he was doing, to remember anything about his trap. In fact, he had
quite forgotten that half an hour ago in the all-absorbing employment of
drawing ugly pictures on his slate and coaxing Betsey Short to giggle by
showing them slyly across the school-room. Once or twice Ralph had been
attracted to Betsey's extraordinary fits of giggling, and had come so
near to catching Hank that the boy thought it best not to run any
further risk of the beech switches, four or five feet long, laid up
behind the master in sight of the school as a prophylactic. Hence his
application just now to his "sum" in long division, and hence his
puzzled look, for, idler that he was, his "sums" did not solve
themselves easily. As usual in such cases, he came up in front of the
master's desk to have the difficulty explained. He had to wait a minute
until Ralph got through with showing Betsey Short, who had been seized
with a studying fit, and who could hardly give any attention to the
teacher's explanations, she did want to giggle so much! Not at anything
in particular, but just at things in general.

While Ralph was "doing" Betsey's "sum" for her, he was solving a much
more difficult question. A plan had flashed upon him, but the punishment
seemed a severe one. He gave it up once or twice, but he remembered how
turbulent the Flat Creek elements were; and had he not inly resolved to
be as unrelenting as a bulldog? He fortified himself by recalling again
the oft-remembered remark of Bud, "Ef Bull wunst takes a holt, heaven
and yarth can't make him let go." And so he resolved to give Hank and
the whole school one good lesson.

"Just step round behind me, Henry, and you can see how I do this," said
Ralph.

Hank was entirely off his guard, and, with his eyes fixed upon the slate
on the teacher's desk, he sidled round upon the broad loose board
misplaced by his own hand, and in an instant the other end of the board
rose up in the middle of the school-room, almost striking Shocky in the
face, while Henry Banta went down into the ice-cold water beneath the
school-house.

"Why, Henry!" cried Ralph, jumping to his feet with well-feigned
surprise. "How _did_ this happen?" him by the fire.

Betsey Short giggled.

Shocky was so tickled that he could hardly keep his seat.

The boys who were in the plot looked very serious indeed.

Ralph made some remarks by way of improving the occasion. He spoke
strongly of the utter meanness of the one who could play s