roubled. He had heard what
had been said about the affair in the town. The address which Jack had
written was lying on his desk. He took it up and read it, and
immediately a look of pleasure and relief took the place of the worried
look he had brought to school with him.

"Boys," he said, "I have received your petition, and I shall answer it
by and by."

The hour for recess came and passed. The girls and the very little boys
were allowed their recess, but nothing was said to the larger boys about
their going out. Pewee and Riley were defiant.

At length, when the school was about to break up for noon, the master
put his pen, ink, and other little articles in the desk, and the school
grew hushed with expectancy.

"This apology," said Mr. Williams, "which I see is in John Dudley's
handwriting, and which bears the signature of all but three of those who
were guilty of the offence yesterday, is a very manly apology, and quite
increases my respect for those who have signed it. I have suffered much
from your carelessness of yesterday, but this apology, showing, as it
does, the manliness of my boys, has given me more pleasure than the
offence gave me pain. I ought to make an apology to you. I blamed you
too severely yesterday in accusing you of running away intentionally. I
take all that back."

Here he paused a moment, and looked over the petition carefully.

"William Riley, I don't see your name here. Why is that?"

"Because I didn't put it there."

Pewee and Ben Berry both laughed at this wit.

"Why didn't you put it there?"

"Because I didn't want to."

"Have you any explanation to give of your conduct yesterday?"

"No, sir; only that I think it's mean to keep us in because we forgot
ourselves."

"Peter Rose, have you anything to say?"

"Just the same as Will Riley said."

"And you, Benjamin?"

"Oh, I don't care much," said Ben Berry. "Jack was fox, and I ran after
him, and if he hadn't run all over creation and part of Columbia, I
shouldn't have been late. It isn't any fault of mine. I think Jack ought
to do the staying in."

"You are about as old a boy as Jack," said the master. "I suppose Jack
might say that if you and the others hadn't chased him, he wouldn't
have run 'all over creation,' as you put it. You and the rest were all
guilty of a piece of gross thoughtlessness. All excepting you three have
apologized in the most manly way. I therefore remove the punishment from
all the others entirely