‘Ah, Ginger,’ he said, ’I had almost forgotten that I am still your debtor.  This way, Ginger, please.’

He stood Dick on his high stool, carefully tied the boy’s ankles with a strap, and gave him a large slate, on which his faults were emblazoned in chalk, to hold up for the inspection of the classes; and so he left him for the remainder of the afternoon, every now and again pausing in his vicinity to deliver some incomprehensible sentiment or a sarcastic homily.  This performance affected all the scholars, but it excited Gable so much that the little old man could do nothing but sit and stare at Dick with round eyes and open mouth, and mutter ‘Oh, crickie!’ in a frightened way.  The little dark-eyed girl in the Third Class bore the ordeal badly, too, and every speech of the master’s started a large tear rolling down her dimpled brown cheek.

When the rest of the youngsters marched out, Dick Haddon remained on his high perch.  Kitty Grey, who brought up the tail of the procession, turned at the door and walked back to the master timorously and with downcast eyes; and Dick felt that a plea was to be made on his behalf, but could not hear what followed.

‘Please, sir, if you won’t cane him very much I’ll give you this,’ said Kitty.

The bribe was a small brooch that had originally contained the letters of the little girl’s first name.  It was a very cheap brooch when new, and now some of the letters were gone and the gilt was worn off, but it was still a priceless treasure in Kitty’s eyes.  Joel Ham examined the gift, and then looked down upon the petitioner, his face pulled sideways into its familiar withered grin.

Do you know this is bribery, little Miss Grey,’ he said, ’bribery and corruption?’

Ye-es, please, sir,’ said Kitty.

’And do you know that that fellow up there is a monster of infamy, a rebel and a riotous blackguard, who must be repressed in the interests of peace and good government?’

‘Yes, please, sir; but—­but he’s only a little fellow.’  The master’s tremendous words seemed to call for this reminder.

Joel screwed his grin down another wrinkle or two.

’Yet you intercede for the ruffian try to buy him off, and at a valuation, too, that proves you to be deaf to the voice of reason and utterly improvident.’

’Oh, Mr. Ham, he didn’t mean it—­really, he didn’t mean it!

Joel screwed out another wrinkle.  His mirth always increased wrinkle by wrinkle, until at times it appeared as if he were actually going to screw his own neck by sheer force of repressed hilarity.

‘I am incorruptible, Miss Grey,’ he said.  ’Take back your precious jewel; but I promise you this, my dear, our friend Dick shall not get as much as he deserves.  Boys are like some metals, Miss Kitty, their temper is improved by hammering.’