might put off the day of judgment until the judge
collapsed. As he stood, miserably irresolute, a low hiss sounded from
beneath the door. Roarin' Sandy's Archie had crept to it on all fours.
"Don't be hurryin' back," he whispered eagerly, "I'll tell ye when to
come!"

Peter Lauchie stepped behind a hemlock and peeped through the window.
The first glance convinced him of the wisdom of his friend's advice;
delay was the watchword, for trouble had arisen in a new quarter.

At one of the side desks near the platform sat Nancy Caldwell. Nancy
was the biggest girl in the school and the only person in the township
of Oro whom old McAllister feared. She was a handsome girl, belonging
to one of the leading Protestant families of the Flats; she was bold
and fearless and had withal such a feminine ingenuity for inventing
schemes to circumvent the schoolmaster that he regarded her with
something akin to superstitious awe.

Nancy had a big, Irish heart, and it swelled with indignation when
Scotty was put up for execution. She shrewdly guessed that McAllister
was nearing the limit of his strength, and thought she might try a tilt
with him. So as he tramped angrily up and down the platform, she
reached out, when his back was turned, and whisked the boy under her
desk.

"Lie still!" she whispered. "Sure, I'll murder him if he touches ye!"

McAllister marched over to her, his arm raised threateningly; the girl
sat and stared coolly back. For a moment the baffled man stood glaring
at her. He would rather have met all the big boys in concerted
rebellion than Nancy Caldwell, and felt that he must be fortified
within before he could successfully combat her. He stepped up to his
desk and clutching a half-empty bottle from it, drained the contents.

The tension of the school was immediately relaxed; the pupils nudged
each other and giggled and Nancy Caldwell laughed aloud and pulled
Scotty out from his hiding place.

As everyone expected, McAllister sank into his chair and glared
sheepishly about him, making a desperate attempt to retain his dignity.

Peter Lauchie stepped out from his post of observation, with a light
heart; and strolled off leisurely in search of a weapon. Since the
master was now on his way to a better frame of mind, Peter was not the
one to retard his happy progress; so he sauntered about, knowing that
Roarin' Sandy's Archie would summon him when the time was ripe.

His commander did not fail him. W