o. 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, h