his hand and
stopped him.

"No, no, not here," she said quietly; and not in the least abashed, but
in the most obedient way, the boy submitted.

"It was because I was so jolly glad: that's all."

"Hah!" said the doctor, smiling. "Now, I like that, Helen. Work with
me, and all that roughness will soon pass away."

"I say, will that chap be long?" cried Dexter, running to the window and
looking out. "Am I to have all those things for my own self, and may I
wear 'em directly?"

"Look here, my lad; you shall have everything that's right and proper
for you, if you are a good boy."

"Oh, I'll be a good boy--least I'll try to be. Shall you give me the
cane if I ain't?"

"I--er--I don't quite know," said the doctor. "I hope you will not
require it."

"Mr Sibery said I did, and he never knew a boy who wanted it worse, but
it didn't do me no good at all."

"Well, never mind that now," said the doctor. "You will have to be very
good, and never want the cane. You must learn to be a young gentleman."

"Young gentleman?" said Dexter, holding his head on one side like a
bird. "One of them who wears black jackets, and turn-down collars, and
tall hats, and plays at cricket all day? I shall like that."

"Humph! Something else but play cricket, I hope," said the doctor
quietly. "Helen, my dear, I shall begin to make notes at once for my
book, so you can take Dexter in hand, and try how he can read."

The doctor brought out a pocket-book and pencil, and Helen, after a
moment's thought, went to a glass case, and took down an old gift-book
presented to her when she was a little girl.

"Come here, Dexter," she said, "and let me hear you read."

The boy flushed with pleasure.

"Yes," he said. "I should like to read to you. May I kneel down and
have the book on your knees!"

"Yes, if you like," said Helen, who felt that the boy was gaining upon
her more and more: for, in spite of his coarseness, there was a frank,
merry, innocent undercurrent that, she felt, might be brought to the
surface, strengthened and utilised to drive the roughness away.

"Read here!" said the boy, opening the book at random. "Oh, here's a
picture. What are these girls doing?"

"Leave the pictures till afterwards. Go on reading now."

"Here?"

"Yes; at the beginning of that chapter."

"I shall have to read it all, as there's no other boy here. We always
stand up in a class at the House, and one boy reads one bit, and another
b