ead and cheese still. He blushed as he said, "Good-morning,
Miss Barry."

"Whew," he said to himself, "the teacher has caught me now!"

Several people indeed "caught" Will Somers, in that way, that morning, and
wondered what he was doing, running bare-headed. He carried his point,
though, captured Sid, and led him back to the house.

"Now, Sid," exclaimed Will, on his way to Aunt Stanshy's "there has been
trouble in the Up-the-Ladder Club, I learn, and I want to fix it up, and
you will help me, will you not?"

"O yes," replied Sid, whose nature was not a hard and implacable one.

"Wort is at the house, and you are willing to say you are sorry you hurt
him, and you want to make up and be good friends?"

"O yes."

When Will entered the house with his prize, the two met Wort face to face.

"I want these two knights to make up and be good friends again, because it
is all foolish and wrong, you know, holding out against one another," said
Will.

The two boys eyed one another, Sid grinning, Wort looking sulky and
foolish.

"Wort," said the late principal of the academy, "I am sorry I hurt you. I
didn't mean to do it, but I suppose I was too anxious to keep up the
discipline of the school, and I got agoing, you know. Let's shake hands
and be friends."

Wort hesitated.

"You ought to do that," said Will. "Shake hands, Wort," and as he spoke he
carelessly but effectively waved a stick of sassafras-pipe in Wort's
sight. It is one of the most potent sticks that can be used for a boy's
"_licking_."

"Well, I will," said Wort, "and I didn't mean to hurt you;" unwilling that
Sid should be the only one thought able to inflict an injury.

"I now announce," said Will, "that soon as possible, I shall take every
boy down to Sandy Beach for an afternoon's fun; that is, every knight who
makes up."

This had a magical effect. All the disaffected knights followed the
example of Sid and Wort, "making up" and joining the beach-party. The
excursionists had a capital time on that occasion, and returned in such a
frame of mind that it could be considered as settled that the club, once
in splinters, was now mended.

The boys, on the subsequent Sunday, told Miss Barry that there had been a
quarrel, but, added Sid, "It is all fixed now."

"I am very glad there has been a reconciliation," replied Miss Barry. "If
there had been none, I should have felt that you were going down and not
up the ladder. In our play we can be moving up