er with his friends. "I'll tell
you all about it afterwards, mother. Be sure that I am doing something
right that ought to be done," he reassured her. "If only I can go now."
Having obtained permission, he shot away, and arriving at the
school-house, flew into the midst of a crowd of boys. But before their
plan could be carried out the children were obliged to sit two whole
hours on the school-benches. It truly seemed to-day as if they would
never end.

Lux, the sexton's boy, who preferred pulling the bell-rope and being
violently drawn up by it to sitting in school, tapped his neighbor's
sleeve.

"How late is it, Max?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Max," Lux whispered again, "the second expedition will be more fun than
the first. I look forward to it more, don't you?"

"You can look forward to the shame-bench if you don't keep quiet," Max
retorted, squinting with his eyes in the direction of the teacher.

The latter had actually directed his eyes to the side where the
whisperers sat. Lux, bending over his book, kept quiet at last. Finally
the longed-for hour came and in a few minutes the whole swarm was
outside. With a great deal of noise, but in a quick and pretty orderly
fashion they now formed a procession, which began to move in the
direction of Apollonie's little house. Here a halt was made. Kurt,
climbing to the top of a heap of logs, which lay in the pathway, stood
upright, while the others grouped themselves about him. Apollonie opened
the window a little, but hid behind it, for she was wondering what was
going on. Loneli stood close behind her. She had just come back
breathlessly, for she had heard that a procession was coming towards her
grandmother's house.

"Mrs. Apollonie," Kurt cried out with loud voice, "two whole classes
from school have come to you to tell you that it was not Loneli's fault
when she had to sit on the shame-bench. It only happened because her
character is so good. Out of pure politeness she answered a question
somebody asked her. When the teacher wanted to know who was chattering,
she honestly accused herself. She did not tell him that she answered a
question in fear of accusing somebody else. We wanted to tell you all
about it so that you won't think you have to be ashamed of Loneli. We
think and know that she is the friendliest and most obliging child in
school."

"Long live Loneli!" Lux suddenly cheered so that the whole band
involuntarily joined him. "Long live Loneli!;" i