either of the other
lads dared so far offend him as to attempt to rescue poor Selta
without his permission.

As I sat fishing on the pier, I was thinking of Kinlay's attitude
towards me, and wondering if I should ever be able to hold my own
against him in our outdoor intercourse as easily as I certainly
could hold it in our class at school. But soon I was interrupted by
feeling another twitch at my line. I hauled in another sillock; and
having now completed my two dozen fish, I gathered them and my
lines together, thrust my fishhooks into my trousers' pocket, and
went off to school, only staying a few minutes on the way to give
the fish to my sister Jessie, and get my slate and books in
exchange.

Chapter II. Andrew Drever's School

Our schoolhouse was situated on the braeside above the main street
of Stromness. It was a plain stone building with crow-step gables
and a slated roof; and the only indication of its purpose was a
large board over the door, upon which Andrew Drever had himself
imprinted the word "SCHOOL" in bold black letters on a white
ground.

The morning's lessons were already well advanced, as I could hear
by the hum of voices as I approached. Even Peter, the jackdaw, in
his wicker cage at the open doorway, joined in the clatter of
tongues. His quick eye noticed me hurrying to the school, and he
sidled awkwardly along his perch, put out his long black beak
through the bars of his cage, and flapped his wings with
unmistakable signs of welcome.

I was very late; so late that I half dreaded going into the school;
and to discover if possible what humour the schoolmaster was in, I
peeped through the half-open window. In the inner room I could see
old Grace Drever seated with her gray cat beside the peat fire,
busily twirling her spinning wheel. Nearer to me Mr. Drever himself
sat at a high desk, at the side of which hung the inevitable
"tawse;" and I did not fail to notice that this instrument of
torture had already been used that morning, for it still swung with
a gentle motion from side to side, like the pendulum of a lazy
clock.

Lest you should suppose that Andrew Drever was a severe taskmaster,
however, let me here hasten to assure you that his nature was as
sweet as summer. His methods of punishment and reward were the
perfection of justice. In stature he was a small man, but his back
was broad and strong, and his hands were firm and large. His long,
straight hair was as black as the wi