ped on his brain till it responded. The letter he
despatched to Ireland, but had the wisdom not to read aloud even to
Meggy, contained nothing save her own words, "Dear Kaytherine, if you
dinna send ten shillings immediately, your puir auld mother will have
neither house nor hame. I'm crying to you for't, Kaytherine; hearken and
you'll hear my cry across the cauldriff sea." It was a call from the
heart which transported Katherine to Thrums in a second of time, she
seemed to see her mother again, grown frail since last they met--and so
all was well for Meggy. Tommy did not put all this to himself but he
felt it, and after that he _could not_ have written the letter
differently. Happy Tommy! To be an artist is a great thing, but to be an
artist and not know it is the most glorious plight in the world.

Other fickle clients put their correspondence into the boy's hands, and
Cathro found it out but said nothing. Dignity kept him in check; he did
not even let the tawse speak for him. So well did he dissemble that
Tommy could not decide how much he knew, and dreaded his getting hold of
some of the letters, yet pined to watch his face while he read them.
This could not last forever. Mr. Cathro was like a haughty kettle which
has choked its spout that none may know it has come a-boil, and we all
know what in that event must happen sooner or later to the lid.

The three boys who had college in the tail of their eye had certain
privileges not for the herd. It was taken for granted that when
knowledge came their way they needed no overseer to make them stand
their ground, and accordingly for great part of the day they had a back
bench to themselves, with half a dozen hedges of boys and girls between
them and the Dominie. From his chair Mr. Cathro could not see them, but
a foot-board was nailed to it, and when he stood on this, as he had an
aggravating trick of doing, softly and swiftly, they were suddenly in
view. A large fire had been burning all day and the atmosphere was
soporific. Mr. Cathro was so sleepy himself that the sight of a nodding
head enraged him like a caricature, and he was on the foot-board
frequently for the reason that makes bearded men suck peppermints in
church. Against his better judgment he took several peeps at Tommy, whom
he had lately suspected of writing his letters in school or at least of
gloating over them on that back bench. To-day he was sure of it. However
absorbing Euclid may be, even the forty-s