o cause any inconvenience, it was of importance to him to leave at once.

"'At least,' he said to himself, 'I shall say nothing to get any of them
into trouble after I am gone.'

"And he had begged, too, that no public intimation of his resignation
should be given.

"But one or two of the boys had known it before it actually occurred--and
among them the Berkeley brothers. Late one cold evening, for winter had
set in very early that year, Mr. Sawyer had stopped them on their way
across the courtyard to their own rooms.

"'Berkeley,' he had said, 'I am leaving early to-morrow morning. I should
like to say good-bye and shake hands with you before I go. I have not
taken a good way with you boys, somehow, and--and the prejudice against
me has been very strong. But some day--when you are older perhaps, you
may come to think it possible you have misunderstood me. Be that as it
may, there is not and never has been any but good feeling towards you on
my part.'

"He held out his hand, but a spirit of evil had taken possession of
Jack--a spirit of hard, unforgiving prejudice.

"'Good-bye, Mr. Sawyer,' he said, but he stalked on without taking any
notice of the out-stretched hand, and Carlo, echoing the cold 'Good-bye,
Mr. Sawyer,' followed his example.

"But little Carlo's heart was very tender. He slept ill that night and
early, very early the next morning he was up and on the watch. There was
snow on the ground, snow, though December had scarcely set in, and it was
very cold.

"Carlo shivered as he hung about the door leading to Mr. Sawyer's room,
and he wondered why the fly which always came for passengers by the early
London train had not yet made its appearance, little imagining that not
by the comfortable express, but third class in a slow 'parliamentary' Mr.
Sawyer's journey was to be accomplished. And, when at last the thin
figure of the under-master emerged from the doorway, it went to the boy's
heart to see that he himself was carrying the small black bag which held
his possessions.

"'I have come to wish you good-bye again, sir,' said Carlo, 'and I am
sorry I didn't shake hands last night. And--and--I believe Jack would
have come too, if he'd thought of it.'

"Mr. Sawyer's eyes glistened as he shook the small hand held out to him.

"'Thank you, my boy,' he said earnestly, how much I thank you you will
never know.'

"'And is that all your luggage?' asked Carlo, half out of curiosity, half
by way of breakin