping upon the barn floor in a seeming
+frenzy of impatience, although his head was tightly held.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then, 'all aboard' as quick as you can," shouted Jack Davis,
+swinging himself into his seat. Mr. Miller handed up Bert and followed
+himself, the inside passengers scrambled hurriedly in, and then with a
+sharp whinny the black wheeler, his head being released, started off,
+almost pulling the whole load himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Black Rory does not seem to get over his bad habits, Jack," remarked
+Mr. Miller.</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Jack; "quite the other way. He's getting worse, if
+anything; but he's too good a horse to chuck over. There's not a better
+wheeler on the route than Rory, once he settles down to his work."</p>
+
+<p>After going a couple of miles, during which Rory behaved about as badly
+as a wheeler could, he did settle down quietly to his work and all went
+smoothly. They were among the hills now, and the steep ascents and
+descents, sharp turns, and many bridges over the gullies made it
+necessary for Davis to drive with the utmost care. At length they
+reached the summit of the long slope, and began the descent into the
+valley.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd just as soon I hadn't any doubts about this brake," said Davis to
+Mr. Miller, as he put his foot hard down upon it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it'll hold all right enough, Jack," replied Mr. Miller,
+reassuringly.</p>
+
+<p>"Hope so," said Davis. "If it doesn't, we'll have to run for it to the
+bottom."</p>
+
+<p>The road slanted steadily downward, and with brake held hard and
+wheelers spread out from the pole holding back with all their strength,
+the heavy coach lumbered cautiously down. Now it was that Black Rory
+proved his worth, for, thoroughly understanding what was needed of him,
+he threw his whole weight and strength back upon the pole, keeping his
+own mate no less than the leaders in check.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll be at Brown's Gully in a couple of minutes," said the driver.
+"Once we get past there, all right; the rest won't matter."</p>
+
+<p>Brown's Gully was the ugliest bit of road on the whole route. A steep
+hill, along the side of which the road wound at a sharp slant, led down
+to a deep, dark gully crossed by a high trestle bridge. Just before the
+bridge there was a sudden turn which required no common skill to safely
+round when going at speed.</p>
+
+<p>As they reached the beginning of the slant, Jack Davis' face took on an
+anxious look, his mouth became firm and set, his hand tightened upon the
+reins, and his foot upon the brake, and with constant exclamation to his
+horses of "Easy now!&mdash;go easy!&mdash;hold back, my beauties!" he guided the
+great coach in its descent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Miller put Bert between his knees, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Stick right there, my boy; don't budge an inch."</p>
+
+<p>Although the wheelers, and particularly Black Rory, were doing their
+best, the coach began to go faster than Davis liked, and with a shout of
+"Whoa there! Go easy, will you!" he had just shoved his foot still
+harder against the brake, when there was a sharp crack, and the huge
+vehicle suddenly sprang forward upon the wheelers' heels.</p>
+
+<p>"God help us!" cried Jack, "the brake's gone. We've got to run for it
+now."</p>
+
+<p>And run for it they did.</p>
+
+<p>It was a time of great peril. Mr. Miller clung tightly to the seat, and
+Bert shrank back between his knees. Davis, with feet braced against the
+dashboard, and reins gathered close in his hands, put forth all his
+great strength to control the horses, now flying over the narrow road at
+a wild gallop. Brown's Gully, already sombre with the shadows of
+evening, showed dark and deep before them. Just around that corner was
+the bridge. Were they to meet another carriage there, it would mean
+destruction to both. Davis well knew this, and gave a gasp of relief
+when they swung round the corner and saw that the road was clear. If
+they could only hit the bridge, all right; the danger would be passed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Rory, <i>now</i>," shouted Davis, giving a tremendous tug at the
+horse's left rein, and leaning far over in that direction himself.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;">
+<img src="images/image042.jpg" width="375" height="600" alt="&quot;Davis put forth all his strength to control the horses,
+now flying over the road at a wild gallop.&quot; Page 36." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Davis put forth all his strength to control the horses,
+now flying over the road at a wild gallop.&quot;<i> Page <a href='#Page_36'><b>36</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Miller shut his eyes; the peril seemed too great to be gazed upon.
+If they missed the bridge, they must go headlong into the gully. Another
+moment and it was all over.</p>
+
+<p>As the coach swung round the corner into the straight road beyond, its
+impetus carried it almost over the edge, but not quite. With a splendid
+effort, the great black wheeler drew it over to the left. The front
+wheels kept the track, and although the hind wheels struck the side rail
+of the bridge with a crash and a jerk that well-nigh hurled Bert out
+upon the horses' backs, and the big coach leaned far over to the right,
+it shot back into the road again, and went thundering over the trembling
+bridge uninjured.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God!" exclaimed Mr. Miller, fervently, when the danger was
+passed.</p>
+
+<p>"Amen!" responded Jack Davis.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew He would help us," added Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Knew who would, Bert?" inquired Mr. Miller, bending over him tenderly,
+while something very like a tear glistened in his eye.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew God would take care of us," replied Bert, promptly. "The driver
+asked Him to; and didn't you ask Him, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did," said Mr. Miller, adding, with a sigh, "but I'm afraid I had not
+much right to expect Him to hear me."</p>
+
+<p>They had no further difficulties. The road ran<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> smoothly along the rest
+of the way, and shortly after sundown the coach, with great noise and
+clatter, drove into the village of Riverton, where grandpapa was to meet
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert, and take them home in his own carriage.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>AT GRANDFATHER'S.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Easily distinguished in the crowd gathered to welcome the coach, whose
+arrival was always the event of the evening, was Bert's grandfather,
+Squire Stewart, a typical old Scotchman, from every point of view. As
+the passengers got out, he stood watching them in silent dignity, until
+Mrs. Lloyd, catching sight of him, ran impulsively up, and taking his
+face between her two hands, gave him a warm kiss on each cheek, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Dear father, I'm so glad to see you looking so well."</p>
+
+<p>"And I'm well pleased to see you, Kate," responded the Squire, in a tone
+of deep affection, adding: "And is this your boy?" as Bert, who in the
+meantime had been lifted down from his place, came to his mother's side.</p>
+
+<p>"He's a fine big boy, and not ill-looking, either. I trust his manners
+have not been neglected."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll have to judge of that for yourself, father," replied Mrs. Lloyd.
+"He's by no means perfect, but he's pretty good, upon the whole."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, daughter, I'll go and get the carriage, if you'll just wait here
+a moment," said Mr. Stewart, going off toward the stables.</p>
+
+<p>Presently he returned, driving an elegant carriage with a fine pair of
+well-matched bays, which, old man though he was, he held in complete
+control.</p>
+
+<p>"We won't mind the trunks now, Kate; I will send in for them in the
+morning," said he, as he helped them into their seats.</p>
+
+<p>Maplebank, Squire Stewart's place, was situated about four miles from
+Riverton, and on the way out father and daughter had much to say to one
+another. As for Bert, he sat in silence on his seat. He felt very much
+awed by his grandfather. There was something so stern and severe about
+his time-worn countenance, he seemed so stiff in his bearing, and his
+voice had such a deep, rough tone in it, that, to tell the truth, Bert
+began to feel half sorry he had come. But this feeling disappeared
+entirely when, on arriving at Maplebank, he found himself in the arms of
+Aunt Sarah before he had time to jump out of the carriage, and was then
+passed over to his grandmother, who nearly smothered him with kisses.</p>
+
+<p>If his grandfather filled him with awe, his grandmother inspired him
+with love, from the very start. And no wonder, indeed, for she was the
+very poetry of a grandmother. A small woman, with slender frame, already
+stooping somewhat beneath the burden of years, her snow-white hair and
+spotless cap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> framed one of the sweetest faces that ever beamed on this
+earth. Bert gave her his whole heart at once, and during all the days he
+spent at Maplebank she was his best loved friend.</p>
+
+<p>Yet he did not fail to be very fond of his two aunts, likewise. With an
+uncle, who remained at home, assisting his father in the management of
+the property, they comprised the household, and the three apparently
+conspired to do their best to spoil Master Bert during that summer. Bert
+took very kindly to the spoiling, too, and under the circumstances it
+was a wonder he did not return to Halifax quite demoralised, as regards
+domestic discipline. But of this further.</p>
+
+<p>They were a merry party sitting down to tea that evening, and Bert,
+having appeased his hunger and found his tongue, amused them all very
+much by his account of what he had seen from the coach top. The narrow
+escape they had had at Brown's Gully was of course much discussed.
+Squire Stewart had nothing but censure for the driver.</p>
+
+<p>"The man had no business to go out with anything likely to break. Better
+for you to have waited a day than run any such risks. I shall certainly
+bring the matter to the attention of Mr. Lindsay," he said.</p>
+
+<p>Nobody ventured to say anything to the contrary; but Bert, who was
+sitting by his mother, turned an anxious face up to hers, and whispered:
+"Grandpapa won't hurt Mr. Davis, will he? He was so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> good to me, and he
+asked God to save us; and He did."</p>
+
+<p>"It will be all right, dear," his mother whispered back. "Don't worry
+yourself about it." And Bert, reassured, said nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>Bedtime for him soon came, and then, to his great delight, he found that
+instead of being banished to a room somewhere away upstairs, he was to
+be put in a curious bed, that filled a corner of the parlour in which
+the family sat. Bert had never seen anything like that bed before. It
+looked just like a closet, but when you opened the closet door, behold,
+there was a bed, and a very comfortable one, too. Just behind the
+parlour, with a door between, was the best bedroom, which his mother
+would have, and there Bert undressed, returning in his night-gown to say
+goodnight to all before tumbling into bed.</p>
+
+<p>With the closet door wide open, he could see everything that went on in
+the room; and it was so delightful to lie there watching the family
+reading or talking, until at last, sleep came to claim him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if you're a good boy, and don't attempt to talk after your head's
+on the pillow, I'll leave the door open, so you can see us all," said
+Aunt Sarah, as she tucked Bert snugly in; and he had sense enough to be
+a good boy, so that not a sound came from him ere his brown eyes closed
+for the night.</p>
+
+<p>Many a night after that did he lie there luxuriously, watching his
+grandfather reading the newspaper, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> a candle placed between his
+face and the paper, in such close proximity to both, that Bert's
+constant wonder was that one or the other of them never got burned; his
+grandmother, whose eyes no longer permitted her to read at night,
+knitting busily in her arm-chair, or nodding over her needles; Aunt
+Sarah, reading in the book that always lay at hand for leisure moments;
+Aunt Martha, stitching away, perhaps on some of his own torn garments;
+his mother writing home to Mr. Lloyd, or to Mary; while from the
+kitchen, outside, came the subdued sound of the servants' voices, as
+they chattered over their tasks. Bert thought it a lovely way to go to
+sleep, and often afterward, when at home, going up alone to bed in his
+own room, wished that he was back at grandfather's again.</p>
+
+<p>Bert slept late the next morning, for he was a very tired boy when he
+went to bed; and for this once he was indulged. But as he entered the
+dining-room, his grandfather, who had finished breakfast a full hour
+before, looking at him with that stern expression which was habitual to
+him, said:</p>
+
+<p>"City boys must keep country hours when they come to the country. Early
+to bed, early to rise, is the rule of this house, my boy."</p>
+
+<p>Poor Bert was rather disconcerted by this reception, but managed to say:</p>
+
+<p>"All right, grandpapa, I'll try," as he took his seat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The day was full of novelty and delight to the city boy, as, under Uncle
+Alec's guidance, he went about the farm, and visited the horses in the
+stable, the cattle in the pasture, the pigs in the stye; and then, with
+Aunt Martha, inspected the dairy, a big cool room in a small building,
+well shaded by trees, where long rows of shallow pans stood filled with
+rich milk or golden cream; while just before tea, Aunt Sarah claimed him
+for a walk in the garden, where tiger lilies, hollyhocks, mock oranges,
+peonies, and other old-fashioned flowers grew in gay profusion.</p>
+
+<p>Grandmother was too much engrossed with her daughter to pay much
+attention to Bert that day. Yet he had more than one token of affection
+at her hands; and, taken altogether, it was a very happy day.</p>
+
+<p>After tea, Mrs. Lloyd took her son off for a little chat alone, wishing
+to draw him out as to his first impressions.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you had a happy day, Bert?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed, mother. It has been just splendid. I think grandmamma and
+uncle and my aunties are lovely, but"&mdash;and here Bert hesitated as if
+afraid to finish his remark.</p>
+
+<p>"But what, Bert?" asked Mrs. Lloyd. "What were you going to say when you
+stopped?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like grandpapa, mother," said Bert, after a little pause,
+bringing the words out slowly, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> then adding, almost in a whisper,
+"I'm afraid of grandpapa, mother."</p>
+
+<p>"Hush, Bert. You shouldn't say that you don't like your grandfather.
+But, tell me, why are you afraid of him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, because he seems so cross, and isn't kind to me like the others."</p>
+
+<p>"But he isn't really cross, Bert. He loves you quite as much as the
+others do, but then he is an old man and has a great deal to think
+about. Now, Bert darling, I want you to learn to love your grandpapa,
+and to try and never be any bother to him. You will, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll try not to be a bother to him, mother, but I don't think it's much
+use my trying to love him unless he stops looking so cross."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, try your best, at all events, Bert," said Mrs. Lloyd, giving her
+son a tender kiss. "And now come, let's see if we can find
+grandmother."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+<h3>COUNTRY EXPERIENCES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert had come to Maplebank just in time for the haying season. The long
+slopes of upland and the level stretches of intervale waved before the
+breeze their russet and green wealth, awaiting the summons of the scythe
+and reaper. A number of extra hands had been hired to help in gathering
+the crop, which this year was unusually abundant, and a few days after
+Bert's coming the attack was begun.</p>
+
+<p>The mowing machine had not yet reached Maplebank. The papers were
+talking about it a good deal, but Squire Stewart was not the man to
+quickly adopt new inventions, and nobody else in the neighbourhood could
+afford to do so. Consequently, the West River Valley still continued to
+witness the good, old-fashioned way of mowing with the scythe; and Bert,
+accompanying Uncle Alec to the field, was filled with admiration for the
+stalwart "Rorys" and "Donalds" and "Sandys" as they strode along through
+the thick grass, cutting a wide swath before them. There was something
+in the work that appealed to the boy's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> bump of destructiveness, and
+filled him with eagerness to join in it.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Alec, mayn't I mow?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Bert, if you know how; but if you don't, I wouldn't advise
+you to try it," was the smiling reply.</p>
+
+<p>Not at all discouraged, Bert waited patiently until one of the mowers
+stopped to sharpen his scythe, and then stepping to him, asked, in his
+most engaging way:</p>
+
+<p>"Please, sir, won't you let me mow a little?"</p>
+
+<p>The man looked down at him in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't hold a scythe, sonny," he said, with a grin of amusement.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, I could. Please let me try; won't you?" pleaded Bert.</p>
+
+<p>The man yielded, and placing his scythe in Bert's hands, told him to go
+ahead.</p>
+
+<p>With much difficulty Bert succeeded in grasping the two short handles
+which projected from the long curved shaft, and, summoning all his
+strength, he tried to move the scythe in the way the mowers were doing.
+But at the first attempt the sharp point stuck in the turf, and
+instantly the long handle flew up, turned over, and hit him a hard
+crack, square between the eyes, that felled him to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The stars were dancing before his eyes, and the next moment the tears
+would have been there too, had he not, as he picked himself up, caught
+sight of the men laughing heartily over his mishap.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They shan't see me cry," said he to himself; and, putting forth a
+heroic effort, he swallowed his tears, though the gulping them down was
+positively painful, and, standing up straight, looked bravely about him.
+Uncle Alec saw it all and understood just how Bert felt.</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, my little hero," said he, clapping him on the back. "You
+have the right stuff in you."</p>
+
+<p>"That he has, sir," said Big Sandy, with an admiring look. "He would
+make a right good laddie for the farm."</p>
+
+<p>Bert's heart was filled with joy at these praises, and he determined
+that nobody on the farm should ever see him cry, unless he really
+couldn't at all help it.</p>
+
+<p>The scythe handle gave him quite an ugly bruise, which caused many a
+question when he went back to the house; and Aunt Sarah, who was as
+nervous as she was loving and sympathetic, made much ado over it, and
+insisted on a bandage, which made Bert look like a little soldier who
+had been in action. Mrs. Lloyd took the matter much more quietly. She
+knew her son had to get his share of bumps and bruises, and that each
+one would bring wisdom with it; so she contented herself with a kiss of
+sympathy, and the hope that he would have better fortune next time.</p>
+
+<p>The succeeding days were full of surprises and enjoyments to Bert.</p>
+
+<p>His mother gave him full liberty to go and come as he pleased, so long
+as he did not roam beyond the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> borders of the homestead, except when
+with Uncle Alec. The hay mows, the carriage loft, the sheep pens, the
+cattle stalls, were all explored; and ever so many cosy little nooks
+discovered, that seemed just made for "hide and seek" or "I spy." Squire
+Stewart had three barns on his homestead; one very large double barn,
+and two smaller ones. Each of these had its own attractions; but the big
+barn, that stood to your left, half way between the red gate and the
+house, was the best of all. It contained great hay mows, in which vast
+quantities of hay could be stored; a row of stalls where the horses
+stood when not out at pasture; queer dark pens, into which the sheep
+were gathered at winter time; and then, down underneath, great ranges of
+uprights, between which the patient cattle were fastened, and fed with
+hay, in the months when the snow lay deep upon their accustomed
+pastures. There was an air of shadowy mystery about this huge, rambling
+structure, with its lichen-patched roof, that fascinated Bert, and that
+even the saucy chirpings of the sparrows, which boldly built their nests
+in its dusty corners, could not dispel.</p>
+
+<p>Bert often wished that his city playmates could come and share with him
+the enjoyments of "grandfather's." He was not without companions,
+however. Cameron, the big blacksmith at the cross-roads, had three
+freckle-faced boys that were very glad to play with the little gentleman
+at Squire Stewart's, when they could get away from the numerous duties
+they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> were required to do at home; and other playmates soon turned up.
+Bert was at first not very much inclined to be sociable with them. Not
+only did they seem to have no shoes and stockings, but their entire
+clothing was usually limited to a battered straw hat, an unbleached
+cotton shirt, and a pair of rough homespun trousers; and the city boy
+was inclined to look upon the country lads with some contempt, until his
+Aunt Martha cured him effectually one day by a remark made in a quiet
+way.</p>
+
+<p>Bert had been making some unflattering comments upon the barefooted
+youngsters, when Aunt Martha interrupted him:</p>
+
+<p>"You had better not make fun of those boys, Bert," said she, with a
+curious smile. "They may look as though they were poor, but remember
+that their fathers have all of them their own carriage and horses, and
+your father has not."</p>
+
+<p>Bert saw the point at once, and never again ventured to ridicule boys
+who were the sons of "real carriage folk." Not only so, but he began at
+once to feel a respect for them, which wrought such a change in his
+bearing toward them, that they, who were not at all favourably impressed
+at first, changed their minds and decided that he was a "right smart
+little fellow."</p>
+
+<p>It was while playing "hide and seek" in the big barn with half-a-dozen
+of these youngsters, that Bert had a narrow escape from serious injury,
+if not, indeed, from death. The great, gaping mows were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> being filled
+with hay, which was pitched in any way, and not, of course, packed
+firmly. Consequently, it was in some places like snow upon the Alpine
+slopes&mdash;ready to fall in an avalanche, at the slightest temptation.</p>
+
+<p>In endeavouring to reach a far corner of the barn, where he felt sure no
+one could possibly find him, Bert tried to cross a hill of hay, that had
+piled up in one division of the mow. His hasty movements were just what
+was needed to bring the whole mass toppling down in confusion to the
+bottom of the mow. Unfortunately for him, he was involved in the
+overthrow, and without a moment's warning was buried beneath a huge mass
+of hay. As he went sliding helplessly down he uttered a cry of terror,
+which startled little Rory Chisholm, who sprang out from his
+hiding-place just in time to see poor Bert disappear.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi! Hi! boys&mdash;come here; Bert Lloyd's under the hay."</p>
+
+<p>The boys quickly gathered, and with eager hands set to work, to rescue
+their imperiled playmate. But, vigorously though they toiled, it was
+slow progress they made; and in the meantime the little fellow, pressed
+upon by many hundredweight of hay, was fast losing breath and
+consciousness. He could hear them very indistinctly, but could not make
+a sound himself.</p>
+
+<p>By a fortunate accident, one of the men happened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> along, just as the
+boys were near giving up the task as too great for them.</p>
+
+<p>"Donald! Donald! Quick! Bert Lloyd's under the hay. Dig him out, or
+he'll die," cried Rory, at the top of his voice.</p>
+
+<p>Seizing a pitchfork, Donald attacked the hay like a giant, getting more
+and more careful as he drew near the bottom of the mow, until at last,
+with a shout of "I've got him," he stooped down and dragged the
+senseless form of Bert from the very bottom of the pile. Taking him in
+his arms, he ran with him to the house, and gave Aunt Sarah a great
+fright by suddenly plumping him into her lap, as she sat on the verandah
+reading, saying, breathlessly:</p>
+
+<p>"Here, miss, bring him to, and he'll be none the worse for it."</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Sarah screamed for hartshorn, spirits of wine, and the dear knows
+what, but Mrs. Lloyd, bringing a glass of water, dashed it freely over
+her boy's pale face, and in a minute or two he opened his eyes again. As
+Donald said, he was none the worse for his experience, for no bones were
+broken, nor muscles strained; yet all felt thankful that he had escaped
+so well.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long after this that Bert had another adventure, which also
+came near costing him his life. He was not only very fond of water, but
+as fearless about it as a Newfoundland puppy. The blue sea, calm as a
+mirror or flecked with "white caps,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> formed part of his earliest
+recollections. He would play at its margin all day long, building forts
+out of sand for the advancing billows of the tide to storm and
+overwhelm. He was never happier than when gliding over it in his
+father's skiff. It was the last thing in nature he looked upon before
+lying down at night, and the first thing to which he turned on awaking
+in the morning. Thus he got so used to the great salt sea, that when he
+came to Maplebank and looked at the quiet stream, which glided along so
+noiselessly at the bottom of the slope before the house, he thought it a
+mere plaything, and could hardly be made to understand that, innocent as
+the river appeared, there was water enough in it to drown him ten times
+over.</p>
+
+<p>One day some of the village folk came out to spend the day at Maplebank,
+and the weather being decidedly warm, Uncle Alec proposed that the men
+of the party should go with him for a bathe. They gladly assented, and
+Bert having begged to accompany them was given leave to do so. Uncle
+Alec took them to a lovely spot for a bath&mdash;a tempting nook in which one
+might almost have expected to surprise a water nymph or two, if you drew
+near quietly enough. On one side, the bank rose high and steep,
+affording perfect seclusion; a narrow beach of gravel made a fine place
+for undressing. The river rolled gently along with plenty of depth, and
+beyond it was another beach, and then the swelling intervale.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Amid much laughter and excitement the men undressed, Uncle Alec allowing
+Bert to do the same, as he had promised to carry him across the river on
+his back. So soon as they were ready the bathers dived in; and, with
+much splashing and noise, swam races to the opposite bank, leaving Bert
+alone upon the shore. Skylarking with one another there they quite
+forgot their little companion until Uncle Alec looking across, gave a
+start, and cried out:</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo! What's become of the boy?"</p>
+
+<p>Not a sign of Bert was to be seen. His little pile of clothes, with hat
+placed carefully on top, was plain enough but no Bert. Full of anxiety,
+Uncle Alec sprang into the water, and with great sweeping strokes made
+for the other side. The water fairly foamed about his broad, white
+shoulders as he tore through it. He steered straight for the spot where
+he had seen Bert last. Three-fourths of the distance had been covered,
+when suddenly he stopped, and reaching down into the water, pulled
+up&mdash;What do you think? Why, Bert, of course, whose big brown eyes had
+startled him as they looked up at him through the clear, cool water. But
+how did Bert get there? Well, easily enough. He had got tired waiting
+for his uncle to come back for him. He wanted to be over there where the
+men were all having such fun. He could not swim across, so he just
+coolly accepted the only alternative, and started to walk across! When
+Uncle Alec found him there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> was a clear foot of water over his head. A
+step or two more and he would certainly have lost his footing, been
+carried away by the current, and drowned perhaps before Uncle Alec could
+have found him.</p>
+
+<p>The men all voted him a young hero when they were told of his attempt,
+and Uncle Alec vowed he'd teach him to swim the next time he paid a
+visit to Maplebank.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Sarah was greatly excited when she heard of her darling Bert's
+second escape, and had Mrs. Lloyd taken her advice the poor boy would
+have been tied to somebody's apron strings for the rest of the summer.
+But Mrs. Lloyd thought it better to do no more than caution Bert, and
+trust to the Providence that protects children to keep him from harm. He
+would have to learn to take care of himself sooner or later, and the
+sooner the better.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The one day in the week that Bert did not like at Maplebank was Sunday;
+and, indeed, under the circumstances, he was not without excuse. At
+home, the Lord's Day was always made as bright and cheerful as possible.
+The toys and playthings of the week-days were of course put aside, and
+wading by the seashore or coasting down the lane was not to be thought
+of, but in their place Bert had his father's company, of which he never
+had enough, and Mr. Lloyd made it a point, whether he really felt in
+good spirits himself or not, to appear to be so to Bert; and, in
+consequence, the little chap never thought his father quite so
+delightful as on the day of rest, that was so welcome to the lawyer,
+tired by a week's toil at his profession.</p>
+
+<p>Then mother had more leisure, too; and besides the pleasure of going
+with his parents to church, dressed in his best clothes, a privilege
+Bert fully appreciated, there was the enjoyment of having her read to
+him wonderfully interesting stories from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> Bible or Pilgrim's
+Progress, and explaining to him whatever puzzled his brain.</p>
+
+<p>If the day was fine, Mary would take him with her to the Sunday school,
+where, with a number of youngsters like himself, the hour would pass
+quickly enough, as Miss Brightley entertained them with song and story,
+and pictures bearing upon the lesson. And then, after Sunday school, in
+summer time, his father would lead him off to the old fort, where they
+would sit on the grassy ramparts, watching the white sailed ships
+cleaving the blue waters, that never seemed more beautiful than on
+Sunday afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>But at Maplebank it was all very different. Squire Stewart was a
+Presbyterian of the stern old Covenanter stock. To him the Lord's Day
+meant a day to be spent in unsmiling strictness of conversation and
+demeanour. No laughter, no bright talk, no semblance of joyousness was
+sanctioned; nor, indeed, could have existed within the range of his
+solemn countenance. He was a grave and silent man at any time, but on
+Sunday the gravity of his appearance was little short of appalling. One
+meeting him for the first time would certainly have thought that he had
+just been visited by some overwhelming affliction. Bert, on the morning
+of his first Sunday, coming out of his mother's room, after receiving
+the finishing touches to his dress, and dancing along the hall, in
+joyous anticipation of the drive in the big carriage to the village, ran
+right into his grandfather.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> Laying a strong hand on the boy's shoulder,
+Squire Stewart looked down at him, with disapproval written on every
+line of his stern face.</p>
+
+<p>"My boy," said he, in his deepest tones, "know you not that this is the
+Sabbath day, and that you are to keep it holy, and not be dancing along
+the hall?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Bert shrank away, with a trembling, "I didn't mean to, sir," and
+thenceforth avoided his grandfather as completely as though he were a
+criminal and the Squire was a policeman.</p>
+
+<p>Not only at the house, but at the church, did Bert find Sunday a day of
+dreariness. And here again, who could blame him? He was only a boy and a
+very restless, active boy, at that, to whom one half-hour's sitting
+still was about as much as he could endure. How, then, could he be
+expected to be equal to four whole hours of stillness? Yet that was what
+his grandfather required of him whenever he went to church.</p>
+
+<p>The order of the day was as follows:&mdash;Leaving the house about ten
+o'clock in the big covered carriage, of which the Squire felt duly
+proud, as being the only one in the county, they drove leisurely into
+the village, where the horses were put up, and after the ladies had
+dropped in at a friend's to make sure their bonnets and dresses were as
+they ought to be, they wended their way to the church, which, standing
+right in the centre of the village, was noisily sum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>moning its
+worshippers to its seats as the big bell swung to and fro high up in the
+steeple.</p>
+
+<p>The church service began at eleven o'clock, and was of the most
+old-fashioned orthodox type. No organ had yet profaned the sanctity of
+that holy place, but instead thereof, a quartette of singers, selected
+seemingly more for the strength than the sweetness of their voices,
+occupied a large box right under the pulpit, and thence led the
+congregation by a whole bar at least, in the rendering of Tate and
+Brady's metrical version of the Psalms. Very weird and sorrowful were
+many of the tunes. None were bright and inspiring like those Bert was
+wont to hear at home, and as choir and congregation vied with one
+another in the vigour of their singing, the little fellow was sometimes
+half-frightened at the bewildering noise they made.</p>
+
+<p>A saintlier pastor than the Reverend Mr. Goodman, D.D., few
+congregations possessed; but only those members of his audience who were
+of like age with himself thought him a good preacher. He had, indeed,
+some gifts in expounding the Bible, and even Bert would be interested if
+the lesson happened to be one of those stirring stories from the Old
+Testament which seem so full of life and truth. But when it came to
+preaching a sermon&mdash;well, it must be confessed there were then few dryer
+preachers throughout the whole Province of Acadia. Bending low over his
+manuscript, for his eyesight was poor, and lifting his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> head only now
+and then to wipe his brow, or relieve his throat, with a dry, hard
+cough, Mr. Goodman pursued his way steadily and monotonously from
+"firstly" to "lastly" every Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>And not only once, but twice on every Sunday. For be it understood, that
+although many of the congregation lived too far away from the church to
+make two trips to it from their homes, they were not thereby going to be
+deprived of two services. Accordingly, after the morning service&mdash;which
+usually lasted until one o'clock&mdash;was over, a recess of one hour for
+lunch and fresh air followed, and at two o'clock a second service,
+precisely similar in character, was entered upon, which occupied two
+hours more. And then, having thus laid in a supply of sound theology for
+the rest of the week, the good people of Calvin church, after indulging
+in a little harmless gossiping at the church door&mdash;of which indulgence,
+by the way, Squire Stewart strongly disapproved, and would have
+prohibited, had he been able&mdash;harnessed up their horses and drove away
+home.</p>
+
+<p>Four hours of church service of so unattractive a character, and that in
+mid-summer! Poor little Bert! He did not want to shock his grandfather,
+or bring his mother's discipline into condemnation; but really, how
+could he be all that the Squire, who, if he ever had been a boy himself,
+must have quite forgotten about it, expected him to be? If he went to
+sleep, Aunt Sarah or Aunt Martha, in obedience to signals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> from
+grandfather, shook or pinched him awake again. If he stayed awake, he
+felt that he must wriggle or die. Sometimes the temptation to scream out
+loud was so strong that it seemed little short of a miracle he did not
+yield to it. Mrs. Lloyd fully sympathised with her son's troubles, but
+accustomed from infancy to obey her father unquestioningly, she would
+not venture to do more than softly plead for Bert, now and then, when he
+was more restless than usual. Her pleadings were not altogether vain,
+and frequently they had the result of securing for Bert a boon that he
+highly appreciated.</p>
+
+<p>Squire Stewart was bothered by a troublesome chronic cough. He did not
+mind it very much when at home, but at church he felt it to be a
+nuisance both to himself and his neighbours. To ease it somewhat he
+always carried to church with him a number of black currant lozenges, a
+supply of which he kept in his big mahogany desk at home. Occasionally,
+either as encouragement to him to try and be a better boy, or as a token
+of relenting for being over severe, he would pass Bert one of these
+lozenges, and Bert thought them the most delicious and desirable
+sweetmeat ever invented. Not that they were really anything wonderful,
+though they were very expensive; but the circumstances under which he
+received them gave them a peculiar relish; and it was in regard to them
+that Bert fought and won the sharpest battle with the tempter of all his
+early boyhood. It happened in this way:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As already mentioned, Squire Stewart kept a supply of these lozenges in
+his big mahogany desk, that had a table to itself in the parlour. This
+desk was always kept locked, and Bert had many a time, when alone in the
+room, gone up to it, and passed his hand over its polished surface,
+thinking to himself how nice it would be if the package of lozenges was
+in his pocket instead of shut up in there where nobody could get at it.</p>
+
+<p>One morning, as Bert was playing about the house, a message came that
+the Squire was wanted at once at the farthest barn, as one of the horses
+had been hurt by another. He went out hastily, and shortly after, Bert,
+going into the parlour, saw the desk wide open, his grandfather having
+been looking for a paper when so suddenly called away. The moment his
+eyes fell upon the open desk, a thought flashed into his mind that set
+every nerve tingling. As though the old desk exerted some strange and
+subtle fascination, he drew near it; slowly, hesitatingly, almost on
+tiptoe, yet steadily. His heart beat like a trip-hammer, and his ears
+were straining to catch the slightest sound of any one's approach. The
+house was wonderfully quiet. He seemed to be quite alone in it; and
+presently he found himself close beside the desk. Although open, the
+inner lids were still shut, and ere Bert put out his hand to lift the
+one under which he thought the package of lozenges lay, the thought of
+the wrong he was doing came upon him so strongly as well-nigh<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> to
+conquer the temptation. For a moment he stood there irresolute; and then
+again the hand that had dropped to his side was stretched forth. As it
+touched the desk lid a thrill shot through his heart; and again he
+hesitated and drew back.</p>
+
+<p>It was really a tremendous struggle, and one upon which great issues
+hung, so far as that boy, alone in that room with the tempter, was
+concerned. Bert fully realized how wrong it would be for him to touch
+the lozenges; but, oh! what a wonderful fascination they had for him!</p>
+
+<p>Reaching forward again, he lifted up the desk lid, and there, fully
+exposed to view, lay the package temptingly wide open, displaying its
+toothsome contents. The crisis of the temptation had come. An instant
+more, and Bert would have yielded; when suddenly his better nature got
+the upper hand, and with a quick resolution, the secret of which he
+never fully understood, he cried out:</p>
+
+<p>"No, I won't." And slamming down the desk lid, he tried to run out of
+the room, and ran right into the arms of his grandfather, who, unseen
+and unsuspected, had witnessed the whole transaction from the door.</p>
+
+<p>Overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and terror at having been detected by
+the one person of all others whom he dreaded most, Bert sank down on the
+floor, sobbing as though his heart would break. But, strange to say, the
+stern old man had no harsh words for him now. On the contrary, he bent
+down and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> lifting the little fellow gently to his feet said, in tones of
+deepest tenderness:</p>
+
+<p>"No tears, laddie; no tears. You've fought a grand fight, and glad am I
+that I was there to see you win it. God grant you like success to the
+end of your days. I'm proud of you, Bert boy; I'm proud of you."</p>
+
+<p>Scarce able to believe his ears, Bert looked up through his tears into
+his grandfather's face. But there was no mistaking the expression of
+that rugged old countenance. It fairly beamed with love and pride, and
+throwing himself into his arms, Bert for the first time realised that
+his grandfather loved him.</p>
+
+<p>He never forgot that scene. Many a time after it came back to him, and
+helped him to decide for the right. And many a time, too, when
+grandfather seemed unduly stern, did the remembrance of his face that
+morning in the parlour drive away the hard feelings that had begun to
+form against him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+<h3>LOST AND FOUND.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The summer days passed very quickly and happily for Bert at Maplebank,
+especially after the surprising revelation of the love and tenderness
+that underlay his grandfather's stern exterior. No one did more for his
+comfort or happiness than his grandmother, and he loved her accordingly
+with the whole strength of his young heart. She was so slight and frail,
+and walked with such slow, gentle steps, that the thought of being her
+protector and helper often came into his mind and caused him to put on a
+more erect, important bearing as he walked beside her in the garden, or
+through the orchard where the apples were already beginning to give
+promise of the coming ripeness.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Stewart manifested her love for her grandson in one way that made a
+great impression upon Bert. She would take him over to the dairy, in its
+cool place beneath the trees, and, selecting the cooler with the
+thickest cream upon it, would skim off a teaspoonful into a large spoon
+that was already half filled with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> new oatmeal, and then pour the
+luscious mixture into the open mouth waiting expectantly beside her.</p>
+
+<p>"Is not that fine, Bertie boy?" she would say, patting him
+affectionately upon the head; and Bert, his mouth literally too full for
+utterance, would try to look the thanks he could not speak.</p>
+
+<p>Maplebank had many strange visitors. It stood a little way back from the
+junction of three roads, and the Squire's hospitality to wayfarers being
+unbounded, the consequence was that rarely did a night pass without one
+or more finding a bed in some corner of the kitchen. Sometimes it would
+be a shipwrecked sailor, slowly finding his way on foot to the nearest
+shipping port. Sometimes a young lad with pack on back, setting out to
+seek his fortune at the capital, or in the States beyond. Again it would
+be a travelling tinker, or tailor, or cobbler, plying his trade from
+house to house, and thereby making an honest living.</p>
+
+<p>But the most frequent visitors of all&mdash;real nuisances, though, they
+often made themselves&mdash;were the poor, simple folk, of whom a number of
+both sexes roamed ceaselessly about. Not far from Maplebank was what the
+better class called a "straglash district"&mdash;that is, a settlement
+composed of a number of people who had by constant intermarriage, and
+poor living, caused insanity of a mild type to be woefully common.
+Almost every family had its idiot boy or girl, and these poor creatures,
+being, as a rule, perfectly harmless, were suffered to go at large, and
+were generally<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> well treated by the neighbours, upon whose kindness they
+were continually trespassing.</p>
+
+<p>The best known of them at the time of Bert's visit, was one called
+"Crazy Colin," a strange being, half wild, half civilised, with the
+frame of an athlete, and the mind of a child. Although more than thirty
+years of age, he had never shown much more sense than a two-year-old
+baby. He even talked in a queer gibberish, such as was suitable to that
+stage of childhood. Everybody was kind to him. His clothes and his food
+were given him. As for a roof, he needed none in summer save when it
+stormed, and in winter he found refuge among his own people. His chief
+delight was roaming the woods and fields, talking vigorously to himself
+in his own language, and waving a long ash staff that was rarely out of
+his hands. He would thus spend whole days in apparent content, returning
+only when the pangs of hunger could be borne no longer.</p>
+
+<p>Bert took a great deal of interest in these "straglash" people, and
+especially in Crazy Colin, who was a frequent visitor at the Squire's
+kitchen, for Mrs. Stewart never refused him a generous bowl of porridge
+and milk, or a huge slice of bread and butter. At first he was not a
+little afraid of Crazy Colin. But soon he got accustomed to him, and
+then, boy-like, presuming upon acquaintance, began to tease him a bit
+when he would come in for a "bite and sup." More than once the idiot's
+eyes flashed dangerously at Bert's prank; but, fool though he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> was, he
+had sense enough to understand that any outbreak would mean his prompt
+expulsion and banishment, and so he would restrain himself. One
+memorable day, however, when Bert least expected or invited it, the
+demon of insanity broke loose in a manner that might have had serious
+consequences.</p>
+
+<p>It was on a Sunday. The whole family had gone off to church, except
+Bert, who had been left at home in the charge of the cook. She was a
+strapping big Scotch lassie, and very fond of Bert. About an hour after
+the family left, Crazy Colin sauntered along and took his seat in the
+kitchen. Neither Kitty nor Bert was by any means pleased to see him, but
+they thought it better to keep their feelings to themselves. Bert,
+indeed, made some effort to be entertaining, but Crazy Colin seemed in
+rather a sulky mood, an unusual thing for him, so Bert soon gave it up,
+and went off into the garden.</p>
+
+<p>The roses were blooming beautifully there, and he picked several before
+returning to the kitchen. When he came back, he found the unwelcome
+visitor alone, Kitty having gone into the other part of the house. He
+was sitting beside the table with his head bent forward upon his hands,
+apparently in deep dejection. Upon the table was a large knife which
+Kitty had just been using in preparing the meat for dinner. Thinking it
+would please poor Colin, Bert selected the finest rose in his bunch and
+handed it to him, moving off toward the door leading into the hall as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+he did so. Colin lifted his head and grasped the rose rudely. As his big
+hand closed upon it, a thorn that hid under the white petals pierced
+deep into the ball of his thumb. In an instant the sleeping demon of
+insanity awoke. With eyes blazing and frame trembling with fury, he
+sprang to his feet, seized the knife, and with a hoarse, inarticulate
+shout, turned upon Bert, who, paralysed with terror, stood rooted to the
+spot half-way between the idiot and the door. It was a moment of
+imminent peril, but ere Crazy Colin could reach the boy, his hoarse cry
+was echoed by a shrill shriek from behind Bert, and two stout arms
+encircling him, bore him off through the door and up the stairs, pausing
+not until Squire Stewart's bedroom was gained and the door locked fast.
+Then depositing her burden upon the floor, brave, big Kitty threw
+herself into a chair, exclaiming, breathlessly:</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God, Master Bert, we're safe now. The creature darsen't come up
+those stairs."</p>
+
+<p>And Kitty was right; for although Crazy Colin raged and stormed up and
+down the hall, striking the wall with the knife, and talking in his
+wild, unintelligible way, he did not attempt to set foot upon the
+stairs. Presently he became perfectly quiet.</p>
+
+<p>"Has he gone away, Kitty?" asked Bert, eagerly, speaking for the first
+time. "He's not making any noise now."</p>
+
+<p>Kitty stepped softly to the door, and putting her ear to the crack,
+listened intently for a minute.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There's not a sound of him, Master Bert. Please God, he's gone, but we
+hadn't better go out of the room until the folks come home. He may be
+waiting in the kitchen."</p>
+
+<p>And so they stayed, keeping one another company through the long hours
+of the morning and afternoon until at last the welcome sound of wheels
+crushing the gravel told that the carriage had returned, and they might
+leave their refuge.</p>
+
+<p>The indignation of Squire Stewart when he heard what had occurred was a
+sight to behold. Sunday though it was, he burst forth into an
+unrestrained display of his wrath, and had the cause of it ventured
+along at the time, he certainly would have been in danger of bodily
+injury.</p>
+
+<p>"The miserable trash!" stormed the Squire. "Not one of them shall ever
+darken my threshold again. Hech! that's what comes of being kind to such
+objects. They take you to be as big fools as themselves, and act
+accordingly. The constable shall lay his grip on that loon so sure as I
+am a Stewart."</p>
+
+<p>There were more reasons for the Squire's wrath, too, than the fright
+Crazy Colin had given Bert and Kitty, for no dinner awaited the hungry
+church-goers, and rejoiced as they all were at the happy escape of the
+two who had been left at home, that was in itself an insufficient
+substitute for a warm, well-cooked dinner. But Kitty, of course, could
+not be blamed, and there was nothing to be done but to make the best of
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> situation, and satisfy their hunger upon such odds and ends as the
+larder afforded.</p>
+
+<p>As for poor Crazy Colin, whether by some subtle instinct on coming to
+himself he realised how gravely he had offended, or whether in some way
+or other he got a hint of the Squire's threats, cannot be said. Certain
+it was, that he did not present himself at Maplebank for many days
+after, and then he came under circumstances, which not only secured him
+complete forgiveness, but made him an actual hero, for the time, and won
+him a big place in the hearts of both Bert and his mother.</p>
+
+<p>Although Bert had been forbidden to leave the homestead, unless in
+company with some grown-up person, he had on several occasions forgotten
+this injunction, in the ardour of his play, but never so completely as
+on the day that, tempted by Charlie Chisholm, the most reckless, daring
+youngster in the neighbourhood, he went away off into the back-lands, as
+the woods beyond the hill pasture were called, in search of an eagle's
+nest, which the unveracious Charlie assured him was to be seen high up
+in a certain dead monarch of the forest.</p>
+
+<p>It was a beautiful afternoon, toward the end of August, when Bert, his
+imagination fired by the thought of obtaining a young eagle, Charlie
+having assured him that this was entirely possible, broke through all
+restraints, and went off with his tempter. Unseen by any of the
+household, as it happened, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> passed through the milk yard, climbed
+the hill, hastened across the pasture, dotted with the feeding cows, and
+soon were lost to sight in the woods that fringed the line of settlement
+on both sides of the valley, and farther on widened into the great
+forest that was traversed only by the woodsman and the hunter.</p>
+
+<p>On and on they went, until at length Bert was tired out. "Aren't we far
+enough now, Charlie?" he asked, plaintively, throwing himself down upon
+a fallen tree to rest a little.</p>
+
+<p>"Not quite, Bert; but we'll soon be," answered Charlie. "Let's take a
+rest, and then go ahead," he added, following Bert's example.</p>
+
+<p>Having rested a few minutes, Charlie sprang up saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Come along, Bert; or we'll never get there." And somewhat reluctantly
+the latter obeyed. Deeper and deeper into the forest they made their
+way, Charlie going, ahead confidently, and Bert following doubtfully;
+for he was already beginning to repent of his rashness, and wish that he
+was home again.</p>
+
+<p>Presently Charlie showed signs of being uncertain as to the right route.
+He would turn first to the right and then to the left, peering eagerly
+ahead, as if hoping to come upon the big dead tree at any moment.
+Finally he stopped altogether.</p>
+
+<p>"See here, Bert; I guess we're on the wrong track," said he, coolly.
+"I've missed the tree somehow, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> it's getting late, so we'd better
+make for home. We'll have a try some other day."</p>
+
+<p>Poor little Bert, by this time thoroughly weary, was only too glad to
+turn homeward, and the relief at doing this gave him new strength for a
+while. But it did not last very long, and soon, footsore and exhausted,
+he dropped down upon a bank of moss, and burst into tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Charlie, I wish we were home," he sobbed. "I'm so tired, and
+hungry, too."</p>
+
+<p>Charlie did not know just what to do. It was getting on toward sundown;
+he had quite lost his way, and might be a good while finding it again,
+and he felt pretty well tired himself. But he put on a brave face and
+tried to be very cheerful, as he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't cry, Bert. Cheer up, my boy, and we'll soon get home."</p>
+
+<p>It was all very well to say "cheer up," but it was another thing to do
+it. As for getting home soon, if there were no other way for Bert to get
+home than by walking the whole way, there was little chance of his
+sleeping in his own bed that night.</p>
+
+<p>How thoroughly miserable he did feel! His conscience, his legs, and his
+stomach, were all paining him at once. He bitterly repented of his
+disobedience, and vowed he would never err in the same way again. But
+that, while it was all very right and proper, did not help him homeward.</p>
+
+<p>At length Charlie grew desperate. He had no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> idea of spending the night
+in the woods if he could possibly help it, so he proposed a plan to
+Bert:</p>
+
+<p>"See here, Bert," said he, "you're too played out to walk any more. Now,
+I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll run home as fast as I can, and saddle
+the old mare and bring her here, and then we'll ride back again
+together. What do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, don't leave me here alone?" pleaded Bert. "I'll be awfully
+frightened."</p>
+
+<p>"Chut! Bert. There's nothing to frighten you but some old crows. Stay
+just where you are, and I'll be back inside of an hour." And without
+waiting to argue the point, Charlie dashed off into the woods in the
+direction he thought nearest home; while Bert, after crying out in vain
+for him to come back, buried his face in the moss and gave himself up to
+tears.</p>
+
+<p>One hour, two hours, three hours passed, and still Bert was alone. The
+sun had set, the gloaming well-nigh passed, and the shadows of night
+drew near. All kinds of queer noises fell upon his ear, filling him with
+acute terror. He dared not move from the spot upon which Charlie had
+left him, but sat there, crouched up close against a tree, trembling
+with fear in every nerve. At intervals he would break out into vehement
+crying, and then he would be silent again. Presently the darkness
+enveloped him, and still no succour came.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, there had been much anxiety at Maple<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>bank. On Bert's being
+missed, diligent inquiry was made as to his whereabouts, and at length,
+after much questioning, some one was found who had seen him, in company
+with Charlie Chisholm, going up through the hill pasture toward the
+woods. When Mrs. Lloyd heard who his companion was, her anxiety
+increased, for she well knew what a reckless, adventurous little fellow
+Charlie was, and she determined that search should be made for the boys
+at once. But in this she was delayed by Uncle Alec and the men being off
+at a distance, and not returning until supper time. So soon as they did
+get back, and heard of Bert's disappearance, they swallowed their
+supper, and all started without delay to hunt him up.</p>
+
+<p>The dusk had come before the men&mdash;headed by Uncle Alec, and followed, as
+far as the foot of the hill, by the old Squire&mdash;got well started on
+their search; but they were half-a-dozen in number, and all knew the
+country pretty well, so that the prospect of their finding the lost boy
+soon seemed bright enough.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the dusk deepened into darkness, and hour after hour passed&mdash;hours
+of intense anxiety and earnest prayer on the part of the mother and
+others at Maplebank&mdash;without any token of success.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd was not naturally a nervous woman, but who could blame her if
+her feelings refused control when her darling boy was thus exposed to
+dangers, the extent of which none could tell.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Squire did his best to cheer her in his bluff blunt way:</p>
+
+<p>"Tut! tut! Kate. Don't worry so. The child's just fallen asleep
+somewhere. He'll be found as soon as it's light. There's nothing to harm
+him in those woods."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd tried hard to persuade herself that there wasn't, but all
+kinds of vague terrors filled her mind, and refused to be allayed.</p>
+
+<p>At length, as it drew toward midnight, a step was heard approaching, and
+the anxious watchers rushed eagerly to the door, hoping for good news.
+But it was only one of the men, returning according to arrangement to
+see if Bert had been found, and if not to set forth again along some new
+line of search. After a little interval another came, and then another,
+until all had returned, Uncle Alec being the last, and still no news of
+Bert.</p>
+
+<p>They were bidden to take some rest and refreshment before going back in
+to the woods. While they were sitting in the kitchen, Uncle Alec, who
+was exceedingly fond of Bert, and felt more concerned about him than he
+cared to show, having no appetite for food, went off toward the red gate
+with no definite purpose except that he could not keep still.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the still midnight air was startled with a joyful "Hurrah!"
+followed close by a shout of "Bert's all right&mdash;he's here," that brought
+the people in the house tumbling pell-mell against each other in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+their haste to reach the door and see what it all meant.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 378px;">
+<img src="images/image086.jpg" width="378" height="600" alt="&quot;Crazy Colin strode up the road, bearing Bert high upon
+his shoulder.&quot;&mdash;Page 79." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Crazy Colin strode up the road, bearing Bert high upon
+his shoulder.&quot;&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_79'><b>79</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The light from the kitchen streamed out upon the road, making a broad
+luminous path, up which the next moment strode Crazy Colin, bearing Bert
+high upon his broad shoulders, while his swarthy countenance fairly
+shone with a smile of pride and satisfaction that clearly showed he did
+not need Uncle Alec's enthusiastic clappings on the back, and hearty
+"Well done, Colin! You're a trump!" to make him understand the
+importance of what he had done.</p>
+
+<p>The two were at once surrounded by the overjoyed family. After giving
+her darling one passionate hug, Mrs. Lloyd took both of Crazy Colin's
+hands in hers, and, looking up into his beaming face, said, with a deep
+sincerity even his dull brain could not fail to appreciate: "God bless
+you, Colin. I cannot thank you enough, but I'll be your friend for
+life;" while the Squire, having blown his nose very vigorously on his
+red silk handkerchief, grasped Colin by the arm, dragged him into the
+house, and ordered that the best the larder could produce should be
+placed before him at once. It was a happy scene, and no one enjoyed it
+more than did Crazy Colin himself.</p>
+
+<p>The exact details of the rescue of Bert were never fully ascertained;
+for, of course, poor Colin could not make them known, his range of
+expression being limited to his mere personal wants, and Bert himself
+being able to tell no more than that while lying at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> foot of the
+tree, and crying pretty vigorously, he heard a rustling among the trees
+that sent a chill of terror through him, and then the sound of Crazy
+Colin's talk with himself, which he recognised instantly. Forgetting all
+about the fright Colin had given him a few days before, he shouted out
+his name. Colin came to him at once, and seeming to understand the
+situation at a glance, picked him up in his strong arms, flung him over
+his shoulder, and strode off toward Maplebank with him as though he were
+a mere feather-weight and not a sturdy boy. Dark as it was, Colin never
+hesitated, nor paused, except now and then to rest a moment, until he
+reached the red gate where Uncle Alec met him, and welcomed him so
+warmly.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd did not think it wise nor necessary to say very much to Bert
+about his disobedience. If ever there was a contrite, humbled boy, it
+was he. He had learned a lesson that he would be long in forgetting. As
+for his tempter, Charlie Chisholm, he did not turn up until the next
+morning, having lost himself completely in his endeavour to get home;
+and it was only after many hours of wandering he found his way to an
+outlying cabin of the backwoods settlement, where he was given shelter
+for the night.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>BERT GOES TO SCHOOL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>With the waning of summer came the time for Mrs. Lloyd to return to the
+city. Both she and Bert felt very sorry to leave Maplebank, and the
+family there was unanimous in seeking to persuade her to allow Bert to
+remain for the winter. But this was not practicable, because, in the
+first place, Mr. Lloyd had been writing to say that he was quite tired
+of being without his boy, and would like to have him back again as soon
+as was convenient; and, in the second place, Bert had reached the age
+when he ought to begin his schooling, and must return home for that
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>So at length, after more than one postponement, the day of departure
+arrived. Grandmother and Aunt Martha, and Aunt Sarah, could not restrain
+their tears, and big, kind Kitty was among the mourners too, as Bert and
+his mother took their seat in the carriage beside the Squire and Uncle
+Alec, to drive in to the village where the coach would be met.</p>
+
+<p>With many a promise to come back ere very long,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> and many a fond
+"Good-bye! God bless you, my darling!" the travellers started on their
+homeward journey. The village was reached in good time, the coach found
+awaiting its passengers, the trunks safely stowed behind, the last
+good-bye to grandfather and Uncle Alec said, and then, amid cracking of
+whips and waving of handkerchiefs, the big coach rolled grandly off, and
+Bert had really parted with dear, delightful Maplebank, where he had
+spent such a happy summer.</p>
+
+<p>The homeward journey was a very pleasant one, and marked by no exciting
+incidents. Jack Davis was in his place on the box, and, recognising Bert
+when the passengers got out at the first change of horses, hailed him
+with a hearty: "Holloa, youngster! Are you on board? Would you like to
+come up on top with me again?"</p>
+
+<p>It need hardly be said that Bert jumped at the invitation, and, his
+mother giving her consent, he rode on the box seat beside Davis the
+greater part of the day as happy as a bird. The weather was perfect, it
+being a cool, bright day in early September, and Bert enjoyed very much
+recognising and recalling the different things that had particularly
+interested him on the way down. "Black Rory" was as lively as ever, and
+seemed determined to run away and dash everything to pieces as they
+started out from his stable, but calmed down again after a mile or two,
+as usual, and trotted along amiably enough the rest of his distance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It happened that Davis had no one on the outside with whom he cared to
+talk, so he gave a good deal of attention to Bert, telling him about the
+horses and their peculiarities, and how they were in so many ways just
+like people, and had to be humoured sometimes, and sometimes punished,
+and how it was, upon the whole, so much better to be kind than cruel to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"If your father ever lets you have a pony, Bert," said Davis, "take my
+word for it it'll pay you to treat that ere pony like a brother. Just
+let him know you're fond of him from the start; give him a lump of sugar
+or a crust of bread now and then&mdash;it's wonderful how fond horses are of
+such things&mdash;and he'll follow you about just like a dog. Horses have got
+a good deal more human nature in 'em than folks generally give 'em
+credit for, I can tell you, and I think I know what I am talking about,
+for I've had to do with them ever since I've been as big as you."</p>
+
+<p>Bert listened to this lecture with very lively interest, for his father
+had more than once hinted at getting him a pony some day if he were a
+good boy, and showed he could be trusted with one. He confided his hopes
+to his friend, and received in return for the confidence a lot more of
+good advice, which need not be repeated here.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was setting as the coach drove up to the hotel at Thurso, where
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert were to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> remain for the night, taking the train for
+Halifax the next morning. Bert felt quite sorry at parting with his big
+friend, the driver, and very gladly promised him that the next time he
+was going to Maplebank he would try to manage so as to be going down on
+Jack Davis' day that their friendship might be renewed.</p>
+
+<p>Both Bert and his mother were very glad to get to bed that night.
+Coaching is fine fun in fine weather, but it is fatiguing, nevertheless.
+You cannot ride all day in a coach without more or less backache, and
+Bert was so sleepy that, but for his mother preventing him, he would
+have flung himself upon his bed without so much as taking off his boots.
+He managed to undress all right enough, however, and then slept like a
+top until next morning.</p>
+
+<p>Bright and early they took the train, and by mid-day were at Halifax,
+where Mr. Lloyd and Mary received them with open arms and many a glad
+kiss.</p>
+
+<p>After allowing him a few days to settle down to home life again, the
+question of Bert's going to school was raised. He was now full eight
+years of age, and quite old enough to make a beginning. His mother and
+sister had between them given him a good start in the "three R's" at
+home, for he was an apt pupil, and he was quite ready to enter a larger
+sphere.</p>
+
+<p>At first his parents were somewhat undecided as to whether they would
+send him to a school presided over by a woman or a man. It was usual in
+Halifax<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> for those who preferred the private to the public schools to
+send their boys for a year or two to a dame's school as a sort of easy
+introduction to school life; and in the very same street as that in
+which the Lloyds lived there was such a school where two rather gaunt
+and grim old-maid sisters aided one another in the application of primer
+and taws. To this institution Mrs. Lloyd thought it would be well for
+Bert to go. His father had no very decided views to the contrary, but on
+Bert himself being consulted, it became very clear that his mind was
+quite made up.</p>
+
+<p>"Please don't send me to 'Old Goggles'' school, father," pleaded he,
+earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"'Old Goggles!' Why, Bert, what do you mean by calling Miss Poster by
+such a name as that?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's most disrespectful," interrupted his mother, with a very much
+shocked expression, while Mr. Lloyd tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to
+conceal a smile beneath his moustache.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, mother, that's what they all call her," explained Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Even though they do, Bert, you should not. Miss Poster is a lady, and
+you must act the gentleman toward her," replied Mrs. Lloyd. "But why
+don't you want to go to school there? Several boys about your own age
+are going."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, because a lot of girls go there, and I don't want to go to school
+with girls," was Master Bert's ungallant reply.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd, who had evidently been much amused at the conversation, now
+joined in it by drawing Bert toward him and asking, in a half-serious,
+half-humorous tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Is my boy Bert afraid of little girls?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert's face flushed till it was crimson, and dropping his head upon his
+breast, he muttered:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not afraid of them, but I don't like 'em, and I don't want to go to
+school with 'em."</p>
+
+<p>The fact of the matter was that Bert not only had his full share of the
+repugnance to the other sex common to all boys of his age, but he had
+besides a strong notion that it was not a manly thing to go to school
+with girls, and if there was one thing more than another that he aspired
+after, it was manliness.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd thoroughly understood his son's feelings, and felt disposed to
+humour them. Accordingly, lifting up his head, he gave him a kiss on the
+forehead, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Bert; we'll see about it. Since you have such decided
+objections to Miss Goggles'&mdash;I beg her pardon, Miss Poster's&mdash;excellent
+establishment, I will make inquiry, and see if I cannot find something
+that will suit you better. I want you to like your school, and to take
+an interest in it."</p>
+
+<p>Bert's face fairly beamed at these words, and he heaved a huge sigh of
+relief which brought another smile out on his father's countenance.</p>
+
+<p>"You're such a good father," said Bert, hugging<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> his knees, and there
+the matter dropped for a few days.</p>
+
+<p>When it came up again, Mr. Lloyd had a new proposition to make. In the
+interval he had been making some inquiries, and had been recommended to
+send his boy to a school just lately established by an accomplished
+young lawyer, who had adopted that method of earning an honest penny
+while waiting for his practice to become more lucrative. It was a good
+deal of an experiment, Mr. Lloyd thought but possibly worth trying.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, one fine morning in October, behold Master Bert in a rather
+perturbed frame of mind trotting along beside his father, who pretended
+not to be aware of his son's feelings, although at the same time seeking
+in every way to divert him. But it was not with much success. Bert felt
+thoroughly nervous over the new experience that awaited him. He had
+never seen Mr. Garrison, who was to be his teacher, and imagined him as
+a tall, thin man with a long beard, a stern face, a harsh voice, and an
+ever-ready "cat-o'-nine tails." As for his future schoolmates, they were
+no doubt a lot of rough, noisy chaps, that would be certain to "put him
+through a course of sprouts" before they would make friends with him.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, such thoughts as these filled Bert's mind, it must not be
+wondered at that he lagged a good deal both as to his talking and
+walking, although he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> was always spry enough with both when out with his
+father. Much sooner than he wished they reached the building, a large
+rambling stone structure, only one room of which was occupied by the
+school; they climbed the broad free-stone staircase to the upper storey,
+knocked at a door from behind which came a confused hum of voices, and
+being bidden "Come in," entered a big room that at first seemed to Bert
+to be completely filled by a misty sea of faces with every eye turned
+right upon him. He cowered before this curious scrutiny, and but for his
+father's restraining grasp would probably have attempted a wild dash for
+the still unclosed door, when he heard his father saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, Mr. Garrison; I have brought my boy to place him in your
+care for a while, if you will have him as a pupil." Looking up, Bert
+beheld a person approaching very different from the schoolmaster of his
+gloomy anticipations.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Garrison was indeed tall, but there the similarity ended. He was
+youthful, slight, and very attractive in appearance, his manner being
+exceedingly graceful and easy, as he came forward with a winning smile
+upon his countenance, and extending his right hand to Mr. Lloyd, placed
+the other upon Bert's shoulder, and said, in a mellow, pleasant voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I shall be very glad indeed to have your boy
+in my school, and if he is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> anything like as good a man as his father,
+he will make one of my very best pupils."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd laughed heartily at this flattering remark.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to that, Bert," said he. "When you are in any doubt just how to
+behave, you have only to ask yourself what I would do under the same
+circumstances, and act accordingly." Then, turning to Mr. Garrison, he
+said: "Perhaps you would like me to join your school, too, so as to set
+a good example to the other boys."</p>
+
+<p>"Right glad would I be to have you, Mr. Lloyd," answered Mr. Garrison,
+with a cordial smile. "Many a time I find my boys almost too much for
+one man to handle."</p>
+
+<p>Bert, clinging fast to his father's hand, and half-hoping he was in
+earnest, felt a pang of disappointment when he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid it's too late, Mr. Garrison. My school-days are past;
+except so far as I may be able to live them over with this little chap
+here. I will leave him with you now; do your best with him. He can learn
+well enough when he likes, but he is just as fond of fun as any
+youngster of his age." Then giving Bert an affectionate pat on the
+shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "Now, be a man, Bert," Mr. Lloyd
+went away, and Bert followed Mr. Garrison up to the desk, where his
+name, age, and address were duly entered in the register book.</p>
+
+<p>The next business was to assign him a seat. A few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> questions as to what
+he knew showed that his proper place was in the junior class of all, and
+there accordingly Mr. Garrison led him. A vacancy was found for him in a
+long range of seats, extending from the door almost up to the desk, and
+he was bidden sit down beside a boy who had been eyeing him with lively
+curiosity from the moment of his entrance into the room. So soon as Mr.
+Garrison went away, this boy opened fire upon the new-comer.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, sonny, whats yer name?" he asked, with unhesitating abruptness.</p>
+
+<p>Bert looked the questioner all over before replying. He was a short,
+stout, stubble-haired chap, evidently a year or two older than himself,
+with a broad, good-humoured face, and the inspection being, upon the
+whole, satisfactory, Bert replied, very pleasantly:</p>
+
+<p>"Bert Lloyd&mdash;and what's yours?"</p>
+
+<p>Ignoring the question put to him, the other boy gave a sort of grunt
+that might be taken as an expression of approval of his new schoolmate's
+name, and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you don't live down our way; never seen you before, that I know
+of."</p>
+
+<p>"I live in Fort Street. Where do you live?" replied Bert, giving
+question for question.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm a West-ender," said the other, meaning that his home was in the
+western part of the city.</p>
+
+<p>"But whats your name?" asked Bert again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my name's Frank Bowser," was the careless reply. "But everybody
+calls me 'Shorty,' and you may as well, too."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Bert. And the two began to feel quite good friends at
+once.</p>
+
+<p>As the morning passed, and Bert came to feel more at home, he took in
+the details of his surroundings. Mr. Garrison's school consisted of some
+fifty boys, ranging in age from sixteen downward, Bert being about the
+youngest of them all. They all belonged to the better class, and were,
+upon the whole, a very presentable lot of pupils. Scanning their
+countenances curiously as they sat at their desks or stood up in rows
+before the teacher to recite, Bert noticed more than one face that he
+instinctively liked, and, being charmed with Mr. Garrison, and well
+pleased with his new friend "Shorty," his first impressions were
+decidedly favourable.</p>
+
+<p>He had, of course, nothing to do that morning, save to look about him,
+but Mr. Garrison gave him a list of books to be procured, and lessons to
+be learned in them before the school broke up for the day; and with this
+in his pocket he went home in excellent spirits, to tell them all there,
+how well he had got on his first day in school.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<h3>SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert had not been long at Mr. Garrison's school before he discovered
+that it was conducted on what might fairly be described as
+"go-as-you-please" principles. A sad lack of system was its chief
+characteristic. He meant well enough by his pupils, and was constantly
+making spurts in the direction of reform and improvement, but as often
+falling back into the old irregular ways.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of the matter was that he not only was not a schoolmaster by
+instinct, but he had no intention of being one by profession. He had
+simply adopted teaching as a temporary expedient to tide over a
+financial emergency, and intended to drop it so soon as his object was
+accomplished. His heart was in his profession, not in his school, and
+the work of teaching was at best an irksome task, to be got through with
+each day as quickly as possible. Had Mr. Lloyd fully understood this, he
+would never have placed Bert there. But he did not; and, moreover, he
+was interested in young Mr. Garrison, who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> had many difficulties to
+encounter in making his way, and he wished to help him.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, Mr. Garrison kept no record of attendance, either of
+the whole school, or of the different classes into which it was divided.
+A boy might come in an hour after the proper time, or be away for a
+whole day without either his lateness or his absence being observed. As
+a consequence "meeching"&mdash;that is, taking a holiday without leave from
+either parents or teachers&mdash;was shamefully common. Indeed, there was
+hardly a day that one or more boys did not "meech." If by any chance
+they were missed, it was easy to get out of the difficulty by making
+some excuse about having been sick, or mother having kept them at home
+to do some work, and so forth. Schoolboys are always fertile in excuses,
+and, only too often, indifferent as to the quantity of truth these may
+contain.</p>
+
+<p>Another curious feature of Mr. Garrison's system, or rather lack of
+system, was that he kept no record of the order of standing in the
+classes; and so, when the class in geography, for instance, was called
+to recite, the boys would come tumbling pell-mell out of their seats,
+and crowd tumultuously to the space in front of the desk, with the
+invariable result that the smaller boys would be sent to the bottom of
+the class, whether they deserved to be there or not. Then as to the
+hearing of the lesson, there was absolutely no rule about it. Sometimes
+the questions would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> divided impartially among the whole class.
+Sometimes they would all be asked of a single boy, and if he happened to
+answer correctly,&mdash;which, however, was an extremely rare
+occurrence,&mdash;the class would be dismissed without one of the others
+being questioned.</p>
+
+<p>Another peculiarity of Mr. Garrison's was his going out on business for
+an hour or more at a time, and leaving the school in charge of one of
+the older boys, who would exercise the authority thus conferred upon him
+in a lax and kindly, or severe and cruel manner, according to his
+disposition. One of the boys generally chosen for this duty was a big,
+good-hearted fellow named Munro; another was an equally big, but
+sour-dispositioned chap named Siteman; and whenever Mr. Garrison showed
+signs of going out, there was always intense excitement among the boys,
+to see who would be appointed monitor, and lively satisfaction, or deep
+disappointment, according to the choice made.</p>
+
+<p>It was a little while, of course, before Bert found all this out, and in
+the meantime he made good headway in the school, because his father took
+care that his lessons were well learned every evening before he went to
+bed; and Mr. Garrison soon discovered that whoever else might fail,
+there was one boy in Bert's classes that could be depended upon for a
+right answer, and that was Bert himself.</p>
+
+<p>There was another person who noticed Bert's ready accuracy, and that was
+"Shorty" Bowser.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Say, Bert," said he one day, "how is that you always have your lessons
+down so fine? You never seem to trip up at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Because father always sees that I learn 'em," answered Bert. "If I
+don't learn 'em in the evening, I've got to do it before breakfast in
+the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish my dad 'ud do as much for me; but he don't seem to care a cent
+whether I ever learn 'em or not," said poor Shorty, ruefully. For he was
+pretty sure to miss two out of every three questions asked him, and Mr.
+Garrison thought him one of his worst scholars.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't your mother help you, then?" asked Bert, with interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Got no mother," was the reply, while Shorty's eyes shone suspiciously.
+"Mother's been dead this good while."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Bert, in tones of genuine sympathy that went
+right to Frank Bowser's heart, and greatly strengthened the liking he
+had felt from the first for his new schoolmate.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before he gave proof of what he thought of Bert in a
+very practical way. They were for the most part in the same classes, and
+it soon became evident that Shorty felt very proud of his friend's
+accuracy at recitation. That he should remain at the foot while Bert
+worked his way up steadily toward the head of the class, did not arouse
+the slightest feeling of jealousy in his honest heart;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> but, on the
+contrary, a frank admiration that did him infinite credit.</p>
+
+<p>But it was just the other way with Bob Brandon, an overgrown, lanky boy,
+who seemed to have taken a dislike to Bert from the first, and seized
+every opportunity of acting disagreeably toward him. Being so much
+smaller, Bert had to endure his slights as best he could, but he found
+it very hard, and particularly so that Bob should prevent him from
+getting his proper place in his class. Again and again would Bert pass
+Bob, who, indeed, rarely knew his lessons; but so sure as the class
+reassembled, Bob would roughly shoulder his way toward the top and Bert
+would have to take a lower position, unless Mr. Garrison happened to
+notice what was taking place and readjusted matters, which, however, did
+not often occur.</p>
+
+<p>This sort of thing had been going on for some time, until at last one
+day Bert felt so badly over it that when he went back to his seat he
+buried his head in his hands and burst out crying, much to the surprise
+of Shorty, who at once leaned over and asked, with much concern:</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, Bert? Missed your lesson?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert checked his tears and told his trouble.</p>
+
+<p>"Sho! that's what's the matter, hey? I guess I'll fix Bob as sure as my
+name's Bowser."</p>
+
+<p>"What'll you do?" asked Bert. "Tell the master?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. No tattling for me," replied Shorty,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> vigorously. "I'll just
+punch his head for him, see if I don't."</p>
+
+<p>And he was as good as his word. Immediately after the dismissal of the
+school, while the boys still lingered on the playground, Shorty stalked
+up to Bob Brandon, and told him if he didn't stop shoving Bert Lloyd out
+of his proper place in the classes he would punch his head. Whereat Bob
+Brandon laughed contemptuously, and was rewarded with a blow on the face
+that fairly made him stagger. Then, of course, there was a fight, the
+boys forming a ring around the combatants, and Bert holding his
+champion's coat and hat, and hardly knowing whether to cry or to cheer.
+The fight did not last long. Bob was the taller, but Frank the stouter
+of the two. Bob, like most bullies, was a coward, but Frank was as
+plucky as he was strong. Burning with righteous wrath, Frank went at his
+opponent hammer and tongs, and after a few minutes' ineffective parrying
+and dodging, the latter actually ran out of the ring, thoroughly beaten,
+leaving Frank in possession of the field, to receive the applause of his
+companions, and particularly of Bert, who gave him a warm hug, saying
+gratefully:</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, good Shorty. I'm so glad you beat him."</p>
+
+<p>That fight united the two boys in firmer bonds of friendship than ever,
+especially as it proved quite effective so far as Bob Brandon was
+concerned, as he needed no other lesson. It was curious how Bert<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and
+Frank reacted upon one another. At first the influence proceeded mainly
+from Bert to Frank, the latter being much impressed by his friend's
+attention to his lessons and good behaviour in school, and somewhat
+stirred up to emulate these virtues. But after Bert had been going to
+the school for some little time, and the novelty had all worn off, he
+began to lose some of his ardour and to imitate Frank's happy-go-lucky
+carelessness. Instead of being one of the first boys in the school of a
+morning, he would linger and loiter on the playground until he would be
+among those who were the last to take their places. He also began to
+take less interest in his lessons, and in his standing in the classes,
+and but for the care exercised at home would have gone to school very
+ill prepared.</p>
+
+<p>Frank Bowser was not by any means a bad boy. He had been carelessly
+brought up, and was by nature of rather a reckless disposition, but he
+generally preferred right to wrong, and could, upon the whole, be
+trusted to behave himself under ordinary circumstances, at all events.
+His influence upon Bert, while it certainly would not help him much,
+would not harm him seriously. He did get him into trouble one day,
+however, in a way that Bert was long in forgetting.</p>
+
+<p>The winter had come, and over in one corner of the playground was a
+slide of unusual length and excellence, upon which the Garrison boys had
+fine times every day before and after school. Coming up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> one morning
+early, on purpose to enjoy this slide, Bert was greatly disappointed to
+find it in possession of a crowd of roughs from the upper streets, who
+clearly intended to keep it all to themselves so long as they pleased.
+While Bert, standing at a safe distance, was watching the usurpers with
+longing eyes, Shorty came up, and, taking in the situation, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Let 'em alone, Bert; I know of another slide just as good, a couple of
+squares off. Let's go over there."</p>
+
+<p>"But, isn't it most school time?" objected Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," replied Shorty. "There's ten minutes yet. Come along." And
+thus assured, Bert complied.</p>
+
+<p>The slide was farther away than Shorty had said, but proved to be very
+good when they did reach it, and they enjoyed it so much that the time
+slipped away unheeded, until presently the town clock on the hill above
+them boomed out ten, in notes of solemn warning.</p>
+
+<p>"My sakes!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "There's ten o'clock. What will we
+do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Guess we'd better not go to school at all. Mr. Garrison will never miss
+us," suggested Shorty.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to meech?" asked Bert, with some indignation.</p>
+
+<p>"That's about it," was the reply. "What's the harm?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, you know it ain't right; I'm not going to do it if you are." And
+Bert really meant what he said.</p>
+
+<p>But, as luck would have it, on their way back to the school, what should
+they meet but that spectacle, one of the most attractive of the winter's
+sights in the eyes of a Halifax schoolboy, a fireman's sleigh drive.
+Driving gaily along the street, between lines of spectators, came sleigh
+after sleigh, drawn by four, six, or even eight carefully matched and
+brightly decked horses, and filled to overflowing with the firemen and
+their fair friends, while bands of music played merry tunes, to which
+the horses seemed to step in time.</p>
+
+<p>Bert and Shorty had of course to stop and see this fine sight, and it
+chanced that when it was about one-half passed, one of the big eight
+horse teams got tangled up with a passing sleigh, and a scene of
+confusion ensued that took a good while to set right. When at length all
+was straightened out, and the procession of sleighs had passed, Shorty
+asked a gentleman to tell him the time.</p>
+
+<p>"Five minutes to eleven, my lad," was the startling reply.</p>
+
+<p>Shorty looked significantly at Bert. "Most too late now, don't you
+think?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert hesitated. He shrank from the ordeal of entering the crowded
+schoolroom, and being detected and punished by Mr. Garrison, in the
+presence of all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> the others. Yet he felt that it would be better to do
+that than not go to school at all&mdash;in other words, meech.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, come along, Bert," said Shorty; "old Garrison can do without us
+to-day."</p>
+
+<p>Still Bert stood irresolute.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's go down and see the big steamer that came in last night,"
+persisted Shorty, who was determined not to go to school, and to keep
+Bert from going too.</p>
+
+<p>Yielding more to Shorty's influence than to the attraction of the
+steamer, Bert gave way, and spent the rest of the morning playing about,
+until it was the usual time for going home.</p>
+
+<p>He said nothing at home about what he had done, and the next morning
+went back to school, hoping, with all his heart, that his absence had
+not been noted, and that no questions would be asked.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not to be.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the opening of the school when all were assembled and quiet
+obtained, Mr. Garrison sent a thrill of expectation through the boys by
+calling out, in severe tones, while his face was clouded with anger:</p>
+
+<p>"Frank Bowser and Cuthbert Lloyd come to the desk."</p>
+
+<p>With pale faces and drooping heads the boys obeyed, Frank whispering in
+Bert's ear as they went up:</p>
+
+<p>"Tell him you were kept at home."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Trembling in every nerve, the two culprits stood before their teacher.
+Mr. Garrison was evidently much incensed. A spasm of reform had seized
+him. His eyes had been opened to the prevalence of "meeching," and he
+determined to put a stop to it by making an example of the present
+offenders. He had missed them both from school the day before, and
+suspected the cause.</p>
+
+<p>"Young gentlemen," said he, in his most chilling tones, "you were absent
+yesterday. Have you any reason to give?"</p>
+
+<p>Frank without answering looked at Bert, while the whole school held
+their breath in suspense. Bert remained silent. It was evident that a
+sharp struggle was going on within. Becoming impatient, Mr. Garrison
+struck the desk with his hands, and said, sternly:</p>
+
+<p>"Answer me this moment. Have you any excuse?"</p>
+
+<p>With a quick, decided movement, Bert lifted his head, and looking
+straight into Mr. Garrison's face with his big brown eyes, said,
+clearly:</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. I meeched."</p>
+
+<p>Quite taken aback by this frank confession, Mr. Garrison paused a
+moment, and then, turning to Frank, asked:</p>
+
+<p>"And how about you, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Without lifting his head, Frank muttered, "I meeched, too," in tones
+audible only to his questioner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So pleased was Mr. Garrison with Bert's honesty, that he would have been
+glad to let him off with a reprimand; but the interests of good
+discipline demanded sterner measures. Accordingly, he called to one of
+his monitors:</p>
+
+<p>"Munro, will you please go over to the Acadian School and get the
+strap?"</p>
+
+<p>For be it known that Mr. Garrison shared the ownership of a strap with
+his brother, who taught a school in an adjoining block, and had to send
+for it when a boy was to be punished.</p>
+
+<p>While Munro was gone, Bert and Frank stood before the desk, both feeling
+deeply their position, and dreading what was yet to come. When Munro
+returned, bearing the strap&mdash;a business-like looking affair, about two
+feet in length&mdash;Mr. Garrison laid it on the desk, and seemed very
+reluctant to put it in use. At length, overcoming his disinclination, he
+rose to his feet, and, taking it up, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Cuthbert Lloyd, come forward!"</p>
+
+<p>Bert, his head drooping upon his breast, and his face flushed and pale
+by turns, moved slowly forward. Grasping the strap, Mr. Garrison raised
+it to bring it down upon Bert's outstretched hand, when suddenly a
+thought struck him that brought a look of immense relief to his
+countenance, and he arrested the movement. Turning to the boys, who were
+watching him with wondering eyes, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Boys, I ask for your judgment. If Bert and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> Frank say, before you all,
+that they are sorry for what they have done, and will promise never to
+do it again, may I not relieve them of the whipping?"</p>
+
+<p>A hearty and unanimous chorus of "Yes, sir," "Yes, sir," came from the
+school at once.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, my lads, do you hear that?" continued Mr. Garrison in a kindly
+tone, turning to the two offenders. "Will you not say you are sorry, and
+will never meech again."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry, and promise never to do so again," said Bert, in a clear
+distinct voice, as the tears gathered in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry, and won't do it again," echoed Frank, in a lower tone.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right, boys," said Mr. Garrison, his face full of pleasure. "I
+am sure you mean every word of it. Go to your seats now, and we will
+resume work."</p>
+
+<p>It took the school some little time to settle down again after this
+unusual and moving episode, the effect of which was to raise both Mr.
+Garrison and Bert a good deal higher in the estimation of every one
+present, and to put a check upon the practice of "meeching" that went
+far toward effecting a complete cure.</p>
+
+<p>Although the result had been so much better than he expected, Bert felt
+his disgrace keenly, and so soon as he got home from school he told the
+whole story from the start to his mother, making no excuses for himself,
+but simply telling the truth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>His mother, of course, was very much surprised and pained, but knew well
+that her boy needed no further reproaches or censure to realise the full
+extent of his wrong-doing. Bidding him, therefore, seek forgiveness of
+God as well as of her, she said that she would tell his father all about
+it, which was a great relief to Bert, who dreaded lest he should have to
+perform this trying task himself; and so the matter rested for the
+time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>When Mr. Lloyd heard the story of Bert's "meeching," it was evident that
+it hurt him sorely. He was quite prepared for a reasonable amount of
+waywardness in his boy, but this seriously exceeded his expectations. He
+could not, of course, put himself exactly in Bert's place, and he was
+inclined to think him guilty of far more deliberate wrong than poor Bert
+had for a moment contemplated.</p>
+
+<p>Then, again, he was much puzzled as to what should be done with
+reference to Frank Bowser. He had evidently been Bert's tempter, and
+Bert ought, perhaps, to be forbidden to have any more to do with him
+than he could possibly help. On the other hand, if Bert were to be
+interdicted from the companionship of his schoolmates, how would he ever
+learn to take care of himself among other dangerous associations? This
+was a lesson he must learn some day. Should he not begin now?</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. Lloyd was not a little bewildered, and his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> talk with Bert did
+not give him much light; for while Bert, of course, was thoroughly
+penitent and ready to promise anything, what he had to tell about Frank
+was simply how good-natured and generous and plucky he was, and so
+forth.</p>
+
+<p>The three of them, father, mother, and sister, held a consultation over
+the matter that night after Bert had gone to bed.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I felt more sure as to what is the wisest thing to do," said Mr.
+Lloyd. "We can't keep Bert in a glass case, and yet it seems as if we
+should do our best to protect him from every evil influence. I would
+like to know more about that Bowser boy."</p>
+
+<p>"Bert tells me he has no mother," said Mrs. Lloyd, in sympathetic tones,
+"and from what he says himself, his father does not seem to take much
+interest in him. Poor boy! he cannot have much to help him at that
+rate."</p>
+
+<p>"He's a good, sturdy little chap," put in Mary. "He came down from
+school with Bert one day. He seems very fond of him."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what had we better do?" asked Mr. Lloyd. "Forbid Bert to make a
+companion of him, or say nothing about it, and trust Bert to come out
+all right?"</p>
+
+<p>"I feel as though we ought to forbid Bert," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "Frank
+Bowser's influence cannot help him much, and it may harm him a good
+deal."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose you put that the other way, mother,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> spoke up Mary, her face
+flushing under the inspiration of the thought that had just occurred to
+her. "Frank Bowser has no help at home, and Bert has. Why, then, not say
+that Bert's influence cannot harm Frank, and it may help him a good
+deal?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mary, my dear," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, bending over to pat her
+affectionately on the shoulder, "that's a brilliant idea of yours.
+You're right. Bert should help Frank, and not let Frank harm him. We
+must make Bert understand that clearly, and then there will be nothing
+to fear."</p>
+
+<p>And so the consultation closed, with Mary bearing off the honours of
+having made the best suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>It was acted upon without delay. Calling Bert to him next morning while
+they were awaiting breakfast, Mr. Lloyd laid the matter before him:</p>
+
+<p>"Bert," said he, kindly, "we were talking about you last night, and
+wondering whether we ought to forbid your making a companion of Frank
+Bowser. What do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father, don't do that," answered Bert, looking up with a startled
+expression. "He's been so good to me. You remember how he served Bob
+Brandon for shoving me down in class?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Bert; but I'm afraid he's leading you into mischief, and that is
+not the sort of companion I want for you."</p>
+
+<p>Bert dropped his head again. He had no answer ready this time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But then there are always two sides to a question, Bert," continued Mr.
+Lloyd, while Bert pricked up his ears hopefully. "Why should you not
+help Frank to keep out of mischief, instead of his leading you into it?
+What do you say to that?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert did not seem quite to understand, so his father went on:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you see, Bert? You must either help Frank to be better, or he
+will cause you to be worse. Now, which is it to be?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert saw it clearly now.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, father," he cried, his face beaming with gladness at this new turn
+to the situation, "I'll do my best to be a good boy, and I know Shorty
+will, too, for he always likes to do what I do."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well then, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd, "that's a bargain. And now,
+suppose you invite Frank, or 'Shorty,' as you call him, to spend next
+Saturday afternoon with you, and take tea with us."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father, that will be splendid," cried Bert, delightedly. "We can
+coast in the fort all the afternoon and have fun in the evening. I'm
+sure Shorty will be so glad to come."</p>
+
+<p>The question thus satisfactorily settled, Bert took his breakfast, and
+went off to school in high glee and great impatience to see Frank, for
+the invitation he bore for him fairly burned in his mouth, so to speak.</p>
+
+<p>As he expected, Frank needed no pressing to accept it. He did not get
+many invitations, poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> chap! and the prospect of an afternoon at Bert's
+home seemed very attractive to him. He did enjoy himself thoroughly,
+too, even if he was so shy and awkward that Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were
+afraid to say very much to him; he seemed to find it so hard to answer
+them.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Lloyd got on much better with him. Although his boyhood was a
+good way in the past, he kept its memories fresh, and could enter
+heartily into the discussion of any of the sports the younger generation
+delighted in. He knew all the phrases peculiar to baseball, cricket,
+marbles, and so forth, and fairly astonished Frank by his intimate
+knowledge of those amusements, so that ere long Frank, without knowing
+just how it happened, was chatting away as freely as though he were out
+on the Garrison playground instead of being in Mr. Lloyd's parlour.</p>
+
+<p>Having once got him well started, Mr. Lloyd led him on to talk about
+himself and his home, and his way of spending his time, and thus learned
+a great deal more about him than he had yet known. One fact that he
+learned pointed out a way in which Bert's influence could be exerted for
+good at once. Frank attended no Sunday school. He went to church
+sometimes, but not very often, as his father took little interest in
+church-going, but he never went to Sunday school; in fact, he had not
+been there for years. Mr. Lloyd said nothing himself on the subject to
+Frank. He thought it better to leave it all to Bert.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After Frank had gone, leaving behind him a very good impression upon the
+whole, Mr. Lloyd told Bert of the opportunity awaiting him.</p>
+
+<p>"Wouldn't you like to ask Frank to go with you to Sunday school, Bert?"
+he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, I would, father," replied Bert, promptly; "and I'm sure he'd
+go, too, and that Mr. Silver would be very glad to have him in our
+class."</p>
+
+<p>When Bert, however, came to talk to Frank about it, he found him not
+quite so willing to go as he had been to accept the invitation for
+Saturday.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not anxious to go to Sunday school, Bert," said he. "I shan't know
+anybody there but you, and it'll be awfully slow."</p>
+
+<p>"But you'll soon get to know plenty of people," urged Bert; "and Mr.
+Silver is so nice."</p>
+
+<p>And so they argued, Frank holding back, partly because his shyness made
+him shrink from going into a strange place, and partly because, having
+been accustomed to spend his Sunday afternoons pretty much as he
+pleased, he did not like the idea of giving up his liberty. But Bert was
+too much in earnest to be put off. The suggestion of his father that he
+should try to do Frank some good had taken strong hold upon his mind,
+and he urged, and pleaded, and argued until, at last, Frank gave way,
+and promised to try the Sunday school for a while, at any rate.</p>
+
+<p>Bert reported the decision at home with much pride and satisfaction. He
+had no doubt that when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> once Frank found out what a pleasant place the
+Sunday school was, and how kind and nice Mr. Silver&mdash;his teacher
+there&mdash;was, he would want to go every Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>The Sunday school of Calvary Baptist Church certainly had about as
+pleasant and cheery quarters as could be desired. For one thing, it was
+not held in a damp, dark, unventilated basement as so many Sunday
+schools are.</p>
+
+<p>And, oh, what a shame&mdash;what an extraordinary perversion of sense this
+condemning of the children to the cellars of the churches is! Just as
+though anything were good enough for them, when in them lies the hope of
+the Church, and every possible means should be employed to twine their
+young affections about it! But these words do not apply to the Calvary
+Sunday School, for it was not held in a dingy basement, but in a
+separate building that united in itself nearly every good quality such
+an edifice should possess. It was of ample size, full of light and air,
+had free exposure to the sunshine, and was so arranged that every
+convenience was offered for the work of the school. Around the central
+hall were arranged rooms for the Bible classes, the infant class, and
+the library, so planned that by throwing up sliding doors they became
+part of the large room. The walls were hung with pictures illustrating
+Bible scenes, and with mottoes founded upon Bible texts; and finally,
+the benches were of a special make that was particularly comfortable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>All this was quite a revelation to Frank when, after some little
+coaxing, Bert brought him to the school. His conception of a Sunday
+school was of going down into a gloomy basement, and being lectured
+about the Bible by a severe old man with a long grey beard. Instead of
+that, he found himself in one of the brightest rooms he had ever seen,
+and receiving a cordial welcome from a handsome young gentleman, to whom
+Bert had just said:</p>
+
+<p>"This is my friend Frank, Mr. Silver. He's going to come to school with
+me after this."</p>
+
+<p>"Very glad indeed to have you, Frank," said Mr. Silver, giving him a
+warm grasp of the hand. "Sit right down with Bert, and make yourself at
+home."</p>
+
+<p>And Frank sat down, so surprised and pleased with everything as to be
+half inclined to wonder if he was not dreaming. Then the fine singing,
+as the whole school, led by an organ and choir, burst forth into song,
+the bright pleasant remarks of the superintendent, Mr. Hamilton, Bert's
+ideal of a "Christian soldier," and the simple earnest prayer
+offered,&mdash;all impressed Frank deeply.</p>
+
+<p>No less interesting did he find Mr. Silver's teaching of the lesson. Mr.
+Silver attached great importance to his work in the Sunday school.
+Nothing was permitted to interfere with thorough preparation for it, and
+he always met his class brimful of information, illustration, and
+application, bearing upon the passage appointed for the day. And not
+only so, but by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> shrewd questioning and personal appeal he sent the
+precious words home to his young hearers and fixed them deep in their
+memories. He was a rare teacher in many respects, and Bert was very fond
+of him. Frank did not fail to be attracted by him. As he and Bert left
+the school together, Bert asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Frank, how do you like my Sunday school?"</p>
+
+<p>"First rate," replied Frank, heartily. "Say, but isn't Mr. Silver nice?
+Seems as though I'd known him for ever so long instead of just to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Guess he is nice," said Bert. "He's just the best teacher in the
+school. You'll come every Sunday now, won't you, Frank?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think so," answered Frank; "I might just as well be going there as
+loafing about on Sunday afternoon doing nothing."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was very much pleased when he heard of Bert's success in
+getting Frank to the Sunday school. He recognised in Bert many of those
+qualities which make a boy a leader among his companions, and his desire
+was that his son's influence should always tell for that which was
+manly, pure, and upright. To get him interested in recruiting for the
+Sunday school was a very good beginning in church work, and Mr. Lloyd
+felt thankful accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>Neither was he alone in feeling pleased and thankful. Mr. John Bowser,
+Frank's father, although he showed great indifference to both the
+intellectual and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> moral welfare of his boy, was, nevertheless, not
+opposed to others taking an interest in him. He cared too little about
+either church or Sunday school to see that Frank was a regular
+attendant. But he was very willing that somebody else should take an
+interest in the matter. Moreover, he felt not a little complacency over
+the fact that his son was chosen as a companion by Lawyer Lloyd's son.
+Engrossed as he was in the making of money, a big, burly, gruff,
+uncultured contractor, he found time somehow to acquire a great respect
+for Mr. Lloyd. He thought him rather too scrupulous and straightforward
+a man to be <i>his</i> lawyer, but he admired him greatly, nevertheless; and,
+although he said nothing about it, secretly congratulated himself upon
+the way things were going. He had little idea that the circle of
+influence Bert had unconsciously started would come to include him
+before its force would be spent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>BERT AT HOME.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was an article of faith in the Lloyd family that there was not a
+house in Halifax having a pleasanter situation than theirs, and they
+certainly had very good grounds for their belief. Something has already
+been told about its splendid view of the broad harbour, furrowed with
+white-capped waves, when of an afternoon the breeze blew in smartly from
+the great ocean beyond; of its snug security from northern blasts; of
+the cosy nook it had to itself in a quiet street; and of its ample
+exposure to the sunshine. But, perhaps, the chief charm of all was the
+old fort whose grass-grown casemates came so close to the foot of the
+garden, that ever since Bert was big enough to jump, he had cherished a
+wild ambition to leap from the top of the garden fence to the level top
+of the nearest casemate.</p>
+
+<p>This old fort, with its long, obsolete, muzzle-loading thirty-two
+pounders, was associated with Bert's earliest recollection. His nurse
+had carried him there to play about in the long, rank grass underneath<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+the shade of the wide-spreading willows that crested the seaward slope
+before he was able to walk; and ever since, summer and winter, he had
+found it his favourite playground.</p>
+
+<p>The cannons were an unfailing source of delight to him. Mounted high
+upon their cumbrous carriages, with little pyramids of round iron balls
+that would never have any other use than that of ornament lying beside
+them, they made famous playthings. He delighted in clambering up and
+sitting astride their smooth, round bodies as though they were horses;
+or in peering into the mysterious depths of their muzzles. Indeed, once
+when he was about five years old he did more than peer in. He tried to
+crawl in, and thereby ran some risk of injury.</p>
+
+<p>He had been playing ball with some of the soldier's children, and seemed
+so engrossed in the amusement that his mother, who had taken him into
+the fort, thought he might very well be left for a while, and so she
+went off some little distance to rest in quiet, in a shady corner. She
+had not been there more than a quarter of an hour, when she was startled
+by the cries of the children, who seemed much alarmed over something;
+and hastening back to where she had left Bert, she beheld a sight that
+would have been most ludicrous if it had not been so terrifying.</p>
+
+<p>Protruding from the mouth of one of the cannons, and kicking very
+vigorously, were two sturdy, mottled legs that she instantly recognised
+as belonging to her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> son, while from the interior came strange muffled
+sounds that showed the poor little fellow was screaming in dire
+affright, as well he might in so distressing a situation. Too young to
+be of any help, Bert's playmates were gathered about him crying lustily,
+only one of them having had the sense to run off to the carpenter's shop
+near by to secure assistance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 378px;">
+<img src="images/image128.jpg" width="378" height="600" alt="&quot;Fortunately, a big soldier came along, and, slipping
+both hands as far up on Bert&#39;s body as he could reach, with a strong,
+steady pull drew him out of the cannon.&quot;&mdash;Page 119." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Fortunately, a big soldier came along, and, slipping
+both hands as far up on Bert&#39;s body as he could reach, with a strong,
+steady pull drew him out of the cannon.&quot;&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_119'><b>119</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd at once grasped Bert's feet and strove to pull him out, but
+found it no easy matter. In his efforts to free himself he had only
+stuck the more firmly, and was now too securely fastened for Mrs. Lloyd
+to extricate him. Fortunately, however, a big soldier came along at this
+juncture, and, slipping both hands as far up on Bert's body as he could
+reach, grasped him firmly, and with one strong, steady pull, drew him
+out of the cannon.</p>
+
+<p>When he got him out, Bert presented so comical a spectacle that his
+stalwart rescuer had to lay him down and laugh until the tears rolled
+down his cheeks. Mrs. Lloyd, too, relieved from all anxiety, and feeling
+a reaction from her first fright, could not help following his example.
+His face, black with grime, which was furrowed with tears, his hands
+even blacker, his nice clothes smutched and soiled, and indeed, his
+whole appearance suggested a little chimney-sweep that had forgotten to
+put on his working clothes before going to business. Bert certainly was
+enough to make even the gravest laugh.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond a bruise or two, he was, however, not a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> whit the worse for his
+curious experience, which had come about in this way:&mdash;While they were
+playing with the ball, one of the children had, out of mischief, picked
+it up and thrown it into the cannon, where it had stayed. They tried to
+get it out by means of sticks, but could not reach it. Then Bert, always
+plucky and enterprising to the verge of rashness, undertook to go after
+the ball himself. The other boys at once joined forces to lift him up
+and push him into the dark cavern, and then alarmed by his cries and
+unavailing struggles to get out again, began to cry themselves, and thus
+brought Mrs. Lloyd to the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was very much amused when he heard about Bert's adventure.</p>
+
+<p>"You've beaten Shakespeare, Bert," said he, after a hearty laugh, as
+Mrs. Lloyd graphically described the occurrence. "For Shakespeare says a
+man does not seek the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth, until he
+becomes a soldier, but you have found it, unless I am much mistaken,
+before you have fairly begun being a schoolboy."</p>
+
+<p>Bert did not understand the reference to Shakespeare, but he did
+understand that his father was not displeased with him, and that was a
+much more important matter. The next Sunday afternoon, when they went
+for their accustomed stroll in the fort, Bert showed his father the big
+gun whose dark interior he had attempted to explore.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but father, wasn't I frightened when I got in there and couldn't
+get out again!" said he earnestly, clasping his father's hand tightly,
+as the horror of the situation came back to him.</p>
+
+<p>"You were certainly in a tight place, little man," answered Mr. Lloyd,
+"and the next time your ball gets into one of the cannons you had better
+ask one of the artillerymen to get it out for you. He will find it a
+much easier job than getting you out."</p>
+
+<p>Bert loved the old fort and its cannons none the less because of his
+adventure, and as he grew older he learned to drop down into it from the
+garden fence, and climb back again, with the agility of a monkey. The
+garden itself was not very extensive, but Bert took a great deal of
+pleasure in it, too, for he was fond of flowers&mdash;what true boy, indeed,
+is not?&mdash;and it contained a large number within its narrow limits, there
+being no less than two score rose bushes of different varieties, for
+instance. The roses were very plenteous and beautiful when in their
+prime, but at opposite corners of the little garden stood two trees that
+had far more interest for Bert than all the rose trees put together.
+These were two apple trees, planted, no one knew just how or when, which
+had been allowed to grow up at their own will, without pruning or
+grafting, and, as a consequence, were never known to produce fruit that
+was worth eating. Every spring they put forth a brave show of pink and
+white blossoms, as though this year, at all events,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> they were going to
+do themselves credit, and every autumn the result appeared in
+half-a-dozen hard, small, sour, withered-up apples that hardly deserved
+the name. And yet, although these trees showed no signs of repentance
+and amendment, Bert, with the quenchless hopefulness of boyhood, never
+quite despaired of their bringing forth an apple that he could eat
+without having his mouth drawn up into one tight pucker. Autumn after
+autumn he would watch the slowly developing fruit, trusting for the
+best. It always abused his confidence, however, but it was a long time
+before he finally gave it up in despair.</p>
+
+<p>At one side of the garden stood a neat little barn that was also of
+special interest to Bert, for, besides the stall for the cow, there was
+another, still vacant, which Mr. Lloyd had promised should have a pony
+for its tenant so soon as Bert was old enough to be trusted with such a
+playmate.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly a day passed that Bert did not go into the stable, and, standing
+by the little stall, wonder to himself how it would look with a pretty
+pony in it. Of course, he felt very impatient to have the pony, but Mr.
+Lloyd had his own ideas upon that point, and was not to be moved from
+them. He thought that when Bert was ten years old would be quite time
+enough, and so there was nothing to do but to wait, which Bert did, with
+as much fortitude as he could command.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Whatever might be the weather outside, it seemed always warm and sunny
+indoors at Bert's home. The Lloyds lived in an atmosphere of love, both
+human and Divine. They loved one another dearly, but they loved God
+still more, and lived close to Him. Religion was not so much expressed
+as implied in their life. It was not in the least obtrusive, yet one
+could never mistake their point of view. Next to its sincerity, the
+strongest characteristic of their religion was its cheeriness. They saw
+no reason why the children of the King should go mourning all their
+days; on the contrary, was it not rather their duty, as well as their
+privilege, to establish the joy of service?</p>
+
+<p>Brought up amid such influences, Bert was, as a natural consequence,
+entirely free from those strange misconceptions of the true character of
+religion which keep so many of the young out of the kingdom. He saw
+nothing gloomy or repellent in religion. That he should love and serve
+God seemed as natural to him as that he should love and serve his
+parents. Of their love and care he had a thousand tokens daily. Of the
+Divine love and care he learned from them, and that they should believe
+in it was all the reason he required for his doing the same. He asked no
+further evidence.</p>
+
+<p>There were, of course, times when the spirit of evil stirred within him,
+and moved him to rebel against authority, and to wish, as he put it
+himself one day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> when reminded of the text, "Thou God seest me," that
+"God would let him alone for a while, and not be always looking at him."
+But then he wasn't an angel by any means, but simply a hearty, healthy,
+happy boy, with a fair share of temper, and as much fondness for having
+his own way as the average boy of his age.</p>
+
+<p>His parents were very proud of him. They would have been queer parents
+if they were not. Yet they were careful to disguise it from him as far
+as possible. If there was one thing more than another that Mr. Lloyd
+disliked in children, and, therefore, dreaded for his boy, it was that
+forward, conscious air which comes of too much attention being paid them
+in the presence of their elders. "Little folks should be seen and not
+heard," he would say kindly but firmly to Bert, when that young person
+was disposed to unduly assert himself, and Bert rarely failed to take
+the hint.</p>
+
+<p>One trait of Bert's nature which gave his father great gratification was
+his fondness for reading. He never had to be taught to read. He learned,
+himself. That is, he was so eager to learn that so soon as he had
+mastered the alphabet, he was always taking his picture books to his
+mother or sister, and getting them to spell the words for him. In this
+way he got over all his difficulties with surprising rapidity, and at
+five years of age could read quite easily. As he grew older, he showed
+rather an odd taste in his choice of books. One volume that he read from
+cover to cover<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> before he was eight years old was Layard's "Nineveh."
+Just why this portly sombre-hued volume, with its winged lion stamped in
+gold upon its back, attracted him so strongly, it would not be easy to
+say. The illustrations, of course, had something to do with it, and then
+the fascination of digging down deep into the earth and bringing forth
+all sorts of strange things no doubt influenced him.</p>
+
+<p>Another book that held a wonderful charm for him was the Book of
+Revelation. So carefully did he con this, which he thought the most
+glorious of all writings, that at one time he could recite many chapters
+of it word for word. Its marvellous imagery appealed to his imagination
+if it did nothing more, and took such hold upon his mind that no part of
+the Bible, not even the stories that shine like stars through the first
+books of the Old Testament, was more interesting to him.</p>
+
+<p>Not only was Bert's imagination vivid, but his sympathies were also very
+quick and easily aroused. It was scarcely safe to read to him a pathetic
+tale, his tears were so certain to flow. The story of Gellert's hound,
+faithful unto death, well-nigh broke his heart, and that perfect pearl,
+"Rab and His Friends," bedewed his cheeks, although he read it again and
+again until he knew it almost by heart.</p>
+
+<p>No one ever laughed at his tenderness of heart. He was not taught that
+it was unmanly for a boy to weep. It is an easy thing to chill and
+harden an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> impressionable nature. It is not so easy to soften it again,
+or to bring softness to one that is too hard for its own good.</p>
+
+<p>With such a home, Bert Lloyd could hardly fail to be a happy boy, and no
+one that knew him would ever have thought of him as being anything else.
+He had his dull times, of course. What boy with all his faculties has
+not? And he had his cranky spells, too. But neither the one nor the
+other lasted very long, and the sunshine soon not only broke through the
+clouds, but scattered them altogether. Happy are those natures not given
+to brooding over real or fancied troubles. Gloom never mends matters: it
+can only make them worse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>AN HONOURABLE SCAR.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert was not learning very much at Mr. Garrison's school. He had some
+glimmering of this himself, for he said to Frank one day, after they had
+returned to their seats from having gone through the form&mdash;for really it
+was nothing more&mdash;of saying one of their lessons:</p>
+
+<p>"It's mighty easy work getting through lessons at this school, isn't it,
+Shorty?" And Shorty, being of the same opinion, as he had happened not
+to be asked any questions, and, therefore, had not made any mistakes,
+promptly assented.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so, Bert," said he, "and the oftener he asks Munro and you to
+say the whole lesson, and just gives me the go-by, the better I like
+it."</p>
+
+<p>But Bert was not the only one who noticed that his education was not
+making due progress. His father observed it too, and, after some
+thinking on the subject, made up his mind that he would allow Bert to
+finish the spring term at Mr. Garrison's, and then, after the summer
+holidays, send him to some other school.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The winter passed away and spring drew near. Spring is the most dilatory
+and provoking of all the seasons at Halifax. It advances and retreats,
+pauses and progresses, promises and fails to perform, until it really
+seems, sometimes, as though mid-summer would be at hand and no spring at
+all. With the boys it is a particularly trying time of the year. The
+daily increasing heat of the sun has played havoc with the snow and ice,
+and winter sports are out of the question. Yet the snow and ice&mdash;or
+rather the slush they make&mdash;still lingers on, and renders any kind of
+summer sport impossible. For nearly a month this unsatisfactory state of
+affairs continues, and then, at length, the wet dries up, the frost
+comes out of the ground, the chill leaves the air, and marbles,
+rounders, baseball, and, later on, cricket make glad the hearts and tire
+the legs of the eager boys.</p>
+
+<p>This spring was made memorable for Bert by an occurrence that left its
+mark upon him, lest, perhaps, he might be in danger of forgetting it. In
+front of the large building, in one room of which Mr. Garrison's school
+was held, there was a large open square, known as the Parade. It was a
+bare, stony place kept in order by nobody, and a great resort for the
+roughs of the city, who could there do pretty much what they pleased
+without fear of interruption from the police. On the upper side of this
+square, and over toward the opposite end from Mr. Garrison's, was
+another school, called the National, and having a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> large number of
+scholars, of a somewhat commoner class than those which attended Mr.
+Garrison's. It need hardly be said that the relations between the two
+schools were, to use a diplomatic phrase, "chronically strained." They
+were always at loggerheads. A Garrison boy could hardly encounter a
+National boy without giving or getting a cuff, a matter determined by
+his size, and riots, on a more or less extensive scale, were continually
+taking place when groups of boys representing the two schools would
+happen to meet.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was neither quarrelsome nor pugnacious by nature. He disliked very
+much being on bad terms with anyone, and could not understand why he
+should regard another boy as his natural enemy simply because he
+happened to go to a different school. More than once he had quite an
+argument with Frank Bowser about it. Frank was always full of fight. He
+hated every National boy as vigorously as though each one had
+individually done him some cruel injury. As sure as a collision took
+place, and Frank was present, he was in the thick of it at once, dealing
+blows right and left with all his might.</p>
+
+<p>In obedience to the dictation of his own nature, strengthened by his
+father's advice, Bert kept out of these squabbles so far as he possibly
+could, and as a natural consequence fell under suspicion of being a
+coward. Even Frank began to wonder if he were not afraid, and if it were
+not this which kept him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> back from active participation in the rows. He
+said something about it to Bert one day, and it hurt Bert very much.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not afraid, Shorty; you know well enough I'm not," said he,
+indignantly. "But I'm not going to fight with fellows who never did me
+any harm. It's wrong, that's what it is, and I'm not going to do it. I
+don't care what you say."</p>
+
+<p>"But you ought to chip in sometimes, Bert, or the boys will think that
+you're a coward," urged Frank.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it if they do, Shorty," was Bert's unshaken reply. "I
+don't feel like it myself, and, what's more, father doesn't want me to."</p>
+
+<p>The very next day there was a row of unusual dimensions, brought about
+by one of the Garrison boys at the noon recess having started a fight
+with one of the National boys, which almost in a twinkling of an eye
+involved all the boys belonging to both schools then in the Parade. It
+was a lively scene, that would have gladdened the heart of an Irishman
+homesick for the excitement of Donnybrook Fair. There were at least one
+hundred boys engaged, the sides being pretty evenly matched, and the
+battle ground was the centre of the Parade. To drive the other school in
+ignominious flight from this spot was the object of each boyish
+regiment, and locked in hostile embrace, like the players in a football
+match when a "maul" has been formed, they swayed to and fro, now one
+side gaining, now the other, while shouts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> of "Go in, Nationals!" "Give
+it to them, Garrisons!" mingling with exclamations of anger or pain,
+filled the air.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was not present when the struggle began. In fact, it was well under
+way before he knew anything about it, as he had lingered in the
+schoolroom to ask Mr. Garrison some question after the other boys had
+run out. On going out upon the Parade, he was at first startled by the
+uproar, and then filled with an intense desire to be in the midst of the
+battle. But, remembering his father's injunctions, he paused for a
+moment irresolute. Then he noticed that the National boys were gaining
+the advantage, and the Garrison boys retreating before them. The next
+instant he caught sight of Frank Bowser, who had, of course, been in the
+forefront of the fight, left unsupported by his comrades, and surrounded
+by a circle of threatening opponents. Bert hesitated no longer. With a
+shout of "Come on, boys!" he sprang down the steps, rushed across the
+intervening space, and flung himself into the group around Frank with
+such force that two of the Nationals were hurled to the ground, and
+Frank set at liberty. Inspirited by Bert's gallant onset, the Garrisons
+returned to the charge, the Nationals gave way before them, and Bert was
+just about to raise the shout of victory when a big hulk of a boy who
+had been hovering on the outskirts of the Nationals, too cowardly to
+come to any closer quarter, picked up a stone and threw it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> with wicked
+force straight at Bert's face. His aim was only too good. With a sharp
+thud, the stone struck Bert on his left temple, just behind the eye, and
+the poor boy fell to the ground insensible.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the struggle and confusion ceased, but not before Frank, in a
+passion of fury, had dealt Bert's cowardly assailant a blow that sent
+him reeling to the ground, and had then sprung to his friend's side.</p>
+
+<p>"Get a doctor, some fellow," he shouted, holding up the pale, calm face,
+down which the blood was trickling from an ugly wound. "Let's carry him
+into the school!"</p>
+
+<p>A dozen eager volunteers came forward. Carefully and tenderly Bert was
+lifted up, and carried into the schoolroom, which, fortunately, Mr.
+Garrison had not yet left. Placed upon one of the benches, with Frank's
+coat for a pillow, his head was bathed with cold water, and presently he
+revived, much to the relief and delight of the anxious boys standing
+round. A few minutes later the doctor arrived. With quick, deft fingers
+he stanched the wound, covered it with plaster, enveloped it with
+bandages, and then gave directions that Bert should be sent home in a
+cab without delay.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Bert darling, what does this mean?" exclaimed Mrs. Lloyd, as she
+opened the door for him.</p>
+
+<p>"Ask Frank, mother; my head's aching too bad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> to tell you," replied
+Bert, putting up his hand with a gesture of pain. And so, while Bert lay
+on the sofa, with his mother close beside him, and Mary preparing him a
+refreshing drink, Frank told the story in his own, rough,
+straightforward fashion, making it all so clear, with the help of a word
+now and then from Bert, that when he ended, Mrs. Lloyd, bending over her
+son, kissed him tenderly on the forehead, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"You know, Bert, how I dislike fighting, but I cannot find it in my
+heart to blame you this time. You acted like a hero."</p>
+
+<p>In this opinion Mr. Lloyd, when he came home, fully concurred. He had
+not a word of blame for Bert, but made the boy's heart glad by telling
+him to always stand by his friends when they were in trouble, and then
+he would never be without friends who would stand by him.</p>
+
+<p>Bert's wound took some time to heal, and when it did heal, a scar
+remained that kept its place for many years after. But he did not suffer
+for nought. The incident was productive of good in two directions. It
+established Bert's character for courage beyond all cavil, and it put an
+end to the unseemly rows between the schools. The two masters held a
+consultation, as a result of which they announced to their schools that
+any boys found taking part in such disturbances in future would be first
+publicly whipped, and then expelled; and this threat put an effectual
+stop to the practice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The days and weeks slipped by, and the summer vacation, so eagerly
+looked forward to by all schoolboys, arrived. None were more delighted
+at its arrival than Bert and Frank. Their friendship had grown steadily
+stronger from the day of their first acquaintance. They had few
+disagreements. Frank, although the older and larger of the two, let Bert
+take the lead in almost all cases, for Bert had the more active mind,
+and his plans were generally the better. Happily for the serenity of
+their relations, Bert, while he was fond enough of being the leader,
+never undertook to "boss" his companions. If they did not readily fall
+into line with him, why he simply fell into line with them, and that was
+an end of it. His idea of fun did not consist in being an autocrat, and
+ordering others about. He very much preferred that all should work
+together for whatever common purpose happened to be in their minds at
+the time; and thus it was, that of the boys who played together in the
+old fort, and waded in the shallow water that rippled along the sand
+beach at its foot, no one was more popular than Bert Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>They had fine fun during this summer vacation. Neither Frank nor Bert
+went out of the city, and they played together every day, generally in
+the fort; but sometimes Bert would go with Frank to the Horticultural
+Gardens, where a number of swings made a great attraction for the young
+folk, or down to the point where they would ramble through the woods,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+imagining themselves brave hunters in search of bears, and carrying bows
+and arrows to help out the illusion.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest enjoyment of all, however, was to go out upon the water. Of
+course, they were not allowed to do this by themselves. They were too
+young for that yet, but very often Mr. Lloyd would leave his office
+early in the afternoon in order to take them out in the pretty skiff he
+kept at the fort, or the whole family would spend the long summer
+evenings together on the water.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was at his happiest then. Under his father's directions he was
+vigorously learning to row, and it was very stimulating to have his
+mother and sister as spectators. They took such a lively interest in his
+progress, that he did not mind if they did laugh heartily, but of course
+not unkindly, when sometimes in his eagerness to take an extra big
+stroke he would "catch a crab," and roll over on his back in the bottom
+of the boat, with his feet stuck up like two signals of distress. Bert
+accomplished this a good many times, but it did not discourage him. He
+was up and at it again immediately.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't look at your oar, boys! Don't look at your oar! Keep your faces
+toward the stern," Mr. Lloyd would call out as Bert and Frank tugged
+away manfully, and they, who had been watching their oars to make sure
+that they went into the water just right, would answer "Ay, ay, sir!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+in true sailor fashion; and then for the next few moments they would
+keep their eyes fixed straight astern, only to bring them back again
+soon to those dripping blades that had such a saucy way of getting
+crooked unless they were well watched.</p>
+
+<p>A more delightful place than Halifax harbour of a fine summer evening
+could hardly be desired. The wind, which had been busy making "white
+caps" all the afternoon, went to rest at sundown. The ruffled waters
+sank into a glassy calm, the broad harbour becoming one vast mirror in
+which the rich hues of the sunset, the long dark lines of the wharves,
+and the tall masts of the ships sleeping at their moorings were
+reflected with many a quaint curve and curious involution. Boats of
+every kind, the broad-bottomed dory, the sharp-bowed flat, the trim
+keel-boat, the long low whaler, with their jolly companies, dotted the
+placid surface, while here and there a noisy steam launch saucily puffed
+its way along, the incessant throb of its engine giving warning of its
+approach. Far up the harbour at their moorings off the dockyard, the
+huge men-of-war formed centres around which the boats gathered in
+numerous squads, for every evening the band would play on board these
+floating castles, and the music never seemed more sweet than when it
+floated out over the still waters. Sometimes, too, after the band had
+ceased, the sailors would gather on the forecastle and sing their songs,
+as only sailors can sing, winning round after round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> of applause from
+their appreciative audience in the boats.</p>
+
+<p>All of this was very delightful to Bert. So, too, was the paddling about
+on the beach that fringed the bottom of the fort's grassy slope, and the
+making of miniature forts out of the warm, dry sand, only to have them
+dissolve again before the advancing tide. Just as delightful, too, was
+the clambering over the boulders that marked the ruins of an old pier,
+searching for periwinkles, star-fish, and limpets, with never-ceasing
+wonder at the tenacity with which they held on to the rocks. Playing
+thus in the sunshine almost from dawn to dark, Bert grew visibly bigger
+and browner and sturdier, as the days slipped swiftly by.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p>
+<h3>A CHANGE OF SCHOOLS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>With the coming of September the holidays ended, and the question of
+schools once more was earnestly discussed in the Lloyd household.</p>
+
+<p>"I have quite made up my mind not to send Bert back to Mr. Garrison,"
+said Mr. Lloyd. "He seems to be learning little or nothing there. The
+fact of the matter is, what he does learn, he learns at home, and Mr.
+Garrison simply hears him recite his lessons."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very true," assented Mrs. Lloyd. "I am only too glad to help
+Bert all I can in his studies, but I do not see the propriety of our
+having the greater part of the work of teaching him ourselves when we
+are at the same time paying some one else to do it. Do you, Mary?" she
+added, turning to her daughter.</p>
+
+<p>"No, mother," replied Mary. "I suppose it is not quite fair. Yet I would
+feel sorry if Bert went to a school where everything was done for him,
+and nothing left for us to do. I like to help him. He gets hold of an
+idea so quickly; it is a pleasure to explain anything to him."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It seems to me that a school where there is a good deal of healthful
+rivalry among the boys would be the best place for Bert. He is very
+ambitious, and eager to be at the top, and in a school of that kind his
+energies would be constantly stimulated," said Mr. Lloyd. "What do you
+think, Kate?" addressing his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"I think that would be very good, indeed," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "But do
+you know of any such school?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have been hearing good accounts of Dr. Johnston's school, and he
+certainly seems to have a great deal of system in his methods, so that I
+am inclined to give him a trial."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Dr. Johnston's is a splendid school," spoke up Mary, with
+enthusiasm. "Both of Edie Strong's brothers go there, and I have often
+heard them tell about it. But isn't Bert too young for it yet? He's only
+nine, you know, and they are mostly big boys who go to Dr. Johnston's."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit!" said Mr. Lloyd, emphatically. "Not a bit! True, Bert is
+only nine, but he looks more like twelve, and thinks and acts like it,
+too. It will be all the better for him to be with boys a little older
+than himself. He will find it hard to hold his own among them, and that
+will serve to strengthen and develop him."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little chap!" said Mrs. Lloyd, tenderly. "I expect he will have a
+pretty hard time of it at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> first. I wish Frank were going with him, for
+he thinks all the world of Bert, and is so much older and bigger that he
+could be a sort of protector for him."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad you mentioned Frank, Kate," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd. "You've given
+me an idea. If I decide to send Bert to Dr. Johnston's, I will make a
+point of seeing Mr. Bowser, to ask him if he will not consent to send
+Frank, too. I hardly expect he will make any objection, as it is not
+likely there will be any difference in the expense."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I do hope Frank will go, too," cried Mary, clapping her hands. "If
+he does, I shall feel ever so much easier about Bert. Frank is so fond
+of him that he won't let him be abused, if he can help it."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then," said Mr. Lloyd, bringing the conversation to a close.
+"I will make some further inquiries about Dr. Johnston's, and if the
+results are satisfactory I will see Mr. Bowser, and do what I can to
+persuade him to let Frank accompany Bert."</p>
+
+<p>A few days after, Mr. Lloyd called Bert to him, while they were all
+sitting in the parlour, just after dinner.</p>
+
+<p>"Come here, Bert," said he. "I want to have a talk with you about going
+to school. You know I don't intend you to go back to Mr. Garrison's.
+Now, where would you like to go yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know, father," replied Bert. "I don't want to go to the
+Acadian or National school anyway."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You need not feel troubled on that score. So far as I can learn, they
+are no better than the one you have been going to. But what do you think
+of Dr. Johnston's school? How would you like to become a pupil there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up, with a face expressive of both
+surprise and concern, "I'm not big enough for that school. They're all
+big boys that go there."</p>
+
+<p>"But you're a big boy,&mdash;for your age, at all events,&mdash;Bert," returned
+Mr. Lloyd, with a reassuring smile, "and you'll soon grow to be as big
+as any of them."</p>
+
+<p>"But, father," objected Bert, "they're awfully rough there, and so hard
+on the new fellows. They always hoist them."</p>
+
+<p>"Hoist them?" inquired Mr. Lloyd. "What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, they hang them up on the fence, and then pound them. It hurts
+awfully. Robbie Simpson told me about it. They hoisted him the first
+day."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" said Mr. Lloyd. "I must say I don't like that, but at the worst
+I suppose you can survive it, just as the others have done. Is there any
+other reason why you wouldn't like to go to Dr. Johnston's?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, father, you know he has a dreadful strap, most a yard long, and
+he gives the boys dreadful whippings with it."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose he has, Bert; does he whip the boys who know their lessons, and
+behave properly in school?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> asked Mr. Lloyd, with a quizzical glance at
+his son.</p>
+
+<p>Bert laughed. "Of course not, father," said he. "He only whips the bad
+boys."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why should his long strap be an objection, Bert? You don't propose
+to be one of the bad boys, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course not, father; but I might get a whipping, all the same."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll hope not, Bert; we'll hope not. And now, look here. Would you
+like it any better going to Dr. Johnston's if Frank were to go with
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes indeed, father," exclaimed Bert, his face lighting up. "If
+Frank goes too, I won't mind it."</p>
+
+<p>"All right then, Bert; I am glad to say that Frank is going, too. I went
+to see his father to-day, and he agreed to let him go, so I suppose we
+may consider the matter settled, and next Monday you two boys will go
+with me to the school." And Mr. Lloyd, evidently well-pleased at having
+reconciled Bert to the idea of the new school, took up his paper, while
+Bert went over to his mother's side to have a talk with her about it.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd felt all a mother's anxiety regarding this new phase of life
+upon which her boy was about to enter. Dr. Johnston's was the largest
+and most renowned school in the city. It was also in a certain sense the
+most aristocratic. Its master charged high<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> rates, which only well-to-do
+people could afford, and as a consequence the sons of the wealthiest
+citizens attended his school. Because of this, it was what would be
+called select; and just in that very fact lay one of the dangers Mrs.
+Lloyd most dreaded. Rich men's sons may be select from a social point of
+view, but they are apt to be quite the reverse from the moral
+standpoint. Frank Bowser, with all his clumsiness and lack of good
+manners, would be a far safer companion than Dick Wilding, the graceful,
+easy-mannered heir of the prosperous bank president.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, the school was undoubtedly the best in the city. A
+long line of masters had handed down from one to the other its fame as a
+home of the classics and mathematics with unimpaired lustre. At no other
+school could such excellent preparation for the university be obtained,
+and Bert in due time was to go to the university. Many a long and
+serious talk had Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd over the matter. True, they had
+great confidence in their boy, and in the principles according to which
+they had sought to bring him up. But then he was their only boy, and if
+their confidence should perchance be found to have been misplaced, how
+could the damage be repaired? Ah! well, they could, after all, only do
+their best, and leave the issue with God. They could not always be
+Bert's shields. He must learn to fight his own battles, and it was as
+well for him to begin now, and at Dr. Johnston's school.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert himself took quite a serious view of the matter, too. He was a more
+than ordinarily thoughtful boy, and the prospect of going to Dr.
+Johnston's made his brain very busy. While the school was not without
+its attractions for him, there were many reasons why he shrank from
+going to it. The most of the boys were, as he knew from often seeing
+them when on his way to and from Mr. Garrison's, older and bigger than
+himself, and, still worse, they were strangers to him with one or two
+exceptions. Of course, since Frank was to go with him, he would not mind
+that so much, but it counted for a good deal, notwithstanding.</p>
+
+<p>Then he had heard startling stories of Dr. Johnston's severity; of his
+keeping boys in after school for a whole afternoon; of the tremendous
+whippings he gave with that terrible strap of his, the tails of which
+had, according to popular rumour, been first soaked in vinegar, and then
+studded with small shot; of the rigorous care with which the lessons
+were heard, every boy in the class having to show that he was well
+prepared, or to take the consequences. These, and other stories which
+had reached Bert's ears, now perturbed him greatly.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, he had no idea of drawing back, and pleading with his
+father to send him somewhere else. He saw clearly enough that both his
+father and mother had quite made up their minds that it would be the
+best thing for him, and he knew better than to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> trouble them with vain
+protests. He found his sister an inexpressible comfort at this time. He
+confided in her unreservedly, and her sweet, serene, trustful way of
+looking at things cleared away many a difficulty for him. It was easy to
+look at the bright side of affairs with Mary as an adviser, and the more
+Bert talked with her, the more encouraged he became. It was a happy
+coincidence, that on the Sunday preceding Bert's entrance into Dr.
+Johnston's school, the lesson for the Sabbath school should contain
+these ringing words: "Quit you like men; be strong." Mr. Silver had much
+to say about them to his class:</p>
+
+<p>"Only six simple words of one syllable each, boys," said he, as he
+gathered his scholars close about his chair, "but they mean a great
+deal. And yet, we do not need to look into some wise old commentator to
+tell us just what they do mean, for we can all understand them
+ourselves. They are not intended solely for grown-up people, either.
+They are for boys just like you. Now, let us look into them a bit. 'Quit
+you like men.' What kind of men, Bert? Any kind at all, or some
+particular kind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Like good men, of course," replied Bert, promptly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Bert, that's right. And what does it mean to quit yourself like a
+good man?" asked Mr. Silver, again.</p>
+
+<p>"To be always manly, and not be a baby," answered Walter Thomson, with a
+vigour that brought a smile to Mr. Silver's face.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Right you are, Walter; but is that all?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Will Murray, "it means to do only what is right."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, Will. To be always manly, and to do only what is right. Now,
+boys, do you know that you are very apt to confuse these two things, and
+by forming mistaken notions as to what constitutes the first, you fail
+to do the second? Many boys think that it is manly to swear, to use
+tobacco, to be out late at night hanging round the street corners, and
+so they do all these things, although they are not right things to do.
+Have they the right ideas of manliness, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; no, sir," answered the thoroughly interested class, in full
+chorus.</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed, boys, they have not," continued Mr. Silver. "There is over
+a hundred times more manliness in refusing to form those bad habits than
+in yielding to them. And that is just the kind of manliness I want all
+the boys of my class to have. 'Quit you like men,' boys, and then, 'be
+strong.' What does that mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"To keep up your muscle," spoke out Frank, much to the surprise of
+everybody, for, although he listened attentively enough, he very rarely
+opened his mouth in the class.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Silver smiled. It was not just the answer he wanted, but he would
+not discourage Frank by saying so.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's part of the answer, but not quite the whole of it," he said,
+after a pause. "It's a good thing for boys to keep up their muscle. God
+wants what is best in this world, and we can often serve Him with our
+muscle as well as with our minds. If Samson and Gideon and David had not
+been men of muscle, they could not have done such grand work for God as
+they did. I like to see a boy with legs and arms 'as hard as nails,' as
+they say. But the words 'be strong' here mean more than that, don't
+they, Bert?"</p>
+
+<p>"They mean to be strong in resisting temptation, don't they, Mr.
+Silver?" replied Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; that's just it. Quit you like men&mdash;be manly, and be strong to
+resist temptation. Now, boys, some people think that young chaps like
+you don't have many temptations. That you have to wait until you grow up
+for that. But it's a tremendous mistake, isn't it? You all have your
+temptations, and lots of them, too. And they are not all alike, by any
+means, either. Every boy has his own peculiar difficulties, and finds
+his own obstacles in the way of right doing. But the cure is the same in
+all cases. It is to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
+might. That is the best way of all in which to be strong, boys. When the
+Philistines were hard pressed by the Israelites, they said one to
+another, 'Be strong and quit yourselves like men ... quit yourselves
+like men, and fight.' And they fought so well that Israel was smitten
+before them, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> ark of God was taken. And so, boys, whenever, at
+home, at school, or at play, you feel tempted to do what is wrong, I ask
+you to remember these words, 'Quit yourselves like men, be strong, and
+fight.' If you do, so sure as there is a God in heaven who loves you
+all, you will come off conquerors."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Silver's words made a deep impression upon Bert. The great ambition
+of his boyish heart was to be esteemed manly. Nor was he entirely free
+from the mistaken notions about manliness to which his teacher had
+referred. He had more than once been sneered at, by some of the boys at
+Mr. Garrison's, for refusing to do what seemed to him wrong. They had
+called him "Softy," and hinted at his being tied to his mother's
+apron-strings. Then, big, coarse Bob Brandon, always on the look-out to
+vent his spite, had nicknamed him "Sugar-mouth" one day, because he had
+exclaimed to one of the boys who was pouring out oaths:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tom! how can you swear so? Don't you know how wicked it is to take
+God's name in vain?"</p>
+
+<p>These and other incidents like them had troubled Bert a good deal. He
+dreaded being thought a "softy," and had even at times felt a kind of
+envy of the boys whose consciences did not trouble them if they swore,
+or indulged in sly smokes, or defiled their mouths with filthy quids.
+Mr. Silver's words now came in good time to give a changed current to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+these thoughts. They presented to his mind a very different idea of
+manliness from the confused conception which had been his hitherto.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a good motto for a fellow, Shorty," said he, as the two friends
+walked home together from the school. "Mother asked me the other day to
+take a text for a motto. I think I'll take 'Quit you like men, be
+strong.'"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I will, too, Bert," said Frank. "It's no harm if we have the
+same one, is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why no, of course not," answered Bert. "We'll both have the same, and
+then we'll help one another all we can to do what it says."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was a fine, bright September morning when Mr. Lloyd, with Bert on one
+side of him and Frank on the other&mdash;for Frank had come down, so that he
+might go with Bert&mdash;made his way to Dr. Johnston's school. The school
+occupied a historic old building, whose weather-beaten front faced one
+of the principal streets of the city. This building had in times long
+past been the abode of the governor of the province, and sadly as it had
+degenerated in appearance, it still retained a certain dignity, and air
+of faded grandeur, that strongly suggested its having once been applied
+to a more exalted use than the housing of a hundred boys for certain
+hours of the day. So spacious was it, that Dr. Johnston found ample room
+for his family in one half, while the other half was devoted to the
+purposes of the school. At the rear, a cluster of shabby outbuildings
+led to a long narrow yard where tufts of rank, coarse grass, and bunches
+of burdocks struggled hard to maintain their existence in spite of
+fearful odds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boys' hearts were throbbing violently as Mr. Lloyd rang the bell.
+The door was opened readily by a boy, who was glad of the excuse to
+leave his seat, and he entered the schoolroom, followed by his charges.
+The room was long, narrow, and low-ceilinged, and was divided into two
+unequal portions by a great chimney, on either side of which a passage
+had been left. At the farther end, occupying the central space between
+two windows, was the doctor's desk, or throne it might more properly be
+called; for never did autocrat wield more unquestioned authority over
+his subjects than did Dr. Johnston over the hundred and odd scholars who
+composed his school. In front of him, running down the centre of the
+room, and on either hand, following the walls, were long lines of desks,
+at which sat boys of all sorts, and of all ages, from ten to eighteen.
+As Mr. Lloyd entered, those nearest the door looked up, and seeing the
+new-comers, proceeded to stare at them with a frank curiosity that made
+Bert feel as though he would like to hide in one of his father's
+coat-tail pockets.</p>
+
+<p>They turned away pretty quickly, however, when Dr. Johnston, leaving his
+desk, came down to meet Mr. Lloyd, and as he passed between the lines,
+every head was bent as busily over the book or slate before it, as
+though its attention had never been distracted.</p>
+
+<p>Considering that Dr. Johnston was really a small, slight man, it was
+surprising what an idea of stately dignity his appearance conveyed. He
+could hardly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> have impressed Bert with a deeper feeling of respect from
+the outset, if he had been seven feet high, instead of only a little
+more than five. He was a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, and wore at
+all times a long black gown, reaching nearly to his ankles, which set
+off to the best advantage the spare, straight figure, and strong dark
+face. The habitual expression of that face when in repose was of
+thoughtful severity, and yet if one did but scan it closely enough, the
+stern mouth was seen to have a downward turn at its corners that hinted
+at a vein of humour lying hid somewhere. The hint was well-sustained,
+for underneath all his sternness and severity the doctor concealed a
+playful humour, that at times came to the surface, and gratefully
+relieved his ordinary grimness.</p>
+
+<p>As he walked down from his desk to meet Mr. Lloyd, he looked very
+pleasant indeed; and Bert felt his nervousness a little calmed as,
+holding out his thin, white and yet muscular hand, Dr. Johnston said,
+cordially:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I presume these are the two boys you spoke to
+me about."</p>
+
+<p>"They are, Dr. Johnston," Mr. Lloyd replied. "I brought them in good
+time so that they might learn as much as possible about the ways of the
+school the first day."</p>
+
+<p>"You did well, Mr. Lloyd. It is important to have a good beginning in
+everything that is worth doing,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> said the doctor; then, turning to
+Bert, he slipped his hand under his chin, and lifting his head so that
+he might look him full in the face, added, with a smile, "I need hardly
+ask which of these boys is yours, for this one betrays his paternity in
+every feature."</p>
+
+<p>"You have hit the mark, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling in his turn.
+"This is my son Cuthbert, at your service, and this is Frank Bowser, his
+inseparable companion."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite a case of Damon and Pythias, eh?" said the doctor, whose devotion
+to the classics was such that his one great regret was that he had not
+lived in the time of Horace.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, something of the kind," rejoined Mr. Lloyd; "and I would be very
+glad if you could manage to let them sit together so long as they behave
+themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see, we'll see," was the doctor's non-committal response.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, turning to leave. "I'll hand
+them over to you now. I am sure you will make the best of them, and that
+I am leaving them in very good hands. Good-bye, boys." And then, bending
+down, he whispered in Bert's ear, "Remember&mdash;quit you like men&mdash;be
+strong," and then left them.</p>
+
+<p>As Mr. Lloyd disappeared through the door, the air of geniality the
+doctor had been wearing during the brief interview vanished from his
+countenance,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> and it relapsed into its wonted look of resigned severity.</p>
+
+<p>"Lloyd and Bowser, come with me to my desk," said he, turning his back
+upon them, and walking down the room. The boys followed very meekly, and
+on arriving at the desk the doctor entered their names in a huge book
+that lay open before him, using an old-fashioned quill pen that
+scratched so harshly as to send a shudder through Bert, who was very
+sensitive to such things.</p>
+
+<p>"We will now see about seats for you both," continued the doctor. Then,
+raising his voice, he called out, "Mr. Snelling, will you please come
+here," and from the far end of the room a respectful voice responded
+"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Looking in the direction whence the voice came, Bert saw an odd-looking
+man approaching, who, of course, was Mr. Snelling. He was of medium
+height, but quite as slight as the doctor himself. Many years at the
+schoolmaster's desk had given a stoop to his shoulders and a pallor to
+his face, that were in marked contrast to his chief's erect figure and
+swarthy countenance. But if his face was pale, his hair made a brave
+attempt to atone for this lack of colour, for it was the richest, most
+uncompromising red; and as though he delighted in its warm tints, Mr.
+Snelling allowed it to grow in uncropped abundance, and his favourite
+gesture was to thrust his fingers through its tangled mass. Beneath a
+white and narrow forehead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> were two small sharp eyes, that peered out
+keenly through a pair of gold-bowed spectacles, and were ever on the
+watch to detect the slightest misbehaviour among the urchins gathered
+around him.</p>
+
+<p>Bert's first impression of Mr. Snelling was not a favourable one, and as
+he stood by and heard Dr. Johnston say: "Mr. Snelling, here are two more
+pupils. This is Lloyd, and this is Bowser. They will go into your room
+for the present. Will you please see that desks are assigned them?"&mdash;he
+thought to himself that in spite of the doctor's grim appearance he
+would rather stay in his room than be handed over to Mr. Snelling.</p>
+
+<p>However, he was not to be consulted in the matter, so he followed in the
+wake of Mr. Snelling, who, by the way, it should be explained, was the
+assistant master, having special charge of all the younger scholars, and
+the drilling of them in the English branches of learning. The classics
+and mathematics the doctor reserved for himself, and a better teacher of
+the former particularly there was not in all Halifax.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Snelling's portion of the room differed from the doctor's only in
+that it was not so well lighted and the seats were not quite so
+comfortable. The school being pretty full at the time, the securing of
+seats for the two new-comers required some rearranging, in the course of
+which changes had to be made that evidently did not by any means meet
+with the approbation of those who were immediately con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>cerned; and
+Bert's spirits, already at a low ebb, were not much elevated by sundry
+scowling looks directed at him, and by one red-faced, irritable-looking
+chap seizing the opportunity when Mr. Snelling's back was turned to
+shake his fist at Bert and Frank, and mutter loudly enough for them to
+hear:</p>
+
+<p>"I'll punch the heads of you both at recess, see if I don't."</p>
+
+<p>At length, with some little difficulty, Mr. Snelling got matters
+arranged, and the two boys were placed in the farthest corner of the
+room, and, to their profound delight, side by side. Their accommodations
+were the reverse of luxurious. A wooden bench, destitute of back, and
+shiny from the friction of dear knows how many restless sitters; a
+sloping desk, cut and carved by careless knives, and having underneath
+an open shelf upon which the books, slate, cap, and lunch might be
+put&mdash;that was the sum total. Yet, after all, what more do schoolboys
+really need, or can be safely intrusted with?</p>
+
+<p>Feeling very strange and nervous, Bert and Frank took their seats, and
+slipping their caps under the desk&mdash;they were both wearing that
+serviceable form of headgear known as the Glengarry&mdash;they did their best
+to seem composed, and to take in their surroundings. The gaunt, unlovely
+room was soon inspected, and from it they turned their attention to its
+occupants. Mr. Snelling has already been described. To the left of his
+desk, and extending row upon row, one behind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> the other, were desks
+filled with boys of different ages and sizes. In front of him was an
+open space, in which the classes stood when reciting lessons to him, and
+across this space was another line of desks placed close to the wall,
+which were assigned to the oldest boys in the room.</p>
+
+<p>Not a familiar or friendly face could the new-comers find, but instead,
+they saw many that seemed to take pleasure in making them feel, if
+possible, still more ill at ease, by fixing upon them a cold,
+indifferent stare, or even an ugly grimace. The only ray of light was
+that which came from the sweet countenance of a blue-eyed, fair-haired
+boy, who, catching Bert's eye, nodded pleasantly at him, as though to
+say, "I'm glad you've come; make yourself at home." And Bert resolved
+that he would make his acquaintance at the very first opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>Having nothing to do but watch the other boys as they studied and
+recited, the morning dragged along very slowly for Bert and Frank, and
+they were immensely relieved when the noon recess was announced, and the
+whole school poured tumultuously out into either the yard or the street,
+according to their preference. The majority of the boys went into the
+street, and the two friends followed them, feeling not a little anxious
+as to what sort of treatment they might expect at the hands of their new
+companions. As it proved, however, they had nothing to fear, for it was
+an unwritten law of the Johnston school, that new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> boys should be left
+in peace for the first day; and accordingly Frank and Bert were
+permitted to stand about and watch the others enjoying themselves
+without interruption. No one asked them to join in the games, although,
+no doubt, had they done so of their own accord, no one would have
+objected. After they had been there a few minutes, Bert heard a soft
+voice behind him saying:</p>
+
+<p>"It's horrid to be a new boy, isn't it? When I was a new boy I felt so
+frightened. Do you feel frightened?" And turning round he saw beside him
+the blue-eyed, fair-haired boy whose pleasant face had attracted his
+attention in the school.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think I feel just frightened," he answered, with a smile. "But
+I can't say I feel very much at home yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my! But it will be very much worse to-morrow," said the new
+acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>"And why will it be worse?" inquired Bert, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Because they'll hoist you," said the other, with a nervous glance
+around, as though he feared being overheard.</p>
+
+<p>"Does it hurt dreadfully to be hoisted?" asked Bert, while Frank drew
+near, awaiting the reply with intense interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes; it does hurt dreadfully! But"&mdash;with a more cheerful air&mdash;"you
+get over it after a little while, you know."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, I guess I can stand it. If you got over it all right, so
+can I," spoke up Bert, manfully; then, turning to Frank, "And you can,
+too, can't you, Shorty?"</p>
+
+<p>Frank shook his head doubtfully. "I <i>can</i> all right enough, but I don't
+know that I <i>will</i>. I've a mind to give them a fight for it, anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of use," said the blue-eyed boy, whose name, by the way, as
+he presently told the others, was Ernest Linton. "Not a bit of use.
+They'll only beat you the harder if you fight."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see," said Frank, with a determined air. "We'll see when the time
+comes."</p>
+
+<p>Bert and Frank found Ernest a very bright and useful friend, and they
+had so many questions to ask him that they were very sorry when the
+ringing of a bell summoned them back to their seats, where they were
+kept until three o'clock in the afternoon, when school was over for the
+day.</p>
+
+<p>At home that evening Bert recounted his experiences to three very
+attentive listeners, and his face grew very grave when he came to tell
+what Ernest had said about the "hoisting." Having never witnessed a
+performance of this peculiar rite by which for many years it had been
+the custom of the school to initiate new members, Bert had no very clear
+ideas about it, and, of course, thought it all the more dreadful on that
+account. But his father cheered him a great deal by the view he took of
+it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"See, now, Bert," said he. "It's just this way. Every boy in Dr.
+Johnston's school has been hoisted, and none of them, I suppose, are any
+the worse for it. Neither will you be. Take my advice and don't resist.
+Let the boys have it all their own way, and they'll like you all the
+better, and let you off all the easier."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, father, I'll do just as you say," responded Bert. "And when
+I come home to-morrow afternoon I'll tell you all about it." And feeling
+in much better spirits than he had been in all day, Bert went off to
+bed, and to sleep, as only a tired schoolboy in sturdy health can
+sleep.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+<h3>THE HOISTING.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd gave Bert a more than usually affectionate kiss as he started
+off for school next morning, and his father called after him:</p>
+
+<p>"Remember, Bert, quit you like a man."</p>
+
+<p>Yet who could blame the little fellow if his heart throbbed with
+unwonted vigour all that morning, and that he watched the clock's hands
+anxiously as they crept slowly, but steadily, round the dial, yellow
+with age and service.</p>
+
+<p>Frank had adopted an unconcerned, if not defiant air, which told plainly
+enough that he had no idea of submitting quietly to the inevitable
+ordeal. He was a born fighter. Strength, endurance, courage were
+expressed in every line of his body. Indeed, as was seen in the matter
+of the rows between the Garrison and the National boys, he thought a
+good lively tussle to be fine fun, and never missed a chance of having
+one.</p>
+
+<p>The two boys were carefully examined by both Dr. Johnston and Mr.
+Snelling as to the extent of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> learning in the course of the
+morning, and assigned to classes accordingly. They were given the same
+work: English grammar and history, arithmetic, geography, Latin grammar,
+&amp;c., and a list given them of the books they would need to procure. They
+were glad to find themselves in the same classes with Ernest Linton, who
+had been only half-a-year at the school before them, for he seemed such
+a kind, willing, obliging little chap that they both became fond of him
+at once.</p>
+
+<p>When recess came he slipped up to Bert and whispered in his ear:</p>
+
+<p>"Stay in school, and then they can't get at you. Mr. Snelling always
+stays, and they daren't come in for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it," said Bert, emphatically. "The sooner it's over the
+better. Come along, Shorty." And they marched bravely out, with Ernest
+following closely behind.</p>
+
+<p>As they stepped into the street, they found fifty or more of the boys
+gathered about the door, evidently awaiting them. Instantly the cry was
+raised, "The new boys&mdash;hoist them! hoist them!" And half-a-dozen hands
+were laid upon Bert, who led the van, while others seized Frank to
+prevent his running away. Bert made no resistance. Neither did Frank,
+when he saw that his time had not yet come, as they were going to hoist
+Bert first. Clinching his fists, and hunching his shoulders in readiness
+for a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> struggle, he stood in silence watching Bert's fate.</p>
+
+<p>What that would be was not long a matter of uncertainty. In the midst of
+a noisy rabble of boys, many of whom were larger, and all older than
+himself, he was borne along to the foot of the high fence that shut in
+the yard which, as already described, was at the back of the school
+building. Perched on top of this fence, and leaning down with
+outstretched arms, were four of the largest lads, shouting at the top of
+their voices, "Bring him along; hoist him up, hoist him!" The
+unresisting Bert was brought underneath this quartette, and then his
+hands were lifted up until they could grasp them in their own. So soon
+as this was done, a pull all together on their part hoisted him up from
+the ground, three feet at least, and then his legs were seized, lest he
+should be tempted to kick. The next moment, as perfectly helpless, and
+looking not unlike a hawk nailed to a barn-door by way of warning to
+kindred robbers, Bert hung there, doing his best to keep a smile on his
+face, but in reality half frightened to death. The whole crowd then
+precipitated themselves upon him, and with tight-shut fists proceeded to
+pummel any part of his body they could reach. Their blows were dealt in
+good earnest, and not merely for fun, and they hurt just as much as one
+might expect. Poor Bert winced, and quivered, and squirmed, but not a
+cry escaped from his close-set lips. The one thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> in his mind was,
+"Quit you like men," and so buoyed up by it was he, that had the blows
+been as hard again as they were, it is doubtful if his resolution to
+bear them in silence would have faltered.</p>
+
+<p>He did not know how long he hung there. It seemed to him like hours. It
+probably was not longer than a minute. But, oh! the glad relief with
+which he heard one of the leaders call out:</p>
+
+<p>"That's enough, fellows; let him down. He stood it like a brick."</p>
+
+<p>The blows ceased at once; those holding his hands swung him a couple of
+times along the fence after the manner of a pendulum, and then dropped
+him to the ground, where he was surrounded by his late persecutors, who
+now, looking pleasant enough, proceeded to clap him on the back, and
+tell him very emphatically that he was "a plucky little chap"; "one of
+the right sort"; "true grit," and so forth.</p>
+
+<p>Feeling sore and strained, from his neck to his heels, Bert would have
+been glad to slip away into some corner and have a good cry, just to
+relieve his suppressed emotions; but as he tried to separate himself
+from the throng about him, he heard the shout of "Hoist him! Hoist him!"
+again raised, and saw the leaders in this strange sport bear down upon
+Frank Bowser, who, still in the hands of his first captors had looked on
+at Bert's ordeal with rapidly rising anger.</p>
+
+<p>The instant Frank heard the shout, he broke loose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> from those who held
+him, and springing up a flight of steps near by, stood facing his
+pursuers with an expression upon his countenance that looked ill for the
+first that should attempt to touch him. A little daunted by his
+unexpected action, the boys paused for a moment, and then swarmed about
+the steps. One of the largest rushed forward to seize Frank, but with a
+quick movement the latter dodged him, and then by a sudden charge sent
+him tumbling down the steps into the arms of the others. But the
+advantage was only momentary. In another minute he was surrounded and
+borne down the steps despite his resistance.</p>
+
+<p>The struggle that ensued was really heroic&mdash;on Frank's part, at all
+events. Although so absurdly outnumbered, he fought desperately, not
+with blows, but with sheer strength of arm and leg, straining to the
+utmost every muscle in his sturdy frame. Indeed, so tremendous were his
+efforts, that for a time it seemed as if they would succeed in freeing
+him. But the might of numbers prevailed at length, and, after some
+minutes' further struggling, he was hoisted in due form, and pounded
+until the boys were fairly weary.</p>
+
+<p>When they let him go, Frank adjusted his clothes, which had been much
+disordered in the conflict, took his cap from the hands of a little
+chap, by whom it had thoughtfully been picked up for him, and with
+furious flaming face went over to Bert, who had been a spectator of his
+friend's gallant struggle with min<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>gled feelings of admiration for his
+courage and regret at his obstinacy.</p>
+
+<p>"They beat me, but I made them sweat for it," said he. "I wasn't going
+to let them have their own way with me, even if you did."</p>
+
+<p>"You might just as well have given in first as last," replied Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"But I didn't give in," asserted Frank. "That's just the point. They
+were too many for me, of course, and I couldn't help myself at last, but
+I held out as long as I could."</p>
+
+<p>"Anyway, it's over now," said Bert, "and it won't bother us any more.
+But there's one thing I've made up my mind to: I'm not going to have
+anything to do with hoisting other new boys. I don't like it, and I
+won't do it."</p>
+
+<p>"No more will I, Bert," said Frank. "It's a mean business; a whole crowd
+of fellows turning on one and beating him like that."</p>
+
+<p>Just then the bell rang, and all the boys poured back into the
+schoolroom for the afternoon session.</p>
+
+<p>Each in his own way, Bert and Frank had made a decidedly favourable
+impression upon their schoolmates. No one mistook Bert's passive
+endurance for cowardice. His bearing had been too brave and bright for
+that. Neither did Frank's vigorous resistance arouse any ill-feeling
+against him. Boys are odd creatures. They heartily admire and applaud
+the fiery, reckless fellow, who takes no thought for the conse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>quences,
+and yet they thoroughly appreciate the quiet, cool self-command of the
+one who does not move until he knows just what he is going to do. And so
+they were well pleased with both the friends, and quite ready to admit
+them into the full fellowship of the school.</p>
+
+<p>The Lloyds were greatly interested by Bert's account of the hoisting.
+They praised him for his self-control, and Frank for his plucky fight
+against such odds, and they fully agreed with Bert that hoisting was a
+poor business at best, and that he would be doing right to have nothing
+to do with it.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps some day or other you'll be able to have it put a stop to,
+Bert," said his mother, patting his head fondly. "It would make me very
+proud if my boy were to become a reformer before he leaves school."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid there's not much chance of that, mother," answered Bert.
+"The boys have been hoisting the new chaps for ever so many years, and
+Dr. Johnston has never stopped them."</p>
+
+<p>That was true. Although he feigned to know nothing about it, the doctor
+was well aware of the existence of this practice peculiar to his school,
+but he never thought of interfering with the boys. It was a cardinal
+principle with him that the boys should be left pretty much to
+themselves at recess. So long as they did their duty during the school
+hours, they could do as they pleased during the play hour. Moreover, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
+was a great admirer of manliness in his boys. He would have been glad to
+find in everyone of them the stoical indifference to pain of the
+traditional Indian. Consequently, fair stand-up fights were winked at,
+and anything like tattling or tale-bearing sternly discouraged. He had
+an original method of expressing his disapprobation of the latter, which
+will be illustrated further on. Holding those views, therefore, he was
+not likely to put his veto upon "hoisting."</p>
+
+<p>As the days went by, Bert rapidly mastered the ways of the school, and
+made many friends among his schoolmates. He found the lessons a good
+deal harder than they had been at Mr. Garrison's. And not only so, but
+the method of hearing them was so thorough that it was next to
+impossible for a boy who had come ill-prepared to escape detection. Dr.
+Johnston did not simply hear the lesson; he examined his scholars upon
+it, and nothing short of full acquaintance with it would content him. He
+had an original system of keeping the school record, which puzzled Bert
+very much, and took him a good while to understand.</p>
+
+<p>On the doctor's desk lay a large book, something like a business ledger.
+One page was devoted to each day. At the left side of the page was the
+column containing the boys' names, arranged in order of seniority, the
+boy who had been longest in the school being at the head, and the last
+new boy at the foot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> Each boy had a line to himself, running out to the
+end of the page, and these parallel lines were crossed by vertical ones,
+ruled from the top to the bottom of the page, and having at the top the
+names of all the different classes; so that the page when ready for its
+entries resembled very much a checker board, only that the squares were
+very small, and exceedingly numerous. Just how these squares, thus
+standing opposite each name, should be filled, depended upon the
+behaviour of the owner of that name, and his knowledge of his lessons.</p>
+
+<p>If Bert, for instance, recited his grammar lesson without a slip, the
+letter B&mdash;standing for <i>bene</i>, well&mdash;was put in the grammar column. If
+he made one mistake, the entry was V B, <i>vix bene</i>&mdash;scarcely well; if
+two mistakes, Med, <i>mediocriter</i>&mdash;middling; and if three, M,
+<i>male</i>&mdash;badly, equivalent to not knowing it at all. The same system
+prevailed for all the lessons, and in a modified form for the behaviour
+or deportment also. As regards behaviour, the arrangement was one bad
+mark for each offence, the first constituting a V B, the second a Med,
+the third an M, and the fourth a P, the most ominous letter of all,
+standing, as it did, for <i>pessime</i>&mdash;as bad as possible&mdash;and one might
+also say for punishment also; as whoever got a P thereby earned a
+whipping with that long strap, concerning which Bert had heard such
+alarming stories.</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen that, by following out the line upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> which each boy's
+name stood, his complete record as a scholar could be seen, and upon
+this record the doctor based the award of prizes at the close of the
+term. For he was a firm believer in the benefits of prize-giving, and
+every half-year, on the day before the holidays, a bookcase full of fine
+books, each duly inscribed, was distributed among those who had come out
+at the head in the different classes, or distinguished themselves by
+constant good behaviour.</p>
+
+<p>Once that Bert fully understood the purpose of this daily record, and
+the principle upon which the prize-giving was based, he determined to be
+among the prize winners at the end of the term. His ambition was fired
+by what the older boys told him of the beautiful books awarded, and the
+honour it was to get one of them. He knew that he could not please his
+father or mother better than by being on the prize list, and so he
+applied himself to his lessons with a vigour and fidelity that soon
+brought him to the notice of the observant doctor.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to see you taking so much interest in your work," said he one
+morning, pausing, in his round of inspection, to lay his hand kindly
+upon Bert's shoulder as the latter bent over his slate, working out a
+problem in proportion. "A good beginning is a very important thing."</p>
+
+<p>Bert blushed to the roots of his hair at this unexpected and, indeed,
+unusual compliment from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> grim master, who, before the boy could
+frame any reply, passed out of hearing.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll do our best, won't we, Shorty?" said Bert, turning to his friend
+beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose so," answered Frank, in rather a doubtful tone. "But your
+best will be a good deal better than mine. The lessons are just awful
+hard; it's no use talking."</p>
+
+<p>"They are hard, Shorty, and no mistake. But you'll get used to them all
+right," rejoined Bert, cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess I'll get used to being kept in and getting whipped, first,"
+grumbled Frank.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it," Bert insisted. "You just stick at them and you'll
+come out all right."</p>
+
+<p>The fact of the matter was, that poor Frank did find the lessons a
+little more than he could manage, and there were a good many more "V
+B's" and "Med's" opposite his name than "B's." He was a restless sort of
+a chap, moreover, and noisy in his movements, thus often causing Mr.
+Snelling to look at him, and call out sharply:</p>
+
+<p>"Bowser, what are you doing there?" And Frank would instantly reply, in
+a tone of indignant innocence:</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon Mr. Snelling would turn to Dr. Johnston, with the request:</p>
+
+<p>"Will you please put a mark to Bowser for doing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> nothing, sir?" And down
+would go the black mark against poor Bowser, who, often as this
+happened, seemed unable ever to learn to avoid that fatal reply:
+"Nothing, sir."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>SCHOOL EXPERIENCES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>By the time autumn had made way for winter, Bert felt thoroughly at home
+at Dr. Johnston's, and was just about as happy a boy as attended this
+renowned institution. In spite of the profound awe the doctor inspired,
+he ventured to cherish toward him a feeling of love as well as of
+respect; and although Mr. Snelling did not exactly inspire awe, nor even
+much respect, he managed to like him not a little also. As for the
+boys&mdash;well, there were all sorts and conditions of them; good, bad, and
+indifferent; boys who thought it very fine and manly to smoke, and
+swear, and swap improper stories, and boys who seemed as if they would
+have been more appropriately dressed in girls' clothes, so lacking were
+they in true manly qualities; while between these two extremes came in
+the great majority, among whom Bert easily found plenty of bright,
+wholesome companions.</p>
+
+<p>There were some odd chaps at the school, with whose peculiarities Bert
+would amuse the home circle very much, as he described them in his own
+graphic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> way. There was Bob Mackasey, called by his companions, "Taffy
+the Welshman," because he applied the money given him by his mother
+every morning to get some lunch with, to the purchase of taffy; which
+toothsome product he easily bartered off for more sandwiches and cakes
+than could have been bought for ten cents, thus filling his own stomach
+at a very slight cost to his far-seeing mother.</p>
+
+<p>A big fat fellow in knickerbockers, by name Harry Rawdon, the son of an
+officer in the English army, had attained a peculiar kind of notoriety
+in the school, by catching flies and bottling them.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was Larry Saunders, the dandy of the school, although
+undoubtedly one of the very plainest boys in it, who kept a tiny square
+of looking-glass in his desk, and would carefully arrange his toilet
+before leaving the school in the afternoon, to saunter up and down the
+principal street of the city, doing his best to be captivating.</p>
+
+<p>Two hot-tempered, pugnacious chaps, by name Bob Morley and Fred Short,
+afforded great amusement by the ease with which they could be set at
+punching one another. It was only necessary for some one to take Bob
+Morley aside and whisper meaningly that Fred Short had been calling him
+names behind his back, or something of that sort equally aggravating, to
+put him in fighting humour. Forthwith, he would challenge Master Fred in
+the orthodox way&mdash;that is, he would take up a chip, spit on it, and toss
+it over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> his shoulder. Without a moment's hesitation, Fred would accept
+the challenge, and then the two would be at it, hammer and tongs,
+fighting vigorously until they were separated by the originators of the
+mischief, when they thought they had had enough of it. They were very
+evenly matched, and as a matter of fact did not do one another much
+harm; but the joke of the thing was that they never seemed to suspect
+how they were being made tools of by the other boys, who always enjoyed
+these duels immensely.</p>
+
+<p>Another character, and a very lovable one this time, was a nephew of the
+doctor's, Will Johnston by name, but universally called "Teter," an odd
+nickname, the reason of which he did not seem to understand himself.
+This Teter was one of those good-natured, obliging, reckless,
+happy-go-lucky individuals who never fail to win the love of boys. His
+generosity was equalled only by his improvidence, and both were
+surpassed by his good luck.</p>
+
+<p>Bert conceived a great admiration for Teter Johnston. His undaunted
+courage, as exhibited in snowball fights, when, with only a handful of
+followers he would charge upon the rest of the school, and generally put
+them to flight; his reckless enterprise and amazing luck at marbles and
+other games; his constant championing of the small boys when tormented
+by the larger ones, more than one bully having had a tremendous
+thrashing at his hands;&mdash;these were very shining qualities in Bert's
+eyes, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> they fascinated him so, that if "fagging" had been permitted
+at Dr. Johnston's, Bert would have deemed it not a hardship, but an
+honour, to have been Teter's "fag."</p>
+
+<p>In strong contrast to his admiration for Teter Johnston was his
+antipathy to Rod Graham. Rod was both a sneak and a bully. It was in his
+character as a sneak that he showed himself to Bert first, making
+profuse demonstrations of goodwill, and doing his best to ingratiate
+himself with him, because from his well-to-do appearance he judged that
+he would be a good subject from whom to beg lunch, or borrow marbles,
+and so on. But Bert instinctively disliked Rod, and avoided him to the
+best of his ability. Then Rod revealed the other side of his nature.
+From a sneak he turned into a bully, and lost no opportunity of teasing
+and tormenting Bert, who, being much smaller than he, felt compelled to
+submit, although there were times when he was driven almost to
+desperation. It was not so much by open violence as by underhanded
+trickery that Rod vented his spite, and this made it all the harder for
+Bert, who, although he was never in any doubt as to the identity of the
+person that stole his lunch, poured ink over his copy-book, scratched
+his slate with a bit of jagged glass, tore the tails off his glengarry,
+and filled the pockets of his overcoat with snow, still saw no way of
+putting a stop to this tormenting other than by thrashing Rod, and this
+he did not feel equal to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> doing. Upon this last point, however, he
+changed his mind subsequently, thanks to the influence of his friend
+Teter Johnston, and the result was altogether satisfactory as will be
+shown in due time.</p>
+
+<p>Bert's feelings toward Dr. Johnston himself were, as has been already
+stated, of a mixed nature. At first, he was simply afraid of him, but
+little by little a gentler feeling crept into his heart. Yet, there was
+no doubt, the doctor was far more likely to inspire fear than love. He
+wielded his authority with an impartial, unsparing hand. No allowance
+was ever made for hesitancy or nervousness on the part of the scholar
+when reciting his lesson, nor for ebullitions of boyish spirits when
+sitting at the desk. "Everything must be done correctly, and in order,"
+was the motto of his rule. The whippings he administered were about as
+impressive a mode of school punishment as could be desired. The unhappy
+boy who had behaved so ill, or missed so many lessons as to deserve one,
+heard the awful words, "Stand upon the floor for punishment," uttered in
+the doctor's sternest tones. Trembling in every limb, and feeling cold
+shivers running up and down his back, while his face flushed fiery red,
+or paled to ashy white by turns, the culprit would reluctantly leave his
+seat, and take his stand in the centre aisle, with the eyes of the whole
+school upon him variously expressing pity, compassion, or perhaps
+unsympathetic ridicule.</p>
+
+<p>After he had stood there some time, for be it known<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> this exposure was
+an essential part of the punishment, he would see the doctor slowly rise
+from his seat, draw forth from its hiding-place the long black strap
+that had for so many years been his sceptre, and then come down toward
+him with slow, stately steps. Stopping just in front of him, the order
+would be issued: "Hold out your hand." Quivering with apprehension, the
+boy would extend his hand but half way, keeping his elbow fast at his
+side. But the doctor would not be thus partially obeyed. "Hold <i>out</i>
+your hand, sir!" he would thunder; and out would go the arm to its
+fullest length, and with a sharp swish through the air, down would come
+the strap, covering the hand from the wrist to finger tip, and sending a
+thrill of agony through every nerve in the body. Ten, twenty, thirty, or
+in extreme cases, even forty such stripes would be administered, some
+boys taking them as fast as the doctor could strike, so that the torture
+might soon be over, and others pausing between each blow, to rub their
+stinging palms together, and bedew them with their tears.</p>
+
+<p>It was a terrible ordeal, no doubt, and one that would hardly be
+approved of to-day, the publicity uniting with the severity to make it a
+cruel strain upon a boy's nervous system. In all the years that Bert
+spent at Dr. Johnston's school he was called upon to endure it only
+once, but that once sufficed. The way it came about was this:</p>
+
+<p>Bert one morning happened to be in a more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> usually frolicsome mood,
+and was making pellets out of the soft part of the rolls he had brought
+for lunch, and throwing them about. In trying to hit a boy who sat
+between him and Mr. Snelling's desk, he somehow or other miscalculated
+his aim, and to his horror, the sticky pellet flew straight at the bald
+spot on top of Mr. Snelling's head, as the latter bent his shortsighted
+eyes over a book before him, hitting it in the centre, and staying there
+in token of its success.</p>
+
+<p>With angry face, Mr. Snelling sprang to his feet, and brushing the
+unlucky pellet from his shiny pate, called out so fiercely as to attract
+the doctor's attention:</p>
+
+<p>"Who threw that at me?"</p>
+
+<p>The few boys who were in the secret looked very hard at their books,
+while those who were not glanced up in surprise, and tried to discover
+the cause of Mr. Snelling's excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"Who threw that at me?" demanded Mr. Snelling, again.</p>
+
+<p>Bert, who had at first been so appalled by what he had done that his
+tongue refused to act, was about to call out "It was I, sir," when Rod
+Graham was seen to hold up his hand, and on Mr. Snelling turning
+inquiringly toward him, Rod, in a low, sneaking voice, said:</p>
+
+<p>"It was Lloyd, sir; I saw him do it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Snelling immediately called out, "Lloyd, come<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> to my desk;" and
+Bert, feeling hot and cold by turns, went up to the desk, and stood
+before it, the picture of penitence.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you throw that pellet?" asked Mr. Snelling, in indignant tones.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; but I didn't mean to hit you, sir," answered Bert, meekly.</p>
+
+<p>"I know nothing about that," answered Mr. Snelling, too much excited to
+listen to any defence. "Follow me to Dr. Johnston."</p>
+
+<p>Hastening into the presence of the stern headmaster, Mr. Snelling stated
+what had happened, and pointed to the trembling Bert as the culprit.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know he is the offender, Mr. Snelling?" inquired the doctor,
+gravely.</p>
+
+<p>"Graham said he saw him do it, sir, and Lloyd confesses it himself,"
+replied Mr. Snelling.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! indeed&mdash;that is sufficient. Leave Lloyd with me." And thus
+dismissed, Mr. Snelling returned to his desk.</p>
+
+<p>"Lloyd, I am sorry about this. You must stand upon the floor for
+punishment," said the doctor, turning to Bert; and Bert, chilled to the
+heart, took his place upon the spot where he had so often pitied other
+boys for being.</p>
+
+<p>Presently, drawing out his strap, the doctor came toward him:</p>
+
+<p>"Hold out your hand, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Bert promptly extended his right hand to the full.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> Swish! and down came
+the cruel strap upon it, inflicting a burning smart, as though it were a
+red-hot iron, and sending a thrill of agony through every nerve. Swish!
+And the left hand was set on fire. Swish! Swish! right and left; right
+and left, until twenty stripes had been administered; and then, turning
+on his heel, the doctor walked solemnly back to his desk.</p>
+
+<p>During all this torture not a sound had escaped Bert. He felt that the
+doctor could not do otherwise than punish him, and he determined to bear
+the punishment bravely; so closing his lips tightly, and summoning all
+his resolution, he held out one hand after the other, taking the blows
+as fast as the doctor could give them. But when the ordeal was over he
+hurried to his seat, and burying his head in his burning hands, burst
+into a passion of tears&mdash;for he could control himself no longer.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later his attention was aroused by hearing the doctor call
+out, in a loud, stern voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Graham, come forward."</p>
+
+<p>Graham got out of his seat, and in a half-frightened way, slunk up to
+the doctor's desk.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand, Graham," said the doctor, with his grimmest expression,
+"that you volunteered to tell Mr. Snelling who it was that threw that
+pellet. You know, or ought to know, the rule of this school as to
+informers. You will receive the same punishment that I have just given
+Lloyd. Stand upon the floor."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Completely taken aback at this unexpected turn in affairs, Rod Graham
+mechanically took up his position, looking the very picture of abject
+misery. The doctor kept him there for full half-an-hour, and then
+administered twenty stripes, with an unction that showed, clearly
+enough, his profound contempt for that most contemptible of beings, an
+informer.</p>
+
+<p>Now, Bert was not an angel, but simply a boy&mdash;a very good boy, in many
+respects, no doubt, but a boy, notwithstanding. It would, therefore, be
+doing him an injustice to deny that he took a certain delight in seeing
+his tormentor receive so sound a whipping, and that it brought, at
+least, a temporary balm to his own wounded feelings. But the wound was
+altogether too deep to be cured by this, or by Frank Bowser's heartfelt
+sympathy, or even by the praise of his schoolmates, many of whom came up
+to him at recess and told him he was "a brick," "a daisy," and so forth,
+because he had taken a whipping without crying.</p>
+
+<p>All this could not hide from him what he felt to be the disgrace of the
+thing. So ashamed was he of himself that he could hardly find courage to
+tell them about it at home; and although, easily appreciating the whole
+situation, Mr. Lloyd had only words of cheer for him, and none of
+condemnation, Bert still took it so much to heart that the following
+Sunday he pleaded hard to be allowed to remain away from the Sunday
+school, as he did not want to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> face Mr. Silver and his classmates so
+soon. But his father wisely would not suffer this, and so, much against
+his will, he went to school as usual, where, however, he felt very ill
+at ease until the session was over, when he had a long talk with Mr.
+Silver, and told him the whole story.</p>
+
+<p>This relieved his mind very much. He felt as if he were square with the
+world again, and he went back to Dr. Johnston's far lighter in heart on
+Monday morning than he had left it on Friday afternoon. He had learned a
+lesson, too, that needed no reteaching throughout the remainder of his
+school days. That was the first and last time Bert Lloyd stood upon the
+floor for punishment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p>
+<h3>VICTORY AND DEFEAT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>As may be easily imagined, Dr. Johnston's severe punishment of Rod
+Graham for having taken upon himself the part of an informer did not
+tend to make that young gentleman any more pleasant in his bearing
+toward Bert. By some process of reasoning, intelligible only to himself,
+he held Bert accountable for the whipping he had received, and lost no
+opportunity of wreaking his vengeance upon him. Every now and then
+during that winter Bert had bitter proof of his enemy's unrelenting
+hate. It seemed as though there were no limit to Rod's ingenuity in
+devising ways of annoying him, and many a hot tear did he succeed in
+wringing from him.</p>
+
+<p>As spring drew near, this persecution grew more and more intolerable,
+and, without Bert himself being fully conscious of it, a crisis was
+inevitable. This crisis came sooner, perhaps, than either Bert or Rod
+anticipated. One bright spring morning, as Bert, with satchel strapped
+upon his back, approached the school, feeling in high spirits, and
+looking the very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> picture of a sturdy schoolboy, Rod, who had been in
+hiding behind a porch, sprang out upon him suddenly, snatched the cap
+off his head, and, with a shout of, "Fetch it, doggy; go, fetch it,"
+flung it into the middle of the street, that was now little better than
+a river of mud.</p>
+
+<p>This proved to be the last straw upon the back of Bert's endurance, and
+it broke it. With a quickness that gave his tormentor no chance to dodge
+or defend himself, he doubled up his fist, shut his eyes tight, and,
+rushing at him, struck out with all his might. The blow could hardly
+have been more effective if Bert had been an expert in boxing, for his
+fist landed full on Rod's left eye, sending him staggering backward
+several paces, with his hands clapped over the injured optic. But he
+soon recovered himself, and, with clenched fists, was rushing upon Bert,
+to pummel him fiercely, when Teter Johnston, who had just come up,
+sprang in between, and, catching Rod's uplifted arm, cried out, sternly:</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, now! none of that! This must be a fair fight, and you shan't
+begin until Lloyd is ready."</p>
+
+<p>Then turning to Bert, while Rod, who had too much respect for Teter's
+prowess not to obey him, gave way with a malignant scowl, Teter said,
+encouragingly:</p>
+
+<p>"You must fight him, Bert. It's the only way to settle him. You'll
+thrash him all right enough. I'll see you through."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert had a good many doubts about his thrashing "him all right enough,"
+but he was still too angry to think calmly, and, moreover, he was not a
+little elated at the surprising success of his first blow, which,
+although struck at a venture, had gone so straight to the mark, and so
+he nodded his head in assent.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then, it's a fight," said Teter to Rod. "In the yard at the
+noon recess. You bring your second, Graham; I'll look after Bert
+myself."</p>
+
+<p>The words were hardly uttered when the bell rung, and the boys had all
+to hurry to their places in the schoolroom.</p>
+
+<p>That morning was one of the most miserable poor Bert had ever spent. He
+was a prey to the most diverse feelings, and it was with the utmost
+difficulty that he could bring his mind to bear sufficiently upon his
+lessons to keep his place in the classes. In the first place, he really
+dreaded the fight with Rod Graham. Graham was older, taller, and much
+more experienced in such affairs, and Bert could see no reason why he
+should hope for a victory over him. It was all well enough for dear old
+Frank to say from time to time, as he noticed Bert's depression:</p>
+
+<p>"Keep up your spirit, Bert; you'll thrash him sure. And if you don't, I
+will, as sure as I'm alive."</p>
+
+<p>But that did not make the matter any clearer, for Bert would rather not
+get a thrashing at Rod's hands, even though Rod should get one at
+Frank's hands shortly after.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then, again, he did not feel at all certain that his father and mother
+would approve of his having a fight with one of his schoolmates. They
+disliked anything of the kind, he knew well enough, and perhaps they
+would not be willing to make an exception in this case. He wished very
+much he could ask their permission, but that, of course, was out of the
+question. The mere mention of such a thing would assuredly raise a howl
+of derision from the other boys, and even Teter Johnston would no doubt
+ask contemptuously if "he was going to back out of it in that way."</p>
+
+<p>No, no; he must take the chances of his parents' approval, and
+likewise&mdash;and here came in the third difficulty&mdash;of Dr. Johnston's also,
+for he could not help wondering what the doctor would think when he
+heard of it, as he was certain to do.</p>
+
+<p>Thus perplexed and bewildered, the morning dragged slowly along for
+Bert, who would one moment be wishing that recess time could be
+postponed indefinitely, and the next, impatient for its arrival.</p>
+
+<p>At length twelve o'clock struck, and the boys, who were by this time all
+fully aware of what was in the wind, crowded out into the yard and
+quickly formed a ring in the corner farthest away from the schoolroom.
+Into this ring presently stepped Rod Graham, looking very jaunty and
+defiant, supported by Harry Rawdon, the fly catcher, the one friend he
+had in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> school. A moment later came Bert Lloyd, pale but determined,
+with Teter and Frank on either side of him, Frank wearing an expression
+that said as plainly as possible:</p>
+
+<p>"Whip my friend Bert, if you dare."</p>
+
+<p>It is neither necessary nor expedient to go into the details of the
+fight, which did not last very long. Acting on Teter's sage advice, Bert
+made no attempt to defend himself, but rushing into close quarters at
+once, sent in swinging blows with right and left hands alternately,
+striking Rod upon the face and chest, while the latter's blows fell
+principally upon his forehead; until finally, in the fourth round,
+Graham, whose face had suffered severely, gave up the contest, and
+covering his head, with his hands, ran away from Bert, who was too tired
+to pursue him.</p>
+
+<p>Great was the cheering at this conclusive result; and Bert, panting,
+perspiring, and exhausted, found himself the centre of a noisy throng of
+his schoolmates, who wrung his hand, clapped him upon the back, called
+him all sorts of names that were complimentary, and, in fact, gave him a
+regular ovation. After he had gone to the tap and bathed his hot face,
+Bert was very much pleased to find that the brunt of the battle had
+fallen upon his forehead, and that, consequently, he would hardly be
+marked at all. To be sure, when he tried to put his cap on, he
+discovered that it would be necessary to wear it very much on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> the back
+of his head, but he felt like doing that, anyway, so it didn't matter.</p>
+
+<p>He would have liked to shake hands with Rod, and make it all up, but Rod
+was not to be found. After fleeing from his opponent, he had snatched up
+his coat, and, deserted even by Rawdon; who was disgusted at his running
+away, he had gone out into the street, and did not appear again for the
+rest of the day.</p>
+
+<p>His victory worked a great change in Bert's feelings. He was no longer
+troubled about what his parents would think of the fight. He felt sure
+they would applaud him, now that he had come out of it with banners
+flying, so to speak. And he was not far from right, either. Mrs. Lloyd,
+it is true, was a good deal shocked at first, and Mr. Lloyd questioned
+him very closely; but when they heard the whole story, much of which,
+indeed, was already familiar to them, they both agreed that under the
+circumstances Bert could not have acted otherwise, without placing
+himself in a false position.</p>
+
+<p>"At the same time, Bert, dear," said his father, laying his hand upon
+his shoulder, "as it is your first, so I hope it will be your last
+fight. You have established your reputation for courage now. You can
+sustain it in other ways than by your fists."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Johnston's method of showing that he was fully cognisant of the
+event was highly characteristic. The next morning when Bert, with
+swollen forehead, and Rod, with blackened eyes, came before him in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> the
+same class, he said, with one of his sardonic smiles:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Graham, I see Lloyd has been writing his autograph on you. Well,
+let that be an end of it. Shake hands with one another."</p>
+
+<p>Bert immediately put out his hand and grasped Rod's, which was but half
+extended.</p>
+
+<p>"Very good," said the doctor. "We will now proceed with the lesson."</p>
+
+<p>One of the most interested and excited spectators of the fight had been
+Dick Wilding, a boy who will require a few words of description. He was
+the son of one of the merchant princes of the city, and was accustomed
+to everything that the highest social station and abundant wealth could
+procure. He was a handsome young fellow, and although thoroughly spoiled
+and selfish, was not without his good points, a lavish generosity being
+the most noteworthy. This, of course, supplemented by his reckless
+daring as regards all schoolboy feats, and natural aptitude for
+schoolboy sports, made him very popular at the school, and he had a
+large following. Previous to Bert's decisive victory over Rod Graham, he
+had not shown any particular interest in him, beyond committing himself
+to the opinion that he was a "regular brick" on the occasion of the
+hoisting, and again, when Bert bore his whipping so manfully. But since
+the fight, he had exhibited a strong desire to have Bert join the circle
+of his companions, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> to this end cultivated his society in a very
+marked way.</p>
+
+<p>Now, this same Dick Wilding had been in Mrs. Lloyd's mind when she had
+hesitated about Bert's going to Dr. Johnston's. She knew well what his
+bringing up had been, and had heard several stories about him, which
+made her dread his being a companion for Bert. She had accordingly
+spoken to Bert about Dick, and while taking care not to be too pointed,
+had made it clear that she did not want them to be intimate. This was
+when Bert first went to the school, and as there had seemed no prospect
+of anything more than a mere acquaintance springing up between the two
+boys, nothing had been said on the subject for some time, so that it was
+not fresh in his mind when Dick, somewhat to his surprise, showed such a
+desire for his society.</p>
+
+<p>Dick's latest enterprise was the organisation of a cricket club, into
+which he was putting a great deal of energy. As the bats and balls and
+other necessary articles were to be paid for out of his own pocket, he
+found no difficulty in getting recruits, and the list of members was
+fast filling up. Bert had heard a good deal about this club, and would
+have liked very much to belong to it, but as nobody belonged except
+those who had been invited by Dick, his prospects did not seem very
+bright. Great then was his delight when one day at recess, Dick came up
+to him and said in his most winning way:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Say, Bert, don't you want to join my cricket club? I'd like to have you
+in."</p>
+
+<p>Bert did not take long to answer.</p>
+
+<p>"And I'd like to join ever so much," he replied, in great glee.</p>
+
+<p>"All right, then; consider yourself a member, and come round to the
+field behind our house this afternoon. We practise there every day."</p>
+
+<p>Bert was fairly dancing with joy. Yet he did not forget his friend
+Frank. If Frank were not a member of the club, too, half the pleasure of
+it would be gone. So before Dick went off, he ventured to say:</p>
+
+<p>"Frank Bowser would like to belong, too, I know. Won't you ask him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly. No objection at all," replied Dick, in an off-hand way.
+"Bring him along with you this afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>With beaming face, Bert rushed over to where Frank was busy playing
+marbles, and drawing him aside, shouted rather than whispered in his
+ear:</p>
+
+<p>"I've got something splendid to tell you. Dick Wilding has asked us both
+to join his cricket club, and we're to go to his field this very
+afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't say so!" exclaimed Frank, his face now beaming as brightly as
+Bert's. "Isn't that just splendid! I wanted to belong to that club ever
+so much, but was afraid Dick wouldn't ask me."</p>
+
+<p>They had a capital game of cricket that afternoon in the Wilding field,
+which made a very good ground<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> indeed, and not only that afternoon, but
+for many afternoons as spring passed into summer and the days grew
+longer and warmer. Bert told them at home about the club, but somehow
+omitted to mention the prominent part Dick Wilding played in it. In
+fact, he never mentioned his name at all, nor that it was his father's
+field in which the club met. This was the first step in a path of wrong,
+the taking of which was soon to lead to serious consequences.</p>
+
+<p>His reason for suppressing Dick Wilding's name was plain enough. He knew
+that in all probability it would put an end to his connection with the
+club. Now this club had every attraction for a boy like Bert that such
+an organisation could possibly possess. It was select and exclusive, for
+none could belong except those who were invited by Dick. The field was a
+lovely place to play in, and they had it all to themselves. The balls
+and bats and stumps were first-class, a fine set of cricket gear having
+been one of Dick's Christmas presents; and, finally, Dick was always
+bringing out to the players iced lemonade, or ginger beer, or spruce
+beer, or something of the kind, which was wonderfully welcome to them
+when hot and tired and thirsty.</p>
+
+<p>With such strong arguments as these, Bert did not find it difficult to
+quiet his conscience when it troubled him, as it did now and then, and
+he continued to be a great deal in Dick Wilding's society until
+something happened which caused him to bitterly regret that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> had not
+heeded the inward monitor, and kept away from the associations his wise
+mother wished him to avoid.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Lloyd had good reason for dreading Dick Wilding's companionship for
+her boy, as Dick could hardly fail to do Bert harm, while the chances of
+Bert doing him any good were very small, since he was quite a year older
+and well set in his own ways. Dick's parents were thorough people of the
+world. Their religion consisted in occupying a velvet-cushioned pew in a
+fashionable church on Sunday morning, and doing as they pleased the rest
+of the day. They made no attempt to teach their son anything more than
+good manners, taking it quite for granted that the other virtues would
+spring up of themselves. Dick was not much to be blamed, therefore, if
+he had rather hazy views about right and wrong. He had not really an
+evil nature, but he had a very easy conscience, and the motto by which
+he shaped his conduct might well have been: "Get your own way. Get it
+honestly, if you can. But&mdash;get it."</p>
+
+<p>Now, this cricket club had taken a great hold upon his fancy, and his
+whole heart was wrapped up in it. He was captain, of course, and all the
+other boys obeyed him implicitly. Their docility ministered to his
+pride, and he showed his appreciation by fairly showering his bounty
+upon them. There positively seemed no end to his pocket money. All sorts
+of expenses were indulged in. A fine tent was set up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> for the boys to
+put their hats and coats in and sit under when not playing, the
+ginger-beer man had orders to call round every afternoon and leave a
+dozen bottles of his refreshing beverage, and more than once the club,
+instead of playing, adjourned, at Dick's invitation, to an ice-cream
+saloon, and had a regular feast of ice-cream. When some indiscreet
+companion would express his astonishment at the length of Dick's purse,
+the latter would answer, carelessly:</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty of funds. Father, and mother, and uncle all give me money.
+There's lots more where this came from," jingling a handful of silver as
+he spoke. So, indeed, there was; but had it any business to be in Master
+Dick's pocket?</p>
+
+<p>This delightful state of affairs went on for some weeks, no one enjoying
+it more than Bert, and then came a revelation that broke upon the boys
+like a thunder-clap out of a clear sky.</p>
+
+<p>One evening, Mr. Wilding came over to see Mr. Lloyd, looking very grave
+and troubled. They had a long talk together in Mr. Lloyd's study, and
+when he went away Mr. Lloyd looked as grave and troubled as his visitor.
+After showing Mr. Wilding out, he called his wife into the library, and
+communicated to her what he had just heard, and it must have been
+sorrowful news, for Mrs. Lloyd's face bore unmistakable signs of tears,
+when presently she went out for Bert, who was hard at work upon his
+lessons in the dining-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The moment Bert entered the room he saw that something was the matter.
+The faces of his father and mother were very sorrowful, and an
+indefinable feeling of apprehension took hold of him. He was not long
+left in uncertainty as to the cause of the trouble.</p>
+
+<p>"Bert," said his father, gravely, "have you seen much of Dick Wilding
+lately?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert blushed, and hesitated a moment, and then answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father; a good deal. He's the captain of our cricket club, you
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not know until now that you have told me, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd,
+looking meaningly at him. "You never told me before, did you?"</p>
+
+<p>The colour deepened on Bert's face.</p>
+
+<p>"No, father; I don't think I did," he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Had you any reason for saying nothing about him, Bert? Were you afraid
+we would not let you belong to the club if we knew that Dick Wilding was
+its captain?" asked Mr. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>Bert made no reply, but his head drooped low upon his breast, and his
+hands playing nervously with the buttons of his coat told the whole
+story more plainly than words could have done. Mr. Lloyd sighed deeply
+and looked at his wife as though to say: "There's no doubt about it; our
+boy has been deceiving us," while Mrs. Lloyd's eyes once more filled
+with tears, which she turned away to hide.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After a pause, during which Bert seemed to hear the beating of his own
+heart as distinctly as the ticking of the big clock upon the mantel, Mr.
+Lloyd said, in tones that showed deep feeling:</p>
+
+<p>"We would have been sorry enough to find out that our boy had been
+deceiving us, but what shall we say at finding out that he has been a
+sharer in pleasures purchased with stolen money?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert looked up in surprise. Stolen money! What could his father mean?
+Mr. Lloyd understood the movement, and anticipated the unasked question.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Bert; stolen money. The beer, the candy, and the ice cream, which
+Dick Wilding lavished upon you so freely, were paid for with money
+stolen from his mother's money drawer. He found a key which fitted the
+lock, and has taken out, no one knows just how much money; and you have
+been sharing in what that stolen money purchased."</p>
+
+<p>Bert was fairly stunned. Dick Wilding a thief! And he a sharer in the
+proceeds of his guilt! He felt as though he must run and hide himself.
+That Dick should do wrong was not entirely a surprise to him, but that
+his sin in being a companion of Dick's on the sly should be found out in
+this way, this it was which cut him to the heart. Without a word of
+excuse to offer, he sat there, self-condemned and speechless. The
+silence of the room was appalling. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> could not bear it any longer.
+Springing from his chair, he rushed across the room, threw himself on
+his knees before his mother, and putting his head in her lap, burst into
+a paroxysm of tears, sobbing as though his heart would break.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Bert, poor Bert!" murmured his mother, tenderly, passing her hand
+softly over the curly head in her lap.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was deeply moved, and put his hand up to his eyes to conceal
+the tears fast welling from them. For some minutes the quiet of the room
+was broken only by Bert's sobs, and the steady ticking of the clock upon
+the mantelpiece.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was the first to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"You had better get up and go to your room, Bert. We both know how sorry
+you are, and we forgive you for having so disobeyed us. But we are not
+the only ones of whom you must ask forgiveness. Go to your knees, Bert,
+and ask God to forgive you."</p>
+
+<p>Bert rose slowly to his feet, and, not venturing to look either his
+father or mother in the face, was going out of the door, when his father
+called him back.</p>
+
+<p>"Just one word more, Bert. It is not long since you won a brave fight,
+and now you have been sadly defeated by a far worse enemy than Rod
+Graham. You can, in your own strength, overcome human foes, but only by
+Divine strength can you overcome the tempter that has led you astray
+this time. Pray for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> this strength, Bert, for it is the kind the Bible
+means when it says, 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"</p>
+
+<p>And with a look of deep affection, Mr. Lloyd let Bert go from him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>A NARROW ESCAPE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>So keenly did Bert feel his disgrace, that it was some time before he
+regained his wonted spirits; and his continued depression gave his
+mother no little concern, so that she took every way of showing to him
+that her confidence in him was unimpaired, and that she asked no further
+proof of his penitence than he had already given. But Bert's sensitive
+nature had received a shock from which it did not readily recover. From
+his earliest days he had been peculiarly free from the desire to take
+what did not belong to him; and as he grew older, this had developed
+into a positive aversion to anything that savoured of stealing in the
+slightest degree. He never could see any fun in "hooking" another boy's
+lunch, as so many others did, and nothing could induce him to join in
+one of the numerous expeditions organised to raid sundry unguarded
+orchards in the outskirts of the city.</p>
+
+<p>His firmness upon this point led to a curious scene one afternoon.
+School was just out, and a group of the boys, among whom were Bert,
+and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> of course, Frank Bowser, was discussing what they should do with
+themselves, when Ned Ross proposed that they should go out to the
+Hosterman orchard, and see if they could not get some apples. A chorus
+of approval came from all but Bert, who immediately turned away and made
+as though he would go home.</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo! Bert," cried Ned Ross, "aren't you coming?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Bert, very decidedly. "I'm not."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" inquired Ned. "What's the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Those are not our apples, Ned, and we've got no right to touch 'em,"
+answered Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Bosh and nonsense!" exclaimed Ned. "All the boys take them, and nobody
+ever hinders them. Come along."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Bert, "I can't."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't? Why can't you?" persisted Ned, who was rapidly losing his
+temper.</p>
+
+<p>Bert hesitated a moment, and the colour mounted high in his cheeks. Then
+he spoke out his reason bravely:</p>
+
+<p>"Because I'm a Christian, Ned; and it would not be right for me to do
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"A Christian?" sneered Ned. "You'd be nearer the truth if you said a
+coward."</p>
+
+<p>The words had hardly left his lips before Frank Bowser was standing
+before him, shaking in his face a fist that was not to be regarded
+lightly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Say that again," cried Frank, wrathfully, "and I'll knock you down!"</p>
+
+<p>Ned looked at Frank's face, and then at his fist. There was no mistaking
+the purpose of either, and as Frank was fully his match, if not more, he
+thought it prudent to say nothing more than: "Bah! Come on, fellows. We
+can get along without him."</p>
+
+<p>The group moved off; but Bert was not the only one who stayed behind.
+Frank stayed too; and so did Ernest Linton. And these three sought their
+amusement in another direction.</p>
+
+<p>That scene very vividly impressed Bert, and over and over again he
+thought to himself: "What will the boys who heard me refuse to go to the
+orchard, because I am a Christian, think of me when they hear that I
+have been helping to spend stolen money?"</p>
+
+<p>This was the thought that troubled him most, but it was not the only
+one. He felt that he could not be at ease with his beloved Sunday-school
+teacher again, until he had made a full confession to him. But, oh! this
+did seem so hard to do! Several Sundays passed without his being able to
+make up his mind to do it. At length he determined to put it off no
+longer, and one Sunday afternoon, lingering behind after the school had
+been dismissed, he poured the whole story into Mr. Silver's sympathetic
+ear.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Silver was evidently moved to the heart, as Bert, without sparing
+himself, told of his disobedience,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> his concealment, and the
+consequences that followed; and he had many a wise and tender word for
+the boy, whose confidence in him made him proud. From that day a
+peculiar fondness existed between the two, and Mr. Silver was inspired
+to increased fidelity and effort in his work because of the knowledge
+that one at least of his boys looked upon him with such affection and
+confidence.</p>
+
+<p>Once that summer had fairly come to stay, the wharves of the city became
+full of fascination for the boys, and every afternoon they trooped
+thither to fish for perch and tommy cods; to board the vessels lying in
+their berths, and out-do one another in feats of rigging climbing; to
+play glorious games of "hide-and-seek," and "I spy," in the great
+cavernous warehouses, and when tired to gather around some idle sailor,
+and have him stir their imagination with marvellous stories of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>For none had the wharves more attraction than for Bert and Frank, and
+although Mrs. Lloyd would not allow the former to go down Water Street,
+where he would be far from home, she did not object to his spending an
+afternoon now and then on a wharf not far from their own house. So
+thither the two friends repaired at every opportunity, and fine fun they
+had, dropping their well-baited hooks into the clear green water, to
+catch eager perch, or watching the hardworking sailors dragging huge
+casks of molasses out of dark and grimy holds, and rolling them up the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
+wharf to be stored in the vast cool warehouses, or running risks of
+being pickled themselves, as they followed the fish-curers in their work
+of preparing the salt herring or mackerel for their journey to the hot
+West Indies. There never was any lack of employment, for eyes, or hands,
+or feet, on that busy wharf, and the boys felt very proud when they were
+permitted to join the workers sometimes and do their little best, which
+was all the more enjoyable because they could stop whenever they liked,
+and hadn't to work all day as the others did.</p>
+
+<p>Nor were these the only attractions. The principal business done at this
+wharf was with the West Indies, and no vessel thought of coming back
+from that region of fruits without a goodly store of oranges, bananas,
+and pine-apples, some of which, if the boys were not too troublesome,
+and the captain had made a good voyage, were sure to find their way into
+very appreciative mouths. Bert's frank, bright manner, and plucky
+spirit, made him a great favourite with the captains, and many a time
+was he sent home with a big juicy pine, or an armful of great golden
+oranges.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when Bert and Frank went down to the wharf, they found a
+strange-looking vessel made fast to the piles that filled them with
+curiosity. She was a barquentine, and was sparred, and rigged, and
+painted in a rather unusual way, the explanation of it all being that
+she was a Spanish vessel, of an old-fashioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> type. Quite in keeping
+with the appearance of the vessel was the appearance of the crew. They
+were nearly all Lascars, and with their tawny skins, flashing eyes, jet
+black hair, and gold-ringed ears, seemed to fit very well the
+description of the pirates, whose dreadful deeds, as graphically
+described in sundry books, had given the boys many a delicious thrill of
+horror. This resemblance caused them to look upon the foreigners with
+some little fear at first, but their curiosity soon overcame all
+considerations of prudence, and after hanging about for a while, they
+bashfully accepted the invitation extended them by a swarthy sailor,
+whose words were unintelligible, but whose meaning was unmistakable.</p>
+
+<p>On board the <i>Santa Maria</i>&mdash;for that was the vessel's name&mdash;they found
+much to interest them, and the sailors treated them very kindly, in
+spite of their piratical appearance. What delighted them most was a
+monkey that belonged to the cook. He was one of the cutest, cleverest
+little creatures that ever parodied humanity. His owner had taught him a
+good many tricks, and he had taught himself even more; and both the boys
+felt that in all their lives they had never seen so entertaining a pet.
+He completely captivated them, and they would have given all they
+possessed to make him their own. But the cook had no idea of parting
+with him, even had it been in their power to buy him; so they had to
+content themselves with going down to see him as often as they could.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Of course, they told their schoolmates about him, and of course the
+schoolmates were set wild with curiosity to see this marvellous monkey,
+and they flocked down to the <i>Santa Maria</i> in such numbers, and so
+often, that at last the sailors got tired of them. A mob of schoolboys
+invading the deck every afternoon, and paying uproarious homage to the
+cleverness of a monkey, was more or less of a nuisance. Accordingly, by
+way of a gentle hint, the rope ladder, by which easy access was had to
+the vessel, was removed, and a single rope put in its place.</p>
+
+<p>It happened that the first afternoon after this had been done, the crowd
+of visitors was larger than ever; and when they arrived at the <i>Santa
+Maria's</i> side, and found the ladder gone, they were, as may be easily
+imagined, very much disgusted. A rope might be good enough for a sailor,
+but the boys very much preferred a ladder, and they felt disposed to
+resent the action of the sailors in thus cutting off their means of
+ascent. The fact that it was high tide at the time, and the tall sides
+of the ship towered above the wharf, constituted a further grievance in
+the boys' minds. They held an impromptu indignation meeting forthwith.
+But, although they were unanimous in condemning the conduct of the
+foreigners, who evidently did not know any better, they were still no
+nearer the monkey.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not try to shin up the rope?" asked Frank Bowser, after a while.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right, if you'll give us a lead," replied one of the others.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well&mdash;here goes!" returned Frank. And without more ado he grasped
+the rope, planted his feet firmly against the vessel's side, and began
+to ascend. It was evidently not the easiest thing in the world to do,
+but his pluck, determination, and muscle conquered; and presently,
+somewhat out of breath, he sat upon the bulwark, and, waving his cap to
+the boys below, gasped out:</p>
+
+<p>"Come along, boys! It's as easy as winking."</p>
+
+<p>Not to be outdone, several others made the attempt and succeeded also.
+Then came Bert's turn. Although so many had got up all right, he somehow
+felt a little nervous, and made one or two false starts, climbing up a
+little way and then dropping back again. This caused those who were
+waiting to become impatient, and while Bert was about making another
+start, one of them who stood behind him gave him a sharp push, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Hurry up there, slow coach."</p>
+
+<p>As it happened, Bert was just at that moment changing his grip upon the
+rope, and balancing himself upon the extreme edge of the stringer, which
+formed the edge of the wharf. The ill-timed push caught him unawares. He
+threw out his arms to steady himself, and the rope slipped altogether
+from his grasp. The next instant, with a cry of fear that was taken up
+by the boys standing helplessly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> about, he fell over into the dark,
+swirling water, between the vessel's side and the wharf.</p>
+
+<p>Down, down, down he went, while the water roared in his ears with the
+thunders of Niagara, and filled his mouth with its sickening brine, as
+instinctively he opened it to cry for help. He could not swim a stroke,
+but he had a good idea of what the motions were, and so now, in a
+desperate effort to save his life, he struck out vigorously with his
+hands. It must have helped him, too; for out of the darkness into which
+he had been plunged at first, he emerged into a lighter place, where,
+through the green water, he could see his hands looking very white, as
+they moved before his face.</p>
+
+<p>But this did not bring him to the surface; so he tried another plan.
+Doubling his sturdy legs beneath him, he shot them out as he had seen
+other boys do when "treading water." A thrill of joy inspired him as the
+effort succeeded, and, his head rising above the surface, he got one
+good breath before sinking again. But the pitiless water engulfed him
+once more, and, though he struggled hard, he seemed unable to keep
+himself from sinking deeper still. Then the desire to struggle began to
+leave him. Life seemed no longer a thing to be fiercely striven for. A
+strange peace stole over his mind, and was followed by a still stranger
+thing; for while he floated there, an unresisting prey to the deep, it
+appeared as though all the events of his past life<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> were crowding before
+him like some wonderful panorama. From right to left they followed one
+another in orderly procession, each as clear and distinct as a painted
+picture, and he was watching them with absorbed, painless interest, when
+something dark came across his vision; he felt himself grasped firmly
+and drawn swiftly through the water, and the next thing he knew, he was
+in the light and air again, and was being handed up to the top of the
+wharf by men who passed him carefully from one to the other. In the very
+nick of time rescue had come, and Bert was brought back to life.</p>
+
+<p>Now, who was his rescuer, and what took place while Bert was struggling
+for his life in the cold, dark water? The instant he disappeared the
+boys shouted and shrieked in such a way as to bring the whole crew of
+the <i>Santa Maria</i> to the bulwarks, over which they eagerly peered, not
+understanding what was the matter. Frank, who was in a frenzy of anxiety
+and alarm, tried hard to explain to them; but his efforts were
+unavailing until the reappearance of Bert's head made the matter plain
+at once, and then he thought they would, of course, spring to the
+rescue. But they did not. They looked at one another, and jabbered
+something unintelligible, but not one of them moved, though Frank seized
+the liveliest of them by the arm, and, pointing to the place where Bert
+vanished, again indicated, by unmistakable gestures, what he wanted him
+to do. The man simply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> shook his head and moved away. He either could
+not swim, or did not think it worth while to risk his precious life in
+trying to rescue one of the foreign urchins that had been bothering the
+<i>Santa Maria</i> of late. Had Bert's life depended upon these men, it might
+have been given up at once.</p>
+
+<p>But there was other help at hand. John Connors, the good-natured Irish
+storekeeper, by whose sufferance the boys were permitted to make a
+playground of the wharf, had heard their frantic cries, although he was
+away up in one of the highest flats of the farthest store. Without
+stopping to see what could be the matter, Connors leaped down the long
+flights of stairs at a reckless rate, and ran toward the shrieking boys.</p>
+
+<p>"Bert's overboard&mdash;save him!" they cried, as he burst into their midst.</p>
+
+<p>"Where?" he asked, breathlessly, while he flung off his boots.</p>
+
+<p>"There&mdash;just there," they replied, pointing to where Bert had last been
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>Balancing himself for an instant on the end of the stringer, Connors,
+with the spring of a practised swimmer, dived into the depths and
+disappeared; while the boys, in the silence of intense anxiety, crowded
+as close as they dared to the edge of the wharf, and the Lascars looked
+down from their bulwarks in stolid admiration. There were some moments
+of harrowing uncertainty, and then a shout arose from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> the boys, which
+even the swarthy sailors imitated, after a fashion; for cleaving the
+bubbled surface came the head of brave John Connors, and, close beside
+it, the dripping curls of Bert Lloyd, the faces of both showing great
+exhaustion.</p>
+
+<p>The sailors were all alert now. Ropes were hastily flung over the side,
+and swarming down these with the agility of monkeys, they took Bert out
+of his rescuer's hands and passed him up to the wharf; Connors followed
+unassisted, so soon as he had recovered his breath.</p>
+
+<p>Once upon the wharf, they were surrounded by a noisy group of boys,
+overjoyed at their playmate's happy escape from death, and overflowing
+with admiration for his gallant rescuer. Bert very quickly came to
+himself&mdash;for he had not indeed entirely lost consciousness&mdash;and then
+Connors told him just how he had got hold of him:</p>
+
+<p>"When I dived down first I couldn't see anything of you at all, my boy,
+and I went hunting about with my eyes wide open and looking for you. At
+last, just as I was about giving you up, I saw something dark below me
+that I thought might, p'r'aps, be yourself. So I just stuck out my foot,
+and by the powers if it didn't take you right under the chin. As quick
+as a wink I drew you toward me, and once I had a good grip of you, I put
+for the top as hard as I could go; and here we are now, safe and sound.
+And, faith, I hope you won't be trying it again in a hurry."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 374px;">
+<img src="images/image226.jpg" width="374" height="600" alt="BERT RESCUED.&mdash;Page 214." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BERT RESCUED.&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_214'><b>214</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert was very much in earnest when he assured him he would not, and
+still more in earnest when he tried to express his gratitude. But
+Connors would none of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, not at all, my boy," said he, with a laugh. "A fine young
+chap like you is well worth saving any day, and it's not in John Connors
+to stand by and see you drown, even if those black-faced furriners don't
+know any better."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+<h3>LEARNING TO SWIM.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert's appearance, when he made his way home with dripping clothes, and
+face still pale from what he had undergone, created no small
+consternation. His sister was particularly alarmed, and it took some
+time to convince her that, once having got out of the grasp of the
+greedy water, he was really in no more danger. Had she been permitted to
+have her own way, she would have bundled him off to bed forthwith, and
+filled up any little corners inside of him that the sea water had left
+unoccupied, with warm raspberry vinegar. But Bert would none of it, and
+Mrs. Lloyd, although a good deal startled at first, soon recovered her
+self-possession sufficiently to agree with him, when he insisted that
+all he wanted was some dry clothes and a rest.</p>
+
+<p>The dry clothes were quickly furnished, and having put them on, he
+returned to the sitting-room to tell them all about his rescue, Frank
+being at hand to fill in any details that he missed in the recital. The
+tears stood in his mother's eyes, as he related what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> he had felt and
+thought during those eventful moments when his life hung in the balance;
+tears of distress, of sympathy, of joy, and finally of gratitude, as in
+glowing words he described how noble John Connors had dived away down
+into the dark green depths to rescue him just in the nick of time.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Bert, darling," she exclaimed, when he had finished, folding him to
+her breast, "how good God was to send dear, brave Connors to your help!
+We cannot praise Him enough, and, dearest, don't you think He must
+intend you to be something good and great for Him, when He thus spared
+your life? And that dear man Connors!&mdash;I feel as though I could kiss the
+hands that drew you from the water. Your father must go to-night, and
+tell him how grateful we are; and he must do more than that&mdash;he must
+reward him well for running such a risk to save our boy."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Lloyd came home and learned what had happened, he made no
+pretence of concealing his emotion. The very thought of losing in that
+dreadful way the boy who was the joy and pride of his life filled him
+with horror, and no words could express his fervent gratitude to
+Connors, and to God, for sending so courageous a rescuer. So soon as
+dinner was over he set off in search of him, taking Bert with him.
+Connors's home was easily found, and Connors himself sat smoking his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
+evening pipe upon the door-step, as unconcernedly as though he had done
+nothing out of the way that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>The object of Mr. Lloyd's visit was soon made known, but he found more
+difficulty than he expected in giving such expression as he desired to
+the gratitude he felt. Connors was quite willing to be thanked, and
+accepted Mr. Lloyd's fervent words with a respectful acquiescence that
+well became him, but when Mr. Lloyd broached the subject of a more
+tangible reward, Connors quite as respectfully, but very firmly,
+refused.</p>
+
+<p>"I want no reward for saving your boy, sir. It's proud I am of pulling
+so fine a boy as that out of the water. I did no more than you'd do for
+my boy, sir, if he were in the same scrape," said he, in reply to Mr.
+Lloyd's delicately worded offer.</p>
+
+<p>"That may be, Connors. I'm sure I would do as you say, but all the same
+I would feel much more comfortable if you would accept this purse as
+some expression of my gratitude," urged Mr. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>"And, thanking you kindly, sir, I'd feel much more comfortable if I
+didn't take it," returned Connors, in a tone there was no mistaking. So
+Mr. Lloyd, resolving in his mind that he would find out some other way
+of rewarding the worthy fellow, said no more then, and shortly after
+took his leave.</p>
+
+<p>As Bert and his father walked home together they were still talking
+about the event of the afternoon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you had been drowned, Bert, it would to some extent have been my
+fault," said Mr. Lloyd; "for I should not have so long neglected
+teaching you to swim. A boy of your age ought to be well able to take
+care of himself in the water, and I should have seen that you were.
+However, now that this escape of yours has waked me up, I will attend to
+the matter at once. So we will begin to-morrow morning, Bert, and have a
+swimming lesson every day before breakfast."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father; I'm so glad," exclaimed Bert, skipping about joyfully. "I
+want to know how to swim ever so much, and I'll soon learn if you'll
+teach me."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, my boy. You see to waking me in good time, and I'll see that
+you learn to swim," replied Mr. Lloyd, clapping Bert affectionately on
+the back.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning at six o'clock Bert was rapping loudly on his father's
+door, and calling upon him to get up, and a quarter of an hour later the
+pair with towels on their arms were off in the direction of a secluded,
+deserted wharf that would just suit their purpose.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving at this place, Mr. Lloyd showed Bert how he proposed to
+teach him to swim, and it certainly was about as excellent a way as
+could well have been devised. He had brought with him two things besides
+the towels: a piece of rope about the thickness of a clothes line, and
+ten yards or more in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> length, and a strong linen band, two yards in
+length. The linen band he put round Bert's shoulders in such a way that
+there was no possibility of its slipping, or interfering with the action
+of his arms; and then the rope was so fastened to the band that when
+Bert was in the water his father, standing on the wharf above him, could
+hold him in just the right position for swimming.</p>
+
+<p>The preparations having been completed, Bert was bidden descend the
+steps and plunge into the water. He started off bravely enough, but when
+he reached the bottom step he hesitated. The water was at least ten feet
+in depth beneath him, and he had never been "over his head," as they
+say, before, except when he came so near being drowned. Naturally,
+therefore, he shrank from committing himself to the deep in this
+fashion.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bert, what's the matter? Are you afraid the water is too cold?"
+asked his father, as he noticed his hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>"No, father; not exactly," answered Bert, feeling half ashamed of
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"You're afraid it's too deep, then?" suggested Mr. Lloyd. And Bert
+looked up with a smile that showed he had hit the mark.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, my boy," said Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly. "You're all right. I
+won't let go of you. Jump in like a man."</p>
+
+<p>Bert hung back a moment; then, shutting his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> mouth tightly and closing
+his eyes, he sprang boldly into the cool, green water. He went under a
+little at first, but a slight tug on the rope brought him quickly to the
+top, and recovering his breath and his self-possession at the same time,
+he struck out with his arms and kicked with his legs, according to the
+best of his ability. His motions were sadly unskilful, as may be easily
+imagined, and although they used up his strength pretty rapidly, they
+would not have kept his head above water for a minute; but a gentle
+pressure on the rope in Mr. Lloyd's hand made that all right, and,
+feeling quite at his ease, Bert struggled away until he was tired out,
+and then his father, who had all the time been cheering and directing
+him, drew him back to the steps, and the lesson was over.</p>
+
+<p>"You did very well, Bert; very well, indeed," said he, in tones of warm
+approval, as Bert proceeded to rub off the salt water and get into his
+clothes again. "I don't think it will take a great many lessons to make
+a swimmer of you."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Lloyd's confidence was well founded; for so earnestly did Bert
+give himself to the business of learning to swim that by the end of a
+fortnight he could go ten yards out and back without any help from the
+rope at all. Another fortnight and the rope was no longer needed. Mr.
+Lloyd now went into the water with Bert, and swimming out to the middle
+of the dock, would have the boy come to him, and after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> resting upon his
+broad shoulders a moment, make his way back to the steps again.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, in little more than a month, Bert became quite able to take care
+of himself in the water under ordinary circumstances; and his father,
+feeling well satisfied with his proficiency, gave him liberty to go to
+the wharves as often as he pleased&mdash;a boon Bert highly appreciated.</p>
+
+<p>A pleasure unshared by his faithful Frank was but half a pleasure to
+Bert. Next in importance to his being able to swim himself was Frank's
+acquiring the same invaluable accomplishment. Invaluable? Yes, one might
+indeed rightly use a stronger term, and say indispensable; for the
+education of no boy is complete until he has mastered the art of
+swimming. And if the boys knew their own interests as thoroughly as
+their parents and guardians ought to know them, they would agitate all
+over the land for the provision of swimming baths in connection with
+their schools, or in some other way that would ensure them the
+opportunity of learning what to do with themselves in the water, as well
+as upon the land.</p>
+
+<p>Frank could swim a stroke or two before Bert took him in hand, and
+consequently was soon able to dispense with the rope; but timid little
+Ernest Linton, who was the next pupil, took a lot of teaching, and there
+seemed small prospect of his conquering his timidity sufficiently to "go
+it alone" before the swimming season would be over.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The fame of Bert's swimming school spread among his playmates to an
+extent that threatened to be embarrassing. By the time they were half
+way through the mid-summer holidays, a crowd of boisterous youngsters
+gathered every morning at the old wharf, and struggled for the use of
+band and rope, until at last there had to be several of these provided.
+Then they had fine fun. A dozen boys would be in the water at the same
+time&mdash;some of them expert swimmers, the others in all stages of
+learning&mdash;and there would be races, splashing matches, unexpected
+duckings, sly tricks upon the nervous learners, and all sorts of capers,
+such as might be expected from boys of their age and enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>By way of deepening the interest in this healthful amusement, they
+organised a competition, the prizes being supplied by their parents, who
+were duly waited upon by a properly-authorised committee; and one fine
+August afternoon, the sleepy old wharf was made to fairly tremble with
+excitement, as race followed race in quick succession, amid the cheering
+and shouting of some two-score vigorous boys. Much to his delight, Frank
+succeeded in carrying off the first prize. He was a persistent,
+painstaking fellow when his interest was thoroughly aroused, and while
+other chaps were skylarking about in the water, he had been practising
+long swims, the consequence of which was that at the competition&mdash;when,
+of course, the best prize was given for the longest race; the course,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>
+in this instance, being out to the head of the wharf, and back&mdash;Frank
+left all the other contestants behind, and came in an easy winner.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was exceedingly pleased. He had not won any prizes himself, except
+an unimportant little second one; but Frank's success more than consoled
+him, and he bore him off home with him in high glee, that the family
+might share in the joy of the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly two years now had passed since the two friends first made one
+another's acquaintance, and the course of events had fully confirmed the
+expectation of Bert's parents, that he would be far more likely to
+influence Frank for good than Frank would be to influence him for evil.
+There had been unmistakable improvement in Frank, both in manners and
+morals. Constant association with a playmate brought up under home
+influences so different from his own; the wise and kindly words that Mr.
+and Mrs. Lloyd lost no opportunity of speaking to him; the refinement
+and brightness of their home; the atmosphere of sunny religion that
+pervaded it; and all these supplemented by an ever-interesting
+presentation of common-sense Christianity at the hands of Mr. Silver
+every Sunday afternoon, had worked deep into Frank's strong, steadfast
+nature, and without being distinctly conscious of it himself, he was
+growing refined, pure, and religious in thought and desire, like those
+with whom it was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> joy of his life to associate. The current of his
+being had been turned Godward, and in him, though he knew it not, Bert
+had won the first star for his crown.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The month of September was close at hand, and Bert would soon begin his
+second year with Dr. Johnston. Mr. Lloyd, though well content with the
+progress his son had been making in his studies, thought it would be a
+wise thing to hold out some extra inducement that might incite him to
+still greater diligence, and so one evening, while the family were
+sitting together, he broached the subject:</p>
+
+<p>"Dr. Johnston gives a lot of prizes at the end of the term, doesn't he,
+Bert?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father, a good many; always books, you know," answered Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you get a prize of some kind last term?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know, father. Didn't try hard enough, I suppose," replied
+Bert, smiling in his turn.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do you intend to try this term, Bert?"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed I do; and Frank's going to try, too. My best chance is in the
+arithmetic, so I'm going to try for that; and he's going in for
+grammar."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then, Bert, do your best; and if you win a prize I will give
+you what you have wanted so long&mdash;a pony."</p>
+
+<p>The expression of Bert's countenance at this quite unexpected
+announcement was a study. His eyes and mouth, the former with surprise,
+the latter with a smile, opened to their fullest extent, and for a
+moment he stood motionless. Then, springing across the floor, he leaped
+into his father's lap, put both arms around his neck, and burying his
+happy face in the brown whiskers, ejaculated, fervently:</p>
+
+<p>"You dear, dear father, you dear, dear father, how I do love you!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd returned the affectionate hug with interest, and then, holding
+Bert out on his knee, said, in a playful tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Aren't you in too much of a hurry about thanking me, Bert? You haven't
+won your pony yet, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right, father," returned Bert. "I mean to win it, and what's
+more, I'm going to."</p>
+
+<p>It need hardly be said that the first item of news Bert had for his
+friend Frank next morning was his father's offer.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't it be splendid to have a pony of my very own!" he exclaimed, his
+eyes dancing with delight at the prospect. "Perhaps your father will
+give you a pony, too, if you win a prize; hey, Frank?"</p>
+
+<p>Frank shook his head dubiously:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Not much chance of that, Bert. That's not his way of doing things."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well, never mind. You can ride turn about with me on mine, and
+we'll have just splendid fun."</p>
+
+<p>As the boys were talking together, little Ernest Linton approached,
+looking as if he had something on his mind. Getting close to Bert, he
+touched him gently on the arm to attract his attention, and, turning a
+very earnest, appealing face to his, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Bert, I want to ask a favour."</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo, Ernie, what's up?" asked Bert, in his kindest tones.</p>
+
+<p>Ernest then proceeded to tell him that his younger brother, Paul, was to
+come to the school in a few days, and that he was a very timid, delicate
+little chap that would be sure to be half frightened out of his life if
+they hoisted him; and what Ernest wanted was that Bert and Frank should
+see if they could not, in some way or other, save Paul from being
+hoisted.</p>
+
+<p>The two boys were filled with the idea at once. It was good enough fun
+to hoist sturdy fellows like themselves, who were none the worse for it;
+but if Paul were the sort of chap his brother said he was, it would be a
+real shame to give him such a scare, and they would do their best to
+prevent its being done. Accordingly, they promised Ernest they would
+protect his brother if they could, and Ernest felt very much relieved at
+their promise.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But how were they going to carry it out? No exceptions had been made as
+to the hoisting since they had come to Dr. Johnston's, but all new boys
+were hoisted with perfect impartiality. They would be powerless by
+themselves, that was certain. Their only plan was to persuade a lot of
+the boys to join them, and they did not feel entirely sure about being
+able to do this. However, the first thing to be done was to ask Teter
+Johnston. If they could enlist his sympathies, their task would be a
+good deal easier. Accordingly, at recess, they made directly for Teter,
+and laid the whole matter before him. Like themselves, he took hold of
+it at once. It was just the sort of thing that would appeal to his big,
+warm, manly heart, and without hesitation he promised the boys he would
+give them all the help in his power.</p>
+
+<p>The next step was to secure recruits for their party. In this Teter
+helped them greatly, and Frank was very active too, because big Rod
+Graham, whom he disliked none the less, though Bert had thrashed him so
+soundly, always headed the hoisting party, and Frank looked forward with
+keen delight to balking this tormenting bully by means of the
+anti-hoisting party they were now organising.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, the movement could not be kept a secret. It soon leaked out,
+and then Rod Graham and Dick Wilding&mdash;who, by the way, since the stolen
+money episode, had been as cool in his relations with Bert as he had
+previously been cordial, evidently resenting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> very much Bert's
+withdrawal from his companionship&mdash;these two, with their associates,
+began to organise in their turn, so that it was not long before the
+school was divided into two parties, both of which were looking forward
+eagerly to the event which should decide which would have their own way.</p>
+
+<p>On the Monday following the opening of the school Ernest Linton brought
+his brother with him, a slight, pale, delicate little fellow, not more
+than eight years old, who clung close to his brother's side, and looked
+about with a frightened air that was sufficient in itself to arouse
+one's sympathies. Bert and Frank had known him before, but Teter had
+never seen him, and his kind heart prompted him to go up and slap the
+little fellow kindly on the back, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"So you're Linton's brother Paul, eh? Cheer up, little chap; we'll see
+they're not too hard upon you."</p>
+
+<p>Paul's pale face brightened, and looking up with a grateful glance, he
+said, softly:</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Teter laughed at being "sirred," and went off, feeling quite pleased
+with himself.</p>
+
+<p>According to the custom of the school, Paul would be hoisted at the
+mid-day recess of the following day, and the boys looked forward eagerly
+to the struggle for which they had been preparing. During the morning
+their thoughts clearly were not upon the lessons, and so many mistakes
+were made that the shrewd doctor suspected there must be something<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>
+brewing, but preferred to let it reveal itself rather than to interfere
+by premature questions. He was a profound student of human nature, and
+especially of boy nature. He knew his boys as thoroughly as an Eastern
+shepherd ever knew his sheep. They were like open books before him, and
+in this perhaps more than in anything else lay the secret of his rare
+success as a teacher.</p>
+
+<p>When the eagerly expected recess came, all the boys, with the exception
+of a small group, poured out tumultuously into the street, and ranged
+themselves in two bands in close proximity to the door. The group that
+remained consisted of the two Lintons, Bert, Frank, and Teter, the
+latter three constituting a sort of body-guard for poor timorous little
+Paul, who shrank in terror from the ordeal, the nature of which in truth
+he did not fully understand. Having consulted together for a minute or
+two, the body-guard then moved out through the door, taking care to keep
+Paul in the middle. As they emerged into the street, a kind of hum of
+suppressed excitement rose from the crowd awaiting them, followed
+immediately by cries of "Hoist him! hoist him!" uttered first by Graham
+and Wilding, and quickly taken up by their supporters.</p>
+
+<p>Pale with fright, Paul cowered close to Teter, while Bert and Frank
+stood in front of him, and their supporters quickly encircled them. Then
+came the struggle. Graham and Wilding and their party bore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> down upon
+Paul's defenders, and sought to break their way through them to reach
+their intended victim. Of course, no blows were struck. The boys all
+knew better than to do that; but pushing, hauling, wrestling, very much
+after the fashion of football players in a maul, the one party strove to
+seize Paul, who indeed offered no more resistance than an ordinary
+football, and the other to prevent his being carried off. For some
+minutes the issue was uncertain, although the hoisting party
+considerably outnumbered the anti-hoisting party. More than once did
+Graham and Wilding force their way into the centre of Paul's defenders,
+and almost have him in their grasp, only to be thrust away again by the
+faithful trio that stood about him like the three of whom Macaulay's
+ringing ballad tells:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"How well Horatius kept the bridge,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">In the brave days of old."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Shouting, struggling, swaying to and fro, the contest went on, much to
+the amusement of a crowd of spectators, among which the tall,
+blue-coated form of a policeman loomed up prominently, although he
+deigned not to interfere. At length the weight of superior numbers began
+to tell, and despite all their efforts the anti-hoisting party were
+borne slowly but surely toward the fence, upon which some of the boys
+had already taken their positions, ready to have Paul handed up to them.
+The case was looking desperate, and Teter, heated and wearied with his
+exertions, had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> just said, in his deepest tones, to Bert and Frank,
+"Come, boys, all together, try it once more," when suddenly a silence
+fell upon the noisy mob, and their arms, a moment before locked in tense
+struggling, fell limply to their sides; for there, standing between them
+and the fence, his keen, dark face lighted with a curious smile, and
+holding his hand above his head by way of a shield from the hot sun,
+stood Dr. Johnston!</p>
+
+<p>A genuine ghost at midnight could hardly have startled the boys more.
+Absorbed in their struggle, they had not seen the doctor until they were
+fairly upon him. For aught they knew he had been a spectator of the
+proceedings from the outset. What would he think of them? Rod Graham and
+Dick Wilding, slaves to a guilty conscience, slunk into the rear of
+their party, while Bert, and Frank, and Teter, glad of the unexpected
+relief, wiped their brows and arranged their disordered clothing, as
+they awaited the doctor's utterance. It soon came.</p>
+
+<p>"I desire an explanation of this unseemly disturbance. The school will
+follow me immediately into the schoolroom," said he, somewhat sternly;
+and turning upon his heel went back to his desk, the boys following at a
+respectful distance.</p>
+
+<p>When all had been seated, and the room was quiet, Dr. Johnston asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Will the leaders in the proceedings outside come to my desk?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a moment's pause, and then Teter rose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> from his seat, Bert
+immediately imitating him, and the two walked slowly down to the open
+space before the master's desk.</p>
+
+<p>Having waited a minute, and no one else appearing, the doctor leaned
+forward and said to his nephew:</p>
+
+<p>"You and Lloyd were on the same side, were you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," replied Teter.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, who were the leaders of the other side? I wish to know."</p>
+
+<p>"Graham and Wilding, sir," answered Teter.</p>
+
+<p>"Graham and Wilding, come forward," called the doctor, sternly; and the
+two boys, looking very conscious and shamefaced, reluctantly left their
+seats and took their places before the throne.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then, I wish to be informed of the whole matter," said the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>Bert looked at Teter, and Teter looked at Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"You tell him," he whispered; "you know most about it."</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon, with the utmost frankness, Bert proceeded to tell his story,
+beginning at his first talk with Ernest Linton.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor listened intently, his inscrutable face revealing nothing as
+to how the story impressed him. When Bert had finished, he turned to
+Graham and Wilding, and asked them:</p>
+
+<p>"Is Lloyd's statement correct? or have you anything to add?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They hung their heads, and were silent.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor looked very hard at them for a moment, during which the
+silence was so intense that the fall of a pin upon the floor would have
+been heard; then, turning to the school, he spoke as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"The events that have just transpired have hastened a decision that has
+been forming in my mind for some time past. I was not unaware of this
+practice of which Lloyd has just spoken, but deemed it well not to
+interfere until my interference should seem necessary. That time, in my
+judgment, has arrived, and I have determined that there shall be no more
+of this hoisting. Be it, therefore, distinctly understood by the pupils
+of this school, that any future attempts at the hoisting of new boys
+will incur punishment, and possibly even expulsion from the school. You
+will now resume work."</p>
+
+<p>A subdued murmur of applause arose from the anti-hoisting party at the
+conclusion of the doctor's announcement. They had more than carried
+their point; for, intending only to protect Paul Linton, they had
+obtained the complete abolition of the practice. Bert was greatly
+elated, and could talk of nothing else when he got home. Father, and
+mother, and sister, had to listen to the fullest details of the struggle
+and its surprising issue, and Bert fairly outdid himself in the vigour
+and minuteness of his description. When the fountain of his eloquence at
+last ran dry, Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> Lloyd had a chance to say, with one of his expressive
+smiles:</p>
+
+<p>"And so my boy has come out as a reformer. Well, Bert, dear, you have
+taken the first step in the most thankless and trying of all careers,
+and yet I would not discourage you for the world. I would a thousand
+times rather have you a reformer than an opposer of reforms. I wonder
+what work God has in store for you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+<h3>PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING.</h3>
+
+
+<p>There were many ways in which the methods employed at Dr. Johnston's
+school were unique. The system of registering attendance, proficiency,
+and conduct has been already fully explained. It was hardly possible
+that this could have been more perfect. No boy could be absent without
+being missed, and an explanation or excuse of a thoroughly satisfactory
+nature was required the next day. No mistake could occur as to the
+standing of the pupils in the different classes. The record of each day
+was all comprehensive. It constituted a photograph, so to speak, of each
+pupil's doings, in so far as they related to his school, and the doctor
+was exceedingly proud of the journals, which he kept with scrupulous
+care and neatness.</p>
+
+<p>Another feature of the school, peculiar to itself, was the system by
+which a knowledge of arithmetic was fostered, and the faculty of using
+it quickly was developed. The whole of one morning each week was devoted
+to this. The scholars were grouped in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> classes according to their
+varying proficiency, care being taken to give each one a fair chance by
+associating him with those who were about as far advanced as himself.
+These classes were then arranged upon seats very much after the fashion
+of a Sunday school, save that instead of a teacher being in their
+centre, they were placed around a backless chair, in such a manner that
+it was equally convenient of access to all. Each boy had his slate and
+pencil in readiness.</p>
+
+<p>The school having been called to order, the doctor then proceeded to
+read out to the senior class a problem in proportion or compound
+interest, or whatever it might be, and this they hurriedly scribbled
+down on their slates. If they did not understand it fully at first, he
+would read it again, but of course never gave any explanations. So soon
+as a scholar had clearly grasped the problem to be solved he set to work
+at its solution with all his might, and it was a most interesting
+spectacle to watch when the whole class, with heads bent close to the
+slates, made their squeaking, scratching pencils fly over them. Every
+possible shade of mental condition, from confident knowledge to
+foreboding bewilderment, would be expressed in their faces. The instant
+one of them had completed his work, he banged his slate down upon the
+backless chair, with the writing turned under. The others followed as
+best they could, and all the slates being down, they awaited the
+doctor's coming around to their class again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When Dr. Johnston had completed the round of the classes, and given each
+a problem, he would, after a pause, call upon each in turn to read the
+answers as set down upon the slate. The boy whose slate was first on the
+chair, and therefore at the bottom of the pile, would read his answer
+first. If it were correct, he scored a point, and none of the others
+were called upon. If incorrect, the next to him would read his answer,
+and so on until a correct answer was given, and a point scored by
+somebody. Only one point could be made each round, and so the
+unsuccessful ones had to console themselves with the hope of having
+better luck next time. Not more than four or five rounds would be had
+each day, and it rarely happened that the same boy would be successful
+in all of them. Three points were considered a very good day's work, and
+if a boy made four points he was apt to feel that the prize in that
+class was as good as his, until some other boy made four points also,
+and thereby lessened his chances.</p>
+
+<p>It did not always happen that being first down with his slate assured
+the scholar of scoring a point. A slight mistake in his addition,
+subtraction, or division might have thrown him off the track, and then
+number two, or maybe number three, would come in with a correct answer
+and triumphantly score the point, success being all the sweeter, because
+of being somewhat unexpected.</p>
+
+<p>Now this kind of competition suited Bert thor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>oughly. He was as quick as
+any of his companions, cooler than many of them, and had by this time
+acquired a very good understanding of the chief principles of
+arithmetic. He greatly enjoyed the working against time, which was the
+distinctive feature of the contest. It brought out his mental powers to
+their utmost, and he looked forward to "arithmetic day," with an
+eagerness that was not caused entirely by what his father had promised
+him in the event of his being successful in carrying off a prize.</p>
+
+<p>In the same class with him were Frank Bowser, Ernest Linton, and a
+half-dozen other boys of similar age and standing in the school. He had
+no fear of Frank or Ernest. They were no match for him either as to
+knowledge, or rapidity of work; but there was a boy in the class who
+seemed fully his equal in both respects. This was Levi Cohen, a
+dark-skinned, black-haired chap, whose Jewish features were in entire
+harmony with his Jewish name. He was indeed a Jew, and, young though he
+was, had all the depth, self-control, and steadfastness of purpose of
+that strange race. He also had, as the sequel will show their
+indifference as to the rightness of the means employed so long as the
+end in view was gained.</p>
+
+<p>The school had been in session for more than a month, and those who were
+particularly interested in the arithmetic competitions were already
+calculating their chances of success. In Bert's class it was clear
+beyond a doubt that the contest lay between him and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> Levi Cohen. It
+rarely happened that they did not monopolise the points between them,
+and so far, they had divided them pretty evenly. One day Bert would
+score three and Levi two, and then the next week Levi would have three,
+and Bert two, and so it went on from week to week.</p>
+
+<p>As the second month drew to a close, Bert began to gain upon his rival.
+He nearly always made the majority of the points, and was now at least
+six ahead. Then suddenly the tide turned and Levi seemed to have it all
+his own way. The quickness with which he got the answers was
+bewildering. Nay, more, it was even suspicious. One familiar with the
+details of the problems given, and the amount of work a full working out
+would require, could not help being struck by the fact that Cohen seemed
+to arrive at his answer after a remarkably small expenditure of
+slate-pencil. Time and again he would have his slate down at least
+half-a-minute before Bert did his, although previous to this sudden
+change in his fortunes, the difference in time between them had been
+rarely more than a few seconds. Then again it was noticeable that he
+took the utmost care that none of the others should see what was on his
+slate. He did his work in a corner, hunched up over it so that it was
+well concealed, and he snatched his slate away from the pile at the very
+first opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>Bert noticed all these things, and they perplexed him quite as much as
+Cohen's rapid gain alarmed him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> He soon became convinced that there was
+something wrong, that Cohen was doing crooked work; but, puzzle his
+brains as he might, he could not get at the bottom of the mystery. Frank
+and Ernest fully shared his suspicions, and they had many a talk over
+the matter. Frank thought that Cohen must have the answers written on a
+piece of paper which he managed to peep at somehow while all the other
+boys were absorbed in working out the problems; but although he on
+several occasions purposely refrained from doing anything himself in
+order to watch Cohen the more closely, he failed to find the slightest
+ground for his suspicions in that direction. Then Bert put forward his
+theory.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell what it is Frank: Cohen must learn the answers off by heart,
+and then he sets them down without working out the whole sum."</p>
+
+<p>"Shouldn't wonder a bit," said Frank. "He's got a great memory, I know,
+and we always can tell from what part of the arithmetic Dr. Johnston is
+going to get the sums."</p>
+
+<p>"But how can we make sure of it, Frank?" inquired Bert, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"The only way is to get hold of his slate, and see how he works his sums
+out," replied Frank.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but he takes precious good care not to let anybody see how he does
+them."</p>
+
+<p>"So he does; but we've got to find out some way, and I'm going to do it,
+so sure as my name's Frank Bowser."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How'll you manage it, Frank?" asked Bert, brightening up; for he really
+was a good deal troubled over Cohen's continued success, particularly as
+he felt so strongly that there was something wrong at the bottom of it.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know yet, Bert; but I'll find out a way somehow. See if you
+can't think of a plan yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll ask father about it," said Bert, in a
+tone that implied perfect confidence in Mr. Lloyd's ability to furnish a
+solution for any difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, that evening, Bert laid the whole case before his father,
+who listened with judicial gravity, and then proceeded to ask a question
+or two:</p>
+
+<p>"You feel quite sure that Cohen does not take the time to work out the
+sums properly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father; perfectly sure."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why don't you inform Dr. Johnston of your suspicions, and he will
+make an examination into the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father!" exclaimed Bert, with a look of profound surprise. "You
+wouldn't have me turn tattle-tale, would you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Bert, dear; indeed, I would not, although you should lose a dozen
+prizes. I said that simply to see what you would think of it, and I am
+glad you answered me as I expected you would. But, Bert, you have asked
+my advice in this matter. Did you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> think of asking somebody else who is
+infinitely wiser than I am?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert understood his father at once.</p>
+
+<p>"No, father; I did not. I never thought of it," he answered, frankly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then had you not better do so when you are saying your prayers
+to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will, father. I'm so glad you reminded me." And with that Bert
+dropped the subject for the time.</p>
+
+<p>That night, ere he went to bed, Bert laid the matter before his Father
+in heaven, just as he had done before his father upon earth. He had
+imbibed his ideas of prayer from what he heard from his own father at
+family worship. Mr. Lloyd's conception of prayer was that it could not
+be too simple, too straightforward. It often seemed as though God were
+present in the room, and he was talking with him, so natural, so
+sincere, so direct were his petitions. And Bert had learned to pray in
+the same manner. A listener might at times be tempted to smile at the
+frankness, the na&iuml;vete of Bert's requests; but they were uttered not
+more in boyish earnest than in truest reverence by the petitioner.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, when Bert came down to the breakfast-room, he was
+evidently in the best of spirits.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right, father," said he. "I asked God to show me what's the
+best thing to do, and I'm sure He will."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's it, Bert; that's the way to look at it," replied Mr. Lloyd, with
+a smile of warm approval.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the school Bert found Frank awaiting him.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got it! I've got it!" he shouted, so soon as Bert appeared. "I
+know how Levi manages it now."</p>
+
+<p>"How is it?" asked Bert, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, he learns all the answers off by heart, and then doesn't work out
+the sums at all, but just pretends to, and slaps down the answer before
+the rest of us fellows are half through," explained Frank.</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure, Frank; you know I thought of that before. But how are we
+going to stop him?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's just what I'm coming to. When the time comes to read the answers
+I'm going to take up the slates, just as if mine was down first; and
+then, if Levi's been playing sharp on us, I'll expose him."</p>
+
+<p>"What a brick you are!" exclaimed Bert, admiringly, patting Frank on the
+back. "That's a grand plan of yours, and I do believe it's the way God
+is going to answer my prayer."</p>
+
+<p>"Answer your prayer, Bert? Why, what do you mean?" inquired Frank.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you know, Frank, last night when I was saying my prayers, I told
+God all about it, and now I believe He's going to make it all right. You
+just see if He doesn't."</p>
+
+<p>Frank was evidently very much struck with the idea of his being chosen
+by God to answer Bert's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> prayer. It was quite a new thought, and made a
+deep impression upon him. He was a clear and strong, if not very rapid,
+reasoner, and his reasoning in this case led him to the conclusion that
+if God thought that much of him he certainly ought to think more of God.
+He did not talk about it to anyone, but for many days his mind was
+occupied with thoughts of this nature, and their direct result was to
+lead him nearer to the kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>At the very first opportunity Frank put his plan into execution.
+Arithmetic day came round, the class gathered in its place, the first
+sum was read out to them, and before Bert was half through working it
+out, Levi Cohen placed his slate softly upon the chair, and leaned back
+in his seat with a sly smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. Frank
+glanced up from his work, gave Bert a meaning look, and then dropped his
+slate upon Cohen's with a loud bang. The others followed more slowly,
+and presently the time came for the answers to be read.</p>
+
+<p>Before Cohen could leave his corner, Frank rose up, seized the pile of
+slates, turned them over, and examined the first intently, while Bert
+watched him with breathless expectancy, and Cohen, at first too
+surprised to act, sprang forward to wrest it from his hands. But Frank
+moved out of his reach, and at the same time, with a triumphant smile,
+exhibited the face of the slate to the rest of the class, saying, in a
+loud whisper:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Look, boys, that's the way he works them out."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Johnston noticed the slight commotion this created, but he was too
+far away to see clearly what it meant, so he called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Why does not class six read their answers?"</p>
+
+<p>Cohen stood up, and held up his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Cohen, what is it?" asked the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>"Please, sir, Bowser has taken my slate, and won't give it to me,"
+answered Cohen, in a whining voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Bowser, what's the meaning of this? What are you doing with Cohen's
+slate?" demanded the doctor, frowning darkly.</p>
+
+<p>Frank did not look a bit frightened, but still holding on to the slate,
+which Cohen was making ineffectual efforts to regain, replied, in
+respectful tones:</p>
+
+<p>"May I hand you the slate first, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>At these words Cohen turned ashy pale, and Dr. Johnston, realising that
+there must be something going on that required explanation, ordered
+Frank to bring all the slates up to him.</p>
+
+<p>With radiant face Frank proceeded to obey, giving Bert a triumphant look
+as he passed by him, while Cohen shrank back into his corner, and bit
+his nails as though he would devour his finger tips. Taking up Cohen's
+slate, the doctor scrutinised it carefully. One glance was sufficient. A
+deep flush spread over his dark face, his eyes lighted up threateningly,
+and in his sternest tones he called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Cohen, come here!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Amid the expectant hush of the school, none but class six knowing what
+was the matter, Cohen, looking as though he would give his right hand to
+be able to sink through the floor, walked slowly up into the dreadful
+presence of the angered master. Holding up the slate before him, Dr.
+Johnston asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Is this your slate, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Cohen gave it a cowering glance, and said, faintly:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"How long has this been going on?" thundered the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>Cohen made no reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Answer me, sir, at once. How long has this been going on?" repeated the
+doctor.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't quite know, sir; but not very long," faltered out Cohen.</p>
+
+<p>With an exclamation of disgust, Dr. Johnston turned from him, and,
+holding the slate up high so that all the school might see it, relieved
+the curiosity of the scholars, now at fever pitch, by addressing them
+thus:</p>
+
+<p>"Cohen has just been detected in one of the most contemptible tricks
+that has come under my observation since I have been master of this
+school. He has evidently been committing to memory the answers to the
+problems that would be given out, and instead of doing the work properly
+has been scratching down a few figures, then writing the answers, and so
+finishing long before any of the other scholars. I need hardly say that
+this is not only a most contemptible trick, as I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> have already said, but
+a serious blow at the principles of fair play and justice which should
+regulate the winning of prizes in this school. I therefore feel bound to
+express my indignation at Cohen's offence in the most decided manner."</p>
+
+<p>Turning to Cohen: "You, sir, shall stand upon the floor for punishment.
+All the points scored by you already this term will be taken from you,
+and you will not be permitted to compete for any prize until I shall so
+determine."</p>
+
+<p>A kind of subdued whistle rose from the boys when they heard the
+doctor's severe, and yet not too severe, sentence. Cohen was no
+favourite with them; and yet they could not help some pity for him, as
+thoroughly cowed and crushed he stood before them all, the very picture
+of misery. Bert's tender heart was so touched by his abject appearance,
+that he half relented at his exposure. But Frank was troubled by no such
+second thoughts. The unexpectedly complete success of his scheme filled
+him with delight. It had accomplished two objects, both of which gave
+him keen pleasure. Bert's most dangerous rival for the prize had been
+put out of the way, and Cohen, whom he cordially disliked, had been well
+punished for his knavery.</p>
+
+<p>With Cohen disqualified, Bert had a comparatively easy time of it for
+the rest of the term. He usually managed to secure four out of the five
+points obtainable, and steadily added to his score until at last there
+was no chance of anyone beating him, and he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> look forward with
+comfortable confidence to the prize that meant so much in his case. A
+few days before Christmas the results were declared, and the prizes
+awarded, and although Bert gained only the one upon which his heart had
+been set, while other boys carried off two, and even three, he envied
+none of them. Their prizes meant nothing more perhaps than the
+brightly-bound books which the doctor selected with special reference to
+boyish preferences. But <i>his</i> prize meant more than a book. It meant a
+pony. And so if he was the happiest boy in all the land of Acadia it was
+not without good reason. Frank was hardly less jubilant, for he had
+gained his prize, and there was a hope taking strong hold upon his
+heart, that if fortune was kind to him, there might be a pony for him as
+well as for Bert.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A CHAPTER ON PONIES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was a proud day for Bert when he came home from school, bearing a
+handsome volume of Captain Gordon Cumming's Adventures in Africa, and he
+felt as though he could scarcely wait for his father's return from the
+office, so eager was he to show him his prize. As it was, he watched
+impatiently for him, and so soon as he came in sight rushed toward him,
+holding the book above his head, and shouting:</p>
+
+<p>"I've won it. I've won the prize."</p>
+
+<p>The Lloyds were all quite as proud as Bert himself over his success, and
+they made a very merry quartette as they sat around the dinner-table
+that evening.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me! I suppose I'll have to keep my promise now, though it takes my
+last cent to pay for it," said Mr. Lloyd, with a pretence of looking
+rueful.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed you will, father. I'm not going to let you off, of that you may
+be sure," exclaimed Bert, gleefully, knowing very well that his father
+was only in fun, and that it would take the cost of a good many ponies
+to reach his last cent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, sir, since you insist upon it, may I venture to inquire
+what sort of a pony you would like."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know, father."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you're not very particular, Bert, so long as he'll let you
+stay on his back," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"That's about it, father," assented Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"Be sure and get a nice, quiet pony that won't run away with Bert, or
+give him a nasty kick some time," interposed Mrs. Lloyd, with an anxious
+look, as she contemplated the possibility of some accident happening to
+her darling.</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear, mother, I'll make sure of that," answered Mr. Lloyd, with a
+reassuring smile. "And for that very reason," he continued, addressing
+himself to Bert, "I may be some time in finding one just to suit. So you
+must be patient, my little man, and be willing to wait, so that when
+your pony does come, he may be a good one."</p>
+
+<p>As it turned out, Bert had to wait several months, and the chill winter
+had given way to the warm sunshine of spring, and the boy's patience had
+almost given way altogether, when at last his father, on coming home one
+evening, announced, to his immense joy, that after much searching he had
+secured a pony that thoroughly suited him, and that this equine treasure
+would be brought to the house the next morning early.</p>
+
+<p>If Bert was too much excited to sleep for more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> half-an-hour at a
+time that night, who cannot sympathise with him? And if, when he did
+fall into a troubled doze, he had nightmare visions which soon woke him
+up again, who would dare laugh at him? In all his young life he had
+never been in such a fever of expectation, and long before dawn he was
+wide awake, with no hope of again closing his eyes, and tossed and
+tumbled about until it was light enough to get up and dress himself.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he had dressed he went down to the barn to assure himself for
+the twentieth time that the little stall was in perfect readiness; that
+there was no lack of oats in the bin or hay in the loft; that the
+brand-new halter was hanging in its place, waiting to be clasped upon
+the head of the coming pony, and thus he managed to while away the time
+until the breakfast bell rang.</p>
+
+<p>The pony was to arrive shortly after breakfast, and, hungry as he was,
+Bert could scarcely be persuaded to taste his porridge, toast, or
+coffee, and he made the others laugh by jumping up to run to the door at
+the slightest suspicion of a sound in the street. At length, just when
+he had settled down again after one of these excursions, the door bell
+rang vigorously. Bert rushed through the hall, opened the door, and
+immediately there was a glad shout of "Hurrah! Here he is! Isn't he a
+beauty?" which brought the whole family to the door, and there they
+beheld the overjoyed boy with his arms clasped tightly round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> the neck
+of a brown pony that seemed to quite appreciate this little
+demonstration, while the groom looked on with a superior smile at Bert's
+enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>The pony was indeed a beauty. He was of a rich brown colour, without a
+white spot upon him, just high enough for Bert to see comfortably over
+his back, and as round and plump as the best master could wish. His head
+was small and perfectly shaped, his neck beautifully arched, and he had
+large brown eyes that looked out upon the world with an intelligence
+almost human. He had the highest testimonials as to soundness of wind
+and limb, and sweetness of temper, and was altogether just the very kind
+of a pony to make a boy happy.</p>
+
+<p>And yet all of his good points have not been recounted. He had a list of
+accomplishments quite as long as his list of virtues, for at some
+previous stage of his life he had, on account of his beauty and great
+docility, been put in training for the circus; and although for some
+reason or other he had never got so far as to make his appearance in the
+saw-dust arena, he had been taught a great many tricks, and these he was
+generally willing to perform, provided an apple or lump of sugar were
+held out as a reward.</p>
+
+<p>All this the groom explained while they were standing at the door, and
+then the pony, having been sufficiently introduced, was led round to the
+yard, and duly installed in his corner of the stable, Bert clinging as
+close to him as if he feared he had wings<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> like the fabled Pegasus,
+and might fly away if not carefully watched.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 382px;">
+<img src="images/image270.jpg" width="382" height="600" alt="&quot;The pony was a beauty, just high enough for Bert to see
+comfortably over his back.&quot;&mdash;Page 256." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;The pony was a beauty, just high enough for Bert to see
+comfortably over his back.&quot;&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_256'><b>256</b></a>.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The days that followed were days of unalloyed happiness to Bert. He, of
+course, had to learn to ride "Brownie," as the pony was christened by
+Mary, to whom was referred the question of a name. But it was an easy
+matter learning to ride so gentle and graceful a creature. First at a
+walk, then at a trot, then at a canter, and finally at full gallop, Bert
+ere long made the circuit of the neighbouring squares; and as he became
+more thoroughly at home he extended his rides to the Point, where there
+were long stretches of tree-shaded road that seemed just intended for
+being ridden over.</p>
+
+<p>The best of it was that, as Bert prophesied, the wish being in his case
+father to the thought, Mr. Bowser did follow Mr. Lloyd's example.</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon I can stand a pony for my boy about as well as Lawyer Lloyd
+can for his," said he to himself, pressing his hand upon a fat wallet in
+his pocket, after Frank had been earnestly petitioning him, without
+eliciting any favourable response. "There's no point in Frank's going on
+foot while Bert's on horseback. I must see about it."</p>
+
+<p>He gave poor disappointed Frank, however, no hint of what he had in
+mind; and then one day he made him fairly wild with delight, by sending
+home a pretty bay pony with a star in his forehead, which, although he
+was not quite as handsome or accom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>plished as "Brownie," was an
+excellent little animal, nevertheless. Oh, what proud, happy boys the
+two friends were, the first day they rode out together! It was a lovely
+afternoon, not too warm to make it hard upon the ponies, and they rode
+right round the Point, and along the road skirting the arm of the sea,
+going much farther than Bert had ever been before; now pattering along
+the smooth dry road at a rattling pace, and now jogging on quietly with
+the reins hanging loosely on the ponies' necks. If Bert's pony knew the
+more tricks, Frank's showed the greater speed, so they both had
+something to be especially proud of, and were content accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>Brownie's performances were very amusing indeed, and after he and his
+young master had become thoroughly acquainted, he would go through them
+whenever called upon to do so. Often when the Lloyds had guests, they
+would entertain them by having Bert put Brownie through his programme.
+Then the cute little fellow would be at his best, for he evidently
+enjoyed an appreciative audience quite as much as they did his feats. He
+would begin by making a very respectful bow to the spectators, lifting
+his pretty head as high as he could, and bringing it down until his nose
+touched his breast. He would then, as commanded, "say his prayers,"
+which he did by kneeling with his forefeet, and dropping his head upon
+his knees; "knock at the door," which meant going up to the nearest
+door, and knocking at it with his hoof<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> until some one opened it; "walk
+like a gentleman"&mdash;that is, rear up on his hind legs, and walk up and
+down the yard; "go to sleep," by lying down and shutting his big brown
+eyes tight; shake hands by gracefully extending his right hoof; allow a
+cap to be placed on his head, and then sidle up and down the yard in the
+most roguish way; and other little tricks no less amusing, which never
+failed to elicit rounds of applause from the delighted spectators.</p>
+
+<p>There were many ways in which Brownie endeared himself to every member
+of the Lloyd family. If Mrs. Lloyd or Mary happened to come into the
+yard when, as often happened, he was roaming about loose, he would go up
+to them and rub his nose gently against their shoulder, thus saying as
+plainly as could be, "Haven't you got a crust for me?" and the moment
+Mr. Lloyd showed himself, Brownie's nose would be snuffing at his coat
+pockets for the bit of apple or lump of sugar that rarely failed to be
+there. As for his bearing toward Bert, it showed such affection,
+obedience, and intelligence, that it is not to be wondered at, if the
+boy sometimes asked himself if the "Houyhnhnms" of Gulliver's Travels
+had not their counterpart in nature, after all.</p>
+
+<p>Great, then, was the concern and sorrow when, after he had been just a
+year with them, Brownie fell sick, and the veterinary surgeon said that
+he must be sent away to the country to see if that would make him well
+again. Bert sobbed bitterly when the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> invalid was led away. He
+would have dearly loved to accompany Brownie, but that could not be
+managed, so there was nothing for it but to wait patiently at home for
+the news from the sick pony.</p>
+
+<p>Unhappily, the reports were not cheering. Each time they were less
+hopeful, and at last one dull rainy day that Bert was long in
+forgetting, the farmer came himself to say that despite his utmost care
+dear little Brownie had died, and was now buried beneath a willow tree
+in a corner of the pasture. Poor Bert! This was the first great grief of
+his life. Had Brownie been a human companion, he could hardly have felt
+his loss more keenly or sorrowed more sincerely. The little, empty
+stall, the brass-mounted bridle, and steel-stirruped saddle hanging up
+beside it, brought out his tears afresh every time he looked upon them.
+Frank did his best to console him by offering him the use of his pony
+whenever he liked; but, ah! though "Charlie" was a nice enough pony, he
+could not fill the blank made by Brownie's loss.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Mr. Lloyd had been making diligent inquiry about a
+successor to Brownie, and had come to the conclusion to await the annual
+shipment from Sable Island, and see if a suitable pony could not be
+picked out from the number. The announcement of this did much to arouse
+Bert from his low spirits, and as Mr. Lloyd told him about those Sable
+Island ponies he grew more and more interested. They certainly have a
+curious history. To begin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> with, nobody knows just how they got on that
+strange, wild, desolate, sand bank that rises from the ocean about a
+hundred miles to the east of Nova Scotia. Had they the power of speech,
+and were they asked to give an account of themselves, they would
+probably reply with Topsy that "they didn't know&mdash;they 'spects they
+grow'd." There they are, however, to the number of several hundred, and
+there they have been ever since anybody knew anything about Sable
+Island. And such a place for ponies to be! It is nothing but a bank of
+sand, not twenty-five miles long, by about one and a-half wide, covered
+here and there with patches of dense coarse grass, wild pea vine, and
+cranberry swamps. There are no trees, no brooks, no daisied meadows, and
+through all seasons of the year the ponies are out exposed to the
+weather, whether it be the furious snow storms of winter, the burning
+heat of summer, or the mad gales of the autumn.</p>
+
+<p>Once a year the Government officials who live upon the island, having
+charge of the lighthouses and relief stations, for it is a terrible
+place for wrecks, have what the Western ranchmen would call a "round-up"
+of the ponies. They are all driven into a big "corral" at one end of the
+island, and the best of the younger ones carefully culled out, the rest
+being set free again. Those selected are then at the first opportunity
+put on board a ship and carried off to Halifax, where rough, shaggy,
+ungroomed, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> untamed, they are sold at auction to the highest
+bidders.</p>
+
+<p>It was one of these ponies that Mr. Lloyd proposed to purchase for Bert.
+The latter was an expert rider now, and could be intrusted with a much
+more spirited animal than dear, little Brownie. The arrival of the
+annual shipment was accordingly looked forward to by both Bert and his
+father with a good deal of interest, Bert wondering if on the whole
+shipload there would be anything to compare with Brownie, and Mr. Lloyd
+hoping that he would be able to obtain a pony big enough to carry him if
+he felt in the humour for a ride on a bright summer morning.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<h3>ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>In due time the Sable Island ponies arrived, and were announced to be
+sold by auction, at the Government Wharf. Taking Bert with him, Mr.
+Lloyd went down in time to have a good look at the shipment before the
+sale commenced, so that he might have his mind made up before beginning
+to bid. They certainly were a queer lot of little creatures. Not a
+curry-comb had touched their hides since they were born, nor had the
+shears ever been near their manes or tails. Their coats were long,
+thick, and filled with dirt; their manes and tails of prodigious length,
+and matted together in inextricable knots. They were of all colours, and
+within certain limits of all sizes. Brown, bay, black, piebald, grey,
+and sorrel. There was no lack of variety; and Mr. Lloyd and Bert
+wandered up and down the long line as they stood tethered to the wall,
+scrutinising them closely, and sorely puzzled as to which to decide
+upon.</p>
+
+<p>It was, of course, quite impossible to tell anything as to disposition,
+for all the ponies seemed equally<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> wild and terrified at their novel
+situation; but, after going over them carefully, Mr. Lloyd decided upon
+a very promising-looking black pony that stood near the middle of the
+row. He was of a good size, seemed to be in better condition than many
+of those around him, had a well-shaped head, and altogether presented
+about as attractive an appearance as any in the lot.</p>
+
+<p>There were numerous bidders at the auction, and Bert grew deeply
+interested in the selling, as pony after pony was put up, and after a
+more or less spirited contest, according to his looks, was knocked down
+to the person that bid the highest for him. By the time the pony his
+father had selected was reached, he was fairly trembling with
+excitement. He was full of apprehension lest somebody else should take
+him away from them, and when the bidding began, he watched every
+movement and word of the auctioneer with breathless anxiety, raising
+quite a laugh at one time, by answering his oft-repeated question "Will
+anybody give me five? I have thirty&mdash;will anybody give me five?" with an
+eager "I will!" that was easily heard by everybody in the crowd. It was
+an immense relief to him, when, at length, after what seemed to him most
+unnecessary persistence in trying to get more, the auctioneer called out
+"Going, going, going, at thirty-five dollars. Will you give me any more?
+Going at thirty-five&mdash;going, going, <i>gone</i>; and sold to Mr. Lloyd."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thirty-five dollars does not seem very much to give for a pony; but
+considering that this pony had everything to learn, and nobody to
+guarantee his good behaviour, it was a fair enough price for him. The
+getting him home proved to be quite a serious undertaking. The strange
+sights and sounds of the city streets did not merely frighten him&mdash;they
+positively crazed him for the time; and it took two strong men, one on
+either side of his head, to guide him in safety to the stable. Once
+securely fastened in the stall, he quieted down in time, but not one
+bite of food would he touch that day, nor the next, although Bert tried
+to tempt him with everything of which Brownie had been fond. This
+troubled Bert very much. He began to fear his new pony would starve to
+death. But his father reassured him.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be alarmed, my boy. The pony will find his appetite all right so
+soon as he gets used to his new quarters," said Mr. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>And sure enough on the third morning, Bert, to his great relief, found
+the oat box licked clean, and the pony looking round wistfully for
+something more to eat. After that, the difficulty lay rather in
+satisfying than in tempting his appetite. He proved an insatiable eater.
+But then nobody thought of stinting him, especially as his bones were
+none too well covered.</p>
+
+<p>It was with great difficulty that he could be persuaded to allow himself
+to be groomed. He would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> start at the touch of the curry-comb, as though
+it gave him an electric shock, and Michael, who combined in himself the
+offices of groom and gardener, declared that "of all the pesky, fidgety
+critters that ever stood on four legs, he never did see the like of this
+'ere Sable Islander." Michael's opinion was not improved when he came to
+break the little Sable Islander in, for he led him such a dance day
+after day that his stout heart was well-nigh broken before the pony's
+will showed any signs of being broken. However, patience and kindness,
+combined with firmness, eventually won the day; and Michael, with
+considerable pride announced that "Sable," as it had been decided to
+call him, was ready for use.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd thought it best to ride Sable for a week or two before Bert
+should mount him, and to this arrangement Bert was nothing loath, for
+the pony's actions while in process of being broken in had rather
+subdued his eagerness to trust himself upon him. As it chanced, Mr.
+Lloyd came very near paying a severe penalty for his thoughtfulness. He
+had been out several mornings on Sable, and had got along very well. One
+morning while he was in the act of mounting, the gate suddenly slammed
+behind him with a loud bang. The pony at once started off at full
+gallop. Mr. Lloyd succeeded in throwing himself into the saddle, but
+could not get his feet into the stirrups, and when the frightened
+creature upon which he had so insecure a hold swerved sharply round at
+the end of the street,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> he was hurled from his seat like a stone from a
+catapult, and fell headlong, striking his right temple upon the hard
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later Mrs. Lloyd was startled by a hasty rap at the door,
+and on opening it beheld her husband supported between two men, his face
+ghastly pale, and stained with blood from a wound on his forehead. She
+was a brave woman, and although her heart almost stood still with
+agonised apprehension, she did not lose control of herself for an
+instant. Directing Mr. Lloyd to be carried into the parlour and laid
+gently upon the sofa, Mrs. Lloyd bathed his head and face while Mary
+chafed his hands; and presently, to their unspeakable joy, he recovered
+consciousness. Fortunately, his injuries proved to be comparatively
+slight. Beyond a cut on his forehead, a bad headache, and a general
+shaking up, he had suffered no material injury, and he would not listen
+to Mrs. Lloyd's finding any fault with Sable for the accident.</p>
+
+<p>"Tut! tut! Kate," said he; "the pony was not to blame at all. Any horse
+might have been frightened by a gate banging to at his heels. The fault
+was mine in not seeing that the gate was shut before I mounted. No; no,
+you must not blame poor, little Sable."</p>
+
+<p>Curiously enough, Bert had a somewhat similar experience shortly after
+he began to ride Sable. At a little distance from the house was a hill
+up which the street led, and then down the other side out into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> the
+country. The ascent was pretty steep, the descent not so much so, and
+Bert liked to walk his pony up to the top, and then canter down the
+other side. One afternoon, just as he reached the summit, a little
+street boy, probably by way of expressing the envy he felt for those who
+could afford to ride, threw a stone at Sable, which struck him a
+stinging blow on the hindquarters. Like an arrow from the bow, the pony
+was off. Taking the bit in his teeth, and straightening his head out, he
+went at full speed down the hill, Bert holding on for dear life with his
+heart in his mouth, and his hat from his head.</p>
+
+<p>In some way or other, he himself never knew exactly how, he got both his
+feet out of the stirrups, and it was well for him he did, for just at
+the bottom of the hill, when he was going like a greyhound, Sable
+stopped short, lowered his head, flung up his heels, and, without the
+slightest protest or delay, Bert went flying from the saddle, and landed
+in the middle of the dusty road in a sitting posture with his legs
+stretched out before him. The saucy pony paused just long enough to make
+sure that his rider was disposed of beyond a doubt, and then galloped
+away, apparently in high glee.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was not hurt in the least. He had never sat down quite so
+unexpectedly before, but the thick dust of the road made an excellent
+cushion, and he was soon upon his feet, and in full cry after the
+runaway. Thanks to a gentleman on horseback who had wit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>nessed the whole
+scene, and went immediately in chase of Sable, the latter was soon
+recaptured, and Bert, having thanked his friend in need, and brushed
+some of the dust from his clothes, remounted his mischievous steed, and
+rode him for the rest of the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>After those two somewhat unpromising performances, Sable settled down
+into very good habits, and during all the rest of the time that he was
+in Bert's possession did not again disgrace himself by running away or
+pitching anyone off his back. He never became the pet that Brownie had
+been, but he was, upon the whole, a more useful animal, so that Bert
+came to feel himself well compensated for his loss.</p>
+
+<p>About this time Bert made the acquaintance of a pony of a very different
+sort. How, indeed, it came to have this name does not seem to be very
+clear, for what natural connection can be established between a
+diminutive horse, and a discreditable method of reducing the
+difficulties of a lesson in Latin or Greek? It would appear to be a very
+unjust slur upon a very worthy little animal, to say the least.</p>
+
+<p>Bert's first knowledge of the other kind of pony was when in the course
+of his study of Latin he came to read Sallust. C&aelig;sar he had found
+comparatively easy, and with no other aid than the grammar and lexicon
+he could, in the course of an hour or so, get out a fair translation of
+the passage to be mastered. But Sallust gave him no end of trouble.
+There was something in the involved obscure style of this old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> historian
+that puzzled him greatly, and he was constantly being humiliated by
+finding that when, after much labour, he had succeeded in making some
+sort of sense out of a sentence, Dr. Johnston would pronounce his
+translation altogether wrong, and proceed to read it in quite another
+way.</p>
+
+<p>As it happened, just when Bert was in the middle of those difficulties,
+Mr. Lloyd was called away from home on important business which entailed
+an absence for many weeks, and consequently Bert was deprived of his
+assistance, which was always so willingly given.</p>
+
+<p>He had been struggling with Sallust for some time, and was making but
+very unsatisfactory headway, when one day, chancing to express to Regie
+Selwyn his envy of the seeming ease with which the latter got along,
+Regie looked at him with a knowing smile, and asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you know how I get my translation so pat?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Bert; "tell me, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I use a pony, of course," responded Regie.</p>
+
+<p>"A pony!" exclaimed Bert, in a tone of surprise. "What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, come now," said Regie, with an incredulous smile. "Do you mean to
+say that you don't know what a pony is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do, really," returned Bert. "Please tell me, like a good fellow."</p>
+
+<p>"Come along home with me after school, and I'll show you," said Regie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right," assented Bert; "I will."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, that afternoon when school had been dismissed, Bert
+accompanied Regie home, and there the latter took him to his room, and
+produced a book which contained the whole of Sallust turned into clear,
+simple English.</p>
+
+<p>"There," said he, placing the volume in Bert's hands; "that's what I
+mean by a pony."</p>
+
+<p>Bert opened the book, glanced at a page or two, took in the character of
+its contents, and then, with a feeling as though he had touched a
+serpent, laid it down again, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"But do you think it's right to use this book in getting up your
+Sallust, Regie?"</p>
+
+<p>Regie laughed and shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's the harm, my boy. If you can't translate old Sallust by
+yourself, you can't, that's all, and you've got to wait for Dr. Johnston
+to do it for you. Now, mightn't you just as well get it out of this book
+at once, and save all the trouble," he argued, glibly.</p>
+
+<p>This was very fallacious reasoning, but somehow or other it impressed
+Bert as having a good deal of force in it. The simple truth was that he
+was willing to be convinced. But he did not feel quite satisfied yet.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, of course, you never look at it until you have done your best to
+get the lesson out without it?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"That depends. Sometimes I do, and sometimes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> I don't," answered Regie,
+in a tone that implied very plainly that the latter "sometimes" occurred
+much more frequently than the former.</p>
+
+<p>Bert took up the book again and fingered it thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Could I get one if I wanted to?" he asked, presently.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course," answered Regie. "There are many more at Gossip's where
+I got this, I guess."</p>
+
+<p>Bert said no more; and the two boys soon began talking about something
+else.</p>
+
+<p>For some days thereafter Bert was in a very perplexed state of mind. It
+seemed as though "the stars in their courses" were fighting not against,
+but in favour of his getting a "pony" for himself. His father's absence
+was indefinitely prolonged, the Sallust grew more and more difficult,
+and demanded so much time, that Bert's chance of winning one of the
+prizes for general proficiency was seriously jeopardised.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of dismissing the subject from his mind altogether, he fell to
+reasoning about it, and then his danger really began, for the more he
+reasoned, the weaker his defences grew. There seemed so much to be said
+in favour of the pony; and, after all, if he did not resort to it until
+he had done his best to work out the translation unaided, what would be
+the harm?</p>
+
+<p>Clearly Bert was in a perilous position. Right and wrong were strongly
+contending for the victory, and much would depend upon the issue of the
+conflict.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert had reached an age and stage of development when the raising of a
+decided issue between right and wrong was a matter of vital consequence.
+Although he had little more than rounded out a dozen years of life, his
+natural bent of mind and the influences surrounding him had been such as
+to make him seem at least two years older when compared with his
+contemporaries. He thought much, and, considering his age, deeply. His
+parents had always admitted him into full fellowship with themselves,
+and he had thus acquired their way of thinking upon many subjects. Then
+his religious training had been more than ordinarily thorough. The
+influences and inspiration of a Christian home had been supplemented and
+strengthened by the teaching at Sunday school of one who possessed a
+rare gift in the management of boys. Mr. Silver not only understood his
+boys: he was in hearty and complete sympathy with them; and the truth
+came from him with peculiar force, as he met them Sunday after Sunday.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert therefore would appear to have everything in his favour when set
+upon by the tempter, and it might seem strange that in this case he
+should dally so long with the danger. But the fact is there were unusual
+elements in this temptation, such as have been already set forth, and
+Bert's course of action from the time when he first saw the translation
+of Sallust in Regie Selwyn's room, until when at length after days of
+indecision, of halting between two opinions, of now listening to, and
+again spurning the suggestions of the tempter, he had a copy of the same
+book hidden away in his own room, was but another illustration of the
+familiar experience, that he who stops to argue with the tempter, has as
+good as lost his case.</p>
+
+<p>He tried hard to persuade himself that it was all right, and that it
+would be all right, but nevertheless it was with none too easy a
+conscience that he slipped into Gossip's one afternoon, and timidly
+inquired for the Sallust translation. The clerk did not understand at
+first, and when he asked Bert to repeat his question a cold shiver went
+down the boy's back, for he felt sure the man must have divined his
+purpose in procuring the book. But, of course, it was only an
+unnecessary alarm, and soon with the volume under his arm, and breathing
+much more freely, he was hastening homeward.</p>
+
+<p>At first he kept very faithfully to the programme he had laid down of
+not resorting to the "pony" until he had done his best without it. Then
+little by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> little he fell into the way of referring to it whenever he
+was at a loss regarding a word, until at last he came to depend upon it
+altogether, and the fluent translations that won Dr. Johnston's
+approbation day after day were really nothing better than stolen matter.</p>
+
+<p>Yet all this time he was far from having peace of mind. That troublesome
+conscience of his acted as though it would never become reconciled to
+this method of studying the classics. On the contrary, it seemed to grow
+increasingly sensitive upon the point. Finally the matter was brought to
+a head in a very unsuspected manner.</p>
+
+<p>No mention has been made in these pages of one who occupied a very large
+place in Bert's affection and admiration&mdash;namely, the Rev. Dr. Chrystal,
+the pastor of Calvary Church. Dr. Chrystal was a man of middle age and
+medium height, with a countenance so winning and manners so attractive,
+that Mr. Lloyd was wont to call him St. John, the beloved disciple,
+because his name was John, and everybody who knew him loved him. It was
+not merely by the elders of his congregation, who could fully appreciate
+the breadth and soundness of his scholarship, the richness of his
+rhetoric, and the warmth of his eloquence, but by the younger members
+also, who loved his sunny smile, and hearty laugh, that Dr. Chrystal was
+little short of worshipped.</p>
+
+<p>Bert had been his warm admirer ever since the time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> when on his pastoral
+visits he would take the little fellow up on his knee, and draw him out
+about his own amusements and ambitions, giving such interested attention
+to his childish prattle that Bert could not fail to feel he had in him a
+real friend. As he grew older, his liking for the minister deepened. He
+never had that foolish fear of "the cloth" which is so apt to be found
+in boys of his age. Dr. Chrystal was a frequent visitor at Bert's home.
+Mr. Lloyd was one of the main supporters of his church, and the two men
+had much to consult about. Besides that, the preacher loved to discuss
+the subjects of the day with the keen-witted, far-seeing lawyer, who
+helped him to many a telling point for the sermon in preparation.</p>
+
+<p>This, of course, was quite beyond Bert, but what he could and did fully
+appreciate was the skill and strength with which Dr. Chrystal, having
+laid aside his clerical coat, would handle a pair of sculls when he went
+out boating with them, in the fine summer evenings.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is, Frank," said he, enthusiastically to his friend
+one day. "There's nothing soft about our minister. He can pull just as
+well as any man in the harbour. That's the sort of minister I like.
+Don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>One Sunday evening, after Bert had been using his "pony" some little
+time&mdash;for although his father had returned, he had come so to depend
+upon it, that he continued to resort to it in secret&mdash;Dr. Chrystal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>
+preached a sermon of more than usual power from the text, "Provide
+things honest in the sight of all men." It was a frank, faithful
+address, in which he sought to speak the truth in tenderness, and yet
+with direct application to his hearers. If any among them were
+disbelievers in the doctrine that honesty is the best policy, and acted
+accordingly, they could hardly hope to dodge the arrows of argument and
+appeal shot forth from the pulpit that evening.</p>
+
+<p>Bert was one of the first to be transfixed. When the text was announced
+he wriggled a bit, as though it pricked him somewhere; but when, further
+on, Dr. Chrystal spoke in plain terms of the dishonesty of false
+pretences, of claiming to be what you really are not, of seeking credit
+for what is not actually your own work, Bert's head sank lower and
+lower, his cheeks burned with shame, and, feeling that the speaker must
+in some mysterious way have divined his guilty secret, and be preaching
+directly at him, he sank back in his seat, and wished with wild longing
+that he could run away from those flashing eyes that seemed to be
+looking right through him, and from the sound of that clear, strong
+voice, whose every tone went straight to his heart.</p>
+
+<p>But, of course, there was no escape, and he had to listen to the sermon
+to the end, although, had it been possible, he would gladly have thrust
+his fingers in his ears that he might hear no more. He felt immensely
+relieved when the service was over, and he could go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> out into the cool,
+dark evening air. He was very silent as he walked home with his parents,
+and so soon as prayers were over went off to his room, saying that he
+was tired.</p>
+
+<p>For the next few days there was not a more miserable boy in Halifax than
+Cuthbert Lloyd. He was a prey to contending feelings that gave him not
+one moment's peace. His better nature said, "Be manly, and confess." The
+tempter whispered, "Be wise, and keep it to yourself." As for the cause
+of all this trouble, it lay untouched in the bottom drawer of his
+bureau. He could not bear to look at it, and he worked out his Sallust
+as best he could, causing Dr. Johnston much surprise by the unexpected
+mistakes he made in translating. He became so quiet and sober that his
+mother grew quite concerned, and asked him more than once if he felt
+ill, to which, with a pretence of a laugh, he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it. I'm all right."</p>
+
+<p>But he wasn't all right, by any means, as his father's keen eyes soon
+discovered. Mr. Lloyd, like his wife, thought at first that Bert's queer
+ways must be due to ill health; but after watching him awhile he came to
+the conclusion that the boy's trouble was mental, rather than physical,
+and he determined to take the first opportunity of probing the matter.
+The opportunity soon came. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were out for the evening,
+leaving Bert and his father at home. Bert was studying his lessons at
+the table, while his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> father sat in the arm-chair near by, reading the
+paper. Every now and then, as he bent over his books, Bert gave a deep
+sigh that seemed to well up from the very bottom of his heart. Mr. Lloyd
+noted this, and presently, laying his paper down, said, pleasantly:</p>
+
+<p>"Bert, dear, put your lessons aside for a few minutes, and come over
+here. I want to have a talk with you."</p>
+
+<p>Bert started and flushed slightly, but obeyed at once, drawing his chair
+close up beside his father's. Laying his hand upon Bert's knee, and
+looking him full in the face, Mr. Lloyd asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Bert, tell me what's the matter with you? There's something on
+your mind, I know; and it has not been your way to keep any secrets from
+me. Won't you tell me what is troubling you?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert fidgeted in his chair, the flush deepened in his face, his eyes
+dropped before his father's searching gaze, and his hands worked
+nervously. At last, with an apparent effort, he replied, in a low tone:</p>
+
+<p>"There's nothing the matter with me, father."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd sighed, and looked troubled.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there is, Bert. You know there is. Now, don't conceal it from me,
+but speak right out. Remember your motto, Bert: 'Quit you like men.'"</p>
+
+<p>The working of Bert's countenance showed clearly the struggle that was
+going on within, and there was silence for a moment, while Mr. Lloyd
+awaited his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> answer, praying earnestly the while that his boy might be
+helped to do the right. Then, suddenly, Bert sprang up, darted toward
+the door, and heeding not his father's surprised exclamation of&mdash;"Bert,
+Bert, aren't you going to answer me?" ran up the stairs to his own room.
+An instant more and he returned, bearing a volume which he placed in Mr.
+Lloyd's hands; and then, throwing himself on the sofa, he buried his
+head in the cushions, and burst into a passion of tears.</p>
+
+<p>Bewildered by this unexpected action, Mr. Lloyd's first impulse was to
+take his boy in his arms and try to soothe him. Then he bethought
+himself of the book lying in his lap, and turned to it for an
+explanation of the mystery. It was an innocent-enough looking volume,
+and seemed at first glance to make matters no clearer, but as he held it
+in his hands there came back to him the recollection of his own
+schoolboy days, and like a flash the thing was plain to him. Bert had
+been using a "pony," and in some way had come to realise the extent of
+his wrong-doing.</p>
+
+<p>With feelings divided between sorrow that his boy should fall a victim
+to this temptation, and gladness that he should have the courage to
+confess it, Mr. Lloyd went over to the sofa, lifted Bert up gently, and
+placed him on the chair beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, now, Bert, dear," said he, in his tenderest tones, "don't be
+afraid, but just tell me all about it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In a voice much broken by sobs, Bert then told the whole story,
+beginning with the first conversation with Regie Selwyn, and leaving out
+nothing. His father listened intently, and it was clear the recital
+moved him deeply. When it ended, he silently lifted up his heart in
+praise to God that his darling boy had been delivered from so great a
+danger, and he determined that Dr. Chrystal should not fail to hear how
+effective his faithful preaching had been.</p>
+
+<p>"I need not tell you, Bert, how sad this makes my heart, but I will not
+add my reproaches to the remorse you already feel," said he, gravely.
+"You have done very, very wrong, dear, and it is now your duty to make
+that wrong right again, so far as is in your power. What do you think
+yourself you ought to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"I must ask God to forgive me, father," answered Bert, almost in a
+whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"But is that all? Is there no one else of whom you should ask
+forgiveness?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, of you."</p>
+
+<p>"I have forgiven you already, Bert, for I know that you are sincerely
+sorry. But I think there is some one else still. Ought you not to ask
+Dr. Johnston's forgiveness?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up with an expression of
+surprise, "Dr. Johnston does not know anything about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes, Bert, true enough; but remember that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> ever since you've been
+using the translation you've been getting credit from him for work you
+had not really done. Was that providing things honest in the sight of
+all men, do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert flushed and looked down again. He was silent for a little while,
+and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"But, father, I could never tell Dr. Johnston. He is so stern and
+severe."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think God will ever fully forgive you while you are concealing
+from Dr. Johnston what you ought in common honesty to tell him?"</p>
+
+<p>This question evidently staggered him, and Mr. Lloyd, seeing what a
+struggle was going on within him, put his hand upon his shoulder, and
+said, with tender emphasis:</p>
+
+<p>"Remember, Bert: 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"</p>
+
+<p>For a moment longer Bert seemed irresolute. Then suddenly his
+countenance brightened, his features settled into an expression of firm
+determination, and rising to his feet, with hands clenched and eyes
+flashing, he stood before his father, and almost shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father, I will; I'll tell him. I don't care what he does to me."</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you, my brave boy!" exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, as, almost
+over-mastered by his emotions, he threw his arms around his neck, and
+hugged him to his heart, the big tears pouring down his happy face.</p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment the door opened, and Mrs. Lloyd and Mary entered.
+Great was their surprise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> at the scene they witnessed. But they soon
+understood it all, and when the whole story was known to them they were
+no less thankful than Mr. Lloyd that Bert had come off conqueror in this
+sharp struggle with the enemy of souls.</p>
+
+<p>It was a hard task that lay before Bert, and he would have been
+something more than mortal if his resolution did not falter as he
+thought about it. But he strengthened himself by repeating the words
+"Quit you like men, be strong," laying much emphasis on the latter
+clause. His father thought it best for him to go very early the next
+morning, taking the book with him, and to seek an interview with Dr.
+Johnston before he went into the school.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, in the morning, with throbbing heart and feverish pulse,
+Bert knocked at the doctor's private entrance. On asking for the master
+he was at once shown into the study, where the dread doctor was glancing
+over the morning paper before he took up the work of the day.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Lloyd, what brings you here so early?" he asked, in some
+surprise.</p>
+
+<p>With much difficulty, and in broken sentences, Bert explained the object
+of his visit, the doctor listening with an impassive countenance that
+gave no hint of how the story affected him. When he had ended, Dr.
+Johnston remained silent a moment as if lost in reflection, then placing
+his hand upon the boy's shoulder, and looking at him with an expression
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> deep tenderness such as Bert had never seen in his countenance
+before, he said, in tones whose kindness there could be no mistaking:</p>
+
+<p>"You have done well, Lloyd, to tell me this. I honour you for your
+confession, and I feel confident that never so long as you are a pupil
+in this school will you fall into like wrong-doing. You may tell your
+father what I have said. Good-morning." And he turned away, perhaps to
+hide something that made his eyes moist.</p>
+
+<p>Feeling much as Christian must have felt when the burden broke from his
+back and rolled into the sepulchre gaping to receive it, Bert went to
+his seat in the schoolroom. The ordeal was over, and his penance
+complete.</p>
+
+<p>His frank penitence was destined to exert a far wider influence than he
+ever imagined, and that immediately. The volume he placed in Dr.
+Johnston's hands set the master thinking. "If," he reasoned, "Bert
+Lloyd, one of the best boys in my school, has fallen into this
+wrong-doing, it must be more common than I supposed. Perhaps were I to
+tell the school what Lloyd has just told me, it might do good. The
+experiment is worth trying, at all events."</p>
+
+<p>Acting upon this thought, Dr. Johnston, shortly after the school had
+settled down for the day's work, rapped upon his desk as a signal that
+he had something to say to the scholars, and then, when the attention of
+all had been secured, he proceeded to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> tell, in clear, concise language,
+the incident of the morning. Many eyes were turned upon Bert while the
+doctor was speaking, but he kept his fixed closely upon his desk, for he
+knew that his cheeks were burning, and he wondered what the other boys
+were thinking of him. In concluding, Dr. Johnston made the following
+appeal, which was indeed his chief purpose in mentioning the matter at
+all:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, scholars," said he, in tones of mingled kindliness and firmness,
+"I feel very sure that Lloyd is not the only boy in this school who has
+been using a translation to assist him in his classical work, and my
+object in telling you what he told me is that it may perhaps inspire
+those who have been doing as he did to confess it in the manly, honest
+way that he has done, and for which we must all honour him. Boys, I
+appeal to your honour," he continued, raising his voice until it rang
+through the room, startling his hearers by its unaccustomed volume. "Who
+among you, like Bert Lloyd, will confess that you have been using a
+translation?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a thrilling silence, during which one might almost have heard
+the boys' hearts beat as the doctor paused, and with his piercing eyes
+glanced up and down the long rows of awe-stricken boys. For a moment no
+one moved. Then there was a stir, a shuffling of feet, and Regie Selwyn,
+with cheeks aflame, rose slowly in his seat, and said in a low but
+distinct voice:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I have, sir."</p>
+
+<p>A gleam of joy flashed in the doctor's dark eyes as he looked toward the
+speaker, but he said nothing. Then another and another rose and made a
+like confession, until some six in all had thus acknowledged their
+fault. There was no mistaking the pleasure that shone in the master's
+face at this answer to his appeal. When it became clear that, however
+many more might be no less guilty, no more were going to confess it, he
+spoke again:</p>
+
+<p>"While it grieves me to know that the use of translations has been so
+extensive, I am also glad to find that so many of my boys possess the
+true spirit of manliness. I ask them to promise me that they will never
+look at those books again, and if there be others in the school who
+might have admitted the same impropriety, but have not, I appeal to you
+to show by your contempt of such helps your determination that nothing
+but what is honest, fair, and manly shall characterise the actions of
+the scholars of this school."</p>
+
+<p>And with this the doctor resumed his seat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Five years had passed since Cuthbert Lloyd's name was first inscribed in
+the big register on Dr. Johnston's desk, and he had been surely,
+steadily rising to the proud position of being the first boy in the
+school, the "<i>dux</i>," as the doctor with his love for the classics
+preferred to call it.</p>
+
+<p>And yet there were some branches of study that he still seemed unable to
+get a good hold upon, or make satisfactory progress with. One of these
+was algebra. For some reason or other, the hidden principles of this
+puzzling science eluded his grasp, as though a and x had been eels of
+phenomenal activity. He tried again and again to pierce the obscurity
+that enshrouded them, but at best with imperfect success; and it was a
+striking fact that he should, term after term, carry off the arithmetic
+prize by splendid scores, and yet be ingloriously beaten at algebra.</p>
+
+<p>Another subject that became a great bugbear to him was what was known as
+composition. On<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> Fridays the senior boys were required to bring an
+original composition, covering at least two pages of letter paper, upon
+any subject they saw fit. This requirement made that day "black Friday"
+for Bert and many others besides. The writing of a letter or composition
+is probably the hardest task that can be set before a schoolboy. It was
+safe to say that in many cases a whipping would be gratefully preferred.
+But for the disgrace of the thing, Bert would certainly rather at any
+time have taken a mild whipping than sit down and write an essay.</p>
+
+<p>At the first, taking pity upon his evident helplessness, Mr. Lloyd gave
+him a good deal of assistance, or allowed Mary&mdash;the ever-willing and
+ever-helpful Mary&mdash;to do so. But after a while he thought Bert should
+run alone, and prohibited further aid. Thus thrown upon his own
+resources, the poor fellow struggled hard, to very little purpose. Even
+when his father gave him a lift to the extent of suggesting a good
+theme, he found it almost impossible to write anything about it.</p>
+
+<p>One Friday he went without having prepared a composition. He hoped that
+Dr. Johnston would just keep him in after school for a while, or give
+him an "imposition" of fifty lines of Virgil to copy as a penalty, and
+that that would be an end of the matter. But, as it turned out, the
+doctor thought otherwise. When Bert presented no composition he inquired
+if he had any excuse, meaning a note from his father<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> asking that he be
+excused this time. Bert answered that he had not.</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said Dr. Johnston, sternly, "you must remain in after school
+until your composition is written."</p>
+
+<p>Bert was a good deal troubled by this unexpected penalty, but there was
+of course no appeal from the master's decision. The school hours passed,
+three o'clock came, and all the scholars save those who were kept in for
+various shortcomings went joyfully off to their play, leaving the big,
+bare, dreary room to the doctor and his prisoners. Then one by one, as
+they met the conditions of their sentence, or made up their deficiencies
+in work, they slipped quietly away, and ere the old yellow-faced clock
+solemnly struck the hour of four, Bert was alone with the grim and
+silent master.</p>
+
+<p>He had not been idle during that hour. He had made more than one attempt
+to prepare some sort of a composition, but both ideas and words utterly
+failed him. He could not even think of a subject, much less cover two
+pages of letter paper with comments upon it. By four o'clock despair had
+settled down upon him, and he sat at his desk doing nothing, and waiting
+he hardly knew for what.</p>
+
+<p>Another hour passed, and still Bert had made no start, and still the
+doctor sat at his desk absorbed in his book and apparently quite
+oblivious of the boy before him. Six o'clock drew near, and with it the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
+early dusk of an autumn evening. Bert was growing faint with hunger,
+and, oh! so weary of his confinement. Not until it was too dark to read
+any longer did Dr. Johnston move; and then, without noticing Bert, he
+went down the room, and disappeared through the door that led into his
+own apartments.</p>
+
+<p>"My gracious!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "Surely he is not going to
+leave me here all alone in the dark. I'll jump out of the window if he
+does."</p>
+
+<p>But that was not the master's idea, for shortly he returned with two
+candles, placed one on either side of Bert's desk, then went to his
+desk, drew forth the long, black strap, whose cruel sting Bert had not
+felt for years, and standing in front of the quaking boy, looking the
+very type of unrelenting sternness, said:</p>
+
+<p>"You shall not leave your seat until your composition is finished, and
+if you have not made a beginning inside of five minutes you may expect
+punishment."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he strode off into the darkness, and up and down the long
+room, now filled with strange shadows, swishing the strap against the
+desks as he passed to and fro. Bert's feelings may be more easily
+imagined than described. Hungry, weary, frightened, he grasped his pen
+with trembling fingers, and bent over the paper.</p>
+
+<p>For the first minute or two not a word was written. Then, as if struck
+by some happy thought, he scribbled down a title quickly and paused. In
+a moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> more he wrote again, and soon one whole paragraph was done.</p>
+
+<p>The five minutes having elapsed, the doctor emerged from the gloom and
+came up to see what progress had been made. He looked over Bert's
+shoulder at the crooked lines that straggled over half the page, but he
+could not have read more than the title, when the shadows of the great
+empty room were startled by a peal of laughter that went echoing through
+the darkness, and clapping the boy graciously upon his back, the master
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Lloyd. The title is quite sufficient. You may go now;"
+for he had a keen sense of humour and a thorough relish of a joke, and
+the subject selected by Bert was peculiarly appropriate, being
+"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was so delighted with Bert's ingenuity that thenceforth he
+gave him very effective assistance in the preparation of his weekly
+essays, and they were no longer the bugbear that they had been.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long after this that Bert had an experience with the law not
+less memorable.</p>
+
+<p>In an adjoining street, there lived a family by the name of Dodson, that
+possessed a very large, old, and cross Newfoundland dog, which had, by
+its frequent exhibitions of ill-temper, become quite a nuisance to the
+neighbourhood. They had often been spoken to about their dog's readiness
+to snap at people, but had refused to chain him up, or send him away,
+because<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> they had a lively aversion to small boys, and old Lion was
+certainly successful in causing them to give the Dodson premises a wide
+berth.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon Bert and Frank were going along the street playing catch
+with a ball the former had just purchased, when, as they passed the
+Dodson house, a wild throw from Frank sent the ball out of Bert's reach,
+and it rolled under the gate of the yard. Not thinking of the irascible
+Lion in his haste to recover the ball, Bert opened the gate, and the
+moment he did so, with a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek.</p>
+
+<p>Bert shrieked with fright and pain, and in an instant Frank was beside
+him, and had his strong hands tight round Lion's throat. Immediately the
+old dog let Bert go, and slunk off to his kennel, while Frank, seizing
+his handkerchief, pressed it to the ugly wound in Bert's cheek. Great
+though the pain was, Bert quickly regained his self-possession, and
+hastening home had his wounds covered with plaster. Fortunately, they
+were not in any wise serious. They bled a good deal, and they promised
+to spoil his beauty for a time at least, but, as there was no reason to
+suppose that the dog was mad, that was the worst of them.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was very much incensed when he saw Bert's injuries, and heard
+from him and Frank the particulars of the affair. He determined to make
+one more appeal to the Dodsons to put the dog away, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> if that were
+unsuccessful, to call upon the authorities to compel them to do so.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 383px;">
+<img src="images/image308.jpg" width="383" height="600" alt="&quot;With a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him, and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek.&quot;&mdash;Page 292." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;With a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him, and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek.&quot;&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_292'><b>292</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another person who was not less exercised about it was Michael, the man
+of all work. He was very fond and proud of the young master, as he
+called Bert, and that a dog should dare to put his teeth into him filled
+him with righteous wrath. Furthermore, like many of his class, he firmly
+believed in the superstition that unless the dog was killed at once,
+Bert would certainly go mad. Mr. Lloyd laughed at him good-humouredly
+when he earnestly advocated the summary execution of Lion, and refused
+to have anything to do with it. But the faithful affectionate fellow was
+not to be diverted from his purpose, and accordingly the next night
+after the attack, he stealthily approached the Dodson yard from the
+rear, got close to old Lion's kennel, and then threw down before his
+very nose a juicy bit of beefsteak, in which a strong dose of poison had
+been cunningly concealed. The unsuspecting dog took the tempting bait,
+and the next morning lay stiff and stark in death, before his kennel
+door.</p>
+
+<p>When the Dodsons found their favourite dead, they were highly enraged;
+and taking it for granted that either Mr. Lloyd or some one in his
+interest or his employ was guilty of Lion's untimely demise, Mr. Dodson,
+without waiting to institute inquiries, rushed off to the City Police
+Court, and lodged a complaint against the one who he conceived was the
+guilty party.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd was not a little surprised when, later in the morning, a
+blue-coated and silver-buttoned policeman presented himself at his
+office, and, in the most respectful manner possible, served upon him a
+summons to appear before the magistrate to answer to a complaint made by
+one Thomas Dodson, who alleged that he "had with malice prepense and
+aforethought killed or caused to be killed a certain Newfoundland dog,
+the same being the property of the said Thomas Dodson, and thereby
+caused damage to the complainant, to the amount of one hundred dollars."</p>
+
+<p>So soon as Mr. Lloyd read the summons, which was the first intimation he
+had had of Lion's taking off, he at once suspected who was the real
+criminal. But of course he said nothing to the policeman beyond assuring
+him that he would duly appear to answer to the summons.</p>
+
+<p>That evening he sent for Michael, and without any words of explanation
+placed the summons in his hand. The countenance of the honest fellow as
+he slowly read it through and took in its import was an amusing study.
+Bewilderment, surprise, indignation, and alarm were in turn expressed in
+his frank face, and when he had finished he stood before Mr. Lloyd
+speechless, but looking as though he wanted to say: "What will you be
+after doing to me now, that I've got you into such a scrape?"</p>
+
+<p>Assuming a seriousness he did not really feel, Mr. Lloyd looked hard at
+Michael, as he asked:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you know anything about this?"</p>
+
+<p>Michael reddened, and dropped his eyes to the ground, but answered,
+unhesitatingly:</p>
+
+<p>"I do, sir. It was meself that gave the old brute the dose of medicine
+that fixed him."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Michael," said Mr. Lloyd, with difficulty restraining a smile, "it
+was not right of you to take the law into your own hands in that way.
+You knew well enough that I could not approve of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I did, indeed, sir," answered Michael, "but," lifting up his head as
+his warm Irish heart stirred within him, "I couldn't sleep at night for
+thinking of what might happen to the young master if the dog weren't
+killed; and, so unbeknownst to anybody, I just slipped over the fence,
+and dropped him a bit of steak that I knew he would take to kindly. I'm
+very sorry, sir, if I've got you into any trouble, but sure can't you
+just tell them that it was Michael that did the mischief, and then they
+won't bother you at all."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, Michael. I'm not going to do that. You meant for the best what
+you did, and you did it for the sake of my boy, so I will assume the
+responsibility; but I hope it will be a lesson to you not to take the
+law into your own hands again. You see it is apt to have awkward
+consequences."</p>
+
+<p>"That's true, sir," assented Michael, looking much relieved at this
+conclusion. "I'll promise to be careful next time, but&mdash;" pausing a
+moment as he turned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> to leave the room&mdash;"it's glad I am that that cross
+old brute can't have another chance at Master Bert, all the same." And
+having uttered this note of triumph, he made a low bow and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd had a good laugh after the door closed upon him.</p>
+
+<p>"He's a faithful creature," he said, kindly; "but I'm afraid his
+fidelity is going to cost me something this time. However, I won't make
+him unhappy by letting him know that."</p>
+
+<p>The trial was fixed for the following Friday, and that day Bert was
+excused from school in order to be present as a witness. His scars were
+healing rapidly, but still presented an ugly enough appearance to make
+it clear that worthy Michael's indignation was not without cause.</p>
+
+<p>Now, this was the first time that Bert had ever been inside a
+court-room; and, although his father was a lawyer, the fact that he made
+a rule never to carry his business home with him had caused Bert to grow
+up in entire ignorance of the real nature of court proceedings. The only
+trials that had ever interested him being those in which the life or
+liberty of the person most deeply concerned was at stake, he had
+naturally formed the idea that all trials were of this nature, and
+consequently regarded with very lively sympathy the defendants of a
+couple of cases that had the precedence of "Dodson <i>v.</i> Lloyd."</p>
+
+<p>Feeling quite sure that the unhappy individuals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> who were called upon to
+defend themselves were in a very evil plight, he was surprised and
+shocked at the callous levity of the lawyers, and even of the
+magistrate, a small-sized man, to whom a full grey beard, a pair of
+gold-bowed spectacles, and a deep voice imparted an air of dignity he
+would not otherwise have possessed. That they should crack jokes with
+each other over such serious matters was something he could not
+understand, as with eyes and ears that missed nothing he observed all
+that went on around him.</p>
+
+<p>At length, after an hour or more of waiting, the case of "Dodson <i>v.</i>
+Lloyd" was called, and Bert, now to his deep concern, beheld his father
+in the same position as had been the persons whom he was just pitying;
+for the magistrate, looking, as Bert thought, very stern, called upon
+him to answer to the complaint of Thomas Dodson, who alleged, &amp;c., &amp;c.,
+&amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd pleaded his own cause, and it was not a very heavy
+undertaking, for the simple reason that he made no defence beyond
+stating that the dog had been poisoned by his servant without his
+knowledge or approval, and asking that Bert's injuries might be taken
+into account in mitigation of damages. The magistrate accordingly asked
+Bert to go into the witness-box, and the clerk administered the oath,
+Bert kissing the greasy, old Bible that had in its time been touched by
+many a perjured lip, with an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> unsophisticated fervour that brought out a
+smile upon the countenances of the spectators.</p>
+
+<p>He was then asked to give his version of the affair. Naturally enough,
+he hesitated a little at first, but encouraged by his father's smiles,
+he soon got over his nervousness, and told a very plain, straightforward
+story. Mr. Dodson's lawyer, a short, thick man with a nose like a
+paroquet's, bushy, black whiskers, and a very obtrusive pair of
+spectacles, then proceeded, in a rough, hard voice, to try his best to
+draw Bert into admitting that he had been accustomed to tease the dog,
+and to throw stones at him. But although he asked a number of questions
+beginning with a "Now, sir, did you not?" or, "Now, sir, can you deny
+that?" &amp;c., uttered in very awe-inspiring tones, he did not succeed in
+shaking Bert's testimony in the slightest degree, or in entrapping him
+into any disadvantageous admission.</p>
+
+<p>At first Bert was somewhat disconcerted by the blustering, brow-beating
+manner of the lawyer, but after a few questions his spirits rose to the
+occasion, and he answered the questions in a prompt, frank, fearless
+fashion, that more than once evoked a round of applause from the
+lookers-on. He had nothing but the truth to tell and his cross-examiner
+ere long came to the conclusion that it was futile endeavouring to get
+him to tell anything else; and so, with rather bad grace, he gave it up,
+and said he might go.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving the witness-box Bert removed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> bandages from his
+cheek, and exhibited the marks of the dog's teeth to the magistrate, the
+sight of which, together with the boy's testimony, made such an
+impression upon him that he gave as his decision that he would dismiss
+the case if Mr. Lloyd would pay the costs, which the latter very readily
+agreed to do; and so the matter ended&mdash;not quite to the satisfaction of
+Mr. Dodson, but upon the whole in pretty close accordance with the
+strict principles of right and justice.</p>
+
+<p>Michael was very greatly relieved when he heard the result, for he had
+been worrying a good deal over what he feared Mr. Lloyd might suffer in
+consequence of his excess of zeal.</p>
+
+<p>"So they got nothing for their old dog, after all," he exclaimed, in
+high glee. "Well, they got as much as he was worth at all events,
+and"&mdash;sinking his voice to a whisper&mdash;"between you and me, Master Bert,
+if another dog iver puts his teeth into you, I'll be after givin' him
+the same medicine, so sure as my name's Michael Flynn."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span></p>
+<h3>WELL DONE, BOYS!</h3>
+
+
+<p>There comes a time in the life of nearly every boy who attends Sunday
+school when, no matter how faithful to it he may have been, he finds
+gradually stealing in upon him the feeling that he is growing too old
+for it, and he becomes restive under its restraints. He sees other boys
+of the same age going off for a pleasant walk, or otherwise spending the
+afternoon as they please, and he envies them their freedom. He thinks
+himself already sufficiently familiar with Bible truth for all practical
+purposes, and the lessons lose their interest for him. He has perhaps no
+ambition for becoming a teacher, nor even of being promoted to a chair
+in the Bible class.</p>
+
+<p>How best to meet the case of this boy, and save him to the Sunday school
+is one of the most difficult questions that present themselves to those
+engaged in that work. You must not scold him or you will infallibly
+drive him away at once and for ever. Neither is it wise to seek to bring
+into play influences that will compel him to attend <i>nolens volens</i>, for
+that will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> but deepen his dislike, and make him long the more eagerly
+for the time when he will be his own master in the matter.</p>
+
+<p>There seem to be but two possible solutions of the problem. You must
+either appeal to the boy's natural sense of independence, and desire for
+importance by making some special provision for him that will mark a
+distinction between him and the younger folk, or you must, by going far
+deeper, reach the spiritual side of his nature, and through it secure
+his fidelity to the school.</p>
+
+<p>To Bert this temptation had not presented itself. He no more thought of
+tiring of the Sunday school than he did of his own home. He had attended
+regularly ever since his sister Mary would take him with her, and put
+him in the infant class, and it might be said to have become second
+nature with him.</p>
+
+<p>With Frank, however, it was different. He had never gone to Sunday
+school until Bert invited him, and although for some years he was very
+fond of it, that fondness in time had fallen into an indifference, and
+of late he had a decided disinclination to go at all. This was not due
+so much to any resistance to the claims of religion itself, but rather
+to a foolish idea that he was now too old and too big for Sunday school.</p>
+
+<p>Bert took his friend's change of feeling very much to heart, and he
+pleaded with him so earnestly, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> for some time Frank continued in
+his place just to please him. But this of course could not last, and he
+was in danger of drifting away altogether, when an event occurred which
+turned the current of his life and set it flowing once more in the right
+direction, this time with a volume it had never known before.</p>
+
+<p>It was a pleasant custom at Calvary Church to give the Sunday school a
+picnic every summer, and these picnics were most enjoyable affairs. A
+better place than Halifax Harbour for the holding of a picnic could
+hardly be conceived. You go, of course, by steamer, and then have the
+choice of some half-dozen different routes, each having its own
+attractions. You might go right up to the head of the big basin that
+stretched away eight miles or more beyond the north end of the city, and
+there land, amid the meadows that are bordered by the unbroken forest,
+or you might stop half-way, and invade the old estate that had once been
+proud to claim a prince as its possessor.</p>
+
+<p>Steering in the opposite direction, you might go around the Point, and
+piercing the recesses of the ever-beautiful arm of the sea, find a
+perfect picnic ground at its farthest bend; or, crossing the harbour,
+there were lovely spots to be secured on the big, tree-clad island that
+well-nigh filled the harbour mouth.</p>
+
+<p>This year it had been decided to hold the picnic at the head of the arm.
+The time was August, just when the cool sea-breeze and the balmy breath
+of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> pines are most grateful to the dwellers in cities. To the number
+of four hundred or more, a happy crowd of Sunday-school scholars and
+teachers, and their friends gathered upon the broad deck of the clumsy
+old <i>Mic-mac</i>, an excursion steamer that had done duty on this line for
+a generation, at least. Each class had its own banner, as a sort of
+rallying point, and these, with the pretty dresses and bright ribbons of
+the girls, imparted plenty of colour to the scene, while the boys gave
+life to it by being incessantly on the move, and never in one spot for
+more than one minute at a time.</p>
+
+<p>Bert and Frank were in the midst of the merry crowd, and in the highest
+spirits. They were neither of them by any means indifferent to the
+fascination of feminine beauty and grace, and it was easy to secure the
+most delightful companionship on board the boat, which they did not fail
+to do. Then they had the games and sports to look forward to, after the
+picnic ground should be reached, and altogether their cup of happiness
+seemed well-nigh brimming over. They little dreamed how ere the day
+closed they would both be brought face to face with the deadliest peril
+of their lives.</p>
+
+<p>Joyous with music and laughter, the big boat pushed her way onward over
+the white-capped waves, past the fort and the gas works, and the long
+stretch of the Point road; and then giving the point itself a wide
+berth&mdash;for the shallows extend far out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>&mdash;around it, and up the winding
+arm, with its line of stately homes on one side, and scattered clusters
+of white-washed cottages on the other, until almost at its very end, the
+landing-place was reached, and the gay passengers gladly deserted the
+steamer to seek the cool shelter of the woods.</p>
+
+<p>There was a wonderful amount of happiness crowded into that day. All who
+wanted to be useful found plenty of scope for their talents in the
+transporting of the provisions, the arranging of the tables, the hanging
+of the swings, and the other work that had to be done, while those who
+preferred play to work, could go boating, or swimming, or play ball, and
+so forth.</p>
+
+<p>The two friends went in for both work and play. They gave very efficient
+help to the ladies in preparing for the dinner, but they did not miss a
+grand swim in the cool, clear water of a sequestered cove, nor an
+exciting game of baseball in the open field.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner came the sports, consisting of competitions in running,
+jumping, and ball throwing, for which prizes in the shape of knives,
+balls, and bats were offered. Bert and Frank took part in several of
+them with satisfactory results, Frank winning a fine knife in the long
+distance race, and Bert a good ball for the best throw, so that there
+was nothing to mar their pleasure in this regard.</p>
+
+<p>By sunset all were making for the boat again, and in the soft summer
+gloaming the old <i>Mic-Mac</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> steamed steadily down the arm on her
+homeward trip. Many of the children were weary now, and inclined to be
+cross and sleepy. Others were still full of life and spirits, and could
+not be restrained from chasing one another up and down the deck and
+among the benches. But their merriment was ere long suddenly ended by an
+event which came near casting a dark cloud over the whole day, that had
+hitherto been no less bright with happiness than with sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>Bert and Frank had joined a group of charming girls gathered at the
+stern of the steamer, and while pleasantly employed in making themselves
+agreeable were more than once disturbed by the noisy youngsters, who
+would persist in playing "chase."</p>
+
+<p>"Some of you will be falling overboard if you don't take care," said
+Bert, warningly, to them. "Why don't you keep in the middle of the
+steamer?"</p>
+
+<p>There was good ground for Bert's warning, as, across the stern of the
+old steamer, which had been a ferry boat in her early days, there was
+only a broad wooden bar placed so high that a child might almost walk
+under it without stooping.</p>
+
+<p>But the careless children continued their play as the <i>Mic-Mac</i> ploughed
+her way back to the city. Presently a troop of them came racing down to
+the stern in chase of a golden-haired sprite, that laughingly ran before
+them. She was closely pursued by a boy about her own age, and in her
+eagerness to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> escape him she dodged underneath the bar that marked the
+line of safety. As she did so, the steamer gave a sudden lurch; and,
+poised perilously near the edge as the girl already was, it proved too
+much for her balance. She uttered a terrified shriek, grasped vainly at
+the bar now quite out of her reach, and, to the horror of those looking
+helplessly on, toppled over into the frothing, foaming water of the
+steamer's wake.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly there was wild confusion on board the steamer. Scream after
+scream went up from the women, and all who could crowded madly toward
+the stern. If the girl was to be saved, immediate action was necessary.
+Bert did not stop to think. He could swim strongly and well. He would
+attempt her rescue.</p>
+
+<p>"Frank, I'm after her," he cried, as he flung off his coat and hat.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm with you," answered Frank, imitating his action; and before anyone
+else had thought of moving, the two boys, almost side by side, sprang
+into the heaving water with faces set toward the spot where a cloud of
+white showed them the little girl still floated. Putting forth all their
+speed, they reached her ere the buoyancy had left her clothing, and each
+seizing an arm of the poor child, who had just fainted through excess of
+fright, they prepared to battle for her life and their own.</p>
+
+<p>They realised at once that it was to be no easy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> struggle. The steamer
+had been going at full speed, and although the engines were reversed at
+the first alarm, the impetus of her awkward bulk had carried her far
+away from the spot where the girl fell; and now the boys could just
+barely discern her through the deepening dusk. The harbour had been
+rough all day, and the waters still rolled uneasily. Fortunately, it was
+not very cold, or the swimmers' case had been well-nigh hopeless. As it
+was, the only chance of their deliverance hung upon their endurance. If
+their strength held out, they and the little one they had put themselves
+in peril to rescue would be saved.</p>
+
+<p>She continued to be unconscious, her pretty face, that was so bright and
+rosy a few minutes before, now looking strangely white and rigid, and
+her golden curls clinging darkly about her neck, her broad straw hat,
+all water-soaked and limp, hanging over on one side.</p>
+
+<p>"Surely she can't be dead already?" exclaimed Bert, anxiously, to Frank,
+as the two boys kept her and themselves afloat by treading water, one at
+either arm.</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Frank, "only fainted. But if the steamer doesn't come
+soon, she will be; and so will we too."</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear, Frank, the steamer will be back for us soon. I think I can
+hear her paddles now," said Bert, in cheering tones; and they listened
+intently for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> a moment, but heard nothing save the soft lapping of the
+waves all around them. Then Frank spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"Bert," he asked, "are you afraid to die?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert started at the question. He had not thought of dying, and life was
+so precious to him.</p>
+
+<p>"We're not going to die, Frank. God will take care of us," he answered,
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but if the steamer shouldn't get back to us in time, Bert,"
+persisted Frank, who seemed to be already losing hope, "aren't you
+afraid to die?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to, but I'm not afraid to," Bert replied, after a pause;
+for it was not easy to talk when every exertion had to be put forth to
+keep above the water.</p>
+
+<p>"But, Bert, I am afraid," said Frank, with a groan. "I've been so
+wicked."</p>
+
+<p>"No, you haven't, Frank; and even if you have, God will forgive you now.
+Ask Him right away."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I can't&mdash;it's too late; I cannot pray now," cried poor Frank, in a
+voice that sounded like a wail of despair.</p>
+
+<p>"It's not too late. Come, Frank, dear, we'll both pray to God to have
+mercy upon us," urged Bert; and inspired by his earnestness, Frank
+obeyed. And there, in the midst of the waves, with their senseless
+burden between them, the two boys lifted up their souls in supplication
+to their Omnipotent Father&mdash;Bert with the confidence that came of past
+experience, Frank with the agonised entreaty of one praying in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> sore
+need, and, for the first time, with the whole heart. A strange place for
+a prayer meeting, indeed; but they were as near the great heart of God
+as though they had been in His grandest cathedral, and the answer to
+their earnest pleading was already on its way.</p>
+
+<p>When the two young heroes leaped into the water, there had at first been
+great confusion on board the <i>Mic-Mac</i>, but a minute or two later the
+captain's gruff voice was heard roaring out orders. The paddles that had
+been thrashing the waves so vigorously suddenly stopped, were silent for
+a moment, and then recommenced; but now they were bearing the steamer
+backward instead of forward.</p>
+
+<p>"Get ready the boat for launching," thundered the captain. And
+half-a-dozen men sprang to obey.</p>
+
+<p>"Light a couple of lanterns," he shouted again. And in an instant it was
+done.</p>
+
+<p>"Reeve a long line round one of them life preservers, and stand ready
+for a throw," he cried to the mate. And almost before he had finished
+speaking the mate stood ready.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then, clear away there all of you," he growled at the excited
+crowd that pressed toward the stern, and they fell back, allowing him
+clear space, while he swung the lantern out before him, and peered into
+the dusk that obscured his view.</p>
+
+<p>"Let her go easy now," he shouted, and the steamer moved slowly on, a
+profound silence falling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> upon the crowd of passengers as they watched
+with throbbing eagerness for the first sign of the imperiled ones being
+sighted.</p>
+
+<p>Gazing hard into the gloom, the keen-eyed captain caught sight of a
+gleam of white upon the water.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop her!" he roared, with a voice like that of the north wind. "Hand
+me that life preserver!"&mdash;turning to the mate who stood near him. The
+mate obeyed, and coiling the long rope ready for a throw the captain
+waited, while the steamer drew nearer to the speck of white.</p>
+
+<p>"Look out there!" he cried to the boys in the water. "Lay hold of this."
+And swinging the big life preserver around his head as though it had
+been a mere toy, he hurled it far out before him, where the beams of
+light from the lantern showed not one but three white objects scarce
+above the surface of the water.</p>
+
+<p>"Look sharp now! lay hold there!" he cried again, and then: "All right.
+Keep your grip, and we'll have you in a minute." Then turning to those
+behind him: "Lower that boat&mdash;quick!"</p>
+
+<p>The davits creaked and groaned as the ropes spun through the blocks;
+there was a big splash when the boat struck the water, a few fierce
+strokes of the oars, and then a glad shout of, "All right; we've got
+them," in response to which cheer upon cheer rang out from the throng
+above, now relieved from their intense anxiety.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later, three dripping forms were carefully handed up the
+side, and taken into the warm engine room, the little girl still
+unconscious, and the boys so exhausted as to be not far from the same
+condition.</p>
+
+<p>Their rescue had been effected just in time. A little more, and utterly
+unable to keep themselves afloat any longer, they would have sunk
+beneath the pitiless waves.</p>
+
+<p>"It seemed awful to have to die that way," said Bert, when telling his
+parents about it. "I was getting weaker and weaker all the time, and so,
+too, was Frank, and I thought we'd have to let the poor little girl go,
+and strike out for ourselves. But we kept praying hard to God to help
+us; and then all of a sudden I saw a light, and I said to Frank,
+'There's the steamer&mdash;hold on a little longer;' and then I could hear
+the sound of the paddles, and the next thing the captain shouted to us
+and flung us a life preserver, and we got a good grip of that, and held
+on until the boat took us all in."</p>
+
+<p>The heroic action of the two boys made them famous in Halifax. The
+newspapers printed columns in their praise, a handsome subscription was
+taken up in a day to present them each with a splendid gold medal
+commemorating the event; important personages, who had never noticed
+them before, stopped them on the street to shake hands with them, and
+what really pleased them most of all, Dr. Johnston<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> gave the school a
+holiday in their honour, having just delivered an address, in which,
+with flashing eyes and quivering lips, he told the other scholars how
+proud he felt of Frank and Bert, and how he hoped their schoolmates
+would show the same noble courage if they ever had a like opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>The parents of the little one they rescued were plain people of limited
+means, but they could not deny themselves the luxury of manifesting
+their gratitude in some tangible form. Accordingly, they had two
+pictures of their daughter prepared, and placed in pretty frames,
+bearing the expressive inscription, "Rescued," with the date beneath;
+and the mother herself took them to the boys, the tears that bathed her
+cheeks as she presented them telling far better than any words could do,
+how fervent was her gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>Deeply as Frank had been moved at being brought through his own generous
+impulse into such close quarters with death, the excitement and bustle
+of the days immediately following the event so filled his mind that the
+impression bade fair to pass away again, leaving him no better than he
+had been before. But it was not God's purpose that this should be the
+result. Before the good effects of that brief prayer meeting in the
+water were entirely dissipated, another influence came to their support.
+Although he knew it not, he was approaching the great crisis of his
+life,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> and by a way most unexpected; he was shortly to be led into that
+higher plane of existence, toward which he had been slowly tending
+through the years of his friendship with Bert.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.</h3>
+
+
+<p>A day or two after the rescue Bert began to show signs of what he took
+to be simply a slight cold in the chest. At first there was only a
+little pain, and a rather troublesome feeling of oppression, which did
+not give him much concern, and having applied to his mother, and had her
+prescribe for him, he assumed that it was the natural consequence of his
+sudden plunge into the cold water, and would soon pass away. But instead
+of doing so the pain and oppression increased, and the family doctor had
+to be called in for his opinion. Having examined the young patient
+carefully, Dr. Brown decided that he was threatened with an attack of
+inflammation of the lungs, and that the best thing for him to do was to
+go right to bed, and stay there until the danger was over.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a new experience for Bert. He had never spent a day in bed
+before, his only previous sickness having been a siege of the mumps, and
+they merely made him a prisoner in the house until his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> face regained
+its usual size. But now he was to really go upon the sick list, and
+submit to be treated accordingly until the doctor should pronounce him
+well again. He did not like the idea at all. To what boy, indeed, would
+it have been welcome in that glorious summer weather when there was
+bliss in merely being alive and well. But he had too much sense to
+rebel. He knew that Dr. Brown was no alarmist, and that the best thing
+to do was to obey his injunctions unquestioningly. Moreover, he now
+began to feel some slight anxiety himself. The trouble in his chest
+increased. So much so, indeed, that he found difficulty in speaking for
+any length of time. Symptoms of fever, too, appeared; and by the close
+of another day no doubt remained that the attack was of a serious
+nature, and that the utmost care would be necessary in order to insure
+his recovery.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd learned this, they were sorely distressed. Such
+perfect health had their sturdy boy enjoyed all through his life
+hitherto, that they could hardly realise his being laid upon a bed of
+sickness, and it seemed especially trying just after he had passed
+safely through so great a peril. But they did not murmur. They committed
+Bert to the Divine care, and with countenances full of cheer for his
+sake, and hearts strengthened from above, awaited the revealing of the
+Lord's will.</p>
+
+<p>Day by day Bert grew worse, until each breath<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> became an effort; and the
+fever burned all through his veins, as though it would consume him.
+Fortunately, no cloud came over his consciousness; and although he could
+not speak without a painful effort, and therefore said little, his
+grateful looks showed how fully he appreciated the unremitting care with
+which his father and mother and Mary watched over him. His bedside was
+never without one of them; and there was yet another who vied with them
+in their devotion&mdash;and that was Frank. Had Bert been his twin brother he
+could not have felt more concern. He was moved to the very depths of his
+heart, and with tears in his eyes begged of Mr. Lloyd permission to take
+turns with them in watching by the bedside through the long hours of the
+night. He was so affectionate, so thoughtful, so gentle, so trustworthy,
+and Bert seemed so glad to have him, that Mr. Lloyd willingly consented;
+and thus the four whom Bert loved best shared the burden of care and
+anxiety between them.</p>
+
+<p>Bert had never made much parade of his religion. It was the controlling
+force in his life, yet it had not been in any way obtrusive. It had
+grown with his growth, and strengthened with his expanding strength; and
+although there had of course been many slips and falls&mdash;for what was he
+but an impulsive boy?&mdash;there had been no decline, but steadfast progress
+as the years of his boyhood glided past. It stood him in good stead when
+death waited for him in the depths<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> of Halifax harbour, and it was with
+him now, as hour by hour he drew nearer the dark valley of the shadow.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed strange for the Lloyd's home, which Bert and Mary had
+brightened with laughter and song, to be so silent now, and for big Dr.
+Brown, whose visits previously had been mainly of a social nature, to be
+calling every day, with a serious countenance that betokened his
+concern. Never were mother and sister more devoted and untiring than
+Bert's. Their loving care anticipated his simplest wants; and but for
+the dreadful feeling in his chest, and the fever that gave him no
+relief, the novelty of being thus assiduously tended was so great, that
+he would hardly have minded being their patient for a little while, at
+least.</p>
+
+<p>It was an unspeakable comfort to them all that his reason continued
+perfectly clear, no matter how high the fever raged; and not only his
+reason, but his faith was clear also. He did not despair of his
+recovery, yet he shrank not from looking the darker alternative fairly
+in the face, and preparing to meet it. His father's strong, serene faith
+was a wonderful help to him. In the quiet evening, as the dusk drew on,
+Mr. Lloyd would sit beside him, and, taking his hot hand in his, talk
+with him tenderly, repeating Scripture passages of hope and comfort, or
+verses from the sacred songs they both loved.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon, Frank was alone with him, Mrs. Lloyd and Mary having gone
+off to take much needed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> rest, and Bert for the first time spoke to his
+friend of the possibility of his never getting well again.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very ill, Frank, dear," said he, reaching over to lay his burning
+hand upon Frank's knee, as the latter sat close beside his bed. "I may
+never be any better."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, you will!" returned Frank, cheerfully. "You'll come round all
+right."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so, Frank, but sometimes as I lie here in the middle of the
+night, it seems as though it would soon be all over with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear, Bert, you'll live to be an old man yet, see if you don't."</p>
+
+<p>Bert was silent for a while as if thinking just how he would say
+something that was on his mind. Then turning to Frank, and, looking
+earnestly into his face, he asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Frank, do you love Jesus?"</p>
+
+<p>Frank started at the question, the blood mounted to his forehead, and
+his head dropped. He seemed reluctant to reply, and it was some time
+before he answered, almost in a whisper:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid I don't, Bert."</p>
+
+<p>A look of sorrow came over Bert's countenance, but was quickly
+dissipated by one of hope, and despite the pain the utterance of every
+word gave him he took Frank's hand between both of his, and pressing it
+affectionately, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear Frank, you will love Him, won't you?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Frank's sturdy frame trembled with the emotion he strove hard to
+suppress; his lips quivered so that he could not have spoken if he
+would, and at length, unable to control himself any longer, he fell on
+his knees at the bedside, and burying his face in his hands burst into
+tears.</p>
+
+<p>The ineffable glory of the sun setting into the golden haze of the west
+filled the room, and enfolded the figures of the two boys, the one
+kneeling at the bedside, and the other with eyes lifted heavenward, and
+lips moving in earnest prayer, touching softly the brown curls half
+buried in the bed beside him. For some minutes there was a solemn
+silence. Then Bert spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"Frank, Frank," he called, gently.</p>
+
+<p>Frank lifted his tear-stained face.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you begin to love Him now?" Bert asked. "If God should take me
+away, I could not be happy unless I felt sure that you would meet me
+above. We've been such friends, Frank, and you've been so good to me
+always."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 383px;">
+<img src="images/image338.jpg" width="383" height="600" alt="&quot;&#39;Frank, Frank,&#39; he called gently. Frank lifted his
+tear-stained face.&quot;&mdash;Page 320." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;&#39;Frank, Frank,&#39; he called gently. Frank lifted his
+tear-stained face.&quot;&mdash;<i>Page <a href='#Page_320'><b>320</b></a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Frank's tears flowed afresh. It was not the first time that the question
+of surrender to Christ had presented itself to him. He had debated it
+with himself over and over again, and always with the same result,
+concluding to remain undecided a little longer. But now the time for
+indecision seemed altogether passed. The Christ Himself seemed present
+in that room awaiting an answer to the question<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> he had inspired Bert
+to put. Never in all his life before had the issue between God and
+himself appeared so inevitable. He had evaded it more than once, but a
+decision could no longer be delayed. No sooner did he see this clearly
+than the powers of the strong, deep nature asserted itself. Brushing
+aside his tears, and looking right into Bert's expectant eyes, he seized
+both his hands, and, with a countenance almost glorified by the
+expression of lofty purpose the rays of the setting sun revealed upon
+it, said, in clear, firm tones:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Bert, I will love Jesus, and I will begin right away."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Frank, I'm so happy!" murmured Bert, as he fell back on his pillow,
+for the stress of emotion had told hard upon him in his weak state, and
+he felt exhausted. He lay there quietly with his eyes closed for a
+while, and then sank into a gentle slumber, and before he awoke again
+Mrs. Lloyd had come into the room so that their conversation could not
+be resumed before Frank went away.</p>
+
+<p>The next day Bert was decidedly worse. The suffering in his chest
+increased until he could hardly speak. With great difficulty he could
+get out a word at a time, and that was all. The fever showed no signs of
+abating, and he tossed upon his bed hour after hour, while with ice and
+fan and cooling applications Mrs. Lloyd and Mary strove hard to give him
+ease.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Dr. Brown made no attempt to conceal his anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>"The crisis is near at hand," he said. "There is nothing more that I can
+do for him. He has reached a point where your prayers can do more for
+him than my poor medicines."</p>
+
+<p>Although her heart was torn with anguish unspeakable, Mrs. Lloyd's
+fortitude never for a moment faltered. So serene was her bearing in the
+sick chamber that Mary, from whom the gravity of her brother's case had
+been so far as possible concealed, had yet no thought but that he would
+infallibly win his way back to health.</p>
+
+<p>As he grew weaker and his sufferings more intense, Bert evidently felt
+easiest when all three of his own household were with him at once, and
+when Frank was there also, his satisfaction seemed complete. He spoke
+but little, and then only a word or two at a time. Dr. Chrystal came to
+see him frequently, and was always greeted with a glad smile of welcome.
+Taking the Bible, he would, in his rich mellow voice, read some
+comforting passage, and then pray with deep trustful earnestness,
+inspiring and strengthening the anxious watchers, and leaving behind him
+an atmosphere of peace.</p>
+
+<p>On Friday night the crisis came. After tossing and tumbling about
+feverishly all day, as the evening shadows fell, Bert sank into a deep
+stupor, and Dr. Brown, with a lump in his throat that almost choked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> his
+utterance, said plainly that unless he rallied before morning there
+would be no further hope. In an agony of prayer Mrs. Lloyd knelt by her
+darling's bedside, while in an adjoining room Mr. Lloyd, and Mary, and
+Dr. Chrystal, and Frank sat together, praying and waiting, and striving
+to comfort one another. The long hours of agonising uncertainty dragged
+slowly by. Every few minutes some one would steal on tiptoe to the sick
+chamber, and on their return met fond faces full of eager questioning
+awaiting them, only to answer with a sad shake of the head that meant no
+ray of hope yet.</p>
+
+<p>At length the dawn began to flush the east, and with crimson radiance
+light up the great unmeasured dome, putting out the stars that had shone
+as watch fires throughout the night. Mrs. Lloyd had risen from her
+knees, and was sitting close beside the bed, watching every breath that
+Bert drew; for who could say which one would be the last? The daylight
+stole swiftly into the room, making the night-light no longer necessary,
+and she moved softly to put it out. As she returned to her post, and
+stood for a moment gazing with an unutterable tenderness at the beloved
+face lying so still upon the pillow, a thrill of joy shot through her,
+for a change seemed to have taken place; the flushed features had
+assumed a more natural hue, and the breath came more easily. Scarcely
+daring to hope, she stood as if entranced. Presently a tremor ran
+through Bert's frame, he stirred uneasily, sighed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> heavily, and then, as
+naturally as a babe awaking, opened wide his big, brown eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing his mother just before him, he gave a glad smile, lifted up his
+hands as though to embrace her, and said, without any apparent
+difficulty:</p>
+
+<p>"You dear, darling mother."</p>
+
+<p>Completely overcome with joy, Mrs. Lloyd threw herself down beside her
+boy and kissed him passionately, exclaiming: "Thank God! Thank God! He's
+saved;" and then, springing up, hastened out to tell the others the good
+news.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Brown, who had been resting in the study, was instantly summoned,
+and the moment he saw Bert his face became radiant. Turning to Mrs.
+Lloyd, he shook her hand warmly, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"The worst is over. He'll come round all right now, and you may thank
+your prayers, madam, and not my medicines."</p>
+
+<p>Great was the rejoicing in the Lloyd household. No words would express
+their gladness; and when school-time came Frank, utterly unable to
+contain himself, rushed off to Dr. Johnston's, and astonished the
+assembled pupils by shouting at the top of his voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah, boys! Bert's not going to die. He'll soon be well again."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+
+<h3>HOME MISSIONARY WORK.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bert's recovery was as rapid as his illness had been sudden and severe.
+A fortnight after that memorable morning, when with the dawn came
+deliverance, he was as vigorous and lively as ever. He found the days of
+his convalescence not at all unpleasant. When the pain had passed, the
+long hours of suffering seemed like a dreadful dream, and the present,
+with its sweet relief and increasing strength, a blissful awaking. At
+his home all was joy and brightness: there were silence and anxiety no
+longer. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary went singing from room to room, Mr. Lloyd
+came back from his office whistling merrily, and sure to be ready with
+something to make Bert laugh. Frank ran in and out, the very type of
+joyous boyhood, and each day brought its stream of callers, with warm
+congratulations upon Bert's happy restoration to health.</p>
+
+<p>It would be a queer boy that would not enjoy this, seeing that it all
+centred upon him, and Bert fully appreciated the important position he
+held for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> time being. Then what could be more delightful than the
+sense of returning strength, of enlarging activity?&mdash;to find one's-self
+with a clearer head, a sharper appetite, and a more vigorous frame, as
+one glorious summer day succeeded another; while the birds sang blithely
+in the apple tree, and the blue waters of the ever-beautiful harbour
+rippled gently before the morning zephyrs, or were stirred into white
+caps by the afternoon breeze?</p>
+
+<p>Bert's illness left no trace behind so far as his physical nature was
+concerned, and yet he was not altogether the same boy as before it laid
+him low. Deep solemn thoughts had been his as he lay upon his bed, not
+knowing whether he should ever rise from it again. His life had been in
+many respects a more than ordinarily blameless one, and yet when he had
+little else to do save look back upon it, an almost overwhelming sense
+of his worthlessness came upon him, and he was filled with wonder that
+God could love him at all.</p>
+
+<p>But that He did love him, and for His Son's sake had accepted him, he
+never for a moment doubted. Now that he was restored to health and
+strength, he did not seek to forget those feelings, nor would he allow
+his convictions of great obligations Godward to lead him nowhere. He
+resolved to do some definite work for his Divine Master, and to seize
+the first opportunity that presented itself.</p>
+
+<p>His friendship with Frank passed into a deeper,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> stronger phase than
+ever before. It might with much truth have been said of them as it was
+of two friends of old, that the soul of Bert was knit with the soul of
+Frank, and that Bert loved him as his own soul. They had so much in
+common now, and they found it so delightful to strengthen one another's
+hands in the Lord by talking together of His goodness.</p>
+
+<p>There was one matter that troubled Frank deeply, and that formed the
+subject of many a long and earnest conversation. His father was a man
+about whose lack of religion there could be no doubt. He was a big,
+bluff, and rather coarse-grained man, not over-scrupulous in business,
+but upon the whole as honest and trustworthy as the bulk of humanity. By
+dint of sheer hard work and shrewdness he had risen to a position of
+wealth and importance, and, as self-made men are apt to do, laid much
+more stress upon what he owed to himself than upon what he owed to his
+Creator. In his own rough way, that is to say in somewhat the same
+fashion as we may suppose a lion loves his whelp, he loved the only
+child the wife long since dead had left him. He was determined that he
+should lack nothing that was worth having, and in nothing did Mr. Bowser
+show his shrewdness more clearly than in fully appreciating the
+advantage it was to Frank to be the chosen friend and constant companion
+of Lawyer Lloyd's son. He had manifested his satisfaction at the
+intimacy by having Frank make Bert handsome presents at Christmas time,
+and in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> other ways. In all this, however, his only thought had been for
+Frank. He made no attempt to cultivate intimate relations with the
+Lloyds on his own account. He thought them both too refined, and too
+religious for him, and accordingly declined so far as he civilly could,
+Mr. Lloyd's overtures toward a better acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>Such a man was Frank's father; and now that the boy's heart was full of
+joy and light, because the peace that passeth understanding was his, he
+longed that his father should share the same happy experience.</p>
+
+<p>"If father were only a Christian, like your father, Bert, I would be the
+happiest boy in all the world," said he, one day. "Oh, Bert, what can I
+do to make him interested in religion?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you ask Dr. Chrystal to go and talk with him?" inquired Bert.</p>
+
+<p>"It wouldn't be a bit of use. He won't go to church to hear Dr.
+Chrystal, nor any other minister, and he wouldn't listen to them if they
+came to see him. He says he has no faith in parsons, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do you think he would listen to father?" suggested Bert.</p>
+
+<p>Frank's face lighted up. He had been thinking of this himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps he would, Bert," he said, eagerly. "I know he thinks a great
+deal of your father. I've heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> him say that he practised better than
+many of the parsons preached."</p>
+
+<p>Bert flushed with pleasure at this frank compliment to his father.</p>
+
+<p>"Then suppose we ask him to speak to your father about religion," he
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes; let us," assented Frank. Accordingly, that evening the two
+boys brought the matter before Mr. Lloyd, who listened to them very
+attentively. Then he asked a question or two.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you quite sure, Frank, that I am the very best person to speak to
+your father on this important subject?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mr. Lloyd; I'm quite sure you are."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do you know, Frank, I don't agree with you. I think I know of
+somebody that can do it much better than I can," said Mr. Lloyd, with a
+meaning smile.</p>
+
+<p>Frank's face fell. He had set his heart upon having Mr. Lloyd do it, and
+could not believe that anybody else would do as well. After a little
+pause, he asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Who is this somebody else, Mr. Lloyd?"</p>
+
+<p>"He's not very far away from us now, Frank," answered Mr. Lloyd, still
+with that curious smile.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mean Bert, do you?" cried Frank, looking a little bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>"No; I don't mean Bert," responded Mr. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>"Then&mdash;&mdash;." He stopped short, a deep blush spread over his features; he
+caught his breath, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> then, as if hoping that the answer would be in
+the negative, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean <i>me</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do mean just you; and nobody else, Frank."</p>
+
+<p>Frank threw himself back in his chair with a despairing gesture, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I could never do it, Mr. Lloyd. I know I never could."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd looked at him with tender sympathy, and laying his hand upon
+his knee, said, gently:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you remember the motto, Frank: 'Quit you like men, be strong'?"</p>
+
+<p>Frank heaved a heavy sigh. "But how can I go about it, Mr. Lloyd?" he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lloyd thought a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"I have an idea, Frank," he said, presently. "Suppose you were to start
+family prayer in the mornings. I believe it would be the means of doing
+your father good."</p>
+
+<p>At first Frank could not be persuaded that such a thing was possible as
+his presuming to conduct family prayer in his father's presence, but
+they talked long and earnestly about it, and finally he went away
+promising to think it over very seriously.</p>
+
+<p>As he turned the matter over in his mind, however, little by little his
+courage strengthened until at length he felt himself equal to the
+undertaking. It was a Sunday morning that he chose upon which to make
+the venture. So soon as breakfast was finished, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> his father had
+moved away from the table, wishing to himself that there was a paper
+published on Sundays as well as upon other days, for he had time to read
+it comfortably, Frank took up his Bible, and said, very hesitatingly:</p>
+
+<p>"Father, do you mind if we have family prayers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Eh! What's that? What do you mean?" asked Mr. Bowser, looking up as if
+he could hardly believe his ears.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, father," answered Frank, timidly, "you know they have prayers at
+Mr. Lloyd's every morning, and I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind our
+having them, too."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bowser scanned his son's face with a hard searching gaze, but Frank
+looked back at him with so much love and respect in his clear, brown
+eyes, that all suspicion was banished from his mind, and his heart
+melted not a little.</p>
+
+<p>"Who's going to have the prayers? You don't expect me to, do you?" he
+asked, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, father, if you don't care to, I'll try, if you've no objection,"
+replied Frank, modestly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bowser was silent for a moment. He had noted a change in Frank of
+late, and had been impressed by the increased interest he took in church
+and Sunday school as proven by the regularity and punctuality of his
+going off to the services. Had Frank become a Christian like Mr. Lloyd?
+He would not be sorry if he had, although it was rather a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> pity that he
+had not waited until he had had his fling first, sowed a few wild oats,
+seen something of the world, and then settled down. Here was a good
+chance to find out. So with some relaxing of his gruffness, Mr. Bowser
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"All right, my boy. I've no objections so long as you're not too
+long-winded. Go ahead."</p>
+
+<p>Thus encouraged, Frank, with beating heart and trembling lips, proceeded
+to read one of the Psalms; and then, kneeling down, offered up a simple,
+fervent, faith-filled prayer.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bowser did not kneel. He sat sturdily upright in his chair, looking
+straight before him. But he could not prevent strange emotions awaking
+within him as he heard his boy, whom he was still inclined to look upon
+as hardly more than a child, though he was now sixteen years of age,
+address himself in reverent, earnest tones to the Great Being that he
+had so utterly neglected himself.</p>
+
+<p>When Frank had finished, his father rose and left the room without
+saying a word. That evening Frank took tea with Bert, and they went to
+church together. Shortly after the service began Bert happened to glance
+about the church, and his eye fell upon somebody that caused him to give
+a little start of surprise, and then nudge Frank violently. On Frank's
+turning round to see what Bert meant, he too started, and an expression
+of joy that was beautiful to witness came over his countenance, for
+there, in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> pew not far behind him, and evidently trying hard to look
+entirely at his ease, sat Mr. Bowser, this being his first appearance in
+church for many long years.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Chrystal preached one of his very best sermons that night, and all
+the time he was speaking Frank was praying that his earnest words might
+go straight home to his father's heart. That was the beginning of the
+good work. Thenceforward every Sunday evening found Mr. Bowser an
+attentive listener; and Frank, continuing the morning prayers
+faithfully, was surprised and delighted when one day his father brought
+home the finest family Bible he could find in the city, and handing it
+to him, said, in his kindest manner:</p>
+
+<p>"Here, my boy, if we're going to have family prayers, we may just as
+well do it in proper style."</p>
+
+<p>Frank joyfully reported all this to the Lloyds, who rejoiced with him
+over the prospect there was of his prayers for his father being fully
+answered ere long, and Mr. Lloyd was therefore not at all surprised when
+one evening Mr. Bowser called, and in an agitated, confused way begged
+the favour of an interview with him in the privacy of his study.</p>
+
+<p>It was as Mr. Lloyd anticipated. Frank's simple, but sincere efforts at
+home missionary work had been crowned with success. His father's hard,
+worldly nature had been stirred to its depths. A longing the world could
+not appease had been awakened within him, and he had come to Mr. Lloyd
+as one in whom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> he placed implicit confidence, that he might guide him
+toward the light. The conversation, which Mr. Bowser found wonderfully
+helpful to him in his bewildered, anxious state of mind, was followed by
+many others, and the result was made evident when, ere that year closed,
+Mr. Bowser publicly united himself with the Church; and there were few
+who were familiar with the circumstances that could restrain a tear of
+sympathetic joy when Dr. Chrystal made the event the occasion for a
+beautiful and inspiring sermon upon the place of the young in the
+vineyard of the Lord.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Bowser was not a man to do anything by halves. When he was worldly,
+he was worldly out and out, and now that he had broken with the world
+and entered into the service of God, he took up the business of religion
+with a thoroughness and ardour that was entirely characteristic. He
+found himself wofully ignorant of the simplest Scripture truths. Until
+his conversion, he had not opened his Bible since he left his mother's
+care. He, therefore, determined to become a scholar. So one Saturday he
+asked Frank:</p>
+
+<p>"Frank, what is it you do at Sunday school?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, father, we sing, and pray, and study the Bible, that's about
+all," answered Frank, wondering to himself what his father had in mind.</p>
+
+<p>"Do any grown-up people go there, Frank?" inquired Mr. Bowser,
+innocently.</p>
+
+<p>Frank smiled, partly at his father's lack of knowledge, and partly
+because he thought he caught a glimpse of his purpose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course, father," he exclaimed, "lots of them. Mr. Lloyd goes
+there, and Mr. Silver, and ten or twelve other gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"Does Mr. Lloyd go to Sunday school?" asked Mr. Bowser, eagerly. "Why,
+what does he do there?"</p>
+
+<p>"He teaches, father. He has charge of the men's Bible class."</p>
+
+<p>"So Mr. Lloyd has a Bible class there," mused Mr. Bowser aloud; then,
+turning again to Frank, "Do you think, Frank, he would mind if I joined
+it."</p>
+
+<p>Frank could not help smiling at the idea of Mr. Lloyd being otherwise
+than glad at having a new member in his class.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, he won't. On the contrary, he'll be mighty glad, I'm sure," he
+answered, warmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then, Frank, I'll go with you to Sunday school to-morrow. I
+don't know anything about the Bible, and I think there's no better place
+for me to learn," said Mr. Bowser, as he went off, leaving Frank so
+happy at the prospect of having his father go to school with him that he
+could hardly contain himself.</p>
+
+<p>Very deep was Mr. Lloyd's pleasure when on Sunday afternoon burly Mr.
+Bowser walked into his class room and took his seat in the most remote
+corner. He went up to him at once, and gave him a cordial greeting.</p>
+
+<p>"I've come as a learner, Mr. Lloyd," said Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> Bowser. "I know little or
+nothing about the Bible, and I want you to teach me."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure I shall be most happy to do anything that lies in my power,
+Mr. Bowser," responded Mr. Lloyd, heartily, "and there are others in the
+class that you will find will help you also."</p>
+
+<p>And so Mr. Bowser, putting aside all foolish notions about pride or
+self-importance, became one of the most faithful and attentive
+attendants of the Bible class. Rain or shine, the whole year round, his
+chair was rarely vacant, until Mr. Lloyd came to look upon him as his
+model member, and to feel somewhat lost, if for any reason he was
+compelled to be absent.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Lloyd was not his only guide and instructor. Dr. Chrystal had
+attracted him from the very first. The sermon he preached on that
+eventful Sunday evening, when, yielding to an impulse which seemed to
+him little better than curiosity, he had attended church for the first
+time in so many years, had been followed by others, each one of which
+met some need or answered some question springing up in Mr. Bowser's
+heart, and his admiration and affection for the eloquent preacher had
+increased with a steady growth.</p>
+
+<p>In truth, Dr. Chrystal was a man of no common mould. He united in
+himself characteristics that might seem to have belonged to widely
+different natures. He was deeply spiritual, yet intensely alive to the
+spirit of the times. He was as thoroughly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> conversant with modern
+thought as he was with the history of God's ancient people. Although a
+profound student, he was anything but a Dr. Dry-as-Dust. On the
+contrary, the very children heard him gladly because he never forgot
+them in his sermons. There was always something for them as well as for
+the older folks. Indeed, perhaps one of the best proofs of his singular
+fitness for his work was the way the young people loved him. Boys like
+Bert and Frank, for instance, probably the hardest class in the
+congregation for the minister to secure to himself, while they never for
+a moment felt tempted to take any liberties with him, yet, on the other
+hand, never felt ill at ease in his presence, nor sought to avoid him.
+He made them feel at home with him, and the consequence was that the
+proportion of boys belonging to his church exceeded that of any other
+church in the city.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Chrystal had of late been causing his friends no small concern by
+showing signs of failing health. His heart began to give him trouble. So
+much so, indeed, that now and then he would be obliged to pause in the
+midst of his sermon, and rest a little before resuming. His physician
+told him he had been working too hard, and that what he needed was to
+take things more easily, or, better still, to lay aside his work for a
+season, and recuperate by a good long vacation.</p>
+
+<p>At first he would not listen to any such proposi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>tion. There seemed so
+much to be done all around him that would be undoubtedly left undone
+unless he did it himself, that he felt as if he could not desert his
+post. But it soon became clear to him that the warnings he had received
+must be heeded, and ere long he was able to make up his mind to follow
+the physician's advice, and indulge himself with an ocean voyage, and
+prolonged vacation in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>As the time for his temporary separation from his congregation drew near
+there was a marked increase of fervour and loving earnestness on the
+part of Dr. Chrystal toward his people. It was as though he thought he
+might perhaps never return to them, and it therefore behoved him not
+only to preach with special unction, but to lose no opportunity of
+saying to each one with whom he came in contact something that might
+remain with them as a fruitful recollection in the event of its proving
+to be his last word to them. Meeting Bert upon the street one day, he
+linked his arm with his, and entered at once into a conversation
+regarding the boy's spiritual interests. Bert felt perfectly at home
+with his pastor, and did not hesitate to speak with him in the same
+spirit of frank unreserve that he would with his father.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been thinking much about you, Bert," said Dr. Chrystal, in tones
+of warm affection, "and saying to myself that if, in the providence of
+God, I should never come back to my work, I would like to leave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>
+something with you that would linger in your memory after I am gone."</p>
+
+<p>"But you're coming back again all right, Dr. Chrystal," said Bert,
+looking up with much concern in his countenance, for he had never
+thought of its being otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure I hope and pray so with all my heart," replied Dr. Chrystal,
+fervently. "But there are many things to be considered, and God alone
+knows how it will be with me a few months hence. I am altogether in His
+hands."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, God knows right well that we couldn't have a better minister than
+you, sir, and so there's no fear but He'll send you back to us all
+right," returned Bert, his eager loyalty to his pastor quite carrying
+him away.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Chrystal smiled sympathetically at the boy's enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>"There are just as good fish in the sea as have ever yet been caught,
+Bert," he answered.</p>
+
+<p>"I thoroughly appreciate your kind, and I know sincere, compliment, but
+it was not to talk about myself that I joined you, but about yourself. I
+have been thinking that it is full time you took up some definite work
+for your Heavenly Master. Don't you think so, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do, sir; and so does Frank, and we're both quite willing to make
+a beginning, but we don't just know what to go at."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I have been thinking about that, too, Bert, and I have an idea I want
+to discuss with you. You know the streets that lie between the north and
+south portions of our city, and how densely they are packed with people,
+very few of whom make any pretensions to religion at all. Now, would it
+not be possible for you and Frank to do a little city missionary work in
+those streets. The field is white unto the harvest, but the labourers
+are so few that it is sad to see how little is being done. What do you
+think about it?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert did not answer at once. He knew well the locality Dr. Chrystal had
+in mind, and the class of people that inhabited it. For square after
+square, tenement houses, tall, grimy, and repulsive, alternated with
+groggeries, flaunting, flashy, and reeking with iniquity. The residents
+were of the lowest and poorest order. Filth, vice, and poverty, held
+high carnival the whole year round. In the day time crowds of tattered
+roughs played rudely with one another in the streets, and after dark,
+drunken soldiers, sailors, and wharf men, made night hideous with their
+degraded revelry or frenzied fighting.</p>
+
+<p>And yet these people had souls to save, and even though they might seem
+sunken in sin beyond all hope of recovery, they had children that might
+be trained to better ways and a brighter future. It was these children
+that Dr. Chrystal had in mind when he spoke to Bert. A union mission
+school had lately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> been established in the very heart of this
+unattractive district, and it was sorely in need of workers.</p>
+
+<p>Both Bert and Frank were quite competent to undertake work of this kind,
+did they but give their minds to it, and Dr. Chrystal was anxious to
+have their interest in it thoroughly aroused before he went away.</p>
+
+<p>After a few moments' silence, during which his brain had been very busy
+with conflicting thoughts, Bert looked up into his pastor's face, and
+said, in a doubtful way:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you think, sir, that is rather hard work to put us at at first?"</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Chrystal gave him a tender smile. "It is hard work, I know, Bert,"
+said he. "I would not for a moment try to argue that it is anything
+else, but I am none the less desirous of seeing you engaged in it. You
+and Frank would make splendid recruiting sergeants for the little
+mission school, and you could be very helpful in keeping order, or even
+in teaching at the morning session. By doing this you would not
+interfere with either your church-going or your own Sunday school in the
+afternoon. I wish you would talk the matter over with Frank, and, of
+course, consult your parents about it."</p>
+
+<p>Bert readily promised that he would do this, for although he, as was
+natural enough, shrank from undertaking what could not be otherwise than
+trying and difficult work, yet he felt that if his father fully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>
+approved of it, and Frank took it up heartily, he would be able at least
+to give it a trial. Dr. Chrystal was evidently well pleased with the
+result of the conversation, and in parting with Bert took his hand in
+his, and pressing it warmly, said:</p>
+
+<p>"God's best blessings be upon you, Bert. You are fitted to do good work
+for Him. May you ever be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."</p>
+
+<p>Little did Bert imagine that these would be the last words Dr. Chrystal
+would address to him personally, or that, as he turned away with a
+seraphic smile upon his face, he would see him but once more alive.</p>
+
+<p>The following Sunday was the last that Dr. Chrystal would spend with his
+congregation previous to his going away, and as he appeared before them
+at the morning service it was the general opinion that his abstention
+from work was taking place none too soon, for he certainly seemed to
+sorely need it.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of evident weakness, he preached with unabated eloquence and
+fervour. Indeed, he was perhaps more earnest than usual, and his sermon
+made a profound impression upon the congregation that thronged the
+church. In the afternoon he visited the Sunday school, and said a word
+or two to each one of the teachers as he passed up and down the classes.
+The evening service found the church filled to its utmost capacity, and
+a smile of inexpressible love and sweetness illuminated the pastor's
+pale<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> face as he came out from the study, and beheld the multitude
+gathered to hear the Gospel from his lips.</p>
+
+<p>"Doesn't he look like an angel?" whispered Bert to Frank, as the boys
+sat together in their accustomed place.</p>
+
+<p>"He doesn't simply look like one. He is one," Frank whispered back, and
+Bert nodded his assent.</p>
+
+<p>The service proceeded with singing, and prayer, and Bible reading, and
+then came the sermon. Dr. Chrystal was evidently labouring under strong
+emotion. His words did not at first flow with their wonted freedom, and
+some among his listeners began to think it would have been well if he
+had not attempted to preach. But presently all this hesitation passed
+away, and he launched out into an earnest impassioned appeal to his
+people to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
+Lord. Although he did not say expressly that this might be the last time
+he would ever speak to them from the pulpit, there was something in his
+manner that showed this thought was present in his mind.</p>
+
+<p>He had got about half through his sermon, and every eye in that
+congregation was fixed upon him, and every ear attent to his burning
+words, when suddenly he stopped. A deadly pallor took possession of his
+face; he pressed his left hand with a gesture of pain against his heart,
+while with the other he strove to steady himself in the pulpit. For<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> a
+moment he stood there silent, and swaying to and fro before the startled
+congregation; and then, ere Mr. Lloyd, who had been watching him
+intently all through the service, could spring up the steps to his side,
+he fell back with a dull thud upon the cushioned seat behind him, and
+thence sank to the floor.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Lloyd reached him, and bending down lifted him in his strong
+arms from the floor, Dr. Chrystal opened his eyes, looked upon his
+friend with a smile that seemed a reflection from heaven, breathed
+softly the words: "The Lord be with you," and then, with a gentle sigh,
+closed his eyes to open them again in the presence of the Master he had
+served so well.</p>
+
+<p>It is not possible to describe the scene that followed, when all present
+became aware that their beloved pastor had gone from them upon a journey
+from which there could be no returning. They were so stunned, saddened,
+and bewildered that they knew not what to do with themselves. The men
+and women sat weeping in their seats, or wandered aimlessly about the
+aisles to speak with one another, while the children, not realising the
+full import of what had happened, looked on in fear and wonder. It was
+some time before the congregation dispersed. Dr. Chrystal's body was
+tenderly carried into the study, and there was nothing more to do; and
+yet they lingered about as if hoping that perhaps it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> might prove to be
+only a faint or trance, after all, for it seemed so hard to believe the
+dreadful truth.</p>
+
+<p>As Bert and Frank walked home together, with hearts full to overflowing
+and tear-stained faces, Mr. Silver caught up to them, and pushing them
+apart, took an arm of each. For a few steps he said nothing; and then,
+as if musing to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"'God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.' Our pastor has gone. He
+is not&mdash;because God has taken him&mdash;not dead, but translated. Upon whom
+will his mantle fall, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure I don't know, Mr. Silver," replied Bert. "But this I do know,
+that we can never have a better minister."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I suppose not&mdash;according to our way of thinking, at all events; but
+we must not let that thought paralyse our energies. The vacant pulpit
+has its lesson for each one of us, boys," returned Mr. Silver.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it means work, and it seems so strange that Dr. Chrystal should
+have spoken to me as he did the very last time he saw me," said Bert.
+And then he proceeded to repeat the conversation concerning the city
+mission work.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so glad he spoke to you about that," said Mr. Silver. "I had
+intended doing so myself, but it has been far better done now. You will
+do what you can, both of you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we will," replied Bert and Frank together, in tones of
+unmistakable purpose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps, then," said Mr. Silver, reflectively, "the question I asked a
+moment ago may yet be answered by you, dear boys. Would you like to
+think that Dr. Chrystal's mantle should fall upon you, and that in due
+time you should take up the glorious work he has just laid down? To what
+nobler career can a man aspire than that of being one of the Master's
+shepherds?"</p>
+
+<p>The boys were silent. The thought was new to them, and altogether too
+great to be grasped at once. And Mr. Silver wisely did not press them
+for an answer before he bade them "Good-night, and God bless you both."</p>
+
+<p>But his question remained in their minds. It proved a seed thought that
+in the case of one of them was later on destined to find itself in good
+ground, and to spring up and bear goodly fruit.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span></p>
+<h3>A BOY NO LONGER.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Frank and Bert put their hearts into the city mission work, just as they
+did into everything else that they undertook, and it was well they did.
+For surely nothing save genuine zeal, and fidelity to a strong purpose
+could have carried them through the experiences that awaited them. The
+mission school was still small and struggling. But for the almost heroic
+energies of its superintendent, a clerk in a city banking house, it
+could not have been carried on at all. He was a small, slight,
+fragile-looking man, but he had a heart big enough for a giant, and
+having consecrated his spare hours to this most unattractive of all
+phases of Christian work, he carried it on with a self-denying
+earnestness that no difficulties could dampen, nor obstacles appal. He
+was as ready with his purse, to the extent of its slender ability, as he
+was with his Bible, and his splendid unselfishness was so well
+appreciated by the dangerous degraded beings among whom he toiled, that
+alone and unprotected he might go among them at any hour of the day or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>
+night, and meet with nothing but respect and rude courtesy.</p>
+
+<p>Such a man was David McMaster, under whose direction Bert and Frank lost
+no time in placing themselves; and a right glad welcome they had from
+him, his pale, thin face fairly glowing with pleasure at the addition to
+his force of two such promising recruits. With him they went the rounds
+of squalid tenements, hideous back alleys, and repulsive shanties, the
+tattered children gazing at them with faces in which curiosity was
+mingled with aversion, and their frousy parents giving them looks of
+enmity and mistrust, no doubt because they were so clean and well
+dressed.</p>
+
+<p>But apparently noting nothing of this, Mr. McMaster led the way from one
+rookery to another, introducing his new workers to their wretched
+inhabitants with an easy grace that disarmed all suspicion, and made
+them feel that so long as he was the presiding genius of the school,
+they had nothing to fear in the worst locality.</p>
+
+<p>The following Sunday morning they began work on their own account. The
+school was held at ten o'clock, closing just in time to permit the
+teachers to get to church, and the part assigned to Bert and Frank was
+to go out into the highways and byways, and invite the children playing
+in the dirt to come to the school, or else to go to the homes, if such
+they could be called, of those whose names were already upon the roll,
+and secure their attendance at the service.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then when the school opened they found plenty to do, distributing the
+hymn books, helping in the singing, keeping a sharp look-out for unruly
+behaviour, watching the door lest any scholar should take it into his
+head to bolt, insuring an equitable division of the picture papers, and
+so on until the hour came to close the school, and they turned their
+steps churchward, feeling with good reason that they had really been
+doing work for God, and hard work, too.</p>
+
+<p>They soon grew to love Mr. McMaster as much as they admired his zeal. He
+was in many ways a quaint, curious character. His body seemed so small
+and insignificant, and his spirit so mighty. He knew neither fear nor
+despair in the prosecution of his chosen work, and it was impossible to
+be associated with him without being infected by his unquenchable
+ardour. For some time no special incident marked their work, and then
+Bert had an experience that might have brought his part with it to an
+end had he been made of less sturdy stuff.</p>
+
+<p>In company with Mr. McMaster he was making the usual round previous to
+the opening of the school, beating up unreliable scholars, and had
+entered a damp, noisome alley, lined on either side with tumble-down
+apologies for houses. Mr. McMaster took one side and Bert the other, and
+they proceeded to visit the different dwellers in this horrible place.
+Bert had knocked at several doors without getting any response, for the
+people were apt to lie in bed late on Sunday<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> morning, and then his
+attention was aroused by sounds of crying mingled with oaths, that came
+from the garret of a villainous-looking tenement. He could hear the
+voices of a woman and of a child raised in entreaty and terror, and
+without pausing to consider the consequences, sprang up the broken
+stairs to the room from which they issued.</p>
+
+<p>On opening the door a scene presented itself that would have stirred the
+sympathies of a man of stone. Pat Brannigan, the big wharf labourer, had
+devoted the greater portion of his week's wages to making himself and
+his boon companions drunk with the vile rum dealt out at the groggery
+hard by. At midnight he had stumbled home, and throwing himself upon his
+bed sought to sleep off the effects of his carouse. Waking up late in
+the morning with a raging headache, a burning tongue, and bloodshot
+eyes, he had become infuriated at his poor, little girl, that cowered
+tremblingly in a corner, because she would not go out and get him some
+more drink. Half-crazed, and utterly reckless, he had sprung at the
+child, and might have inflicted mortal injury upon her had not the
+mother interposed, and kept him at bay for a moment, while she joined
+her shrieks to those the girl was already uttering.</p>
+
+<p>It was just at this moment that Bert entered the room. As quick as a
+flash he sprang to Pat Brannigan's side, and seized his arm now uplifted
+to strike down the unhappy wife. With a howl of rage the big brute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>
+turned to see who had thus dared to interfere. He did not know Bert, and
+his surprise at seeing a well-dressed stranger in the room made him
+hesitate a moment. Then with an oath he demanded:</p>
+
+<p>"Who may you be, and what's your business here?"</p>
+
+<p>Bert looked straight into his eyes, as he answered, quietly:</p>
+
+<p>"I heard the noise, and I came in to see what was the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you can just be taking yourself off again as fast as you like,"
+growled the giant, fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>Bert did not stir.</p>
+
+<p>"Be off with you now. Do you hear me?" shouted Brannigan, raising his
+clenched fist in a way there was no mistaking.</p>
+
+<p>Still Bert did not move.</p>
+
+<p>"Then take that," yelled Brannigan, aiming a terrible blow at the boy.
+But before it could reach him the poor wife, with a wild shriek, sprang
+in between them, and her husband's great fist descended upon her head,
+felling her to the floor, where she lay as though dead.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, Mr. McMaster rushed in through the open door. Pat
+Brannigan knew him well, and when sober held him in profound respect.
+Even now his appearance checked his fury, and he stood swaying in the
+centre of the room, looking with his bleared, bloodshot eyes, first at
+Mr. McMaster, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> then at the motionless heap upon the floor at his
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>Advancing a step or two, Mr. McMaster looked into Brannigan's fiery
+face, and asked, sternly, as he pointed to the insensible woman lying
+between them:</p>
+
+<p>"Is that your work?"</p>
+
+<p>The giant quailed before the fearless, condemning glance of the man who
+seemed like a pigmy beside him. His head fell upon his breast, and
+without attempting a reply, he slunk over to the other end of the room,
+flung himself into a chair, and buried his face in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Bert, let us lift her up on the bed," said Mr. McMaster, and
+between them Mrs. Brannigan was lifted gently, and placed upon the
+miserable bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Katie, get us some cold water, quick," said he, turning to the
+little girl, who watched him with wondering eyes. As if glad to get out
+of the room, she sped away, and presently returned with a tin of water,
+with which Mr. McMaster tenderly bathed Mrs. Brannigan's forehead, and
+soon the poor sufferer recovered consciousness. Mr. McMaster and Bert
+then went away, the former promising to look in again after school was
+over, and see if further help might be required.</p>
+
+<p>When Bert told of the morning's experience at home, his mother became
+very much agitated, and seemed strongly inclined to oppose his
+continuing the work. But Mr. Lloyd was not of the same opinion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> at all.
+He thought it a very admirable training for Bert, and Bert himself had
+no disposition to give it up. Accordingly, he went on as though nothing
+had happened, meeting with many discouragements, and few real successes,
+yet sustained by a steady impulse to willing service, strengthened by a
+real interest in the work itself.</p>
+
+<p>The days of Bert's boyhood were rapidly passing by. The time was
+approaching for him to enter college, and once enrolled as an
+undergraduate he could of course be counted a boy no longer. Not indeed
+that he was growing old in the sense of becoming too prim or particular
+to indulge in boyish sports and pranks. There was nothing premature in
+his development. He was in advance of many boys of his age, it is true,
+but that was only because he strove to be.</p>
+
+<p>He was not content unless he stood among the leaders, whether in study
+or sport. He looked forward to college with ardent expectation. Ever
+since the days of Mr. Garrison's school he had been accustomed to see
+the students in their Oxford caps and flowing black gowns going to and
+from the university which had its home in a handsome free-stone building
+that stood right in the heart of the city, and he had felt impatient for
+the time to come when he might adopt the same odd and striking costume.</p>
+
+<p>During the past year his studies had been directed with special
+reference to the matriculation examina<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>tion. As regards the classics, he
+could not have had a better teacher than Dr. Johnston, and his progress
+in knowledge of them had been sure and steady. In mathematics, however,
+he was hardly up to the mark, partly because they were not taught with
+the same enthusiasm at Dr. Johnston's, and partly because he did not
+take to them very kindly himself. Mr. Lloyd accordingly thought it wise
+to engage a tutor who would give him daily lessons during the mid-summer
+holidays.</p>
+
+<p>Bert, as was quite natural, did not altogether relish the idea of
+mingling work with play in this fashion in the glorious summer weather
+when the days seemed all too short for the enjoyment that was to be had;
+but when Frank, who was of course to go to college also, entered
+heartily into the plan, and Mr. Scott, the tutor, proved to be a very
+able and interesting instructor, full of enthusiasm about the
+university, in which he was one of the most brilliant students, Bert's
+indifference soon disappeared, and the three lads&mdash;for Mr. Scott was
+still in his teens&mdash;had a fine time together that summer, studying hard
+for two hours each morning, and spending the rest of the day in boating,
+or cricket, or some other pleasant fashion.</p>
+
+<p>As the heat of summer yielded to the cool breezes of autumn, and the
+time for the opening of the college drew near, Bert grew very excited.
+There were two scholarships offered at each matriculation examination,
+one open to those coming from the city, the other to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> those from the
+country. He had fixed his ambition upon the city scholarship, and
+determined to do his best to win it. He had caught some of his tutor's
+enthusiasm, and fully appreciated the importance of a brilliant
+beginning. Accordingly, he gave diligent heed to the good advice Mr.
+Scott delighted to give him, as well as to the studies he set for him,
+and looked forward hopefully to the approaching examination.</p>
+
+<p>Toward the end of October the examination took place. It was the boys'
+first experience of a written examination, and it is little wonder if
+they felt nervous about it.</p>
+
+<p>With Mr. Scott as guide they made their way to the university building,
+where he led them along the echoing stone corridors to a door inscribed,
+"Library;" and then, wishing them the best of fortune, bade them enter
+and try their fate. They found themselves in a large bright room whose
+floor was covered with desks, and the walls lined with bookcases, and
+having at one end a baize-covered table, around which sat several
+spectacled gentlemen attired in long black gowns, and chatting busily
+with one another. They took no notice of the two boys, who sat down at
+the nearest desk, and awaited developments. They were the first
+candidates in the room, but others presently came in until more than a
+score had gathered.</p>
+
+<p>All evidently felt more or less nervous, although some tried very hard
+to appear unconcerned. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> varied in age from Bert, who was
+undoubtedly the youngest, to a long-bearded, sober-visaged Scotchman,
+who might almost have been his father; their appearance was as different
+as their ages, some being spruce, well-dressed city lads, and others the
+most rustic-looking of youths, clad in rough homespun. They each sat
+down in the first seat they could find, and then stared about them as if
+they would like very much to know what was going to happen next.</p>
+
+<p>They had not long to wait in uncertainty. A short, stout, pleasant-faced
+professor disengaged himself from the group at the table, and stepping
+up to the platform, said, in a smooth voice, with a strong Scotch
+accent:</p>
+
+<p>"If you are ready to begin, gentlemen, will you please arrange
+yourselves so as to occupy only every alternate desk."</p>
+
+<p>There was a little noise and bustle as this order was being carried out,
+and then they settled down again, with a vacant desk between each pair
+as a precaution against whispered assistance. The next proceeding was to
+distribute paper to the candidates, they being expected to supply their
+own pens and ink. And then came what all were awaiting with beating
+pulse&mdash;viz., the examination paper. Each one as he received his paper
+ran his eye eagerly down the list of questions, his countenance growing
+bright or gloomy according as, to this hasty survey, the questions
+seemed easy or difficult.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bert scanned his list rapidly, gave a great sigh of relief, and then
+turned to Frank with a meaning smile, which said more plainly than
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm all right."</p>
+
+<p>Frank smiled back, in token that he was all right, too, and then the two
+boys bent to their work.</p>
+
+<p>They did not get along very fast at the start. It was their first
+written examination, and this, added to their natural nervousness, kept
+both their ideas and their ink from flowing freely. But after a few
+minutes they forgot themselves in their eagerness to commit to paper the
+answers to the questions before them, and for an hour or more they
+scribbled away until the first paper, which was upon the classics, had
+nothing unanswered left upon it.</p>
+
+<p>Bert finished first, and the professor, noticing him unemployed, brought
+him another paper, this time the mathematical one. As he expected, he
+did not do quite as well with it. But he felt sure of being right in his
+answers to six out of the ten questions, and very hopeful about two
+others, so that altogether he was well satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>The third and last paper was upon the English branches&mdash;history,
+grammar, geography, and so forth, and he polished this off with little
+difficulty, making a clean sweep of the dozen questions. All this took
+until after one o'clock, and when he laid down his pen with his task
+finished, he felt pretty tired, and anxious to get out and stretch
+himself. Frank, how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>ever, was not quite through, so he waited for him,
+and then the friends hurried off to compare notes, and estimate their
+chances.</p>
+
+<p>The results would not be declared for two days at least, and Bert found
+it very hard to keep his impatience in check. He could think of nothing
+else than those examinations. Having answered so many questions, he felt
+not the slightest uneasiness as to passing; but the scholarship&mdash;ah!
+that was the point. Mr. Scott had made it very clear what an important
+position a scholarship winner held in his class. It gave him the lead at
+once, and was in every way an honour to be highly coveted.</p>
+
+<p>Well, the longest days have their ending, and the two days of excited
+uncertainty dragged themselves past, and on Friday morning with a heart
+beating like a trip hammer, Bert hastened to the university. The results
+would be posted up on a huge blackboard that hung in the central
+corridor, and on entering he found an eager crowd thronging about this
+board, through which he had some difficulty in making his way. But by
+dint of pushing and elbowing, he soon got near enough to make out what
+was written on the long sheets of paper that occupied the centre of the
+board, and then&mdash;how shall be described the bound of wild delight his
+heart gave, when he read: "<i>The City Scholarship</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Cuthbert Lloyd</span>."</p>
+
+<p>Then underneath the word "<i>Passed</i>," in large letters, the name
+"<span class="smcap">Cuthbert Lloyd</span>," and a few names<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> lower down "<span class="smcap">Frank Bowser</span>," while
+below them were the rest of the candidates.</p>
+
+<p>Frank was beside him, and by a common impulse of joy the two friends
+threw their arms about each other, and hugged one another like two
+enthusiastic young bears. Then they ran off as fast as their legs could
+carry them to tell the good news.</p>
+
+<p>There was not a happier, prouder family in all Acadia that night than
+the Lloyds. Mr. Bowser and Frank came in to exchange congratulations,
+and they rejoiced together over the boys' success. Mr. Bowser was as
+delighted over Frank's passing as Mr. Lloyd was over Bert's scholarship.
+Like many men of defective education, he had very vague views about
+college. It was all a mystery to him, and that Frank, whom he was just
+finding out to be something more than a boy, should so easily penetrate
+these mysteries, and take a good place among the candidates for
+admission, was a source of unbounded satisfaction to him.</p>
+
+<p>After the first exuberance of joy had subsided, the conversation sobered
+down somewhat, and they began to talk about the future.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, young gentlemen&mdash;for I suppose I dare not call you boys any
+longer," said Mr. Lloyd, smilingly&mdash;"you should soon be making up your
+minds as to what part in life you intend to take, because, once you have
+decided, your studies at college should be carried on with that end in
+view. Don't you think so, Mr. Bowser?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I most certainly do, sir," replied Mr. Bowser, promptly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course, it is not a question to be decided off hand,"
+continued Mr. Lloyd," nor one which we should decide for you, unless you
+turn it over to us. So we will leave it with you for a while, if you
+like."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think that's necessary, father," spoke up Bert. "Frank and I
+have pretty well made up our minds already&mdash;that is, of course, if there
+is no objection."</p>
+
+<p>"And what is your choice, Frank?" asked Mr. Lloyd.</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to follow my father's business, if he will have me, sir,"
+answered Frank, giving his father a look of inquiry.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bowser's face flushed with pleasure. He rose from his chair, and
+crossing the room to where his son sat, he put his big hand upon his
+shoulder, and said, in his heartiest tones:</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;that I will, my lad, and all that I have shall be yours when I am
+gone."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope that won't be for a long time yet, father," said Frank, looking
+up affectionately into his father's beaming face.</p>
+
+<p>"So do I, my boy, so do I; but when it does happen, God knows what a
+comfort it will be to me to leave such a son behind me." And the tears
+slipped down his broad cheeks as he went back to his chair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was a moment's silence, for all had been affected by this touching
+little scene; and then, Mr. Lloyd, turning to Bert, inquired of him:</p>
+
+<p>"And what is your choice, Bert?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, father, if you think I can ever become fit for it, I would like
+to be a minister," he answered, modestly.</p>
+
+<p>It was now Mr. Lloyd's turn to become radiant.</p>
+
+<p>"My darling boy, you could not have delighted me more," he cried. "It
+has been my desire and prayer for you, that this should be your choice,
+but I have said nothing to you, because I wanted you to be perfectly
+free and unbiassed by any thought of pleasing me. I see clearly now that
+this is the Lord's doing, and my heart is full to overflowing with joy.
+God bless you both, my boys. I am sure that the hope and prayer of us
+all is that in your manhood may be fulfilled the promise of your boyhood
+that has been so bright, and to which you have now bidden farewell."</p>
+
+<h4>THE END.</h4>
+
+<p class="center">LORIMER AND GILLIES, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. McDonald Oxley
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,9218 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. McDonald Oxley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Bert Lloyd's Boyhood
+       A Story from Nova Scotia
+
+Author: J. McDonald Oxley
+
+Illustrator: J. Finnemore
+
+Release Date: May 6, 2008 [EBook #25358]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charlene Taylor, Janet Blenkinship and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD.
+
+[Illustration: "The whole crowd then precipitated themselves upon him,
+and proceeded to pummel any part of his body they could reach."--_Page
+165._
+
+_Frontispiece._]
+
+BERT LLOYD'S BOYHOOD
+
+A Story from Nova Scotia
+
+BY
+
+J. MACDONALD OXLEY, LL.D.
+
+_WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. FINNEMORE_
+
+London
+
+HODDER AND STOUGHTON
+
+27, PATERNOSTER ROW
+
+MDCCCXCII.
+
+   EDINBURGH:
+   PRINTED BY LORIMER AND GILLIES.
+   31 ST. ANDREW SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There is something so pleasing to the author of this volume--the first
+of several which have been kindly received by his American cousins--in
+the thought of being accorded the privilege of appearing before a new
+audience in the "old home," that the impulse to indulge in a foreword or
+two cannot be withstood.
+
+And yet, after all, there would seem to be but two things necessary to
+be said:--Firstly, that in attempting a picture of boy life in Nova
+Scotia a fifth of a century ago, the writer had simply to fall back upon
+the recollections of his own school-days, and that in so doing he has
+striven to depart as slightly as possible from what came within the
+range of personal experience; and, Secondly, while it is no doubt to be
+regretted that Canada has not yet attained that stage of development
+which would enable her to support a literature of her own, it certainly
+is no small consolation for her children, however ardent their
+patriotism, who would fain enter the literary arena, that not only
+across the Border, but beyond the ocean in the Motherland, there are
+doors of opportunity standing open through which they may find their way
+before the greatest and kindliest audience in the world.
+
+   J. MACDONALD OXLEY.
+
+   OTTAWA, CANADA,
+   _29th August, 1892_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+   CHAPTER                                                          PAGE
+
+   I. BERT IS INTRODUCED,                                              5
+
+   II. FIREMAN OR SOLDIER,                                            11
+
+   III. NO. FIVE FORT STREET,                                         17
+
+   IV. OFF TO THE COUNTRY,                                            21
+
+   V. THE RIDE IN THE COACH,                                          29
+
+   VI. AT GRANDFATHER'S,                                              39
+
+   VII. COUNTRY EXPERIENCES,                                          47
+
+   VIII. TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH,                                      57
+
+   IX. LOST AND FOUND,                                                67
+
+   X. BERT GOES TO SCHOOL,                                            81
+
+   XI. SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S,                                 93
+
+   XII. A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE,                                     107
+
+   XIII. BERT AT HOME,                                               117
+
+   XIV. AN HONOURABLE SCAR,                                          127
+
+   XV. A CHANGE OF SCHOOL,                                           139
+
+   XVI. THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S,                            151
+
+   XVII. THE HOISTING,                                               163
+
+   XVIII. SCHOOL EXPERIENCES,                                        175
+
+   XIX. VICTORY AND DEFEAT,                                          187
+
+   XX. A NARROW ESCAPE,                                              203
+
+   XXI. LEARNING TO SWIM,                                            217
+
+   XXII. HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED,                                 227
+
+   XXIII. PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING,                                  239
+
+   XXIV. A CHAPTER ON PONIES,                                        253
+
+   XXV. ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES,                                   263
+
+   XXVI. VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT,                                    273
+
+   XXVII. ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW,                                  287
+
+   XXVIII. WELL DONE, BOYS!                                          301
+
+   XXIX. THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW,                                   315
+
+   XXX. HOME MISSIONARY WORK,                                        325
+
+   XXXI. NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED,                                   335
+
+   XXXII. A BOY NO LONGER,                                           349
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+BERT IS INTRODUCED.
+
+
+If Cuthbert Lloyd had been born in the time of our great grandfathers,
+instead of a little later than the first half of the present century,
+the gossips would assuredly have declared that the good fairies had had
+it all their own way at his birth.
+
+To begin with, he was a particularly fine handsome baby; for did not all
+the friends of the family say so? In the second place, he was an only
+son, which meant that he had no big brothers to bully him. Next, his
+birthplace was the stirring seaport of Halifax, where a sturdy,
+energetic boy, such as Cuthbert certainly gave good promise of being,
+need never lack for fun or adventure. Finally, he had plenty of
+relations in the country to whom he might go in the summer time to learn
+the secrets and delights of country life.
+
+Now, when to all these advantages are added two fond but sensible
+parents in comfortable circumstances, an elder sister who loved little
+Cuthbert with the whole strength of her warm unselfish heart, and a
+pleasant home in the best part of the city, they surely make us as fine
+a list of blessings as the most benevolent fairy godmother could
+reasonably have been expected to bestow.
+
+And yet there was nothing about Master Cuthbert's early conduct to
+indicate that he properly appreciated his good fortune. He was not half
+as well-behaved a baby, for instance, as red-headed little Patsey Shea,
+who, a few days after his first appearance, brought another hungry mouth
+to the already over-populated cottage of the milkwoman down in
+Hardhand's lane. As he grew older, it needed more whippings than the sum
+total of his own chubby fingers and toes to instil into him a proper
+understanding of parental authority. Sometimes his mother, who was a
+slight small woman, stronger of mind than of body, would feel downright
+discouraged about her vigorous, wilful boy, and wonder,
+half-despairingly, if she were really equal to the task of bringing him
+up in the way he should go.
+
+Cuthbert was in many respects an odd mixture. His mother often said that
+he seemed more like two boys of opposite natures rolled into one, than
+just one ordinary boy. When quite a little chap, he would at one time be
+as full of noise, action, and enterprise as the captain of an ocean
+steamer in a gale, and at another time be as sedate, thoughtful, and
+absentminded as the ancient philosopher who made himself famous by
+walking into a well in broad daylight.
+
+Cuthbert, in fact, at the age of three, attracted attention to himself
+in a somewhat similar way. His mother had taken him with her in making
+some calls, and at Mrs. Allen's, in one of his thoughtful moods, with
+his hands clasped behind him, he went wandering off unobserved.
+Presently he startled the whole household by tumbling from the top to
+the bottom of the kitchen stairs, having calmly walked over the edge in
+an absorbed study of his surroundings.
+
+The other side of his nature was brilliantly illustrated a year later.
+Being invited to spend the day with a playmate of his own age, he built
+a big fire with newspapers in the bath room, turned on all the taps,
+pretending that they were the hydrants, and then ran through the hall,
+banging a dustpan and shouting "fire" at the top of his voice.
+
+"He is such a perfect 'pickle,' I hardly know what to do with him,
+Robert," said Mrs. Lloyd to her husband, with a big sigh, one evening at
+dinner.
+
+"Don't worry, my dear, don't worry. He has more than the usual amount of
+animal spirits, that is all. Keep a firm hand on him and he'll come out
+all right," answered Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly.
+
+"It's easy enough to say, 'Keep a firm hand on him,' Robert, but my hand
+gets pretty tired sometimes, I can assure you. I just wish you'd stay at
+home for a week and look after Bert, while I go to the office in your
+place. You'd get a better idea of what your son is like than you can by
+seeing him for a little while in the morning and evening."
+
+"Thank you, Kate, I've no doubt you might manage to do my work at the
+office, and that my clients would think your advice very good; but I'm
+no less sure that I would be a dismal failure in doing your work at
+home," responded Mr. Lloyd, with a smile, adding, more seriously:
+"Anyway, I have too much faith in your ability to make the best of Bert
+to think of spoiling your good work by clumsy interference."
+
+"It's a great comfort to have you put so much faith in me," said Mrs.
+Lloyd, with a grateful look, "for it's more than Bert does sometimes.
+Why, he told me only this morning that he thought I wasn't half as good
+to him as Frankie Clayton's mother is to him, just because I wouldn't
+let him have the garden hose to play fireman with."
+
+"Just wait until he's fifteen, my dear," returned Mr. Lloyd, "and if he
+doesn't think then that he has one of the best mothers in the world,
+why--I'll never again venture to prophesy, that's all. And here comes my
+little man to answer for himself," as the door opened suddenly and Bert
+burst in, making straight for his father. "Ha! ha! my boy, so your
+mother says you're a perfect pickle. Well, if you're only pickled in a
+way that will save you from spoiling, I shall be satisfied, and I think
+your mother may be, too."
+
+Mrs. Lloyd laughed heartily at the unexpected turn thus given to her
+complaint; and Bert, seeing both his parents in such good humour, added
+a beaming face on his own account, although, of course, without having
+the slightest idea as to the cause of their merriment.
+
+Climbing up on his father's knee, Bert pressed a plump cheek lovingly
+against the lawyer's brown whiskers and looked, what indeed he was, the
+picture of happy content.
+
+"What sort of a man are you going to make, Bert?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+quizzingly, the previous conversation being still in his mind.
+
+"I'm going to be a fireman," replied Bert, promptly; "and Frankie's
+going to be one too."
+
+"And why do you want to be a fireman, Bert?"
+
+"Oh, because they wear such grand clothes and can make such a noise
+without anybody telling them to shut up," answered Bert, whose knowledge
+of firemen was based upon a torchlight procession of them he had seen
+one night, and their management of a fire that had not long before taken
+place in the near neighbourhood, and of which he was a breathless
+spectator.
+
+Mr. Lloyd could not resist laughing at his son's naive reply, but there
+was no ridicule in his laugh, as Bert saw clearly enough, and he was
+encouraged to add:
+
+"Oh, father, please let me be a fireman, won't you?"
+
+"We'll see about it, Bert. If we can't find anything better for you to
+do than being a fireman, why we'll try to make a good fireman of you,
+that's all. But never mind about that now; tell me what was the best fun
+you had to-day." Thus invited, Bert proceeded to tell after his own
+fashion the doings of the day, with his father and mother an attentive
+audience.
+
+It was their policy to always manifest a deep interest in everything
+Bert had to tell, and in this way they made him understand better
+perhaps than they could otherwise have done how thoroughly they
+sympathised with him in both the joys and sorrows of his little life.
+They were determined that the most complete confidence should be
+established between them and their only boy at the start, and Bert never
+appeared to such advantage as when, with eyes flashing and graphic
+gestures, he would tell about something wonderful in his eyes that had
+happened to him that afternoon.
+
+By the time Bert had exhausted his budget and been rewarded with a lump
+of white sugar, the nurse appeared with the summons to bed, and after
+some slight demur he went off in good humour, his father saying, as the
+door closed upon him:
+
+"There's not a better youngster of his age in Halifax, Kate, even if he
+hasn't at present any higher ambition than to be a fireman."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIREMAN OR SOLDIER.
+
+
+Halifax has already been mentioned as a particularly pleasant place for
+a boy to be born in; and so indeed it is. Every schoolboy knows, or
+ought to know, that it is the capital of Acadia, one of the Maritime
+Provinces of the Dominion of Canada. It has a great many advantages,
+some of which are not shared by any other city on the continent.
+Situated right on the sea coast, it boasts a magnificent harbour, in
+which all the war vessels of the world, from the mightiest iron-clad to
+the tiniest torpedo boat, might lie at anchor. Beyond the harbour,
+separated from it by only a short strait, well-named the "Narrows," is
+an immense basin that seems just designed for yachting and excursions;
+while branching out from the harbour in different directions are two
+lovely fiords, one called the Eastern Passage, leading out to the ocean
+again, and the other running away up into the land, so that there is no
+lack of salt water from which cool breezes may blow on the torrid days.
+
+The city itself is built upon the peninsula that divides the harbour
+from the north-west arm, and beginning about half-a-mile from the point
+of the peninsula, runs northward almost to the Narrows, and spreads out
+westward until its farthest edge touches the shore of the arm. The
+"Point" has been wisely set aside for a public park, and except where a
+fort or two, built to command the entrance to the harbour, intrudes upon
+it, the forest of spruce and fir with its labyrinth of roads and paths
+and frequent glades of soft waving grass, extends from shore to shore,
+making a wilderness that a boy's imagination may easily people with
+Indians brandishing tomahawk and scalping knife, or bears and wolves
+seeking whom they may devour.
+
+Halifax being the chief military and naval station for the British
+Colonies in America, its forts and barracks are filled with red-coated
+infantry or blue-coated artillery the whole year round. All summer long
+great iron-clads bring their imposing bulks to anchor off the Dockyard,
+and Jack Tars in foolish, merry, and alas! too often vicious companies,
+swagger through the streets in noisy enjoyment of their day on shore.
+
+On either side of the harbour, on the little island which rests like an
+emerald brooch upon its bosom, and high above the city on the crown of
+the hill up which it wearily climbs, street beyond street, stand
+frowning fortresses with mighty guns thrusting their black muzzles
+through the granite embrasures. In fact, the whole place is pervaded by
+the influences of military life; and Cuthbert, whose home overlooked a
+disused fort, now serving the rather ignoble purpose of a dwelling-place
+for married soldiers, was at first fully persuaded in his mind that the
+desire of his life was to be a soldier; and it was not until he went to
+a military review, and realised that the soldiers had to stand up
+awfully stiff and straight, and dare not open their mouths for the
+world, that he dismissed the idea of being a soldier, and adopted that
+of being a fireman.
+
+Yet there were times when he rather regretted his decision, and inclined
+to waver in his allegiance. His going to the Sunday school with his
+sister had something to do with this. A favourite hymn with the
+superintendent--who, by the way, was a retired officer--was--
+
+   "Onward, Christian soldiers."
+
+The bright stirring tune, and the tremendous vigour with which the
+scholars sang it, quite took Cuthbert's heart. He listened eagerly, but
+the only words he caught were the first, which they repeated so often:
+
+   "Onward, Christian soldiers."
+
+Walking home with his sister, they met a small detachment of soldiers,
+looking very fine in their Sunday uniforms:
+
+"Are those Christian soldiers, Mary?" he asked, looking eagerly up into
+her face.
+
+"Perhaps so, Bert, I don't know," Mary replied. "What makes you ask?"
+
+"Because we were singing about Christian soldiers, weren't we?" answered
+Bert.
+
+"Oh! is that what you mean, Bert? They may be, for all I know. Would you
+like to be a Christian soldier?"
+
+"Yes," doubtfully; then, brightening up--"but couldn't I be a Christian
+fireman, too?"
+
+"Of course you could, Bert, but I'd much rather see you a Christian
+soldier. Mr. Hamilton is a Christian soldier, you know."
+
+This reply of his sister's set Bert's little brain at work. Mr.
+Hamilton, the superintendent of the Sunday school, was a tall, erect
+handsome man, with fine grey hair and whiskers, altogether an impressive
+gentleman; yet he had a most winning manner, and Bert was won to him at
+once when he was welcomed by him warmly to the school. Bert could not
+imagine anything grander than to be a Christian soldier, if it meant
+being like Mr. Hamilton. Still the fireman notion had too many
+attractions to be lightly thrown aside, and consequently for some time
+to come he could hardly be said to know his own mind as to his future.
+
+The presence of the military in Halifax was far from being an unmixed
+good. Of course, it helped business, gave employment to many hands,
+imparted peculiar life and colour to society, and added many excellent
+citizens to the population. At the same time it had very marked
+drawbacks. There was always a great deal of drunkenness and other
+dissipation among the soldiers and sailors. The officers were not the
+most improving of companions and models for the young men of the place,
+and in other ways the city was the worse for their presence.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd presently found the soldiers a source of danger to her boy.
+Just around the corner at the entrance to the old fort, already
+mentioned, was a guardhouse, and here some half-dozen soldiers were
+stationed day and night. They were usually jolly fellows, who were glad
+to get hold of little boys to play with, and thereby help to while away
+the time in their monotonous life. Cuthbert soon discovered the
+attractions of this guardhouse, and, in spite of commands to the
+contrary, which he seemed unable to remember, wandered off thither very
+often. All the other little boys in the neighbourhood went there
+whenever they liked, and he could not understand why he should not do so
+too. He did not really mean to defy his parents. He was too young for
+that, being only six years old. But the force of the example of his
+playmates seemed stronger than the known wishes of his parents, and so
+he disobeyed them again and again.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd might, of course, have carried her point by shutting Bert up
+in the yard, and not allowing him out at all except in charge of
+somebody. But that was precisely what she did not wish to do. She knew
+well enough that her son could not have a locked-up world to live in. He
+must learn to live in this world, full of temptations as it is, and so
+her idea was not so much to put him out of the way of temptation, as to
+teach him how to withstand it. Consequently, she was somewhat at a loss
+just what to do in the matter of the guardhouse, when a letter that came
+from the country offered a very timely and acceptable solution of the
+difficulty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+NO. FIVE FORT STREET.
+
+
+Cuthbert Lloyd's home was a happy one in every way. The house was so
+situated that the sunshine might have free play upon it all day, pouring
+in at the back windows in the morning and flooding the front ones with
+rich and rare splendour at evening. A quiet little street passed by the
+door, the gardens opposite being filled with noble trees that cast a
+grateful shade during the dog days. At the back of the house was the old
+fort, its turfed casemates sloping down to a sandy beach, from whose
+centre a stone wharf projected out into the plashing water. Looking over
+the casemates, one could see clear out to the lighthouse which kept
+watch at the entrance to the harbour, and could follow the ships as they
+rose slowly on the horizon or sped away with favouring breeze.
+
+A right pleasant house to live in was No. Five Fort Street, and right
+pleasant were the people who lived in it. Cuthbert certainly had no
+doubt upon either point, and who had a better opportunity of forming an
+opinion? Mr. Lloyd, the head of the household, was also the head of one
+of the leading legal firms in Halifax. His son, and perhaps his wife and
+daughter, too, thought him the finest-looking man in the city. That was
+no doubt an extravagant estimate, yet it was not without excuse; for
+tall, erect, and stalwart, with regular features, large brown eyes that
+looked straight at you, fine whiskers and moustache, and a kindly
+cordial expression, Mr. Lloyd made a very good appearance in the world.
+Especially did he, since he never forgot the neatness and good taste in
+dress of his bachelor days, as so many married men are apt to do.
+
+Cuthbert's mother was of quite a different type. Her husband used to
+joke her about her being good for a standard of measurement because she
+stood just five feet in height, and weighed precisely one hundred
+pounds. Bert, one day, seemed to realise what a mite of a woman she was;
+for, after looking her all over, he said, very gravely:
+
+"What a little mother you are! I will soon be as big as you, won't I?"
+
+Brown of hair and eyes, like Mr. Lloyd, her face was a rare combination
+of sweetness and strength. Bert thought it lovelier than any angel's he
+had ever seen in a picture. Indeed, there was much of the angelic in his
+mother's nature. She had marvellous control over her feelings, and never
+by any chance gave way to temper openly, so that in all his young life
+her boy had no remembrance of receiving from her a harsh word, or a
+hasty, angry blow. Not that she was weak or indulgent. On the contrary,
+not only Bert, but Bert's playmates, and some of their mothers, too,
+thought her quite too strict at times, for she was a firm believer in
+discipline, and Master Bert was taught to abide by rules from the
+outset.
+
+The third member of the household was the only daughter, Mary, a tall,
+graceful girl, who had inherited many of her father's qualities,
+together with her mother's sweetness. In Bert's eyes she was just simply
+perfect. She was twice as old as he when he had six years to his credit,
+and the difference in age made her seem like a second mother to him,
+except that he felt free to take more liberties with her than with his
+mother. But she did not mind this much, for she was passionately fond of
+her little brother, and was inclined to spoil him, if anything.
+
+As for Bert himself--well, he was just a stout, sturdy, hearty boy, with
+nothing very remarkable about him, unless, perhaps, it was his
+superabundant health and spirits. Nobody, unless it was that most
+partial judge, Mary, thought him handsome, but everybody admitted that
+he was good-looking in every sense of the term. He promised to be
+neither tall, like his father, nor short, like his mother, but of a
+handy, serviceable medium height, with plenty of strength and endurance
+in his tough little frame. Not only were both eyes and hair brown, as
+might be expected, but his face, too, as might also be expected, seeing
+that no bounds were placed upon his being out of doors, so long as the
+day was fine, and he himself was keeping out of mischief.
+
+Father, mother, daughter, and son, these four made up a very
+affectionate and happy family, pulling well together; and, so far as the
+three older ones were concerned, with their faces and hearts set toward
+Jerusalem, and of one mind as to taking Bert along with them. Mr. Lloyd
+and his wife were thoroughly in accord with Dr. Austin Phelps as to
+this:--That the children of Christians should be Christian from the
+cradle. They accordingly saw no reason why the only son that God had
+given them should ever go out into sin, and then be brought back from a
+far off land. Surely, if they did their duty, he need never stray far
+away. That was the way they reasoned; and although, of course, little
+Bert knew nothing about it, that was the plan upon which they sought to
+bring him up. The task was not altogether an easy one, as succeeding
+chapters of Bert's history will make plain. But the plan was adhered to,
+and the result justified its wisdom.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OFF TO THE COUNTRY.
+
+
+The letter which came in such good time to relieve Mrs. Lloyd from the
+difficulty about Bert's fondness for the guardroom and its hurtful
+influences, was from her father, and contained an invitation so pressing
+as to be little short of a demand, for her to pay him a long visit at
+the old homestead, bringing Bert with her.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd very readily and gladly accepted the invitation. Midsummer
+was near at hand. She had not visited her old home for some years. Her
+father and mother were ageing fast; and then, naturally enough, she was
+eager to show them what a fine boy Bert was growing to be.
+
+When Bert heard of it he showed the utmost delight. Three years before,
+he had spent a summer at grandfather's; but, then, of course, he was too
+young to do more than be impressed by the novelty of his surroundings.
+The huge oxen, the noisy pigs, the spirited horses, even the clumsy
+little calves, bewildered, if they did not alarm him. But now he felt
+old enough to enjoy them all; and the very idea of going back to them
+filled him with joy, to which he gave expression after his own
+boisterous fashion.
+
+"Mother, are we going to grandfather's to-morrow?" he would eagerly ask,
+day after day, his little heart throbbing with impatience.
+
+"We're going soon, Bert dear. You must be patient, you know," his mother
+would gently reply; and the little fellow would make a very heroic
+effort to control himself.
+
+At length the day of departure arrived. Too full of importance and great
+expectations to manifest a proper amount of sorrow at leaving his father
+and sister, who felt very reluctant, indeed, to part with him, Master
+Bert took his place in the cab and drove up to the railway station.
+Hardly had he entered it than he made a dash for the train, climbed up
+on the rear platform with the agility of a monkey, much to the amusement
+of the conductor, whose proffer of assistance he entirely ignored; and
+when Mr. Lloyd entered the train a minute later, he found his
+enterprising son seated comfortably upon a central seat, and evidently
+quite ready for the train to start.
+
+"Would you go away without saying good-bye to your father and to Mary?"
+asked Mr. Lloyd, in a deeply reproachful tone.
+
+Bert blushed violently on being thus reminded of his apparent
+selfishness and, with the threat of a tear in his eye, was about to
+make some sort of a defence, when his father put him all right again by
+saying brightly:
+
+"Never mind, my boy. It isn't every day you go off on a
+hundred-and-fifty-miles' journey. Mary and I will forgive you for
+forgetting us this time, won't we, Mary?"
+
+The lunch basket, the wraps, and their other belongings were placed on
+the seat, the engine whistled, "all aboard," the bell rang, the
+conductor shouted, affectionate farewells were hastily exchanged, and
+presently the train rolled noisily out of the dark station into the
+bright sunshine; and Bert, leaning from the window, caught a last
+glimpse of his father and sister as they stood waving the handkerchiefs
+which one of them, at least, could not refrain from putting to another
+use, as the last car swept round the turn and vanished.
+
+But Bert was in no mood for tears. In fact, he never felt less like
+anything of the kind. He felt much more disposed to shout aloud for very
+joy, and probably would have done so, but for the restraining influence
+exercised by the presence of the other passengers, of whom there were a
+good many in the carriage. As it was, he gave vent to his excited
+feelings by being as restless as a mosquito, and asking his mother as
+many questions as his active brain could invent.
+
+"You'll be tired out by mid-day, Bert, if you go on at this rate," said
+his mother, in gentle warning.
+
+"Oh, no, I won't, mother; I won't get tired. See! What's that funny big
+thing with the long legs in that field?"
+
+"That's a frame for a hay stack, I think. You'll see plenty of those at
+grandfather's."
+
+"And what's that queer thing with arms sticking out from that building?"
+
+"That's a wind-mill. When the wind blows hard those arms go round, and
+turn machinery inside the barn."
+
+"And has grandpapa got a wind-mill, mother?"
+
+"Yes; he has one on his big barn."
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad; I can watch it going round, and stand quite close,
+can't I?"
+
+"Yes, but take care not to go too close to the machinery. It might hurt
+you very much, you know."
+
+And so it went on all through the morning. Mrs. Lloyd would have liked
+very much to read a little in an interesting book she had brought with
+her, but what with watching Bert's restless movements, and answering his
+incessant questions, there seemed slight hope of her succeeding in this
+until, after they had been a couple of hours on their journey, a
+good-natured gentleman on the opposite seat, who had finished his paper,
+and had nothing particular to do, took in the situation and came to her
+relief.
+
+"Won't you come over and keep me company for a while, my little man?" he
+said, pleasantly, leaning across the seat. "I will try and answer all
+your questions for you."
+
+Bert looked curiously at the speaker, and then, the inspection proving
+satisfactory, inquiringly at his mother. She nodded her assent, so
+forthwith he ran over to his new friend, and climbed up beside him. He
+was given the corner next the window, and while his bright eyes took in
+everything as the train sped on, his tongue wagged no less swiftly as
+question followed question in quick succession. Mrs. Lloyd, thoroughly
+at ease now, returned to her book with a grateful sigh of relief, and an
+hour slipped away, at the end of which Bert's eyes grew heavy with
+sleep. He no longer was interested in the scenery; and at last, after a
+gallant struggle, his curly head fell over on the cushion, and he went
+into a deep sleep, from which he did not waken until at mid-day the
+train drew up at the station, beyond which they could not go by rail.
+
+"Come, Bert, wake up! We must get out here," cried his mother, shaking
+him vigorously.
+
+Rubbing his eyes hard, yawning as though he would put his jaws out of
+joint, and feeling very uncomfortable generally, Bert nevertheless
+managed to pull himself together sufficiently to thank the gentleman who
+had been so kind to him, before he followed his mother out of the car.
+
+They had dinner at Thurso, and by the time it was ready Bert was ready
+too. He had been altogether too much excited at breakfast time to eat
+much then, but he made up for it now. Mrs. Lloyd laughed as he asked
+again and again for more, but she did not check him. She knew very well
+that the contented frame of mind produced by a good dinner was just the
+right thing with which to enter upon the second part of their journey.
+This was to be by coach, and as even the best of coaches is a pretty
+cramped sort of an affair unless you have it all to yourself, the
+quieter Bert was disposed to be the better for all concerned.
+
+"What are we to ride in now, mother?" asked Bert, after the vacancy
+underneath his blue blouse had been sufficiently filled to dispose him
+to conversation.
+
+"In a big red coach, dear, with six fine horses to draw us," answered
+Mrs. Lloyd.
+
+"Oh, mother, won't that be splendid? And may I sit up with the driver?"
+
+"Perhaps you may, for a little while, anyway, if he will let you."
+
+"Hooray!" cried Bert, clapping his hands with delight; "I'm sure the
+driver will let me, if you'll only ask him. You will, won't you,
+mother?"
+
+"Yes, I will, after we get out of the town. But you must wait until I
+think it's the right time to ask him."
+
+"I'll wait, mother, but don't you forget."
+
+Forget! There was much likelihood of Mrs. Lloyd forgetting with this
+lively young monkey before her as a constant reminder.
+
+They had just finished dinner, when, with clatter of hoofs, rattle of
+springs, and crush of gravel under the heavy wheels, the great Concord
+coach drew up before the hotel door in dashing style.
+
+Bert was one of the first to greet it. He did not even wait to put on
+his hat, and his mother, following with it, found him in the forefront
+of the crowd that always gathers about the mail coach in a country town,
+gazing up at the driver, who sat in superb dignity upon his lofty seat,
+as though he had never beheld so exalted a being in his life before.
+
+There was something so impassive, so indifferent to his surroundings,
+about this big, bronzed, black-moustached, and broad-hatted driver, that
+poor Bert's heart sank within him. He felt perfectly sure that _he_
+could never in the world muster up sufficient courage to beg for the
+privilege of a seat beside so impressive a potentate, and he doubted if
+his mother could, either.
+
+Among the passengers Bert was glad to see the gentleman who had
+befriended him on the train, and when this individual, after having the
+audacity to hail the driver familiarly with, "Good-morning, Jack; looks
+as if we were going to have a pleasant trip down," sprang up on the
+wheel, and thence to the vacant place beside Jack Davis, just as though
+it belonged to him of right, a ray of hope stole into Bert's heart. If
+his friend of the train, whose name, by the way, he told Bert, was Mr.
+Miller, was on such good terms with the driver, perhaps he would ask him
+to let a little boy sit up in front for a while.
+
+Taking much comfort from this thought, Bert, at a call from his mother,
+who was already seated, climbed up into the coach, and being allowed the
+corner next the window, with head thrust forth as far as was safe he
+awaited eagerly the signal to start.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE RIDE IN THE COACH.
+
+
+The last passenger had taken his seat, the last trunk been strapped on
+behind, and the canvas covering drawn tightly over it, the mail bags
+safely stowed away in the capacious boot; and then big Jack Davis,
+gathering the reins of his six impatient steeds skilfully into one hand,
+and grasping the long-lashed whip in the other, sang out to the men who
+stood at the leaders' heads:
+
+"Let them go!"
+
+The men dropped the bridles and sprang aside, the long lash cracked like
+a pistol shot, the leaders, a beautiful pair of grey ponies, perfectly
+matched, reared, curvetted, pranced about, and then would have dashed
+off at a wild gallop had not Jack Davis' strong hands, aided by the
+steadiness of the staider wheelers, kept them in check: and soon brought
+down to a spirited canter, they led the way out of the town.
+
+The coach had a heavy load. It could hold twelve passengers inside, and
+every seat was occupied on top. Besides Mr. Miller, who had the coveted
+box seat, there were two other men perched upon the coach top, and
+making the best of their uncomfortable position; and there was an extra
+amount of baggage.
+
+"Plenty of work for my horses to-day, Mr. Miller," said Jack Davis,
+looking carefully over the harnessing to make sure that every strap was
+securely buckled, and every part in its right place.
+
+"Yes, indeed; you'll need to keep the brake on hard going down the
+hills," replied Mr. Miller.
+
+Bending over, so that those behind could not hear him, the driver said,
+under his breath:
+
+"Don't say anything; but, to tell the truth, I'm a little shaky about my
+brake. It is none too strong, and I won't go out with it again until
+it's fixed; but it can't be mended this side of Riverton, and I'm going
+to push through as best I can."
+
+"Well, if anything happens, just let us know when to jump," returned Mr.
+Miller, with a reassuring smile, for he felt no anxiety, having perfect
+confidence in Davis' ability to bring his coach safely to the journey's
+end.
+
+It was a lovely summer day, and in the early afternoon the coach bowled
+smoothly along over the well-kept road, now rolling over a wooden bridge
+on whose timbers the rapid tramp of the horses' feet sounded like
+thunder, climbing the slope on the other side, then rattling down into
+the valley, and up the opposite hill, almost at full speed, and so on in
+rapid succession. Bert, kneeling at the window, with arms resting on
+the ledge, and just able to see the three horses on his side, was so
+engrossed in watching them, or peering into the forest through which the
+road cut its way, that he quite forgot his desire to be up on top of the
+coach.
+
+Having gone fifteen miles at a spanking pace, the coach drove into a
+long--covered barn for the horses to be changed, and everybody got out
+to stretch their legs; while this was being done, Bert's longing came
+back in full force. As he stood watching the tired foam-flecked horses
+being led away, and others, sleek, shining, and spirited put in their
+places, who should pass by but Mr. Miller. Recognising at once his
+little acquaintance of the morning, he greeted him with a cheery:
+
+"Hallo! my little man, are we fellow-travellers still? And how do you
+like riding in a coach?"
+
+"I think it's just splendid, sir," replied Bert; and then, as a bright
+thought flashed into his mind,--"but I do so want to be up where the
+driver is."
+
+Mr. Miller looked down at the little face turned up to his, and noting
+its eager expression asked, kindly:
+
+"Do you think your mother would let you go up there?"
+
+"Oh, yes; she said I might if I would only wait a little, and it is a
+good deal more than a little while now."
+
+"Very well, Bert, you run and ask her if you may get up now, and I'll
+try and manage it," said Mr. Miller.
+
+Bert was not long in getting his mother's sanction, and when he returned
+with beaming face, Mr. Miller taking him up to Jack Davis, said:
+
+"Jack, this little chap is dying to sit up with us. He wants to see how
+the best driver in Acadia handles his horses, I suppose."
+
+There was no resisting such an appeal as this. Tickled with the
+compliment, Jack said, graciously:
+
+"All right, Mr. Miller, you can chuck him up, so long as you'll look
+after him yourself."
+
+And so when the fresh horses were harnessed, and the passengers back in
+their places, behold Cuthbert Lloyd, the proudest, happiest boy in all
+the land, perched up between the driver and Mr. Miller, feeling himself
+as much monarch of all he surveyed, as ever did Robinson Crusoe in his
+island home. It was little wonder if for the first mile or two he was
+too happy to ask any questions. It was quite enough from his lofty, but
+secure position, to watch the movements of the six handsome horses
+beneath him as, tossing their heads, and making feigned nips at one
+another, they trotted along with the heavy coach as though it were a
+mere trifle. The road ran through a very pretty district;
+well-cultivated farms, making frequent gaps in the forest, and many a
+brook and river lending variety to the scene. After Bert had grown
+accustomed to the novelty of his position, his tongue began to wag
+again, and his bright, innocent questions afforded Mr. Miller so much
+amusement, that with Jack Davis' full approval, he was invited to remain
+during the next stage also. Mrs. Lloyd would rather have had him with
+her inside, but he pleaded so earnestly, and Mr. Miller assuring her
+that he was not the least trouble, she finally consented to his staying
+up until they changed horses again.
+
+When they were changing horses at this post, Mr. Miller drew Bert's
+attention to a powerful black horse one of the men was carefully leading
+out of the stable. All the other horses came from their stalls fully
+harnessed, but this one had on nothing except a bridle.
+
+"See how that horse carries on, Bert," said Mr. Miller.
+
+And, sure enough, the big brute was prancing about with ears bent back
+and teeth showing in a most threatening fashion.
+
+"They daren't harness that horse until he is in his place beside the
+pole, Bert. See, now, they're going to put the harness on him."
+
+And as he spoke another stable hand came up, deftly threw the heavy
+harness over the horse's back, and set to work to buckle it with a speed
+that showed it was a job he did not care to dally over. No sooner was it
+accomplished than the other horses were hastily put in their places, the
+black wheeler in the meantime tramping upon the barn floor in a seeming
+frenzy of impatience, although his head was tightly held.
+
+"Now, then, 'all aboard' as quick as you can," shouted Jack Davis,
+swinging himself into his seat. Mr. Miller handed up Bert and followed
+himself, the inside passengers scrambled hurriedly in, and then with a
+sharp whinny the black wheeler, his head being released, started off,
+almost pulling the whole load himself.
+
+"Black Rory does not seem to get over his bad habits, Jack," remarked
+Mr. Miller.
+
+"No," replied Jack; "quite the other way. He's getting worse, if
+anything; but he's too good a horse to chuck over. There's not a better
+wheeler on the route than Rory, once he settles down to his work."
+
+After going a couple of miles, during which Rory behaved about as badly
+as a wheeler could, he did settle down quietly to his work and all went
+smoothly. They were among the hills now, and the steep ascents and
+descents, sharp turns, and many bridges over the gullies made it
+necessary for Davis to drive with the utmost care. At length they
+reached the summit of the long slope, and began the descent into the
+valley.
+
+"I'd just as soon I hadn't any doubts about this brake," said Davis to
+Mr. Miller, as he put his foot hard down upon it.
+
+"Oh, it'll hold all right enough, Jack," replied Mr. Miller,
+reassuringly.
+
+"Hope so," said Davis. "If it doesn't, we'll have to run for it to the
+bottom."
+
+The road slanted steadily downward, and with brake held hard and
+wheelers spread out from the pole holding back with all their strength,
+the heavy coach lumbered cautiously down. Now it was that Black Rory
+proved his worth, for, thoroughly understanding what was needed of him,
+he threw his whole weight and strength back upon the pole, keeping his
+own mate no less than the leaders in check.
+
+"We'll be at Brown's Gully in a couple of minutes," said the driver.
+"Once we get past there, all right; the rest won't matter."
+
+Brown's Gully was the ugliest bit of road on the whole route. A steep
+hill, along the side of which the road wound at a sharp slant, led down
+to a deep, dark gully crossed by a high trestle bridge. Just before the
+bridge there was a sudden turn which required no common skill to safely
+round when going at speed.
+
+As they reached the beginning of the slant, Jack Davis' face took on an
+anxious look, his mouth became firm and set, his hand tightened upon the
+reins, and his foot upon the brake, and with constant exclamation to his
+horses of "Easy now!--go easy!--hold back, my beauties!" he guided the
+great coach in its descent.
+
+Mr. Miller put Bert between his knees, saying:
+
+"Stick right there, my boy; don't budge an inch."
+
+Although the wheelers, and particularly Black Rory, were doing their
+best, the coach began to go faster than Davis liked, and with a shout of
+"Whoa there! Go easy, will you!" he had just shoved his foot still
+harder against the brake, when there was a sharp crack, and the huge
+vehicle suddenly sprang forward upon the wheelers' heels.
+
+"God help us!" cried Jack, "the brake's gone. We've got to run for it
+now."
+
+And run for it they did.
+
+It was a time of great peril. Mr. Miller clung tightly to the seat, and
+Bert shrank back between his knees. Davis, with feet braced against the
+dashboard, and reins gathered close in his hands, put forth all his
+great strength to control the horses, now flying over the narrow road at
+a wild gallop. Brown's Gully, already sombre with the shadows of
+evening, showed dark and deep before them. Just around that corner was
+the bridge. Were they to meet another carriage there, it would mean
+destruction to both. Davis well knew this, and gave a gasp of relief
+when they swung round the corner and saw that the road was clear. If
+they could only hit the bridge, all right; the danger would be passed.
+
+"Now, Rory, _now_," shouted Davis, giving a tremendous tug at the
+horse's left rein, and leaning far over in that direction himself.
+
+[Illustration: "Davis put forth all his strength to control the horses,
+now flying over the road at a wild gallop." _Page 36._]
+
+Mr. Miller shut his eyes; the peril seemed too great to be gazed upon.
+If they missed the bridge, they must go headlong into the gully. Another
+moment and it was all over.
+
+As the coach swung round the corner into the straight road beyond, its
+impetus carried it almost over the edge, but not quite. With a splendid
+effort, the great black wheeler drew it over to the left. The front
+wheels kept the track, and although the hind wheels struck the side rail
+of the bridge with a crash and a jerk that well-nigh hurled Bert out
+upon the horses' backs, and the big coach leaned far over to the right,
+it shot back into the road again, and went thundering over the trembling
+bridge uninjured.
+
+"Thank God!" exclaimed Mr. Miller, fervently, when the danger was
+passed.
+
+"Amen!" responded Jack Davis.
+
+"I knew He would help us," added Bert.
+
+"Knew who would, Bert?" inquired Mr. Miller, bending over him tenderly,
+while something very like a tear glistened in his eye.
+
+"I knew God would take care of us," replied Bert, promptly. "The driver
+asked Him to; and didn't you ask Him, too?"
+
+"I did," said Mr. Miller, adding, with a sigh, "but I'm afraid I had not
+much right to expect Him to hear me."
+
+They had no further difficulties. The road ran smoothly along the rest
+of the way, and shortly after sundown the coach, with great noise and
+clatter, drove into the village of Riverton, where grandpapa was to meet
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert, and take them home in his own carriage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+AT GRANDFATHER'S.
+
+
+Easily distinguished in the crowd gathered to welcome the coach, whose
+arrival was always the event of the evening, was Bert's grandfather,
+Squire Stewart, a typical old Scotchman, from every point of view. As
+the passengers got out, he stood watching them in silent dignity, until
+Mrs. Lloyd, catching sight of him, ran impulsively up, and taking his
+face between her two hands, gave him a warm kiss on each cheek, saying:
+
+"Dear father, I'm so glad to see you looking so well."
+
+"And I'm well pleased to see you, Kate," responded the Squire, in a tone
+of deep affection, adding: "And is this your boy?" as Bert, who in the
+meantime had been lifted down from his place, came to his mother's side.
+
+"He's a fine big boy, and not ill-looking, either. I trust his manners
+have not been neglected."
+
+"You'll have to judge of that for yourself, father," replied Mrs. Lloyd.
+"He's by no means perfect, but he's pretty good, upon the whole."
+
+"Well, daughter, I'll go and get the carriage, if you'll just wait here
+a moment," said Mr. Stewart, going off toward the stables.
+
+Presently he returned, driving an elegant carriage with a fine pair of
+well-matched bays, which, old man though he was, he held in complete
+control.
+
+"We won't mind the trunks now, Kate; I will send in for them in the
+morning," said he, as he helped them into their seats.
+
+Maplebank, Squire Stewart's place, was situated about four miles from
+Riverton, and on the way out father and daughter had much to say to one
+another. As for Bert, he sat in silence on his seat. He felt very much
+awed by his grandfather. There was something so stern and severe about
+his time-worn countenance, he seemed so stiff in his bearing, and his
+voice had such a deep, rough tone in it, that, to tell the truth, Bert
+began to feel half sorry he had come. But this feeling disappeared
+entirely when, on arriving at Maplebank, he found himself in the arms of
+Aunt Sarah before he had time to jump out of the carriage, and was then
+passed over to his grandmother, who nearly smothered him with kisses.
+
+If his grandfather filled him with awe, his grandmother inspired him
+with love, from the very start. And no wonder, indeed, for she was the
+very poetry of a grandmother. A small woman, with slender frame, already
+stooping somewhat beneath the burden of years, her snow-white hair and
+spotless cap framed one of the sweetest faces that ever beamed on this
+earth. Bert gave her his whole heart at once, and during all the days he
+spent at Maplebank she was his best loved friend.
+
+Yet he did not fail to be very fond of his two aunts, likewise. With an
+uncle, who remained at home, assisting his father in the management of
+the property, they comprised the household, and the three apparently
+conspired to do their best to spoil Master Bert during that summer. Bert
+took very kindly to the spoiling, too, and under the circumstances it
+was a wonder he did not return to Halifax quite demoralised, as regards
+domestic discipline. But of this further.
+
+They were a merry party sitting down to tea that evening, and Bert,
+having appeased his hunger and found his tongue, amused them all very
+much by his account of what he had seen from the coach top. The narrow
+escape they had had at Brown's Gully was of course much discussed.
+Squire Stewart had nothing but censure for the driver.
+
+"The man had no business to go out with anything likely to break. Better
+for you to have waited a day than run any such risks. I shall certainly
+bring the matter to the attention of Mr. Lindsay," he said.
+
+Nobody ventured to say anything to the contrary; but Bert, who was
+sitting by his mother, turned an anxious face up to hers, and whispered:
+"Grandpapa won't hurt Mr. Davis, will he? He was so good to me, and he
+asked God to save us; and He did."
+
+"It will be all right, dear," his mother whispered back. "Don't worry
+yourself about it." And Bert, reassured, said nothing more.
+
+Bedtime for him soon came, and then, to his great delight, he found that
+instead of being banished to a room somewhere away upstairs, he was to
+be put in a curious bed, that filled a corner of the parlour in which
+the family sat. Bert had never seen anything like that bed before. It
+looked just like a closet, but when you opened the closet door, behold,
+there was a bed, and a very comfortable one, too. Just behind the
+parlour, with a door between, was the best bedroom, which his mother
+would have, and there Bert undressed, returning in his night-gown to say
+goodnight to all before tumbling into bed.
+
+With the closet door wide open, he could see everything that went on in
+the room; and it was so delightful to lie there watching the family
+reading or talking, until at last, sleep came to claim him.
+
+"Now, if you're a good boy, and don't attempt to talk after your head's
+on the pillow, I'll leave the door open, so you can see us all," said
+Aunt Sarah, as she tucked Bert snugly in; and he had sense enough to be
+a good boy, so that not a sound came from him ere his brown eyes closed
+for the night.
+
+Many a night after that did he lie there luxuriously, watching his
+grandfather reading the newspaper, with a candle placed between his
+face and the paper, in such close proximity to both, that Bert's
+constant wonder was that one or the other of them never got burned; his
+grandmother, whose eyes no longer permitted her to read at night,
+knitting busily in her arm-chair, or nodding over her needles; Aunt
+Sarah, reading in the book that always lay at hand for leisure moments;
+Aunt Martha, stitching away, perhaps on some of his own torn garments;
+his mother writing home to Mr. Lloyd, or to Mary; while from the
+kitchen, outside, came the subdued sound of the servants' voices, as
+they chattered over their tasks. Bert thought it a lovely way to go to
+sleep, and often afterward, when at home, going up alone to bed in his
+own room, wished that he was back at grandfather's again.
+
+Bert slept late the next morning, for he was a very tired boy when he
+went to bed; and for this once he was indulged. But as he entered the
+dining-room, his grandfather, who had finished breakfast a full hour
+before, looking at him with that stern expression which was habitual to
+him, said:
+
+"City boys must keep country hours when they come to the country. Early
+to bed, early to rise, is the rule of this house, my boy."
+
+Poor Bert was rather disconcerted by this reception, but managed to say:
+
+"All right, grandpapa, I'll try," as he took his seat.
+
+The day was full of novelty and delight to the city boy, as, under Uncle
+Alec's guidance, he went about the farm, and visited the horses in the
+stable, the cattle in the pasture, the pigs in the stye; and then, with
+Aunt Martha, inspected the dairy, a big cool room in a small building,
+well shaded by trees, where long rows of shallow pans stood filled with
+rich milk or golden cream; while just before tea, Aunt Sarah claimed him
+for a walk in the garden, where tiger lilies, hollyhocks, mock oranges,
+peonies, and other old-fashioned flowers grew in gay profusion.
+
+Grandmother was too much engrossed with her daughter to pay much
+attention to Bert that day. Yet he had more than one token of affection
+at her hands; and, taken altogether, it was a very happy day.
+
+After tea, Mrs. Lloyd took her son off for a little chat alone, wishing
+to draw him out as to his first impressions.
+
+"Have you had a happy day, Bert?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, indeed, mother. It has been just splendid. I think grandmamma and
+uncle and my aunties are lovely, but"--and here Bert hesitated as if
+afraid to finish his remark.
+
+"But what, Bert?" asked Mrs. Lloyd. "What were you going to say when you
+stopped?"
+
+"I don't like grandpapa, mother," said Bert, after a little pause,
+bringing the words out slowly, and then adding, almost in a whisper,
+"I'm afraid of grandpapa, mother."
+
+"Hush, Bert. You shouldn't say that you don't like your grandfather.
+But, tell me, why are you afraid of him?"
+
+"Oh, because he seems so cross, and isn't kind to me like the others."
+
+"But he isn't really cross, Bert. He loves you quite as much as the
+others do, but then he is an old man and has a great deal to think
+about. Now, Bert darling, I want you to learn to love your grandpapa,
+and to try and never be any bother to him. You will, won't you?"
+
+"I'll try not to be a bother to him, mother, but I don't think it's much
+use my trying to love him unless he stops looking so cross."
+
+"Well, try your best, at all events, Bert," said Mrs. Lloyd, giving her
+son a tender kiss. "And now come, let's see if we can find
+grandmother."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+COUNTRY EXPERIENCES.
+
+
+Bert had come to Maplebank just in time for the haying season. The long
+slopes of upland and the level stretches of intervale waved before the
+breeze their russet and green wealth, awaiting the summons of the scythe
+and reaper. A number of extra hands had been hired to help in gathering
+the crop, which this year was unusually abundant, and a few days after
+Bert's coming the attack was begun.
+
+The mowing machine had not yet reached Maplebank. The papers were
+talking about it a good deal, but Squire Stewart was not the man to
+quickly adopt new inventions, and nobody else in the neighbourhood could
+afford to do so. Consequently, the West River Valley still continued to
+witness the good, old-fashioned way of mowing with the scythe; and Bert,
+accompanying Uncle Alec to the field, was filled with admiration for the
+stalwart "Rorys" and "Donalds" and "Sandys" as they strode along through
+the thick grass, cutting a wide swath before them. There was something
+in the work that appealed to the boy's bump of destructiveness, and
+filled him with eagerness to join in it.
+
+"Oh, Uncle Alec, mayn't I mow?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly, Bert, if you know how; but if you don't, I wouldn't advise
+you to try it," was the smiling reply.
+
+Not at all discouraged, Bert waited patiently until one of the mowers
+stopped to sharpen his scythe, and then stepping to him, asked, in his
+most engaging way:
+
+"Please, sir, won't you let me mow a little?"
+
+The man looked down at him in surprise.
+
+"You couldn't hold a scythe, sonny," he said, with a grin of amusement.
+
+"Oh, yes, I could. Please let me try; won't you?" pleaded Bert.
+
+The man yielded, and placing his scythe in Bert's hands, told him to go
+ahead.
+
+With much difficulty Bert succeeded in grasping the two short handles
+which projected from the long curved shaft, and, summoning all his
+strength, he tried to move the scythe in the way the mowers were doing.
+But at the first attempt the sharp point stuck in the turf, and
+instantly the long handle flew up, turned over, and hit him a hard
+crack, square between the eyes, that felled him to the ground.
+
+The stars were dancing before his eyes, and the next moment the tears
+would have been there too, had he not, as he picked himself up, caught
+sight of the men laughing heartily over his mishap.
+
+"They shan't see me cry," said he to himself; and, putting forth a
+heroic effort, he swallowed his tears, though the gulping them down was
+positively painful, and, standing up straight, looked bravely about him.
+Uncle Alec saw it all and understood just how Bert felt.
+
+"Well done, my little hero," said he, clapping him on the back. "You
+have the right stuff in you."
+
+"That he has, sir," said Big Sandy, with an admiring look. "He would
+make a right good laddie for the farm."
+
+Bert's heart was filled with joy at these praises, and he determined
+that nobody on the farm should ever see him cry, unless he really
+couldn't at all help it.
+
+The scythe handle gave him quite an ugly bruise, which caused many a
+question when he went back to the house; and Aunt Sarah, who was as
+nervous as she was loving and sympathetic, made much ado over it, and
+insisted on a bandage, which made Bert look like a little soldier who
+had been in action. Mrs. Lloyd took the matter much more quietly. She
+knew her son had to get his share of bumps and bruises, and that each
+one would bring wisdom with it; so she contented herself with a kiss of
+sympathy, and the hope that he would have better fortune next time.
+
+The succeeding days were full of surprises and enjoyments to Bert.
+
+His mother gave him full liberty to go and come as he pleased, so long
+as he did not roam beyond the borders of the homestead, except when
+with Uncle Alec. The hay mows, the carriage loft, the sheep pens, the
+cattle stalls, were all explored; and ever so many cosy little nooks
+discovered, that seemed just made for "hide and seek" or "I spy." Squire
+Stewart had three barns on his homestead; one very large double barn,
+and two smaller ones. Each of these had its own attractions; but the big
+barn, that stood to your left, half way between the red gate and the
+house, was the best of all. It contained great hay mows, in which vast
+quantities of hay could be stored; a row of stalls where the horses
+stood when not out at pasture; queer dark pens, into which the sheep
+were gathered at winter time; and then, down underneath, great ranges of
+uprights, between which the patient cattle were fastened, and fed with
+hay, in the months when the snow lay deep upon their accustomed
+pastures. There was an air of shadowy mystery about this huge, rambling
+structure, with its lichen-patched roof, that fascinated Bert, and that
+even the saucy chirpings of the sparrows, which boldly built their nests
+in its dusty corners, could not dispel.
+
+Bert often wished that his city playmates could come and share with him
+the enjoyments of "grandfather's." He was not without companions,
+however. Cameron, the big blacksmith at the cross-roads, had three
+freckle-faced boys that were very glad to play with the little gentleman
+at Squire Stewart's, when they could get away from the numerous duties
+they were required to do at home; and other playmates soon turned up.
+Bert was at first not very much inclined to be sociable with them. Not
+only did they seem to have no shoes and stockings, but their entire
+clothing was usually limited to a battered straw hat, an unbleached
+cotton shirt, and a pair of rough homespun trousers; and the city boy
+was inclined to look upon the country lads with some contempt, until his
+Aunt Martha cured him effectually one day by a remark made in a quiet
+way.
+
+Bert had been making some unflattering comments upon the barefooted
+youngsters, when Aunt Martha interrupted him:
+
+"You had better not make fun of those boys, Bert," said she, with a
+curious smile. "They may look as though they were poor, but remember
+that their fathers have all of them their own carriage and horses, and
+your father has not."
+
+Bert saw the point at once, and never again ventured to ridicule boys
+who were the sons of "real carriage folk." Not only so, but he began at
+once to feel a respect for them, which wrought such a change in his
+bearing toward them, that they, who were not at all favourably impressed
+at first, changed their minds and decided that he was a "right smart
+little fellow."
+
+It was while playing "hide and seek" in the big barn with half-a-dozen
+of these youngsters, that Bert had a narrow escape from serious injury,
+if not, indeed, from death. The great, gaping mows were being filled
+with hay, which was pitched in any way, and not, of course, packed
+firmly. Consequently, it was in some places like snow upon the Alpine
+slopes--ready to fall in an avalanche, at the slightest temptation.
+
+In endeavouring to reach a far corner of the barn, where he felt sure no
+one could possibly find him, Bert tried to cross a hill of hay, that had
+piled up in one division of the mow. His hasty movements were just what
+was needed to bring the whole mass toppling down in confusion to the
+bottom of the mow. Unfortunately for him, he was involved in the
+overthrow, and without a moment's warning was buried beneath a huge mass
+of hay. As he went sliding helplessly down he uttered a cry of terror,
+which startled little Rory Chisholm, who sprang out from his
+hiding-place just in time to see poor Bert disappear.
+
+"Hi! Hi! boys--come here; Bert Lloyd's under the hay."
+
+The boys quickly gathered, and with eager hands set to work, to rescue
+their imperiled playmate. But, vigorously though they toiled, it was
+slow progress they made; and in the meantime the little fellow, pressed
+upon by many hundredweight of hay, was fast losing breath and
+consciousness. He could hear them very indistinctly, but could not make
+a sound himself.
+
+By a fortunate accident, one of the men happened along, just as the
+boys were near giving up the task as too great for them.
+
+"Donald! Donald! Quick! Bert Lloyd's under the hay. Dig him out, or
+he'll die," cried Rory, at the top of his voice.
+
+Seizing a pitchfork, Donald attacked the hay like a giant, getting more
+and more careful as he drew near the bottom of the mow, until at last,
+with a shout of "I've got him," he stooped down and dragged the
+senseless form of Bert from the very bottom of the pile. Taking him in
+his arms, he ran with him to the house, and gave Aunt Sarah a great
+fright by suddenly plumping him into her lap, as she sat on the verandah
+reading, saying, breathlessly:
+
+"Here, miss, bring him to, and he'll be none the worse for it."
+
+Aunt Sarah screamed for hartshorn, spirits of wine, and the dear knows
+what, but Mrs. Lloyd, bringing a glass of water, dashed it freely over
+her boy's pale face, and in a minute or two he opened his eyes again. As
+Donald said, he was none the worse for his experience, for no bones were
+broken, nor muscles strained; yet all felt thankful that he had escaped
+so well.
+
+It was not long after this that Bert had another adventure, which also
+came near costing him his life. He was not only very fond of water, but
+as fearless about it as a Newfoundland puppy. The blue sea, calm as a
+mirror or flecked with "white caps," formed part of his earliest
+recollections. He would play at its margin all day long, building forts
+out of sand for the advancing billows of the tide to storm and
+overwhelm. He was never happier than when gliding over it in his
+father's skiff. It was the last thing in nature he looked upon before
+lying down at night, and the first thing to which he turned on awaking
+in the morning. Thus he got so used to the great salt sea, that when he
+came to Maplebank and looked at the quiet stream, which glided along so
+noiselessly at the bottom of the slope before the house, he thought it a
+mere plaything, and could hardly be made to understand that, innocent as
+the river appeared, there was water enough in it to drown him ten times
+over.
+
+One day some of the village folk came out to spend the day at Maplebank,
+and the weather being decidedly warm, Uncle Alec proposed that the men
+of the party should go with him for a bathe. They gladly assented, and
+Bert having begged to accompany them was given leave to do so. Uncle
+Alec took them to a lovely spot for a bath--a tempting nook in which one
+might almost have expected to surprise a water nymph or two, if you drew
+near quietly enough. On one side, the bank rose high and steep,
+affording perfect seclusion; a narrow beach of gravel made a fine place
+for undressing. The river rolled gently along with plenty of depth, and
+beyond it was another beach, and then the swelling intervale.
+
+Amid much laughter and excitement the men undressed, Uncle Alec allowing
+Bert to do the same, as he had promised to carry him across the river on
+his back. So soon as they were ready the bathers dived in; and, with
+much splashing and noise, swam races to the opposite bank, leaving Bert
+alone upon the shore. Skylarking with one another there they quite
+forgot their little companion until Uncle Alec looking across, gave a
+start, and cried out:
+
+"Hallo! What's become of the boy?"
+
+Not a sign of Bert was to be seen. His little pile of clothes, with hat
+placed carefully on top, was plain enough but no Bert. Full of anxiety,
+Uncle Alec sprang into the water, and with great sweeping strokes made
+for the other side. The water fairly foamed about his broad, white
+shoulders as he tore through it. He steered straight for the spot where
+he had seen Bert last. Three-fourths of the distance had been covered,
+when suddenly he stopped, and reaching down into the water, pulled
+up--What do you think? Why, Bert, of course, whose big brown eyes had
+startled him as they looked up at him through the clear, cool water. But
+how did Bert get there? Well, easily enough. He had got tired waiting
+for his uncle to come back for him. He wanted to be over there where the
+men were all having such fun. He could not swim across, so he just
+coolly accepted the only alternative, and started to walk across! When
+Uncle Alec found him there was a clear foot of water over his head. A
+step or two more and he would certainly have lost his footing, been
+carried away by the current, and drowned perhaps before Uncle Alec could
+have found him.
+
+The men all voted him a young hero when they were told of his attempt,
+and Uncle Alec vowed he'd teach him to swim the next time he paid a
+visit to Maplebank.
+
+Aunt Sarah was greatly excited when she heard of her darling Bert's
+second escape, and had Mrs. Lloyd taken her advice the poor boy would
+have been tied to somebody's apron strings for the rest of the summer.
+But Mrs. Lloyd thought it better to do no more than caution Bert, and
+trust to the Providence that protects children to keep him from harm. He
+would have to learn to take care of himself sooner or later, and the
+sooner the better.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+TEMPTATION AND TRIUMPH.
+
+
+The one day in the week that Bert did not like at Maplebank was Sunday;
+and, indeed, under the circumstances, he was not without excuse. At
+home, the Lord's Day was always made as bright and cheerful as possible.
+The toys and playthings of the week-days were of course put aside, and
+wading by the seashore or coasting down the lane was not to be thought
+of, but in their place Bert had his father's company, of which he never
+had enough, and Mr. Lloyd made it a point, whether he really felt in
+good spirits himself or not, to appear to be so to Bert; and, in
+consequence, the little chap never thought his father quite so
+delightful as on the day of rest, that was so welcome to the lawyer,
+tired by a week's toil at his profession.
+
+Then mother had more leisure, too; and besides the pleasure of going
+with his parents to church, dressed in his best clothes, a privilege
+Bert fully appreciated, there was the enjoyment of having her read to
+him wonderfully interesting stories from the Bible or Pilgrim's
+Progress, and explaining to him whatever puzzled his brain.
+
+If the day was fine, Mary would take him with her to the Sunday school,
+where, with a number of youngsters like himself, the hour would pass
+quickly enough, as Miss Brightley entertained them with song and story,
+and pictures bearing upon the lesson. And then, after Sunday school, in
+summer time, his father would lead him off to the old fort, where they
+would sit on the grassy ramparts, watching the white sailed ships
+cleaving the blue waters, that never seemed more beautiful than on
+Sunday afternoon.
+
+But at Maplebank it was all very different. Squire Stewart was a
+Presbyterian of the stern old Covenanter stock. To him the Lord's Day
+meant a day to be spent in unsmiling strictness of conversation and
+demeanour. No laughter, no bright talk, no semblance of joyousness was
+sanctioned; nor, indeed, could have existed within the range of his
+solemn countenance. He was a grave and silent man at any time, but on
+Sunday the gravity of his appearance was little short of appalling. One
+meeting him for the first time would certainly have thought that he had
+just been visited by some overwhelming affliction. Bert, on the morning
+of his first Sunday, coming out of his mother's room, after receiving
+the finishing touches to his dress, and dancing along the hall, in
+joyous anticipation of the drive in the big carriage to the village, ran
+right into his grandfather. Laying a strong hand on the boy's shoulder,
+Squire Stewart looked down at him, with disapproval written on every
+line of his stern face.
+
+"My boy," said he, in his deepest tones, "know you not that this is the
+Sabbath day, and that you are to keep it holy, and not be dancing along
+the hall?"
+
+Poor Bert shrank away, with a trembling, "I didn't mean to, sir," and
+thenceforth avoided his grandfather as completely as though he were a
+criminal and the Squire was a policeman.
+
+Not only at the house, but at the church, did Bert find Sunday a day of
+dreariness. And here again, who could blame him? He was only a boy and a
+very restless, active boy, at that, to whom one half-hour's sitting
+still was about as much as he could endure. How, then, could he be
+expected to be equal to four whole hours of stillness? Yet that was what
+his grandfather required of him whenever he went to church.
+
+The order of the day was as follows:--Leaving the house about ten
+o'clock in the big covered carriage, of which the Squire felt duly
+proud, as being the only one in the county, they drove leisurely into
+the village, where the horses were put up, and after the ladies had
+dropped in at a friend's to make sure their bonnets and dresses were as
+they ought to be, they wended their way to the church, which, standing
+right in the centre of the village, was noisily summoning its
+worshippers to its seats as the big bell swung to and fro high up in the
+steeple.
+
+The church service began at eleven o'clock, and was of the most
+old-fashioned orthodox type. No organ had yet profaned the sanctity of
+that holy place, but instead thereof, a quartette of singers, selected
+seemingly more for the strength than the sweetness of their voices,
+occupied a large box right under the pulpit, and thence led the
+congregation by a whole bar at least, in the rendering of Tate and
+Brady's metrical version of the Psalms. Very weird and sorrowful were
+many of the tunes. None were bright and inspiring like those Bert was
+wont to hear at home, and as choir and congregation vied with one
+another in the vigour of their singing, the little fellow was sometimes
+half-frightened at the bewildering noise they made.
+
+A saintlier pastor than the Reverend Mr. Goodman, D.D., few
+congregations possessed; but only those members of his audience who were
+of like age with himself thought him a good preacher. He had, indeed,
+some gifts in expounding the Bible, and even Bert would be interested if
+the lesson happened to be one of those stirring stories from the Old
+Testament which seem so full of life and truth. But when it came to
+preaching a sermon--well, it must be confessed there were then few dryer
+preachers throughout the whole Province of Acadia. Bending low over his
+manuscript, for his eyesight was poor, and lifting his head only now
+and then to wipe his brow, or relieve his throat, with a dry, hard
+cough, Mr. Goodman pursued his way steadily and monotonously from
+"firstly" to "lastly" every Sunday.
+
+And not only once, but twice on every Sunday. For be it understood, that
+although many of the congregation lived too far away from the church to
+make two trips to it from their homes, they were not thereby going to be
+deprived of two services. Accordingly, after the morning service--which
+usually lasted until one o'clock--was over, a recess of one hour for
+lunch and fresh air followed, and at two o'clock a second service,
+precisely similar in character, was entered upon, which occupied two
+hours more. And then, having thus laid in a supply of sound theology for
+the rest of the week, the good people of Calvin church, after indulging
+in a little harmless gossiping at the church door--of which indulgence,
+by the way, Squire Stewart strongly disapproved, and would have
+prohibited, had he been able--harnessed up their horses and drove away
+home.
+
+Four hours of church service of so unattractive a character, and that in
+mid-summer! Poor little Bert! He did not want to shock his grandfather,
+or bring his mother's discipline into condemnation; but really, how
+could he be all that the Squire, who, if he ever had been a boy himself,
+must have quite forgotten about it, expected him to be? If he went to
+sleep, Aunt Sarah or Aunt Martha, in obedience to signals from
+grandfather, shook or pinched him awake again. If he stayed awake, he
+felt that he must wriggle or die. Sometimes the temptation to scream out
+loud was so strong that it seemed little short of a miracle he did not
+yield to it. Mrs. Lloyd fully sympathised with her son's troubles, but
+accustomed from infancy to obey her father unquestioningly, she would
+not venture to do more than softly plead for Bert, now and then, when he
+was more restless than usual. Her pleadings were not altogether vain,
+and frequently they had the result of securing for Bert a boon that he
+highly appreciated.
+
+Squire Stewart was bothered by a troublesome chronic cough. He did not
+mind it very much when at home, but at church he felt it to be a
+nuisance both to himself and his neighbours. To ease it somewhat he
+always carried to church with him a number of black currant lozenges, a
+supply of which he kept in his big mahogany desk at home. Occasionally,
+either as encouragement to him to try and be a better boy, or as a token
+of relenting for being over severe, he would pass Bert one of these
+lozenges, and Bert thought them the most delicious and desirable
+sweetmeat ever invented. Not that they were really anything wonderful,
+though they were very expensive; but the circumstances under which he
+received them gave them a peculiar relish; and it was in regard to them
+that Bert fought and won the sharpest battle with the tempter of all his
+early boyhood. It happened in this way:
+
+As already mentioned, Squire Stewart kept a supply of these lozenges in
+his big mahogany desk, that had a table to itself in the parlour. This
+desk was always kept locked, and Bert had many a time, when alone in the
+room, gone up to it, and passed his hand over its polished surface,
+thinking to himself how nice it would be if the package of lozenges was
+in his pocket instead of shut up in there where nobody could get at it.
+
+One morning, as Bert was playing about the house, a message came that
+the Squire was wanted at once at the farthest barn, as one of the horses
+had been hurt by another. He went out hastily, and shortly after, Bert,
+going into the parlour, saw the desk wide open, his grandfather having
+been looking for a paper when so suddenly called away. The moment his
+eyes fell upon the open desk, a thought flashed into his mind that set
+every nerve tingling. As though the old desk exerted some strange and
+subtle fascination, he drew near it; slowly, hesitatingly, almost on
+tiptoe, yet steadily. His heart beat like a trip-hammer, and his ears
+were straining to catch the slightest sound of any one's approach. The
+house was wonderfully quiet. He seemed to be quite alone in it; and
+presently he found himself close beside the desk. Although open, the
+inner lids were still shut, and ere Bert put out his hand to lift the
+one under which he thought the package of lozenges lay, the thought of
+the wrong he was doing came upon him so strongly as well-nigh to
+conquer the temptation. For a moment he stood there irresolute; and then
+again the hand that had dropped to his side was stretched forth. As it
+touched the desk lid a thrill shot through his heart; and again he
+hesitated and drew back.
+
+It was really a tremendous struggle, and one upon which great issues
+hung, so far as that boy, alone in that room with the tempter, was
+concerned. Bert fully realized how wrong it would be for him to touch
+the lozenges; but, oh! what a wonderful fascination they had for him!
+
+Reaching forward again, he lifted up the desk lid, and there, fully
+exposed to view, lay the package temptingly wide open, displaying its
+toothsome contents. The crisis of the temptation had come. An instant
+more, and Bert would have yielded; when suddenly his better nature got
+the upper hand, and with a quick resolution, the secret of which he
+never fully understood, he cried out:
+
+"No, I won't." And slamming down the desk lid, he tried to run out of
+the room, and ran right into the arms of his grandfather, who, unseen
+and unsuspected, had witnessed the whole transaction from the door.
+
+Overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and terror at having been detected by
+the one person of all others whom he dreaded most, Bert sank down on the
+floor, sobbing as though his heart would break. But, strange to say, the
+stern old man had no harsh words for him now. On the contrary, he bent
+down and lifting the little fellow gently to his feet said, in tones of
+deepest tenderness:
+
+"No tears, laddie; no tears. You've fought a grand fight, and glad am I
+that I was there to see you win it. God grant you like success to the
+end of your days. I'm proud of you, Bert boy; I'm proud of you."
+
+Scarce able to believe his ears, Bert looked up through his tears into
+his grandfather's face. But there was no mistaking the expression of
+that rugged old countenance. It fairly beamed with love and pride, and
+throwing himself into his arms, Bert for the first time realised that
+his grandfather loved him.
+
+He never forgot that scene. Many a time after it came back to him, and
+helped him to decide for the right. And many a time, too, when
+grandfather seemed unduly stern, did the remembrance of his face that
+morning in the parlour drive away the hard feelings that had begun to
+form against him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+LOST AND FOUND.
+
+
+The summer days passed very quickly and happily for Bert at Maplebank,
+especially after the surprising revelation of the love and tenderness
+that underlay his grandfather's stern exterior. No one did more for his
+comfort or happiness than his grandmother, and he loved her accordingly
+with the whole strength of his young heart. She was so slight and frail,
+and walked with such slow, gentle steps, that the thought of being her
+protector and helper often came into his mind and caused him to put on a
+more erect, important bearing as he walked beside her in the garden, or
+through the orchard where the apples were already beginning to give
+promise of the coming ripeness.
+
+Mrs. Stewart manifested her love for her grandson in one way that made a
+great impression upon Bert. She would take him over to the dairy, in its
+cool place beneath the trees, and, selecting the cooler with the
+thickest cream upon it, would skim off a teaspoonful into a large spoon
+that was already half filled with new oatmeal, and then pour the
+luscious mixture into the open mouth waiting expectantly beside her.
+
+"Is not that fine, Bertie boy?" she would say, patting him
+affectionately upon the head; and Bert, his mouth literally too full for
+utterance, would try to look the thanks he could not speak.
+
+Maplebank had many strange visitors. It stood a little way back from the
+junction of three roads, and the Squire's hospitality to wayfarers being
+unbounded, the consequence was that rarely did a night pass without one
+or more finding a bed in some corner of the kitchen. Sometimes it would
+be a shipwrecked sailor, slowly finding his way on foot to the nearest
+shipping port. Sometimes a young lad with pack on back, setting out to
+seek his fortune at the capital, or in the States beyond. Again it would
+be a travelling tinker, or tailor, or cobbler, plying his trade from
+house to house, and thereby making an honest living.
+
+But the most frequent visitors of all--real nuisances, though, they
+often made themselves--were the poor, simple folk, of whom a number of
+both sexes roamed ceaselessly about. Not far from Maplebank was what the
+better class called a "straglash district"--that is, a settlement
+composed of a number of people who had by constant intermarriage, and
+poor living, caused insanity of a mild type to be woefully common.
+Almost every family had its idiot boy or girl, and these poor creatures,
+being, as a rule, perfectly harmless, were suffered to go at large, and
+were generally well treated by the neighbours, upon whose kindness they
+were continually trespassing.
+
+The best known of them at the time of Bert's visit, was one called
+"Crazy Colin," a strange being, half wild, half civilised, with the
+frame of an athlete, and the mind of a child. Although more than thirty
+years of age, he had never shown much more sense than a two-year-old
+baby. He even talked in a queer gibberish, such as was suitable to that
+stage of childhood. Everybody was kind to him. His clothes and his food
+were given him. As for a roof, he needed none in summer save when it
+stormed, and in winter he found refuge among his own people. His chief
+delight was roaming the woods and fields, talking vigorously to himself
+in his own language, and waving a long ash staff that was rarely out of
+his hands. He would thus spend whole days in apparent content, returning
+only when the pangs of hunger could be borne no longer.
+
+Bert took a great deal of interest in these "straglash" people, and
+especially in Crazy Colin, who was a frequent visitor at the Squire's
+kitchen, for Mrs. Stewart never refused him a generous bowl of porridge
+and milk, or a huge slice of bread and butter. At first he was not a
+little afraid of Crazy Colin. But soon he got accustomed to him, and
+then, boy-like, presuming upon acquaintance, began to tease him a bit
+when he would come in for a "bite and sup." More than once the idiot's
+eyes flashed dangerously at Bert's prank; but, fool though he was, he
+had sense enough to understand that any outbreak would mean his prompt
+expulsion and banishment, and so he would restrain himself. One
+memorable day, however, when Bert least expected or invited it, the
+demon of insanity broke loose in a manner that might have had serious
+consequences.
+
+It was on a Sunday. The whole family had gone off to church, except
+Bert, who had been left at home in the charge of the cook. She was a
+strapping big Scotch lassie, and very fond of Bert. About an hour after
+the family left, Crazy Colin sauntered along and took his seat in the
+kitchen. Neither Kitty nor Bert was by any means pleased to see him, but
+they thought it better to keep their feelings to themselves. Bert,
+indeed, made some effort to be entertaining, but Crazy Colin seemed in
+rather a sulky mood, an unusual thing for him, so Bert soon gave it up,
+and went off into the garden.
+
+The roses were blooming beautifully there, and he picked several before
+returning to the kitchen. When he came back, he found the unwelcome
+visitor alone, Kitty having gone into the other part of the house. He
+was sitting beside the table with his head bent forward upon his hands,
+apparently in deep dejection. Upon the table was a large knife which
+Kitty had just been using in preparing the meat for dinner. Thinking it
+would please poor Colin, Bert selected the finest rose in his bunch and
+handed it to him, moving off toward the door leading into the hall as
+he did so. Colin lifted his head and grasped the rose rudely. As his big
+hand closed upon it, a thorn that hid under the white petals pierced
+deep into the ball of his thumb. In an instant the sleeping demon of
+insanity awoke. With eyes blazing and frame trembling with fury, he
+sprang to his feet, seized the knife, and with a hoarse, inarticulate
+shout, turned upon Bert, who, paralysed with terror, stood rooted to the
+spot half-way between the idiot and the door. It was a moment of
+imminent peril, but ere Crazy Colin could reach the boy, his hoarse cry
+was echoed by a shrill shriek from behind Bert, and two stout arms
+encircling him, bore him off through the door and up the stairs, pausing
+not until Squire Stewart's bedroom was gained and the door locked fast.
+Then depositing her burden upon the floor, brave, big Kitty threw
+herself into a chair, exclaiming, breathlessly:
+
+"Thank God, Master Bert, we're safe now. The creature darsen't come up
+those stairs."
+
+And Kitty was right; for although Crazy Colin raged and stormed up and
+down the hall, striking the wall with the knife, and talking in his
+wild, unintelligible way, he did not attempt to set foot upon the
+stairs. Presently he became perfectly quiet.
+
+"Has he gone away, Kitty?" asked Bert, eagerly, speaking for the first
+time. "He's not making any noise now."
+
+Kitty stepped softly to the door, and putting her ear to the crack,
+listened intently for a minute.
+
+"There's not a sound of him, Master Bert. Please God, he's gone, but we
+hadn't better go out of the room until the folks come home. He may be
+waiting in the kitchen."
+
+And so they stayed, keeping one another company through the long hours
+of the morning and afternoon until at last the welcome sound of wheels
+crushing the gravel told that the carriage had returned, and they might
+leave their refuge.
+
+The indignation of Squire Stewart when he heard what had occurred was a
+sight to behold. Sunday though it was, he burst forth into an
+unrestrained display of his wrath, and had the cause of it ventured
+along at the time, he certainly would have been in danger of bodily
+injury.
+
+"The miserable trash!" stormed the Squire. "Not one of them shall ever
+darken my threshold again. Hech! that's what comes of being kind to such
+objects. They take you to be as big fools as themselves, and act
+accordingly. The constable shall lay his grip on that loon so sure as I
+am a Stewart."
+
+There were more reasons for the Squire's wrath, too, than the fright
+Crazy Colin had given Bert and Kitty, for no dinner awaited the hungry
+church-goers, and rejoiced as they all were at the happy escape of the
+two who had been left at home, that was in itself an insufficient
+substitute for a warm, well-cooked dinner. But Kitty, of course, could
+not be blamed, and there was nothing to be done but to make the best of
+the situation, and satisfy their hunger upon such odds and ends as the
+larder afforded.
+
+As for poor Crazy Colin, whether by some subtle instinct on coming to
+himself he realised how gravely he had offended, or whether in some way
+or other he got a hint of the Squire's threats, cannot be said. Certain
+it was, that he did not present himself at Maplebank for many days
+after, and then he came under circumstances, which not only secured him
+complete forgiveness, but made him an actual hero, for the time, and won
+him a big place in the hearts of both Bert and his mother.
+
+Although Bert had been forbidden to leave the homestead, unless in
+company with some grown-up person, he had on several occasions forgotten
+this injunction, in the ardour of his play, but never so completely as
+on the day that, tempted by Charlie Chisholm, the most reckless, daring
+youngster in the neighbourhood, he went away off into the back-lands, as
+the woods beyond the hill pasture were called, in search of an eagle's
+nest, which the unveracious Charlie assured him was to be seen high up
+in a certain dead monarch of the forest.
+
+It was a beautiful afternoon, toward the end of August, when Bert, his
+imagination fired by the thought of obtaining a young eagle, Charlie
+having assured him that this was entirely possible, broke through all
+restraints, and went off with his tempter. Unseen by any of the
+household, as it happened, they passed through the milk yard, climbed
+the hill, hastened across the pasture, dotted with the feeding cows, and
+soon were lost to sight in the woods that fringed the line of settlement
+on both sides of the valley, and farther on widened into the great
+forest that was traversed only by the woodsman and the hunter.
+
+On and on they went, until at length Bert was tired out. "Aren't we far
+enough now, Charlie?" he asked, plaintively, throwing himself down upon
+a fallen tree to rest a little.
+
+"Not quite, Bert; but we'll soon be," answered Charlie. "Let's take a
+rest, and then go ahead," he added, following Bert's example.
+
+Having rested a few minutes, Charlie sprang up saying:
+
+"Come along, Bert; or we'll never get there." And somewhat reluctantly
+the latter obeyed. Deeper and deeper into the forest they made their
+way, Charlie going, ahead confidently, and Bert following doubtfully;
+for he was already beginning to repent of his rashness, and wish that he
+was home again.
+
+Presently Charlie showed signs of being uncertain as to the right route.
+He would turn first to the right and then to the left, peering eagerly
+ahead, as if hoping to come upon the big dead tree at any moment.
+Finally he stopped altogether.
+
+"See here, Bert; I guess we're on the wrong track," said he, coolly.
+"I've missed the tree somehow, and it's getting late, so we'd better
+make for home. We'll have a try some other day."
+
+Poor little Bert, by this time thoroughly weary, was only too glad to
+turn homeward, and the relief at doing this gave him new strength for a
+while. But it did not last very long, and soon, footsore and exhausted,
+he dropped down upon a bank of moss, and burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, Charlie, I wish we were home," he sobbed. "I'm so tired, and
+hungry, too."
+
+Charlie did not know just what to do. It was getting on toward sundown;
+he had quite lost his way, and might be a good while finding it again,
+and he felt pretty well tired himself. But he put on a brave face and
+tried to be very cheerful, as he said:
+
+"Don't cry, Bert. Cheer up, my boy, and we'll soon get home."
+
+It was all very well to say "cheer up," but it was another thing to do
+it. As for getting home soon, if there were no other way for Bert to get
+home than by walking the whole way, there was little chance of his
+sleeping in his own bed that night.
+
+How thoroughly miserable he did feel! His conscience, his legs, and his
+stomach, were all paining him at once. He bitterly repented of his
+disobedience, and vowed he would never err in the same way again. But
+that, while it was all very right and proper, did not help him homeward.
+
+At length Charlie grew desperate. He had no idea of spending the night
+in the woods if he could possibly help it, so he proposed a plan to
+Bert:
+
+"See here, Bert," said he, "you're too played out to walk any more. Now,
+I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll run home as fast as I can, and saddle
+the old mare and bring her here, and then we'll ride back again
+together. What do you say?"
+
+"Oh, don't leave me here alone?" pleaded Bert. "I'll be awfully
+frightened."
+
+"Chut! Bert. There's nothing to frighten you but some old crows. Stay
+just where you are, and I'll be back inside of an hour." And without
+waiting to argue the point, Charlie dashed off into the woods in the
+direction he thought nearest home; while Bert, after crying out in vain
+for him to come back, buried his face in the moss and gave himself up to
+tears.
+
+One hour, two hours, three hours passed, and still Bert was alone. The
+sun had set, the gloaming well-nigh passed, and the shadows of night
+drew near. All kinds of queer noises fell upon his ear, filling him with
+acute terror. He dared not move from the spot upon which Charlie had
+left him, but sat there, crouched up close against a tree, trembling
+with fear in every nerve. At intervals he would break out into vehement
+crying, and then he would be silent again. Presently the darkness
+enveloped him, and still no succour came.
+
+Meantime, there had been much anxiety at Maplebank. On Bert's being
+missed, diligent inquiry was made as to his whereabouts, and at length,
+after much questioning, some one was found who had seen him, in company
+with Charlie Chisholm, going up through the hill pasture toward the
+woods. When Mrs. Lloyd heard who his companion was, her anxiety
+increased, for she well knew what a reckless, adventurous little fellow
+Charlie was, and she determined that search should be made for the boys
+at once. But in this she was delayed by Uncle Alec and the men being off
+at a distance, and not returning until supper time. So soon as they did
+get back, and heard of Bert's disappearance, they swallowed their
+supper, and all started without delay to hunt him up.
+
+The dusk had come before the men--headed by Uncle Alec, and followed, as
+far as the foot of the hill, by the old Squire--got well started on
+their search; but they were half-a-dozen in number, and all knew the
+country pretty well, so that the prospect of their finding the lost boy
+soon seemed bright enough.
+
+Yet the dusk deepened into darkness, and hour after hour passed--hours
+of intense anxiety and earnest prayer on the part of the mother and
+others at Maplebank--without any token of success.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd was not naturally a nervous woman, but who could blame her if
+her feelings refused control when her darling boy was thus exposed to
+dangers, the extent of which none could tell.
+
+The Squire did his best to cheer her in his bluff blunt way:
+
+"Tut! tut! Kate. Don't worry so. The child's just fallen asleep
+somewhere. He'll be found as soon as it's light. There's nothing to harm
+him in those woods."
+
+Mrs. Lloyd tried hard to persuade herself that there wasn't, but all
+kinds of vague terrors filled her mind, and refused to be allayed.
+
+At length, as it drew toward midnight, a step was heard approaching, and
+the anxious watchers rushed eagerly to the door, hoping for good news.
+But it was only one of the men, returning according to arrangement to
+see if Bert had been found, and if not to set forth again along some new
+line of search. After a little interval another came, and then another,
+until all had returned, Uncle Alec being the last, and still no news of
+Bert.
+
+They were bidden to take some rest and refreshment before going back in
+to the woods. While they were sitting in the kitchen, Uncle Alec, who
+was exceedingly fond of Bert, and felt more concerned about him than he
+cared to show, having no appetite for food, went off toward the red gate
+with no definite purpose except that he could not keep still.
+
+Presently the still midnight air was startled with a joyful "Hurrah!"
+followed close by a shout of "Bert's all right--he's here," that brought
+the people in the house tumbling pell-mell against each other in
+their haste to reach the door and see what it all meant.
+
+[Illustration: "Crazy Colin strode up the road, bearing Bert high upon
+his shoulder."--_Page 79._]
+
+The light from the kitchen streamed out upon the road, making a broad
+luminous path, up which the next moment strode Crazy Colin, bearing Bert
+high upon his broad shoulders, while his swarthy countenance fairly
+shone with a smile of pride and satisfaction that clearly showed he did
+not need Uncle Alec's enthusiastic clappings on the back, and hearty
+"Well done, Colin! You're a trump!" to make him understand the
+importance of what he had done.
+
+The two were at once surrounded by the overjoyed family. After giving
+her darling one passionate hug, Mrs. Lloyd took both of Crazy Colin's
+hands in hers, and, looking up into his beaming face, said, with a deep
+sincerity even his dull brain could not fail to appreciate: "God bless
+you, Colin. I cannot thank you enough, but I'll be your friend for
+life;" while the Squire, having blown his nose very vigorously on his
+red silk handkerchief, grasped Colin by the arm, dragged him into the
+house, and ordered that the best the larder could produce should be
+placed before him at once. It was a happy scene, and no one enjoyed it
+more than did Crazy Colin himself.
+
+The exact details of the rescue of Bert were never fully ascertained;
+for, of course, poor Colin could not make them known, his range of
+expression being limited to his mere personal wants, and Bert himself
+being able to tell no more than that while lying at the foot of the
+tree, and crying pretty vigorously, he heard a rustling among the trees
+that sent a chill of terror through him, and then the sound of Crazy
+Colin's talk with himself, which he recognised instantly. Forgetting all
+about the fright Colin had given him a few days before, he shouted out
+his name. Colin came to him at once, and seeming to understand the
+situation at a glance, picked him up in his strong arms, flung him over
+his shoulder, and strode off toward Maplebank with him as though he were
+a mere feather-weight and not a sturdy boy. Dark as it was, Colin never
+hesitated, nor paused, except now and then to rest a moment, until he
+reached the red gate where Uncle Alec met him, and welcomed him so
+warmly.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd did not think it wise nor necessary to say very much to Bert
+about his disobedience. If ever there was a contrite, humbled boy, it
+was he. He had learned a lesson that he would be long in forgetting. As
+for his tempter, Charlie Chisholm, he did not turn up until the next
+morning, having lost himself completely in his endeavour to get home;
+and it was only after many hours of wandering he found his way to an
+outlying cabin of the backwoods settlement, where he was given shelter
+for the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+BERT GOES TO SCHOOL.
+
+
+With the waning of summer came the time for Mrs. Lloyd to return to the
+city. Both she and Bert felt very sorry to leave Maplebank, and the
+family there was unanimous in seeking to persuade her to allow Bert to
+remain for the winter. But this was not practicable, because, in the
+first place, Mr. Lloyd had been writing to say that he was quite tired
+of being without his boy, and would like to have him back again as soon
+as was convenient; and, in the second place, Bert had reached the age
+when he ought to begin his schooling, and must return home for that
+purpose.
+
+So at length, after more than one postponement, the day of departure
+arrived. Grandmother and Aunt Martha, and Aunt Sarah, could not restrain
+their tears, and big, kind Kitty was among the mourners too, as Bert and
+his mother took their seat in the carriage beside the Squire and Uncle
+Alec, to drive in to the village where the coach would be met.
+
+With many a promise to come back ere very long, and many a fond
+"Good-bye! God bless you, my darling!" the travellers started on their
+homeward journey. The village was reached in good time, the coach found
+awaiting its passengers, the trunks safely stowed behind, the last
+good-bye to grandfather and Uncle Alec said, and then, amid cracking of
+whips and waving of handkerchiefs, the big coach rolled grandly off, and
+Bert had really parted with dear, delightful Maplebank, where he had
+spent such a happy summer.
+
+The homeward journey was a very pleasant one, and marked by no exciting
+incidents. Jack Davis was in his place on the box, and, recognising Bert
+when the passengers got out at the first change of horses, hailed him
+with a hearty: "Holloa, youngster! Are you on board? Would you like to
+come up on top with me again?"
+
+It need hardly be said that Bert jumped at the invitation, and, his
+mother giving her consent, he rode on the box seat beside Davis the
+greater part of the day as happy as a bird. The weather was perfect, it
+being a cool, bright day in early September, and Bert enjoyed very much
+recognising and recalling the different things that had particularly
+interested him on the way down. "Black Rory" was as lively as ever, and
+seemed determined to run away and dash everything to pieces as they
+started out from his stable, but calmed down again after a mile or two,
+as usual, and trotted along amiably enough the rest of his distance.
+
+It happened that Davis had no one on the outside with whom he cared to
+talk, so he gave a good deal of attention to Bert, telling him about the
+horses and their peculiarities, and how they were in so many ways just
+like people, and had to be humoured sometimes, and sometimes punished,
+and how it was, upon the whole, so much better to be kind than cruel to
+them.
+
+"If your father ever lets you have a pony, Bert," said Davis, "take my
+word for it it'll pay you to treat that ere pony like a brother. Just
+let him know you're fond of him from the start; give him a lump of sugar
+or a crust of bread now and then--it's wonderful how fond horses are of
+such things--and he'll follow you about just like a dog. Horses have got
+a good deal more human nature in 'em than folks generally give 'em
+credit for, I can tell you, and I think I know what I am talking about,
+for I've had to do with them ever since I've been as big as you."
+
+Bert listened to this lecture with very lively interest, for his father
+had more than once hinted at getting him a pony some day if he were a
+good boy, and showed he could be trusted with one. He confided his hopes
+to his friend, and received in return for the confidence a lot more of
+good advice, which need not be repeated here.
+
+The sun was setting as the coach drove up to the hotel at Thurso, where
+Mrs. Lloyd and Bert were to remain for the night, taking the train for
+Halifax the next morning. Bert felt quite sorry at parting with his big
+friend, the driver, and very gladly promised him that the next time he
+was going to Maplebank he would try to manage so as to be going down on
+Jack Davis' day that their friendship might be renewed.
+
+Both Bert and his mother were very glad to get to bed that night.
+Coaching is fine fun in fine weather, but it is fatiguing, nevertheless.
+You cannot ride all day in a coach without more or less backache, and
+Bert was so sleepy that, but for his mother preventing him, he would
+have flung himself upon his bed without so much as taking off his boots.
+He managed to undress all right enough, however, and then slept like a
+top until next morning.
+
+Bright and early they took the train, and by mid-day were at Halifax,
+where Mr. Lloyd and Mary received them with open arms and many a glad
+kiss.
+
+After allowing him a few days to settle down to home life again, the
+question of Bert's going to school was raised. He was now full eight
+years of age, and quite old enough to make a beginning. His mother and
+sister had between them given him a good start in the "three R's" at
+home, for he was an apt pupil, and he was quite ready to enter a larger
+sphere.
+
+At first his parents were somewhat undecided as to whether they would
+send him to a school presided over by a woman or a man. It was usual in
+Halifax for those who preferred the private to the public schools to
+send their boys for a year or two to a dame's school as a sort of easy
+introduction to school life; and in the very same street as that in
+which the Lloyds lived there was such a school where two rather gaunt
+and grim old-maid sisters aided one another in the application of primer
+and taws. To this institution Mrs. Lloyd thought it would be well for
+Bert to go. His father had no very decided views to the contrary, but on
+Bert himself being consulted, it became very clear that his mind was
+quite made up.
+
+"Please don't send me to 'Old Goggles'' school, father," pleaded he,
+earnestly.
+
+"'Old Goggles!' Why, Bert, what do you mean by calling Miss Poster by
+such a name as that?"
+
+"It's most disrespectful," interrupted his mother, with a very much
+shocked expression, while Mr. Lloyd tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to
+conceal a smile beneath his moustache.
+
+"Well, mother, that's what they all call her," explained Bert.
+
+"Even though they do, Bert, you should not. Miss Poster is a lady, and
+you must act the gentleman toward her," replied Mrs. Lloyd. "But why
+don't you want to go to school there? Several boys about your own age
+are going."
+
+"Oh, because a lot of girls go there, and I don't want to go to school
+with girls," was Master Bert's ungallant reply.
+
+Mr. Lloyd, who had evidently been much amused at the conversation, now
+joined in it by drawing Bert toward him and asking, in a half-serious,
+half-humorous tone:
+
+"Is my boy Bert afraid of little girls?"
+
+Bert's face flushed till it was crimson, and dropping his head upon his
+breast, he muttered:
+
+"I'm not afraid of them, but I don't like 'em, and I don't want to go to
+school with 'em."
+
+The fact of the matter was that Bert not only had his full share of the
+repugnance to the other sex common to all boys of his age, but he had
+besides a strong notion that it was not a manly thing to go to school
+with girls, and if there was one thing more than another that he aspired
+after, it was manliness.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thoroughly understood his son's feelings, and felt disposed to
+humour them. Accordingly, lifting up his head, he gave him a kiss on the
+forehead, saying:
+
+"Very well, Bert; we'll see about it. Since you have such decided
+objections to Miss Goggles'--I beg her pardon, Miss Poster's--excellent
+establishment, I will make inquiry, and see if I cannot find something
+that will suit you better. I want you to like your school, and to take
+an interest in it."
+
+Bert's face fairly beamed at these words, and he heaved a huge sigh of
+relief which brought another smile out on his father's countenance.
+
+"You're such a good father," said Bert, hugging his knees, and there
+the matter dropped for a few days.
+
+When it came up again, Mr. Lloyd had a new proposition to make. In the
+interval he had been making some inquiries, and had been recommended to
+send his boy to a school just lately established by an accomplished
+young lawyer, who had adopted that method of earning an honest penny
+while waiting for his practice to become more lucrative. It was a good
+deal of an experiment, Mr. Lloyd thought but possibly worth trying.
+
+Accordingly, one fine morning in October, behold Master Bert in a rather
+perturbed frame of mind trotting along beside his father, who pretended
+not to be aware of his son's feelings, although at the same time seeking
+in every way to divert him. But it was not with much success. Bert felt
+thoroughly nervous over the new experience that awaited him. He had
+never seen Mr. Garrison, who was to be his teacher, and imagined him as
+a tall, thin man with a long beard, a stern face, a harsh voice, and an
+ever-ready "cat-o'-nine tails." As for his future schoolmates, they were
+no doubt a lot of rough, noisy chaps, that would be certain to "put him
+through a course of sprouts" before they would make friends with him.
+
+If, then, such thoughts as these filled Bert's mind, it must not be
+wondered at that he lagged a good deal both as to his talking and
+walking, although he was always spry enough with both when out with his
+father. Much sooner than he wished they reached the building, a large
+rambling stone structure, only one room of which was occupied by the
+school; they climbed the broad free-stone staircase to the upper storey,
+knocked at a door from behind which came a confused hum of voices, and
+being bidden "Come in," entered a big room that at first seemed to Bert
+to be completely filled by a misty sea of faces with every eye turned
+right upon him. He cowered before this curious scrutiny, and but for his
+father's restraining grasp would probably have attempted a wild dash for
+the still unclosed door, when he heard his father saying:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Garrison; I have brought my boy to place him in your
+care for a while, if you will have him as a pupil." Looking up, Bert
+beheld a person approaching very different from the schoolmaster of his
+gloomy anticipations.
+
+Mr. Garrison was indeed tall, but there the similarity ended. He was
+youthful, slight, and very attractive in appearance, his manner being
+exceedingly graceful and easy, as he came forward with a winning smile
+upon his countenance, and extending his right hand to Mr. Lloyd, placed
+the other upon Bert's shoulder, and said, in a mellow, pleasant voice:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I shall be very glad indeed to have your boy
+in my school, and if he is anything like as good a man as his father,
+he will make one of my very best pupils."
+
+Mr. Lloyd laughed heartily at this flattering remark.
+
+"Listen to that, Bert," said he. "When you are in any doubt just how to
+behave, you have only to ask yourself what I would do under the same
+circumstances, and act accordingly." Then, turning to Mr. Garrison, he
+said: "Perhaps you would like me to join your school, too, so as to set
+a good example to the other boys."
+
+"Right glad would I be to have you, Mr. Lloyd," answered Mr. Garrison,
+with a cordial smile. "Many a time I find my boys almost too much for
+one man to handle."
+
+Bert, clinging fast to his father's hand, and half-hoping he was in
+earnest, felt a pang of disappointment when he replied:
+
+"I'm afraid it's too late, Mr. Garrison. My school-days are past;
+except so far as I may be able to live them over with this little chap
+here. I will leave him with you now; do your best with him. He can learn
+well enough when he likes, but he is just as fond of fun as any
+youngster of his age." Then giving Bert an affectionate pat on the
+shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "Now, be a man, Bert," Mr. Lloyd
+went away, and Bert followed Mr. Garrison up to the desk, where his
+name, age, and address were duly entered in the register book.
+
+The next business was to assign him a seat. A few questions as to what
+he knew showed that his proper place was in the junior class of all, and
+there accordingly Mr. Garrison led him. A vacancy was found for him in a
+long range of seats, extending from the door almost up to the desk, and
+he was bidden sit down beside a boy who had been eyeing him with lively
+curiosity from the moment of his entrance into the room. So soon as Mr.
+Garrison went away, this boy opened fire upon the new-comer.
+
+"Say, sonny, whats yer name?" he asked, with unhesitating abruptness.
+
+Bert looked the questioner all over before replying. He was a short,
+stout, stubble-haired chap, evidently a year or two older than himself,
+with a broad, good-humoured face, and the inspection being, upon the
+whole, satisfactory, Bert replied, very pleasantly:
+
+"Bert Lloyd--and what's yours?"
+
+Ignoring the question put to him, the other boy gave a sort of grunt
+that might be taken as an expression of approval of his new schoolmate's
+name, and then said:
+
+"Guess you don't live down our way; never seen you before, that I know
+of."
+
+"I live in Fort Street. Where do you live?" replied Bert, giving
+question for question.
+
+"I'm a West-ender," said the other, meaning that his home was in the
+western part of the city.
+
+"But whats your name?" asked Bert again.
+
+"Oh, my name's Frank Bowser," was the careless reply. "But everybody
+calls me 'Shorty,' and you may as well, too."
+
+"All right," said Bert. And the two began to feel quite good friends at
+once.
+
+As the morning passed, and Bert came to feel more at home, he took in
+the details of his surroundings. Mr. Garrison's school consisted of some
+fifty boys, ranging in age from sixteen downward, Bert being about the
+youngest of them all. They all belonged to the better class, and were,
+upon the whole, a very presentable lot of pupils. Scanning their
+countenances curiously as they sat at their desks or stood up in rows
+before the teacher to recite, Bert noticed more than one face that he
+instinctively liked, and, being charmed with Mr. Garrison, and well
+pleased with his new friend "Shorty," his first impressions were
+decidedly favourable.
+
+He had, of course, nothing to do that morning, save to look about him,
+but Mr. Garrison gave him a list of books to be procured, and lessons to
+be learned in them before the school broke up for the day; and with this
+in his pocket he went home in excellent spirits, to tell them all there,
+how well he had got on his first day in school.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+SCHOOL LIFE AT MR. GARRISON'S.
+
+
+Bert had not been long at Mr. Garrison's school before he discovered
+that it was conducted on what might fairly be described as
+"go-as-you-please" principles. A sad lack of system was its chief
+characteristic. He meant well enough by his pupils, and was constantly
+making spurts in the direction of reform and improvement, but as often
+falling back into the old irregular ways.
+
+The fact of the matter was that he not only was not a schoolmaster by
+instinct, but he had no intention of being one by profession. He had
+simply adopted teaching as a temporary expedient to tide over a
+financial emergency, and intended to drop it so soon as his object was
+accomplished. His heart was in his profession, not in his school, and
+the work of teaching was at best an irksome task, to be got through with
+each day as quickly as possible. Had Mr. Lloyd fully understood this, he
+would never have placed Bert there. But he did not; and, moreover, he
+was interested in young Mr. Garrison, who had had many difficulties to
+encounter in making his way, and he wished to help him.
+
+In the first place, Mr. Garrison kept no record of attendance, either of
+the whole school, or of the different classes into which it was divided.
+A boy might come in an hour after the proper time, or be away for a
+whole day without either his lateness or his absence being observed. As
+a consequence "meeching"--that is, taking a holiday without leave from
+either parents or teachers--was shamefully common. Indeed, there was
+hardly a day that one or more boys did not "meech." If by any chance
+they were missed, it was easy to get out of the difficulty by making
+some excuse about having been sick, or mother having kept them at home
+to do some work, and so forth. Schoolboys are always fertile in excuses,
+and, only too often, indifferent as to the quantity of truth these may
+contain.
+
+Another curious feature of Mr. Garrison's system, or rather lack of
+system, was that he kept no record of the order of standing in the
+classes; and so, when the class in geography, for instance, was called
+to recite, the boys would come tumbling pell-mell out of their seats,
+and crowd tumultuously to the space in front of the desk, with the
+invariable result that the smaller boys would be sent to the bottom of
+the class, whether they deserved to be there or not. Then as to the
+hearing of the lesson, there was absolutely no rule about it. Sometimes
+the questions would be divided impartially among the whole class.
+Sometimes they would all be asked of a single boy, and if he happened to
+answer correctly,--which, however, was an extremely rare
+occurrence,--the class would be dismissed without one of the others
+being questioned.
+
+Another peculiarity of Mr. Garrison's was his going out on business for
+an hour or more at a time, and leaving the school in charge of one of
+the older boys, who would exercise the authority thus conferred upon him
+in a lax and kindly, or severe and cruel manner, according to his
+disposition. One of the boys generally chosen for this duty was a big,
+good-hearted fellow named Munro; another was an equally big, but
+sour-dispositioned chap named Siteman; and whenever Mr. Garrison showed
+signs of going out, there was always intense excitement among the boys,
+to see who would be appointed monitor, and lively satisfaction, or deep
+disappointment, according to the choice made.
+
+It was a little while, of course, before Bert found all this out, and in
+the meantime he made good headway in the school, because his father took
+care that his lessons were well learned every evening before he went to
+bed; and Mr. Garrison soon discovered that whoever else might fail,
+there was one boy in Bert's classes that could be depended upon for a
+right answer, and that was Bert himself.
+
+There was another person who noticed Bert's ready accuracy, and that was
+"Shorty" Bowser.
+
+"Say, Bert," said he one day, "how is that you always have your lessons
+down so fine? You never seem to trip up at all."
+
+"Because father always sees that I learn 'em," answered Bert. "If I
+don't learn 'em in the evening, I've got to do it before breakfast in
+the morning."
+
+"I wish my dad 'ud do as much for me; but he don't seem to care a cent
+whether I ever learn 'em or not," said poor Shorty, ruefully. For he was
+pretty sure to miss two out of every three questions asked him, and Mr.
+Garrison thought him one of his worst scholars.
+
+"Won't your mother help you, then?" asked Bert, with interest.
+
+"Got no mother," was the reply, while Shorty's eyes shone suspiciously.
+"Mother's been dead this good while."
+
+"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Bert, in tones of genuine sympathy that went
+right to Frank Bowser's heart, and greatly strengthened the liking he
+had felt from the first for his new schoolmate.
+
+It was not long before he gave proof of what he thought of Bert in a
+very practical way. They were for the most part in the same classes, and
+it soon became evident that Shorty felt very proud of his friend's
+accuracy at recitation. That he should remain at the foot while Bert
+worked his way up steadily toward the head of the class, did not arouse
+the slightest feeling of jealousy in his honest heart; but, on the
+contrary, a frank admiration that did him infinite credit.
+
+But it was just the other way with Bob Brandon, an overgrown, lanky boy,
+who seemed to have taken a dislike to Bert from the first, and seized
+every opportunity of acting disagreeably toward him. Being so much
+smaller, Bert had to endure his slights as best he could, but he found
+it very hard, and particularly so that Bob should prevent him from
+getting his proper place in his class. Again and again would Bert pass
+Bob, who, indeed, rarely knew his lessons; but so sure as the class
+reassembled, Bob would roughly shoulder his way toward the top and Bert
+would have to take a lower position, unless Mr. Garrison happened to
+notice what was taking place and readjusted matters, which, however, did
+not often occur.
+
+This sort of thing had been going on for some time, until at last one
+day Bert felt so badly over it that when he went back to his seat he
+buried his head in his hands and burst out crying, much to the surprise
+of Shorty, who at once leaned over and asked, with much concern:
+
+"What's the matter, Bert? Missed your lesson?"
+
+Bert checked his tears and told his trouble.
+
+"Sho! that's what's the matter, hey? I guess I'll fix Bob as sure as my
+name's Bowser."
+
+"What'll you do?" asked Bert. "Tell the master?"
+
+"No, sir. No tattling for me," replied Shorty, vigorously. "I'll just
+punch his head for him, see if I don't."
+
+And he was as good as his word. Immediately after the dismissal of the
+school, while the boys still lingered on the playground, Shorty stalked
+up to Bob Brandon, and told him if he didn't stop shoving Bert Lloyd out
+of his proper place in the classes he would punch his head. Whereat Bob
+Brandon laughed contemptuously, and was rewarded with a blow on the face
+that fairly made him stagger. Then, of course, there was a fight, the
+boys forming a ring around the combatants, and Bert holding his
+champion's coat and hat, and hardly knowing whether to cry or to cheer.
+The fight did not last long. Bob was the taller, but Frank the stouter
+of the two. Bob, like most bullies, was a coward, but Frank was as
+plucky as he was strong. Burning with righteous wrath, Frank went at his
+opponent hammer and tongs, and after a few minutes' ineffective parrying
+and dodging, the latter actually ran out of the ring, thoroughly beaten,
+leaving Frank in possession of the field, to receive the applause of his
+companions, and particularly of Bert, who gave him a warm hug, saying
+gratefully:
+
+"Dear, good Shorty. I'm so glad you beat him."
+
+That fight united the two boys in firmer bonds of friendship than ever,
+especially as it proved quite effective so far as Bob Brandon was
+concerned, as he needed no other lesson. It was curious how Bert and
+Frank reacted upon one another. At first the influence proceeded mainly
+from Bert to Frank, the latter being much impressed by his friend's
+attention to his lessons and good behaviour in school, and somewhat
+stirred up to emulate these virtues. But after Bert had been going to
+the school for some little time, and the novelty had all worn off, he
+began to lose some of his ardour and to imitate Frank's happy-go-lucky
+carelessness. Instead of being one of the first boys in the school of a
+morning, he would linger and loiter on the playground until he would be
+among those who were the last to take their places. He also began to
+take less interest in his lessons, and in his standing in the classes,
+and but for the care exercised at home would have gone to school very
+ill prepared.
+
+Frank Bowser was not by any means a bad boy. He had been carelessly
+brought up, and was by nature of rather a reckless disposition, but he
+generally preferred right to wrong, and could, upon the whole, be
+trusted to behave himself under ordinary circumstances, at all events.
+His influence upon Bert, while it certainly would not help him much,
+would not harm him seriously. He did get him into trouble one day,
+however, in a way that Bert was long in forgetting.
+
+The winter had come, and over in one corner of the playground was a
+slide of unusual length and excellence, upon which the Garrison boys had
+fine times every day before and after school. Coming up one morning
+early, on purpose to enjoy this slide, Bert was greatly disappointed to
+find it in possession of a crowd of roughs from the upper streets, who
+clearly intended to keep it all to themselves so long as they pleased.
+While Bert, standing at a safe distance, was watching the usurpers with
+longing eyes, Shorty came up, and, taking in the situation, said:
+
+"Let 'em alone, Bert; I know of another slide just as good, a couple of
+squares off. Let's go over there."
+
+"But, isn't it most school time?" objected Bert.
+
+"Why, no," replied Shorty. "There's ten minutes yet. Come along." And
+thus assured, Bert complied.
+
+The slide was farther away than Shorty had said, but proved to be very
+good when they did reach it, and they enjoyed it so much that the time
+slipped away unheeded, until presently the town clock on the hill above
+them boomed out ten, in notes of solemn warning.
+
+"My sakes!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "There's ten o'clock. What will we
+do?"
+
+"Guess we'd better not go to school at all. Mr. Garrison will never miss
+us," suggested Shorty.
+
+"Do you mean to meech?" asked Bert, with some indignation.
+
+"That's about it," was the reply. "What's the harm?"
+
+"Why, you know it ain't right; I'm not going to do it if you are." And
+Bert really meant what he said.
+
+But, as luck would have it, on their way back to the school, what should
+they meet but that spectacle, one of the most attractive of the winter's
+sights in the eyes of a Halifax schoolboy, a fireman's sleigh drive.
+Driving gaily along the street, between lines of spectators, came sleigh
+after sleigh, drawn by four, six, or even eight carefully matched and
+brightly decked horses, and filled to overflowing with the firemen and
+their fair friends, while bands of music played merry tunes, to which
+the horses seemed to step in time.
+
+Bert and Shorty had of course to stop and see this fine sight, and it
+chanced that when it was about one-half passed, one of the big eight
+horse teams got tangled up with a passing sleigh, and a scene of
+confusion ensued that took a good while to set right. When at length all
+was straightened out, and the procession of sleighs had passed, Shorty
+asked a gentleman to tell him the time.
+
+"Five minutes to eleven, my lad," was the startling reply.
+
+Shorty looked significantly at Bert. "Most too late now, don't you
+think?"
+
+Bert hesitated. He shrank from the ordeal of entering the crowded
+schoolroom, and being detected and punished by Mr. Garrison, in the
+presence of all the others. Yet he felt that it would be better to do
+that than not go to school at all--in other words, meech.
+
+"Oh, come along, Bert," said Shorty; "old Garrison can do without us
+to-day."
+
+Still Bert stood irresolute.
+
+"Let's go down and see the big steamer that came in last night,"
+persisted Shorty, who was determined not to go to school, and to keep
+Bert from going too.
+
+Yielding more to Shorty's influence than to the attraction of the
+steamer, Bert gave way, and spent the rest of the morning playing about,
+until it was the usual time for going home.
+
+He said nothing at home about what he had done, and the next morning
+went back to school, hoping, with all his heart, that his absence had
+not been noted, and that no questions would be asked.
+
+But it was not to be.
+
+Soon after the opening of the school when all were assembled and quiet
+obtained, Mr. Garrison sent a thrill of expectation through the boys by
+calling out, in severe tones, while his face was clouded with anger:
+
+"Frank Bowser and Cuthbert Lloyd come to the desk."
+
+With pale faces and drooping heads the boys obeyed, Frank whispering in
+Bert's ear as they went up:
+
+"Tell him you were kept at home."
+
+Trembling in every nerve, the two culprits stood before their teacher.
+Mr. Garrison was evidently much incensed. A spasm of reform had seized
+him. His eyes had been opened to the prevalence of "meeching," and he
+determined to put a stop to it by making an example of the present
+offenders. He had missed them both from school the day before, and
+suspected the cause.
+
+"Young gentlemen," said he, in his most chilling tones, "you were absent
+yesterday. Have you any reason to give?"
+
+Frank without answering looked at Bert, while the whole school held
+their breath in suspense. Bert remained silent. It was evident that a
+sharp struggle was going on within. Becoming impatient, Mr. Garrison
+struck the desk with his hands, and said, sternly:
+
+"Answer me this moment. Have you any excuse?"
+
+With a quick, decided movement, Bert lifted his head, and looking
+straight into Mr. Garrison's face with his big brown eyes, said,
+clearly:
+
+"No, sir. I meeched."
+
+Quite taken aback by this frank confession, Mr. Garrison paused a
+moment, and then, turning to Frank, asked:
+
+"And how about you, sir?"
+
+Without lifting his head, Frank muttered, "I meeched, too," in tones
+audible only to his questioner.
+
+So pleased was Mr. Garrison with Bert's honesty, that he would have been
+glad to let him off with a reprimand; but the interests of good
+discipline demanded sterner measures. Accordingly, he called to one of
+his monitors:
+
+"Munro, will you please go over to the Acadian School and get the
+strap?"
+
+For be it known that Mr. Garrison shared the ownership of a strap with
+his brother, who taught a school in an adjoining block, and had to send
+for it when a boy was to be punished.
+
+While Munro was gone, Bert and Frank stood before the desk, both feeling
+deeply their position, and dreading what was yet to come. When Munro
+returned, bearing the strap--a business-like looking affair, about two
+feet in length--Mr. Garrison laid it on the desk, and seemed very
+reluctant to put it in use. At length, overcoming his disinclination, he
+rose to his feet, and, taking it up, said:
+
+"Cuthbert Lloyd, come forward!"
+
+Bert, his head drooping upon his breast, and his face flushed and pale
+by turns, moved slowly forward. Grasping the strap, Mr. Garrison raised
+it to bring it down upon Bert's outstretched hand, when suddenly a
+thought struck him that brought a look of immense relief to his
+countenance, and he arrested the movement. Turning to the boys, who were
+watching him with wondering eyes, he said:
+
+"Boys, I ask for your judgment. If Bert and Frank say, before you all,
+that they are sorry for what they have done, and will promise never to
+do it again, may I not relieve them of the whipping?"
+
+A hearty and unanimous chorus of "Yes, sir," "Yes, sir," came from the
+school at once.
+
+"Now, my lads, do you hear that?" continued Mr. Garrison in a kindly
+tone, turning to the two offenders. "Will you not say you are sorry, and
+will never meech again."
+
+"I am sorry, and promise never to do so again," said Bert, in a clear
+distinct voice, as the tears gathered in his eyes.
+
+"I'm sorry, and won't do it again," echoed Frank, in a lower tone.
+
+"That's right, boys," said Mr. Garrison, his face full of pleasure. "I
+am sure you mean every word of it. Go to your seats now, and we will
+resume work."
+
+It took the school some little time to settle down again after this
+unusual and moving episode, the effect of which was to raise both Mr.
+Garrison and Bert a good deal higher in the estimation of every one
+present, and to put a check upon the practice of "meeching" that went
+far toward effecting a complete cure.
+
+Although the result had been so much better than he expected, Bert felt
+his disgrace keenly, and so soon as he got home from school he told the
+whole story from the start to his mother, making no excuses for himself,
+but simply telling the truth.
+
+His mother, of course, was very much surprised and pained, but knew well
+that her boy needed no further reproaches or censure to realise the full
+extent of his wrong-doing. Bidding him, therefore, seek forgiveness of
+God as well as of her, she said that she would tell his father all about
+it, which was a great relief to Bert, who dreaded lest he should have to
+perform this trying task himself; and so the matter rested for the
+time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE.
+
+
+When Mr. Lloyd heard the story of Bert's "meeching," it was evident that
+it hurt him sorely. He was quite prepared for a reasonable amount of
+waywardness in his boy, but this seriously exceeded his expectations. He
+could not, of course, put himself exactly in Bert's place, and he was
+inclined to think him guilty of far more deliberate wrong than poor Bert
+had for a moment contemplated.
+
+Then, again, he was much puzzled as to what should be done with
+reference to Frank Bowser. He had evidently been Bert's tempter, and
+Bert ought, perhaps, to be forbidden to have any more to do with him
+than he could possibly help. On the other hand, if Bert were to be
+interdicted from the companionship of his schoolmates, how would he ever
+learn to take care of himself among other dangerous associations? This
+was a lesson he must learn some day. Should he not begin now?
+
+So Mr. Lloyd was not a little bewildered, and his talk with Bert did
+not give him much light; for while Bert, of course, was thoroughly
+penitent and ready to promise anything, what he had to tell about Frank
+was simply how good-natured and generous and plucky he was, and so
+forth.
+
+The three of them, father, mother, and sister, held a consultation over
+the matter that night after Bert had gone to bed.
+
+"I wish I felt more sure as to what is the wisest thing to do," said Mr.
+Lloyd. "We can't keep Bert in a glass case, and yet it seems as if we
+should do our best to protect him from every evil influence. I would
+like to know more about that Bowser boy."
+
+"Bert tells me he has no mother," said Mrs. Lloyd, in sympathetic tones,
+"and from what he says himself, his father does not seem to take much
+interest in him. Poor boy! he cannot have much to help him at that
+rate."
+
+"He's a good, sturdy little chap," put in Mary. "He came down from
+school with Bert one day. He seems very fond of him."
+
+"Well, what had we better do?" asked Mr. Lloyd. "Forbid Bert to make a
+companion of him, or say nothing about it, and trust Bert to come out
+all right?"
+
+"I feel as though we ought to forbid Bert," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "Frank
+Bowser's influence cannot help him much, and it may harm him a good
+deal."
+
+"Suppose you put that the other way, mother," spoke up Mary, her face
+flushing under the inspiration of the thought that had just occurred to
+her. "Frank Bowser has no help at home, and Bert has. Why, then, not say
+that Bert's influence cannot harm Frank, and it may help him a good
+deal?"
+
+"Mary, my dear," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, bending over to pat her
+affectionately on the shoulder, "that's a brilliant idea of yours.
+You're right. Bert should help Frank, and not let Frank harm him. We
+must make Bert understand that clearly, and then there will be nothing
+to fear."
+
+And so the consultation closed, with Mary bearing off the honours of
+having made the best suggestion.
+
+It was acted upon without delay. Calling Bert to him next morning while
+they were awaiting breakfast, Mr. Lloyd laid the matter before him:
+
+"Bert," said he, kindly, "we were talking about you last night, and
+wondering whether we ought to forbid your making a companion of Frank
+Bowser. What do you think?"
+
+"Oh, father, don't do that," answered Bert, looking up with a startled
+expression. "He's been so good to me. You remember how he served Bob
+Brandon for shoving me down in class?"
+
+"Yes, Bert; but I'm afraid he's leading you into mischief, and that is
+not the sort of companion I want for you."
+
+Bert dropped his head again. He had no answer ready this time.
+
+"But then there are always two sides to a question, Bert," continued Mr.
+Lloyd, while Bert pricked up his ears hopefully. "Why should you not
+help Frank to keep out of mischief, instead of his leading you into it?
+What do you say to that?"
+
+Bert did not seem quite to understand, so his father went on:
+
+"Don't you see, Bert? You must either help Frank to be better, or he
+will cause you to be worse. Now, which is it to be?"
+
+Bert saw it clearly now.
+
+"Why, father," he cried, his face beaming with gladness at this new turn
+to the situation, "I'll do my best to be a good boy, and I know Shorty
+will, too, for he always likes to do what I do."
+
+"Very well then, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd, "that's a bargain. And now,
+suppose you invite Frank, or 'Shorty,' as you call him, to spend next
+Saturday afternoon with you, and take tea with us."
+
+"Oh, father, that will be splendid," cried Bert, delightedly. "We can
+coast in the fort all the afternoon and have fun in the evening. I'm
+sure Shorty will be so glad to come."
+
+The question thus satisfactorily settled, Bert took his breakfast, and
+went off to school in high glee and great impatience to see Frank, for
+the invitation he bore for him fairly burned in his mouth, so to speak.
+
+As he expected, Frank needed no pressing to accept it. He did not get
+many invitations, poor chap! and the prospect of an afternoon at Bert's
+home seemed very attractive to him. He did enjoy himself thoroughly,
+too, even if he was so shy and awkward that Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were
+afraid to say very much to him; he seemed to find it so hard to answer
+them.
+
+But Mr. Lloyd got on much better with him. Although his boyhood was a
+good way in the past, he kept its memories fresh, and could enter
+heartily into the discussion of any of the sports the younger generation
+delighted in. He knew all the phrases peculiar to baseball, cricket,
+marbles, and so forth, and fairly astonished Frank by his intimate
+knowledge of those amusements, so that ere long Frank, without knowing
+just how it happened, was chatting away as freely as though he were out
+on the Garrison playground instead of being in Mr. Lloyd's parlour.
+
+Having once got him well started, Mr. Lloyd led him on to talk about
+himself and his home, and his way of spending his time, and thus learned
+a great deal more about him than he had yet known. One fact that he
+learned pointed out a way in which Bert's influence could be exerted for
+good at once. Frank attended no Sunday school. He went to church
+sometimes, but not very often, as his father took little interest in
+church-going, but he never went to Sunday school; in fact, he had not
+been there for years. Mr. Lloyd said nothing himself on the subject to
+Frank. He thought it better to leave it all to Bert.
+
+After Frank had gone, leaving behind him a very good impression upon the
+whole, Mr. Lloyd told Bert of the opportunity awaiting him.
+
+"Wouldn't you like to ask Frank to go with you to Sunday school, Bert?"
+he inquired.
+
+"Of course, I would, father," replied Bert, promptly; "and I'm sure he'd
+go, too, and that Mr. Silver would be very glad to have him in our
+class."
+
+When Bert, however, came to talk to Frank about it, he found him not
+quite so willing to go as he had been to accept the invitation for
+Saturday.
+
+"I'm not anxious to go to Sunday school, Bert," said he. "I shan't know
+anybody there but you, and it'll be awfully slow."
+
+"But you'll soon get to know plenty of people," urged Bert; "and Mr.
+Silver is so nice."
+
+And so they argued, Frank holding back, partly because his shyness made
+him shrink from going into a strange place, and partly because, having
+been accustomed to spend his Sunday afternoons pretty much as he
+pleased, he did not like the idea of giving up his liberty. But Bert was
+too much in earnest to be put off. The suggestion of his father that he
+should try to do Frank some good had taken strong hold upon his mind,
+and he urged, and pleaded, and argued until, at last, Frank gave way,
+and promised to try the Sunday school for a while, at any rate.
+
+Bert reported the decision at home with much pride and satisfaction. He
+had no doubt that when once Frank found out what a pleasant place the
+Sunday school was, and how kind and nice Mr. Silver--his teacher
+there--was, he would want to go every Sunday.
+
+The Sunday school of Calvary Baptist Church certainly had about as
+pleasant and cheery quarters as could be desired. For one thing, it was
+not held in a damp, dark, unventilated basement as so many Sunday
+schools are.
+
+And, oh, what a shame--what an extraordinary perversion of sense this
+condemning of the children to the cellars of the churches is! Just as
+though anything were good enough for them, when in them lies the hope of
+the Church, and every possible means should be employed to twine their
+young affections about it! But these words do not apply to the Calvary
+Sunday School, for it was not held in a dingy basement, but in a
+separate building that united in itself nearly every good quality such
+an edifice should possess. It was of ample size, full of light and air,
+had free exposure to the sunshine, and was so arranged that every
+convenience was offered for the work of the school. Around the central
+hall were arranged rooms for the Bible classes, the infant class, and
+the library, so planned that by throwing up sliding doors they became
+part of the large room. The walls were hung with pictures illustrating
+Bible scenes, and with mottoes founded upon Bible texts; and finally,
+the benches were of a special make that was particularly comfortable.
+
+All this was quite a revelation to Frank when, after some little
+coaxing, Bert brought him to the school. His conception of a Sunday
+school was of going down into a gloomy basement, and being lectured
+about the Bible by a severe old man with a long grey beard. Instead of
+that, he found himself in one of the brightest rooms he had ever seen,
+and receiving a cordial welcome from a handsome young gentleman, to whom
+Bert had just said:
+
+"This is my friend Frank, Mr. Silver. He's going to come to school with
+me after this."
+
+"Very glad indeed to have you, Frank," said Mr. Silver, giving him a
+warm grasp of the hand. "Sit right down with Bert, and make yourself at
+home."
+
+And Frank sat down, so surprised and pleased with everything as to be
+half inclined to wonder if he was not dreaming. Then the fine singing,
+as the whole school, led by an organ and choir, burst forth into song,
+the bright pleasant remarks of the superintendent, Mr. Hamilton, Bert's
+ideal of a "Christian soldier," and the simple earnest prayer
+offered,--all impressed Frank deeply.
+
+No less interesting did he find Mr. Silver's teaching of the lesson. Mr.
+Silver attached great importance to his work in the Sunday school.
+Nothing was permitted to interfere with thorough preparation for it, and
+he always met his class brimful of information, illustration, and
+application, bearing upon the passage appointed for the day. And not
+only so, but by shrewd questioning and personal appeal he sent the
+precious words home to his young hearers and fixed them deep in their
+memories. He was a rare teacher in many respects, and Bert was very fond
+of him. Frank did not fail to be attracted by him. As he and Bert left
+the school together, Bert asked:
+
+"Well, Frank, how do you like my Sunday school?"
+
+"First rate," replied Frank, heartily. "Say, but isn't Mr. Silver nice?
+Seems as though I'd known him for ever so long instead of just to-day."
+
+"Guess he is nice," said Bert. "He's just the best teacher in the
+school. You'll come every Sunday now, won't you, Frank?"
+
+"I think so," answered Frank; "I might just as well be going there as
+loafing about on Sunday afternoon doing nothing."
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much pleased when he heard of Bert's success in
+getting Frank to the Sunday school. He recognised in Bert many of those
+qualities which make a boy a leader among his companions, and his desire
+was that his son's influence should always tell for that which was
+manly, pure, and upright. To get him interested in recruiting for the
+Sunday school was a very good beginning in church work, and Mr. Lloyd
+felt thankful accordingly.
+
+Neither was he alone in feeling pleased and thankful. Mr. John Bowser,
+Frank's father, although he showed great indifference to both the
+intellectual and moral welfare of his boy, was, nevertheless, not
+opposed to others taking an interest in him. He cared too little about
+either church or Sunday school to see that Frank was a regular
+attendant. But he was very willing that somebody else should take an
+interest in the matter. Moreover, he felt not a little complacency over
+the fact that his son was chosen as a companion by Lawyer Lloyd's son.
+Engrossed as he was in the making of money, a big, burly, gruff,
+uncultured contractor, he found time somehow to acquire a great respect
+for Mr. Lloyd. He thought him rather too scrupulous and straightforward
+a man to be _his_ lawyer, but he admired him greatly, nevertheless; and,
+although he said nothing about it, secretly congratulated himself upon
+the way things were going. He had little idea that the circle of
+influence Bert had unconsciously started would come to include him
+before its force would be spent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+BERT AT HOME.
+
+
+It was an article of faith in the Lloyd family that there was not a
+house in Halifax having a pleasanter situation than theirs, and they
+certainly had very good grounds for their belief. Something has already
+been told about its splendid view of the broad harbour, furrowed with
+white-capped waves, when of an afternoon the breeze blew in smartly from
+the great ocean beyond; of its snug security from northern blasts; of
+the cosy nook it had to itself in a quiet street; and of its ample
+exposure to the sunshine. But, perhaps, the chief charm of all was the
+old fort whose grass-grown casemates came so close to the foot of the
+garden, that ever since Bert was big enough to jump, he had cherished a
+wild ambition to leap from the top of the garden fence to the level top
+of the nearest casemate.
+
+This old fort, with its long, obsolete, muzzle-loading thirty-two
+pounders, was associated with Bert's earliest recollection. His nurse
+had carried him there to play about in the long, rank grass underneath
+the shade of the wide-spreading willows that crested the seaward slope
+before he was able to walk; and ever since, summer and winter, he had
+found it his favourite playground.
+
+The cannons were an unfailing source of delight to him. Mounted high
+upon their cumbrous carriages, with little pyramids of round iron balls
+that would never have any other use than that of ornament lying beside
+them, they made famous playthings. He delighted in clambering up and
+sitting astride their smooth, round bodies as though they were horses;
+or in peering into the mysterious depths of their muzzles. Indeed, once
+when he was about five years old he did more than peer in. He tried to
+crawl in, and thereby ran some risk of injury.
+
+He had been playing ball with some of the soldier's children, and seemed
+so engrossed in the amusement that his mother, who had taken him into
+the fort, thought he might very well be left for a while, and so she
+went off some little distance to rest in quiet, in a shady corner. She
+had not been there more than a quarter of an hour, when she was startled
+by the cries of the children, who seemed much alarmed over something;
+and hastening back to where she had left Bert, she beheld a sight that
+would have been most ludicrous if it had not been so terrifying.
+
+Protruding from the mouth of one of the cannons, and kicking very
+vigorously, were two sturdy, mottled legs that she instantly recognised
+as belonging to her son, while from the interior came strange muffled
+sounds that showed the poor little fellow was screaming in dire
+affright, as well he might in so distressing a situation. Too young to
+be of any help, Bert's playmates were gathered about him crying lustily,
+only one of them having had the sense to run off to the carpenter's shop
+near by to secure assistance.
+
+[Illustration: "Fortunately, a big soldier came along, and, slipping
+both hands as far up on Bert's body as he could reach, with a strong,
+steady pull drew him out of the cannon."--_Page_ 119.]
+
+Mrs. Lloyd at once grasped Bert's feet and strove to pull him out, but
+found it no easy matter. In his efforts to free himself he had only
+stuck the more firmly, and was now too securely fastened for Mrs. Lloyd
+to extricate him. Fortunately, however, a big soldier came along at this
+juncture, and, slipping both hands as far up on Bert's body as he could
+reach, grasped him firmly, and with one strong, steady pull, drew him
+out of the cannon.
+
+When he got him out, Bert presented so comical a spectacle that his
+stalwart rescuer had to lay him down and laugh until the tears rolled
+down his cheeks. Mrs. Lloyd, too, relieved from all anxiety, and feeling
+a reaction from her first fright, could not help following his example.
+His face, black with grime, which was furrowed with tears, his hands
+even blacker, his nice clothes smutched and soiled, and indeed, his
+whole appearance suggested a little chimney-sweep that had forgotten to
+put on his working clothes before going to business. Bert certainly was
+enough to make even the gravest laugh.
+
+Beyond a bruise or two, he was, however, not a whit the worse for his
+curious experience, which had come about in this way:--While they were
+playing with the ball, one of the children had, out of mischief, picked
+it up and thrown it into the cannon, where it had stayed. They tried to
+get it out by means of sticks, but could not reach it. Then Bert, always
+plucky and enterprising to the verge of rashness, undertook to go after
+the ball himself. The other boys at once joined forces to lift him up
+and push him into the dark cavern, and then alarmed by his cries and
+unavailing struggles to get out again, began to cry themselves, and thus
+brought Mrs. Lloyd to the scene.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much amused when he heard about Bert's adventure.
+
+"You've beaten Shakespeare, Bert," said he, after a hearty laugh, as
+Mrs. Lloyd graphically described the occurrence. "For Shakespeare says a
+man does not seek the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth, until he
+becomes a soldier, but you have found it, unless I am much mistaken,
+before you have fairly begun being a schoolboy."
+
+Bert did not understand the reference to Shakespeare, but he did
+understand that his father was not displeased with him, and that was a
+much more important matter. The next Sunday afternoon, when they went
+for their accustomed stroll in the fort, Bert showed his father the big
+gun whose dark interior he had attempted to explore.
+
+"Oh, but father, wasn't I frightened when I got in there and couldn't
+get out again!" said he earnestly, clasping his father's hand tightly,
+as the horror of the situation came back to him.
+
+"You were certainly in a tight place, little man," answered Mr. Lloyd,
+"and the next time your ball gets into one of the cannons you had better
+ask one of the artillerymen to get it out for you. He will find it a
+much easier job than getting you out."
+
+Bert loved the old fort and its cannons none the less because of his
+adventure, and as he grew older he learned to drop down into it from the
+garden fence, and climb back again, with the agility of a monkey. The
+garden itself was not very extensive, but Bert took a great deal of
+pleasure in it, too, for he was fond of flowers--what true boy, indeed,
+is not?--and it contained a large number within its narrow limits, there
+being no less than two score rose bushes of different varieties, for
+instance. The roses were very plenteous and beautiful when in their
+prime, but at opposite corners of the little garden stood two trees that
+had far more interest for Bert than all the rose trees put together.
+These were two apple trees, planted, no one knew just how or when, which
+had been allowed to grow up at their own will, without pruning or
+grafting, and, as a consequence, were never known to produce fruit that
+was worth eating. Every spring they put forth a brave show of pink and
+white blossoms, as though this year, at all events, they were going to
+do themselves credit, and every autumn the result appeared in
+half-a-dozen hard, small, sour, withered-up apples that hardly deserved
+the name. And yet, although these trees showed no signs of repentance
+and amendment, Bert, with the quenchless hopefulness of boyhood, never
+quite despaired of their bringing forth an apple that he could eat
+without having his mouth drawn up into one tight pucker. Autumn after
+autumn he would watch the slowly developing fruit, trusting for the
+best. It always abused his confidence, however, but it was a long time
+before he finally gave it up in despair.
+
+At one side of the garden stood a neat little barn that was also of
+special interest to Bert, for, besides the stall for the cow, there was
+another, still vacant, which Mr. Lloyd had promised should have a pony
+for its tenant so soon as Bert was old enough to be trusted with such a
+playmate.
+
+Hardly a day passed that Bert did not go into the stable, and, standing
+by the little stall, wonder to himself how it would look with a pretty
+pony in it. Of course, he felt very impatient to have the pony, but Mr.
+Lloyd had his own ideas upon that point, and was not to be moved from
+them. He thought that when Bert was ten years old would be quite time
+enough, and so there was nothing to do but to wait, which Bert did, with
+as much fortitude as he could command.
+
+Whatever might be the weather outside, it seemed always warm and sunny
+indoors at Bert's home. The Lloyds lived in an atmosphere of love, both
+human and Divine. They loved one another dearly, but they loved God
+still more, and lived close to Him. Religion was not so much expressed
+as implied in their life. It was not in the least obtrusive, yet one
+could never mistake their point of view. Next to its sincerity, the
+strongest characteristic of their religion was its cheeriness. They saw
+no reason why the children of the King should go mourning all their
+days; on the contrary, was it not rather their duty, as well as their
+privilege, to establish the joy of service?
+
+Brought up amid such influences, Bert was, as a natural consequence,
+entirely free from those strange misconceptions of the true character of
+religion which keep so many of the young out of the kingdom. He saw
+nothing gloomy or repellent in religion. That he should love and serve
+God seemed as natural to him as that he should love and serve his
+parents. Of their love and care he had a thousand tokens daily. Of the
+Divine love and care he learned from them, and that they should believe
+in it was all the reason he required for his doing the same. He asked no
+further evidence.
+
+There were, of course, times when the spirit of evil stirred within him,
+and moved him to rebel against authority, and to wish, as he put it
+himself one day when reminded of the text, "Thou God seest me," that
+"God would let him alone for a while, and not be always looking at him."
+But then he wasn't an angel by any means, but simply a hearty, healthy,
+happy boy, with a fair share of temper, and as much fondness for having
+his own way as the average boy of his age.
+
+His parents were very proud of him. They would have been queer parents
+if they were not. Yet they were careful to disguise it from him as far
+as possible. If there was one thing more than another that Mr. Lloyd
+disliked in children, and, therefore, dreaded for his boy, it was that
+forward, conscious air which comes of too much attention being paid them
+in the presence of their elders. "Little folks should be seen and not
+heard," he would say kindly but firmly to Bert, when that young person
+was disposed to unduly assert himself, and Bert rarely failed to take
+the hint.
+
+One trait of Bert's nature which gave his father great gratification was
+his fondness for reading. He never had to be taught to read. He learned,
+himself. That is, he was so eager to learn that so soon as he had
+mastered the alphabet, he was always taking his picture books to his
+mother or sister, and getting them to spell the words for him. In this
+way he got over all his difficulties with surprising rapidity, and at
+five years of age could read quite easily. As he grew older, he showed
+rather an odd taste in his choice of books. One volume that he read from
+cover to cover before he was eight years old was Layard's "Nineveh."
+Just why this portly sombre-hued volume, with its winged lion stamped in
+gold upon its back, attracted him so strongly, it would not be easy to
+say. The illustrations, of course, had something to do with it, and then
+the fascination of digging down deep into the earth and bringing forth
+all sorts of strange things no doubt influenced him.
+
+Another book that held a wonderful charm for him was the Book of
+Revelation. So carefully did he con this, which he thought the most
+glorious of all writings, that at one time he could recite many chapters
+of it word for word. Its marvellous imagery appealed to his imagination
+if it did nothing more, and took such hold upon his mind that no part of
+the Bible, not even the stories that shine like stars through the first
+books of the Old Testament, was more interesting to him.
+
+Not only was Bert's imagination vivid, but his sympathies were also very
+quick and easily aroused. It was scarcely safe to read to him a pathetic
+tale, his tears were so certain to flow. The story of Gellert's hound,
+faithful unto death, well-nigh broke his heart, and that perfect pearl,
+"Rab and His Friends," bedewed his cheeks, although he read it again and
+again until he knew it almost by heart.
+
+No one ever laughed at his tenderness of heart. He was not taught that
+it was unmanly for a boy to weep. It is an easy thing to chill and
+harden an impressionable nature. It is not so easy to soften it again,
+or to bring softness to one that is too hard for its own good.
+
+With such a home, Bert Lloyd could hardly fail to be a happy boy, and no
+one that knew him would ever have thought of him as being anything else.
+He had his dull times, of course. What boy with all his faculties has
+not? And he had his cranky spells, too. But neither the one nor the
+other lasted very long, and the sunshine soon not only broke through the
+clouds, but scattered them altogether. Happy are those natures not given
+to brooding over real or fancied troubles. Gloom never mends matters: it
+can only make them worse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+AN HONOURABLE SCAR.
+
+
+Bert was not learning very much at Mr. Garrison's school. He had some
+glimmering of this himself, for he said to Frank one day, after they had
+returned to their seats from having gone through the form--for really it
+was nothing more--of saying one of their lessons:
+
+"It's mighty easy work getting through lessons at this school, isn't it,
+Shorty?" And Shorty, being of the same opinion, as he had happened not
+to be asked any questions, and, therefore, had not made any mistakes,
+promptly assented.
+
+"That's so, Bert," said he, "and the oftener he asks Munro and you to
+say the whole lesson, and just gives me the go-by, the better I like
+it."
+
+But Bert was not the only one who noticed that his education was not
+making due progress. His father observed it too, and, after some
+thinking on the subject, made up his mind that he would allow Bert to
+finish the spring term at Mr. Garrison's, and then, after the summer
+holidays, send him to some other school.
+
+The winter passed away and spring drew near. Spring is the most dilatory
+and provoking of all the seasons at Halifax. It advances and retreats,
+pauses and progresses, promises and fails to perform, until it really
+seems, sometimes, as though mid-summer would be at hand and no spring at
+all. With the boys it is a particularly trying time of the year. The
+daily increasing heat of the sun has played havoc with the snow and ice,
+and winter sports are out of the question. Yet the snow and ice--or
+rather the slush they make--still lingers on, and renders any kind of
+summer sport impossible. For nearly a month this unsatisfactory state of
+affairs continues, and then, at length, the wet dries up, the frost
+comes out of the ground, the chill leaves the air, and marbles,
+rounders, baseball, and, later on, cricket make glad the hearts and tire
+the legs of the eager boys.
+
+This spring was made memorable for Bert by an occurrence that left its
+mark upon him, lest, perhaps, he might be in danger of forgetting it. In
+front of the large building, in one room of which Mr. Garrison's school
+was held, there was a large open square, known as the Parade. It was a
+bare, stony place kept in order by nobody, and a great resort for the
+roughs of the city, who could there do pretty much what they pleased
+without fear of interruption from the police. On the upper side of this
+square, and over toward the opposite end from Mr. Garrison's, was
+another school, called the National, and having a large number of
+scholars, of a somewhat commoner class than those which attended Mr.
+Garrison's. It need hardly be said that the relations between the two
+schools were, to use a diplomatic phrase, "chronically strained." They
+were always at loggerheads. A Garrison boy could hardly encounter a
+National boy without giving or getting a cuff, a matter determined by
+his size, and riots, on a more or less extensive scale, were continually
+taking place when groups of boys representing the two schools would
+happen to meet.
+
+Bert was neither quarrelsome nor pugnacious by nature. He disliked very
+much being on bad terms with anyone, and could not understand why he
+should regard another boy as his natural enemy simply because he
+happened to go to a different school. More than once he had quite an
+argument with Frank Bowser about it. Frank was always full of fight. He
+hated every National boy as vigorously as though each one had
+individually done him some cruel injury. As sure as a collision took
+place, and Frank was present, he was in the thick of it at once, dealing
+blows right and left with all his might.
+
+In obedience to the dictation of his own nature, strengthened by his
+father's advice, Bert kept out of these squabbles so far as he possibly
+could, and as a natural consequence fell under suspicion of being a
+coward. Even Frank began to wonder if he were not afraid, and if it were
+not this which kept him back from active participation in the rows. He
+said something about it to Bert one day, and it hurt Bert very much.
+
+"I'm not afraid, Shorty; you know well enough I'm not," said he,
+indignantly. "But I'm not going to fight with fellows who never did me
+any harm. It's wrong, that's what it is, and I'm not going to do it. I
+don't care what you say."
+
+"But you ought to chip in sometimes, Bert, or the boys will think that
+you're a coward," urged Frank.
+
+"I can't help it if they do, Shorty," was Bert's unshaken reply. "I
+don't feel like it myself, and, what's more, father doesn't want me to."
+
+The very next day there was a row of unusual dimensions, brought about
+by one of the Garrison boys at the noon recess having started a fight
+with one of the National boys, which almost in a twinkling of an eye
+involved all the boys belonging to both schools then in the Parade. It
+was a lively scene, that would have gladdened the heart of an Irishman
+homesick for the excitement of Donnybrook Fair. There were at least one
+hundred boys engaged, the sides being pretty evenly matched, and the
+battle ground was the centre of the Parade. To drive the other school in
+ignominious flight from this spot was the object of each boyish
+regiment, and locked in hostile embrace, like the players in a football
+match when a "maul" has been formed, they swayed to and fro, now one
+side gaining, now the other, while shouts of "Go in, Nationals!" "Give
+it to them, Garrisons!" mingling with exclamations of anger or pain,
+filled the air.
+
+Bert was not present when the struggle began. In fact, it was well under
+way before he knew anything about it, as he had lingered in the
+schoolroom to ask Mr. Garrison some question after the other boys had
+run out. On going out upon the Parade, he was at first startled by the
+uproar, and then filled with an intense desire to be in the midst of the
+battle. But, remembering his father's injunctions, he paused for a
+moment irresolute. Then he noticed that the National boys were gaining
+the advantage, and the Garrison boys retreating before them. The next
+instant he caught sight of Frank Bowser, who had, of course, been in the
+forefront of the fight, left unsupported by his comrades, and surrounded
+by a circle of threatening opponents. Bert hesitated no longer. With a
+shout of "Come on, boys!" he sprang down the steps, rushed across the
+intervening space, and flung himself into the group around Frank with
+such force that two of the Nationals were hurled to the ground, and
+Frank set at liberty. Inspirited by Bert's gallant onset, the Garrisons
+returned to the charge, the Nationals gave way before them, and Bert was
+just about to raise the shout of victory when a big hulk of a boy who
+had been hovering on the outskirts of the Nationals, too cowardly to
+come to any closer quarter, picked up a stone and threw it with wicked
+force straight at Bert's face. His aim was only too good. With a sharp
+thud, the stone struck Bert on his left temple, just behind the eye, and
+the poor boy fell to the ground insensible.
+
+Instantly the struggle and confusion ceased, but not before Frank, in a
+passion of fury, had dealt Bert's cowardly assailant a blow that sent
+him reeling to the ground, and had then sprung to his friend's side.
+
+"Get a doctor, some fellow," he shouted, holding up the pale, calm face,
+down which the blood was trickling from an ugly wound. "Let's carry him
+into the school!"
+
+A dozen eager volunteers came forward. Carefully and tenderly Bert was
+lifted up, and carried into the schoolroom, which, fortunately, Mr.
+Garrison had not yet left. Placed upon one of the benches, with Frank's
+coat for a pillow, his head was bathed with cold water, and presently he
+revived, much to the relief and delight of the anxious boys standing
+round. A few minutes later the doctor arrived. With quick, deft fingers
+he stanched the wound, covered it with plaster, enveloped it with
+bandages, and then gave directions that Bert should be sent home in a
+cab without delay.
+
+"Why, Bert darling, what does this mean?" exclaimed Mrs. Lloyd, as she
+opened the door for him.
+
+"Ask Frank, mother; my head's aching too bad to tell you," replied
+Bert, putting up his hand with a gesture of pain. And so, while Bert lay
+on the sofa, with his mother close beside him, and Mary preparing him a
+refreshing drink, Frank told the story in his own, rough,
+straightforward fashion, making it all so clear, with the help of a word
+now and then from Bert, that when he ended, Mrs. Lloyd, bending over her
+son, kissed him tenderly on the forehead, saying:
+
+"You know, Bert, how I dislike fighting, but I cannot find it in my
+heart to blame you this time. You acted like a hero."
+
+In this opinion Mr. Lloyd, when he came home, fully concurred. He had
+not a word of blame for Bert, but made the boy's heart glad by telling
+him to always stand by his friends when they were in trouble, and then
+he would never be without friends who would stand by him.
+
+Bert's wound took some time to heal, and when it did heal, a scar
+remained that kept its place for many years after. But he did not suffer
+for nought. The incident was productive of good in two directions. It
+established Bert's character for courage beyond all cavil, and it put an
+end to the unseemly rows between the schools. The two masters held a
+consultation, as a result of which they announced to their schools that
+any boys found taking part in such disturbances in future would be first
+publicly whipped, and then expelled; and this threat put an effectual
+stop to the practice.
+
+The days and weeks slipped by, and the summer vacation, so eagerly
+looked forward to by all schoolboys, arrived. None were more delighted
+at its arrival than Bert and Frank. Their friendship had grown steadily
+stronger from the day of their first acquaintance. They had few
+disagreements. Frank, although the older and larger of the two, let Bert
+take the lead in almost all cases, for Bert had the more active mind,
+and his plans were generally the better. Happily for the serenity of
+their relations, Bert, while he was fond enough of being the leader,
+never undertook to "boss" his companions. If they did not readily fall
+into line with him, why he simply fell into line with them, and that was
+an end of it. His idea of fun did not consist in being an autocrat, and
+ordering others about. He very much preferred that all should work
+together for whatever common purpose happened to be in their minds at
+the time; and thus it was, that of the boys who played together in the
+old fort, and waded in the shallow water that rippled along the sand
+beach at its foot, no one was more popular than Bert Lloyd.
+
+They had fine fun during this summer vacation. Neither Frank nor Bert
+went out of the city, and they played together every day, generally in
+the fort; but sometimes Bert would go with Frank to the Horticultural
+Gardens, where a number of swings made a great attraction for the young
+folk, or down to the point where they would ramble through the woods,
+imagining themselves brave hunters in search of bears, and carrying bows
+and arrows to help out the illusion.
+
+The greatest enjoyment of all, however, was to go out upon the water. Of
+course, they were not allowed to do this by themselves. They were too
+young for that yet, but very often Mr. Lloyd would leave his office
+early in the afternoon in order to take them out in the pretty skiff he
+kept at the fort, or the whole family would spend the long summer
+evenings together on the water.
+
+Bert was at his happiest then. Under his father's directions he was
+vigorously learning to row, and it was very stimulating to have his
+mother and sister as spectators. They took such a lively interest in his
+progress, that he did not mind if they did laugh heartily, but of course
+not unkindly, when sometimes in his eagerness to take an extra big
+stroke he would "catch a crab," and roll over on his back in the bottom
+of the boat, with his feet stuck up like two signals of distress. Bert
+accomplished this a good many times, but it did not discourage him. He
+was up and at it again immediately.
+
+"Don't look at your oar, boys! Don't look at your oar! Keep your faces
+toward the stern," Mr. Lloyd would call out as Bert and Frank tugged
+away manfully, and they, who had been watching their oars to make sure
+that they went into the water just right, would answer "Ay, ay, sir!"
+in true sailor fashion; and then for the next few moments they would
+keep their eyes fixed straight astern, only to bring them back again
+soon to those dripping blades that had such a saucy way of getting
+crooked unless they were well watched.
+
+A more delightful place than Halifax harbour of a fine summer evening
+could hardly be desired. The wind, which had been busy making "white
+caps" all the afternoon, went to rest at sundown. The ruffled waters
+sank into a glassy calm, the broad harbour becoming one vast mirror in
+which the rich hues of the sunset, the long dark lines of the wharves,
+and the tall masts of the ships sleeping at their moorings were
+reflected with many a quaint curve and curious involution. Boats of
+every kind, the broad-bottomed dory, the sharp-bowed flat, the trim
+keel-boat, the long low whaler, with their jolly companies, dotted the
+placid surface, while here and there a noisy steam launch saucily puffed
+its way along, the incessant throb of its engine giving warning of its
+approach. Far up the harbour at their moorings off the dockyard, the
+huge men-of-war formed centres around which the boats gathered in
+numerous squads, for every evening the band would play on board these
+floating castles, and the music never seemed more sweet than when it
+floated out over the still waters. Sometimes, too, after the band had
+ceased, the sailors would gather on the forecastle and sing their songs,
+as only sailors can sing, winning round after round of applause from
+their appreciative audience in the boats.
+
+All of this was very delightful to Bert. So, too, was the paddling about
+on the beach that fringed the bottom of the fort's grassy slope, and the
+making of miniature forts out of the warm, dry sand, only to have them
+dissolve again before the advancing tide. Just as delightful, too, was
+the clambering over the boulders that marked the ruins of an old pier,
+searching for periwinkles, star-fish, and limpets, with never-ceasing
+wonder at the tenacity with which they held on to the rocks. Playing
+thus in the sunshine almost from dawn to dark, Bert grew visibly bigger
+and browner and sturdier, as the days slipped swiftly by.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+A CHANGE OF SCHOOLS.
+
+
+With the coming of September the holidays ended, and the question of
+schools once more was earnestly discussed in the Lloyd household.
+
+"I have quite made up my mind not to send Bert back to Mr. Garrison,"
+said Mr. Lloyd. "He seems to be learning little or nothing there. The
+fact of the matter is, what he does learn, he learns at home, and Mr.
+Garrison simply hears him recite his lessons."
+
+"That's very true," assented Mrs. Lloyd. "I am only too glad to help
+Bert all I can in his studies, but I do not see the propriety of our
+having the greater part of the work of teaching him ourselves when we
+are at the same time paying some one else to do it. Do you, Mary?" she
+added, turning to her daughter.
+
+"No, mother," replied Mary. "I suppose it is not quite fair. Yet I would
+feel sorry if Bert went to a school where everything was done for him,
+and nothing left for us to do. I like to help him. He gets hold of an
+idea so quickly; it is a pleasure to explain anything to him."
+
+"It seems to me that a school where there is a good deal of healthful
+rivalry among the boys would be the best place for Bert. He is very
+ambitious, and eager to be at the top, and in a school of that kind his
+energies would be constantly stimulated," said Mr. Lloyd. "What do you
+think, Kate?" addressing his wife.
+
+"I think that would be very good, indeed," answered Mrs. Lloyd. "But do
+you know of any such school?"
+
+"I have been hearing good accounts of Dr. Johnston's school, and he
+certainly seems to have a great deal of system in his methods, so that I
+am inclined to give him a trial."
+
+"Oh, Dr. Johnston's is a splendid school," spoke up Mary, with
+enthusiasm. "Both of Edie Strong's brothers go there, and I have often
+heard them tell about it. But isn't Bert too young for it yet? He's only
+nine, you know, and they are mostly big boys who go to Dr. Johnston's."
+
+"Not a bit!" said Mr. Lloyd, emphatically. "Not a bit! True, Bert is
+only nine, but he looks more like twelve, and thinks and acts like it,
+too. It will be all the better for him to be with boys a little older
+than himself. He will find it hard to hold his own among them, and that
+will serve to strengthen and develop him."
+
+"Poor little chap!" said Mrs. Lloyd, tenderly. "I expect he will have a
+pretty hard time of it at first. I wish Frank were going with him, for
+he thinks all the world of Bert, and is so much older and bigger that he
+could be a sort of protector for him."
+
+"I'm glad you mentioned Frank, Kate," exclaimed Mr. Lloyd. "You've given
+me an idea. If I decide to send Bert to Dr. Johnston's, I will make a
+point of seeing Mr. Bowser, to ask him if he will not consent to send
+Frank, too. I hardly expect he will make any objection, as it is not
+likely there will be any difference in the expense."
+
+"Oh, I do hope Frank will go, too," cried Mary, clapping her hands. "If
+he does, I shall feel ever so much easier about Bert. Frank is so fond
+of him that he won't let him be abused, if he can help it."
+
+"Very well, then," said Mr. Lloyd, bringing the conversation to a close.
+"I will make some further inquiries about Dr. Johnston's, and if the
+results are satisfactory I will see Mr. Bowser, and do what I can to
+persuade him to let Frank accompany Bert."
+
+A few days after, Mr. Lloyd called Bert to him, while they were all
+sitting in the parlour, just after dinner.
+
+"Come here, Bert," said he. "I want to have a talk with you about going
+to school. You know I don't intend you to go back to Mr. Garrison's.
+Now, where would you like to go yourself?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father," replied Bert. "I don't want to go to the
+Acadian or National school anyway."
+
+"You need not feel troubled on that score. So far as I can learn, they
+are no better than the one you have been going to. But what do you think
+of Dr. Johnston's school? How would you like to become a pupil there?"
+
+"Oh, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up, with a face expressive of both
+surprise and concern, "I'm not big enough for that school. They're all
+big boys that go there."
+
+"But you're a big boy,--for your age, at all events,--Bert," returned
+Mr. Lloyd, with a reassuring smile, "and you'll soon grow to be as big
+as any of them."
+
+"But, father," objected Bert, "they're awfully rough there, and so hard
+on the new fellows. They always hoist them."
+
+"Hoist them?" inquired Mr. Lloyd. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, they hang them up on the fence, and then pound them. It hurts
+awfully. Robbie Simpson told me about it. They hoisted him the first
+day."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Lloyd. "I must say I don't like that, but at the worst
+I suppose you can survive it, just as the others have done. Is there any
+other reason why you wouldn't like to go to Dr. Johnston's?"
+
+"Well, father, you know he has a dreadful strap, most a yard long, and
+he gives the boys dreadful whippings with it."
+
+"Suppose he has, Bert; does he whip the boys who know their lessons, and
+behave properly in school?" asked Mr. Lloyd, with a quizzical glance at
+his son.
+
+Bert laughed. "Of course not, father," said he. "He only whips the bad
+boys."
+
+"Then why should his long strap be an objection, Bert? You don't propose
+to be one of the bad boys, do you?"
+
+"Of course not, father; but I might get a whipping, all the same."
+
+"We'll hope not, Bert; we'll hope not. And now, look here. Would you
+like it any better going to Dr. Johnston's if Frank were to go with
+you?"
+
+"Oh, yes indeed, father," exclaimed Bert, his face lighting up. "If
+Frank goes too, I won't mind it."
+
+"All right then, Bert; I am glad to say that Frank is going, too. I went
+to see his father to-day, and he agreed to let him go, so I suppose we
+may consider the matter settled, and next Monday you two boys will go
+with me to the school." And Mr. Lloyd, evidently well-pleased at having
+reconciled Bert to the idea of the new school, took up his paper, while
+Bert went over to his mother's side to have a talk with her about it.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd felt all a mother's anxiety regarding this new phase of life
+upon which her boy was about to enter. Dr. Johnston's was the largest
+and most renowned school in the city. It was also in a certain sense the
+most aristocratic. Its master charged high rates, which only well-to-do
+people could afford, and as a consequence the sons of the wealthiest
+citizens attended his school. Because of this, it was what would be
+called select; and just in that very fact lay one of the dangers Mrs.
+Lloyd most dreaded. Rich men's sons may be select from a social point of
+view, but they are apt to be quite the reverse from the moral
+standpoint. Frank Bowser, with all his clumsiness and lack of good
+manners, would be a far safer companion than Dick Wilding, the graceful,
+easy-mannered heir of the prosperous bank president.
+
+On the other hand, the school was undoubtedly the best in the city. A
+long line of masters had handed down from one to the other its fame as a
+home of the classics and mathematics with unimpaired lustre. At no other
+school could such excellent preparation for the university be obtained,
+and Bert in due time was to go to the university. Many a long and
+serious talk had Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd over the matter. True, they had
+great confidence in their boy, and in the principles according to which
+they had sought to bring him up. But then he was their only boy, and if
+their confidence should perchance be found to have been misplaced, how
+could the damage be repaired? Ah! well, they could, after all, only do
+their best, and leave the issue with God. They could not always be
+Bert's shields. He must learn to fight his own battles, and it was as
+well for him to begin now, and at Dr. Johnston's school.
+
+Bert himself took quite a serious view of the matter, too. He was a more
+than ordinarily thoughtful boy, and the prospect of going to Dr.
+Johnston's made his brain very busy. While the school was not without
+its attractions for him, there were many reasons why he shrank from
+going to it. The most of the boys were, as he knew from often seeing
+them when on his way to and from Mr. Garrison's, older and bigger than
+himself, and, still worse, they were strangers to him with one or two
+exceptions. Of course, since Frank was to go with him, he would not mind
+that so much, but it counted for a good deal, notwithstanding.
+
+Then he had heard startling stories of Dr. Johnston's severity; of his
+keeping boys in after school for a whole afternoon; of the tremendous
+whippings he gave with that terrible strap of his, the tails of which
+had, according to popular rumour, been first soaked in vinegar, and then
+studded with small shot; of the rigorous care with which the lessons
+were heard, every boy in the class having to show that he was well
+prepared, or to take the consequences. These, and other stories which
+had reached Bert's ears, now perturbed him greatly.
+
+At the same time, he had no idea of drawing back, and pleading with his
+father to send him somewhere else. He saw clearly enough that both his
+father and mother had quite made up their minds that it would be the
+best thing for him, and he knew better than to trouble them with vain
+protests. He found his sister an inexpressible comfort at this time. He
+confided in her unreservedly, and her sweet, serene, trustful way of
+looking at things cleared away many a difficulty for him. It was easy to
+look at the bright side of affairs with Mary as an adviser, and the more
+Bert talked with her, the more encouraged he became. It was a happy
+coincidence, that on the Sunday preceding Bert's entrance into Dr.
+Johnston's school, the lesson for the Sabbath school should contain
+these ringing words: "Quit you like men; be strong." Mr. Silver had much
+to say about them to his class:
+
+"Only six simple words of one syllable each, boys," said he, as he
+gathered his scholars close about his chair, "but they mean a great
+deal. And yet, we do not need to look into some wise old commentator to
+tell us just what they do mean, for we can all understand them
+ourselves. They are not intended solely for grown-up people, either.
+They are for boys just like you. Now, let us look into them a bit. 'Quit
+you like men.' What kind of men, Bert? Any kind at all, or some
+particular kind?"
+
+"Like good men, of course," replied Bert, promptly.
+
+"Yes, Bert, that's right. And what does it mean to quit yourself like a
+good man?" asked Mr. Silver, again.
+
+"To be always manly, and not be a baby," answered Walter Thomson, with a
+vigour that brought a smile to Mr. Silver's face.
+
+"Right you are, Walter; but is that all?"
+
+"No," said Will Murray, "it means to do only what is right."
+
+"That's it, Will. To be always manly, and to do only what is right. Now,
+boys, do you know that you are very apt to confuse these two things, and
+by forming mistaken notions as to what constitutes the first, you fail
+to do the second? Many boys think that it is manly to swear, to use
+tobacco, to be out late at night hanging round the street corners, and
+so they do all these things, although they are not right things to do.
+Have they the right ideas of manliness, boys?"
+
+"No, sir; no, sir," answered the thoroughly interested class, in full
+chorus.
+
+"No, indeed, boys, they have not," continued Mr. Silver. "There is over
+a hundred times more manliness in refusing to form those bad habits than
+in yielding to them. And that is just the kind of manliness I want all
+the boys of my class to have. 'Quit you like men,' boys, and then, 'be
+strong.' What does that mean?"
+
+"To keep up your muscle," spoke out Frank, much to the surprise of
+everybody, for, although he listened attentively enough, he very rarely
+opened his mouth in the class.
+
+Mr. Silver smiled. It was not just the answer he wanted, but he would
+not discourage Frank by saying so.
+
+"That's part of the answer, but not quite the whole of it," he said,
+after a pause. "It's a good thing for boys to keep up their muscle. God
+wants what is best in this world, and we can often serve Him with our
+muscle as well as with our minds. If Samson and Gideon and David had not
+been men of muscle, they could not have done such grand work for God as
+they did. I like to see a boy with legs and arms 'as hard as nails,' as
+they say. But the words 'be strong' here mean more than that, don't
+they, Bert?"
+
+"They mean to be strong in resisting temptation, don't they, Mr.
+Silver?" replied Bert.
+
+"Yes; that's just it. Quit you like men--be manly, and be strong to
+resist temptation. Now, boys, some people think that young chaps like
+you don't have many temptations. That you have to wait until you grow up
+for that. But it's a tremendous mistake, isn't it? You all have your
+temptations, and lots of them, too. And they are not all alike, by any
+means, either. Every boy has his own peculiar difficulties, and finds
+his own obstacles in the way of right doing. But the cure is the same in
+all cases. It is to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
+might. That is the best way of all in which to be strong, boys. When the
+Philistines were hard pressed by the Israelites, they said one to
+another, 'Be strong and quit yourselves like men ... quit yourselves
+like men, and fight.' And they fought so well that Israel was smitten
+before them, and the ark of God was taken. And so, boys, whenever, at
+home, at school, or at play, you feel tempted to do what is wrong, I ask
+you to remember these words, 'Quit yourselves like men, be strong, and
+fight.' If you do, so sure as there is a God in heaven who loves you
+all, you will come off conquerors."
+
+Mr. Silver's words made a deep impression upon Bert. The great ambition
+of his boyish heart was to be esteemed manly. Nor was he entirely free
+from the mistaken notions about manliness to which his teacher had
+referred. He had more than once been sneered at, by some of the boys at
+Mr. Garrison's, for refusing to do what seemed to him wrong. They had
+called him "Softy," and hinted at his being tied to his mother's
+apron-strings. Then, big, coarse Bob Brandon, always on the look-out to
+vent his spite, had nicknamed him "Sugar-mouth" one day, because he had
+exclaimed to one of the boys who was pouring out oaths:
+
+"Oh, Tom! how can you swear so? Don't you know how wicked it is to take
+God's name in vain?"
+
+These and other incidents like them had troubled Bert a good deal. He
+dreaded being thought a "softy," and had even at times felt a kind of
+envy of the boys whose consciences did not trouble them if they swore,
+or indulged in sly smokes, or defiled their mouths with filthy quids.
+Mr. Silver's words now came in good time to give a changed current to
+these thoughts. They presented to his mind a very different idea of
+manliness from the confused conception which had been his hitherto.
+
+"That's a good motto for a fellow, Shorty," said he, as the two friends
+walked home together from the school. "Mother asked me the other day to
+take a text for a motto. I think I'll take 'Quit you like men, be
+strong.'"
+
+"I think I will, too, Bert," said Frank. "It's no harm if we have the
+same one, is it?"
+
+"Why no, of course not," answered Bert. "We'll both have the same, and
+then we'll help one another all we can to do what it says."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE FIRST DAYS AT DR. JOHNSTON'S.
+
+
+It was a fine, bright September morning when Mr. Lloyd, with Bert on one
+side of him and Frank on the other--for Frank had come down, so that he
+might go with Bert--made his way to Dr. Johnston's school. The school
+occupied a historic old building, whose weather-beaten front faced one
+of the principal streets of the city. This building had in times long
+past been the abode of the governor of the province, and sadly as it had
+degenerated in appearance, it still retained a certain dignity, and air
+of faded grandeur, that strongly suggested its having once been applied
+to a more exalted use than the housing of a hundred boys for certain
+hours of the day. So spacious was it, that Dr. Johnston found ample room
+for his family in one half, while the other half was devoted to the
+purposes of the school. At the rear, a cluster of shabby outbuildings
+led to a long narrow yard where tufts of rank, coarse grass, and bunches
+of burdocks struggled hard to maintain their existence in spite of
+fearful odds.
+
+The boys' hearts were throbbing violently as Mr. Lloyd rang the bell.
+The door was opened readily by a boy, who was glad of the excuse to
+leave his seat, and he entered the schoolroom, followed by his charges.
+The room was long, narrow, and low-ceilinged, and was divided into two
+unequal portions by a great chimney, on either side of which a passage
+had been left. At the farther end, occupying the central space between
+two windows, was the doctor's desk, or throne it might more properly be
+called; for never did autocrat wield more unquestioned authority over
+his subjects than did Dr. Johnston over the hundred and odd scholars who
+composed his school. In front of him, running down the centre of the
+room, and on either hand, following the walls, were long lines of desks,
+at which sat boys of all sorts, and of all ages, from ten to eighteen.
+As Mr. Lloyd entered, those nearest the door looked up, and seeing the
+new-comers, proceeded to stare at them with a frank curiosity that made
+Bert feel as though he would like to hide in one of his father's
+coat-tail pockets.
+
+They turned away pretty quickly, however, when Dr. Johnston, leaving his
+desk, came down to meet Mr. Lloyd, and as he passed between the lines,
+every head was bent as busily over the book or slate before it, as
+though its attention had never been distracted.
+
+Considering that Dr. Johnston was really a small, slight man, it was
+surprising what an idea of stately dignity his appearance conveyed. He
+could hardly have impressed Bert with a deeper feeling of respect from
+the outset, if he had been seven feet high, instead of only a little
+more than five. He was a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, and wore at
+all times a long black gown, reaching nearly to his ankles, which set
+off to the best advantage the spare, straight figure, and strong dark
+face. The habitual expression of that face when in repose was of
+thoughtful severity, and yet if one did but scan it closely enough, the
+stern mouth was seen to have a downward turn at its corners that hinted
+at a vein of humour lying hid somewhere. The hint was well-sustained,
+for underneath all his sternness and severity the doctor concealed a
+playful humour, that at times came to the surface, and gratefully
+relieved his ordinary grimness.
+
+As he walked down from his desk to meet Mr. Lloyd, he looked very
+pleasant indeed; and Bert felt his nervousness a little calmed as,
+holding out his thin, white and yet muscular hand, Dr. Johnston said,
+cordially:
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd. I presume these are the two boys you spoke to
+me about."
+
+"They are, Dr. Johnston," Mr. Lloyd replied. "I brought them in good
+time so that they might learn as much as possible about the ways of the
+school the first day."
+
+"You did well, Mr. Lloyd. It is important to have a good beginning in
+everything that is worth doing," said the doctor; then, turning to
+Bert, he slipped his hand under his chin, and lifting his head so that
+he might look him full in the face, added, with a smile, "I need hardly
+ask which of these boys is yours, for this one betrays his paternity in
+every feature."
+
+"You have hit the mark, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling in his turn.
+"This is my son Cuthbert, at your service, and this is Frank Bowser, his
+inseparable companion."
+
+"Quite a case of Damon and Pythias, eh?" said the doctor, whose devotion
+to the classics was such that his one great regret was that he had not
+lived in the time of Horace.
+
+"Yes, something of the kind," rejoined Mr. Lloyd; "and I would be very
+glad if you could manage to let them sit together so long as they behave
+themselves."
+
+"We'll see, we'll see," was the doctor's non-committal response.
+
+"Very well, then, doctor," said Mr. Lloyd, turning to leave. "I'll hand
+them over to you now. I am sure you will make the best of them, and that
+I am leaving them in very good hands. Good-bye, boys." And then, bending
+down, he whispered in Bert's ear, "Remember--quit you like men--be
+strong," and then left them.
+
+As Mr. Lloyd disappeared through the door, the air of geniality the
+doctor had been wearing during the brief interview vanished from his
+countenance, and it relapsed into its wonted look of resigned severity.
+
+"Lloyd and Bowser, come with me to my desk," said he, turning his back
+upon them, and walking down the room. The boys followed very meekly, and
+on arriving at the desk the doctor entered their names in a huge book
+that lay open before him, using an old-fashioned quill pen that
+scratched so harshly as to send a shudder through Bert, who was very
+sensitive to such things.
+
+"We will now see about seats for you both," continued the doctor. Then,
+raising his voice, he called out, "Mr. Snelling, will you please come
+here," and from the far end of the room a respectful voice responded
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Looking in the direction whence the voice came, Bert saw an odd-looking
+man approaching, who, of course, was Mr. Snelling. He was of medium
+height, but quite as slight as the doctor himself. Many years at the
+schoolmaster's desk had given a stoop to his shoulders and a pallor to
+his face, that were in marked contrast to his chief's erect figure and
+swarthy countenance. But if his face was pale, his hair made a brave
+attempt to atone for this lack of colour, for it was the richest, most
+uncompromising red; and as though he delighted in its warm tints, Mr.
+Snelling allowed it to grow in uncropped abundance, and his favourite
+gesture was to thrust his fingers through its tangled mass. Beneath a
+white and narrow forehead were two small sharp eyes, that peered out
+keenly through a pair of gold-bowed spectacles, and were ever on the
+watch to detect the slightest misbehaviour among the urchins gathered
+around him.
+
+Bert's first impression of Mr. Snelling was not a favourable one, and as
+he stood by and heard Dr. Johnston say: "Mr. Snelling, here are two more
+pupils. This is Lloyd, and this is Bowser. They will go into your room
+for the present. Will you please see that desks are assigned them?"--he
+thought to himself that in spite of the doctor's grim appearance he
+would rather stay in his room than be handed over to Mr. Snelling.
+
+However, he was not to be consulted in the matter, so he followed in the
+wake of Mr. Snelling, who, by the way, it should be explained, was the
+assistant master, having special charge of all the younger scholars, and
+the drilling of them in the English branches of learning. The classics
+and mathematics the doctor reserved for himself, and a better teacher of
+the former particularly there was not in all Halifax.
+
+Mr. Snelling's portion of the room differed from the doctor's only in
+that it was not so well lighted and the seats were not quite so
+comfortable. The school being pretty full at the time, the securing of
+seats for the two new-comers required some rearranging, in the course of
+which changes had to be made that evidently did not by any means meet
+with the approbation of those who were immediately concerned; and
+Bert's spirits, already at a low ebb, were not much elevated by sundry
+scowling looks directed at him, and by one red-faced, irritable-looking
+chap seizing the opportunity when Mr. Snelling's back was turned to
+shake his fist at Bert and Frank, and mutter loudly enough for them to
+hear:
+
+"I'll punch the heads of you both at recess, see if I don't."
+
+At length, with some little difficulty, Mr. Snelling got matters
+arranged, and the two boys were placed in the farthest corner of the
+room, and, to their profound delight, side by side. Their accommodations
+were the reverse of luxurious. A wooden bench, destitute of back, and
+shiny from the friction of dear knows how many restless sitters; a
+sloping desk, cut and carved by careless knives, and having underneath
+an open shelf upon which the books, slate, cap, and lunch might be
+put--that was the sum total. Yet, after all, what more do schoolboys
+really need, or can be safely intrusted with?
+
+Feeling very strange and nervous, Bert and Frank took their seats, and
+slipping their caps under the desk--they were both wearing that
+serviceable form of headgear known as the Glengarry--they did their best
+to seem composed, and to take in their surroundings. The gaunt, unlovely
+room was soon inspected, and from it they turned their attention to its
+occupants. Mr. Snelling has already been described. To the left of his
+desk, and extending row upon row, one behind the other, were desks
+filled with boys of different ages and sizes. In front of him was an
+open space, in which the classes stood when reciting lessons to him, and
+across this space was another line of desks placed close to the wall,
+which were assigned to the oldest boys in the room.
+
+Not a familiar or friendly face could the new-comers find, but instead,
+they saw many that seemed to take pleasure in making them feel, if
+possible, still more ill at ease, by fixing upon them a cold,
+indifferent stare, or even an ugly grimace. The only ray of light was
+that which came from the sweet countenance of a blue-eyed, fair-haired
+boy, who, catching Bert's eye, nodded pleasantly at him, as though to
+say, "I'm glad you've come; make yourself at home." And Bert resolved
+that he would make his acquaintance at the very first opportunity.
+
+Having nothing to do but watch the other boys as they studied and
+recited, the morning dragged along very slowly for Bert and Frank, and
+they were immensely relieved when the noon recess was announced, and the
+whole school poured tumultuously out into either the yard or the street,
+according to their preference. The majority of the boys went into the
+street, and the two friends followed them, feeling not a little anxious
+as to what sort of treatment they might expect at the hands of their new
+companions. As it proved, however, they had nothing to fear, for it was
+an unwritten law of the Johnston school, that new boys should be left
+in peace for the first day; and accordingly Frank and Bert were
+permitted to stand about and watch the others enjoying themselves
+without interruption. No one asked them to join in the games, although,
+no doubt, had they done so of their own accord, no one would have
+objected. After they had been there a few minutes, Bert heard a soft
+voice behind him saying:
+
+"It's horrid to be a new boy, isn't it? When I was a new boy I felt so
+frightened. Do you feel frightened?" And turning round he saw beside him
+the blue-eyed, fair-haired boy whose pleasant face had attracted his
+attention in the school.
+
+"I don't think I feel just frightened," he answered, with a smile. "But
+I can't say I feel very much at home yet."
+
+"Oh, my! But it will be very much worse to-morrow," said the new
+acquaintance.
+
+"And why will it be worse?" inquired Bert, eagerly.
+
+"Because they'll hoist you," said the other, with a nervous glance
+around, as though he feared being overheard.
+
+"Does it hurt dreadfully to be hoisted?" asked Bert, while Frank drew
+near, awaiting the reply with intense interest.
+
+"Oh, yes; it does hurt dreadfully! But"--with a more cheerful air--"you
+get over it after a little while, you know."
+
+"Well, then, I guess I can stand it. If you got over it all right, so
+can I," spoke up Bert, manfully; then, turning to Frank, "And you can,
+too, can't you, Shorty?"
+
+Frank shook his head doubtfully. "I _can_ all right enough, but I don't
+know that I _will_. I've a mind to give them a fight for it, anyhow."
+
+"Not a bit of use," said the blue-eyed boy, whose name, by the way, as
+he presently told the others, was Ernest Linton. "Not a bit of use.
+They'll only beat you the harder if you fight."
+
+"We'll see," said Frank, with a determined air. "We'll see when the time
+comes."
+
+Bert and Frank found Ernest a very bright and useful friend, and they
+had so many questions to ask him that they were very sorry when the
+ringing of a bell summoned them back to their seats, where they were
+kept until three o'clock in the afternoon, when school was over for the
+day.
+
+At home that evening Bert recounted his experiences to three very
+attentive listeners, and his face grew very grave when he came to tell
+what Ernest had said about the "hoisting." Having never witnessed a
+performance of this peculiar rite by which for many years it had been
+the custom of the school to initiate new members, Bert had no very clear
+ideas about it, and, of course, thought it all the more dreadful on that
+account. But his father cheered him a great deal by the view he took of
+it.
+
+"See, now, Bert," said he. "It's just this way. Every boy in Dr.
+Johnston's school has been hoisted, and none of them, I suppose, are any
+the worse for it. Neither will you be. Take my advice and don't resist.
+Let the boys have it all their own way, and they'll like you all the
+better, and let you off all the easier."
+
+"Very well, father, I'll do just as you say," responded Bert. "And when
+I come home to-morrow afternoon I'll tell you all about it." And feeling
+in much better spirits than he had been in all day, Bert went off to
+bed, and to sleep, as only a tired schoolboy in sturdy health can
+sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE HOISTING.
+
+
+Mrs. Lloyd gave Bert a more than usually affectionate kiss as he started
+off for school next morning, and his father called after him:
+
+"Remember, Bert, quit you like a man."
+
+Yet who could blame the little fellow if his heart throbbed with
+unwonted vigour all that morning, and that he watched the clock's hands
+anxiously as they crept slowly, but steadily, round the dial, yellow
+with age and service.
+
+Frank had adopted an unconcerned, if not defiant air, which told plainly
+enough that he had no idea of submitting quietly to the inevitable
+ordeal. He was a born fighter. Strength, endurance, courage were
+expressed in every line of his body. Indeed, as was seen in the matter
+of the rows between the Garrison and the National boys, he thought a
+good lively tussle to be fine fun, and never missed a chance of having
+one.
+
+The two boys were carefully examined by both Dr. Johnston and Mr.
+Snelling as to the extent of their learning in the course of the
+morning, and assigned to classes accordingly. They were given the same
+work: English grammar and history, arithmetic, geography, Latin grammar,
+&c., and a list given them of the books they would need to procure. They
+were glad to find themselves in the same classes with Ernest Linton, who
+had been only half-a-year at the school before them, for he seemed such
+a kind, willing, obliging little chap that they both became fond of him
+at once.
+
+When recess came he slipped up to Bert and whispered in his ear:
+
+"Stay in school, and then they can't get at you. Mr. Snelling always
+stays, and they daren't come in for you."
+
+"Not a bit of it," said Bert, emphatically. "The sooner it's over the
+better. Come along, Shorty." And they marched bravely out, with Ernest
+following closely behind.
+
+As they stepped into the street, they found fifty or more of the boys
+gathered about the door, evidently awaiting them. Instantly the cry was
+raised, "The new boys--hoist them! hoist them!" And half-a-dozen hands
+were laid upon Bert, who led the van, while others seized Frank to
+prevent his running away. Bert made no resistance. Neither did Frank,
+when he saw that his time had not yet come, as they were going to hoist
+Bert first. Clinching his fists, and hunching his shoulders in readiness
+for a struggle, he stood in silence watching Bert's fate.
+
+What that would be was not long a matter of uncertainty. In the midst of
+a noisy rabble of boys, many of whom were larger, and all older than
+himself, he was borne along to the foot of the high fence that shut in
+the yard which, as already described, was at the back of the school
+building. Perched on top of this fence, and leaning down with
+outstretched arms, were four of the largest lads, shouting at the top of
+their voices, "Bring him along; hoist him up, hoist him!" The
+unresisting Bert was brought underneath this quartette, and then his
+hands were lifted up until they could grasp them in their own. So soon
+as this was done, a pull all together on their part hoisted him up from
+the ground, three feet at least, and then his legs were seized, lest he
+should be tempted to kick. The next moment, as perfectly helpless, and
+looking not unlike a hawk nailed to a barn-door by way of warning to
+kindred robbers, Bert hung there, doing his best to keep a smile on his
+face, but in reality half frightened to death. The whole crowd then
+precipitated themselves upon him, and with tight-shut fists proceeded to
+pummel any part of his body they could reach. Their blows were dealt in
+good earnest, and not merely for fun, and they hurt just as much as one
+might expect. Poor Bert winced, and quivered, and squirmed, but not a
+cry escaped from his close-set lips. The one thought in his mind was,
+"Quit you like men," and so buoyed up by it was he, that had the blows
+been as hard again as they were, it is doubtful if his resolution to
+bear them in silence would have faltered.
+
+He did not know how long he hung there. It seemed to him like hours. It
+probably was not longer than a minute. But, oh! the glad relief with
+which he heard one of the leaders call out:
+
+"That's enough, fellows; let him down. He stood it like a brick."
+
+The blows ceased at once; those holding his hands swung him a couple of
+times along the fence after the manner of a pendulum, and then dropped
+him to the ground, where he was surrounded by his late persecutors, who
+now, looking pleasant enough, proceeded to clap him on the back, and
+tell him very emphatically that he was "a plucky little chap"; "one of
+the right sort"; "true grit," and so forth.
+
+Feeling sore and strained, from his neck to his heels, Bert would have
+been glad to slip away into some corner and have a good cry, just to
+relieve his suppressed emotions; but as he tried to separate himself
+from the throng about him, he heard the shout of "Hoist him! Hoist him!"
+again raised, and saw the leaders in this strange sport bear down upon
+Frank Bowser, who, still in the hands of his first captors had looked on
+at Bert's ordeal with rapidly rising anger.
+
+The instant Frank heard the shout, he broke loose from those who held
+him, and springing up a flight of steps near by, stood facing his
+pursuers with an expression upon his countenance that looked ill for the
+first that should attempt to touch him. A little daunted by his
+unexpected action, the boys paused for a moment, and then swarmed about
+the steps. One of the largest rushed forward to seize Frank, but with a
+quick movement the latter dodged him, and then by a sudden charge sent
+him tumbling down the steps into the arms of the others. But the
+advantage was only momentary. In another minute he was surrounded and
+borne down the steps despite his resistance.
+
+The struggle that ensued was really heroic--on Frank's part, at all
+events. Although so absurdly outnumbered, he fought desperately, not
+with blows, but with sheer strength of arm and leg, straining to the
+utmost every muscle in his sturdy frame. Indeed, so tremendous were his
+efforts, that for a time it seemed as if they would succeed in freeing
+him. But the might of numbers prevailed at length, and, after some
+minutes' further struggling, he was hoisted in due form, and pounded
+until the boys were fairly weary.
+
+When they let him go, Frank adjusted his clothes, which had been much
+disordered in the conflict, took his cap from the hands of a little
+chap, by whom it had thoughtfully been picked up for him, and with
+furious flaming face went over to Bert, who had been a spectator of his
+friend's gallant struggle with mingled feelings of admiration for his
+courage and regret at his obstinacy.
+
+"They beat me, but I made them sweat for it," said he. "I wasn't going
+to let them have their own way with me, even if you did."
+
+"You might just as well have given in first as last," replied Bert.
+
+"But I didn't give in," asserted Frank. "That's just the point. They
+were too many for me, of course, and I couldn't help myself at last, but
+I held out as long as I could."
+
+"Anyway, it's over now," said Bert, "and it won't bother us any more.
+But there's one thing I've made up my mind to: I'm not going to have
+anything to do with hoisting other new boys. I don't like it, and I
+won't do it."
+
+"No more will I, Bert," said Frank. "It's a mean business; a whole crowd
+of fellows turning on one and beating him like that."
+
+Just then the bell rang, and all the boys poured back into the
+schoolroom for the afternoon session.
+
+Each in his own way, Bert and Frank had made a decidedly favourable
+impression upon their schoolmates. No one mistook Bert's passive
+endurance for cowardice. His bearing had been too brave and bright for
+that. Neither did Frank's vigorous resistance arouse any ill-feeling
+against him. Boys are odd creatures. They heartily admire and applaud
+the fiery, reckless fellow, who takes no thought for the consequences,
+and yet they thoroughly appreciate the quiet, cool self-command of the
+one who does not move until he knows just what he is going to do. And so
+they were well pleased with both the friends, and quite ready to admit
+them into the full fellowship of the school.
+
+The Lloyds were greatly interested by Bert's account of the hoisting.
+They praised him for his self-control, and Frank for his plucky fight
+against such odds, and they fully agreed with Bert that hoisting was a
+poor business at best, and that he would be doing right to have nothing
+to do with it.
+
+"Perhaps some day or other you'll be able to have it put a stop to,
+Bert," said his mother, patting his head fondly. "It would make me very
+proud if my boy were to become a reformer before he leaves school."
+
+"I'm afraid there's not much chance of that, mother," answered Bert.
+"The boys have been hoisting the new chaps for ever so many years, and
+Dr. Johnston has never stopped them."
+
+That was true. Although he feigned to know nothing about it, the doctor
+was well aware of the existence of this practice peculiar to his school,
+but he never thought of interfering with the boys. It was a cardinal
+principle with him that the boys should be left pretty much to
+themselves at recess. So long as they did their duty during the school
+hours, they could do as they pleased during the play hour. Moreover, he
+was a great admirer of manliness in his boys. He would have been glad to
+find in everyone of them the stoical indifference to pain of the
+traditional Indian. Consequently, fair stand-up fights were winked at,
+and anything like tattling or tale-bearing sternly discouraged. He had
+an original method of expressing his disapprobation of the latter, which
+will be illustrated further on. Holding those views, therefore, he was
+not likely to put his veto upon "hoisting."
+
+As the days went by, Bert rapidly mastered the ways of the school, and
+made many friends among his schoolmates. He found the lessons a good
+deal harder than they had been at Mr. Garrison's. And not only so, but
+the method of hearing them was so thorough that it was next to
+impossible for a boy who had come ill-prepared to escape detection. Dr.
+Johnston did not simply hear the lesson; he examined his scholars upon
+it, and nothing short of full acquaintance with it would content him. He
+had an original system of keeping the school record, which puzzled Bert
+very much, and took him a good while to understand.
+
+On the doctor's desk lay a large book, something like a business ledger.
+One page was devoted to each day. At the left side of the page was the
+column containing the boys' names, arranged in order of seniority, the
+boy who had been longest in the school being at the head, and the last
+new boy at the foot. Each boy had a line to himself, running out to the
+end of the page, and these parallel lines were crossed by vertical ones,
+ruled from the top to the bottom of the page, and having at the top the
+names of all the different classes; so that the page when ready for its
+entries resembled very much a checker board, only that the squares were
+very small, and exceedingly numerous. Just how these squares, thus
+standing opposite each name, should be filled, depended upon the
+behaviour of the owner of that name, and his knowledge of his lessons.
+
+If Bert, for instance, recited his grammar lesson without a slip, the
+letter B--standing for _bene_, well--was put in the grammar column. If
+he made one mistake, the entry was V B, _vix bene_--scarcely well; if
+two mistakes, Med, _mediocriter_--middling; and if three, M,
+_male_--badly, equivalent to not knowing it at all. The same system
+prevailed for all the lessons, and in a modified form for the behaviour
+or deportment also. As regards behaviour, the arrangement was one bad
+mark for each offence, the first constituting a V B, the second a Med,
+the third an M, and the fourth a P, the most ominous letter of all,
+standing, as it did, for _pessime_--as bad as possible--and one might
+also say for punishment also; as whoever got a P thereby earned a
+whipping with that long strap, concerning which Bert had heard such
+alarming stories.
+
+It will be seen that, by following out the line upon which each boy's
+name stood, his complete record as a scholar could be seen, and upon
+this record the doctor based the award of prizes at the close of the
+term. For he was a firm believer in the benefits of prize-giving, and
+every half-year, on the day before the holidays, a bookcase full of fine
+books, each duly inscribed, was distributed among those who had come out
+at the head in the different classes, or distinguished themselves by
+constant good behaviour.
+
+Once that Bert fully understood the purpose of this daily record, and
+the principle upon which the prize-giving was based, he determined to be
+among the prize winners at the end of the term. His ambition was fired
+by what the older boys told him of the beautiful books awarded, and the
+honour it was to get one of them. He knew that he could not please his
+father or mother better than by being on the prize list, and so he
+applied himself to his lessons with a vigour and fidelity that soon
+brought him to the notice of the observant doctor.
+
+"I am glad to see you taking so much interest in your work," said he one
+morning, pausing, in his round of inspection, to lay his hand kindly
+upon Bert's shoulder as the latter bent over his slate, working out a
+problem in proportion. "A good beginning is a very important thing."
+
+Bert blushed to the roots of his hair at this unexpected and, indeed,
+unusual compliment from the grim master, who, before the boy could
+frame any reply, passed out of hearing.
+
+"We'll do our best, won't we, Shorty?" said Bert, turning to his friend
+beside him.
+
+"I suppose so," answered Frank, in rather a doubtful tone. "But your
+best will be a good deal better than mine. The lessons are just awful
+hard; it's no use talking."
+
+"They are hard, Shorty, and no mistake. But you'll get used to them all
+right," rejoined Bert, cheerfully.
+
+"I guess I'll get used to being kept in and getting whipped, first,"
+grumbled Frank.
+
+"Not a bit of it," Bert insisted. "You just stick at them and you'll
+come out all right."
+
+The fact of the matter was, that poor Frank did find the lessons a
+little more than he could manage, and there were a good many more "V
+B's" and "Med's" opposite his name than "B's." He was a restless sort of
+a chap, moreover, and noisy in his movements, thus often causing Mr.
+Snelling to look at him, and call out sharply:
+
+"Bowser, what are you doing there?" And Frank would instantly reply, in
+a tone of indignant innocence:
+
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+Whereupon Mr. Snelling would turn to Dr. Johnston, with the request:
+
+"Will you please put a mark to Bowser for doing nothing, sir?" And down
+would go the black mark against poor Bowser, who, often as this
+happened, seemed unable ever to learn to avoid that fatal reply:
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+SCHOOL EXPERIENCES.
+
+
+By the time autumn had made way for winter, Bert felt thoroughly at home
+at Dr. Johnston's, and was just about as happy a boy as attended this
+renowned institution. In spite of the profound awe the doctor inspired,
+he ventured to cherish toward him a feeling of love as well as of
+respect; and although Mr. Snelling did not exactly inspire awe, nor even
+much respect, he managed to like him not a little also. As for the
+boys--well, there were all sorts and conditions of them; good, bad, and
+indifferent; boys who thought it very fine and manly to smoke, and
+swear, and swap improper stories, and boys who seemed as if they would
+have been more appropriately dressed in girls' clothes, so lacking were
+they in true manly qualities; while between these two extremes came in
+the great majority, among whom Bert easily found plenty of bright,
+wholesome companions.
+
+There were some odd chaps at the school, with whose peculiarities Bert
+would amuse the home circle very much, as he described them in his own
+graphic way. There was Bob Mackasey, called by his companions, "Taffy
+the Welshman," because he applied the money given him by his mother
+every morning to get some lunch with, to the purchase of taffy; which
+toothsome product he easily bartered off for more sandwiches and cakes
+than could have been bought for ten cents, thus filling his own stomach
+at a very slight cost to his far-seeing mother.
+
+A big fat fellow in knickerbockers, by name Harry Rawdon, the son of an
+officer in the English army, had attained a peculiar kind of notoriety
+in the school, by catching flies and bottling them.
+
+Then there was Larry Saunders, the dandy of the school, although
+undoubtedly one of the very plainest boys in it, who kept a tiny square
+of looking-glass in his desk, and would carefully arrange his toilet
+before leaving the school in the afternoon, to saunter up and down the
+principal street of the city, doing his best to be captivating.
+
+Two hot-tempered, pugnacious chaps, by name Bob Morley and Fred Short,
+afforded great amusement by the ease with which they could be set at
+punching one another. It was only necessary for some one to take Bob
+Morley aside and whisper meaningly that Fred Short had been calling him
+names behind his back, or something of that sort equally aggravating, to
+put him in fighting humour. Forthwith, he would challenge Master Fred in
+the orthodox way--that is, he would take up a chip, spit on it, and toss
+it over his shoulder. Without a moment's hesitation, Fred would accept
+the challenge, and then the two would be at it, hammer and tongs,
+fighting vigorously until they were separated by the originators of the
+mischief, when they thought they had had enough of it. They were very
+evenly matched, and as a matter of fact did not do one another much
+harm; but the joke of the thing was that they never seemed to suspect
+how they were being made tools of by the other boys, who always enjoyed
+these duels immensely.
+
+Another character, and a very lovable one this time, was a nephew of the
+doctor's, Will Johnston by name, but universally called "Teter," an odd
+nickname, the reason of which he did not seem to understand himself.
+This Teter was one of those good-natured, obliging, reckless,
+happy-go-lucky individuals who never fail to win the love of boys. His
+generosity was equalled only by his improvidence, and both were
+surpassed by his good luck.
+
+Bert conceived a great admiration for Teter Johnston. His undaunted
+courage, as exhibited in snowball fights, when, with only a handful of
+followers he would charge upon the rest of the school, and generally put
+them to flight; his reckless enterprise and amazing luck at marbles and
+other games; his constant championing of the small boys when tormented
+by the larger ones, more than one bully having had a tremendous
+thrashing at his hands;--these were very shining qualities in Bert's
+eyes, and they fascinated him so, that if "fagging" had been permitted
+at Dr. Johnston's, Bert would have deemed it not a hardship, but an
+honour, to have been Teter's "fag."
+
+In strong contrast to his admiration for Teter Johnston was his
+antipathy to Rod Graham. Rod was both a sneak and a bully. It was in his
+character as a sneak that he showed himself to Bert first, making
+profuse demonstrations of goodwill, and doing his best to ingratiate
+himself with him, because from his well-to-do appearance he judged that
+he would be a good subject from whom to beg lunch, or borrow marbles,
+and so on. But Bert instinctively disliked Rod, and avoided him to the
+best of his ability. Then Rod revealed the other side of his nature.
+From a sneak he turned into a bully, and lost no opportunity of teasing
+and tormenting Bert, who, being much smaller than he, felt compelled to
+submit, although there were times when he was driven almost to
+desperation. It was not so much by open violence as by underhanded
+trickery that Rod vented his spite, and this made it all the harder for
+Bert, who, although he was never in any doubt as to the identity of the
+person that stole his lunch, poured ink over his copy-book, scratched
+his slate with a bit of jagged glass, tore the tails off his glengarry,
+and filled the pockets of his overcoat with snow, still saw no way of
+putting a stop to this tormenting other than by thrashing Rod, and this
+he did not feel equal to doing. Upon this last point, however, he
+changed his mind subsequently, thanks to the influence of his friend
+Teter Johnston, and the result was altogether satisfactory as will be
+shown in due time.
+
+Bert's feelings toward Dr. Johnston himself were, as has been already
+stated, of a mixed nature. At first, he was simply afraid of him, but
+little by little a gentler feeling crept into his heart. Yet, there was
+no doubt, the doctor was far more likely to inspire fear than love. He
+wielded his authority with an impartial, unsparing hand. No allowance
+was ever made for hesitancy or nervousness on the part of the scholar
+when reciting his lesson, nor for ebullitions of boyish spirits when
+sitting at the desk. "Everything must be done correctly, and in order,"
+was the motto of his rule. The whippings he administered were about as
+impressive a mode of school punishment as could be desired. The unhappy
+boy who had behaved so ill, or missed so many lessons as to deserve one,
+heard the awful words, "Stand upon the floor for punishment," uttered in
+the doctor's sternest tones. Trembling in every limb, and feeling cold
+shivers running up and down his back, while his face flushed fiery red,
+or paled to ashy white by turns, the culprit would reluctantly leave his
+seat, and take his stand in the centre aisle, with the eyes of the whole
+school upon him variously expressing pity, compassion, or perhaps
+unsympathetic ridicule.
+
+After he had stood there some time, for be it known this exposure was
+an essential part of the punishment, he would see the doctor slowly rise
+from his seat, draw forth from its hiding-place the long black strap
+that had for so many years been his sceptre, and then come down toward
+him with slow, stately steps. Stopping just in front of him, the order
+would be issued: "Hold out your hand." Quivering with apprehension, the
+boy would extend his hand but half way, keeping his elbow fast at his
+side. But the doctor would not be thus partially obeyed. "Hold _out_
+your hand, sir!" he would thunder; and out would go the arm to its
+fullest length, and with a sharp swish through the air, down would come
+the strap, covering the hand from the wrist to finger tip, and sending a
+thrill of agony through every nerve in the body. Ten, twenty, thirty, or
+in extreme cases, even forty such stripes would be administered, some
+boys taking them as fast as the doctor could strike, so that the torture
+might soon be over, and others pausing between each blow, to rub their
+stinging palms together, and bedew them with their tears.
+
+It was a terrible ordeal, no doubt, and one that would hardly be
+approved of to-day, the publicity uniting with the severity to make it a
+cruel strain upon a boy's nervous system. In all the years that Bert
+spent at Dr. Johnston's school he was called upon to endure it only
+once, but that once sufficed. The way it came about was this:
+
+Bert one morning happened to be in a more than usually frolicsome mood,
+and was making pellets out of the soft part of the rolls he had brought
+for lunch, and throwing them about. In trying to hit a boy who sat
+between him and Mr. Snelling's desk, he somehow or other miscalculated
+his aim, and to his horror, the sticky pellet flew straight at the bald
+spot on top of Mr. Snelling's head, as the latter bent his shortsighted
+eyes over a book before him, hitting it in the centre, and staying there
+in token of its success.
+
+With angry face, Mr. Snelling sprang to his feet, and brushing the
+unlucky pellet from his shiny pate, called out so fiercely as to attract
+the doctor's attention:
+
+"Who threw that at me?"
+
+The few boys who were in the secret looked very hard at their books,
+while those who were not glanced up in surprise, and tried to discover
+the cause of Mr. Snelling's excitement.
+
+"Who threw that at me?" demanded Mr. Snelling, again.
+
+Bert, who had at first been so appalled by what he had done that his
+tongue refused to act, was about to call out "It was I, sir," when Rod
+Graham was seen to hold up his hand, and on Mr. Snelling turning
+inquiringly toward him, Rod, in a low, sneaking voice, said:
+
+"It was Lloyd, sir; I saw him do it."
+
+Mr. Snelling immediately called out, "Lloyd, come to my desk;" and
+Bert, feeling hot and cold by turns, went up to the desk, and stood
+before it, the picture of penitence.
+
+"Did you throw that pellet?" asked Mr. Snelling, in indignant tones.
+
+"Yes, sir; but I didn't mean to hit you, sir," answered Bert, meekly.
+
+"I know nothing about that," answered Mr. Snelling, too much excited to
+listen to any defence. "Follow me to Dr. Johnston."
+
+Hastening into the presence of the stern headmaster, Mr. Snelling stated
+what had happened, and pointed to the trembling Bert as the culprit.
+
+"How do you know he is the offender, Mr. Snelling?" inquired the doctor,
+gravely.
+
+"Graham said he saw him do it, sir, and Lloyd confesses it himself,"
+replied Mr. Snelling.
+
+"Oh! indeed--that is sufficient. Leave Lloyd with me." And thus
+dismissed, Mr. Snelling returned to his desk.
+
+"Lloyd, I am sorry about this. You must stand upon the floor for
+punishment," said the doctor, turning to Bert; and Bert, chilled to the
+heart, took his place upon the spot where he had so often pitied other
+boys for being.
+
+Presently, drawing out his strap, the doctor came toward him:
+
+"Hold out your hand, sir."
+
+Bert promptly extended his right hand to the full. Swish! and down came
+the cruel strap upon it, inflicting a burning smart, as though it were a
+red-hot iron, and sending a thrill of agony through every nerve. Swish!
+And the left hand was set on fire. Swish! Swish! right and left; right
+and left, until twenty stripes had been administered; and then, turning
+on his heel, the doctor walked solemnly back to his desk.
+
+During all this torture not a sound had escaped Bert. He felt that the
+doctor could not do otherwise than punish him, and he determined to bear
+the punishment bravely; so closing his lips tightly, and summoning all
+his resolution, he held out one hand after the other, taking the blows
+as fast as the doctor could give them. But when the ordeal was over he
+hurried to his seat, and burying his head in his burning hands, burst
+into a passion of tears--for he could control himself no longer.
+
+A few minutes later his attention was aroused by hearing the doctor call
+out, in a loud, stern voice:
+
+"Graham, come forward."
+
+Graham got out of his seat, and in a half-frightened way, slunk up to
+the doctor's desk.
+
+"I understand, Graham," said the doctor, with his grimmest expression,
+"that you volunteered to tell Mr. Snelling who it was that threw that
+pellet. You know, or ought to know, the rule of this school as to
+informers. You will receive the same punishment that I have just given
+Lloyd. Stand upon the floor."
+
+Completely taken aback at this unexpected turn in affairs, Rod Graham
+mechanically took up his position, looking the very picture of abject
+misery. The doctor kept him there for full half-an-hour, and then
+administered twenty stripes, with an unction that showed, clearly
+enough, his profound contempt for that most contemptible of beings, an
+informer.
+
+Now, Bert was not an angel, but simply a boy--a very good boy, in many
+respects, no doubt, but a boy, notwithstanding. It would, therefore, be
+doing him an injustice to deny that he took a certain delight in seeing
+his tormentor receive so sound a whipping, and that it brought, at
+least, a temporary balm to his own wounded feelings. But the wound was
+altogether too deep to be cured by this, or by Frank Bowser's heartfelt
+sympathy, or even by the praise of his schoolmates, many of whom came up
+to him at recess and told him he was "a brick," "a daisy," and so forth,
+because he had taken a whipping without crying.
+
+All this could not hide from him what he felt to be the disgrace of the
+thing. So ashamed was he of himself that he could hardly find courage to
+tell them about it at home; and although, easily appreciating the whole
+situation, Mr. Lloyd had only words of cheer for him, and none of
+condemnation, Bert still took it so much to heart that the following
+Sunday he pleaded hard to be allowed to remain away from the Sunday
+school, as he did not want to face Mr. Silver and his classmates so
+soon. But his father wisely would not suffer this, and so, much against
+his will, he went to school as usual, where, however, he felt very ill
+at ease until the session was over, when he had a long talk with Mr.
+Silver, and told him the whole story.
+
+This relieved his mind very much. He felt as if he were square with the
+world again, and he went back to Dr. Johnston's far lighter in heart on
+Monday morning than he had left it on Friday afternoon. He had learned a
+lesson, too, that needed no reteaching throughout the remainder of his
+school days. That was the first and last time Bert Lloyd stood upon the
+floor for punishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+VICTORY AND DEFEAT.
+
+
+As may be easily imagined, Dr. Johnston's severe punishment of Rod
+Graham for having taken upon himself the part of an informer did not
+tend to make that young gentleman any more pleasant in his bearing
+toward Bert. By some process of reasoning, intelligible only to himself,
+he held Bert accountable for the whipping he had received, and lost no
+opportunity of wreaking his vengeance upon him. Every now and then
+during that winter Bert had bitter proof of his enemy's unrelenting
+hate. It seemed as though there were no limit to Rod's ingenuity in
+devising ways of annoying him, and many a hot tear did he succeed in
+wringing from him.
+
+As spring drew near, this persecution grew more and more intolerable,
+and, without Bert himself being fully conscious of it, a crisis was
+inevitable. This crisis came sooner, perhaps, than either Bert or Rod
+anticipated. One bright spring morning, as Bert, with satchel strapped
+upon his back, approached the school, feeling in high spirits, and
+looking the very picture of a sturdy schoolboy, Rod, who had been in
+hiding behind a porch, sprang out upon him suddenly, snatched the cap
+off his head, and, with a shout of, "Fetch it, doggy; go, fetch it,"
+flung it into the middle of the street, that was now little better than
+a river of mud.
+
+This proved to be the last straw upon the back of Bert's endurance, and
+it broke it. With a quickness that gave his tormentor no chance to dodge
+or defend himself, he doubled up his fist, shut his eyes tight, and,
+rushing at him, struck out with all his might. The blow could hardly
+have been more effective if Bert had been an expert in boxing, for his
+fist landed full on Rod's left eye, sending him staggering backward
+several paces, with his hands clapped over the injured optic. But he
+soon recovered himself, and, with clenched fists, was rushing upon Bert,
+to pummel him fiercely, when Teter Johnston, who had just come up,
+sprang in between, and, catching Rod's uplifted arm, cried out, sternly:
+
+"Stop, now! none of that! This must be a fair fight, and you shan't
+begin until Lloyd is ready."
+
+Then turning to Bert, while Rod, who had too much respect for Teter's
+prowess not to obey him, gave way with a malignant scowl, Teter said,
+encouragingly:
+
+"You must fight him, Bert. It's the only way to settle him. You'll
+thrash him all right enough. I'll see you through."
+
+Bert had a good many doubts about his thrashing "him all right enough,"
+but he was still too angry to think calmly, and, moreover, he was not a
+little elated at the surprising success of his first blow, which,
+although struck at a venture, had gone so straight to the mark, and so
+he nodded his head in assent.
+
+"Very well, then, it's a fight," said Teter to Rod. "In the yard at the
+noon recess. You bring your second, Graham; I'll look after Bert
+myself."
+
+The words were hardly uttered when the bell rung, and the boys had all
+to hurry to their places in the schoolroom.
+
+That morning was one of the most miserable poor Bert had ever spent. He
+was a prey to the most diverse feelings, and it was with the utmost
+difficulty that he could bring his mind to bear sufficiently upon his
+lessons to keep his place in the classes. In the first place, he really
+dreaded the fight with Rod Graham. Graham was older, taller, and much
+more experienced in such affairs, and Bert could see no reason why he
+should hope for a victory over him. It was all well enough for dear old
+Frank to say from time to time, as he noticed Bert's depression:
+
+"Keep up your spirit, Bert; you'll thrash him sure. And if you don't, I
+will, as sure as I'm alive."
+
+But that did not make the matter any clearer, for Bert would rather not
+get a thrashing at Rod's hands, even though Rod should get one at
+Frank's hands shortly after.
+
+Then, again, he did not feel at all certain that his father and mother
+would approve of his having a fight with one of his schoolmates. They
+disliked anything of the kind, he knew well enough, and perhaps they
+would not be willing to make an exception in this case. He wished very
+much he could ask their permission, but that, of course, was out of the
+question. The mere mention of such a thing would assuredly raise a howl
+of derision from the other boys, and even Teter Johnston would no doubt
+ask contemptuously if "he was going to back out of it in that way."
+
+No, no; he must take the chances of his parents' approval, and
+likewise--and here came in the third difficulty--of Dr. Johnston's also,
+for he could not help wondering what the doctor would think when he
+heard of it, as he was certain to do.
+
+Thus perplexed and bewildered, the morning dragged slowly along for
+Bert, who would one moment be wishing that recess time could be
+postponed indefinitely, and the next, impatient for its arrival.
+
+At length twelve o'clock struck, and the boys, who were by this time all
+fully aware of what was in the wind, crowded out into the yard and
+quickly formed a ring in the corner farthest away from the schoolroom.
+Into this ring presently stepped Rod Graham, looking very jaunty and
+defiant, supported by Harry Rawdon, the fly catcher, the one friend he
+had in the school. A moment later came Bert Lloyd, pale but determined,
+with Teter and Frank on either side of him, Frank wearing an expression
+that said as plainly as possible:
+
+"Whip my friend Bert, if you dare."
+
+It is neither necessary nor expedient to go into the details of the
+fight, which did not last very long. Acting on Teter's sage advice, Bert
+made no attempt to defend himself, but rushing into close quarters at
+once, sent in swinging blows with right and left hands alternately,
+striking Rod upon the face and chest, while the latter's blows fell
+principally upon his forehead; until finally, in the fourth round,
+Graham, whose face had suffered severely, gave up the contest, and
+covering his head, with his hands, ran away from Bert, who was too tired
+to pursue him.
+
+Great was the cheering at this conclusive result; and Bert, panting,
+perspiring, and exhausted, found himself the centre of a noisy throng of
+his schoolmates, who wrung his hand, clapped him upon the back, called
+him all sorts of names that were complimentary, and, in fact, gave him a
+regular ovation. After he had gone to the tap and bathed his hot face,
+Bert was very much pleased to find that the brunt of the battle had
+fallen upon his forehead, and that, consequently, he would hardly be
+marked at all. To be sure, when he tried to put his cap on, he
+discovered that it would be necessary to wear it very much on the back
+of his head, but he felt like doing that, anyway, so it didn't matter.
+
+He would have liked to shake hands with Rod, and make it all up, but Rod
+was not to be found. After fleeing from his opponent, he had snatched up
+his coat, and, deserted even by Rawdon; who was disgusted at his running
+away, he had gone out into the street, and did not appear again for the
+rest of the day.
+
+His victory worked a great change in Bert's feelings. He was no longer
+troubled about what his parents would think of the fight. He felt sure
+they would applaud him, now that he had come out of it with banners
+flying, so to speak. And he was not far from right, either. Mrs. Lloyd,
+it is true, was a good deal shocked at first, and Mr. Lloyd questioned
+him very closely; but when they heard the whole story, much of which,
+indeed, was already familiar to them, they both agreed that under the
+circumstances Bert could not have acted otherwise, without placing
+himself in a false position.
+
+"At the same time, Bert, dear," said his father, laying his hand upon
+his shoulder, "as it is your first, so I hope it will be your last
+fight. You have established your reputation for courage now. You can
+sustain it in other ways than by your fists."
+
+Dr. Johnston's method of showing that he was fully cognisant of the
+event was highly characteristic. The next morning when Bert, with
+swollen forehead, and Rod, with blackened eyes, came before him in the
+same class, he said, with one of his sardonic smiles:
+
+"Ah, Graham, I see Lloyd has been writing his autograph on you. Well,
+let that be an end of it. Shake hands with one another."
+
+Bert immediately put out his hand and grasped Rod's, which was but half
+extended.
+
+"Very good," said the doctor. "We will now proceed with the lesson."
+
+One of the most interested and excited spectators of the fight had been
+Dick Wilding, a boy who will require a few words of description. He was
+the son of one of the merchant princes of the city, and was accustomed
+to everything that the highest social station and abundant wealth could
+procure. He was a handsome young fellow, and although thoroughly spoiled
+and selfish, was not without his good points, a lavish generosity being
+the most noteworthy. This, of course, supplemented by his reckless
+daring as regards all schoolboy feats, and natural aptitude for
+schoolboy sports, made him very popular at the school, and he had a
+large following. Previous to Bert's decisive victory over Rod Graham, he
+had not shown any particular interest in him, beyond committing himself
+to the opinion that he was a "regular brick" on the occasion of the
+hoisting, and again, when Bert bore his whipping so manfully. But since
+the fight, he had exhibited a strong desire to have Bert join the circle
+of his companions, and to this end cultivated his society in a very
+marked way.
+
+Now, this same Dick Wilding had been in Mrs. Lloyd's mind when she had
+hesitated about Bert's going to Dr. Johnston's. She knew well what his
+bringing up had been, and had heard several stories about him, which
+made her dread his being a companion for Bert. She had accordingly
+spoken to Bert about Dick, and while taking care not to be too pointed,
+had made it clear that she did not want them to be intimate. This was
+when Bert first went to the school, and as there had seemed no prospect
+of anything more than a mere acquaintance springing up between the two
+boys, nothing had been said on the subject for some time, so that it was
+not fresh in his mind when Dick, somewhat to his surprise, showed such a
+desire for his society.
+
+Dick's latest enterprise was the organisation of a cricket club, into
+which he was putting a great deal of energy. As the bats and balls and
+other necessary articles were to be paid for out of his own pocket, he
+found no difficulty in getting recruits, and the list of members was
+fast filling up. Bert had heard a good deal about this club, and would
+have liked very much to belong to it, but as nobody belonged except
+those who had been invited by Dick, his prospects did not seem very
+bright. Great then was his delight when one day at recess, Dick came up
+to him and said in his most winning way:
+
+"Say, Bert, don't you want to join my cricket club? I'd like to have you
+in."
+
+Bert did not take long to answer.
+
+"And I'd like to join ever so much," he replied, in great glee.
+
+"All right, then; consider yourself a member, and come round to the
+field behind our house this afternoon. We practise there every day."
+
+Bert was fairly dancing with joy. Yet he did not forget his friend
+Frank. If Frank were not a member of the club, too, half the pleasure of
+it would be gone. So before Dick went off, he ventured to say:
+
+"Frank Bowser would like to belong, too, I know. Won't you ask him?"
+
+"Certainly. No objection at all," replied Dick, in an off-hand way.
+"Bring him along with you this afternoon."
+
+With beaming face, Bert rushed over to where Frank was busy playing
+marbles, and drawing him aside, shouted rather than whispered in his
+ear:
+
+"I've got something splendid to tell you. Dick Wilding has asked us both
+to join his cricket club, and we're to go to his field this very
+afternoon."
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Frank, his face now beaming as brightly as
+Bert's. "Isn't that just splendid! I wanted to belong to that club ever
+so much, but was afraid Dick wouldn't ask me."
+
+They had a capital game of cricket that afternoon in the Wilding field,
+which made a very good ground indeed, and not only that afternoon, but
+for many afternoons as spring passed into summer and the days grew
+longer and warmer. Bert told them at home about the club, but somehow
+omitted to mention the prominent part Dick Wilding played in it. In
+fact, he never mentioned his name at all, nor that it was his father's
+field in which the club met. This was the first step in a path of wrong,
+the taking of which was soon to lead to serious consequences.
+
+His reason for suppressing Dick Wilding's name was plain enough. He knew
+that in all probability it would put an end to his connection with the
+club. Now this club had every attraction for a boy like Bert that such
+an organisation could possibly possess. It was select and exclusive, for
+none could belong except those who were invited by Dick. The field was a
+lovely place to play in, and they had it all to themselves. The balls
+and bats and stumps were first-class, a fine set of cricket gear having
+been one of Dick's Christmas presents; and, finally, Dick was always
+bringing out to the players iced lemonade, or ginger beer, or spruce
+beer, or something of the kind, which was wonderfully welcome to them
+when hot and tired and thirsty.
+
+With such strong arguments as these, Bert did not find it difficult to
+quiet his conscience when it troubled him, as it did now and then, and
+he continued to be a great deal in Dick Wilding's society until
+something happened which caused him to bitterly regret that he had not
+heeded the inward monitor, and kept away from the associations his wise
+mother wished him to avoid.
+
+Mrs. Lloyd had good reason for dreading Dick Wilding's companionship for
+her boy, as Dick could hardly fail to do Bert harm, while the chances of
+Bert doing him any good were very small, since he was quite a year older
+and well set in his own ways. Dick's parents were thorough people of the
+world. Their religion consisted in occupying a velvet-cushioned pew in a
+fashionable church on Sunday morning, and doing as they pleased the rest
+of the day. They made no attempt to teach their son anything more than
+good manners, taking it quite for granted that the other virtues would
+spring up of themselves. Dick was not much to be blamed, therefore, if
+he had rather hazy views about right and wrong. He had not really an
+evil nature, but he had a very easy conscience, and the motto by which
+he shaped his conduct might well have been: "Get your own way. Get it
+honestly, if you can. But--get it."
+
+Now, this cricket club had taken a great hold upon his fancy, and his
+whole heart was wrapped up in it. He was captain, of course, and all the
+other boys obeyed him implicitly. Their docility ministered to his
+pride, and he showed his appreciation by fairly showering his bounty
+upon them. There positively seemed no end to his pocket money. All sorts
+of expenses were indulged in. A fine tent was set up for the boys to
+put their hats and coats in and sit under when not playing, the
+ginger-beer man had orders to call round every afternoon and leave a
+dozen bottles of his refreshing beverage, and more than once the club,
+instead of playing, adjourned, at Dick's invitation, to an ice-cream
+saloon, and had a regular feast of ice-cream. When some indiscreet
+companion would express his astonishment at the length of Dick's purse,
+the latter would answer, carelessly:
+
+"Plenty of funds. Father, and mother, and uncle all give me money.
+There's lots more where this came from," jingling a handful of silver as
+he spoke. So, indeed, there was; but had it any business to be in Master
+Dick's pocket?
+
+This delightful state of affairs went on for some weeks, no one enjoying
+it more than Bert, and then came a revelation that broke upon the boys
+like a thunder-clap out of a clear sky.
+
+One evening, Mr. Wilding came over to see Mr. Lloyd, looking very grave
+and troubled. They had a long talk together in Mr. Lloyd's study, and
+when he went away Mr. Lloyd looked as grave and troubled as his visitor.
+After showing Mr. Wilding out, he called his wife into the library, and
+communicated to her what he had just heard, and it must have been
+sorrowful news, for Mrs. Lloyd's face bore unmistakable signs of tears,
+when presently she went out for Bert, who was hard at work upon his
+lessons in the dining-room.
+
+The moment Bert entered the room he saw that something was the matter.
+The faces of his father and mother were very sorrowful, and an
+indefinable feeling of apprehension took hold of him. He was not long
+left in uncertainty as to the cause of the trouble.
+
+"Bert," said his father, gravely, "have you seen much of Dick Wilding
+lately?"
+
+Bert blushed, and hesitated a moment, and then answered:
+
+"Yes, father; a good deal. He's the captain of our cricket club, you
+know."
+
+"I did not know until now that you have told me, Bert," said Mr. Lloyd,
+looking meaningly at him. "You never told me before, did you?"
+
+The colour deepened on Bert's face.
+
+"No, father; I don't think I did," he murmured.
+
+"Had you any reason for saying nothing about him, Bert? Were you afraid
+we would not let you belong to the club if we knew that Dick Wilding was
+its captain?" asked Mr. Lloyd.
+
+Bert made no reply, but his head drooped low upon his breast, and his
+hands playing nervously with the buttons of his coat told the whole
+story more plainly than words could have done. Mr. Lloyd sighed deeply
+and looked at his wife as though to say: "There's no doubt about it; our
+boy has been deceiving us," while Mrs. Lloyd's eyes once more filled
+with tears, which she turned away to hide.
+
+After a pause, during which Bert seemed to hear the beating of his own
+heart as distinctly as the ticking of the big clock upon the mantel, Mr.
+Lloyd said, in tones that showed deep feeling:
+
+"We would have been sorry enough to find out that our boy had been
+deceiving us, but what shall we say at finding out that he has been a
+sharer in pleasures purchased with stolen money?"
+
+Bert looked up in surprise. Stolen money! What could his father mean?
+Mr. Lloyd understood the movement, and anticipated the unasked question.
+
+"Yes, Bert; stolen money. The beer, the candy, and the ice cream, which
+Dick Wilding lavished upon you so freely, were paid for with money
+stolen from his mother's money drawer. He found a key which fitted the
+lock, and has taken out, no one knows just how much money; and you have
+been sharing in what that stolen money purchased."
+
+Bert was fairly stunned. Dick Wilding a thief! And he a sharer in the
+proceeds of his guilt! He felt as though he must run and hide himself.
+That Dick should do wrong was not entirely a surprise to him, but that
+his sin in being a companion of Dick's on the sly should be found out in
+this way, this it was which cut him to the heart. Without a word of
+excuse to offer, he sat there, self-condemned and speechless. The
+silence of the room was appalling. He could not bear it any longer.
+Springing from his chair, he rushed across the room, threw himself on
+his knees before his mother, and putting his head in her lap, burst into
+a paroxysm of tears, sobbing as though his heart would break.
+
+"Poor Bert, poor Bert!" murmured his mother, tenderly, passing her hand
+softly over the curly head in her lap.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was deeply moved, and put his hand up to his eyes to conceal
+the tears fast welling from them. For some minutes the quiet of the room
+was broken only by Bert's sobs, and the steady ticking of the clock upon
+the mantelpiece.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was the first to speak.
+
+"You had better get up and go to your room, Bert. We both know how sorry
+you are, and we forgive you for having so disobeyed us. But we are not
+the only ones of whom you must ask forgiveness. Go to your knees, Bert,
+and ask God to forgive you."
+
+Bert rose slowly to his feet, and, not venturing to look either his
+father or mother in the face, was going out of the door, when his father
+called him back.
+
+"Just one word more, Bert. It is not long since you won a brave fight,
+and now you have been sadly defeated by a far worse enemy than Rod
+Graham. You can, in your own strength, overcome human foes, but only by
+Divine strength can you overcome the tempter that has led you astray
+this time. Pray for this strength, Bert, for it is the kind the Bible
+means when it says, 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"
+
+And with a look of deep affection, Mr. Lloyd let Bert go from him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+A NARROW ESCAPE.
+
+
+So keenly did Bert feel his disgrace, that it was some time before he
+regained his wonted spirits; and his continued depression gave his
+mother no little concern, so that she took every way of showing to him
+that her confidence in him was unimpaired, and that she asked no further
+proof of his penitence than he had already given. But Bert's sensitive
+nature had received a shock from which it did not readily recover. From
+his earliest days he had been peculiarly free from the desire to take
+what did not belong to him; and as he grew older, this had developed
+into a positive aversion to anything that savoured of stealing in the
+slightest degree. He never could see any fun in "hooking" another boy's
+lunch, as so many others did, and nothing could induce him to join in
+one of the numerous expeditions organised to raid sundry unguarded
+orchards in the outskirts of the city.
+
+His firmness upon this point led to a curious scene one afternoon.
+School was just out, and a group of the boys, among whom were Bert,
+and, of course, Frank Bowser, was discussing what they should do with
+themselves, when Ned Ross proposed that they should go out to the
+Hosterman orchard, and see if they could not get some apples. A chorus
+of approval came from all but Bert, who immediately turned away and made
+as though he would go home.
+
+"Hallo! Bert," cried Ned Ross, "aren't you coming?"
+
+"No," replied Bert, very decidedly. "I'm not."
+
+"Why not?" inquired Ned. "What's the matter?"
+
+"Those are not our apples, Ned, and we've got no right to touch 'em,"
+answered Bert.
+
+"Bosh and nonsense!" exclaimed Ned. "All the boys take them, and nobody
+ever hinders them. Come along."
+
+"No," said Bert, "I can't."
+
+"Can't? Why can't you?" persisted Ned, who was rapidly losing his
+temper.
+
+Bert hesitated a moment, and the colour mounted high in his cheeks. Then
+he spoke out his reason bravely:
+
+"Because I'm a Christian, Ned; and it would not be right for me to do
+it."
+
+"A Christian?" sneered Ned. "You'd be nearer the truth if you said a
+coward."
+
+The words had hardly left his lips before Frank Bowser was standing
+before him, shaking in his face a fist that was not to be regarded
+lightly.
+
+"Say that again," cried Frank, wrathfully, "and I'll knock you down!"
+
+Ned looked at Frank's face, and then at his fist. There was no mistaking
+the purpose of either, and as Frank was fully his match, if not more, he
+thought it prudent to say nothing more than: "Bah! Come on, fellows. We
+can get along without him."
+
+The group moved off; but Bert was not the only one who stayed behind.
+Frank stayed too; and so did Ernest Linton. And these three sought their
+amusement in another direction.
+
+That scene very vividly impressed Bert, and over and over again he
+thought to himself: "What will the boys who heard me refuse to go to the
+orchard, because I am a Christian, think of me when they hear that I
+have been helping to spend stolen money?"
+
+This was the thought that troubled him most, but it was not the only
+one. He felt that he could not be at ease with his beloved Sunday-school
+teacher again, until he had made a full confession to him. But, oh! this
+did seem so hard to do! Several Sundays passed without his being able to
+make up his mind to do it. At length he determined to put it off no
+longer, and one Sunday afternoon, lingering behind after the school had
+been dismissed, he poured the whole story into Mr. Silver's sympathetic
+ear.
+
+Mr. Silver was evidently moved to the heart, as Bert, without sparing
+himself, told of his disobedience, his concealment, and the
+consequences that followed; and he had many a wise and tender word for
+the boy, whose confidence in him made him proud. From that day a
+peculiar fondness existed between the two, and Mr. Silver was inspired
+to increased fidelity and effort in his work because of the knowledge
+that one at least of his boys looked upon him with such affection and
+confidence.
+
+Once that summer had fairly come to stay, the wharves of the city became
+full of fascination for the boys, and every afternoon they trooped
+thither to fish for perch and tommy cods; to board the vessels lying in
+their berths, and out-do one another in feats of rigging climbing; to
+play glorious games of "hide-and-seek," and "I spy," in the great
+cavernous warehouses, and when tired to gather around some idle sailor,
+and have him stir their imagination with marvellous stories of the sea.
+
+For none had the wharves more attraction than for Bert and Frank, and
+although Mrs. Lloyd would not allow the former to go down Water Street,
+where he would be far from home, she did not object to his spending an
+afternoon now and then on a wharf not far from their own house. So
+thither the two friends repaired at every opportunity, and fine fun they
+had, dropping their well-baited hooks into the clear green water, to
+catch eager perch, or watching the hardworking sailors dragging huge
+casks of molasses out of dark and grimy holds, and rolling them up the
+wharf to be stored in the vast cool warehouses, or running risks of
+being pickled themselves, as they followed the fish-curers in their work
+of preparing the salt herring or mackerel for their journey to the hot
+West Indies. There never was any lack of employment, for eyes, or hands,
+or feet, on that busy wharf, and the boys felt very proud when they were
+permitted to join the workers sometimes and do their little best, which
+was all the more enjoyable because they could stop whenever they liked,
+and hadn't to work all day as the others did.
+
+Nor were these the only attractions. The principal business done at this
+wharf was with the West Indies, and no vessel thought of coming back
+from that region of fruits without a goodly store of oranges, bananas,
+and pine-apples, some of which, if the boys were not too troublesome,
+and the captain had made a good voyage, were sure to find their way into
+very appreciative mouths. Bert's frank, bright manner, and plucky
+spirit, made him a great favourite with the captains, and many a time
+was he sent home with a big juicy pine, or an armful of great golden
+oranges.
+
+One day, when Bert and Frank went down to the wharf, they found a
+strange-looking vessel made fast to the piles that filled them with
+curiosity. She was a barquentine, and was sparred, and rigged, and
+painted in a rather unusual way, the explanation of it all being that
+she was a Spanish vessel, of an old-fashioned type. Quite in keeping
+with the appearance of the vessel was the appearance of the crew. They
+were nearly all Lascars, and with their tawny skins, flashing eyes, jet
+black hair, and gold-ringed ears, seemed to fit very well the
+description of the pirates, whose dreadful deeds, as graphically
+described in sundry books, had given the boys many a delicious thrill of
+horror. This resemblance caused them to look upon the foreigners with
+some little fear at first, but their curiosity soon overcame all
+considerations of prudence, and after hanging about for a while, they
+bashfully accepted the invitation extended them by a swarthy sailor,
+whose words were unintelligible, but whose meaning was unmistakable.
+
+On board the _Santa Maria_--for that was the vessel's name--they found
+much to interest them, and the sailors treated them very kindly, in
+spite of their piratical appearance. What delighted them most was a
+monkey that belonged to the cook. He was one of the cutest, cleverest
+little creatures that ever parodied humanity. His owner had taught him a
+good many tricks, and he had taught himself even more; and both the boys
+felt that in all their lives they had never seen so entertaining a pet.
+He completely captivated them, and they would have given all they
+possessed to make him their own. But the cook had no idea of parting
+with him, even had it been in their power to buy him; so they had to
+content themselves with going down to see him as often as they could.
+
+Of course, they told their schoolmates about him, and of course the
+schoolmates were set wild with curiosity to see this marvellous monkey,
+and they flocked down to the _Santa Maria_ in such numbers, and so
+often, that at last the sailors got tired of them. A mob of schoolboys
+invading the deck every afternoon, and paying uproarious homage to the
+cleverness of a monkey, was more or less of a nuisance. Accordingly, by
+way of a gentle hint, the rope ladder, by which easy access was had to
+the vessel, was removed, and a single rope put in its place.
+
+It happened that the first afternoon after this had been done, the crowd
+of visitors was larger than ever; and when they arrived at the _Santa
+Maria's_ side, and found the ladder gone, they were, as may be easily
+imagined, very much disgusted. A rope might be good enough for a sailor,
+but the boys very much preferred a ladder, and they felt disposed to
+resent the action of the sailors in thus cutting off their means of
+ascent. The fact that it was high tide at the time, and the tall sides
+of the ship towered above the wharf, constituted a further grievance in
+the boys' minds. They held an impromptu indignation meeting forthwith.
+But, although they were unanimous in condemning the conduct of the
+foreigners, who evidently did not know any better, they were still no
+nearer the monkey.
+
+"Why not try to shin up the rope?" asked Frank Bowser, after a while.
+
+"All right, if you'll give us a lead," replied one of the others.
+
+"Very well--here goes!" returned Frank. And without more ado he grasped
+the rope, planted his feet firmly against the vessel's side, and began
+to ascend. It was evidently not the easiest thing in the world to do,
+but his pluck, determination, and muscle conquered; and presently,
+somewhat out of breath, he sat upon the bulwark, and, waving his cap to
+the boys below, gasped out:
+
+"Come along, boys! It's as easy as winking."
+
+Not to be outdone, several others made the attempt and succeeded also.
+Then came Bert's turn. Although so many had got up all right, he somehow
+felt a little nervous, and made one or two false starts, climbing up a
+little way and then dropping back again. This caused those who were
+waiting to become impatient, and while Bert was about making another
+start, one of them who stood behind him gave him a sharp push, saying:
+
+"Hurry up there, slow coach."
+
+As it happened, Bert was just at that moment changing his grip upon the
+rope, and balancing himself upon the extreme edge of the stringer, which
+formed the edge of the wharf. The ill-timed push caught him unawares. He
+threw out his arms to steady himself, and the rope slipped altogether
+from his grasp. The next instant, with a cry of fear that was taken up
+by the boys standing helplessly about, he fell over into the dark,
+swirling water, between the vessel's side and the wharf.
+
+Down, down, down he went, while the water roared in his ears with the
+thunders of Niagara, and filled his mouth with its sickening brine, as
+instinctively he opened it to cry for help. He could not swim a stroke,
+but he had a good idea of what the motions were, and so now, in a
+desperate effort to save his life, he struck out vigorously with his
+hands. It must have helped him, too; for out of the darkness into which
+he had been plunged at first, he emerged into a lighter place, where,
+through the green water, he could see his hands looking very white, as
+they moved before his face.
+
+But this did not bring him to the surface; so he tried another plan.
+Doubling his sturdy legs beneath him, he shot them out as he had seen
+other boys do when "treading water." A thrill of joy inspired him as the
+effort succeeded, and, his head rising above the surface, he got one
+good breath before sinking again. But the pitiless water engulfed him
+once more, and, though he struggled hard, he seemed unable to keep
+himself from sinking deeper still. Then the desire to struggle began to
+leave him. Life seemed no longer a thing to be fiercely striven for. A
+strange peace stole over his mind, and was followed by a still stranger
+thing; for while he floated there, an unresisting prey to the deep, it
+appeared as though all the events of his past life were crowding before
+him like some wonderful panorama. From right to left they followed one
+another in orderly procession, each as clear and distinct as a painted
+picture, and he was watching them with absorbed, painless interest, when
+something dark came across his vision; he felt himself grasped firmly
+and drawn swiftly through the water, and the next thing he knew, he was
+in the light and air again, and was being handed up to the top of the
+wharf by men who passed him carefully from one to the other. In the very
+nick of time rescue had come, and Bert was brought back to life.
+
+Now, who was his rescuer, and what took place while Bert was struggling
+for his life in the cold, dark water? The instant he disappeared the
+boys shouted and shrieked in such a way as to bring the whole crew of
+the _Santa Maria_ to the bulwarks, over which they eagerly peered, not
+understanding what was the matter. Frank, who was in a frenzy of anxiety
+and alarm, tried hard to explain to them; but his efforts were
+unavailing until the reappearance of Bert's head made the matter plain
+at once, and then he thought they would, of course, spring to the
+rescue. But they did not. They looked at one another, and jabbered
+something unintelligible, but not one of them moved, though Frank seized
+the liveliest of them by the arm, and, pointing to the place where Bert
+vanished, again indicated, by unmistakable gestures, what he wanted him
+to do. The man simply shook his head and moved away. He either could
+not swim, or did not think it worth while to risk his precious life in
+trying to rescue one of the foreign urchins that had been bothering the
+_Santa Maria_ of late. Had Bert's life depended upon these men, it might
+have been given up at once.
+
+But there was other help at hand. John Connors, the good-natured Irish
+storekeeper, by whose sufferance the boys were permitted to make a
+playground of the wharf, had heard their frantic cries, although he was
+away up in one of the highest flats of the farthest store. Without
+stopping to see what could be the matter, Connors leaped down the long
+flights of stairs at a reckless rate, and ran toward the shrieking boys.
+
+"Bert's overboard--save him!" they cried, as he burst into their midst.
+
+"Where?" he asked, breathlessly, while he flung off his boots.
+
+"There--just there," they replied, pointing to where Bert had last been
+seen.
+
+Balancing himself for an instant on the end of the stringer, Connors,
+with the spring of a practised swimmer, dived into the depths and
+disappeared; while the boys, in the silence of intense anxiety, crowded
+as close as they dared to the edge of the wharf, and the Lascars looked
+down from their bulwarks in stolid admiration. There were some moments
+of harrowing uncertainty, and then a shout arose from the boys, which
+even the swarthy sailors imitated, after a fashion; for cleaving the
+bubbled surface came the head of brave John Connors, and, close beside
+it, the dripping curls of Bert Lloyd, the faces of both showing great
+exhaustion.
+
+The sailors were all alert now. Ropes were hastily flung over the side,
+and swarming down these with the agility of monkeys, they took Bert out
+of his rescuer's hands and passed him up to the wharf; Connors followed
+unassisted, so soon as he had recovered his breath.
+
+Once upon the wharf, they were surrounded by a noisy group of boys,
+overjoyed at their playmate's happy escape from death, and overflowing
+with admiration for his gallant rescuer. Bert very quickly came to
+himself--for he had not indeed entirely lost consciousness--and then
+Connors told him just how he had got hold of him:
+
+"When I dived down first I couldn't see anything of you at all, my boy,
+and I went hunting about with my eyes wide open and looking for you. At
+last, just as I was about giving you up, I saw something dark below me
+that I thought might, p'r'aps, be yourself. So I just stuck out my foot,
+and by the powers if it didn't take you right under the chin. As quick
+as a wink I drew you toward me, and once I had a good grip of you, I put
+for the top as hard as I could go; and here we are now, safe and sound.
+And, faith, I hope you won't be trying it again in a hurry."
+
+[Illustration: BERT RESCUED.--_Page_ 214.]
+
+Bert was very much in earnest when he assured him he would not, and
+still more in earnest when he tried to express his gratitude. But
+Connors would none of it.
+
+"Not at all, not at all, my boy," said he, with a laugh. "A fine young
+chap like you is well worth saving any day, and it's not in John Connors
+to stand by and see you drown, even if those black-faced furriners don't
+know any better."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+LEARNING TO SWIM.
+
+
+Bert's appearance, when he made his way home with dripping clothes, and
+face still pale from what he had undergone, created no small
+consternation. His sister was particularly alarmed, and it took some
+time to convince her that, once having got out of the grasp of the
+greedy water, he was really in no more danger. Had she been permitted to
+have her own way, she would have bundled him off to bed forthwith, and
+filled up any little corners inside of him that the sea water had left
+unoccupied, with warm raspberry vinegar. But Bert would none of it, and
+Mrs. Lloyd, although a good deal startled at first, soon recovered her
+self-possession sufficiently to agree with him, when he insisted that
+all he wanted was some dry clothes and a rest.
+
+The dry clothes were quickly furnished, and having put them on, he
+returned to the sitting-room to tell them all about his rescue, Frank
+being at hand to fill in any details that he missed in the recital. The
+tears stood in his mother's eyes, as he related what he had felt and
+thought during those eventful moments when his life hung in the balance;
+tears of distress, of sympathy, of joy, and finally of gratitude, as in
+glowing words he described how noble John Connors had dived away down
+into the dark green depths to rescue him just in the nick of time.
+
+"Oh, Bert, darling," she exclaimed, when he had finished, folding him to
+her breast, "how good God was to send dear, brave Connors to your help!
+We cannot praise Him enough, and, dearest, don't you think He must
+intend you to be something good and great for Him, when He thus spared
+your life? And that dear man Connors!--I feel as though I could kiss the
+hands that drew you from the water. Your father must go to-night, and
+tell him how grateful we are; and he must do more than that--he must
+reward him well for running such a risk to save our boy."
+
+When Mr. Lloyd came home and learned what had happened, he made no
+pretence of concealing his emotion. The very thought of losing in that
+dreadful way the boy who was the joy and pride of his life filled him
+with horror, and no words could express his fervent gratitude to
+Connors, and to God, for sending so courageous a rescuer. So soon as
+dinner was over he set off in search of him, taking Bert with him.
+Connors's home was easily found, and Connors himself sat smoking his
+evening pipe upon the door-step, as unconcernedly as though he had done
+nothing out of the way that afternoon.
+
+The object of Mr. Lloyd's visit was soon made known, but he found more
+difficulty than he expected in giving such expression as he desired to
+the gratitude he felt. Connors was quite willing to be thanked, and
+accepted Mr. Lloyd's fervent words with a respectful acquiescence that
+well became him, but when Mr. Lloyd broached the subject of a more
+tangible reward, Connors quite as respectfully, but very firmly,
+refused.
+
+"I want no reward for saving your boy, sir. It's proud I am of pulling
+so fine a boy as that out of the water. I did no more than you'd do for
+my boy, sir, if he were in the same scrape," said he, in reply to Mr.
+Lloyd's delicately worded offer.
+
+"That may be, Connors. I'm sure I would do as you say, but all the same
+I would feel much more comfortable if you would accept this purse as
+some expression of my gratitude," urged Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"And, thanking you kindly, sir, I'd feel much more comfortable if I
+didn't take it," returned Connors, in a tone there was no mistaking. So
+Mr. Lloyd, resolving in his mind that he would find out some other way
+of rewarding the worthy fellow, said no more then, and shortly after
+took his leave.
+
+As Bert and his father walked home together they were still talking
+about the event of the afternoon.
+
+"If you had been drowned, Bert, it would to some extent have been my
+fault," said Mr. Lloyd; "for I should not have so long neglected
+teaching you to swim. A boy of your age ought to be well able to take
+care of himself in the water, and I should have seen that you were.
+However, now that this escape of yours has waked me up, I will attend to
+the matter at once. So we will begin to-morrow morning, Bert, and have a
+swimming lesson every day before breakfast."
+
+"Oh, father; I'm so glad," exclaimed Bert, skipping about joyfully. "I
+want to know how to swim ever so much, and I'll soon learn if you'll
+teach me."
+
+"All right, my boy. You see to waking me in good time, and I'll see that
+you learn to swim," replied Mr. Lloyd, clapping Bert affectionately on
+the back.
+
+The next morning at six o'clock Bert was rapping loudly on his father's
+door, and calling upon him to get up, and a quarter of an hour later the
+pair with towels on their arms were off in the direction of a secluded,
+deserted wharf that would just suit their purpose.
+
+On arriving at this place, Mr. Lloyd showed Bert how he proposed to
+teach him to swim, and it certainly was about as excellent a way as
+could well have been devised. He had brought with him two things besides
+the towels: a piece of rope about the thickness of a clothes line, and
+ten yards or more in length, and a strong linen band, two yards in
+length. The linen band he put round Bert's shoulders in such a way that
+there was no possibility of its slipping, or interfering with the action
+of his arms; and then the rope was so fastened to the band that when
+Bert was in the water his father, standing on the wharf above him, could
+hold him in just the right position for swimming.
+
+The preparations having been completed, Bert was bidden descend the
+steps and plunge into the water. He started off bravely enough, but when
+he reached the bottom step he hesitated. The water was at least ten feet
+in depth beneath him, and he had never been "over his head," as they
+say, before, except when he came so near being drowned. Naturally,
+therefore, he shrank from committing himself to the deep in this
+fashion.
+
+"Well, Bert, what's the matter? Are you afraid the water is too cold?"
+asked his father, as he noticed his hesitation.
+
+"No, father; not exactly," answered Bert, feeling half ashamed of
+himself.
+
+"You're afraid it's too deep, then?" suggested Mr. Lloyd. And Bert
+looked up with a smile that showed he had hit the mark.
+
+"Never mind, my boy," said Mr. Lloyd, cheeringly. "You're all right. I
+won't let go of you. Jump in like a man."
+
+Bert hung back a moment; then, shutting his mouth tightly and closing
+his eyes, he sprang boldly into the cool, green water. He went under a
+little at first, but a slight tug on the rope brought him quickly to the
+top, and recovering his breath and his self-possession at the same time,
+he struck out with his arms and kicked with his legs, according to the
+best of his ability. His motions were sadly unskilful, as may be easily
+imagined, and although they used up his strength pretty rapidly, they
+would not have kept his head above water for a minute; but a gentle
+pressure on the rope in Mr. Lloyd's hand made that all right, and,
+feeling quite at his ease, Bert struggled away until he was tired out,
+and then his father, who had all the time been cheering and directing
+him, drew him back to the steps, and the lesson was over.
+
+"You did very well, Bert; very well, indeed," said he, in tones of warm
+approval, as Bert proceeded to rub off the salt water and get into his
+clothes again. "I don't think it will take a great many lessons to make
+a swimmer of you."
+
+And Mr. Lloyd's confidence was well founded; for so earnestly did Bert
+give himself to the business of learning to swim that by the end of a
+fortnight he could go ten yards out and back without any help from the
+rope at all. Another fortnight and the rope was no longer needed. Mr.
+Lloyd now went into the water with Bert, and swimming out to the middle
+of the dock, would have the boy come to him, and after resting upon his
+broad shoulders a moment, make his way back to the steps again.
+
+Thus, in little more than a month, Bert became quite able to take care
+of himself in the water under ordinary circumstances; and his father,
+feeling well satisfied with his proficiency, gave him liberty to go to
+the wharves as often as he pleased--a boon Bert highly appreciated.
+
+A pleasure unshared by his faithful Frank was but half a pleasure to
+Bert. Next in importance to his being able to swim himself was Frank's
+acquiring the same invaluable accomplishment. Invaluable? Yes, one might
+indeed rightly use a stronger term, and say indispensable; for the
+education of no boy is complete until he has mastered the art of
+swimming. And if the boys knew their own interests as thoroughly as
+their parents and guardians ought to know them, they would agitate all
+over the land for the provision of swimming baths in connection with
+their schools, or in some other way that would ensure them the
+opportunity of learning what to do with themselves in the water, as well
+as upon the land.
+
+Frank could swim a stroke or two before Bert took him in hand, and
+consequently was soon able to dispense with the rope; but timid little
+Ernest Linton, who was the next pupil, took a lot of teaching, and there
+seemed small prospect of his conquering his timidity sufficiently to "go
+it alone" before the swimming season would be over.
+
+The fame of Bert's swimming school spread among his playmates to an
+extent that threatened to be embarrassing. By the time they were half
+way through the mid-summer holidays, a crowd of boisterous youngsters
+gathered every morning at the old wharf, and struggled for the use of
+band and rope, until at last there had to be several of these provided.
+Then they had fine fun. A dozen boys would be in the water at the same
+time--some of them expert swimmers, the others in all stages of
+learning--and there would be races, splashing matches, unexpected
+duckings, sly tricks upon the nervous learners, and all sorts of capers,
+such as might be expected from boys of their age and enterprise.
+
+By way of deepening the interest in this healthful amusement, they
+organised a competition, the prizes being supplied by their parents, who
+were duly waited upon by a properly-authorised committee; and one fine
+August afternoon, the sleepy old wharf was made to fairly tremble with
+excitement, as race followed race in quick succession, amid the cheering
+and shouting of some two-score vigorous boys. Much to his delight, Frank
+succeeded in carrying off the first prize. He was a persistent,
+painstaking fellow when his interest was thoroughly aroused, and while
+other chaps were skylarking about in the water, he had been practising
+long swims, the consequence of which was that at the competition--when,
+of course, the best prize was given for the longest race; the course,
+in this instance, being out to the head of the wharf, and back--Frank
+left all the other contestants behind, and came in an easy winner.
+
+Bert was exceedingly pleased. He had not won any prizes himself, except
+an unimportant little second one; but Frank's success more than consoled
+him, and he bore him off home with him in high glee, that the family
+might share in the joy of the occasion.
+
+Nearly two years now had passed since the two friends first made one
+another's acquaintance, and the course of events had fully confirmed the
+expectation of Bert's parents, that he would be far more likely to
+influence Frank for good than Frank would be to influence him for evil.
+There had been unmistakable improvement in Frank, both in manners and
+morals. Constant association with a playmate brought up under home
+influences so different from his own; the wise and kindly words that Mr.
+and Mrs. Lloyd lost no opportunity of speaking to him; the refinement
+and brightness of their home; the atmosphere of sunny religion that
+pervaded it; and all these supplemented by an ever-interesting
+presentation of common-sense Christianity at the hands of Mr. Silver
+every Sunday afternoon, had worked deep into Frank's strong, steadfast
+nature, and without being distinctly conscious of it himself, he was
+growing refined, pure, and religious in thought and desire, like those
+with whom it was the joy of his life to associate. The current of his
+being had been turned Godward, and in him, though he knew it not, Bert
+had won the first star for his crown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+HOW HOISTING WAS ABOLISHED.
+
+
+The month of September was close at hand, and Bert would soon begin his
+second year with Dr. Johnston. Mr. Lloyd, though well content with the
+progress his son had been making in his studies, thought it would be a
+wise thing to hold out some extra inducement that might incite him to
+still greater diligence, and so one evening, while the family were
+sitting together, he broached the subject:
+
+"Dr. Johnston gives a lot of prizes at the end of the term, doesn't he,
+Bert?"
+
+"Yes, father, a good many; always books, you know," answered Bert.
+
+"Why didn't you get a prize of some kind last term?" asked Mr. Lloyd,
+with a smile.
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father. Didn't try hard enough, I suppose," replied
+Bert, smiling in his turn.
+
+"Well, do you intend to try this term, Bert?"
+
+"Indeed I do; and Frank's going to try, too. My best chance is in the
+arithmetic, so I'm going to try for that; and he's going in for
+grammar."
+
+"Very well, then, Bert, do your best; and if you win a prize I will give
+you what you have wanted so long--a pony."
+
+The expression of Bert's countenance at this quite unexpected
+announcement was a study. His eyes and mouth, the former with surprise,
+the latter with a smile, opened to their fullest extent, and for a
+moment he stood motionless. Then, springing across the floor, he leaped
+into his father's lap, put both arms around his neck, and burying his
+happy face in the brown whiskers, ejaculated, fervently:
+
+"You dear, dear father, you dear, dear father, how I do love you!"
+
+Mr. Lloyd returned the affectionate hug with interest, and then, holding
+Bert out on his knee, said, in a playful tone:
+
+"Aren't you in too much of a hurry about thanking me, Bert? You haven't
+won your pony yet, you know."
+
+"That's all right, father," returned Bert. "I mean to win it, and what's
+more, I'm going to."
+
+It need hardly be said that the first item of news Bert had for his
+friend Frank next morning was his father's offer.
+
+"Won't it be splendid to have a pony of my very own!" he exclaimed, his
+eyes dancing with delight at the prospect. "Perhaps your father will
+give you a pony, too, if you win a prize; hey, Frank?"
+
+Frank shook his head dubiously:
+
+"Not much chance of that, Bert. That's not his way of doing things."
+
+"Oh, well, never mind. You can ride turn about with me on mine, and
+we'll have just splendid fun."
+
+As the boys were talking together, little Ernest Linton approached,
+looking as if he had something on his mind. Getting close to Bert, he
+touched him gently on the arm to attract his attention, and, turning a
+very earnest, appealing face to his, said:
+
+"Bert, I want to ask a favour."
+
+"Hallo, Ernie, what's up?" asked Bert, in his kindest tones.
+
+Ernest then proceeded to tell him that his younger brother, Paul, was to
+come to the school in a few days, and that he was a very timid, delicate
+little chap that would be sure to be half frightened out of his life if
+they hoisted him; and what Ernest wanted was that Bert and Frank should
+see if they could not, in some way or other, save Paul from being
+hoisted.
+
+The two boys were filled with the idea at once. It was good enough fun
+to hoist sturdy fellows like themselves, who were none the worse for it;
+but if Paul were the sort of chap his brother said he was, it would be a
+real shame to give him such a scare, and they would do their best to
+prevent its being done. Accordingly, they promised Ernest they would
+protect his brother if they could, and Ernest felt very much relieved at
+their promise.
+
+But how were they going to carry it out? No exceptions had been made as
+to the hoisting since they had come to Dr. Johnston's, but all new boys
+were hoisted with perfect impartiality. They would be powerless by
+themselves, that was certain. Their only plan was to persuade a lot of
+the boys to join them, and they did not feel entirely sure about being
+able to do this. However, the first thing to be done was to ask Teter
+Johnston. If they could enlist his sympathies, their task would be a
+good deal easier. Accordingly, at recess, they made directly for Teter,
+and laid the whole matter before him. Like themselves, he took hold of
+it at once. It was just the sort of thing that would appeal to his big,
+warm, manly heart, and without hesitation he promised the boys he would
+give them all the help in his power.
+
+The next step was to secure recruits for their party. In this Teter
+helped them greatly, and Frank was very active too, because big Rod
+Graham, whom he disliked none the less, though Bert had thrashed him so
+soundly, always headed the hoisting party, and Frank looked forward with
+keen delight to balking this tormenting bully by means of the
+anti-hoisting party they were now organising.
+
+Of course, the movement could not be kept a secret. It soon leaked out,
+and then Rod Graham and Dick Wilding--who, by the way, since the stolen
+money episode, had been as cool in his relations with Bert as he had
+previously been cordial, evidently resenting very much Bert's
+withdrawal from his companionship--these two, with their associates,
+began to organise in their turn, so that it was not long before the
+school was divided into two parties, both of which were looking forward
+eagerly to the event which should decide which would have their own way.
+
+On the Monday following the opening of the school Ernest Linton brought
+his brother with him, a slight, pale, delicate little fellow, not more
+than eight years old, who clung close to his brother's side, and looked
+about with a frightened air that was sufficient in itself to arouse
+one's sympathies. Bert and Frank had known him before, but Teter had
+never seen him, and his kind heart prompted him to go up and slap the
+little fellow kindly on the back, saying:
+
+"So you're Linton's brother Paul, eh? Cheer up, little chap; we'll see
+they're not too hard upon you."
+
+Paul's pale face brightened, and looking up with a grateful glance, he
+said, softly:
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+Teter laughed at being "sirred," and went off, feeling quite pleased
+with himself.
+
+According to the custom of the school, Paul would be hoisted at the
+mid-day recess of the following day, and the boys looked forward eagerly
+to the struggle for which they had been preparing. During the morning
+their thoughts clearly were not upon the lessons, and so many mistakes
+were made that the shrewd doctor suspected there must be something
+brewing, but preferred to let it reveal itself rather than to interfere
+by premature questions. He was a profound student of human nature, and
+especially of boy nature. He knew his boys as thoroughly as an Eastern
+shepherd ever knew his sheep. They were like open books before him, and
+in this perhaps more than in anything else lay the secret of his rare
+success as a teacher.
+
+When the eagerly expected recess came, all the boys, with the exception
+of a small group, poured out tumultuously into the street, and ranged
+themselves in two bands in close proximity to the door. The group that
+remained consisted of the two Lintons, Bert, Frank, and Teter, the
+latter three constituting a sort of body-guard for poor timorous little
+Paul, who shrank in terror from the ordeal, the nature of which in truth
+he did not fully understand. Having consulted together for a minute or
+two, the body-guard then moved out through the door, taking care to keep
+Paul in the middle. As they emerged into the street, a kind of hum of
+suppressed excitement rose from the crowd awaiting them, followed
+immediately by cries of "Hoist him! hoist him!" uttered first by Graham
+and Wilding, and quickly taken up by their supporters.
+
+Pale with fright, Paul cowered close to Teter, while Bert and Frank
+stood in front of him, and their supporters quickly encircled them. Then
+came the struggle. Graham and Wilding and their party bore down upon
+Paul's defenders, and sought to break their way through them to reach
+their intended victim. Of course, no blows were struck. The boys all
+knew better than to do that; but pushing, hauling, wrestling, very much
+after the fashion of football players in a maul, the one party strove to
+seize Paul, who indeed offered no more resistance than an ordinary
+football, and the other to prevent his being carried off. For some
+minutes the issue was uncertain, although the hoisting party
+considerably outnumbered the anti-hoisting party. More than once did
+Graham and Wilding force their way into the centre of Paul's defenders,
+and almost have him in their grasp, only to be thrust away again by the
+faithful trio that stood about him like the three of whom Macaulay's
+ringing ballad tells:
+
+   "How well Horatius kept the bridge,
+   In the brave days of old."
+
+Shouting, struggling, swaying to and fro, the contest went on, much to
+the amusement of a crowd of spectators, among which the tall,
+blue-coated form of a policeman loomed up prominently, although he
+deigned not to interfere. At length the weight of superior numbers began
+to tell, and despite all their efforts the anti-hoisting party were
+borne slowly but surely toward the fence, upon which some of the boys
+had already taken their positions, ready to have Paul handed up to them.
+The case was looking desperate, and Teter, heated and wearied with his
+exertions, had just said, in his deepest tones, to Bert and Frank,
+"Come, boys, all together, try it once more," when suddenly a silence
+fell upon the noisy mob, and their arms, a moment before locked in tense
+struggling, fell limply to their sides; for there, standing between them
+and the fence, his keen, dark face lighted with a curious smile, and
+holding his hand above his head by way of a shield from the hot sun,
+stood Dr. Johnston!
+
+A genuine ghost at midnight could hardly have startled the boys more.
+Absorbed in their struggle, they had not seen the doctor until they were
+fairly upon him. For aught they knew he had been a spectator of the
+proceedings from the outset. What would he think of them? Rod Graham and
+Dick Wilding, slaves to a guilty conscience, slunk into the rear of
+their party, while Bert, and Frank, and Teter, glad of the unexpected
+relief, wiped their brows and arranged their disordered clothing, as
+they awaited the doctor's utterance. It soon came.
+
+"I desire an explanation of this unseemly disturbance. The school will
+follow me immediately into the schoolroom," said he, somewhat sternly;
+and turning upon his heel went back to his desk, the boys following at a
+respectful distance.
+
+When all had been seated, and the room was quiet, Dr. Johnston asked:
+
+"Will the leaders in the proceedings outside come to my desk?"
+
+There was a moment's pause, and then Teter rose from his seat, Bert
+immediately imitating him, and the two walked slowly down to the open
+space before the master's desk.
+
+Having waited a minute, and no one else appearing, the doctor leaned
+forward and said to his nephew:
+
+"You and Lloyd were on the same side, were you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Teter.
+
+"Well, who were the leaders of the other side? I wish to know."
+
+"Graham and Wilding, sir," answered Teter.
+
+"Graham and Wilding, come forward," called the doctor, sternly; and the
+two boys, looking very conscious and shamefaced, reluctantly left their
+seats and took their places before the throne.
+
+"Now, then, I wish to be informed of the whole matter," said the doctor.
+
+Bert looked at Teter, and Teter looked at Bert.
+
+"You tell him," he whispered; "you know most about it."
+
+Thereupon, with the utmost frankness, Bert proceeded to tell his story,
+beginning at his first talk with Ernest Linton.
+
+The doctor listened intently, his inscrutable face revealing nothing as
+to how the story impressed him. When Bert had finished, he turned to
+Graham and Wilding, and asked them:
+
+"Is Lloyd's statement correct? or have you anything to add?"
+
+They hung their heads, and were silent.
+
+The doctor looked very hard at them for a moment, during which the
+silence was so intense that the fall of a pin upon the floor would have
+been heard; then, turning to the school, he spoke as follows:
+
+"The events that have just transpired have hastened a decision that has
+been forming in my mind for some time past. I was not unaware of this
+practice of which Lloyd has just spoken, but deemed it well not to
+interfere until my interference should seem necessary. That time, in my
+judgment, has arrived, and I have determined that there shall be no more
+of this hoisting. Be it, therefore, distinctly understood by the pupils
+of this school, that any future attempts at the hoisting of new boys
+will incur punishment, and possibly even expulsion from the school. You
+will now resume work."
+
+A subdued murmur of applause arose from the anti-hoisting party at the
+conclusion of the doctor's announcement. They had more than carried
+their point; for, intending only to protect Paul Linton, they had
+obtained the complete abolition of the practice. Bert was greatly
+elated, and could talk of nothing else when he got home. Father, and
+mother, and sister, had to listen to the fullest details of the struggle
+and its surprising issue, and Bert fairly outdid himself in the vigour
+and minuteness of his description. When the fountain of his eloquence at
+last ran dry, Mr. Lloyd had a chance to say, with one of his expressive
+smiles:
+
+"And so my boy has come out as a reformer. Well, Bert, dear, you have
+taken the first step in the most thankless and trying of all careers,
+and yet I would not discourage you for the world. I would a thousand
+times rather have you a reformer than an opposer of reforms. I wonder
+what work God has in store for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+PRIZE WINNING AND LOSING.
+
+
+There were many ways in which the methods employed at Dr. Johnston's
+school were unique. The system of registering attendance, proficiency,
+and conduct has been already fully explained. It was hardly possible
+that this could have been more perfect. No boy could be absent without
+being missed, and an explanation or excuse of a thoroughly satisfactory
+nature was required the next day. No mistake could occur as to the
+standing of the pupils in the different classes. The record of each day
+was all comprehensive. It constituted a photograph, so to speak, of each
+pupil's doings, in so far as they related to his school, and the doctor
+was exceedingly proud of the journals, which he kept with scrupulous
+care and neatness.
+
+Another feature of the school, peculiar to itself, was the system by
+which a knowledge of arithmetic was fostered, and the faculty of using
+it quickly was developed. The whole of one morning each week was devoted
+to this. The scholars were grouped in classes according to their
+varying proficiency, care being taken to give each one a fair chance by
+associating him with those who were about as far advanced as himself.
+These classes were then arranged upon seats very much after the fashion
+of a Sunday school, save that instead of a teacher being in their
+centre, they were placed around a backless chair, in such a manner that
+it was equally convenient of access to all. Each boy had his slate and
+pencil in readiness.
+
+The school having been called to order, the doctor then proceeded to
+read out to the senior class a problem in proportion or compound
+interest, or whatever it might be, and this they hurriedly scribbled
+down on their slates. If they did not understand it fully at first, he
+would read it again, but of course never gave any explanations. So soon
+as a scholar had clearly grasped the problem to be solved he set to work
+at its solution with all his might, and it was a most interesting
+spectacle to watch when the whole class, with heads bent close to the
+slates, made their squeaking, scratching pencils fly over them. Every
+possible shade of mental condition, from confident knowledge to
+foreboding bewilderment, would be expressed in their faces. The instant
+one of them had completed his work, he banged his slate down upon the
+backless chair, with the writing turned under. The others followed as
+best they could, and all the slates being down, they awaited the
+doctor's coming around to their class again.
+
+When Dr. Johnston had completed the round of the classes, and given each
+a problem, he would, after a pause, call upon each in turn to read the
+answers as set down upon the slate. The boy whose slate was first on the
+chair, and therefore at the bottom of the pile, would read his answer
+first. If it were correct, he scored a point, and none of the others
+were called upon. If incorrect, the next to him would read his answer,
+and so on until a correct answer was given, and a point scored by
+somebody. Only one point could be made each round, and so the
+unsuccessful ones had to console themselves with the hope of having
+better luck next time. Not more than four or five rounds would be had
+each day, and it rarely happened that the same boy would be successful
+in all of them. Three points were considered a very good day's work, and
+if a boy made four points he was apt to feel that the prize in that
+class was as good as his, until some other boy made four points also,
+and thereby lessened his chances.
+
+It did not always happen that being first down with his slate assured
+the scholar of scoring a point. A slight mistake in his addition,
+subtraction, or division might have thrown him off the track, and then
+number two, or maybe number three, would come in with a correct answer
+and triumphantly score the point, success being all the sweeter, because
+of being somewhat unexpected.
+
+Now this kind of competition suited Bert thoroughly. He was as quick as
+any of his companions, cooler than many of them, and had by this time
+acquired a very good understanding of the chief principles of
+arithmetic. He greatly enjoyed the working against time, which was the
+distinctive feature of the contest. It brought out his mental powers to
+their utmost, and he looked forward to "arithmetic day," with an
+eagerness that was not caused entirely by what his father had promised
+him in the event of his being successful in carrying off a prize.
+
+In the same class with him were Frank Bowser, Ernest Linton, and a
+half-dozen other boys of similar age and standing in the school. He had
+no fear of Frank or Ernest. They were no match for him either as to
+knowledge, or rapidity of work; but there was a boy in the class who
+seemed fully his equal in both respects. This was Levi Cohen, a
+dark-skinned, black-haired chap, whose Jewish features were in entire
+harmony with his Jewish name. He was indeed a Jew, and, young though he
+was, had all the depth, self-control, and steadfastness of purpose of
+that strange race. He also had, as the sequel will show their
+indifference as to the rightness of the means employed so long as the
+end in view was gained.
+
+The school had been in session for more than a month, and those who were
+particularly interested in the arithmetic competitions were already
+calculating their chances of success. In Bert's class it was clear
+beyond a doubt that the contest lay between him and Levi Cohen. It
+rarely happened that they did not monopolise the points between them,
+and so far, they had divided them pretty evenly. One day Bert would
+score three and Levi two, and then the next week Levi would have three,
+and Bert two, and so it went on from week to week.
+
+As the second month drew to a close, Bert began to gain upon his rival.
+He nearly always made the majority of the points, and was now at least
+six ahead. Then suddenly the tide turned and Levi seemed to have it all
+his own way. The quickness with which he got the answers was
+bewildering. Nay, more, it was even suspicious. One familiar with the
+details of the problems given, and the amount of work a full working out
+would require, could not help being struck by the fact that Cohen seemed
+to arrive at his answer after a remarkably small expenditure of
+slate-pencil. Time and again he would have his slate down at least
+half-a-minute before Bert did his, although previous to this sudden
+change in his fortunes, the difference in time between them had been
+rarely more than a few seconds. Then again it was noticeable that he
+took the utmost care that none of the others should see what was on his
+slate. He did his work in a corner, hunched up over it so that it was
+well concealed, and he snatched his slate away from the pile at the very
+first opportunity.
+
+Bert noticed all these things, and they perplexed him quite as much as
+Cohen's rapid gain alarmed him. He soon became convinced that there was
+something wrong, that Cohen was doing crooked work; but, puzzle his
+brains as he might, he could not get at the bottom of the mystery. Frank
+and Ernest fully shared his suspicions, and they had many a talk over
+the matter. Frank thought that Cohen must have the answers written on a
+piece of paper which he managed to peep at somehow while all the other
+boys were absorbed in working out the problems; but although he on
+several occasions purposely refrained from doing anything himself in
+order to watch Cohen the more closely, he failed to find the slightest
+ground for his suspicions in that direction. Then Bert put forward his
+theory.
+
+"I'll tell what it is Frank: Cohen must learn the answers off by heart,
+and then he sets them down without working out the whole sum."
+
+"Shouldn't wonder a bit," said Frank. "He's got a great memory, I know,
+and we always can tell from what part of the arithmetic Dr. Johnston is
+going to get the sums."
+
+"But how can we make sure of it, Frank?" inquired Bert, anxiously.
+
+"The only way is to get hold of his slate, and see how he works his sums
+out," replied Frank.
+
+"Yes; but he takes precious good care not to let anybody see how he does
+them."
+
+"So he does; but we've got to find out some way, and I'm going to do it,
+so sure as my name's Frank Bowser."
+
+"How'll you manage it, Frank?" asked Bert, brightening up; for he really
+was a good deal troubled over Cohen's continued success, particularly as
+he felt so strongly that there was something wrong at the bottom of it.
+
+"I don't know yet, Bert; but I'll find out a way somehow. See if you
+can't think of a plan yourself."
+
+"I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll ask father about it," said Bert, in a
+tone that implied perfect confidence in Mr. Lloyd's ability to furnish a
+solution for any difficulty.
+
+Accordingly, that evening, Bert laid the whole case before his father,
+who listened with judicial gravity, and then proceeded to ask a question
+or two:
+
+"You feel quite sure that Cohen does not take the time to work out the
+sums properly?"
+
+"Yes, father; perfectly sure."
+
+"Then why don't you inform Dr. Johnston of your suspicions, and he will
+make an examination into the matter?"
+
+"Oh, father!" exclaimed Bert, with a look of profound surprise. "You
+wouldn't have me turn tattle-tale, would you?"
+
+"No, Bert, dear; indeed, I would not, although you should lose a dozen
+prizes. I said that simply to see what you would think of it, and I am
+glad you answered me as I expected you would. But, Bert, you have asked
+my advice in this matter. Did you think of asking somebody else who is
+infinitely wiser than I am?"
+
+Bert understood his father at once.
+
+"No, father; I did not. I never thought of it," he answered, frankly.
+
+"Then had you not better do so when you are saying your prayers
+to-night?"
+
+"I will, father. I'm so glad you reminded me." And with that Bert
+dropped the subject for the time.
+
+That night, ere he went to bed, Bert laid the matter before his Father
+in heaven, just as he had done before his father upon earth. He had
+imbibed his ideas of prayer from what he heard from his own father at
+family worship. Mr. Lloyd's conception of prayer was that it could not
+be too simple, too straightforward. It often seemed as though God were
+present in the room, and he was talking with him, so natural, so
+sincere, so direct were his petitions. And Bert had learned to pray in
+the same manner. A listener might at times be tempted to smile at the
+frankness, the naivete of Bert's requests; but they were uttered not
+more in boyish earnest than in truest reverence by the petitioner.
+
+The next morning, when Bert came down to the breakfast-room, he was
+evidently in the best of spirits.
+
+"It's all right, father," said he. "I asked God to show me what's the
+best thing to do, and I'm sure He will."
+
+"That's it, Bert; that's the way to look at it," replied Mr. Lloyd, with
+a smile of warm approval.
+
+On reaching the school Bert found Frank awaiting him.
+
+"I've got it! I've got it!" he shouted, so soon as Bert appeared. "I
+know how Levi manages it now."
+
+"How is it?" asked Bert, eagerly.
+
+"Why, he learns all the answers off by heart, and then doesn't work out
+the sums at all, but just pretends to, and slaps down the answer before
+the rest of us fellows are half through," explained Frank.
+
+"To be sure, Frank; you know I thought of that before. But how are we
+going to stop him?"
+
+"That's just what I'm coming to. When the time comes to read the answers
+I'm going to take up the slates, just as if mine was down first; and
+then, if Levi's been playing sharp on us, I'll expose him."
+
+"What a brick you are!" exclaimed Bert, admiringly, patting Frank on the
+back. "That's a grand plan of yours, and I do believe it's the way God
+is going to answer my prayer."
+
+"Answer your prayer, Bert? Why, what do you mean?" inquired Frank.
+
+"Why, you know, Frank, last night when I was saying my prayers, I told
+God all about it, and now I believe He's going to make it all right. You
+just see if He doesn't."
+
+Frank was evidently very much struck with the idea of his being chosen
+by God to answer Bert's prayer. It was quite a new thought, and made a
+deep impression upon him. He was a clear and strong, if not very rapid,
+reasoner, and his reasoning in this case led him to the conclusion that
+if God thought that much of him he certainly ought to think more of God.
+He did not talk about it to anyone, but for many days his mind was
+occupied with thoughts of this nature, and their direct result was to
+lead him nearer to the kingdom.
+
+At the very first opportunity Frank put his plan into execution.
+Arithmetic day came round, the class gathered in its place, the first
+sum was read out to them, and before Bert was half through working it
+out, Levi Cohen placed his slate softly upon the chair, and leaned back
+in his seat with a sly smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. Frank
+glanced up from his work, gave Bert a meaning look, and then dropped his
+slate upon Cohen's with a loud bang. The others followed more slowly,
+and presently the time came for the answers to be read.
+
+Before Cohen could leave his corner, Frank rose up, seized the pile of
+slates, turned them over, and examined the first intently, while Bert
+watched him with breathless expectancy, and Cohen, at first too
+surprised to act, sprang forward to wrest it from his hands. But Frank
+moved out of his reach, and at the same time, with a triumphant smile,
+exhibited the face of the slate to the rest of the class, saying, in a
+loud whisper:
+
+"Look, boys, that's the way he works them out."
+
+Dr. Johnston noticed the slight commotion this created, but he was too
+far away to see clearly what it meant, so he called out:
+
+"Why does not class six read their answers?"
+
+Cohen stood up, and held up his hand.
+
+"Well, Cohen, what is it?" asked the doctor.
+
+"Please, sir, Bowser has taken my slate, and won't give it to me,"
+answered Cohen, in a whining voice.
+
+"Bowser, what's the meaning of this? What are you doing with Cohen's
+slate?" demanded the doctor, frowning darkly.
+
+Frank did not look a bit frightened, but still holding on to the slate,
+which Cohen was making ineffectual efforts to regain, replied, in
+respectful tones:
+
+"May I hand you the slate first, sir?"
+
+At these words Cohen turned ashy pale, and Dr. Johnston, realising that
+there must be something going on that required explanation, ordered
+Frank to bring all the slates up to him.
+
+With radiant face Frank proceeded to obey, giving Bert a triumphant look
+as he passed by him, while Cohen shrank back into his corner, and bit
+his nails as though he would devour his finger tips. Taking up Cohen's
+slate, the doctor scrutinised it carefully. One glance was sufficient. A
+deep flush spread over his dark face, his eyes lighted up threateningly,
+and in his sternest tones he called out:
+
+"Cohen, come here!"
+
+Amid the expectant hush of the school, none but class six knowing what
+was the matter, Cohen, looking as though he would give his right hand to
+be able to sink through the floor, walked slowly up into the dreadful
+presence of the angered master. Holding up the slate before him, Dr.
+Johnston asked:
+
+"Is this your slate, sir?"
+
+Cohen gave it a cowering glance, and said, faintly:
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"How long has this been going on?" thundered the doctor.
+
+Cohen made no reply.
+
+"Answer me, sir, at once. How long has this been going on?" repeated the
+doctor.
+
+"I don't quite know, sir; but not very long," faltered out Cohen.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust, Dr. Johnston turned from him, and,
+holding the slate up high so that all the school might see it, relieved
+the curiosity of the scholars, now at fever pitch, by addressing them
+thus:
+
+"Cohen has just been detected in one of the most contemptible tricks
+that has come under my observation since I have been master of this
+school. He has evidently been committing to memory the answers to the
+problems that would be given out, and instead of doing the work properly
+has been scratching down a few figures, then writing the answers, and so
+finishing long before any of the other scholars. I need hardly say that
+this is not only a most contemptible trick, as I have already said, but
+a serious blow at the principles of fair play and justice which should
+regulate the winning of prizes in this school. I therefore feel bound to
+express my indignation at Cohen's offence in the most decided manner."
+
+Turning to Cohen: "You, sir, shall stand upon the floor for punishment.
+All the points scored by you already this term will be taken from you,
+and you will not be permitted to compete for any prize until I shall so
+determine."
+
+A kind of subdued whistle rose from the boys when they heard the
+doctor's severe, and yet not too severe, sentence. Cohen was no
+favourite with them; and yet they could not help some pity for him, as
+thoroughly cowed and crushed he stood before them all, the very picture
+of misery. Bert's tender heart was so touched by his abject appearance,
+that he half relented at his exposure. But Frank was troubled by no such
+second thoughts. The unexpectedly complete success of his scheme filled
+him with delight. It had accomplished two objects, both of which gave
+him keen pleasure. Bert's most dangerous rival for the prize had been
+put out of the way, and Cohen, whom he cordially disliked, had been well
+punished for his knavery.
+
+With Cohen disqualified, Bert had a comparatively easy time of it for
+the rest of the term. He usually managed to secure four out of the five
+points obtainable, and steadily added to his score until at last there
+was no chance of anyone beating him, and he could look forward with
+comfortable confidence to the prize that meant so much in his case. A
+few days before Christmas the results were declared, and the prizes
+awarded, and although Bert gained only the one upon which his heart had
+been set, while other boys carried off two, and even three, he envied
+none of them. Their prizes meant nothing more perhaps than the
+brightly-bound books which the doctor selected with special reference to
+boyish preferences. But _his_ prize meant more than a book. It meant a
+pony. And so if he was the happiest boy in all the land of Acadia it was
+not without good reason. Frank was hardly less jubilant, for he had
+gained his prize, and there was a hope taking strong hold upon his
+heart, that if fortune was kind to him, there might be a pony for him as
+well as for Bert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+A CHAPTER ON PONIES.
+
+
+It was a proud day for Bert when he came home from school, bearing a
+handsome volume of Captain Gordon Cumming's Adventures in Africa, and he
+felt as though he could scarcely wait for his father's return from the
+office, so eager was he to show him his prize. As it was, he watched
+impatiently for him, and so soon as he came in sight rushed toward him,
+holding the book above his head, and shouting:
+
+"I've won it. I've won the prize."
+
+The Lloyds were all quite as proud as Bert himself over his success, and
+they made a very merry quartette as they sat around the dinner-table
+that evening.
+
+"Dear me! I suppose I'll have to keep my promise now, though it takes my
+last cent to pay for it," said Mr. Lloyd, with a pretence of looking
+rueful.
+
+"Indeed you will, father. I'm not going to let you off, of that you may
+be sure," exclaimed Bert, gleefully, knowing very well that his father
+was only in fun, and that it would take the cost of a good many ponies
+to reach his last cent.
+
+"Well, then, sir, since you insist upon it, may I venture to inquire
+what sort of a pony you would like."
+
+"Oh, I don't know, father."
+
+"I suppose you're not very particular, Bert, so long as he'll let you
+stay on his back," said Mr. Lloyd, smiling.
+
+"That's about it, father," assented Bert.
+
+"Be sure and get a nice, quiet pony that won't run away with Bert, or
+give him a nasty kick some time," interposed Mrs. Lloyd, with an anxious
+look, as she contemplated the possibility of some accident happening to
+her darling.
+
+"Never fear, mother, I'll make sure of that," answered Mr. Lloyd, with a
+reassuring smile. "And for that very reason," he continued, addressing
+himself to Bert, "I may be some time in finding one just to suit. So you
+must be patient, my little man, and be willing to wait, so that when
+your pony does come, he may be a good one."
+
+As it turned out, Bert had to wait several months, and the chill winter
+had given way to the warm sunshine of spring, and the boy's patience had
+almost given way altogether, when at last his father, on coming home one
+evening, announced, to his immense joy, that after much searching he had
+secured a pony that thoroughly suited him, and that this equine treasure
+would be brought to the house the next morning early.
+
+If Bert was too much excited to sleep for more than half-an-hour at a
+time that night, who cannot sympathise with him? And if, when he did
+fall into a troubled doze, he had nightmare visions which soon woke him
+up again, who would dare laugh at him? In all his young life he had
+never been in such a fever of expectation, and long before dawn he was
+wide awake, with no hope of again closing his eyes, and tossed and
+tumbled about until it was light enough to get up and dress himself.
+
+As soon as he had dressed he went down to the barn to assure himself for
+the twentieth time that the little stall was in perfect readiness; that
+there was no lack of oats in the bin or hay in the loft; that the
+brand-new halter was hanging in its place, waiting to be clasped upon
+the head of the coming pony, and thus he managed to while away the time
+until the breakfast bell rang.
+
+The pony was to arrive shortly after breakfast, and, hungry as he was,
+Bert could scarcely be persuaded to taste his porridge, toast, or
+coffee, and he made the others laugh by jumping up to run to the door at
+the slightest suspicion of a sound in the street. At length, just when
+he had settled down again after one of these excursions, the door bell
+rang vigorously. Bert rushed through the hall, opened the door, and
+immediately there was a glad shout of "Hurrah! Here he is! Isn't he a
+beauty?" which brought the whole family to the door, and there they
+beheld the overjoyed boy with his arms clasped tightly round the neck
+of a brown pony that seemed to quite appreciate this little
+demonstration, while the groom looked on with a superior smile at Bert's
+enthusiasm.
+
+The pony was indeed a beauty. He was of a rich brown colour, without a
+white spot upon him, just high enough for Bert to see comfortably over
+his back, and as round and plump as the best master could wish. His head
+was small and perfectly shaped, his neck beautifully arched, and he had
+large brown eyes that looked out upon the world with an intelligence
+almost human. He had the highest testimonials as to soundness of wind
+and limb, and sweetness of temper, and was altogether just the very kind
+of a pony to make a boy happy.
+
+And yet all of his good points have not been recounted. He had a list of
+accomplishments quite as long as his list of virtues, for at some
+previous stage of his life he had, on account of his beauty and great
+docility, been put in training for the circus; and although for some
+reason or other he had never got so far as to make his appearance in the
+saw-dust arena, he had been taught a great many tricks, and these he was
+generally willing to perform, provided an apple or lump of sugar were
+held out as a reward.
+
+All this the groom explained while they were standing at the door, and
+then the pony, having been sufficiently introduced, was led round to the
+yard, and duly installed in his corner of the stable, Bert clinging as
+close to him as if he feared he had wings like the fabled Pegasus,
+and might fly away if not carefully watched.
+
+[Illustration: "The pony was a beauty, just high enough for Bert to see
+comfortably over his back."--_Page_ 256.]
+
+The days that followed were days of unalloyed happiness to Bert. He, of
+course, had to learn to ride "Brownie," as the pony was christened by
+Mary, to whom was referred the question of a name. But it was an easy
+matter learning to ride so gentle and graceful a creature. First at a
+walk, then at a trot, then at a canter, and finally at full gallop, Bert
+ere long made the circuit of the neighbouring squares; and as he became
+more thoroughly at home he extended his rides to the Point, where there
+were long stretches of tree-shaded road that seemed just intended for
+being ridden over.
+
+The best of it was that, as Bert prophesied, the wish being in his case
+father to the thought, Mr. Bowser did follow Mr. Lloyd's example.
+
+"I reckon I can stand a pony for my boy about as well as Lawyer Lloyd
+can for his," said he to himself, pressing his hand upon a fat wallet in
+his pocket, after Frank had been earnestly petitioning him, without
+eliciting any favourable response. "There's no point in Frank's going on
+foot while Bert's on horseback. I must see about it."
+
+He gave poor disappointed Frank, however, no hint of what he had in
+mind; and then one day he made him fairly wild with delight, by sending
+home a pretty bay pony with a star in his forehead, which, although he
+was not quite as handsome or accomplished as "Brownie," was an
+excellent little animal, nevertheless. Oh, what proud, happy boys the
+two friends were, the first day they rode out together! It was a lovely
+afternoon, not too warm to make it hard upon the ponies, and they rode
+right round the Point, and along the road skirting the arm of the sea,
+going much farther than Bert had ever been before; now pattering along
+the smooth dry road at a rattling pace, and now jogging on quietly with
+the reins hanging loosely on the ponies' necks. If Bert's pony knew the
+more tricks, Frank's showed the greater speed, so they both had
+something to be especially proud of, and were content accordingly.
+
+Brownie's performances were very amusing indeed, and after he and his
+young master had become thoroughly acquainted, he would go through them
+whenever called upon to do so. Often when the Lloyds had guests, they
+would entertain them by having Bert put Brownie through his programme.
+Then the cute little fellow would be at his best, for he evidently
+enjoyed an appreciative audience quite as much as they did his feats. He
+would begin by making a very respectful bow to the spectators, lifting
+his pretty head as high as he could, and bringing it down until his nose
+touched his breast. He would then, as commanded, "say his prayers,"
+which he did by kneeling with his forefeet, and dropping his head upon
+his knees; "knock at the door," which meant going up to the nearest
+door, and knocking at it with his hoof until some one opened it; "walk
+like a gentleman"--that is, rear up on his hind legs, and walk up and
+down the yard; "go to sleep," by lying down and shutting his big brown
+eyes tight; shake hands by gracefully extending his right hoof; allow a
+cap to be placed on his head, and then sidle up and down the yard in the
+most roguish way; and other little tricks no less amusing, which never
+failed to elicit rounds of applause from the delighted spectators.
+
+There were many ways in which Brownie endeared himself to every member
+of the Lloyd family. If Mrs. Lloyd or Mary happened to come into the
+yard when, as often happened, he was roaming about loose, he would go up
+to them and rub his nose gently against their shoulder, thus saying as
+plainly as could be, "Haven't you got a crust for me?" and the moment
+Mr. Lloyd showed himself, Brownie's nose would be snuffing at his coat
+pockets for the bit of apple or lump of sugar that rarely failed to be
+there. As for his bearing toward Bert, it showed such affection,
+obedience, and intelligence, that it is not to be wondered at, if the
+boy sometimes asked himself if the "Houyhnhnms" of Gulliver's Travels
+had not their counterpart in nature, after all.
+
+Great, then, was the concern and sorrow when, after he had been just a
+year with them, Brownie fell sick, and the veterinary surgeon said that
+he must be sent away to the country to see if that would make him well
+again. Bert sobbed bitterly when the little invalid was led away. He
+would have dearly loved to accompany Brownie, but that could not be
+managed, so there was nothing for it but to wait patiently at home for
+the news from the sick pony.
+
+Unhappily, the reports were not cheering. Each time they were less
+hopeful, and at last one dull rainy day that Bert was long in
+forgetting, the farmer came himself to say that despite his utmost care
+dear little Brownie had died, and was now buried beneath a willow tree
+in a corner of the pasture. Poor Bert! This was the first great grief of
+his life. Had Brownie been a human companion, he could hardly have felt
+his loss more keenly or sorrowed more sincerely. The little, empty
+stall, the brass-mounted bridle, and steel-stirruped saddle hanging up
+beside it, brought out his tears afresh every time he looked upon them.
+Frank did his best to console him by offering him the use of his pony
+whenever he liked; but, ah! though "Charlie" was a nice enough pony, he
+could not fill the blank made by Brownie's loss.
+
+In the meantime Mr. Lloyd had been making diligent inquiry about a
+successor to Brownie, and had come to the conclusion to await the annual
+shipment from Sable Island, and see if a suitable pony could not be
+picked out from the number. The announcement of this did much to arouse
+Bert from his low spirits, and as Mr. Lloyd told him about those Sable
+Island ponies he grew more and more interested. They certainly have a
+curious history. To begin with, nobody knows just how they got on that
+strange, wild, desolate, sand bank that rises from the ocean about a
+hundred miles to the east of Nova Scotia. Had they the power of speech,
+and were they asked to give an account of themselves, they would
+probably reply with Topsy that "they didn't know--they 'spects they
+grow'd." There they are, however, to the number of several hundred, and
+there they have been ever since anybody knew anything about Sable
+Island. And such a place for ponies to be! It is nothing but a bank of
+sand, not twenty-five miles long, by about one and a-half wide, covered
+here and there with patches of dense coarse grass, wild pea vine, and
+cranberry swamps. There are no trees, no brooks, no daisied meadows, and
+through all seasons of the year the ponies are out exposed to the
+weather, whether it be the furious snow storms of winter, the burning
+heat of summer, or the mad gales of the autumn.
+
+Once a year the Government officials who live upon the island, having
+charge of the lighthouses and relief stations, for it is a terrible
+place for wrecks, have what the Western ranchmen would call a "round-up"
+of the ponies. They are all driven into a big "corral" at one end of the
+island, and the best of the younger ones carefully culled out, the rest
+being set free again. Those selected are then at the first opportunity
+put on board a ship and carried off to Halifax, where rough, shaggy,
+ungroomed, and untamed, they are sold at auction to the highest
+bidders.
+
+It was one of these ponies that Mr. Lloyd proposed to purchase for Bert.
+The latter was an expert rider now, and could be intrusted with a much
+more spirited animal than dear, little Brownie. The arrival of the
+annual shipment was accordingly looked forward to by both Bert and his
+father with a good deal of interest, Bert wondering if on the whole
+shipload there would be anything to compare with Brownie, and Mr. Lloyd
+hoping that he would be able to obtain a pony big enough to carry him if
+he felt in the humour for a ride on a bright summer morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ABOUT TWO KINDS OF PONIES.
+
+
+In due time the Sable Island ponies arrived, and were announced to be
+sold by auction, at the Government Wharf. Taking Bert with him, Mr.
+Lloyd went down in time to have a good look at the shipment before the
+sale commenced, so that he might have his mind made up before beginning
+to bid. They certainly were a queer lot of little creatures. Not a
+curry-comb had touched their hides since they were born, nor had the
+shears ever been near their manes or tails. Their coats were long,
+thick, and filled with dirt; their manes and tails of prodigious length,
+and matted together in inextricable knots. They were of all colours, and
+within certain limits of all sizes. Brown, bay, black, piebald, grey,
+and sorrel. There was no lack of variety; and Mr. Lloyd and Bert
+wandered up and down the long line as they stood tethered to the wall,
+scrutinising them closely, and sorely puzzled as to which to decide
+upon.
+
+It was, of course, quite impossible to tell anything as to disposition,
+for all the ponies seemed equally wild and terrified at their novel
+situation; but, after going over them carefully, Mr. Lloyd decided upon
+a very promising-looking black pony that stood near the middle of the
+row. He was of a good size, seemed to be in better condition than many
+of those around him, had a well-shaped head, and altogether presented
+about as attractive an appearance as any in the lot.
+
+There were numerous bidders at the auction, and Bert grew deeply
+interested in the selling, as pony after pony was put up, and after a
+more or less spirited contest, according to his looks, was knocked down
+to the person that bid the highest for him. By the time the pony his
+father had selected was reached, he was fairly trembling with
+excitement. He was full of apprehension lest somebody else should take
+him away from them, and when the bidding began, he watched every
+movement and word of the auctioneer with breathless anxiety, raising
+quite a laugh at one time, by answering his oft-repeated question "Will
+anybody give me five? I have thirty--will anybody give me five?" with an
+eager "I will!" that was easily heard by everybody in the crowd. It was
+an immense relief to him, when, at length, after what seemed to him most
+unnecessary persistence in trying to get more, the auctioneer called out
+"Going, going, going, at thirty-five dollars. Will you give me any more?
+Going at thirty-five--going, going, _gone_; and sold to Mr. Lloyd."
+
+Thirty-five dollars does not seem very much to give for a pony; but
+considering that this pony had everything to learn, and nobody to
+guarantee his good behaviour, it was a fair enough price for him. The
+getting him home proved to be quite a serious undertaking. The strange
+sights and sounds of the city streets did not merely frighten him--they
+positively crazed him for the time; and it took two strong men, one on
+either side of his head, to guide him in safety to the stable. Once
+securely fastened in the stall, he quieted down in time, but not one
+bite of food would he touch that day, nor the next, although Bert tried
+to tempt him with everything of which Brownie had been fond. This
+troubled Bert very much. He began to fear his new pony would starve to
+death. But his father reassured him.
+
+"Don't be alarmed, my boy. The pony will find his appetite all right so
+soon as he gets used to his new quarters," said Mr. Lloyd.
+
+And sure enough on the third morning, Bert, to his great relief, found
+the oat box licked clean, and the pony looking round wistfully for
+something more to eat. After that, the difficulty lay rather in
+satisfying than in tempting his appetite. He proved an insatiable eater.
+But then nobody thought of stinting him, especially as his bones were
+none too well covered.
+
+It was with great difficulty that he could be persuaded to allow himself
+to be groomed. He would start at the touch of the curry-comb, as though
+it gave him an electric shock, and Michael, who combined in himself the
+offices of groom and gardener, declared that "of all the pesky, fidgety
+critters that ever stood on four legs, he never did see the like of this
+'ere Sable Islander." Michael's opinion was not improved when he came to
+break the little Sable Islander in, for he led him such a dance day
+after day that his stout heart was well-nigh broken before the pony's
+will showed any signs of being broken. However, patience and kindness,
+combined with firmness, eventually won the day; and Michael, with
+considerable pride announced that "Sable," as it had been decided to
+call him, was ready for use.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thought it best to ride Sable for a week or two before Bert
+should mount him, and to this arrangement Bert was nothing loath, for
+the pony's actions while in process of being broken in had rather
+subdued his eagerness to trust himself upon him. As it chanced, Mr.
+Lloyd came very near paying a severe penalty for his thoughtfulness. He
+had been out several mornings on Sable, and had got along very well. One
+morning while he was in the act of mounting, the gate suddenly slammed
+behind him with a loud bang. The pony at once started off at full
+gallop. Mr. Lloyd succeeded in throwing himself into the saddle, but
+could not get his feet into the stirrups, and when the frightened
+creature upon which he had so insecure a hold swerved sharply round at
+the end of the street, he was hurled from his seat like a stone from a
+catapult, and fell headlong, striking his right temple upon the hard
+ground.
+
+A few minutes later Mrs. Lloyd was startled by a hasty rap at the door,
+and on opening it beheld her husband supported between two men, his face
+ghastly pale, and stained with blood from a wound on his forehead. She
+was a brave woman, and although her heart almost stood still with
+agonised apprehension, she did not lose control of herself for an
+instant. Directing Mr. Lloyd to be carried into the parlour and laid
+gently upon the sofa, Mrs. Lloyd bathed his head and face while Mary
+chafed his hands; and presently, to their unspeakable joy, he recovered
+consciousness. Fortunately, his injuries proved to be comparatively
+slight. Beyond a cut on his forehead, a bad headache, and a general
+shaking up, he had suffered no material injury, and he would not listen
+to Mrs. Lloyd's finding any fault with Sable for the accident.
+
+"Tut! tut! Kate," said he; "the pony was not to blame at all. Any horse
+might have been frightened by a gate banging to at his heels. The fault
+was mine in not seeing that the gate was shut before I mounted. No; no,
+you must not blame poor, little Sable."
+
+Curiously enough, Bert had a somewhat similar experience shortly after
+he began to ride Sable. At a little distance from the house was a hill
+up which the street led, and then down the other side out into the
+country. The ascent was pretty steep, the descent not so much so, and
+Bert liked to walk his pony up to the top, and then canter down the
+other side. One afternoon, just as he reached the summit, a little
+street boy, probably by way of expressing the envy he felt for those who
+could afford to ride, threw a stone at Sable, which struck him a
+stinging blow on the hindquarters. Like an arrow from the bow, the pony
+was off. Taking the bit in his teeth, and straightening his head out, he
+went at full speed down the hill, Bert holding on for dear life with his
+heart in his mouth, and his hat from his head.
+
+In some way or other, he himself never knew exactly how, he got both his
+feet out of the stirrups, and it was well for him he did, for just at
+the bottom of the hill, when he was going like a greyhound, Sable
+stopped short, lowered his head, flung up his heels, and, without the
+slightest protest or delay, Bert went flying from the saddle, and landed
+in the middle of the dusty road in a sitting posture with his legs
+stretched out before him. The saucy pony paused just long enough to make
+sure that his rider was disposed of beyond a doubt, and then galloped
+away, apparently in high glee.
+
+Bert was not hurt in the least. He had never sat down quite so
+unexpectedly before, but the thick dust of the road made an excellent
+cushion, and he was soon upon his feet, and in full cry after the
+runaway. Thanks to a gentleman on horseback who had witnessed the whole
+scene, and went immediately in chase of Sable, the latter was soon
+recaptured, and Bert, having thanked his friend in need, and brushed
+some of the dust from his clothes, remounted his mischievous steed, and
+rode him for the rest of the afternoon.
+
+After those two somewhat unpromising performances, Sable settled down
+into very good habits, and during all the rest of the time that he was
+in Bert's possession did not again disgrace himself by running away or
+pitching anyone off his back. He never became the pet that Brownie had
+been, but he was, upon the whole, a more useful animal, so that Bert
+came to feel himself well compensated for his loss.
+
+About this time Bert made the acquaintance of a pony of a very different
+sort. How, indeed, it came to have this name does not seem to be very
+clear, for what natural connection can be established between a
+diminutive horse, and a discreditable method of reducing the
+difficulties of a lesson in Latin or Greek? It would appear to be a very
+unjust slur upon a very worthy little animal, to say the least.
+
+Bert's first knowledge of the other kind of pony was when in the course
+of his study of Latin he came to read Sallust. Caesar he had found
+comparatively easy, and with no other aid than the grammar and lexicon
+he could, in the course of an hour or so, get out a fair translation of
+the passage to be mastered. But Sallust gave him no end of trouble.
+There was something in the involved obscure style of this old historian
+that puzzled him greatly, and he was constantly being humiliated by
+finding that when, after much labour, he had succeeded in making some
+sort of sense out of a sentence, Dr. Johnston would pronounce his
+translation altogether wrong, and proceed to read it in quite another
+way.
+
+As it happened, just when Bert was in the middle of those difficulties,
+Mr. Lloyd was called away from home on important business which entailed
+an absence for many weeks, and consequently Bert was deprived of his
+assistance, which was always so willingly given.
+
+He had been struggling with Sallust for some time, and was making but
+very unsatisfactory headway, when one day, chancing to express to Regie
+Selwyn his envy of the seeming ease with which the latter got along,
+Regie looked at him with a knowing smile, and asked:
+
+"Don't you know how I get my translation so pat?"
+
+"No," replied Bert; "tell me, won't you?"
+
+"Why, I use a pony, of course," responded Regie.
+
+"A pony!" exclaimed Bert, in a tone of surprise. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, come now," said Regie, with an incredulous smile. "Do you mean to
+say that you don't know what a pony is?"
+
+"I do, really," returned Bert. "Please tell me, like a good fellow."
+
+"Come along home with me after school, and I'll show you," said Regie.
+
+"All right," assented Bert; "I will."
+
+Accordingly, that afternoon when school had been dismissed, Bert
+accompanied Regie home, and there the latter took him to his room, and
+produced a book which contained the whole of Sallust turned into clear,
+simple English.
+
+"There," said he, placing the volume in Bert's hands; "that's what I
+mean by a pony."
+
+Bert opened the book, glanced at a page or two, took in the character of
+its contents, and then, with a feeling as though he had touched a
+serpent, laid it down again, saying:
+
+"But do you think it's right to use this book in getting up your
+Sallust, Regie?"
+
+Regie laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Where's the harm, my boy. If you can't translate old Sallust by
+yourself, you can't, that's all, and you've got to wait for Dr. Johnston
+to do it for you. Now, mightn't you just as well get it out of this book
+at once, and save all the trouble," he argued, glibly.
+
+This was very fallacious reasoning, but somehow or other it impressed
+Bert as having a good deal of force in it. The simple truth was that he
+was willing to be convinced. But he did not feel quite satisfied yet.
+
+"Then, of course, you never look at it until you have done your best to
+get the lesson out without it?" he asked.
+
+"That depends. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't," answered Regie,
+in a tone that implied very plainly that the latter "sometimes" occurred
+much more frequently than the former.
+
+Bert took up the book again and fingered it thoughtfully.
+
+"Could I get one if I wanted to?" he asked, presently.
+
+"Why, of course," answered Regie. "There are many more at Gossip's where
+I got this, I guess."
+
+Bert said no more; and the two boys soon began talking about something
+else.
+
+For some days thereafter Bert was in a very perplexed state of mind. It
+seemed as though "the stars in their courses" were fighting not against,
+but in favour of his getting a "pony" for himself. His father's absence
+was indefinitely prolonged, the Sallust grew more and more difficult,
+and demanded so much time, that Bert's chance of winning one of the
+prizes for general proficiency was seriously jeopardised.
+
+Instead of dismissing the subject from his mind altogether, he fell to
+reasoning about it, and then his danger really began, for the more he
+reasoned, the weaker his defences grew. There seemed so much to be said
+in favour of the pony; and, after all, if he did not resort to it until
+he had done his best to work out the translation unaided, what would be
+the harm?
+
+Clearly Bert was in a perilous position. Right and wrong were strongly
+contending for the victory, and much would depend upon the issue of the
+conflict.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+VICTORY WON FROM DEFEAT.
+
+
+Bert had reached an age and stage of development when the raising of a
+decided issue between right and wrong was a matter of vital consequence.
+Although he had little more than rounded out a dozen years of life, his
+natural bent of mind and the influences surrounding him had been such as
+to make him seem at least two years older when compared with his
+contemporaries. He thought much, and, considering his age, deeply. His
+parents had always admitted him into full fellowship with themselves,
+and he had thus acquired their way of thinking upon many subjects. Then
+his religious training had been more than ordinarily thorough. The
+influences and inspiration of a Christian home had been supplemented and
+strengthened by the teaching at Sunday school of one who possessed a
+rare gift in the management of boys. Mr. Silver not only understood his
+boys: he was in hearty and complete sympathy with them; and the truth
+came from him with peculiar force, as he met them Sunday after Sunday.
+
+Bert therefore would appear to have everything in his favour when set
+upon by the tempter, and it might seem strange that in this case he
+should dally so long with the danger. But the fact is there were unusual
+elements in this temptation, such as have been already set forth, and
+Bert's course of action from the time when he first saw the translation
+of Sallust in Regie Selwyn's room, until when at length after days of
+indecision, of halting between two opinions, of now listening to, and
+again spurning the suggestions of the tempter, he had a copy of the same
+book hidden away in his own room, was but another illustration of the
+familiar experience, that he who stops to argue with the tempter, has as
+good as lost his case.
+
+He tried hard to persuade himself that it was all right, and that it
+would be all right, but nevertheless it was with none too easy a
+conscience that he slipped into Gossip's one afternoon, and timidly
+inquired for the Sallust translation. The clerk did not understand at
+first, and when he asked Bert to repeat his question a cold shiver went
+down the boy's back, for he felt sure the man must have divined his
+purpose in procuring the book. But, of course, it was only an
+unnecessary alarm, and soon with the volume under his arm, and breathing
+much more freely, he was hastening homeward.
+
+At first he kept very faithfully to the programme he had laid down of
+not resorting to the "pony" until he had done his best without it. Then
+little by little he fell into the way of referring to it whenever he
+was at a loss regarding a word, until at last he came to depend upon it
+altogether, and the fluent translations that won Dr. Johnston's
+approbation day after day were really nothing better than stolen matter.
+
+Yet all this time he was far from having peace of mind. That troublesome
+conscience of his acted as though it would never become reconciled to
+this method of studying the classics. On the contrary, it seemed to grow
+increasingly sensitive upon the point. Finally the matter was brought to
+a head in a very unsuspected manner.
+
+No mention has been made in these pages of one who occupied a very large
+place in Bert's affection and admiration--namely, the Rev. Dr. Chrystal,
+the pastor of Calvary Church. Dr. Chrystal was a man of middle age and
+medium height, with a countenance so winning and manners so attractive,
+that Mr. Lloyd was wont to call him St. John, the beloved disciple,
+because his name was John, and everybody who knew him loved him. It was
+not merely by the elders of his congregation, who could fully appreciate
+the breadth and soundness of his scholarship, the richness of his
+rhetoric, and the warmth of his eloquence, but by the younger members
+also, who loved his sunny smile, and hearty laugh, that Dr. Chrystal was
+little short of worshipped.
+
+Bert had been his warm admirer ever since the time when on his pastoral
+visits he would take the little fellow up on his knee, and draw him out
+about his own amusements and ambitions, giving such interested attention
+to his childish prattle that Bert could not fail to feel he had in him a
+real friend. As he grew older, his liking for the minister deepened. He
+never had that foolish fear of "the cloth" which is so apt to be found
+in boys of his age. Dr. Chrystal was a frequent visitor at Bert's home.
+Mr. Lloyd was one of the main supporters of his church, and the two men
+had much to consult about. Besides that, the preacher loved to discuss
+the subjects of the day with the keen-witted, far-seeing lawyer, who
+helped him to many a telling point for the sermon in preparation.
+
+This, of course, was quite beyond Bert, but what he could and did fully
+appreciate was the skill and strength with which Dr. Chrystal, having
+laid aside his clerical coat, would handle a pair of sculls when he went
+out boating with them, in the fine summer evenings.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Frank," said he, enthusiastically to his friend
+one day. "There's nothing soft about our minister. He can pull just as
+well as any man in the harbour. That's the sort of minister I like.
+Don't you?"
+
+One Sunday evening, after Bert had been using his "pony" some little
+time--for although his father had returned, he had come so to depend
+upon it, that he continued to resort to it in secret--Dr. Chrystal
+preached a sermon of more than usual power from the text, "Provide
+things honest in the sight of all men." It was a frank, faithful
+address, in which he sought to speak the truth in tenderness, and yet
+with direct application to his hearers. If any among them were
+disbelievers in the doctrine that honesty is the best policy, and acted
+accordingly, they could hardly hope to dodge the arrows of argument and
+appeal shot forth from the pulpit that evening.
+
+Bert was one of the first to be transfixed. When the text was announced
+he wriggled a bit, as though it pricked him somewhere; but when, further
+on, Dr. Chrystal spoke in plain terms of the dishonesty of false
+pretences, of claiming to be what you really are not, of seeking credit
+for what is not actually your own work, Bert's head sank lower and
+lower, his cheeks burned with shame, and, feeling that the speaker must
+in some mysterious way have divined his guilty secret, and be preaching
+directly at him, he sank back in his seat, and wished with wild longing
+that he could run away from those flashing eyes that seemed to be
+looking right through him, and from the sound of that clear, strong
+voice, whose every tone went straight to his heart.
+
+But, of course, there was no escape, and he had to listen to the sermon
+to the end, although, had it been possible, he would gladly have thrust
+his fingers in his ears that he might hear no more. He felt immensely
+relieved when the service was over, and he could go out into the cool,
+dark evening air. He was very silent as he walked home with his parents,
+and so soon as prayers were over went off to his room, saying that he
+was tired.
+
+For the next few days there was not a more miserable boy in Halifax than
+Cuthbert Lloyd. He was a prey to contending feelings that gave him not
+one moment's peace. His better nature said, "Be manly, and confess." The
+tempter whispered, "Be wise, and keep it to yourself." As for the cause
+of all this trouble, it lay untouched in the bottom drawer of his
+bureau. He could not bear to look at it, and he worked out his Sallust
+as best he could, causing Dr. Johnston much surprise by the unexpected
+mistakes he made in translating. He became so quiet and sober that his
+mother grew quite concerned, and asked him more than once if he felt
+ill, to which, with a pretence of a laugh, he replied:
+
+"Not a bit of it. I'm all right."
+
+But he wasn't all right, by any means, as his father's keen eyes soon
+discovered. Mr. Lloyd, like his wife, thought at first that Bert's queer
+ways must be due to ill health; but after watching him awhile he came to
+the conclusion that the boy's trouble was mental, rather than physical,
+and he determined to take the first opportunity of probing the matter.
+The opportunity soon came. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary were out for the evening,
+leaving Bert and his father at home. Bert was studying his lessons at
+the table, while his father sat in the arm-chair near by, reading the
+paper. Every now and then, as he bent over his books, Bert gave a deep
+sigh that seemed to well up from the very bottom of his heart. Mr. Lloyd
+noted this, and presently, laying his paper down, said, pleasantly:
+
+"Bert, dear, put your lessons aside for a few minutes, and come over
+here. I want to have a talk with you."
+
+Bert started and flushed slightly, but obeyed at once, drawing his chair
+close up beside his father's. Laying his hand upon Bert's knee, and
+looking him full in the face, Mr. Lloyd asked:
+
+"Now, Bert, tell me what's the matter with you? There's something on
+your mind, I know; and it has not been your way to keep any secrets from
+me. Won't you tell me what is troubling you?"
+
+Bert fidgeted in his chair, the flush deepened in his face, his eyes
+dropped before his father's searching gaze, and his hands worked
+nervously. At last, with an apparent effort, he replied, in a low tone:
+
+"There's nothing the matter with me, father."
+
+Mr. Lloyd sighed, and looked troubled.
+
+"Yes, there is, Bert. You know there is. Now, don't conceal it from me,
+but speak right out. Remember your motto, Bert: 'Quit you like men.'"
+
+The working of Bert's countenance showed clearly the struggle that was
+going on within, and there was silence for a moment, while Mr. Lloyd
+awaited his answer, praying earnestly the while that his boy might be
+helped to do the right. Then, suddenly, Bert sprang up, darted toward
+the door, and heeding not his father's surprised exclamation of--"Bert,
+Bert, aren't you going to answer me?" ran up the stairs to his own room.
+An instant more and he returned, bearing a volume which he placed in Mr.
+Lloyd's hands; and then, throwing himself on the sofa, he buried his
+head in the cushions, and burst into a passion of tears.
+
+Bewildered by this unexpected action, Mr. Lloyd's first impulse was to
+take his boy in his arms and try to soothe him. Then he bethought
+himself of the book lying in his lap, and turned to it for an
+explanation of the mystery. It was an innocent-enough looking volume,
+and seemed at first glance to make matters no clearer, but as he held it
+in his hands there came back to him the recollection of his own
+schoolboy days, and like a flash the thing was plain to him. Bert had
+been using a "pony," and in some way had come to realise the extent of
+his wrong-doing.
+
+With feelings divided between sorrow that his boy should fall a victim
+to this temptation, and gladness that he should have the courage to
+confess it, Mr. Lloyd went over to the sofa, lifted Bert up gently, and
+placed him on the chair beside him.
+
+"Come, now, Bert, dear," said he, in his tenderest tones, "don't be
+afraid, but just tell me all about it."
+
+In a voice much broken by sobs, Bert then told the whole story,
+beginning with the first conversation with Regie Selwyn, and leaving out
+nothing. His father listened intently, and it was clear the recital
+moved him deeply. When it ended, he silently lifted up his heart in
+praise to God that his darling boy had been delivered from so great a
+danger, and he determined that Dr. Chrystal should not fail to hear how
+effective his faithful preaching had been.
+
+"I need not tell you, Bert, how sad this makes my heart, but I will not
+add my reproaches to the remorse you already feel," said he, gravely.
+"You have done very, very wrong, dear, and it is now your duty to make
+that wrong right again, so far as is in your power. What do you think
+yourself you ought to do?"
+
+"I must ask God to forgive me, father," answered Bert, almost in a
+whisper.
+
+"But is that all? Is there no one else of whom you should ask
+forgiveness?"
+
+"Yes, of you."
+
+"I have forgiven you already, Bert, for I know that you are sincerely
+sorry. But I think there is some one else still. Ought you not to ask
+Dr. Johnston's forgiveness?"
+
+"Why, father," exclaimed Bert, looking up with an expression of
+surprise, "Dr. Johnston does not know anything about it."
+
+"Ah, yes, Bert, true enough; but remember that ever since you've been
+using the translation you've been getting credit from him for work you
+had not really done. Was that providing things honest in the sight of
+all men, do you think?"
+
+Bert flushed and looked down again. He was silent for a little while,
+and then said:
+
+"But, father, I could never tell Dr. Johnston. He is so stern and
+severe."
+
+"Do you think God will ever fully forgive you while you are concealing
+from Dr. Johnston what you ought in common honesty to tell him?"
+
+This question evidently staggered him, and Mr. Lloyd, seeing what a
+struggle was going on within him, put his hand upon his shoulder, and
+said, with tender emphasis:
+
+"Remember, Bert: 'Quit you like men, be strong.'"
+
+For a moment longer Bert seemed irresolute. Then suddenly his
+countenance brightened, his features settled into an expression of firm
+determination, and rising to his feet, with hands clenched and eyes
+flashing, he stood before his father, and almost shouted:
+
+"Yes, father, I will; I'll tell him. I don't care what he does to me."
+
+"God bless you, my brave boy!" exclaimed Mr. Lloyd, as, almost
+over-mastered by his emotions, he threw his arms around his neck, and
+hugged him to his heart, the big tears pouring down his happy face.
+
+Just at that moment the door opened, and Mrs. Lloyd and Mary entered.
+Great was their surprise at the scene they witnessed. But they soon
+understood it all, and when the whole story was known to them they were
+no less thankful than Mr. Lloyd that Bert had come off conqueror in this
+sharp struggle with the enemy of souls.
+
+It was a hard task that lay before Bert, and he would have been
+something more than mortal if his resolution did not falter as he
+thought about it. But he strengthened himself by repeating the words
+"Quit you like men, be strong," laying much emphasis on the latter
+clause. His father thought it best for him to go very early the next
+morning, taking the book with him, and to seek an interview with Dr.
+Johnston before he went into the school.
+
+Accordingly, in the morning, with throbbing heart and feverish pulse,
+Bert knocked at the doctor's private entrance. On asking for the master
+he was at once shown into the study, where the dread doctor was glancing
+over the morning paper before he took up the work of the day.
+
+"Well, Lloyd, what brings you here so early?" he asked, in some
+surprise.
+
+With much difficulty, and in broken sentences, Bert explained the object
+of his visit, the doctor listening with an impassive countenance that
+gave no hint of how the story affected him. When he had ended, Dr.
+Johnston remained silent a moment as if lost in reflection, then placing
+his hand upon the boy's shoulder, and looking at him with an expression
+of deep tenderness such as Bert had never seen in his countenance
+before, he said, in tones whose kindness there could be no mistaking:
+
+"You have done well, Lloyd, to tell me this. I honour you for your
+confession, and I feel confident that never so long as you are a pupil
+in this school will you fall into like wrong-doing. You may tell your
+father what I have said. Good-morning." And he turned away, perhaps to
+hide something that made his eyes moist.
+
+Feeling much as Christian must have felt when the burden broke from his
+back and rolled into the sepulchre gaping to receive it, Bert went to
+his seat in the schoolroom. The ordeal was over, and his penance
+complete.
+
+His frank penitence was destined to exert a far wider influence than he
+ever imagined, and that immediately. The volume he placed in Dr.
+Johnston's hands set the master thinking. "If," he reasoned, "Bert
+Lloyd, one of the best boys in my school, has fallen into this
+wrong-doing, it must be more common than I supposed. Perhaps were I to
+tell the school what Lloyd has just told me, it might do good. The
+experiment is worth trying, at all events."
+
+Acting upon this thought, Dr. Johnston, shortly after the school had
+settled down for the day's work, rapped upon his desk as a signal that
+he had something to say to the scholars, and then, when the attention of
+all had been secured, he proceeded to tell, in clear, concise language,
+the incident of the morning. Many eyes were turned upon Bert while the
+doctor was speaking, but he kept his fixed closely upon his desk, for he
+knew that his cheeks were burning, and he wondered what the other boys
+were thinking of him. In concluding, Dr. Johnston made the following
+appeal, which was indeed his chief purpose in mentioning the matter at
+all:
+
+"Now, scholars," said he, in tones of mingled kindliness and firmness,
+"I feel very sure that Lloyd is not the only boy in this school who has
+been using a translation to assist him in his classical work, and my
+object in telling you what he told me is that it may perhaps inspire
+those who have been doing as he did to confess it in the manly, honest
+way that he has done, and for which we must all honour him. Boys, I
+appeal to your honour," he continued, raising his voice until it rang
+through the room, startling his hearers by its unaccustomed volume. "Who
+among you, like Bert Lloyd, will confess that you have been using a
+translation?"
+
+There was a thrilling silence, during which one might almost have heard
+the boys' hearts beat as the doctor paused, and with his piercing eyes
+glanced up and down the long rows of awe-stricken boys. For a moment no
+one moved. Then there was a stir, a shuffling of feet, and Regie Selwyn,
+with cheeks aflame, rose slowly in his seat, and said in a low but
+distinct voice:
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+A gleam of joy flashed in the doctor's dark eyes as he looked toward the
+speaker, but he said nothing. Then another and another rose and made a
+like confession, until some six in all had thus acknowledged their
+fault. There was no mistaking the pleasure that shone in the master's
+face at this answer to his appeal. When it became clear that, however
+many more might be no less guilty, no more were going to confess it, he
+spoke again:
+
+"While it grieves me to know that the use of translations has been so
+extensive, I am also glad to find that so many of my boys possess the
+true spirit of manliness. I ask them to promise me that they will never
+look at those books again, and if there be others in the school who
+might have admitted the same impropriety, but have not, I appeal to you
+to show by your contempt of such helps your determination that nothing
+but what is honest, fair, and manly shall characterise the actions of
+the scholars of this school."
+
+And with this the doctor resumed his seat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ABOUT LITERATURE AND LAW.
+
+
+Five years had passed since Cuthbert Lloyd's name was first inscribed in
+the big register on Dr. Johnston's desk, and he had been surely,
+steadily rising to the proud position of being the first boy in the
+school, the "_dux_," as the doctor with his love for the classics
+preferred to call it.
+
+And yet there were some branches of study that he still seemed unable to
+get a good hold upon, or make satisfactory progress with. One of these
+was algebra. For some reason or other, the hidden principles of this
+puzzling science eluded his grasp, as though a and x had been eels of
+phenomenal activity. He tried again and again to pierce the obscurity
+that enshrouded them, but at best with imperfect success; and it was a
+striking fact that he should, term after term, carry off the arithmetic
+prize by splendid scores, and yet be ingloriously beaten at algebra.
+
+Another subject that became a great bugbear to him was what was known as
+composition. On Fridays the senior boys were required to bring an
+original composition, covering at least two pages of letter paper, upon
+any subject they saw fit. This requirement made that day "black Friday"
+for Bert and many others besides. The writing of a letter or composition
+is probably the hardest task that can be set before a schoolboy. It was
+safe to say that in many cases a whipping would be gratefully preferred.
+But for the disgrace of the thing, Bert would certainly rather at any
+time have taken a mild whipping than sit down and write an essay.
+
+At the first, taking pity upon his evident helplessness, Mr. Lloyd gave
+him a good deal of assistance, or allowed Mary--the ever-willing and
+ever-helpful Mary--to do so. But after a while he thought Bert should
+run alone, and prohibited further aid. Thus thrown upon his own
+resources, the poor fellow struggled hard, to very little purpose. Even
+when his father gave him a lift to the extent of suggesting a good
+theme, he found it almost impossible to write anything about it.
+
+One Friday he went without having prepared a composition. He hoped that
+Dr. Johnston would just keep him in after school for a while, or give
+him an "imposition" of fifty lines of Virgil to copy as a penalty, and
+that that would be an end of the matter. But, as it turned out, the
+doctor thought otherwise. When Bert presented no composition he inquired
+if he had any excuse, meaning a note from his father asking that he be
+excused this time. Bert answered that he had not.
+
+"Then," said Dr. Johnston, sternly, "you must remain in after school
+until your composition is written."
+
+Bert was a good deal troubled by this unexpected penalty, but there was
+of course no appeal from the master's decision. The school hours passed,
+three o'clock came, and all the scholars save those who were kept in for
+various shortcomings went joyfully off to their play, leaving the big,
+bare, dreary room to the doctor and his prisoners. Then one by one, as
+they met the conditions of their sentence, or made up their deficiencies
+in work, they slipped quietly away, and ere the old yellow-faced clock
+solemnly struck the hour of four, Bert was alone with the grim and
+silent master.
+
+He had not been idle during that hour. He had made more than one attempt
+to prepare some sort of a composition, but both ideas and words utterly
+failed him. He could not even think of a subject, much less cover two
+pages of letter paper with comments upon it. By four o'clock despair had
+settled down upon him, and he sat at his desk doing nothing, and waiting
+he hardly knew for what.
+
+Another hour passed, and still Bert had made no start, and still the
+doctor sat at his desk absorbed in his book and apparently quite
+oblivious of the boy before him. Six o'clock drew near, and with it the
+early dusk of an autumn evening. Bert was growing faint with hunger,
+and, oh! so weary of his confinement. Not until it was too dark to read
+any longer did Dr. Johnston move; and then, without noticing Bert, he
+went down the room, and disappeared through the door that led into his
+own apartments.
+
+"My gracious!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "Surely he is not going to
+leave me here all alone in the dark. I'll jump out of the window if he
+does."
+
+But that was not the master's idea, for shortly he returned with two
+candles, placed one on either side of Bert's desk, then went to his
+desk, drew forth the long, black strap, whose cruel sting Bert had not
+felt for years, and standing in front of the quaking boy, looking the
+very type of unrelenting sternness, said:
+
+"You shall not leave your seat until your composition is finished, and
+if you have not made a beginning inside of five minutes you may expect
+punishment."
+
+So saying, he strode off into the darkness, and up and down the long
+room, now filled with strange shadows, swishing the strap against the
+desks as he passed to and fro. Bert's feelings may be more easily
+imagined than described. Hungry, weary, frightened, he grasped his pen
+with trembling fingers, and bent over the paper.
+
+For the first minute or two not a word was written. Then, as if struck
+by some happy thought, he scribbled down a title quickly and paused. In
+a moment more he wrote again, and soon one whole paragraph was done.
+
+The five minutes having elapsed, the doctor emerged from the gloom and
+came up to see what progress had been made. He looked over Bert's
+shoulder at the crooked lines that straggled over half the page, but he
+could not have read more than the title, when the shadows of the great
+empty room were startled by a peal of laughter that went echoing through
+the darkness, and clapping the boy graciously upon his back, the master
+said:
+
+"That will do, Lloyd. The title is quite sufficient. You may go now;"
+for he had a keen sense of humour and a thorough relish of a joke, and
+the subject selected by Bert was peculiarly appropriate, being
+"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."
+
+Mr. Lloyd was so delighted with Bert's ingenuity that thenceforth he
+gave him very effective assistance in the preparation of his weekly
+essays, and they were no longer the bugbear that they had been.
+
+It was not long after this that Bert had an experience with the law not
+less memorable.
+
+In an adjoining street, there lived a family by the name of Dodson, that
+possessed a very large, old, and cross Newfoundland dog, which had, by
+its frequent exhibitions of ill-temper, become quite a nuisance to the
+neighbourhood. They had often been spoken to about their dog's readiness
+to snap at people, but had refused to chain him up, or send him away,
+because they had a lively aversion to small boys, and old Lion was
+certainly successful in causing them to give the Dodson premises a wide
+berth.
+
+One afternoon Bert and Frank were going along the street playing catch
+with a ball the former had just purchased, when, as they passed the
+Dodson house, a wild throw from Frank sent the ball out of Bert's reach,
+and it rolled under the gate of the yard. Not thinking of the irascible
+Lion in his haste to recover the ball, Bert opened the gate, and the
+moment he did so, with a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek.
+
+Bert shrieked with fright and pain, and in an instant Frank was beside
+him, and had his strong hands tight round Lion's throat. Immediately the
+old dog let Bert go, and slunk off to his kennel, while Frank, seizing
+his handkerchief, pressed it to the ugly wound in Bert's cheek. Great
+though the pain was, Bert quickly regained his self-possession, and
+hastening home had his wounds covered with plaster. Fortunately, they
+were not in any wise serious. They bled a good deal, and they promised
+to spoil his beauty for a time at least, but, as there was no reason to
+suppose that the dog was mad, that was the worst of them.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was very much incensed when he saw Bert's injuries, and heard
+from him and Frank the particulars of the affair. He determined to make
+one more appeal to the Dodsons to put the dog away, and if that were
+unsuccessful, to call upon the authorities to compel them to do so.
+
+[Illustration: "With a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him, and
+fastened his teeth in his left cheek."--_Page_ 292.]
+
+Another person who was not less exercised about it was Michael, the man
+of all work. He was very fond and proud of the young master, as he
+called Bert, and that a dog should dare to put his teeth into him filled
+him with righteous wrath. Furthermore, like many of his class, he firmly
+believed in the superstition that unless the dog was killed at once,
+Bert would certainly go mad. Mr. Lloyd laughed at him good-humouredly
+when he earnestly advocated the summary execution of Lion, and refused
+to have anything to do with it. But the faithful affectionate fellow was
+not to be diverted from his purpose, and accordingly the next night
+after the attack, he stealthily approached the Dodson yard from the
+rear, got close to old Lion's kennel, and then threw down before his
+very nose a juicy bit of beefsteak, in which a strong dose of poison had
+been cunningly concealed. The unsuspecting dog took the tempting bait,
+and the next morning lay stiff and stark in death, before his kennel
+door.
+
+When the Dodsons found their favourite dead, they were highly enraged;
+and taking it for granted that either Mr. Lloyd or some one in his
+interest or his employ was guilty of Lion's untimely demise, Mr. Dodson,
+without waiting to institute inquiries, rushed off to the City Police
+Court, and lodged a complaint against the one who he conceived was the
+guilty party.
+
+Mr. Lloyd was not a little surprised when, later in the morning, a
+blue-coated and silver-buttoned policeman presented himself at his
+office, and, in the most respectful manner possible, served upon him a
+summons to appear before the magistrate to answer to a complaint made by
+one Thomas Dodson, who alleged that he "had with malice prepense and
+aforethought killed or caused to be killed a certain Newfoundland dog,
+the same being the property of the said Thomas Dodson, and thereby
+caused damage to the complainant, to the amount of one hundred dollars."
+
+So soon as Mr. Lloyd read the summons, which was the first intimation he
+had had of Lion's taking off, he at once suspected who was the real
+criminal. But of course he said nothing to the policeman beyond assuring
+him that he would duly appear to answer to the summons.
+
+That evening he sent for Michael, and without any words of explanation
+placed the summons in his hand. The countenance of the honest fellow as
+he slowly read it through and took in its import was an amusing study.
+Bewilderment, surprise, indignation, and alarm were in turn expressed in
+his frank face, and when he had finished he stood before Mr. Lloyd
+speechless, but looking as though he wanted to say: "What will you be
+after doing to me now, that I've got you into such a scrape?"
+
+Assuming a seriousness he did not really feel, Mr. Lloyd looked hard at
+Michael, as he asked:
+
+"Do you know anything about this?"
+
+Michael reddened, and dropped his eyes to the ground, but answered,
+unhesitatingly:
+
+"I do, sir. It was meself that gave the old brute the dose of medicine
+that fixed him."
+
+"But, Michael," said Mr. Lloyd, with difficulty restraining a smile, "it
+was not right of you to take the law into your own hands in that way.
+You knew well enough that I could not approve of it."
+
+"I did, indeed, sir," answered Michael, "but," lifting up his head as
+his warm Irish heart stirred within him, "I couldn't sleep at night for
+thinking of what might happen to the young master if the dog weren't
+killed; and, so unbeknownst to anybody, I just slipped over the fence,
+and dropped him a bit of steak that I knew he would take to kindly. I'm
+very sorry, sir, if I've got you into any trouble, but sure can't you
+just tell them that it was Michael that did the mischief, and then they
+won't bother you at all."
+
+"No, no, Michael. I'm not going to do that. You meant for the best what
+you did, and you did it for the sake of my boy, so I will assume the
+responsibility; but I hope it will be a lesson to you not to take the
+law into your own hands again. You see it is apt to have awkward
+consequences."
+
+"That's true, sir," assented Michael, looking much relieved at this
+conclusion. "I'll promise to be careful next time, but--" pausing a
+moment as he turned to leave the room--"it's glad I am that that cross
+old brute can't have another chance at Master Bert, all the same." And
+having uttered this note of triumph, he made a low bow and disappeared.
+
+Mr. Lloyd had a good laugh after the door closed upon him.
+
+"He's a faithful creature," he said, kindly; "but I'm afraid his
+fidelity is going to cost me something this time. However, I won't make
+him unhappy by letting him know that."
+
+The trial was fixed for the following Friday, and that day Bert was
+excused from school in order to be present as a witness. His scars were
+healing rapidly, but still presented an ugly enough appearance to make
+it clear that worthy Michael's indignation was not without cause.
+
+Now, this was the first time that Bert had ever been inside a
+court-room; and, although his father was a lawyer, the fact that he made
+a rule never to carry his business home with him had caused Bert to grow
+up in entire ignorance of the real nature of court proceedings. The only
+trials that had ever interested him being those in which the life or
+liberty of the person most deeply concerned was at stake, he had
+naturally formed the idea that all trials were of this nature, and
+consequently regarded with very lively sympathy the defendants of a
+couple of cases that had the precedence of "Dodson _v._ Lloyd."
+
+Feeling quite sure that the unhappy individuals who were called upon to
+defend themselves were in a very evil plight, he was surprised and
+shocked at the callous levity of the lawyers, and even of the
+magistrate, a small-sized man, to whom a full grey beard, a pair of
+gold-bowed spectacles, and a deep voice imparted an air of dignity he
+would not otherwise have possessed. That they should crack jokes with
+each other over such serious matters was something he could not
+understand, as with eyes and ears that missed nothing he observed all
+that went on around him.
+
+At length, after an hour or more of waiting, the case of "Dodson _v._
+Lloyd" was called, and Bert, now to his deep concern, beheld his father
+in the same position as had been the persons whom he was just pitying;
+for the magistrate, looking, as Bert thought, very stern, called upon
+him to answer to the complaint of Thomas Dodson, who alleged, &c., &c.,
+&c.
+
+Mr. Lloyd pleaded his own cause, and it was not a very heavy
+undertaking, for the simple reason that he made no defence beyond
+stating that the dog had been poisoned by his servant without his
+knowledge or approval, and asking that Bert's injuries might be taken
+into account in mitigation of damages. The magistrate accordingly asked
+Bert to go into the witness-box, and the clerk administered the oath,
+Bert kissing the greasy, old Bible that had in its time been touched by
+many a perjured lip, with an unsophisticated fervour that brought out a
+smile upon the countenances of the spectators.
+
+He was then asked to give his version of the affair. Naturally enough,
+he hesitated a little at first, but encouraged by his father's smiles,
+he soon got over his nervousness, and told a very plain, straightforward
+story. Mr. Dodson's lawyer, a short, thick man with a nose like a
+paroquet's, bushy, black whiskers, and a very obtrusive pair of
+spectacles, then proceeded, in a rough, hard voice, to try his best to
+draw Bert into admitting that he had been accustomed to tease the dog,
+and to throw stones at him. But although he asked a number of questions
+beginning with a "Now, sir, did you not?" or, "Now, sir, can you deny
+that?" &c., uttered in very awe-inspiring tones, he did not succeed in
+shaking Bert's testimony in the slightest degree, or in entrapping him
+into any disadvantageous admission.
+
+At first Bert was somewhat disconcerted by the blustering, brow-beating
+manner of the lawyer, but after a few questions his spirits rose to the
+occasion, and he answered the questions in a prompt, frank, fearless
+fashion, that more than once evoked a round of applause from the
+lookers-on. He had nothing but the truth to tell and his cross-examiner
+ere long came to the conclusion that it was futile endeavouring to get
+him to tell anything else; and so, with rather bad grace, he gave it up,
+and said he might go.
+
+Before leaving the witness-box Bert removed the bandages from his
+cheek, and exhibited the marks of the dog's teeth to the magistrate, the
+sight of which, together with the boy's testimony, made such an
+impression upon him that he gave as his decision that he would dismiss
+the case if Mr. Lloyd would pay the costs, which the latter very readily
+agreed to do; and so the matter ended--not quite to the satisfaction of
+Mr. Dodson, but upon the whole in pretty close accordance with the
+strict principles of right and justice.
+
+Michael was very greatly relieved when he heard the result, for he had
+been worrying a good deal over what he feared Mr. Lloyd might suffer in
+consequence of his excess of zeal.
+
+"So they got nothing for their old dog, after all," he exclaimed, in
+high glee. "Well, they got as much as he was worth at all events,
+and"--sinking his voice to a whisper--"between you and me, Master Bert,
+if another dog iver puts his teeth into you, I'll be after givin' him
+the same medicine, so sure as my name's Michael Flynn."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+WELL DONE, BOYS!
+
+
+There comes a time in the life of nearly every boy who attends Sunday
+school when, no matter how faithful to it he may have been, he finds
+gradually stealing in upon him the feeling that he is growing too old
+for it, and he becomes restive under its restraints. He sees other boys
+of the same age going off for a pleasant walk, or otherwise spending the
+afternoon as they please, and he envies them their freedom. He thinks
+himself already sufficiently familiar with Bible truth for all practical
+purposes, and the lessons lose their interest for him. He has perhaps no
+ambition for becoming a teacher, nor even of being promoted to a chair
+in the Bible class.
+
+How best to meet the case of this boy, and save him to the Sunday school
+is one of the most difficult questions that present themselves to those
+engaged in that work. You must not scold him or you will infallibly
+drive him away at once and for ever. Neither is it wise to seek to bring
+into play influences that will compel him to attend _nolens volens_, for
+that will but deepen his dislike, and make him long the more eagerly
+for the time when he will be his own master in the matter.
+
+There seem to be but two possible solutions of the problem. You must
+either appeal to the boy's natural sense of independence, and desire for
+importance by making some special provision for him that will mark a
+distinction between him and the younger folk, or you must, by going far
+deeper, reach the spiritual side of his nature, and through it secure
+his fidelity to the school.
+
+To Bert this temptation had not presented itself. He no more thought of
+tiring of the Sunday school than he did of his own home. He had attended
+regularly ever since his sister Mary would take him with her, and put
+him in the infant class, and it might be said to have become second
+nature with him.
+
+With Frank, however, it was different. He had never gone to Sunday
+school until Bert invited him, and although for some years he was very
+fond of it, that fondness in time had fallen into an indifference, and
+of late he had a decided disinclination to go at all. This was not due
+so much to any resistance to the claims of religion itself, but rather
+to a foolish idea that he was now too old and too big for Sunday school.
+
+Bert took his friend's change of feeling very much to heart, and he
+pleaded with him so earnestly, that for some time Frank continued in
+his place just to please him. But this of course could not last, and he
+was in danger of drifting away altogether, when an event occurred which
+turned the current of his life and set it flowing once more in the right
+direction, this time with a volume it had never known before.
+
+It was a pleasant custom at Calvary Church to give the Sunday school a
+picnic every summer, and these picnics were most enjoyable affairs. A
+better place than Halifax Harbour for the holding of a picnic could
+hardly be conceived. You go, of course, by steamer, and then have the
+choice of some half-dozen different routes, each having its own
+attractions. You might go right up to the head of the big basin that
+stretched away eight miles or more beyond the north end of the city, and
+there land, amid the meadows that are bordered by the unbroken forest,
+or you might stop half-way, and invade the old estate that had once been
+proud to claim a prince as its possessor.
+
+Steering in the opposite direction, you might go around the Point, and
+piercing the recesses of the ever-beautiful arm of the sea, find a
+perfect picnic ground at its farthest bend; or, crossing the harbour,
+there were lovely spots to be secured on the big, tree-clad island that
+well-nigh filled the harbour mouth.
+
+This year it had been decided to hold the picnic at the head of the arm.
+The time was August, just when the cool sea-breeze and the balmy breath
+of the pines are most grateful to the dwellers in cities. To the number
+of four hundred or more, a happy crowd of Sunday-school scholars and
+teachers, and their friends gathered upon the broad deck of the clumsy
+old _Mic-mac_, an excursion steamer that had done duty on this line for
+a generation, at least. Each class had its own banner, as a sort of
+rallying point, and these, with the pretty dresses and bright ribbons of
+the girls, imparted plenty of colour to the scene, while the boys gave
+life to it by being incessantly on the move, and never in one spot for
+more than one minute at a time.
+
+Bert and Frank were in the midst of the merry crowd, and in the highest
+spirits. They were neither of them by any means indifferent to the
+fascination of feminine beauty and grace, and it was easy to secure the
+most delightful companionship on board the boat, which they did not fail
+to do. Then they had the games and sports to look forward to, after the
+picnic ground should be reached, and altogether their cup of happiness
+seemed well-nigh brimming over. They little dreamed how ere the day
+closed they would both be brought face to face with the deadliest peril
+of their lives.
+
+Joyous with music and laughter, the big boat pushed her way onward over
+the white-capped waves, past the fort and the gas works, and the long
+stretch of the Point road; and then giving the point itself a wide
+berth--for the shallows extend far out--around it, and up the winding
+arm, with its line of stately homes on one side, and scattered clusters
+of white-washed cottages on the other, until almost at its very end, the
+landing-place was reached, and the gay passengers gladly deserted the
+steamer to seek the cool shelter of the woods.
+
+There was a wonderful amount of happiness crowded into that day. All who
+wanted to be useful found plenty of scope for their talents in the
+transporting of the provisions, the arranging of the tables, the hanging
+of the swings, and the other work that had to be done, while those who
+preferred play to work, could go boating, or swimming, or play ball, and
+so forth.
+
+The two friends went in for both work and play. They gave very efficient
+help to the ladies in preparing for the dinner, but they did not miss a
+grand swim in the cool, clear water of a sequestered cove, nor an
+exciting game of baseball in the open field.
+
+After dinner came the sports, consisting of competitions in running,
+jumping, and ball throwing, for which prizes in the shape of knives,
+balls, and bats were offered. Bert and Frank took part in several of
+them with satisfactory results, Frank winning a fine knife in the long
+distance race, and Bert a good ball for the best throw, so that there
+was nothing to mar their pleasure in this regard.
+
+By sunset all were making for the boat again, and in the soft summer
+gloaming the old _Mic-Mac_ steamed steadily down the arm on her
+homeward trip. Many of the children were weary now, and inclined to be
+cross and sleepy. Others were still full of life and spirits, and could
+not be restrained from chasing one another up and down the deck and
+among the benches. But their merriment was ere long suddenly ended by an
+event which came near casting a dark cloud over the whole day, that had
+hitherto been no less bright with happiness than with sunshine.
+
+Bert and Frank had joined a group of charming girls gathered at the
+stern of the steamer, and while pleasantly employed in making themselves
+agreeable were more than once disturbed by the noisy youngsters, who
+would persist in playing "chase."
+
+"Some of you will be falling overboard if you don't take care," said
+Bert, warningly, to them. "Why don't you keep in the middle of the
+steamer?"
+
+There was good ground for Bert's warning, as, across the stern of the
+old steamer, which had been a ferry boat in her early days, there was
+only a broad wooden bar placed so high that a child might almost walk
+under it without stooping.
+
+But the careless children continued their play as the _Mic-Mac_ ploughed
+her way back to the city. Presently a troop of them came racing down to
+the stern in chase of a golden-haired sprite, that laughingly ran before
+them. She was closely pursued by a boy about her own age, and in her
+eagerness to escape him she dodged underneath the bar that marked the
+line of safety. As she did so, the steamer gave a sudden lurch; and,
+poised perilously near the edge as the girl already was, it proved too
+much for her balance. She uttered a terrified shriek, grasped vainly at
+the bar now quite out of her reach, and, to the horror of those looking
+helplessly on, toppled over into the frothing, foaming water of the
+steamer's wake.
+
+Instantly there was wild confusion on board the steamer. Scream after
+scream went up from the women, and all who could crowded madly toward
+the stern. If the girl was to be saved, immediate action was necessary.
+Bert did not stop to think. He could swim strongly and well. He would
+attempt her rescue.
+
+"Frank, I'm after her," he cried, as he flung off his coat and hat.
+
+"I'm with you," answered Frank, imitating his action; and before anyone
+else had thought of moving, the two boys, almost side by side, sprang
+into the heaving water with faces set toward the spot where a cloud of
+white showed them the little girl still floated. Putting forth all their
+speed, they reached her ere the buoyancy had left her clothing, and each
+seizing an arm of the poor child, who had just fainted through excess of
+fright, they prepared to battle for her life and their own.
+
+They realised at once that it was to be no easy struggle. The steamer
+had been going at full speed, and although the engines were reversed at
+the first alarm, the impetus of her awkward bulk had carried her far
+away from the spot where the girl fell; and now the boys could just
+barely discern her through the deepening dusk. The harbour had been
+rough all day, and the waters still rolled uneasily. Fortunately, it was
+not very cold, or the swimmers' case had been well-nigh hopeless. As it
+was, the only chance of their deliverance hung upon their endurance. If
+their strength held out, they and the little one they had put themselves
+in peril to rescue would be saved.
+
+She continued to be unconscious, her pretty face, that was so bright and
+rosy a few minutes before, now looking strangely white and rigid, and
+her golden curls clinging darkly about her neck, her broad straw hat,
+all water-soaked and limp, hanging over on one side.
+
+"Surely she can't be dead already?" exclaimed Bert, anxiously, to Frank,
+as the two boys kept her and themselves afloat by treading water, one at
+either arm.
+
+"No," replied Frank, "only fainted. But if the steamer doesn't come
+soon, she will be; and so will we too."
+
+"Never fear, Frank, the steamer will be back for us soon. I think I can
+hear her paddles now," said Bert, in cheering tones; and they listened
+intently for a moment, but heard nothing save the soft lapping of the
+waves all around them. Then Frank spoke:
+
+"Bert," he asked, "are you afraid to die?"
+
+Bert started at the question. He had not thought of dying, and life was
+so precious to him.
+
+"We're not going to die, Frank. God will take care of us," he answered,
+quickly.
+
+"Yes, but if the steamer shouldn't get back to us in time, Bert,"
+persisted Frank, who seemed to be already losing hope, "aren't you
+afraid to die?"
+
+"I don't want to, but I'm not afraid to," Bert replied, after a pause;
+for it was not easy to talk when every exertion had to be put forth to
+keep above the water.
+
+"But, Bert, I am afraid," said Frank, with a groan. "I've been so
+wicked."
+
+"No, you haven't, Frank; and even if you have, God will forgive you now.
+Ask Him right away."
+
+"Oh, I can't--it's too late; I cannot pray now," cried poor Frank, in a
+voice that sounded like a wail of despair.
+
+"It's not too late. Come, Frank, dear, we'll both pray to God to have
+mercy upon us," urged Bert; and inspired by his earnestness, Frank
+obeyed. And there, in the midst of the waves, with their senseless
+burden between them, the two boys lifted up their souls in supplication
+to their Omnipotent Father--Bert with the confidence that came of past
+experience, Frank with the agonised entreaty of one praying in sore
+need, and, for the first time, with the whole heart. A strange place for
+a prayer meeting, indeed; but they were as near the great heart of God
+as though they had been in His grandest cathedral, and the answer to
+their earnest pleading was already on its way.
+
+When the two young heroes leaped into the water, there had at first been
+great confusion on board the _Mic-Mac_, but a minute or two later the
+captain's gruff voice was heard roaring out orders. The paddles that had
+been thrashing the waves so vigorously suddenly stopped, were silent for
+a moment, and then recommenced; but now they were bearing the steamer
+backward instead of forward.
+
+"Get ready the boat for launching," thundered the captain. And
+half-a-dozen men sprang to obey.
+
+"Light a couple of lanterns," he shouted again. And in an instant it was
+done.
+
+"Reeve a long line round one of them life preservers, and stand ready
+for a throw," he cried to the mate. And almost before he had finished
+speaking the mate stood ready.
+
+"Now, then, clear away there all of you," he growled at the excited
+crowd that pressed toward the stern, and they fell back, allowing him
+clear space, while he swung the lantern out before him, and peered into
+the dusk that obscured his view.
+
+"Let her go easy now," he shouted, and the steamer moved slowly on, a
+profound silence falling upon the crowd of passengers as they watched
+with throbbing eagerness for the first sign of the imperiled ones being
+sighted.
+
+Gazing hard into the gloom, the keen-eyed captain caught sight of a
+gleam of white upon the water.
+
+"Stop her!" he roared, with a voice like that of the north wind. "Hand
+me that life preserver!"--turning to the mate who stood near him. The
+mate obeyed, and coiling the long rope ready for a throw the captain
+waited, while the steamer drew nearer to the speck of white.
+
+"Look out there!" he cried to the boys in the water. "Lay hold of this."
+And swinging the big life preserver around his head as though it had
+been a mere toy, he hurled it far out before him, where the beams of
+light from the lantern showed not one but three white objects scarce
+above the surface of the water.
+
+"Look sharp now! lay hold there!" he cried again, and then: "All right.
+Keep your grip, and we'll have you in a minute." Then turning to those
+behind him: "Lower that boat--quick!"
+
+The davits creaked and groaned as the ropes spun through the blocks;
+there was a big splash when the boat struck the water, a few fierce
+strokes of the oars, and then a glad shout of, "All right; we've got
+them," in response to which cheer upon cheer rang out from the throng
+above, now relieved from their intense anxiety.
+
+A few minutes later, three dripping forms were carefully handed up the
+side, and taken into the warm engine room, the little girl still
+unconscious, and the boys so exhausted as to be not far from the same
+condition.
+
+Their rescue had been effected just in time. A little more, and utterly
+unable to keep themselves afloat any longer, they would have sunk
+beneath the pitiless waves.
+
+"It seemed awful to have to die that way," said Bert, when telling his
+parents about it. "I was getting weaker and weaker all the time, and so,
+too, was Frank, and I thought we'd have to let the poor little girl go,
+and strike out for ourselves. But we kept praying hard to God to help
+us; and then all of a sudden I saw a light, and I said to Frank,
+'There's the steamer--hold on a little longer;' and then I could hear
+the sound of the paddles, and the next thing the captain shouted to us
+and flung us a life preserver, and we got a good grip of that, and held
+on until the boat took us all in."
+
+The heroic action of the two boys made them famous in Halifax. The
+newspapers printed columns in their praise, a handsome subscription was
+taken up in a day to present them each with a splendid gold medal
+commemorating the event; important personages, who had never noticed
+them before, stopped them on the street to shake hands with them, and
+what really pleased them most of all, Dr. Johnston gave the school a
+holiday in their honour, having just delivered an address, in which,
+with flashing eyes and quivering lips, he told the other scholars how
+proud he felt of Frank and Bert, and how he hoped their schoolmates
+would show the same noble courage if they ever had a like opportunity.
+
+The parents of the little one they rescued were plain people of limited
+means, but they could not deny themselves the luxury of manifesting
+their gratitude in some tangible form. Accordingly, they had two
+pictures of their daughter prepared, and placed in pretty frames,
+bearing the expressive inscription, "Rescued," with the date beneath;
+and the mother herself took them to the boys, the tears that bathed her
+cheeks as she presented them telling far better than any words could do,
+how fervent was her gratitude.
+
+Deeply as Frank had been moved at being brought through his own generous
+impulse into such close quarters with death, the excitement and bustle
+of the days immediately following the event so filled his mind that the
+impression bade fair to pass away again, leaving him no better than he
+had been before. But it was not God's purpose that this should be the
+result. Before the good effects of that brief prayer meeting in the
+water were entirely dissipated, another influence came to their support.
+Although he knew it not, he was approaching the great crisis of his
+life, and by a way most unexpected; he was shortly to be led into that
+higher plane of existence, toward which he had been slowly tending
+through the years of his friendship with Bert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
+
+
+A day or two after the rescue Bert began to show signs of what he took
+to be simply a slight cold in the chest. At first there was only a
+little pain, and a rather troublesome feeling of oppression, which did
+not give him much concern, and having applied to his mother, and had her
+prescribe for him, he assumed that it was the natural consequence of his
+sudden plunge into the cold water, and would soon pass away. But instead
+of doing so the pain and oppression increased, and the family doctor had
+to be called in for his opinion. Having examined the young patient
+carefully, Dr. Brown decided that he was threatened with an attack of
+inflammation of the lungs, and that the best thing for him to do was to
+go right to bed, and stay there until the danger was over.
+
+Here was a new experience for Bert. He had never spent a day in bed
+before, his only previous sickness having been a siege of the mumps, and
+they merely made him a prisoner in the house until his face regained
+its usual size. But now he was to really go upon the sick list, and
+submit to be treated accordingly until the doctor should pronounce him
+well again. He did not like the idea at all. To what boy, indeed, would
+it have been welcome in that glorious summer weather when there was
+bliss in merely being alive and well. But he had too much sense to
+rebel. He knew that Dr. Brown was no alarmist, and that the best thing
+to do was to obey his injunctions unquestioningly. Moreover, he now
+began to feel some slight anxiety himself. The trouble in his chest
+increased. So much so, indeed, that he found difficulty in speaking for
+any length of time. Symptoms of fever, too, appeared; and by the close
+of another day no doubt remained that the attack was of a serious
+nature, and that the utmost care would be necessary in order to insure
+his recovery.
+
+When Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd learned this, they were sorely distressed. Such
+perfect health had their sturdy boy enjoyed all through his life
+hitherto, that they could hardly realise his being laid upon a bed of
+sickness, and it seemed especially trying just after he had passed
+safely through so great a peril. But they did not murmur. They committed
+Bert to the Divine care, and with countenances full of cheer for his
+sake, and hearts strengthened from above, awaited the revealing of the
+Lord's will.
+
+Day by day Bert grew worse, until each breath became an effort; and the
+fever burned all through his veins, as though it would consume him.
+Fortunately, no cloud came over his consciousness; and although he could
+not speak without a painful effort, and therefore said little, his
+grateful looks showed how fully he appreciated the unremitting care with
+which his father and mother and Mary watched over him. His bedside was
+never without one of them; and there was yet another who vied with them
+in their devotion--and that was Frank. Had Bert been his twin brother he
+could not have felt more concern. He was moved to the very depths of his
+heart, and with tears in his eyes begged of Mr. Lloyd permission to take
+turns with them in watching by the bedside through the long hours of the
+night. He was so affectionate, so thoughtful, so gentle, so trustworthy,
+and Bert seemed so glad to have him, that Mr. Lloyd willingly consented;
+and thus the four whom Bert loved best shared the burden of care and
+anxiety between them.
+
+Bert had never made much parade of his religion. It was the controlling
+force in his life, yet it had not been in any way obtrusive. It had
+grown with his growth, and strengthened with his expanding strength; and
+although there had of course been many slips and falls--for what was he
+but an impulsive boy?--there had been no decline, but steadfast progress
+as the years of his boyhood glided past. It stood him in good stead when
+death waited for him in the depths of Halifax harbour, and it was with
+him now, as hour by hour he drew nearer the dark valley of the shadow.
+
+It seemed strange for the Lloyd's home, which Bert and Mary had
+brightened with laughter and song, to be so silent now, and for big Dr.
+Brown, whose visits previously had been mainly of a social nature, to be
+calling every day, with a serious countenance that betokened his
+concern. Never were mother and sister more devoted and untiring than
+Bert's. Their loving care anticipated his simplest wants; and but for
+the dreadful feeling in his chest, and the fever that gave him no
+relief, the novelty of being thus assiduously tended was so great, that
+he would hardly have minded being their patient for a little while, at
+least.
+
+It was an unspeakable comfort to them all that his reason continued
+perfectly clear, no matter how high the fever raged; and not only his
+reason, but his faith was clear also. He did not despair of his
+recovery, yet he shrank not from looking the darker alternative fairly
+in the face, and preparing to meet it. His father's strong, serene faith
+was a wonderful help to him. In the quiet evening, as the dusk drew on,
+Mr. Lloyd would sit beside him, and, taking his hot hand in his, talk
+with him tenderly, repeating Scripture passages of hope and comfort, or
+verses from the sacred songs they both loved.
+
+One afternoon, Frank was alone with him, Mrs. Lloyd and Mary having gone
+off to take much needed rest, and Bert for the first time spoke to his
+friend of the possibility of his never getting well again.
+
+"I am very ill, Frank, dear," said he, reaching over to lay his burning
+hand upon Frank's knee, as the latter sat close beside his bed. "I may
+never be any better."
+
+"Oh, yes, you will!" returned Frank, cheerfully. "You'll come round all
+right."
+
+"I hope so, Frank, but sometimes as I lie here in the middle of the
+night, it seems as though it would soon be all over with me."
+
+"Never fear, Bert, you'll live to be an old man yet, see if you don't."
+
+Bert was silent for a while as if thinking just how he would say
+something that was on his mind. Then turning to Frank, and, looking
+earnestly into his face, he asked:
+
+"Frank, do you love Jesus?"
+
+Frank started at the question, the blood mounted to his forehead, and
+his head dropped. He seemed reluctant to reply, and it was some time
+before he answered, almost in a whisper:
+
+"I'm afraid I don't, Bert."
+
+A look of sorrow came over Bert's countenance, but was quickly
+dissipated by one of hope, and despite the pain the utterance of every
+word gave him he took Frank's hand between both of his, and pressing it
+affectionately, said:
+
+"Dear, dear Frank, you will love Him, won't you?"
+
+Frank's sturdy frame trembled with the emotion he strove hard to
+suppress; his lips quivered so that he could not have spoken if he
+would, and at length, unable to control himself any longer, he fell on
+his knees at the bedside, and burying his face in his hands burst into
+tears.
+
+The ineffable glory of the sun setting into the golden haze of the west
+filled the room, and enfolded the figures of the two boys, the one
+kneeling at the bedside, and the other with eyes lifted heavenward, and
+lips moving in earnest prayer, touching softly the brown curls half
+buried in the bed beside him. For some minutes there was a solemn
+silence. Then Bert spoke:
+
+"Frank, Frank," he called, gently.
+
+Frank lifted his tear-stained face.
+
+"Won't you begin to love Him now?" Bert asked. "If God should take me
+away, I could not be happy unless I felt sure that you would meet me
+above. We've been such friends, Frank, and you've been so good to me
+always."
+
+[Illustration: "'Frank, Frank,' he called gently. Frank lifted his
+tear-stained face."--_Page_ 320.]
+
+Frank's tears flowed afresh. It was not the first time that the question
+of surrender to Christ had presented itself to him. He had debated it
+with himself over and over again, and always with the same result,
+concluding to remain undecided a little longer. But now the time for
+indecision seemed altogether passed. The Christ Himself seemed present
+in that room awaiting an answer to the question he had inspired Bert
+to put. Never in all his life before had the issue between God and
+himself appeared so inevitable. He had evaded it more than once, but a
+decision could no longer be delayed. No sooner did he see this clearly
+than the powers of the strong, deep nature asserted itself. Brushing
+aside his tears, and looking right into Bert's expectant eyes, he seized
+both his hands, and, with a countenance almost glorified by the
+expression of lofty purpose the rays of the setting sun revealed upon
+it, said, in clear, firm tones:
+
+"Yes, Bert, I will love Jesus, and I will begin right away."
+
+"Oh, Frank, I'm so happy!" murmured Bert, as he fell back on his pillow,
+for the stress of emotion had told hard upon him in his weak state, and
+he felt exhausted. He lay there quietly with his eyes closed for a
+while, and then sank into a gentle slumber, and before he awoke again
+Mrs. Lloyd had come into the room so that their conversation could not
+be resumed before Frank went away.
+
+The next day Bert was decidedly worse. The suffering in his chest
+increased until he could hardly speak. With great difficulty he could
+get out a word at a time, and that was all. The fever showed no signs of
+abating, and he tossed upon his bed hour after hour, while with ice and
+fan and cooling applications Mrs. Lloyd and Mary strove hard to give him
+ease.
+
+Dr. Brown made no attempt to conceal his anxiety.
+
+"The crisis is near at hand," he said. "There is nothing more that I can
+do for him. He has reached a point where your prayers can do more for
+him than my poor medicines."
+
+Although her heart was torn with anguish unspeakable, Mrs. Lloyd's
+fortitude never for a moment faltered. So serene was her bearing in the
+sick chamber that Mary, from whom the gravity of her brother's case had
+been so far as possible concealed, had yet no thought but that he would
+infallibly win his way back to health.
+
+As he grew weaker and his sufferings more intense, Bert evidently felt
+easiest when all three of his own household were with him at once, and
+when Frank was there also, his satisfaction seemed complete. He spoke
+but little, and then only a word or two at a time. Dr. Chrystal came to
+see him frequently, and was always greeted with a glad smile of welcome.
+Taking the Bible, he would, in his rich mellow voice, read some
+comforting passage, and then pray with deep trustful earnestness,
+inspiring and strengthening the anxious watchers, and leaving behind him
+an atmosphere of peace.
+
+On Friday night the crisis came. After tossing and tumbling about
+feverishly all day, as the evening shadows fell, Bert sank into a deep
+stupor, and Dr. Brown, with a lump in his throat that almost choked his
+utterance, said plainly that unless he rallied before morning there
+would be no further hope. In an agony of prayer Mrs. Lloyd knelt by her
+darling's bedside, while in an adjoining room Mr. Lloyd, and Mary, and
+Dr. Chrystal, and Frank sat together, praying and waiting, and striving
+to comfort one another. The long hours of agonising uncertainty dragged
+slowly by. Every few minutes some one would steal on tiptoe to the sick
+chamber, and on their return met fond faces full of eager questioning
+awaiting them, only to answer with a sad shake of the head that meant no
+ray of hope yet.
+
+At length the dawn began to flush the east, and with crimson radiance
+light up the great unmeasured dome, putting out the stars that had shone
+as watch fires throughout the night. Mrs. Lloyd had risen from her
+knees, and was sitting close beside the bed, watching every breath that
+Bert drew; for who could say which one would be the last? The daylight
+stole swiftly into the room, making the night-light no longer necessary,
+and she moved softly to put it out. As she returned to her post, and
+stood for a moment gazing with an unutterable tenderness at the beloved
+face lying so still upon the pillow, a thrill of joy shot through her,
+for a change seemed to have taken place; the flushed features had
+assumed a more natural hue, and the breath came more easily. Scarcely
+daring to hope, she stood as if entranced. Presently a tremor ran
+through Bert's frame, he stirred uneasily, sighed heavily, and then, as
+naturally as a babe awaking, opened wide his big, brown eyes.
+
+Seeing his mother just before him, he gave a glad smile, lifted up his
+hands as though to embrace her, and said, without any apparent
+difficulty:
+
+"You dear, darling mother."
+
+Completely overcome with joy, Mrs. Lloyd threw herself down beside her
+boy and kissed him passionately, exclaiming: "Thank God! Thank God! He's
+saved;" and then, springing up, hastened out to tell the others the good
+news.
+
+Dr. Brown, who had been resting in the study, was instantly summoned,
+and the moment he saw Bert his face became radiant. Turning to Mrs.
+Lloyd, he shook her hand warmly, saying:
+
+"The worst is over. He'll come round all right now, and you may thank
+your prayers, madam, and not my medicines."
+
+Great was the rejoicing in the Lloyd household. No words would express
+their gladness; and when school-time came Frank, utterly unable to
+contain himself, rushed off to Dr. Johnston's, and astonished the
+assembled pupils by shouting at the top of his voice:
+
+"Hurrah, boys! Bert's not going to die. He'll soon be well again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+HOME MISSIONARY WORK.
+
+
+Bert's recovery was as rapid as his illness had been sudden and severe.
+A fortnight after that memorable morning, when with the dawn came
+deliverance, he was as vigorous and lively as ever. He found the days of
+his convalescence not at all unpleasant. When the pain had passed, the
+long hours of suffering seemed like a dreadful dream, and the present,
+with its sweet relief and increasing strength, a blissful awaking. At
+his home all was joy and brightness: there were silence and anxiety no
+longer. Mrs. Lloyd and Mary went singing from room to room, Mr. Lloyd
+came back from his office whistling merrily, and sure to be ready with
+something to make Bert laugh. Frank ran in and out, the very type of
+joyous boyhood, and each day brought its stream of callers, with warm
+congratulations upon Bert's happy restoration to health.
+
+It would be a queer boy that would not enjoy this, seeing that it all
+centred upon him, and Bert fully appreciated the important position he
+held for the time being. Then what could be more delightful than the
+sense of returning strength, of enlarging activity?--to find one's-self
+with a clearer head, a sharper appetite, and a more vigorous frame, as
+one glorious summer day succeeded another; while the birds sang blithely
+in the apple tree, and the blue waters of the ever-beautiful harbour
+rippled gently before the morning zephyrs, or were stirred into white
+caps by the afternoon breeze?
+
+Bert's illness left no trace behind so far as his physical nature was
+concerned, and yet he was not altogether the same boy as before it laid
+him low. Deep solemn thoughts had been his as he lay upon his bed, not
+knowing whether he should ever rise from it again. His life had been in
+many respects a more than ordinarily blameless one, and yet when he had
+little else to do save look back upon it, an almost overwhelming sense
+of his worthlessness came upon him, and he was filled with wonder that
+God could love him at all.
+
+But that He did love him, and for His Son's sake had accepted him, he
+never for a moment doubted. Now that he was restored to health and
+strength, he did not seek to forget those feelings, nor would he allow
+his convictions of great obligations Godward to lead him nowhere. He
+resolved to do some definite work for his Divine Master, and to seize
+the first opportunity that presented itself.
+
+His friendship with Frank passed into a deeper, stronger phase than
+ever before. It might with much truth have been said of them as it was
+of two friends of old, that the soul of Bert was knit with the soul of
+Frank, and that Bert loved him as his own soul. They had so much in
+common now, and they found it so delightful to strengthen one another's
+hands in the Lord by talking together of His goodness.
+
+There was one matter that troubled Frank deeply, and that formed the
+subject of many a long and earnest conversation. His father was a man
+about whose lack of religion there could be no doubt. He was a big,
+bluff, and rather coarse-grained man, not over-scrupulous in business,
+but upon the whole as honest and trustworthy as the bulk of humanity. By
+dint of sheer hard work and shrewdness he had risen to a position of
+wealth and importance, and, as self-made men are apt to do, laid much
+more stress upon what he owed to himself than upon what he owed to his
+Creator. In his own rough way, that is to say in somewhat the same
+fashion as we may suppose a lion loves his whelp, he loved the only
+child the wife long since dead had left him. He was determined that he
+should lack nothing that was worth having, and in nothing did Mr. Bowser
+show his shrewdness more clearly than in fully appreciating the
+advantage it was to Frank to be the chosen friend and constant companion
+of Lawyer Lloyd's son. He had manifested his satisfaction at the
+intimacy by having Frank make Bert handsome presents at Christmas time,
+and in other ways. In all this, however, his only thought had been for
+Frank. He made no attempt to cultivate intimate relations with the
+Lloyds on his own account. He thought them both too refined, and too
+religious for him, and accordingly declined so far as he civilly could,
+Mr. Lloyd's overtures toward a better acquaintance.
+
+Such a man was Frank's father; and now that the boy's heart was full of
+joy and light, because the peace that passeth understanding was his, he
+longed that his father should share the same happy experience.
+
+"If father were only a Christian, like your father, Bert, I would be the
+happiest boy in all the world," said he, one day. "Oh, Bert, what can I
+do to make him interested in religion?"
+
+"Why don't you ask Dr. Chrystal to go and talk with him?" inquired Bert.
+
+"It wouldn't be a bit of use. He won't go to church to hear Dr.
+Chrystal, nor any other minister, and he wouldn't listen to them if they
+came to see him. He says he has no faith in parsons, anyway."
+
+"Well, do you think he would listen to father?" suggested Bert.
+
+Frank's face lighted up. He had been thinking of this himself.
+
+"Perhaps he would, Bert," he said, eagerly. "I know he thinks a great
+deal of your father. I've heard him say that he practised better than
+many of the parsons preached."
+
+Bert flushed with pleasure at this frank compliment to his father.
+
+"Then suppose we ask him to speak to your father about religion," he
+said.
+
+"Oh, yes; let us," assented Frank. Accordingly, that evening the two
+boys brought the matter before Mr. Lloyd, who listened to them very
+attentively. Then he asked a question or two.
+
+"Are you quite sure, Frank, that I am the very best person to speak to
+your father on this important subject?"
+
+"Yes, Mr. Lloyd; I'm quite sure you are."
+
+"Well, do you know, Frank, I don't agree with you. I think I know of
+somebody that can do it much better than I can," said Mr. Lloyd, with a
+meaning smile.
+
+Frank's face fell. He had set his heart upon having Mr. Lloyd do it, and
+could not believe that anybody else would do as well. After a little
+pause, he asked:
+
+"Who is this somebody else, Mr. Lloyd?"
+
+"He's not very far away from us now, Frank," answered Mr. Lloyd, still
+with that curious smile.
+
+"You don't mean Bert, do you?" cried Frank, looking a little bewildered.
+
+"No; I don't mean Bert," responded Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"Then----." He stopped short, a deep blush spread over his features; he
+caught his breath, and then, as if hoping that the answer would be in
+the negative, exclaimed:
+
+"Do you mean _me_?"
+
+"Yes, I do mean just you; and nobody else, Frank."
+
+Frank threw himself back in his chair with a despairing gesture, saying:
+
+"Oh, I could never do it, Mr. Lloyd. I know I never could."
+
+Mr. Lloyd looked at him with tender sympathy, and laying his hand upon
+his knee, said, gently:
+
+"Do you remember the motto, Frank: 'Quit you like men, be strong'?"
+
+Frank heaved a heavy sigh. "But how can I go about it, Mr. Lloyd?" he
+asked.
+
+Mr. Lloyd thought a moment.
+
+"I have an idea, Frank," he said, presently. "Suppose you were to start
+family prayer in the mornings. I believe it would be the means of doing
+your father good."
+
+At first Frank could not be persuaded that such a thing was possible as
+his presuming to conduct family prayer in his father's presence, but
+they talked long and earnestly about it, and finally he went away
+promising to think it over very seriously.
+
+As he turned the matter over in his mind, however, little by little his
+courage strengthened until at length he felt himself equal to the
+undertaking. It was a Sunday morning that he chose upon which to make
+the venture. So soon as breakfast was finished, and his father had
+moved away from the table, wishing to himself that there was a paper
+published on Sundays as well as upon other days, for he had time to read
+it comfortably, Frank took up his Bible, and said, very hesitatingly:
+
+"Father, do you mind if we have family prayers?"
+
+"Eh! What's that? What do you mean?" asked Mr. Bowser, looking up as if
+he could hardly believe his ears.
+
+"Why, father," answered Frank, timidly, "you know they have prayers at
+Mr. Lloyd's every morning, and I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind our
+having them, too."
+
+Mr. Bowser scanned his son's face with a hard searching gaze, but Frank
+looked back at him with so much love and respect in his clear, brown
+eyes, that all suspicion was banished from his mind, and his heart
+melted not a little.
+
+"Who's going to have the prayers? You don't expect me to, do you?" he
+asked, gruffly.
+
+"Well, father, if you don't care to, I'll try, if you've no objection,"
+replied Frank, modestly.
+
+Mr. Bowser was silent for a moment. He had noted a change in Frank of
+late, and had been impressed by the increased interest he took in church
+and Sunday school as proven by the regularity and punctuality of his
+going off to the services. Had Frank become a Christian like Mr. Lloyd?
+He would not be sorry if he had, although it was rather a pity that he
+had not waited until he had had his fling first, sowed a few wild oats,
+seen something of the world, and then settled down. Here was a good
+chance to find out. So with some relaxing of his gruffness, Mr. Bowser
+said:
+
+"All right, my boy. I've no objections so long as you're not too
+long-winded. Go ahead."
+
+Thus encouraged, Frank, with beating heart and trembling lips, proceeded
+to read one of the Psalms; and then, kneeling down, offered up a simple,
+fervent, faith-filled prayer.
+
+Mr. Bowser did not kneel. He sat sturdily upright in his chair, looking
+straight before him. But he could not prevent strange emotions awaking
+within him as he heard his boy, whom he was still inclined to look upon
+as hardly more than a child, though he was now sixteen years of age,
+address himself in reverent, earnest tones to the Great Being that he
+had so utterly neglected himself.
+
+When Frank had finished, his father rose and left the room without
+saying a word. That evening Frank took tea with Bert, and they went to
+church together. Shortly after the service began Bert happened to glance
+about the church, and his eye fell upon somebody that caused him to give
+a little start of surprise, and then nudge Frank violently. On Frank's
+turning round to see what Bert meant, he too started, and an expression
+of joy that was beautiful to witness came over his countenance, for
+there, in a pew not far behind him, and evidently trying hard to look
+entirely at his ease, sat Mr. Bowser, this being his first appearance in
+church for many long years.
+
+Dr. Chrystal preached one of his very best sermons that night, and all
+the time he was speaking Frank was praying that his earnest words might
+go straight home to his father's heart. That was the beginning of the
+good work. Thenceforward every Sunday evening found Mr. Bowser an
+attentive listener; and Frank, continuing the morning prayers
+faithfully, was surprised and delighted when one day his father brought
+home the finest family Bible he could find in the city, and handing it
+to him, said, in his kindest manner:
+
+"Here, my boy, if we're going to have family prayers, we may just as
+well do it in proper style."
+
+Frank joyfully reported all this to the Lloyds, who rejoiced with him
+over the prospect there was of his prayers for his father being fully
+answered ere long, and Mr. Lloyd was therefore not at all surprised when
+one evening Mr. Bowser called, and in an agitated, confused way begged
+the favour of an interview with him in the privacy of his study.
+
+It was as Mr. Lloyd anticipated. Frank's simple, but sincere efforts at
+home missionary work had been crowned with success. His father's hard,
+worldly nature had been stirred to its depths. A longing the world could
+not appease had been awakened within him, and he had come to Mr. Lloyd
+as one in whom he placed implicit confidence, that he might guide him
+toward the light. The conversation, which Mr. Bowser found wonderfully
+helpful to him in his bewildered, anxious state of mind, was followed by
+many others, and the result was made evident when, ere that year closed,
+Mr. Bowser publicly united himself with the Church; and there were few
+who were familiar with the circumstances that could restrain a tear of
+sympathetic joy when Dr. Chrystal made the event the occasion for a
+beautiful and inspiring sermon upon the place of the young in the
+vineyard of the Lord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+NOT DEAD, BUT TRANSLATED.
+
+
+Mr. Bowser was not a man to do anything by halves. When he was worldly,
+he was worldly out and out, and now that he had broken with the world
+and entered into the service of God, he took up the business of religion
+with a thoroughness and ardour that was entirely characteristic. He
+found himself wofully ignorant of the simplest Scripture truths. Until
+his conversion, he had not opened his Bible since he left his mother's
+care. He, therefore, determined to become a scholar. So one Saturday he
+asked Frank:
+
+"Frank, what is it you do at Sunday school?"
+
+"Well, father, we sing, and pray, and study the Bible, that's about
+all," answered Frank, wondering to himself what his father had in mind.
+
+"Do any grown-up people go there, Frank?" inquired Mr. Bowser,
+innocently.
+
+Frank smiled, partly at his father's lack of knowledge, and partly
+because he thought he caught a glimpse of his purpose.
+
+"Why, of course, father," he exclaimed, "lots of them. Mr. Lloyd goes
+there, and Mr. Silver, and ten or twelve other gentlemen."
+
+"Does Mr. Lloyd go to Sunday school?" asked Mr. Bowser, eagerly. "Why,
+what does he do there?"
+
+"He teaches, father. He has charge of the men's Bible class."
+
+"So Mr. Lloyd has a Bible class there," mused Mr. Bowser aloud; then,
+turning again to Frank, "Do you think, Frank, he would mind if I joined
+it."
+
+Frank could not help smiling at the idea of Mr. Lloyd being otherwise
+than glad at having a new member in his class.
+
+"Indeed, he won't. On the contrary, he'll be mighty glad, I'm sure," he
+answered, warmly.
+
+"Very well, then, Frank, I'll go with you to Sunday school to-morrow. I
+don't know anything about the Bible, and I think there's no better place
+for me to learn," said Mr. Bowser, as he went off, leaving Frank so
+happy at the prospect of having his father go to school with him that he
+could hardly contain himself.
+
+Very deep was Mr. Lloyd's pleasure when on Sunday afternoon burly Mr.
+Bowser walked into his class room and took his seat in the most remote
+corner. He went up to him at once, and gave him a cordial greeting.
+
+"I've come as a learner, Mr. Lloyd," said Mr. Bowser. "I know little or
+nothing about the Bible, and I want you to teach me."
+
+"I am sure I shall be most happy to do anything that lies in my power,
+Mr. Bowser," responded Mr. Lloyd, heartily, "and there are others in the
+class that you will find will help you also."
+
+And so Mr. Bowser, putting aside all foolish notions about pride or
+self-importance, became one of the most faithful and attentive
+attendants of the Bible class. Rain or shine, the whole year round, his
+chair was rarely vacant, until Mr. Lloyd came to look upon him as his
+model member, and to feel somewhat lost, if for any reason he was
+compelled to be absent.
+
+But Mr. Lloyd was not his only guide and instructor. Dr. Chrystal had
+attracted him from the very first. The sermon he preached on that
+eventful Sunday evening, when, yielding to an impulse which seemed to
+him little better than curiosity, he had attended church for the first
+time in so many years, had been followed by others, each one of which
+met some need or answered some question springing up in Mr. Bowser's
+heart, and his admiration and affection for the eloquent preacher had
+increased with a steady growth.
+
+In truth, Dr. Chrystal was a man of no common mould. He united in
+himself characteristics that might seem to have belonged to widely
+different natures. He was deeply spiritual, yet intensely alive to the
+spirit of the times. He was as thoroughly conversant with modern
+thought as he was with the history of God's ancient people. Although a
+profound student, he was anything but a Dr. Dry-as-Dust. On the
+contrary, the very children heard him gladly because he never forgot
+them in his sermons. There was always something for them as well as for
+the older folks. Indeed, perhaps one of the best proofs of his singular
+fitness for his work was the way the young people loved him. Boys like
+Bert and Frank, for instance, probably the hardest class in the
+congregation for the minister to secure to himself, while they never for
+a moment felt tempted to take any liberties with him, yet, on the other
+hand, never felt ill at ease in his presence, nor sought to avoid him.
+He made them feel at home with him, and the consequence was that the
+proportion of boys belonging to his church exceeded that of any other
+church in the city.
+
+Dr. Chrystal had of late been causing his friends no small concern by
+showing signs of failing health. His heart began to give him trouble. So
+much so, indeed, that now and then he would be obliged to pause in the
+midst of his sermon, and rest a little before resuming. His physician
+told him he had been working too hard, and that what he needed was to
+take things more easily, or, better still, to lay aside his work for a
+season, and recuperate by a good long vacation.
+
+At first he would not listen to any such proposition. There seemed so
+much to be done all around him that would be undoubtedly left undone
+unless he did it himself, that he felt as if he could not desert his
+post. But it soon became clear to him that the warnings he had received
+must be heeded, and ere long he was able to make up his mind to follow
+the physician's advice, and indulge himself with an ocean voyage, and
+prolonged vacation in Europe.
+
+As the time for his temporary separation from his congregation drew near
+there was a marked increase of fervour and loving earnestness on the
+part of Dr. Chrystal toward his people. It was as though he thought he
+might perhaps never return to them, and it therefore behoved him not
+only to preach with special unction, but to lose no opportunity of
+saying to each one with whom he came in contact something that might
+remain with them as a fruitful recollection in the event of its proving
+to be his last word to them. Meeting Bert upon the street one day, he
+linked his arm with his, and entered at once into a conversation
+regarding the boy's spiritual interests. Bert felt perfectly at home
+with his pastor, and did not hesitate to speak with him in the same
+spirit of frank unreserve that he would with his father.
+
+"I have been thinking much about you, Bert," said Dr. Chrystal, in tones
+of warm affection, "and saying to myself that if, in the providence of
+God, I should never come back to my work, I would like to leave
+something with you that would linger in your memory after I am gone."
+
+"But you're coming back again all right, Dr. Chrystal," said Bert,
+looking up with much concern in his countenance, for he had never
+thought of its being otherwise.
+
+"I am sure I hope and pray so with all my heart," replied Dr. Chrystal,
+fervently. "But there are many things to be considered, and God alone
+knows how it will be with me a few months hence. I am altogether in His
+hands."
+
+"Well, God knows right well that we couldn't have a better minister than
+you, sir, and so there's no fear but He'll send you back to us all
+right," returned Bert, his eager loyalty to his pastor quite carrying
+him away.
+
+Dr. Chrystal smiled sympathetically at the boy's enthusiasm.
+
+"There are just as good fish in the sea as have ever yet been caught,
+Bert," he answered.
+
+"I thoroughly appreciate your kind, and I know sincere, compliment, but
+it was not to talk about myself that I joined you, but about yourself. I
+have been thinking that it is full time you took up some definite work
+for your Heavenly Master. Don't you think so, too?"
+
+"Yes, I do, sir; and so does Frank, and we're both quite willing to make
+a beginning, but we don't just know what to go at."
+
+"I have been thinking about that, too, Bert, and I have an idea I want
+to discuss with you. You know the streets that lie between the north and
+south portions of our city, and how densely they are packed with people,
+very few of whom make any pretensions to religion at all. Now, would it
+not be possible for you and Frank to do a little city missionary work in
+those streets. The field is white unto the harvest, but the labourers
+are so few that it is sad to see how little is being done. What do you
+think about it?"
+
+Bert did not answer at once. He knew well the locality Dr. Chrystal had
+in mind, and the class of people that inhabited it. For square after
+square, tenement houses, tall, grimy, and repulsive, alternated with
+groggeries, flaunting, flashy, and reeking with iniquity. The residents
+were of the lowest and poorest order. Filth, vice, and poverty, held
+high carnival the whole year round. In the day time crowds of tattered
+roughs played rudely with one another in the streets, and after dark,
+drunken soldiers, sailors, and wharf men, made night hideous with their
+degraded revelry or frenzied fighting.
+
+And yet these people had souls to save, and even though they might seem
+sunken in sin beyond all hope of recovery, they had children that might
+be trained to better ways and a brighter future. It was these children
+that Dr. Chrystal had in mind when he spoke to Bert. A union mission
+school had lately been established in the very heart of this
+unattractive district, and it was sorely in need of workers.
+
+Both Bert and Frank were quite competent to undertake work of this kind,
+did they but give their minds to it, and Dr. Chrystal was anxious to
+have their interest in it thoroughly aroused before he went away.
+
+After a few moments' silence, during which his brain had been very busy
+with conflicting thoughts, Bert looked up into his pastor's face, and
+said, in a doubtful way:
+
+"Don't you think, sir, that is rather hard work to put us at at first?"
+
+Dr. Chrystal gave him a tender smile. "It is hard work, I know, Bert,"
+said he. "I would not for a moment try to argue that it is anything
+else, but I am none the less desirous of seeing you engaged in it. You
+and Frank would make splendid recruiting sergeants for the little
+mission school, and you could be very helpful in keeping order, or even
+in teaching at the morning session. By doing this you would not
+interfere with either your church-going or your own Sunday school in the
+afternoon. I wish you would talk the matter over with Frank, and, of
+course, consult your parents about it."
+
+Bert readily promised that he would do this, for although he, as was
+natural enough, shrank from undertaking what could not be otherwise than
+trying and difficult work, yet he felt that if his father fully
+approved of it, and Frank took it up heartily, he would be able at least
+to give it a trial. Dr. Chrystal was evidently well pleased with the
+result of the conversation, and in parting with Bert took his hand in
+his, and pressing it warmly, said:
+
+"God's best blessings be upon you, Bert. You are fitted to do good work
+for Him. May you ever be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
+
+Little did Bert imagine that these would be the last words Dr. Chrystal
+would address to him personally, or that, as he turned away with a
+seraphic smile upon his face, he would see him but once more alive.
+
+The following Sunday was the last that Dr. Chrystal would spend with his
+congregation previous to his going away, and as he appeared before them
+at the morning service it was the general opinion that his abstention
+from work was taking place none too soon, for he certainly seemed to
+sorely need it.
+
+In spite of evident weakness, he preached with unabated eloquence and
+fervour. Indeed, he was perhaps more earnest than usual, and his sermon
+made a profound impression upon the congregation that thronged the
+church. In the afternoon he visited the Sunday school, and said a word
+or two to each one of the teachers as he passed up and down the classes.
+The evening service found the church filled to its utmost capacity, and
+a smile of inexpressible love and sweetness illuminated the pastor's
+pale face as he came out from the study, and beheld the multitude
+gathered to hear the Gospel from his lips.
+
+"Doesn't he look like an angel?" whispered Bert to Frank, as the boys
+sat together in their accustomed place.
+
+"He doesn't simply look like one. He is one," Frank whispered back, and
+Bert nodded his assent.
+
+The service proceeded with singing, and prayer, and Bible reading, and
+then came the sermon. Dr. Chrystal was evidently labouring under strong
+emotion. His words did not at first flow with their wonted freedom, and
+some among his listeners began to think it would have been well if he
+had not attempted to preach. But presently all this hesitation passed
+away, and he launched out into an earnest impassioned appeal to his
+people to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
+Lord. Although he did not say expressly that this might be the last time
+he would ever speak to them from the pulpit, there was something in his
+manner that showed this thought was present in his mind.
+
+He had got about half through his sermon, and every eye in that
+congregation was fixed upon him, and every ear attent to his burning
+words, when suddenly he stopped. A deadly pallor took possession of his
+face; he pressed his left hand with a gesture of pain against his heart,
+while with the other he strove to steady himself in the pulpit. For a
+moment he stood there silent, and swaying to and fro before the startled
+congregation; and then, ere Mr. Lloyd, who had been watching him
+intently all through the service, could spring up the steps to his side,
+he fell back with a dull thud upon the cushioned seat behind him, and
+thence sank to the floor.
+
+When Mr. Lloyd reached him, and bending down lifted him in his strong
+arms from the floor, Dr. Chrystal opened his eyes, looked upon his
+friend with a smile that seemed a reflection from heaven, breathed
+softly the words: "The Lord be with you," and then, with a gentle sigh,
+closed his eyes to open them again in the presence of the Master he had
+served so well.
+
+It is not possible to describe the scene that followed, when all present
+became aware that their beloved pastor had gone from them upon a journey
+from which there could be no returning. They were so stunned, saddened,
+and bewildered that they knew not what to do with themselves. The men
+and women sat weeping in their seats, or wandered aimlessly about the
+aisles to speak with one another, while the children, not realising the
+full import of what had happened, looked on in fear and wonder. It was
+some time before the congregation dispersed. Dr. Chrystal's body was
+tenderly carried into the study, and there was nothing more to do; and
+yet they lingered about as if hoping that perhaps it might prove to be
+only a faint or trance, after all, for it seemed so hard to believe the
+dreadful truth.
+
+As Bert and Frank walked home together, with hearts full to overflowing
+and tear-stained faces, Mr. Silver caught up to them, and pushing them
+apart, took an arm of each. For a few steps he said nothing; and then,
+as if musing to himself:
+
+"'God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.' Our pastor has gone. He
+is not--because God has taken him--not dead, but translated. Upon whom
+will his mantle fall, boys?"
+
+"I am sure I don't know, Mr. Silver," replied Bert. "But this I do know,
+that we can never have a better minister."
+
+"No, I suppose not--according to our way of thinking, at all events; but
+we must not let that thought paralyse our energies. The vacant pulpit
+has its lesson for each one of us, boys," returned Mr. Silver.
+
+"Yes, it means work, and it seems so strange that Dr. Chrystal should
+have spoken to me as he did the very last time he saw me," said Bert.
+And then he proceeded to repeat the conversation concerning the city
+mission work.
+
+"I am so glad he spoke to you about that," said Mr. Silver. "I had
+intended doing so myself, but it has been far better done now. You will
+do what you can, both of you?"
+
+"Yes, we will," replied Bert and Frank together, in tones of
+unmistakable purpose.
+
+"Perhaps, then," said Mr. Silver, reflectively, "the question I asked a
+moment ago may yet be answered by you, dear boys. Would you like to
+think that Dr. Chrystal's mantle should fall upon you, and that in due
+time you should take up the glorious work he has just laid down? To what
+nobler career can a man aspire than that of being one of the Master's
+shepherds?"
+
+The boys were silent. The thought was new to them, and altogether too
+great to be grasped at once. And Mr. Silver wisely did not press them
+for an answer before he bade them "Good-night, and God bless you both."
+
+But his question remained in their minds. It proved a seed thought that
+in the case of one of them was later on destined to find itself in good
+ground, and to spring up and bear goodly fruit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A BOY NO LONGER.
+
+
+Frank and Bert put their hearts into the city mission work, just as they
+did into everything else that they undertook, and it was well they did.
+For surely nothing save genuine zeal, and fidelity to a strong purpose
+could have carried them through the experiences that awaited them. The
+mission school was still small and struggling. But for the almost heroic
+energies of its superintendent, a clerk in a city banking house, it
+could not have been carried on at all. He was a small, slight,
+fragile-looking man, but he had a heart big enough for a giant, and
+having consecrated his spare hours to this most unattractive of all
+phases of Christian work, he carried it on with a self-denying
+earnestness that no difficulties could dampen, nor obstacles appal. He
+was as ready with his purse, to the extent of its slender ability, as he
+was with his Bible, and his splendid unselfishness was so well
+appreciated by the dangerous degraded beings among whom he toiled, that
+alone and unprotected he might go among them at any hour of the day or
+night, and meet with nothing but respect and rude courtesy.
+
+Such a man was David McMaster, under whose direction Bert and Frank lost
+no time in placing themselves; and a right glad welcome they had from
+him, his pale, thin face fairly glowing with pleasure at the addition to
+his force of two such promising recruits. With him they went the rounds
+of squalid tenements, hideous back alleys, and repulsive shanties, the
+tattered children gazing at them with faces in which curiosity was
+mingled with aversion, and their frousy parents giving them looks of
+enmity and mistrust, no doubt because they were so clean and well
+dressed.
+
+But apparently noting nothing of this, Mr. McMaster led the way from one
+rookery to another, introducing his new workers to their wretched
+inhabitants with an easy grace that disarmed all suspicion, and made
+them feel that so long as he was the presiding genius of the school,
+they had nothing to fear in the worst locality.
+
+The following Sunday morning they began work on their own account. The
+school was held at ten o'clock, closing just in time to permit the
+teachers to get to church, and the part assigned to Bert and Frank was
+to go out into the highways and byways, and invite the children playing
+in the dirt to come to the school, or else to go to the homes, if such
+they could be called, of those whose names were already upon the roll,
+and secure their attendance at the service.
+
+Then when the school opened they found plenty to do, distributing the
+hymn books, helping in the singing, keeping a sharp look-out for unruly
+behaviour, watching the door lest any scholar should take it into his
+head to bolt, insuring an equitable division of the picture papers, and
+so on until the hour came to close the school, and they turned their
+steps churchward, feeling with good reason that they had really been
+doing work for God, and hard work, too.
+
+They soon grew to love Mr. McMaster as much as they admired his zeal. He
+was in many ways a quaint, curious character. His body seemed so small
+and insignificant, and his spirit so mighty. He knew neither fear nor
+despair in the prosecution of his chosen work, and it was impossible to
+be associated with him without being infected by his unquenchable
+ardour. For some time no special incident marked their work, and then
+Bert had an experience that might have brought his part with it to an
+end had he been made of less sturdy stuff.
+
+In company with Mr. McMaster he was making the usual round previous to
+the opening of the school, beating up unreliable scholars, and had
+entered a damp, noisome alley, lined on either side with tumble-down
+apologies for houses. Mr. McMaster took one side and Bert the other, and
+they proceeded to visit the different dwellers in this horrible place.
+Bert had knocked at several doors without getting any response, for the
+people were apt to lie in bed late on Sunday morning, and then his
+attention was aroused by sounds of crying mingled with oaths, that came
+from the garret of a villainous-looking tenement. He could hear the
+voices of a woman and of a child raised in entreaty and terror, and
+without pausing to consider the consequences, sprang up the broken
+stairs to the room from which they issued.
+
+On opening the door a scene presented itself that would have stirred the
+sympathies of a man of stone. Pat Brannigan, the big wharf labourer, had
+devoted the greater portion of his week's wages to making himself and
+his boon companions drunk with the vile rum dealt out at the groggery
+hard by. At midnight he had stumbled home, and throwing himself upon his
+bed sought to sleep off the effects of his carouse. Waking up late in
+the morning with a raging headache, a burning tongue, and bloodshot
+eyes, he had become infuriated at his poor, little girl, that cowered
+tremblingly in a corner, because she would not go out and get him some
+more drink. Half-crazed, and utterly reckless, he had sprung at the
+child, and might have inflicted mortal injury upon her had not the
+mother interposed, and kept him at bay for a moment, while she joined
+her shrieks to those the girl was already uttering.
+
+It was just at this moment that Bert entered the room. As quick as a
+flash he sprang to Pat Brannigan's side, and seized his arm now uplifted
+to strike down the unhappy wife. With a howl of rage the big brute
+turned to see who had thus dared to interfere. He did not know Bert, and
+his surprise at seeing a well-dressed stranger in the room made him
+hesitate a moment. Then with an oath he demanded:
+
+"Who may you be, and what's your business here?"
+
+Bert looked straight into his eyes, as he answered, quietly:
+
+"I heard the noise, and I came in to see what was the matter."
+
+"Then you can just be taking yourself off again as fast as you like,"
+growled the giant, fiercely.
+
+Bert did not stir.
+
+"Be off with you now. Do you hear me?" shouted Brannigan, raising his
+clenched fist in a way there was no mistaking.
+
+Still Bert did not move.
+
+"Then take that," yelled Brannigan, aiming a terrible blow at the boy.
+But before it could reach him the poor wife, with a wild shriek, sprang
+in between them, and her husband's great fist descended upon her head,
+felling her to the floor, where she lay as though dead.
+
+At this moment, Mr. McMaster rushed in through the open door. Pat
+Brannigan knew him well, and when sober held him in profound respect.
+Even now his appearance checked his fury, and he stood swaying in the
+centre of the room, looking with his bleared, bloodshot eyes, first at
+Mr. McMaster, and then at the motionless heap upon the floor at his
+feet.
+
+Advancing a step or two, Mr. McMaster looked into Brannigan's fiery
+face, and asked, sternly, as he pointed to the insensible woman lying
+between them:
+
+"Is that your work?"
+
+The giant quailed before the fearless, condemning glance of the man who
+seemed like a pigmy beside him. His head fell upon his breast, and
+without attempting a reply, he slunk over to the other end of the room,
+flung himself into a chair, and buried his face in his hands.
+
+"Come, Bert, let us lift her up on the bed," said Mr. McMaster, and
+between them Mrs. Brannigan was lifted gently, and placed upon the
+miserable bed.
+
+"Now, Katie, get us some cold water, quick," said he, turning to the
+little girl, who watched him with wondering eyes. As if glad to get out
+of the room, she sped away, and presently returned with a tin of water,
+with which Mr. McMaster tenderly bathed Mrs. Brannigan's forehead, and
+soon the poor sufferer recovered consciousness. Mr. McMaster and Bert
+then went away, the former promising to look in again after school was
+over, and see if further help might be required.
+
+When Bert told of the morning's experience at home, his mother became
+very much agitated, and seemed strongly inclined to oppose his
+continuing the work. But Mr. Lloyd was not of the same opinion at all.
+He thought it a very admirable training for Bert, and Bert himself had
+no disposition to give it up. Accordingly, he went on as though nothing
+had happened, meeting with many discouragements, and few real successes,
+yet sustained by a steady impulse to willing service, strengthened by a
+real interest in the work itself.
+
+The days of Bert's boyhood were rapidly passing by. The time was
+approaching for him to enter college, and once enrolled as an
+undergraduate he could of course be counted a boy no longer. Not indeed
+that he was growing old in the sense of becoming too prim or particular
+to indulge in boyish sports and pranks. There was nothing premature in
+his development. He was in advance of many boys of his age, it is true,
+but that was only because he strove to be.
+
+He was not content unless he stood among the leaders, whether in study
+or sport. He looked forward to college with ardent expectation. Ever
+since the days of Mr. Garrison's school he had been accustomed to see
+the students in their Oxford caps and flowing black gowns going to and
+from the university which had its home in a handsome free-stone building
+that stood right in the heart of the city, and he had felt impatient for
+the time to come when he might adopt the same odd and striking costume.
+
+During the past year his studies had been directed with special
+reference to the matriculation examination. As regards the classics, he
+could not have had a better teacher than Dr. Johnston, and his progress
+in knowledge of them had been sure and steady. In mathematics, however,
+he was hardly up to the mark, partly because they were not taught with
+the same enthusiasm at Dr. Johnston's, and partly because he did not
+take to them very kindly himself. Mr. Lloyd accordingly thought it wise
+to engage a tutor who would give him daily lessons during the mid-summer
+holidays.
+
+Bert, as was quite natural, did not altogether relish the idea of
+mingling work with play in this fashion in the glorious summer weather
+when the days seemed all too short for the enjoyment that was to be had;
+but when Frank, who was of course to go to college also, entered
+heartily into the plan, and Mr. Scott, the tutor, proved to be a very
+able and interesting instructor, full of enthusiasm about the
+university, in which he was one of the most brilliant students, Bert's
+indifference soon disappeared, and the three lads--for Mr. Scott was
+still in his teens--had a fine time together that summer, studying hard
+for two hours each morning, and spending the rest of the day in boating,
+or cricket, or some other pleasant fashion.
+
+As the heat of summer yielded to the cool breezes of autumn, and the
+time for the opening of the college drew near, Bert grew very excited.
+There were two scholarships offered at each matriculation examination,
+one open to those coming from the city, the other to those from the
+country. He had fixed his ambition upon the city scholarship, and
+determined to do his best to win it. He had caught some of his tutor's
+enthusiasm, and fully appreciated the importance of a brilliant
+beginning. Accordingly, he gave diligent heed to the good advice Mr.
+Scott delighted to give him, as well as to the studies he set for him,
+and looked forward hopefully to the approaching examination.
+
+Toward the end of October the examination took place. It was the boys'
+first experience of a written examination, and it is little wonder if
+they felt nervous about it.
+
+With Mr. Scott as guide they made their way to the university building,
+where he led them along the echoing stone corridors to a door inscribed,
+"Library;" and then, wishing them the best of fortune, bade them enter
+and try their fate. They found themselves in a large bright room whose
+floor was covered with desks, and the walls lined with bookcases, and
+having at one end a baize-covered table, around which sat several
+spectacled gentlemen attired in long black gowns, and chatting busily
+with one another. They took no notice of the two boys, who sat down at
+the nearest desk, and awaited developments. They were the first
+candidates in the room, but others presently came in until more than a
+score had gathered.
+
+All evidently felt more or less nervous, although some tried very hard
+to appear unconcerned. They varied in age from Bert, who was
+undoubtedly the youngest, to a long-bearded, sober-visaged Scotchman,
+who might almost have been his father; their appearance was as different
+as their ages, some being spruce, well-dressed city lads, and others the
+most rustic-looking of youths, clad in rough homespun. They each sat
+down in the first seat they could find, and then stared about them as if
+they would like very much to know what was going to happen next.
+
+They had not long to wait in uncertainty. A short, stout, pleasant-faced
+professor disengaged himself from the group at the table, and stepping
+up to the platform, said, in a smooth voice, with a strong Scotch
+accent:
+
+"If you are ready to begin, gentlemen, will you please arrange
+yourselves so as to occupy only every alternate desk."
+
+There was a little noise and bustle as this order was being carried out,
+and then they settled down again, with a vacant desk between each pair
+as a precaution against whispered assistance. The next proceeding was to
+distribute paper to the candidates, they being expected to supply their
+own pens and ink. And then came what all were awaiting with beating
+pulse--viz., the examination paper. Each one as he received his paper
+ran his eye eagerly down the list of questions, his countenance growing
+bright or gloomy according as, to this hasty survey, the questions
+seemed easy or difficult.
+
+Bert scanned his list rapidly, gave a great sigh of relief, and then
+turned to Frank with a meaning smile, which said more plainly than
+words:
+
+"I'm all right."
+
+Frank smiled back, in token that he was all right, too, and then the two
+boys bent to their work.
+
+They did not get along very fast at the start. It was their first
+written examination, and this, added to their natural nervousness, kept
+both their ideas and their ink from flowing freely. But after a few
+minutes they forgot themselves in their eagerness to commit to paper the
+answers to the questions before them, and for an hour or more they
+scribbled away until the first paper, which was upon the classics, had
+nothing unanswered left upon it.
+
+Bert finished first, and the professor, noticing him unemployed, brought
+him another paper, this time the mathematical one. As he expected, he
+did not do quite as well with it. But he felt sure of being right in his
+answers to six out of the ten questions, and very hopeful about two
+others, so that altogether he was well satisfied.
+
+The third and last paper was upon the English branches--history,
+grammar, geography, and so forth, and he polished this off with little
+difficulty, making a clean sweep of the dozen questions. All this took
+until after one o'clock, and when he laid down his pen with his task
+finished, he felt pretty tired, and anxious to get out and stretch
+himself. Frank, however, was not quite through, so he waited for him,
+and then the friends hurried off to compare notes, and estimate their
+chances.
+
+The results would not be declared for two days at least, and Bert found
+it very hard to keep his impatience in check. He could think of nothing
+else than those examinations. Having answered so many questions, he felt
+not the slightest uneasiness as to passing; but the scholarship--ah!
+that was the point. Mr. Scott had made it very clear what an important
+position a scholarship winner held in his class. It gave him the lead at
+once, and was in every way an honour to be highly coveted.
+
+Well, the longest days have their ending, and the two days of excited
+uncertainty dragged themselves past, and on Friday morning with a heart
+beating like a trip hammer, Bert hastened to the university. The results
+would be posted up on a huge blackboard that hung in the central
+corridor, and on entering he found an eager crowd thronging about this
+board, through which he had some difficulty in making his way. But by
+dint of pushing and elbowing, he soon got near enough to make out what
+was written on the long sheets of paper that occupied the centre of the
+board, and then--how shall be described the bound of wild delight his
+heart gave, when he read: "_The City Scholarship_--CUTHBERT LLOYD."
+
+Then underneath the word "_Passed_," in large letters, the name
+"CUTHBERT LLOYD," and a few names lower down "FRANK BOWSER," while
+below them were the rest of the candidates.
+
+Frank was beside him, and by a common impulse of joy the two friends
+threw their arms about each other, and hugged one another like two
+enthusiastic young bears. Then they ran off as fast as their legs could
+carry them to tell the good news.
+
+There was not a happier, prouder family in all Acadia that night than
+the Lloyds. Mr. Bowser and Frank came in to exchange congratulations,
+and they rejoiced together over the boys' success. Mr. Bowser was as
+delighted over Frank's passing as Mr. Lloyd was over Bert's scholarship.
+Like many men of defective education, he had very vague views about
+college. It was all a mystery to him, and that Frank, whom he was just
+finding out to be something more than a boy, should so easily penetrate
+these mysteries, and take a good place among the candidates for
+admission, was a source of unbounded satisfaction to him.
+
+After the first exuberance of joy had subsided, the conversation sobered
+down somewhat, and they began to talk about the future.
+
+"Now, young gentlemen--for I suppose I dare not call you boys any
+longer," said Mr. Lloyd, smilingly--"you should soon be making up your
+minds as to what part in life you intend to take, because, once you have
+decided, your studies at college should be carried on with that end in
+view. Don't you think so, Mr. Bowser?"
+
+"I most certainly do, sir," replied Mr. Bowser, promptly.
+
+"Well, of course, it is not a question to be decided off hand,"
+continued Mr. Lloyd," nor one which we should decide for you, unless you
+turn it over to us. So we will leave it with you for a while, if you
+like."
+
+"I don't think that's necessary, father," spoke up Bert. "Frank and I
+have pretty well made up our minds already--that is, of course, if there
+is no objection."
+
+"And what is your choice, Frank?" asked Mr. Lloyd.
+
+"I would like to follow my father's business, if he will have me, sir,"
+answered Frank, giving his father a look of inquiry.
+
+Mr. Bowser's face flushed with pleasure. He rose from his chair, and
+crossing the room to where his son sat, he put his big hand upon his
+shoulder, and said, in his heartiest tones:
+
+"Ay--that I will, my lad, and all that I have shall be yours when I am
+gone."
+
+"I hope that won't be for a long time yet, father," said Frank, looking
+up affectionately into his father's beaming face.
+
+"So do I, my boy, so do I; but when it does happen, God knows what a
+comfort it will be to me to leave such a son behind me." And the tears
+slipped down his broad cheeks as he went back to his chair.
+
+There was a moment's silence, for all had been affected by this touching
+little scene; and then, Mr. Lloyd, turning to Bert, inquired of him:
+
+"And what is your choice, Bert?"
+
+"Well, father, if you think I can ever become fit for it, I would like
+to be a minister," he answered, modestly.
+
+It was now Mr. Lloyd's turn to become radiant.
+
+"My darling boy, you could not have delighted me more," he cried. "It
+has been my desire and prayer for you, that this should be your choice,
+but I have said nothing to you, because I wanted you to be perfectly
+free and unbiassed by any thought of pleasing me. I see clearly now that
+this is the Lord's doing, and my heart is full to overflowing with joy.
+God bless you both, my boys. I am sure that the hope and prayer of us
+all is that in your manhood may be fulfilled the promise of your boyhood
+that has been so bright, and to which you have now bidden farewell."
+
+THE END.
+
+LORIMER AND GILLIES, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Bert Lloyd's Boyhood, by J. McDonald Oxley
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