e, but he could
not keep seeing that the grocer was right. He was angry at himself when
he thought how foolish he had been, and, consequently, when some of his
friends called on him that night, to inquire why he had missed the last
meeting of their new society, Johnny answered them rather abruptly.

"I won't have any thing more to do with it," said he.

"Why, Harding, what's the matter?"

"The matter is just this," replied Johnny. "I can see, now, that I would
have been a great deal better off in the world, if I had never had any
thing to do with secret societies that were organized for nothing but
mischief. Experience is a hard school, fellows, but it is a thorough one
and I'll never forget the lesson I have learned there. I am going to
behave myself now."

"Well, this beats me, I never thought you would turn spooney."

"Say what you please, my mind is made up, and you can't turn me, any
more than you can turn Tom Newcombe, when he has an idea. The society
can get along without me."

Johnny was as good as his word, although it required the exercise of all
his firmness to resist the pressure that was brought to bear upon him.
The society found it uphill work to get along without him, for he held a
high position in the organization, and was the only one in it who could
study up a plan for mischief at two minutes notice. Its members had
often been sadly in need of the services of Tom Newcombe; and, now that
Johnny was gone, the exploits were hardly worth boasting of. They tried
to induce him to come back. They coaxed, praised, and ridiculed him, but
it was in vain. Johnny had made up his mind after mature deliberation;
he knew he was in the right, and for two months he held firmly to his
purpose.

One night, as he was coming home from school, he met Mr. Henry, who
began to laugh the moment he came in sight of Johnny. "Is this true that
I hear about you?" he asked, as the boy came up. "Are you a spooney?"

"I don't know, sir," was the reply. "If trying to behave myself makes me
a spooney, I suppose I am one."

"Don't you find it hard work?"

"Sometimes. They bother a fellow so. But I don't care for that. I'm
bound to stick to it."

Johnny moved off, and so did Mr. Henry, but when the latter had made a
few steps, he stopped and looked back. "Johnny," said he, "if you feel
like walking around to-morrow, we'll talk the matter over."

Johnny did feel like "walking around," and he made his appearance at the
store