een far too
occupied with his regimental duties to be able to superintend their
training, while Abijah's hands had been too full with the management
of the house, which entirely devolved upon her, and with the
constant attention demanded by Mrs. Sankey, to give them any close
superintendence. Thus like most children born in India and left entirely
in the charge of colored nurses, Ned had acquired the habit of giving
way to bursts of ungovernable passion; for the black nurses have no
authority over their young charges, unless seconded and supported by
the firmness of their mothers. In this case no such support had been
forthcoming.

Mrs. Sankey hated being troubled, and the ayahs always found that any
complaints to her recoiled upon themselves, for she always took the
part of her children, and insisted that the fault lay on the side of the
nurses and not on them. The natural result was, that the ayahs ceased
to trouble her, and found it easier to allow the children to do as they
chose, and to give way quietly to Ned's outbursts of passion.

Captain Sankey knew nothing of all this. Ned was very fond of him, and
was always bright and good tempered when with his father, and it was
not until he left India and was thrown more with him that Captain Sankey
discovered how grievously Ned's disposition, which was in other respects
a fine one, was marred by the habit which had been encouraged by
indulgence and want of control. Then he set to work earnestly to remedy
the mischief, but the growth of years is hard to eradicate, and although
under the influence of the affection for his father and his own good
sense Ned had so far conquered himself that his fits of passion were few
and far between, the evil still existed, and might yet, as his father
felt, lead to consequences which would mar his whole life.

Thinking the matter sadly over, Captain Sankey was proceeding toward the
school when he met one of the constables. The man touched his hat and
stopped.

"This be a moighty oonpleasant business, captain," he said; "your boy,
he ha' been and battered schoolmaister; and t' doctor says he ha' broke
his collarbone. Oi ha' got to take him afore t' magistrate."

"Very well, Harper," Captain Sankey said quietly; "of course you must
do your duty. It is a sad business, and I was on my way to the school to
see if the matter could not be arranged; however, as it has been put in
your hands it is now too late, and things must take their cou