he held his
own. It ended with a sense of triumph on his part, but nothing was said
about his having passed.

The wait that followed until all the boys had been questioned was the
only difficult part of the ordeal. Waiting patiently was not a strong
point with Keith. Finally his mother appeared to take him home, and the
moment he looked at her he knew. She was in such high spirits that she
had to try a joke.

"Too bad you couldn't pass," she said in a voice she vainly tried to
make sad.

He knew it was a joke, and yet his heart leaped into his throat and his
eyes filled with tears. Then she had to console him, and to do so, she
let out the whole story. The teachers had told her that he knew enough
to go right into the third grade, but on account of his age they had
advised her not to let him start above the second grade. It was a whole
year saved, but that was not what she was thinking of. Her son had
distinguished himself by giving proof of a brightness that had aroused
unusual attention among the teachers. Her pride in this fact was such
that Keith really began to think that a new life was about to begin
for him.

And that night, when his father came home, the whole story had to be
told over again with new details, and Keith had the pleasure of seeing
an expression of undisguised satisfaction on his father's face. It did
not last very long, but it was sweet to watch while it lasted. Then the
father resumed his usual manner of stern indifference as he turned
to the boy:

"That's all very well, Keith, but it means also that they will expect
more of you than of the other boys, and so you have to study harder than
ever in order to make good with them."

Keith didn't care. It had been a wonderful day, he felt. He had had his
first taste of public approval, and he had noticed the effect of it on
his father and mother. As for the need of studying--that was easy. And
he didn't have to begin his studies at once anyhow.

II

After the opening of the term, it took Keith only a day or two to
realize that, literally, he had entered a new world, quite different, in
spirit as well as in appearance, from anything previously experienced.

The first shock came as soon as he had taken his place in the class and
the first lesson had begun. He was no longer Keith. Christian names were
not at all in use. Everybody was addressed by his family name both by
the teachers and by his fellow pupils. Keith had become Wellander, an