his own fell, and he sat biting his lips, getting redder
and redder till he was the picture of shame.

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Bhaer, anxiously.

"I should have preferred to talk about this in private, but Demi has
spoilt that plan, so I may as well have it out now," said Mr. Bhaer,
looking a little stern, as he always did when any meanness or deceit
came up for judgment.

"The note is from Mrs. Bates, and she says that her boy Jimmy told her
he bought this book of Dan last Saturday. She saw that it was worth much
more than a dollar, and thinking there was some mistake, has sent it to
me. Did you sell it, Dan?"

"Yes, sir," was the slow answer.

"Why?"

"Wanted money."

"For what?"

"To pay somebody."

"To whom did you owe it?"

"Tommy."

"Never borrowed a cent of me in his life," cried Tommy, looked scared,
for he guessed what was coming now, and felt that on the whole he would
have preferred witchcraft, for he admired Dan immensely.

"Perhaps he took it," cried Ned, who owed Dan a grudge for the ducking,
and, being a mortal boy, liked to pay it off.

"O Dan!" cried Nat, clasping his hands, regardless of the bread and
butter in them.

"It is a hard thing to do, but I must have this settled, for I cannot
have you watching each other like detectives, and the whole school
disturbed in this way, did you put that dollar in the barn this
morning?" asked Mr. Bhaer.

Dan looked him straight in the face, and answered steadily, "Yes, I
did."

A murmur went round the table, Tommy dropped his mug with a crash; Daisy
cried out, "I knew it wasn't Nat;" Nan began to cry, and Mrs. Jo left
the room, looking so disappointed, sorry, and ashamed that Dan could not
bear it. He hid his face in his hands a moment, then threw up his head,
squared his shoulders as if settling some load upon them, and said, with
the dogged look, and half-resolute, half-reckless tone he had used when
he first came,

"I did it; now you may do what you like to me, but I won't say another
word about it."

"Not even that you are sorry?" asked Mr. Bhaer, troubled by the change
in him.

"I ain't sorry."

"I'll forgive him without asking," said Tommy, feeling that it was
harder somehow to see brave Dan disgraced than timid Nat.

"Don't want to be forgiven," returned Dan, gruffly.

"Perhaps you will when you have thought about it quietly by yourself, I
won't tell you now how surprised and disappointed I am, but by and by I
will come up