was not an angel, but simply a boy--a very good boy, in many
respects, no doubt, but a boy, notwithstanding. It would, therefore, be
doing him an injustice to deny that he took a certain delight in seeing
his tormentor receive so sound a whipping, and that it brought, at
least, a temporary balm to his own wounded feelings. But the wound was
altogether too deep to be cured by this, or by Frank Bowser's heartfelt
sympathy, or even by the praise of his schoolmates, many of whom came up
to him at recess and told him he was "a brick," "a daisy," and so forth,
because he had taken a whipping without crying.

All this could not hide from him what he felt to be the disgrace of the
thing. So ashamed was he of himself that he could hardly find courage to
tell them about it at home; and although, easily appreciating the whole
situation, Mr. Lloyd had only words of cheer for him, and none of
condemnation, Bert still took it so much to heart that the following
Sunday he pleaded hard to be allowed to remain away from the Sunday
school, as he did not want to face Mr. Silver and his classmates so
soon. But his father wisely would not suffer this, and so, much against
his will, he went to school as usual, where, however, he felt very ill
at ease until the session was over, when he had a long talk with Mr.
Silver, and told him the whole story.

This relieved his mind very much. He felt as if he were square with the
world again, and he went back to Dr. Johnston's far lighter in heart on
Monday morning than he had left it on Friday afternoon. He had learned a
lesson, too, that needed no reteaching throughout the remainder of his
school days. That was the first and last time Bert Lloyd stood upon the
floor for punishment.

CHAPTER XIX.

VICTORY AND DEFEAT.

As may be easily imagined, Dr. Johnston's severe punishment of Rod
Graham for having taken upon himself the part of an informer did not
tend to make that young gentleman any more pleasant in his bearing
toward Bert. By some process of reasoning, intelligible only to himself,
he held Bert accountable for the whipping he had received, and lost no
opportunity of wreaking his vengeance upon him. Every now and then
during that winter Bert had bitter proof of his enemy's unrelenting
hate. It seemed as though there were no limit to Rod's ingenuity in
devising ways of annoying him, and many a hot tear did he succeed in
wringing from him.

As spring drew near, this persecution gre