forgetting the text," Bess said gravely.

If only the quarrel between Carl and Ikey could have been settled as
quickly. A week passed and matters did not mend. The walk to and from
school was now taken alone, and neither made any sign of recognition
when they met. Ikey was miserable at the sight of Carl's intimacy
with Jim, and he imagined, too, that Mrs. Howard took her nephew's
part, and this was hardest of all.

The fact was Aunt Zelie knew little or nothing about it. She had a
house full of company, and Carie was sick besides.

In spite of appearances to the contrary, Carl was no happier than his
friend, and quite as keenly missed the daily companionship in lessons
and play. It had its effect in making him overbearing and
fault-finding in an unusual degree. The family began to wonder what
had happened to merry, good-tempered Carl, when one Saturday morning
matters reached a climax. As he came upstairs from the library where
he had been copying a composition, his father called to him from the
hall below. Running into the girls' room, he laid his paper on the
table there, with strict injunctions to them not to touch it.

Some minutes passed before his return, and Helen, who was apt to be
attracted by forbidden fruit, could not resist going over to look at
it. "I only want to see if I can read it," she said in reply to a
warning word from Bess, who passed through the room on her way to the
star chamber, where she and Louise were busy.

Helen, left to herself, was seized with a desire to make a capital S
like Carl's. Finding a pen and some ink, she set to work, forgetting
everything else till Bess, returning for something, exclaimed, "Why,
Helen, what are you doing? Here he comes."

Very much startled, she looked around quickly, and the pen fell from
her unaccustomed fingers upon the composition, scattering ink in every
direction. At this moment her brother entered the room, and at one
glance took in Helen's frightened look and the blotted paper.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch that?" he thundered, all the stored-up
anger of weeks coming to the surface, and, springing forward, he
caught her by the shoulder, gave her a furious shake, and pushed her
from him with all his strength. With a frightened scream she fell
backwards, striking her head against the edge of the half-open door.

"You wicked boy!" cried Bess, greatly shocked; "perhaps you have
killed her."

But Helen's cries told that it was not so bad as th