“I can’t carry this infernal satchel back to school,” groaned the principal, disgustedly.  “Some of the boys, when they see me, will realize that the satchel is still loaded, and they’ll know what has happened to me at the bank.  It will make me look fearfully ridiculous to be caught in that fashion, with the joke against me a second time!  And yet I have a class immediately after recess.  What can I do?”

A moment later, however, he had solved the problem.  There was a livery stable not far away, and he knew the proprietor.  So to that stable Mr. Cantwell hurried, changing the satchel from one hand to the other whenever an arm ached too much.

“This satchel contains a lot of currency, Mr. Getchel,” explained the poor principal.  “I wish you could do me the favor of having a horse hitched up and take this to my wife.  Will you do it?”

“Certainly,” nodded the liveryman.  “Just lock the satchel; that is all.  I’ll have the bag at your home within fifteen minutes.”

So during the first period after recess Mrs. Cantwell was visited by Getchel, who handed her the satchel, merely remarking: 

“Mr. Cantwell left this at my office, ma’am, and asked me to bring it down to you.  It contains some money that your husband sent you.”

Money?  The good woman, who “loved” money too well to spend much of it, hefted the satchel.  Gracious!  There must be a big lot of the valuable stuff.  But the satchel was locked.  Mrs. Cantwell promptly hunted until she found another satchel key that fitted.  Then she opened the bag, staring at the contents with big eyes.

“What on earth can my husband have been doing?” she wondered.  “Surely he hasn’t been robbing the Salvation Army Christmas boxes!  And the idea of sending me money all in pennies!”

The more she thought about it the more indignant did Mrs. Cantwell become.  Finally, a little after noon, Mrs. Cantwell decided to take the stuff to the bank, have it counted and turned over into greenbacks.  So she trudged up to the bank with it.  The journey was something more than a mile in length.  Mrs. Cantwell arrived at the bank, only to make the same discovery that her husband had made about the need of counting and wrapping the money before it could be deposited or exchanged.  It was close to one o’clock, and the High School not far away.  So, full of ire, Mrs. Cantwell started down to her husband’s place of employment.

Once school let out for the day, a quarter of a thousand members of the student body went off, full of glee, to spread the news of the joke.  As they hurried along many of the students noticed that Mrs. Cantwell was standing not far from the gate and that, at her feet, lay her husband’s black satchel.  Several of the students were quick to wonder what this new phase of the matter meant.

After school was dismissed Fred Ripley remained behind, strapping several books together.  Then, as he passed the principal’s desk, he remarked: