ath, while he, speechless with astonishment at this
lengthy confession, stared at her with uncomprehending eyes. Was this
Tabitha? What could have happened to bring about this state of affairs?

"Teacher and Mrs. Vane say it is wicked to get mad and we always ought
to beg folks'--" she could not say 'forgiveness' to him--"folks' pardon
when we say or do things we ought not to. I ought not to have toted that
melon off. What are you going to do about it?"

She was trembling from head to foot with excitement and nervous dread,
and it seemed to her that he had never looked so formidable before; but
though her heart quaked, she courageously stood her ground, and waited
for him to name her sentence.

"You better eat your dinner and help your aunt clear away the dishes and
do up the other work instead of gadding all over the neighborhood," he
said gruffly to hide his feelings, and taking his hat, he passed out of
the door, leaving a surprised but much relieved little girl to enjoy a
huge slice of watermelon which she found on her plate.

CHAPTER IX

A BRAVE LITTLE CATT

Miss Brooks was going away. This was her last week of school and next
September when the children gathered again in the familiar old building,
there would be a new teacher in her stead. The children were
disconsolate, for in the three years that she had instructed them in the
mysterious ways of knowledge, they had come to love her very dearly and
to consider her one of their possessions. So it was a great shock to
learn of her intentions, and particularly was this true with Tabitha
whose grief at the impending loss was too deep for words. She could only
stare and stare at the beloved face as the days slipped by lessening the
teacher's stay with them, until Miss Brooks was so haunted by those
pathetically appealing black eyes that she could scarcely sleep and
began to wonder why it was that she should feel so much like a criminal
every time she looked at the child.

At last a happy thought occurred to her. She interviewed Mr. Carson, Dr.
Vane and other prominent men of the town, with the result that the last
Monday of the term she faced the scholars with a happy smile on her lips
and hope in her heart, as she announced, "Children, I have some good
news to tell you--"

"You're not going away after all!" breathed Tabitha ecstatically, but
the next instant her face fell, for the teacher gently shook her head to
signify that this guess was wrong.