les of the district. One morning, when he opened his desk, a lively
young Scots terrier puppy sprang up to welcome him, and nearly
frightened Moossy out of such wits as he possessed. He had learned to
open the door of his class-room cautiously, not knowing whether a German
Dictionary might not be ingeniously poised to fall upon his head. His
ink-bottle would be curiously attached to his French Grammar, so that
when he lifted the book the bottle followed it and sent the spray of ink
over his person, adding a new distinction of dirtiness to his coat. Boys
going up to write on the blackboard, where they never wrote anything but
nonsense, would work symbols with light and rapid touch upon the back of
Moossy's coat as they returned; and if one after the other, adding to
the work of art, could draw what was supposed to be a human face upon
Moossy, the class was satisfied it had not lost the hour. There were
times when Moossy felt the hand even on the looseness of that foolish
coat, and turned suddenly; but there was no shaking the brazen impudence
of Muirtown, and Moossy, looking into the stolid and unintelligent
expression of Howieson's face, thought that he had been mistaken. If one
boy was set up to do a verb, the form, reading from their books and
pronouncing on a principal of their own, would do the verb with him and
continue in a loud and sonorous song, till Moossy had to stop them one
by one, and then they were full of indignation at being hindered in
their studies of the German language.

Moossy was afraid to complain to the Rector, lest his own incompetence
should be exposed and his bread be taken from him; and of this the
boys, with the unerring cunning of savages, were perfectly aware, and
the torture might have gone on for years had it not been for the
intervention of Bulldog and a certain incident. As the French class-room
was above the mathematical, any special disturbance could be heard in
the quietness below; and whatever else they did, the students of foreign
languages were careful not to invite the attention of Bulldog. Indeed,
the one check upon the freedom of Moossy's room was the danger of
Bulldog's arrival, who was engaged that hour with the little boys and
had ample leisure of mind to take note of any outrageous noise above,
and for want of occupation was itching to get at old friends like
Howieson. There are times, however, when even a savage forgets himself,
and one spring day the saturnalia in Moossy'