was far worse to him,
before Miss Milly and Mr. Rutherford, and the lessening of his "chance"
with the latter, and Theodore's preferment above him.

As the boys were dismissed from the tribunal of justice, and turned
away, Mr. Rollins caught a glance of gratified malice which Theodore
cast at the other boy; and he was more than ever persuaded that there
was something behind all this, and that Theodore was, perhaps, the one
who was the most to blame.

They had reached the door, when Jim turned, and, coming back to the
desk of the principal, said in a low tone, "Thank you, sir, for not
puttin' any thing more on me than the recess. I don't mind that so
much, an' I'll try hard not to break rules again; but _you_ can't tell
how hard it is not to get mad when the mad lies so near the top, an'
you're gettin'"--"cheated" would have been the next word, but Jim
checked himself ere it was spoken.

"Do I not, my boy?" answered the gentleman: then seeing that Theodore
was lingering at the door as if anxious to hear what passed, he said to
him, with something of sternness in his voice, born of the doubt as to
which of the two boys was the greater culprit, "Go on, sir, you have no
need to wait;" adding to himself, "That boy has a guilty conscience."
Then, when Theodore had closed the door behind him, he turned again to
Jim, and continued, "You are mistaken, Jim, if you think I do not know
what it is to struggle with a quick temper."

"You, sir?" said Jim.

"Yes, I," answered Mr. Rollins; and then he followed with the story of
his own struggles with a passionate temper, and the final victory over
himself, with much good advice and encouragement to Jim. Encouraged the
boy certainly did feel, as he left the presence of the master,
fortified with new resolutions for the future.

But master Theodore was not to escape without his share of punishment.

As his own ill luck would have it,--perhaps it would be better to say,
as a righteous retribution would have it,--as he was on his way home
from school, and was crossing the park on which our house fronted, he
fell in with three or four of his classmates, among them Rob Stevens,
the witness of his thefts.

"What have you done with Jim?" asked one of the boys.

"He's getting it from the commander-in-chief," said Theodore
exultantly. "He's lost his recess for a week, and is to be put down to
class four if he gets into another of his rages, as he's sure to do;
and now he's taking no en