wn into a kind of cabinet that formed the
lower part of Miss Mason's desk, Tim brought up a tall bottle of ink
from which the desk inkwells were filled. He took the stopper out and
opened the book.

"What you doing?" asked a voice at his elbow.

Tim's conscience was guilty enough, dear knows, so it was no wonder
that he jumped. A thick stream of ink spurted out and ran down the
crevice of the binding of the book. Tim closed it quickly.

"Gee, Charlie Black! you scared me," Tim said, relieved to find that
the voice belonged to his chum. "What am I doing? You just watch me!"

Tim opened the book again and poured out more ink. Then he closed it
and pressed down hard on the covers. He did this several times, each
inking making an ugly, blurry figure that completely ruined two or
three pages of the book.

"What's that for?" demanded Charlie.

"Think I'm going to be nagged every day in the week and never do a
thing about it?" growled Tim. "Maybe when she finds her precious book
marked up she'll begin to understand that there's some one who won't
stand for everything."

"How's she going to know you did it?" asked Charlie Black, watching
the ink seep into a fine illustration as Tim slowly poured more out.

"She won't know if I can help it," grinned that bad boy. "And if I
catch you opening your mouth----"

"I won't," promised Charlie hastily. "Honest, I won't say a word,
Tim."

"You'd better not," warned Tim darkly. "Let me ever find out you as
much as whispered you saw me and I'll, I'll--I don't know what I won't
do to you!"

This vague threat was sufficiently terrifying to insure obedience from
Charlie, who knew from experience that Tim could be both relentless
and cruel. There was little danger that he would ever betray his
chum.

"Now I guess that's finished," announced Tim with satisfaction,
closing the once lovely book. "Don't look at me when she takes it out
after recess to show the class. Wait till I put back these papers
where they were. There now, let's go downstairs and come up with the
others when the bell rings."

When the bell rang and the children came upstairs, they found a member
of the school committee sitting on the platform beside Miss Mason's
desk, and the teacher announced that they would have a reading lesson
for the first and second grades in place of the usual work.

"I will show you the book I promised to let the second grade see,
directly after the noon period," said Miss Mason. "I'