orked the genius of this respectable old beldame to the
very verge of bankruptcy. She tried device after device upon the boy,
till at last it got to be a kind of race between the two as to which
should win. The old lady had no genuine interest in the welfare of her
pupil. He annoyed her and she wanted to rid herself of the annoyance.
That is a simple statement of the case from her side. As for "Dodd,"
he delighted in tormenting her as he would in teasing a snake. To be
sure there was danger in the sport, but boys are fond of danger,
especially if it promises fun.

So the days wore on, till at last the case became unbearable, and
"Dodd" was "suspended." Oh! but that was hard on the boy! It hurt him
terribly! The suspension came when the skating of the winter was the
very best, and "Dodd" skated the vacation away, and felt, Oh, so badly
about being out of school!

When the week of suspension was over he came back, fuller of the devil
than ever, and during a single forenoon did more mischief than he had
before been capable of perpetrating in a month. He was fourteen now, a
stout chunk of a boy, awkward, defiant, and reckless. He stayed in
school two days this time, and was again suspended. He came back once
more after that and was then expelled. He left school with a whoop and
was on the streets most of the time thereafter. It was then that his
reputation as a bad boy began to grow rapidly. He frequented the depot
of the town and was on speaking terms with the railroad employes of the
line. He chewed tobacco in great mouthfuls, swore a great deal, and
spent his days in loafing. He had plans for going on the road as a
brakeman when he became a year or two older. Every day he sunk lower
and people shook their heads and said, "How his mother's heart must
ache!"

But old Mrs. Heighten drew her $55 a month just the same, right along;
and her daughter Amanda, who never did an honest day's work in all her
life, but lived in idleness, supported by the aforesaid $55--she was
the pride of the town. She went to church every Sunday and sang in the
choir, and at charity fairs she always stood behind the prettiest
table, dressed in the prettiest clothes, and smiled and blushed and
seemed so innocent and coy. And there were rich young men who hung
about her, and Amanda smiled on them, too, and people said, "What a
lovely girl!" And her mother hoped that her daughter might marry one
of these rich young men; it didn