ave done.

They were at a disadvantage, too, from the fact that Aaron was their
guest, and Mr. Rushton's brother. If they defended Teddy too strongly,
it would seem to be making light of Aaron's danger and possible death.

So, with almost a clear field before him, their guest used his advantage
to the full, and rumbled on to his heart's content.

Mrs. Rushton, however, did what she could.

"You must admit, Aaron," she ventured, "that Teddy might have lied about
it, but didn't. He didn't let you think that somebody else had done it,
but owned up, even before you asked him. Give him that much credit,
anyway."

"Ye-e-s," admitted Aaron slowly. He was a truthful man himself, and
respected the quality in others.

"Yes," he repeated, "that was all right, as far as it went. But," he
went on, as though regretting his momentary weakness in making any
concession to a criminal of the deepest dye, "what good would his
telling the truth have done, if I'd been lying at the foot of the hill
with a broken neck? Answer me that."

As poor Mrs. Rushton could not think of any real benefit that could have
come to Aaron under such unfortunate conditions, she was forced to
abandon the attack, leaving the enemy in possession of the field.

CHAPTER VII

THE MISSING PAPERS

Cheered by his victory in this skirmish, Aaron Rushton went on:

"I tell you what it is, Mansfield, what the boys need is to go to some
good boarding school, where they'll be under strict discipline and have
to toe the mark. They've a soft snap here, and they know it. You let
them run the whole shooting match."

"Nothing of the kind, Aaron," protested Mansfield. "I don't believe in
the knock-down and drag-out system of bringing up children, but, all the
same, the boys always mind when I put my foot down."

"When you put your foot down!" sneered Aaron. "How often do you put it
down? Not very often, as far as I've been able to see. They twist you
and their mother around their little fingers.

"A boy's a good deal like a horse," he continued. "Any horse can tell
just from the feel of the reins how far he dares to go with his driver.
Now, what your boys need to feel is a tight rein over their backs
that'll make 'em feel that their driver isn't going to stand any
nonsense. They don't have that feeling at home, and it's up to you to
put them where they will feel it."

"It might be out of the frying pan into the fire," objected Mr. Rushton.
"There are many