er, Bert
Bobbsey," began Nan.

Mr. Tetlow looked at her kindly, for he half expected what was coming.

"What is it, Nan?" he asked.

"I--I--oh, Mr. Tetlow, won't you please let Bert off this time? He only
did it because Danny said such things about me; said I was afraid of the
ghost, and made all the boys call out that we had a ghost at our house.
I--I--think, somehow, that I ought to be punished if he is."

There, it was out, and Nan felt the better for it. Her deep brown eyes
looked squarely into the eyes of the principal.

In spite of himself Mr. Tetlow was compelled to smile. He knew something
of how the Bobbsey twins were devoted to each other.

"So you think you ought to be punished," he said slowly.

"Yes, if Bert is, for you see, he did it mostly for me."

"You are a brave sister to come in his behalf, Nan. I shall not punish
him very severely."

"Oh, thank you for saying that, Mr. Tetlow."

"It was very wrong for him to fight----"

"Yes, I told him that."

"But Danny Rugg did wrong to provoke him. I sincerely trust that both
boys forgive each other for what was done. Now you can go."

With a lighter heart Nan left the office. She felt that Bert would not
be expelled. And he was not. Instead, Mr. Tetlow made him stay in an
hour after school each day that week and write on his slate the
sentence, "Fighting is wrong," a hundred times. Danny was also kept in
and was made to write the sentence just twice as many times. Then Mr.
Tetlow made the two boys shake hands and promise to do better in the
future.

The punishment was nothing to what Bert had expected, and he stayed in
after school willingly. But Danny was very sulky and plotted all manner
of evil things against the Bobbseys.

"He is a very bad boy," said Nan. "If I were you, Bert, I'd have nothing
more to do with him."

"I don't intend to have anything to do with him," answered her twin
brother. "But, Nan, what do you think he meant when he said he'd make
trouble about Mr. Ringley's broken window? Do you imagine he'll tell Mr.
Ringley I broke it?"

"How would he dare, when he broke it himself?" burst out Nan.

"I'm sure I don't know. But if he did, what do you suppose Mr. Ringley
would do?"

"I'm sure I don't know," came helplessly from Nan. "You can't prove
that Danny did it, can you?"

"No."

"It's too bad. I wish the window hadn't been broken."

"So do I," said Bert; and there the talk came to an end, for there
seemed nothing m