The clock had already struck three. The moment Dally stopped, the class
broke up, but only to gather about Keith--every one of them except
Davidson, who slipped out of the room with a face white as chalk. Keith
caught a glimpse of that face, and a sense of reckless elation shot
through him.

He sped as never before on his way home. It was still impossible for
him to think the matter through. First he must tell his parents and hear
what they had to say about it.

On hearing what had happened, his mother hugged and kissed him, her face
all smiles while big tears dripped down her cheeks. Then the father came
home and was told everything. His mother looked serious by that time,
and Keith noticed a wavering expression in her voice.

"Your teacher evidently knows you," was the father's first remark to
Keith, but by his tone the boy knew that he was pleased. Then he
hesitated, and after a while he said as if speaking to himself: "But if
Keith really had earned the first place...."

"That's what I have been thinking," the mother broke in with blazing
eyes. "Do you remember what I said about that boy Davidson? He was the
richest boy in the class, and Lector Dahlstroem simply did not dare to
put Keith above him. Now he is trying to make up for it when it's
too late."

"Perhaps," said the father thoughtfully. "The sum of it is what I have
always said: the coin that was made for a farthing will never be
a dollar."

"But Keith was not made for a farthing," the mother retorted sharply and
indignantly. "That is the main point of what his teacher confessed in
school this very day."

"Well, if not," said the father wearily, "it is up to him to prove it."

And Keith, too, all of a sudden felt very, very tired.

XII

Keith was one of the first to enter the class room on the morning of
Commencement Day. He was still standing near the door when Davidson
appeared and evidently meant to walk past him without a greeting.

"Say, Davidson," Keith cried impulsively, holding out his hand, "I don't
mind!"

"Well, what do you think I care," the other boy asked icily as he turned
on his heel and walked out of the room again without taking the
proffered hand.

It was the first time that Keith felt the sting of real hatred. He could
never have acted like that--not even toward one who had wronged him
seriously. What galled him most was that he had been made to look as if
he were apologizing. Then a sense of triumph returned litt