The big girls jumped on tables and forms, the little ones huddled
behind each other. Miss Courtney stood on a chair.

"He'll not hurt ye," Jane tried to assure them. "Quit yer yellin', an'
he'll be as quiet as a lamb."

"Turn him out, turn him out!" screamed Miss Courtney. At last Jane
succeeded in catching Toby by the collar.

"Ye bad ruffan," she said, "scarin' the wits out a' iverybody." The
noise died down except for the wailing of a few children who were still
frightened. Miss Courtney rang for a servant, and ordered her to turn
the dog out. Jane explained that this was impossible; Toby was a
valuable dog she had found, and she must take him home to his owner.
Miss Courtney would not listen to her. The dog was to be sent away at
once. Jane, when she saw Miss Courtney was frightened of Toby, said
she would take him away herself. But, to her surprise, this was not
allowed. She was to stay, and the dog was to go. Miss Courtney would
not listen to reason. It was nothing to her that Toby was valuable,
that there was ten shillings reward for him, that Jane had had great
trouble finding him. Jane was a wicked girl, she said, and the dog
must go. Jane could not see why she was in disgrace--she had done
nothing wrong. It was Toby who had frightened them. But astonishment
soon gave place to tears. Miss Courtney made it plain that she must be
obeyed. The servant, afraid to touch Toby herself, led Jane weeping to
the front door to turn him out. The moment the door was opened Toby
bounded away, dragging his chain after him. Once he stopped to look
back; then, as Jane did not follow, he went on alone. The servant was
unsympathetic; she knew nothing of the bewildered disappointment in
Jane's heart. She said Jane deserved to be whipped. A far more awful
punishment was in store. Jane was condemned to stand in the corner
till she had fulfilled all the hours she had wasted in the streets.
Jane was terrified. She forgot the disgrace, forgot the lost reward,
forgot the scorn the big girls would heap on her when they found she
had no money. If she had to stay there till six o'clock Andy would go
away without her, and she would have to walk all those long miles back
to Rowallan in the dark alone. She begged Miss Courtney to let her go;
she prayed God to soften Miss Courtney's heart. But it was all in
vain. When the other children went home a Bible was put into her
hands, and she was told to learn the fifty-