ad. We sat on the
fence a few minutes to rest and discuss our route home. "If we go by
the road it's three miles," said Frank. "Isn't there a short cut?"

"There ought to be one by the wood-lane that comes out by Jacob
Hart's," I answered, "but I don't know where to strike it."

"Here is someone coming now; we'll inquire," said Frank, looking up
the curve of the hard-frozen road. The "someone" was a little girl of
about ten years old, who was trotting along with a basketful of
school books on her arm. She was a pale, pinched little thing, and her
jacket and red hood seemed very old and thin.

"Hello, missy," I said, as she came up, and then I stopped, for I saw
she had been crying.

"What is the matter?" asked Frank, who was much more at ease with
children than I was, and had always a warm spot in his heart for their
small troubles. "Has your teacher kept you in for being naughty?"

The mite dashed her little red knuckles across her eyes and answered
indignantly, "No, indeed. I stayed after school with Minnie Lawler to
sweep the floor."

"And did you and Minnie quarrel, and is that why you are crying?"
asked Frank solemnly.

"Minnie and I _never_ quarrel. I am crying because we can't have the
school decorated on Monday for the examination, after all. The Dickeys
have gone back on us ... after promising, too," and the tears began to
swell up in the blue eyes again.

"Very bad behaviour on the part of the Dickeys," commented Frank. "But
can't you decorate the school without them?"

"Why, of course not. They are the only big boys in the school. They
said they would cut the boughs, and bring a ladder tomorrow and help
us nail the wreaths up, and now they won't ... and everything is
spoiled ... and Miss Davis will be so disappointed."

By dint of questioning Frank soon found out the whole story. The
semi-annual public examination was to be held on Monday afternoon, the
day before Christmas. Miss Davis had been drilling her little flock
for the occasion; and a program of recitations, speeches, and
dialogues had been prepared. Our small informant, whose name was
Maggie Bates, together with Minnie Lawler and several other little
girls, had conceived the idea that it would be a fine thing to
decorate the schoolroom with greens. For this it was necessary to ask
the help of the boys. Boys were scarce at Enderly school, but the
Dickeys, three in number, had promised to see that the thing was done.

"And now they won't