were not, they were written by Miss Sadie May, and were
published in a paper up the state. Here it is. I received it this
morning, and was reading it as I came in."

"Will you kindly read the entire poem?" Herring had a good voice
when he wanted to display it, and he now read the lines that the
doctor had read, the poem being about twice as long as the portion
already given.

"The poem I have here contains these lines," said the doctor, who
had been following the manuscript in his hand, "but it is
considerably longer."

"I did not put those verses in the poem that I submitted, sir,"
said Jack. "They had already been published in the News, and I
would not think it right to submit any but entirely new matter.
Will you read the rest of the poem? I can tell if it is mine,
and I have a copy in my desk. If the rest is mine I do not see
how these lines got in it, for I certainly did not put them in."

"The other poem is certainly Jack's," said Percival. "He showed
it to me at the time he wrote it, and I have a copy of the paper
containing it. I would not wonder if other boys had it also."

"I have!" spoke up five or six of the boys, Harry, Arthur and young
Smith among the number.

"Will you kindly let me see the out-of-town paper you have, Herring?"
asked the doctor.

"Certainly," said Herring, taking the paper to the desk.

"When was your poem published, Sheldon?"

"Two weeks ago."

"And this paper is a week old. You say you got it this morning?"
to Herring, who was on his way to his seat.

"Yes, but they sometimes come late or two or three together. A
friend sends them to me."

"Have you the paper containing the poem handy, Percival?" asked
the doctor. "Would you kindly fetch it?"

"Certainly, sir," and Percival left the pavilion, returning in a few
minutes with a copy of the Riverton paper in his hand.

The doctor compared the verses in both and found them to be identical,
saying with a puzzled look:

"The one in the News is the same as this other, but it is not signed.
The other is signed Sadie May. Do you use that as a nom de plume,
Sheldon?"

"No, sir, I do not," said Jack with a smile.

"Then it strikes me that this other paper has been taking liberties
with the News, not only taking things 'written especially for the
News,' as printed over the poem, but declining to give any credit
to the paper, and putting on the name of another besides the writer.
Reputable newspapers are not suppos