must remind you also that in this
school we neither teach nor learn slang."

His immobile face changed for an instant to a look of such decided
admiration that she felt her color rise; but he wiped his expression
away with his hand as if it had been some artificial make-up, and said
awkwardly, but earnestly:--

"Excuse me--won't you? But, look here, Mrs. Martin, I found out early
this morning, when I was squaring myself with the other children, that
there was this row hangin' on--in fact, that there was a sort of idea
that Pike County wasn't having a fair show--excuse me--in the running of
the school, and that Peaseley and Barstow were a little too much on in
every scene. In fact, you see, it was just what Tom said."

"This is insufferable," said Mrs. Martin, her eyes growing darker as
her cheeks grew red. "They shall go home to their parents, and tell them
from me"--

"That they're all mistaken--excuse me--but that's just what THEY'RE
GOIN' TO DO. I tell you, Mrs. Martin, their little game's busted--I beg
pardon--but it's all over. You'll have no more trouble with them."

"And you think that just because you found Tom had something in his hat,
and exposed him?" said Mrs. Martin scornfully.

"Tom HADN'T anything in his hat," said Twing, wiping his mouth slowly.

"Nothing?" repeated Mrs. Martin.

"No."

"But I SAW you take the things out."

"That was only a TRICK! He had nothing except what I had up my sleeve,
and forced on him. He knew it, and that frightened him, and made him
look like a fool, and so bursted up his conspiracy. There's nothin'
boys are more afraid of than ridicule, or the man or boy that make 'em
ridiculous."

"I won't ask you if you call this FAIR to the boy, Mr. Twing?" said Mrs.
Martin hotly; "but is this your idea of discipline?"

"I call it fair, because Tom knew it was some kind of a trick, and
wasn't deceived. I call it discipline if it made him do what was right
afterwards, and makes him afraid or unwilling to do anything to offend
me or you again. He likes me none the worse for giving him a chance of
being laughed out of a thing instead of being DRIVEN out of it. And," he
added, with awkward earnestness, "if you'll just leave all this to
ME, and only consider me here to take this sort of work which ain't
a lady's--off your hands, we'll just strike our own line between the
Peaseleys and Pike County--and run this school in spite of both."

A little mollified, a good deal puzzled,