itative clique. Until Pauline came he had rarely noticed
a girl--never except to play her some prank more or less cruel.

After the adventure of the raft he watched Pauline afar off, revolving
plans for approaching her without impairing his barbaric dignity, for
subduing her without subduing himself to her. But he knew only one way
of making friends, the only kind of friends he had or could
conceive--loyal subjects, ruled through their weaknesses and fears.
And as that way was to give the desired addition to his court a sound
thrashing, he felt it must be modified somewhat to help him in his
present conquest. He tied her hair to the back of her desk; he
snowballed her and his sister Gladys home from school. He raided her
playhouse and broke her dishes and--she giving desperate battle--fled
with only the parents of her doll family. With Gladys shrieking for
their mother, he shook her out of a tree in their yard, and it sprained
her ankle so severely that she had to stay away from school for a
month. The net result of a year's arduous efforts was that she had
singled him out for detestation--this when her conquest of him was
complete because she had never told on him, had never in her worst
encounters with him shown the white feather.

But he had acted more wisely than he knew, for she had at least singled
him out from the crowd of boys. And there was a certain frank
good-nature about him, a fearlessness--and she could not help admiring
his strength and leadership. Presently she discovered his secret--that
his persecutions were not through hatred of her but through anger at
her resistance, anger at his own weakness in being fascinated by her.
This discovery came while she was shut in the house with her sprained
ankle. As she sat at her corner bay-window she saw him hovering in the
neighborhood, now in the alley at the side of the house, now hurrying
past, whistling loudly as if bent upon some gay and remote errand, now
skulking along as if he had stolen something, again seated on the
curbstone at the farthest crossing from which he could see her window
out of the corner of his eye. She understood--and forthwith forgave
the past. She was immensely flattered that this big, audacious
creature, so arrogant with the boys, so contemptuous toward the girls,
should be her captive.

When she was in her first year at the High School and he in his last he
walked home with her every day; and they regarded themselves as
e