that he was
accustomed to take of his own watches. But he might have to pay for the
other; for he was bound to take _good_ care of that one, as it was
partly for _his_ benefit that it was bailed to him; and putting them
where they were at all exposed to be wet, would be considered, I
suppose, as not taking good care of them."

"And so he would not have to pay for the lady's watch, in any case,"
said Rollo.

"Yes, he would, if he did not take _ordinary_ care of it; that is, if he
was grossly negligent. For instance, if he should take all the rest of
his watches home, and leave that in his shop upon the counter, where I
had laid it down, and somebody should come in the night and steal it,
then, perhaps he would be liable."

By this time, Rollo's father began to think that his law lecture had
been long enough for such young students, and so he said that he would
not tell them any more about it then. "But now," said he, in conclusion,
"I want you to remember what I have said, and practise according to it.
Boys bail things to one another very often, and a great many disputes
arise among them, because they don't understand the law of bailment. It
applies to boys as well as men. It is founded on principles of justice
and common sense, and, of course, what is just and equitable among men,
is just and equitable among boys.

"You must remember that whenever any thing belonging to one boy is
intrusted to another in any way, if it is for the benefit of the bailee,
if any accident happens to it, he must make it good; unless it was some
_inevitable_ accident, which could not have been prevented by the utmost
care. If it is for the benefit of the bailor, that is, the boy who
intrusts it, then he can't require the other to pay for it, unless he
was grossly negligent. And if it was for the common benefit of both,
then if the bailee takes what may be called good care of it, he is not
liable to pay; if he does not take good care, he is."

Here ended the lecture on the law of bailment. James soon after went
home, and Rollo in due time went to bed. The next morning, when he got
up and began to dress himself, he thought one of the legs of his
pantaloons felt somewhat heavy. He put his hand down to ascertain what
was there, and he felt something at the bottom, between the cloth and
the lining. It was Sarah's pocket-book. When Rollo put it into his
pocket, as he thought, he in reality slipped it inside of the lining,
and it worked itself