school-house, because it was not good for anything else.

It was the middle of September, but the summer term was still in
session, because school had not begun that year until after haying. It
was Saturday noon, and the fourth class was spelling. The children were
all toeing a chalk-mark in the floor, but Willy Parlin scowled and moved
about uneasily.

"Order there," said Miss Judkins, pounding the desk with her ruler.
"What makes you throw your head back so, William Parlin?"

"'Cause there's somebody trying to tell me the word, and I don't want
anybody to tell me," answered Willy, with another toss of his dark
locks.

Fred Chase was sitting on a bench behind the class, with an open
spelling-book before him, and was the "somebody" who had been whispering
the word to Willy; but Willy was naturally as open as the day, and
despised anything sly. More than that, he knew his lesson perfectly.

Miss Judkins asked no more questions, for she was well aware that Fred
Chase was constantly doing just such things. She smiled as she looked at
Willy's noble face, and was well pleased soon after to hear him spell a
word which had been missed by three boys above him, and march straight
up to the head. She always liked to have Willy "Captain," for deep down
in her heart he was her favorite scholar. There were only a few more
words to be spelled; then Willy called out "Captain," the next boy said
"Number One," the third "Number Two," and so on down the whole twenty;
and after that the school was dismissed for the week.

The "mistress" put on her blue gingham "calash,"--a big drawn bonnet
shaped like a chaise-top,--and as she was leaving the house she
whispered to Willy, "Don't forget what I told you to say to your
mother."

"No, marm; you told me to say you'd asked Mrs. Lyman _if it was so_, and
Mrs. Lyman said, '_Yes, it is too true._'"

"That is it, exactly, dear," replied Miss Judkins, smiling. "And be sure
you don't lose your medal."

She said that just for fun, and it was such a capital joke that Willy's
eyes twinkled. Lose the quarter of a dollar dangling from his neck by a
red string!--the medal which told as plainly as words can speak, that he
had left off that day at the head of his class!

As it was Saturday, he was to keep the medal till Monday morning--a
great privilege, and one he had enjoyed two or three times before. But
there was this drawback; he had to slip the medal under his jacket, out
of sight, on Sun