ompanions, cooler than many of them, and had by this time
acquired a very good understanding of the chief principles of
arithmetic. He greatly enjoyed the working against time, which was the
distinctive feature of the contest. It brought out his mental powers to
their utmost, and he looked forward to "arithmetic day," with an
eagerness that was not caused entirely by what his father had promised
him in the event of his being successful in carrying off a prize.

In the same class with him were Frank Bowser, Ernest Linton, and a
half-dozen other boys of similar age and standing in the school. He had
no fear of Frank or Ernest. They were no match for him either as to
knowledge, or rapidity of work; but there was a boy in the class who
seemed fully his equal in both respects. This was Levi Cohen, a
dark-skinned, black-haired chap, whose Jewish features were in entire
harmony with his Jewish name. He was indeed a Jew, and, young though he
was, had all the depth, self-control, and steadfastness of purpose of
that strange race. He also had, as the sequel will show their
indifference as to the rightness of the means employed so long as the
end in view was gained.

The school had been in session for more than a month, and those who were
particularly interested in the arithmetic competitions were already
calculating their chances of success. In Bert's class it was clear
beyond a doubt that the contest lay between him and Levi Cohen. It
rarely happened that they did not monopolise the points between them,
and so far, they had divided them pretty evenly. One day Bert would
score three and Levi two, and then the next week Levi would have three,
and Bert two, and so it went on from week to week.

As the second month drew to a close, Bert began to gain upon his rival.
He nearly always made the majority of the points, and was now at least
six ahead. Then suddenly the tide turned and Levi seemed to have it all
his own way. The quickness with which he got the answers was
bewildering. Nay, more, it was even suspicious. One familiar with the
details of the problems given, and the amount of work a full working out
would require, could not help being struck by the fact that Cohen seemed
to arrive at his answer after a remarkably small expenditure of
slate-pencil. Time and again he would have his slate down at least
half-a-minute before Bert did his, although previous to this sudden
change in his fortunes, the difference in time between the