hawed," as folks say. He said he did not know but that Mr. Ball had been
hasty, but he meant well. The next day he took another step, and said
that the old master meant well, but he was _often_ too hasty in his
temper. The next week he let himself down another peg in saying that
"maybe" the old man meant well, but he was altogether too hot in his
temper for a school-master. A little while later, he found out that Mr.
Ball's way of teaching was quite out of date. Before a month had
elapsed, he was sure that the old curmudgeon ought to be put out, and
thus at last Mr. Weathervane found himself where he liked to be, in the
popular party.

And so the old master came to his last day in the brick school-house.
Whatever feelings he may have had in leaving behind him the scenes of
his twenty-five years of labor, he said nothing. He only compressed his
lips a little more tightly, scowled as severely as ever, removed his
books and pens from his desk, gave a last look at his long beech
switches on the wall, turned the key in the door of the school-house,
carried it to Mr. Weathervane, received his pay, and walked slowly home
to the house of his brother-in-law, Mr. Higbie.

The boys had resolved to have a demonstration. All their pent-up wrath
against the master now found vent, since there was no longer any danger
that the old man would have a chance to retaliate. They would serenade
him. Bob Holliday was full of it. Harry Weathervane was very active. He
was going to pound on his mother's bread-pan. Every sort of instrument
for making a noise was brought into requisition. Dinner-bells,
tin-pails, conch-shell dinner-horns, tin-horns, and even the village
bass-drum, were to be used.

Would Jack go? Bob came over to inquire. All the boys were going to
celebrate the downfall of a harsh master. He deserved it for beating
Columbus. So Jack resolved to go.

But after the boys had departed, Jack began to doubt whether he ought
to go or not. It did not seem quite right; yet his feelings had become
so enlisted in the conflict for the old man's removal, that he had grown
to be a bitter partisan, and the recollection of all he had suffered,
and of all Columbus had endured during his sickness, reconciled Jack to
the appearance of crowing over a fallen foe, which this burlesque
serenade would have. Nevertheless, his conscience was not clear on the
point, and he concluded to submit the matter to his mother, when she
should come home to supper