hall do everything in
my half-hour."

Marco felt somewhat relieved, to think that he was not going to be
under a very rigid observation in his studies.

"I do not expect," said Forester, "that you will do very well for the
first few days. It will take some time to get this system under full
operation. I presume that you will come to me as many as ten times the
first day."

"O, no," said Marco, "I don't mean to come to you once."

"You will,--I have no doubt. What shall I say to you if you do? Will
it be a good plan for me to answer your question?"

"Why, no," said Marco, "I suppose not."

"And yet, if I refuse to answer, it will not be very pleasant to you.
It will put you out of humor."

"No," said Marco.

"I will have one invariable answer to give you," said Forester. "It
shall be this,--Act according to your own judgment. That will be a
little more civil than to take no notice of your question at all,
and yet it will preserve our principle,--that I am to give you no
assistance except in my half-hour. Then, besides, I will keep an
account of the number of questions you ask me, and see if they do not
amount to ten."

By this time Forester's half-hour was out, and Marco went to his desk.

"There's one thing," said Marco, "before I begin:--may I have the
window open?"

"Act according to your own judgment," said Forester, "and there is one
question asked." So Forester made one mark upon a paper which he had
upon the table.

"But, cousin Forester, it is not right to count that, for I had not
begun."

Forester made no reply, but began arranging his note-books, as if he
was about commencing his own studies. Marco looked at him a moment,
and then he rose and gently opened the window and began his work.

[Illustration: MARCO'S DESK.]

Marco was but little accustomed to solitary study, and, after
performing one of the examples which Forester had given him, he
thought he was tired, and he began to look out the window and to play
with his pencil. He would lay his pencil upon the upper side of
his slate, and let it roll down. As the pencil was not round, but
polygonal in its form, it made a curious clicking sound in rolling
down, which amused Marco, though it disturbed and troubled Forester.
Whatever may have been the nice peculiarities in the delicate
mechanism of Forester's ear, and of the nerves connected with it,
compared with that of Marco's, by which the same sound produced a
sensation of pleasure in on